Greg Prato, reporting for Ultimate-Guitar.com:
George Lynch was certainly one of the top shredders of the '80s who left quite an impression on metal guitarists in his wake. The same could be said about any musician who played with Ozzy Osbourne - all of them were nothing short of impressive. However, unfortunately, Lynch never really got the spot in The Prince of Darkness' band, despite having all of the necessary skills to perform all of Randy Rhoads' parts.
As George Lynch is promoting his new project Casandra's Crossing with Casandra Carson and their upcoming album, Garden Of Earthly Delights, we took some time to speak to the guitarist and discuss his work and career. One of the things we touched upon was the chance to join Ozzy Osbourne's band, which eventually got rejected by both the singer and his wife, Sharon Osbourne.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: What was your brief period with Ozzy like and how did it come to an end?
George Lynch: "Well, it wasn't my first time up for that gig. It was my third time. So I was kind of feeling like, 'OK, well, this time's real. This time it's going to stick.' And I had time to prepare.
"Warren DeMartini tutored me, because I wasn't really good at picking everything apart, because Randy Rhoads' stuff is very difficult, as you can imagine. Very unorthodox and not really right down my lane. I was just kind of, 'What the hell is he playing here? The timing's weird and the chord… I can't figure it out.' And so, Warren helped me figure it out.
"And then I went in. I knew the material. And, they flew me around. I went to Scotland. I went to Ireland, England, back to Texas for rehearsals. Did some touring, but I didn't walk on stage during the show. I'd do soundchecks with him occasionally and stuff like that. And just hung with the band. And I think they wanted to see how I fit chemistry-wise with everyone.
"But they had two problems with me. Ozzy had a problem with my short hair. I had short hair at the time. And, and then his wife had a problem with my green guitar. She said it looked like a booger. Didn't care what it sounded like, didn't care what I was playing."
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Casandra's Crossing, the new musical alliance between guitar legend George Lynch and powerhouse singer Casandra Carson, recently shared a new track, "Impatient", alongside a visualizer, available to watch below. The single is the second off their upcoming album, Garden Of Earthly Delights, out October 25 via Frontiers Music Srl.
Casandra comments on “Impatient": "'Impatient' was one of those songs that kind of wrote itself when it came to the lyrics and the melodies. I would let the music play and just sing along in the moment to see what would come out, and I found myself singing about the hardships of being in a long-distance relationship. Wishing that person was there to celebrate the good times, help you through the bad times, and holding off on experiences so you can enjoy them together once they’re back, all require an insane amount of patience, and it’s really difficult to sustain sometimes. If anyone in a long distance relationship hears this song, I just hope they know that they’re not alone.”
The musical chemistry between these two talented artists has created a magnificent modern hard rock album that showcases Lynch's trademark riffage driven by the outstanding voice of Casandra Carson, who is set to be the next rock singing sensation.
About Garden Of Earthly Delights, Casandra adds: “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever meet, let alone collaborate with such a legend as George Lynch! It was an absolute honor and pleasure to work with him on this record. George’s tracks were so cool and inspiring, it was probably some of the most fun I’ve ever had writing lyrics and melodies. I truly couldn’t be more proud of this album, and I’m so excited to finally share it with the rest of the world.”
George Lynch emerged from the '80s hard rock scene with the L.A.-based group Dokken and went on to become a world-renowned guitarist. Aside from Dokken, he has also enjoyed great success with Lynch Mob, the group he founded after leaving Dokken.
Lynch has gone on to become a prolific music creator, continuing with Lynch Mob, releasing solo albums, and a wealth of collaborative efforts over the decades. Those include but are not limited to, KXM with Doug Pinnick (King's X) and Ray Luzier (Korn), The End Machine with Jeff Pilson (Foreigner, ex-Dokken), Mick Brown (ex-Dokken), and Girish Pradhan (Girish & The Chronicles), Sweet & Lynch with Michael Sweet (Stryper), Ultraphonix with Corey Glover (Living Colour), and The Banishment with Joe Haze.
Casandra Carson is best known for her work fronting the Midwestern hard rock band Paralandra. Founded in 2013 with a strong DIY ethic, Paralandra found themselves on radio charts and festival stages in no time and by 2018 had a record deal, national tours supporting the likes of Saliva, Tantric, and Dokken, and even found themselves performing aboard the KISS Kruise. The band remains active and their most recent studio album, produced by the legendary Michael "Elvis" Beskette, came out in April of this year.
Pre-order Garden Of Earthly Delights here.
Tracklisting:
"Stranger"
"Impatient"
"Closer To Heaven"
"Ring Me Around"
"Devastatiing Times"
"Waltzing Nites"
"Just Business"
"Mind Eraser"
"Run For Your Life"
"Wicked Woman"
"Kneel Before You"
"Stranger" visualizer:
