Richie Kotzen has enjoyed a long and varied career in hard rock. The 55-year-old electric guitarist shredded in Poison and Mr. Big before fronting the Winery Dogs with bass guitarist Billy Sheehan and drummer Mike Portnoy in 2012.
And for a brief moment in 1995, Kotzen was one of the many guitarists hired by Ozzy Osbourne. But unlike Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee, Zakk Wylde and a handful of others, Kotzen has nothing to show for his time with Ozzy. No gigs were played, no songs recorded or rehearsed.
But he does have one very good story to tell from it.
“In 1995, my manager, Larry Mazer calls and said, ‘Listen.’ He said, ‘I got you the Ozzy gig,’” Kotzen tells Eddie Trunk in a recent episode of his SiriusXM show Trunk Nation. “I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?’ And he goes, ‘I got you the gig.’ ”
At the time, Ozzy was making his return after a brief attempt at retirement. His previous studio album, 1991's No More Tears, was his second with Zakk Wylde. But as the singer considered a fresh start to his career, which would produce his next album, Ozzmosis, he was apparently considering working with a new guitarist.
Kotzen wasn’t keen on being picked for the gig.
“I didn't respond to it like the way you would expect,” he says. “I was like, ‘Man, I don't want to go in that direction. I don't wanna play metal. I don't wanna play hard rock. That's not what I'm writing. That's not where my head's at.’
“And he goes, ‘Listen,’ again. He said, ‘The deal's done. All they gotta do is meet you.’
Kotzen, accepting his fate, flew to New York and met with Sharon Osbourne at the couple’s favorite hotel.
“She's like, ‘Right, we're very excited about having you on.’ And, you know, she's talking to me about the salary. She told me what they were gonna pay me. And, talking. They were talking about this and that.
“So I went to Ozzy's room to meet him, and it was the first time I'm meeting him. And he had a suite, and we ended up watching the movie Dumb and Dumber together.”
As they were sitting there, Ozzy began smacking his arm as if trying to raise a vein.
“Ozzy's a prankster,” Kotzen notes. “And he's got what looks like a syringe on the coffee table. And I'm not really focused on it. I'm 25 years old, in my own little world. He's trying to channel that he's about to shoot up, and it's not registering.”
Ozzy's a prankster. And he's got what looks like a syringe on the coffee table. And I'm not really focused on it.”
— Richie Kotzen
Kotzen explains that the device on the table was actually an oral syringe used for dental washing.
“He had a tooth taken out, like a wisdom tooth or something. So, you know, you gotta shoot medicine or water back there to clean it out.”
But Ozzy hadn’t counted on Kotzen knowing that.
“He’s fucking with me. He wants to see how I'm gonna react. And the fact that I don't react really kind of wigged him out. It's like, you know, he couldn't understand, ‘Why are you not reacting to what I'm doing?’
“And in a weird way, I just wasn't seeing it because I was just in this mode of, you know, it's Ozzy. You know, it is. He's a legend.”
Afterward, Kotzen said his goodbyes and departed.
“And so I leave there thinking that I'm in his band. And they said, ‘Yeah, all you gotta do is send us some song ideas.’
“So I ended up putting some riffs down on, you know, just the guitar, send them off.”
Weeks went by without any response.
“I didn't hear anything. And Larry didn't hear anything.”
The next thing he knew, Zakk Wylde was back at work with Ozzy.
“The gist of it, from what I understand, was Zakk went back and actually made the album.
“But it was just this weird surreal kinda whirlwind of, ‘Oh, I'm gonna be Ozzy’s guitar player.’
“And then it was crickets.”
It was only a matter of time before Kotzen crossed paths with Ozzy. It happened in L.A., at a brunch.
I never did anything with him, but I was right there, you know. And we watched 'Dumb and Dumber.'”
— Richie Kotzen
“I walked over and he said, ‘Oh, that's Richie, the guitar, you're Richie, the guitar player.’ Like, he remembered me, but it just didn't connect somehow.”
Is it possible Ozzy assumed Kotzen used smack and was therefore nonchalant about Ozzy’s gesture? That’s what Trunk wondered.
But Kotzen thinks the reason he was dropped had to do with fans’ response to his being hired. He told a friend — “who will remain nameless” — that he was going to be Ozzy’s new guitarist. That person took the news into an AOL chat room, where the response was anything but kind.
“This person went in there and started talking: ‘Richie Kotzen, former Poison guitar player is gonna play with Ozzy.’ And there were fan responses that were brutal. ‘No way a guy from Poison can play with Ozzy.’”
Kotzen believes someone in Ozzy’s organization got wind of the reaction and put an end to his brief tenure in Ozzy’s band.
“I never did anything with him, but I was right there, you know,” Kotzen says. “And we watched Dumb and Dumber.”
