ROB ZOMBIE: I Haven't Put On A Stripped-Down Show In 12 Years

ROB ZOMBIE recently spoke to The Los Angeles Times about his reasons for playing a stripped-down show on the second stage at this year's Ozzfest rather than putting on a full performance on the main stage, where most people would have expected to see him. According to Mr. ZOMBIE, I came up with the idea while I was on the Merry Mayhem tour recently with Ozzy. I was sitting on the Osbournes' bus with Ozzy and [Osbourne's wife and manager] Sharon, talking about Ozzfest. I'd done the main stage in 1999. It was good, but those venues are so uptight, those huge corporate amphitheaters. I'd go watch the bands on the second stage out in the parking lot or wherever they'd put them sometimes, and it looked like so much fun.

So I said, 'How about if we headline the second stage?' Ozzy at first was, 'No, I won't let you! You'll be miserable. Don't do it.' But it seemed like a fun, different thing to donot bring the big show, everything stripped down with just the band, play in the sunlight. I haven't done anything like that in 12 years or something.

As much as I love the big show and all the production, it becomes this huge thing of its own. Sometimes the show is so huge everything else gets lost.

The second stage is often bands that don't even have records, or buzz bands in the scene. So hopefully, yeah, this will bring people over who might not spend much time there normally. We'll close the second stage, and when we finish, then they'll start the main stage, so you can see everything, if you're up to the challenge.