Thank you, Syd for the brilliant lyrics, melodies and songs.

Like so many you touched, you reached me also and provoked much to contemplate.

Rest in peace, Syd. My condolences to your family.

Syd and Gerald forever.

–Bill Ward (Black Sabbath)

Comment:

It’s plain, if we look at history, that bombing “the enemy” (these days we can include missiles, also) will only unite a country or a city.

Bombing kills and maims and destroys material worth; it scars the hearts of those still alive (like many, my parents were bombed multiple times, I’ve heard their scars.) Eventually bombing/missile attacks will win nothing, in my opinion.

I think the only positive effect that comes from being attacked is the unification of those in peril. It’s well written historically how people of all nations have tightened their belts, dug in and fought for life itself, overcoming anything “the enemy” tried to destroy. From the London Blitz to Stalingrad, Berlin, Vietnam and Iraq, it’s so obvious that the missiles and bombs bring no real solution to anything.

–Bill

P.S. For those glued to CNN, I humbly suggest the following:

1. Educate yourself in the word objectification.
2. Stop using escalating words and statements, i.e. World War III.
3. Have an open mind and maybe don’t gather up all of the world’s trouble spots, potential, or otherwise (media-fanned), and amplified for dramatic effect, to hit yourself over the head with fear. Don’t do that. You’re worth more, way more, than that.
4. Pray President Bush will preside with an open mind and not be one-sided and judgmental to all those in conflict at this time. A humanitarian process to stop the guns and back off, I hope, will be forthcoming.

H! Everybody. It’s Bill.

I wanted to check in to make an announcement about a change in the upcoming Hardcore show’s format. As some of you know, Syd Barrett, one of the founding musicians of Pink Floyd, died recently. Towards the last 30 minutes of the show, we’ll be playing some of Syd’s most memorable songs, and possibly “Shine on You Crazy Diamond” by Pink Floyd.

Regular listeners to Rock 50’s Hardcore show know that we pretty much pound away two hours of very, very heavy metal tracks, however, Syd’s death has to be acknowledged, and a tribute to him is essential.

Other bands appearing on the show this month – new Shadows Fall, Devil Driver, As Hope Dies, Celtic Frost, Ice Pick and many more.

Check out the show if you can this Saturday, July 22nd at 11:00 AM Pacific Time.

Rock always,
Bill

In addition to the Summer Sale program, Bill is also starting a series of ebay auctions. The first item up for auction at Ebay is an authentic Black Sabbath drumhead autographed by Bill Ward.

This drumhead is a Remo Snare Drumhead played by Bill Ward from 08-06-05 in East Troy, WI and retired after the Cynthia Woods Pavilion concert in Houston, TX on 08-27-05. The drumhead was autographed by Bill Ward on 05-31-06. Here is a picture of the drumhead (click on it for a larger picture):

This auction starts this evening (Fri, June 30th) at 8PM Eastern Time (in the US). Here is a link to the Ebay auction page. Please note it will generate an error until the auction has actually started.

Finally, if you are the winner of this auction, Bill will personalize the drumhead for you!

As Bill mentioned in the latest audio diary a few weeks ago, he’s having a Summer Garage Sale. Several new items are now available to order, plus the items that were already in the merchandise page have had their prices dropped. Here’s a list of the details:

Existing Item Price Drops

• When the Bough Breaks CD, price dropped from $10 to $5.
• When the Bough Breaks Poster, price dropped from $7 to $4.
• Ward One Poster, price dropped from $7 to $4.
• Straws Charities minimum donation dropped from $35 to $10.

New Items for the Summer Sale

• Snakes & Ladders Radio Promo CD – $5
• When the Bough Breaks “Naked” CD – $5
• Snakes & Ladders T-Shirt (M, L, XL) – $10
• Animals T-Shirt (M, L, XL) – $10
• Hate T-Shirt (M, L, XL) – $10
• Tall Stories T-Shirt (M, L, XL) – $10

Pictures of all of these items are available right now on Bill’s Merchandise page, so go check ’em out, and help Bill clean out his garage! Please note however, that orders will not ship until July 10th, so if you place an order right now, that is when they will commence shipping.

Bill has sent in the the 14th edition of his Audio Diary series. This new edition, totaling 33:56 in length is available right now. It was recorded on Saturday June 3rd, but due to some technical problems was not placed online until June 13th. Here’s some of the highlights of what Bill has to say in this edition:

• Updates on his radio show on what’s coming, including some music from LunarMile; the band fronted by Toni-Marie Iommi
• Update on his column for Hails & Horns magazine
• Updates on Beyond Aston, including some track specifics. One is named “Where You Are Is Not Forever”. Bill does play drums on one song, that being “Poppies”.
• Working on creating Beyond Aston from a technical and drumming aspect as well as going into some heavy detail on drumming issues.
• Bill’s attempts at staying fit
• Talks about a summer garage sale he’s planning on selling some memorabilia off, and some special items that will be going on ebay. (Details on this will be posted in the next day or so).
• Talks briefly about Straws (which will is also on sale under the garage sale).

There’s plenty more to hear as well, so make sure to check it all out. Here’s the link to the audio diary:

https://www.billward.com/sounds/diary060306.m4a

(Right click and select “Save As” or “Save Link As” and save the file to your hard drive, don’t just click this)

You need one of any number of free audio players (Winamp, iTunes, or Musicmatch Jukebox) to play this file. Don’t forget about Bill’s Podcast for the diaries, you can get more info on that here.

You can discuss the audio diary in this thread on Bill’s forums here on billward.com. A short note, if you have Windows Media player, you may have to rename the file extension from m4a to mp4 to get the file to play right in that player.

Beginning this month, Bill will contribute a regular column, titled “Forte, Please” to new Metal magazine, Hails & Horns. The June 2006 issue is arriving in stores now and can be purchased at major music retail outlets, including Tower, Hot Topic, Borders, Barnes and Noble, Virgin, Newbury Comics, FYE, Strawberries, and Coconuts. Hails & Horns is a quarterly publication with the second issue due in September 2006.

Here is an excerpt from Bill’s first column:

From the childhood influences of Rock-n-Roll, Jazz and Blues, to Black Sabbath’s embryonic stirrings, past the mayhem of the 70’s to the Sgt. Pepper triumph of the 90’s, Metallica’s “Black Album”, and more recently, to the enlightening “Vol.3: The Subliminal Verses” by Slipknot, I have been immersed in music and, in saying that, I feel incredibly humbled and fortunate to still be a part of all of this momentum. My peers, and there are a lot of them, they too are still above ground, devouring the future with broad strokes of loud guitars, critical drumming and risking their very souls in the harshness and joys of life. I say again, I’m fortunate and delighted. I am a fan – a great place to be at 58 – and based on the above, I guess I qualify on some level as a person who could share something about Metal.

I’ll begin…

Saturday’s Rock 50 show marks a return to the Classics with the first special edition of Bill’s Rock 50 show. During the first hour, Bill will showcase songs by artists who were influential to him personally, and who, in his opinion, also set the course for this new direction in Rock. This set will include ground-breaking tracks such as “Shapes of Things” by The Yardbirds, The Doors’ “Break on Through,” Cream’s “White Room,” The Pretty Things’ “Defecting Grey” and “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane – songs that broadened the spectrum of Rock with dark, eerie sounds and rough edges. Also listen for key tracks by The Who, Led Zeppelin, and of course, Black Sabbath. In Part 2 of the show, Bill expands on the groundwork laid down in the 60’s with a hard-hitting line-up of artists, including Rainbow, Deep Purple, AC/DC, Iron Maiden and Motorhead.

You asked for it, and now the Classics are back. Tune in Saturday and remember to keep checking the Rock 50 page for the next Classic Metal edition.

On Rock 50 this Saturday, April 22, Bill will feature Part 3 in his interview series with In Flames. Also on deck are tracks from Zombie, Dillinger Escape Plan, Immortal, Mastodon, Exodus and 30-Round Clip, a brilliant new band out of LA. Other highlights: the phenomenal live version of “A Bid Farewell” by Killswitch Engage and Korn¹s ³Tearjerker.² Tune in this Saturday!

Something I didn’t say on the night of March 13, 2006 at the Waldorf Astoria, New York, NY. Better late than never. I’d planned to put up a Thank You to the band on my web site the week of the Hall of Fame. Finally, several weeks later, here’s the Thank You.

I’d like to thank Tony, Geezer and Ozzy for a lifetime of fun, achievements, musical satisfaction, musical progress, unity, love, laughter, wonderful memories, strength to accomplish, and valuable life lessons. I could probably add an infinite list of gifts I’ve received from them, however, I’ll share the March 13th accolades with a short story instead.

On the morning of March 13, 2006, Walter and I were finishing our walk through Central Park. Heading out of the park near Columbus Circle to go toward 5th Avenue, we walked past several construction workers sitting on benches against the wall of the park. I guess it was around lunch time, and these ruddy-faced workers were on chow break. My eyes met one of the workers, and I half acknowledged a nod to him. After walking past the guy, I sensed someone had gotten up and was coming towards my back.

“Yo, Bill Ward, Bill Ward!”

Walter and I stopped, and a bulky guy with a grin from ear to ear asked,
“Bill Ward, right? What the fuck you’s doing here?”

“Hall of Fame,” says I.

His New York/New Jersey accent bowling me over somewhat, “Hall of Fame! Congratulations! Sabbath deserves it! I’m with the Iron Workers Union, New York.” He said it with such pride. He deserved immediate respect. “We love Sabbath… all my life…Sabbath.”

Then he pointed to a building across the street under construction. “We’re on the 7th floor right now, going to 38 stories [I think he said 38].” I glanced at the iron framework, solid and echoing New York’s greatness.

“Bill, so’s you know, we play Sabbath everyday in our building,” I felt completely honoured as he continued talking, “everyday, man, Sabbath on every floor. ‘Iron Man,’ ‘War Pigs,’ all the way to the top.”

I felt truly moved by the sincerity of this larger-than-life man. We shook hands, and I thanked him. I couldn’t have received a nicer compliment or gift that day, even with the Awards still ahead. I felt my day had already been made, and I mentioned as much to Walter as we walked away. I regretted Tony (Tony Iommi) wasn’t with us. Tony and I walk regularly in Central Park when we’re in New York. I think he (Tony) would have gotten a huge kick out of this New York encounter.

A new reality awoke inside me, and I saw with much insight the rippling effect of Sabbath’s reach – the iron worker playing Sabbath on every floor, to the top of “his” building in the heart of New York, New York. Again, I want to thank that iron worker and send all my best regards to all the iron workers in that great city and across America.

This short story I dedicate to Tony, Geezer and Ozzy, who got the most sincere accolades from a Sabbath fan, who builds high. In their absence on that Monday, March 13th morning, I guess I did the Thank You’s on the band’s behalf.

In summary, these are things you keep close to the heart. These memories and these precious moments somehow make the world go around more easily.

My sincere thanks to Tony, Geezer and Oz. Without them, there would be no story, and our world surely would be less without them.

Sabbath Forever.

–Bill Ward