“I thought, ‘Wait a minute, am I dreaming?’”: Robert Trujillo recalls joining Ozzy Osbourne’s band after jamming Black Sabbath songs as a teenager
Trujillo’s Ozzy Osbourne impression is spot-on, may we add…
Images: Brian Rothmuller (left) and Francesco Prandoni (right) / Getty
Robert Trujillo has reflected on the full-circle moment of joining Ozzy Osbourne’s band after looking up to him as a teen.
Trujillo played with Osbourne from 1996-2003, when he then joined Metallica. Having grown up as a fan of Osbourne’s, he couldn’t quite believe his luck when he finally got to play in front of him.
In a video from Dunlop alongside fellow bassist Marcus Miller, the pair begin talking about their inspirations and mentor figures. “I used to play Black Sabbath songs and Ozzy Osbourne solo songs like Crazy Train, and, you know, all these tracks in backyard parties when I was 16,” begins Trujillo.
“And then all of a sudden, I’m playing in his band, you know, and I’m in front of the guy. And I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, am I dreaming?’ And the cool thing about him is that he loved bass. So he was like, ‘Rob, listen, I want you to play as loud as you want to play.’ [he says, imitating Osbourne’s accent] I was like, ‘Yes! I found my man.’
“What I can say though,” he goes on to expand, “is almost every musician I’ve ever worked [with] loves the instrument. Whether it’s too loud on stage or whatever it is, the bass is always something that is super important and vital to any composition that I’ve ever been a part of, including Metallica.
“Cliff Burton, he brought the bass to prominence and had a melodic phrasing and voice to this music and this genre that wasn’t supposed to feature bass in that way.”
Watch the full video below:
In other Osbourne-related news, former Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler has recently said he’s been in contact with Osbourne “every day”, and that a Sabbath reunion isn’t off the cards. However, there are many factors to consider before one could go ahead, including Osbourne’s health.
Robert Trujillo is continuing to tour with Metallica.