Ozzy would name his Ozzmosis tour, "Retirement Sucks" in an obvious
statement about his feelings towards his short lived retirement. It was now time
to begin touring. Zakk was talking about playing with Guns and Roses so Ozzy
decided to audition new guitarists, thinking Zakk would not be around for the
tour. Zakk's manager, Doug Goldstein, called Sharon and told her that Zakk would
be available. He later phoned to say that Zakk was still negotiating for the gig
with Guns and Roses. Ozzy did not know what Zakk was planning to do because he
was negotiating with both groups, and so asked Zakk to let him know what his
plans were. When Zakk did not return the phone call as promised, Ozzy decided
enough was enough and found a new player. Ozzy and Zakk are still on good terms
however. Remember Joe Holmes, the kid who took guitar lessons from Randy? The 31
year old guitar player who hailed from New Jersey, would soon play a part in
Ozzy's life. Joe had previously played with David Lee Roth for his 1988 tour and
was currently working on his own band, "Tariff", when Dean Castronovo
(Oz's drummer) phoned Joe to let him know they were seeking a guitar player. Joe
went down to Audible in Los Angeles and played three Ozzy classics. He did not
mention that he had once took lessons from Randy because he thought this might
jeopardize his chances. He succeeded though and got the part. Unfortunately Joe
is not heard on the Ozzmosis album but he will be on the next one. So Joe Holmes
as Ozzy's new guitar player and Geezer Butler on bass began the Retirement Sucks
tour. Halfway through the tour, Geezer left due to being homesick for his family
and Mike Inez took his place. Later on, in yet another shrewd marketing attempt,
Ozzy and Sharon came up with the 'Ozz-Fest'. The festival which would start
September 14, 1996 would be of a different theme. At this event one could get a
tattoo done, body piercing or have your fortune read by a psychic. Ozz-fest
featured the following hard rock groups: Danzig, Sepultura, Prong, Slayer,
Biohazard, Fear Factory, Neurosis, King Norris, Earth Crisis, Powerman 5000,
Coal Chamber, and Cellophane. Towards November '96, Ozzy played his last show of
the tour in Hawaii. His plans now are to go back to the studio to release a
'Greatest Hits' package (early 1997) which will have his older songs and three
new ones. One of them will be a song called "Back on Earth" which was
co-written with Steve Vai.
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