FIVE YEAR TOUR OF THE GONOSPHERE

                           by CHRIS PIERCE

Now is a great time to be ensconced in Black - Sabbath that is. Metalheads the world over are waving their fists in furious unison to applaud the return of the Masters of Reality, who with Ward, Iommi, Butler, and of course , the Ozz-man in full tow, embark on their first nationwide assault in as long as the platforms on Dio,s fairy boots. Supporting their newly waxed, double live disc Reunion, which features two new original studio recordings, Sabbath,s huge influence and perseverance in the face of the ever- changing musical climate is a testament to both their groundbreaking sound and the undying loyalty of  their fans- some of which, as with the band Sabbra Cadabra, have meticulously dedicated a whole show in tribute to the godfathers of metal.

Sabbra Cadabra are the definitive Sabbath homage, dead- on in both visual and musical representation. A necessity for any fan of   Sabbath or the genere in general.

I had the pleasure of conducting this interview over the phone with drummer Tom relaying dialogue to and from the rest of his band. Be sure to check them out Nov. 25 at the Tavern in the Park Tributefest in Roselle Park.

The band play the parts of their honorees as follows : Dan Toto is Tony Iommi ; Joe Donnelly is Ozzy Osbourne ; Jeff Mott is Geezer Butler ; and Tom Capobianco is Bill Ward.

Give us the abbreviated story of Sabbra Cadabra.

Joe and Dan had another Sabbath tribute before this one, but it was sorta the no- frills , stripped down version. They didnt dress up, and the whole package wasnt really together. Me & Jeff were in another band, and we heard about these guys, and we all just kinda merged together. After a couple of months of phone bullshit, we found ourselves in the same room together, and blasted thru like 12 or 15 songs right off. In October we just hit our 5 year anniversary show.

Why Black Sabbath, not Three Dog Night or Pat Boone ?

Sabbath was just our favorite band out of everybodys favorites. Also, there were some other tributes starting out then , a good Zeppelin band , a couple of us are into KISS, and there was already a KISS tribute, and once you get past those bands for tributes , Sabbath is an easy choice. All of us , when we were younger , would walk around in our Sabbath jackets, or I had a vest I wore , and that was what we liked.

Put into words what Black Sabbath means to you .

Total real power music, minus the bullshit. Straight from Ozzy,s mouth. Danny says theyre the first heavy metal band. If not for them, there would be no other harder bands ; this one for sure. They changed the history of music.

How is the crowd reaction to your accuracy in your tribute ?

We hear from a lot of people, at shows , thru our website or e - mail, just talking to us, and they are amazed at how closely we do the songs to the studio albums. And not just the sound either : everybody looks the part, people hear tapes and cant tell - even myself - if this is a bootleg or a last show. Its scary. We even have the same gear ; they used the old Orange amps , coily cords , the actual guitars they used. The platform shoes, the bell bottoms, the white outfit with the fringe on the sleeves; we got the look, the sounds , and the attitude , with Ozzy drunk and outa control, falling on the floor, its wild.

Whats your favorite album and song ?

I like em all, man, really. Ozzy especially, and I like Dio and the Ian Gillan album, but theres not one I could say. And everybodys agreeing on that .

Whats your view on the current NJ cover scene ?

It aint the 70,s no more, thats for sure. Or the 80,s for that matter. Its pretty bad. All the bigger clubs seem to be dying out. We play 10 - 12 times a month, and we bought a PA system to play at these smaller places, and thats how we keep super busy while others are bombing out now. Joe was saying most bands are playing the crap you can hear on the radio any time of the day, and we,d rather see a band playing stuff you dont hear every day. We know the state of radio today ; its pretty sick. 

Do you think New Jersey is still metal ?

Not really. Philly is pretty metal. New York is looking for the next thing, and Jersey is stuck.

What clubs have the biggest fanatical Sabbath following ?

Definately Upstairs at Nicks in Philly. Theres bloodshed when we play there. The Wreckroom is always a good show. The Limeilight was a big Sabbath place. We were Hells house band there before it closed. Nyack New York likes us a lot . A bunch of angel dust freaks up there go berserk, come up front, and they know every word. Theyre all out there in the gonosphere !

Whats the craziest show experience youve had ?

Richmond Virginia... at a place called the Factory which isnt there any more. It was in the middle of August , and the club had no A.C., and there were very few clothed women by the end of the show, everyone onstage ,breaking bottles and shit. I got worried about my drums for a while, All out of control.....