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Nobody
but nobody can lay claim to having a more influential career than Ronnie James
Dio. Whether it was Rainbow, Sabbath or his own namesake, he has never failed to
release classic like material and he has one of the most recognizable voices in
heavy metal. He has just released another classic in the form of Master Of The
Moon and with that in mind I felt it was time to finally sit down and discuss
that disc and other things in Ronnie’s life. I hope you enjoy reading this as
much as I enjoyed doing it!
Jeffrey Easton interviewing Ronnie James Dio.
Jeff: Your shows in So. Cal on the last tour were great, seems like your new
member, bassist Rudy Sarzo, is having the time of his life.
Ronnie: It is so obvious he is, it really shows. Not really knowing him that
well before and now knowing him like I do, I know this is a place he has always
wanted to be, we are all of the same mind.
Jeff: Lets get into the new CD, Master Of The Moon, tell us about it.
Ronnie: Well, this was supposed to be Magica 2 and 3 but with Jimmy gone it was
going to take more time than I would have been able to give. The textures of
this album has a lot to do with it going to be Magica, in that it is more mid
tempo, bigger slower songs, the production is the heaviest we have ever done
with Dio but when we found out that it was not going to we populated the record
with faster songs. The record is also more realistic in nature, it is not a
fantasy and there is no concept involved, not a lot of witches and wizards
involved. People tell me it reminds them of the Dehuminizer and I agree because
of the tempo and the way it sounds.
Jeff: Just the solid heaviness of it.
Ronnie: Yeah, that’s for sure.
Jeff: Lets get into the songs. What are your thoughts on your songs, like One
More From The Road?
Ronnie: One More From The Road is about people killing people. It alludes to
someone that is going to be burned, executed or crucified. It begins with a
crucifixion and ends with a needless execution. I think the last line sums it up
with “There’s a Cross you can’t carry, because it is heavier than hell,
and if you should meet your maker, just pray he won’t yell, one more from the
road. The whole point of it is man’s inhumanity towards man should stop.
Jeff: Another that intrigues me is The Man Who Would Be King. Is this your
political views?
Ronnie: It was a song based in the 900’s about Richard The Lionhearted, one of
the kings that sent people into the Crusades to recapture the Holy City from the
infidels. As soon as I started to write the song I realized the correlation
between this and George Bush, the Crusades and the Iraqi war. It was never
supposed to be a political statement and it is not Bush bashing although I do
not agree with the Iraqi war is completely wrong.
Jeff: What inspired shivers?
Ronnie: It is about someone that has never been afraid of anything in his life.
He then meets someone who gives him shivers. It could e a good person, and evil
person, someone you are in love with, someone you hate. It is around that idea
about what happens to you when you are overawed by someone or some presence.
When that happens, you get shivers.
Jeff: Well, it is a great song, I love it. Overall, how long did it take you to
write the album?
Ronnie: It took about three months, which is the usual time for doing a record.
Jeff: You have Craig Goldy back with you for this album, how much did he
contribute to the new CD?
Ronnie: An Immense amount, we really write well together. He really interprets
what I want very well, he is a great guitarist. He was a fan of the band long
before he ever played in the band and that was the common music that we love. To
write with him is an easy journey because he knows what I want out of writing.
Without him life would be very difficult. This is a great family, everybody is a
good person and I think this is the way it is supposed to be, everybody cares
about the music and each other. There is no backstabbing, no bitching, no
moaning, there is nothing worse that being on the road for four or five months
having someone in the corner griping. If you do not like the way things are,
then go away, if you want to say something about it, speak up.
Jeff: To go off track for a moment, were those comments above made in reference
to some comments made by Jimmy Bain in reference to being in Dio?
Ronnie: You know, I do not read comments that he or Vivian Campbell, who
apparently has made nasty comments about me, say about me. My goal in life is to
take the high road. There have been many times, whether it was Rainbow, Sabbath
or Dio, that I could have gone off on tirades about people that have left, said
what horrible people they are. I am not ashamed or guilty about things I have
done in my life. The people that are continually bitching and moaning are those
who are doing nothing at the time anyway and have nothing better to do than
bitch and moan. I myself have not been in bands before, whether it was being
fired or leaving because it was time to go. My life just carries on because I
would do better in another band or a different group of musicians and that’s
what they should do too. As far as the comments go, people have to decide what
is true or not true, I can only give my side and I have never screwed anybody.
Jeff: I just saw those comments and just made me wonder because I have never
heard anybody else complain about the band, I did not get it.
Ronnie: I do not get it either, it is a question maybe you should ask Jimmy. It
has nothing to do with that anymore. It disappoints me that every time they turn
around they are saying it is my fault that something happened. You had every
opportunity to be in this band, you are the one who chose not to be here, not
me. It was not my decision, I did not fire Jimmy, It is up to Jimmy to say
whatever he wants to say and I think that they just really end up burying
themselves under all of that stuff that they say.
Jeff: To get back on track, what was it like working with Craig on this record
as opposed to Doug on Killing The Dragon?
Ronnie: They are different players, but so capable. Doug is a great player and a
great guy but I never got much of an opportunity to write a lot of things with
Doug. I think from a writing perspective it is very much different thing writing
with Craig as opposed to writing Doug but again it is unfair to judge because I
did not have that much time to write with Doug. I do know what I get from Craig,
I know what his ideas are and we fit very well together. With Doug it was so
unproven and him going to Whitesnake proves what I have said all along, that
this is the kind of music that he is really into, the more blues based music. I
think Doug is a great person so I know he is in the right place and Craig is in
the right place.
Jeff: As far as your label experience, you left Spitfire for Sanctuary, why did
you leave?
Ronnie: I think we gave Spitfire enough chances to do what I thought should have
been done for this band and also there was starting to be some dissatisfaction
inside the label. A lot of people have left including the founder. We had the
opportunity to go to Sanctuary so I felt it was time to go.
Jeff: Are you happy with Sanctuary so far?
Ronnie: I am very happy, yes. They are not an interfering bunch either, we are a
band that knows what we are doing, after all of these years, and they know what
they are getting.
Jeff: Did Spitfire do that?
Ronnie: No, they did not either but I would not mind either of them to come down
and give their input but over all I am happy that they do not.
Jeff: I do know you had your problems with labels in the 90’s, being with
Reprise, Mayhem, Spitfire etc.
Ronnie: With Reprise, they had changed a lot, they had gone into a “modern”
era, and they had a release (Strange Highways) that no one there cared about.
Reprise was in the mode that here is your last record, what do we go to next?
Any label that releases my record is going to get a great piece of product
anyway and hopefully they can build on it.
Jeff: Are you happy with the numbers so far?
Ronnie: Yes I am. It is not something that came out of the box and went wow but
it is something that will continue to sell. It is ok, at the end of the day we
are not a household word like OZZY is because of his T.V. show has but that’s
ok because we speak with our music and we do not have to speak through T.V.
programs on the side.
Jeff: And your shows are always packed.
Ronnie: Right, because people know what they are going to get. Whether it is a
small place like Anaheim HOB or an arena, they know they are going to get an
arena show. We are a band that really puts out and works hard and always gives
quality. That same thing goes back to record companies; they know they will
always get a quality product from us.
Jeff: Well, I look back at your catalog and I cannot find a bad record. I am a
little indifferent to the Elf stuff because it is so that time period but it is
still good.
Ronnie: All of that stuff is good for its time period. Some things do not
translate to now but you have to look back at that time period and think about
what was important then and then you can accept it for what it was.
Jeff: Look at Stargazer, it is still a great song and it is almost 30 years old.
Ronnie: A great songs is a great song is a great song, a great piece of music
never goes away.
Jeff: After over three decades of recording and four main bands, do you still
feel like you are a relevant artist releasing relevant records?
Ronnie: Yes I do, if I did not feel that way I would not bother. I think the
relevance lies in the fan base. It is not relevant perhaps to whatever is
topping the charts but charts are not important to me. But if you release
consistently quality music all of the time then of course it is relevant. I
think without making music I would feel irrelevant so I think it is important
that you continue to create. I think we show relevance as far as the metal/hard
rock market goes.
Jeff: You certainly attract massive crowds. You get great tours and on each
record you know you will see Dio at least 2 to 3 times.
Ronnie: Certainly.
Jeff: To go back a little, do you think there will be a chance to have your back
catalog remastered and re-released?
Ronnie: I know there is a box set in the works but how much of my catalog they
get I have no idea but I would like to see them get all of it.
Jeff: I can just imagine Hearing Holy Diver or The Last In Line cleaned up for
the digital age. Will Hear N Aide ever be re-released?
Ronnie: Yes it will be because we are working on the charity Children Of The
Night which will be like Hear N Aide. It will be one song with different
vocalists and guitarists with unreleased songs donated from bands. Hear N Aide
will come out on CD for the first time because it has never come out on CD. The
film footage will be reissued as well with Children Of The Night so it will be
one big package. It will be released around late spring/early summer
Jeff: Is there anything else you want to tell your fans?
Ronnie: Just that we are still doing it, we will never go away. We are going to
Russia in March to do some festivals and then just look for us after the New
Year with more touring in the U.S. and we will play some things you did not hear
last time.
Jeff: Thank you very much for your time.
Ronnie: No problem, thank you Jeff.
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