Interview: Mac Sabbath’s Mike Odd Discusses Black Sabbath, Download Festival, Monsanto, Fast Food Song Titles And The Mythos Of Ronald Osbourne

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On March 5th of this year, a silly, yet demonic voice in my head spoke to me and said, “If you interview him…they will perform at The Highline Ballroom on March 25th.” One would argue that I might be suffering from Schizophrenia, but in actuality, it churns out it was my stomach berating me during a horrendous digestive bout of the #1 Big Mac Extra Value Meal. Various thoughts raced through my mind. Mainly, “Why the hell did I eat that? Post-consumption and bed-ridden, I had only two things on my mind:
BMOne, what in the hell do they put in this “food?” and two, when will the arch-nemesis, the very antithesis of the “kid-friendly” Ronald McDonald come and save me from the madness of MCMonsanto’s Golden Arches? Then, From Out Of Nowhere, emerged my hero, my savior, the one and only Ronald Osbourne of comedic rock n’ roll act, Mac Sabbath. And as a follow up to the aforementioned “voices” in my head, it was in fact the very wise words spoken in a recent interview from behind-the-scenes manager and representative of one Ronald Osbourne & Mac Sabbath, The madman himself, Mr. Mike Odd.
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And as for myself being the “young grasshopper” learning of the teachings by Mr. Odd, I was humbly enlightened with tails of their early days in LA, The approval of Black Sabbath, The “Frying Pan” YouTube explosion, touring and the very mythos that is Ronald Osbourne. So, without further adieu, I present to you my exclusive interview with Mike Odd.

When did Mac Sabbath 1st officially form as a band or project?

Well, the official part is a little weird. It was late 2013 when I got an anonymous phone call to come down to this “fast food establishment” in Chatsworth, California to meet somebody. I had no idea what it was. Being a guy that chases down odd things, I accepted the challenge and went down there. I had no idea what was going to happen. I was sitting there and this clown bursts in with red and yellow dirty tassles scraping the ground and this caked-on skull makeup. He really put everyone in that place on edge. Being there in the middle of it, he just came over to my booth and started spewing all these ideas, facts and fiction all over the place. He told me that my destiny was to manage this band, Mac Sabbath and to bring it above ground. That it was this secret thing that nobody knew about and that he was going to allow me to be the first person to announce it to the public. I was so confused and thought that I was on a hidden camera show.

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By the time we got thrown out of there, he invited me to come back to his place in a certain neighborhood, but at 3 in the morning, I’m in this burger place that I’m clearly not supposed to be in. I was let in this door and in the basement of this place, watching Mac Sabbath perform among boxes of freeze-dried condiments and it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. I was like, “alright, I’ll work with this guy. He’s crazy, I don’t know where this is going, but it will be good for a laugh. Although, it was something that really, actually moved me, I was just like, “I dunno what’s going to happen or if people are going to be moved by it as much as I am.”

So, before I knew it, I booked a couple of little shows around the L.A. area and I actually got them booked at a Halloween event at a grammar school for kids in Silverlake, CA. It went over with the kids, it was great! At this point, I was like, “Is this a kid thing or an adult thing?” I didn’t know what to do and before I knew it just started going crazy. It’s been really hard to catch up with how fast it’s progressed. Before we left California, we got offered to go play a festival in England with Kiss & Slipknot, Motley Crue and Judas Priest at The Download Festival. So, we toured England at this festival before we even left California. And when we got back, we did another tour and played another festival called Outside Lands in San Francisco and went on right before Elton John.DL outside-lands1It’s just like these are things that I just never, ever in a million years thought would happen. So, that’s kind of the way it all started I guess. I mean, I don’t know how long he was doing the secret thing really. One of the first shows

Sounds like you guys just blew up?

Yeah, absolutely! One of the first shows, I taped the middle of it and included the lyrics in the video for “Frying Pan.” I put it on YouTube and the thing just instantly got picked up by Fox News, MTV News and Black Sabbath posted it. And now it’s at almost a million hits. I mean, it’s terrible, it’s terrible. There’s a little surprise coming in that area very soon, but I’m not allowed to say much. Keep an eye out on YouTube.

Considering you’re a 4-piece including vocalist Ronald Osbourne, guitarist Slayer MacCheeze,” bassist Grimalice” and drummer The Catburglar,” alternately known as Peter Criss Cut Fries,” does Mac Sabbath plan to pursue a full-band interview at some point or does your act prefer to remain in anonymity?
MacSabbath1That doesn’t look like it’s coming any time soon if it’s coming at all. You have to realize what I’m dealing with here. Ronald maintains that he’s traveled here through the time space continuum from the 1970’s to save us all from our wicked, modern ways and government food control and how we all need to get back to the way things were in the 70’s where music and food were still genuine. So, it’s like Ronald’s still living in the 70’s. You don’t want to go there. It’s kind of dangerous. So, it’s kind of my job to be the conduit between that world and this world. So, that seems to be how it’s going to remain and how we’re going to keep everybody safe. I’ll let you know if that changes.

If you were to be offered a spot on a comedic rock tour with artists such as Steel Panther, Spinal Tap, Richard Cheese & Tenacious D, do you think Mac Sabbath would be interested in performing among other acts, or are they strictly a solo touring act?

Oh, sure, sure! Absolutely! Yeah, I think that would work. You got an offer?

What is your opinion of the fact that Monsanto continues to poison US citizens with genetically modified foods and core food ingredients sprayed with pesticides?

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Ronald writes a lot about that actually. It’s in the lyrics. I mean it goes in a song like N.I.B.B.L.E., which is N I B B L E. He writes a lot about that kind of thing. He’s definitely very opposed to those sorts of things and well, there’s a brand new song that’s about to happen. Gosh, I’ll tell you first, why not? It’s called Organic Funeral and it’s really about that sort of thing.

Ahh, OK! I like that, Organic Funeral, alright, excellent, I can’t wait. That’s not out yet, right?

No, no, no! And just to let you know, you got the exclusive on that one.

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Have you received any cease and desist letters from McDonald’s, Sharon Osbourne or Black Sabbath?

I’d like to skip over this one (laughs). I don’t even like these questions to be honest with you. You know, it’s just the more those words are in print, I’d love to just graze over that. Black Sabbath posted the “Frying Pan” video on their Facebook & on their Twitter. I can only assume they’re very much in support of what we’re doing and I’m happy they get it.

Although the band has taken a more satirical approach of fast food themes that parody classic Black Sabbath songs, was Mac Sabbath’s original intention to express in their live performance, their detest of GMO’s, consumerism and low-wage Fast Food Chain employment?

Yeah, all of that is discussed. It’s funny you mention that last one. There’s a song calledZipping Up The Uniform,” which is a parody of “Symptom of The Universe.” That’s like a newer idea where he’s singing about the plight of the fast food worker as opposed to directly speaking of the food. So, definitely all of those things are a part of what’s going on here.

d9689d66492c404d994dc47bb5f86b52As you are scheduled to perform Friday March 25th @ The Highline Ballroom in NYC with The U.S. Americans & SYKA, will Mac Sabbath be performing any new material & what can fans expect?

Umm…The first part of the question, the answer is “I don’t know.” Like I said, that one is coming. I don’t know if it’s coming that soon or not. That’s not up to me, so I don’t know, but as far as what fans can expect? It’s like an arena-sized stage show packed into a club. Giant lazer-eyed clowns and Ronald’s doing birthday party magic, pulling crazy, big things out of his pants, inflatable burgers bopping around on the crowd. So, there’s always something crazy going on at every show.

I mean look, if you want me to jump on stage in a Michelin Man outfit, I’m game. Like, if you need an extra, I don’t care, I’ll get up there. I’m silly like that, you know?

That is hilarious! (Laughs)

Was Black Sabbath initially the first band Mac Sabbath wanted to parody or were there other considerations  leading up to the band’s 2014 debut?

I don’t think Ronald considers any other music. You know what I mean? He’s 100% Black Sabbath, the original Black Sabbath is all it is and all it ever was. Somehow, in some way, this blend just works really well and I have no idea why. You kind of have to just see it to believe it.

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It’s as American as Apple Pie can be!

Yo, I like that! (Laughs) It’s one of those weird things where it’s like nobody knew that potatoes and chocolate were good together.

Is Mac Sabbath planning to release a studio album in the near future or is your act mainly focused on the live show experience?

It’s definitely focused on the live show experience. That’s literally what it’s about and there is a lot of pressure to do that right now with how fast things are moving and how big things are getting. There’s just a lot of pressure to do that. My job to try and get that rolling with Ronald is very difficult, so once again, you’ve got technology as a variable to deal with and he wants 8-Track tapes (Laughs). I have talked to several people and guess what? No one is producing 8-Track tape, much less making 8-Track tape players.

Wait, you mean you don’t want to spend $20,000.00 for reel-to-reel tape to record Mac Sabbath’s upcoming debut EP?

I’m working on it!

I’ll contact Ozzy. I’ll be like, “Look, help us with the Go-Fund-Me and we’ll take it from there, ya’ know? He’ll just mumble, you’ll see subtitles and Sharon Osbourne will just make things work.

That would be nice!

It will be sweet!

Mike Odd: “Sweet Beef!”

Oh, yes! “Sweet Beef!”
ozzy-mac-sabbathWho came up with the parodied song titles,“Pair-A-Buns” (“Paranoid“), “Frying Pan” (“Iron Man“), “Sweet Beef” (“Sweet Leaf“), “Never Say Diet” (“Never Say Die“) and “Zipping Up the Uniform” (“Symptom of the Universe“)?

That’s all Ronald, That’s all Ronald!

What is your opinion of comedic rock act, Steel Panther?

I love Steel Panther! I actually have my own band, Rosemary’s Billygoat and we’ve played with them a few times. I believe at the time they had a different name. They’ve changed their name quite a few times. They were Metal Shop. I think we played with Metal Shop and with Metal School, but we technically ended up playing with Steel Panther. That’s who my band, Rosemary’s Billygoat played with.SPBloody-Disgusting.com was quoted in stating, “I gotta’ give these guys some serious credit. The costumes are awesome, they stick to the theme like glue and they legitimately sound tight.”

NJ.com wrote “As a Black Sabbath cover band, they’re not bad. With the Mickey D costumes on, they’re hysterical”.

Australia’s FasterLouder.com boldly proclaimed them “The best fast food-themed Black Sabbath tribute band ever!”.

With all of the positive music reviews Mac Sabbath has received, did you expect the group to achieve such a high level of commercial success?

I honestly didn’t, know. As much as I loved it and it was my favorite thing ever since Black Sabbath, I didn’t think it was going to have the lot of appeal.

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What is was the longest, most extensive tour that Mac Sabbath has ever been a part of?

The Rocksham Shake Tour that we’re currently on right now. It’s the longest tour yet. It’s March and it’s celebrating creamy, green you know… (Laughs)…, in a fun way. The tour started in Texas and now we’re pulling into Alabama, going into Florida and then coming up to you guys in NY, all of the East Coast.

What was it like to perform at The 2015 Download Festival in England with Kiss, Motley Crue, Judas Priest etc. and does Mac Sabbath plan to play the festival in the future?

We would love to come back and do it again. It was amazing! (Laughs) That was probably the most people ever at one time. It was raining really hard, really muddy and really damn cool, fun and amazing. All of the bands were incredible and I am still in shock that we were playing with all of these gigantic legends. That mixed with the rain & the mud altogether, but it was fantastic. We had to spray Slayer MacCheeze’s sweet, leaky tent.

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What would be the signature sandwich or meal of choice on behalf of Mac Sabbath?

Oh, man! I don’t have anything lined up for that. Umm, I suppose combo #665 & ½ (Laughs).

Finally, what does the future hold for Mac Sabbath?

Well, I’m not quite sure, but Black Sabbath is on their tour called The End, but I can tell you it’s just beginning (Laughs). You can tell I’ve said that before!

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