ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD
Ronnie James Dio Talks to All Access Magazine
Article/Interview by The Atomic Chaser & The Rocker

The first time I met Ronnie James Dio is one that I will always remember. I had just written my review for his album, 'ANGRY MACHINES'. His guitar player at the time, Tracy G. called me and asked if I could bring it down to rehearsals so that he could read it. So when I arrive at the rehearsal studio, I walk in the door and who do I run into pouring himself a cup of coffee, the man himself, Ronnie James Dio! "Hi I'm Ronnie." and shook my hand. I tried my best to keep my composure. I just shook the hand of a rock legend! I told him I wanted to drop off my review for his album. "You have it with you?, " he asked. Nervously I answered, yes. "I'd love to read it, do you mind?” Oh boy! Ronnie James Dio was going to read a review I wrote and read it right in front of me! I handed him my review and he began to read it. Great, I'm thinking to myself, he's going to hate it! He's going to tell me to get the hell out and never want to see my face again. After he read it, he looks at me, surprisingly with a smile, "Thank you very much, it's great! You hit the nail right on the head." I've written tons of reviews, but this was the first time I had the artist read a review I wrote right in front of me. Definitely one of the highlights for me as a rock journalist.

RONNIE JAMES DIO – the legendary voice of a career that has rocked millions worldwide for three decades, harnessing the incomparable power behind such Black Sabbath and Rainbow classics as “Neon Nights,” “The Mob Rules,” “Heaven and Hell,” “Man on the Silver Mountain,” and “Stargazer”. DIO – the enchanting solo band responsible for timeless rock masterpieces like “Holy Diver,” “Rainbow In The Dark,” “The Last In Line,” “Rock N Roll Children” and “I Could Have Been A Dreamer.” DIO – the musical brilliance - an archetype in the annals of hard rock, unmistakably enchanting and riveting.

Ronnie James Dio is more than a legend; he is a force of nature. 2004 finds Ronnie James Dio returning with his latest release, 'MASTER OF THE MOON'. The Rocker and I got the opportunity to talk to Ronnie about his latest masterpiece, his new band and about his upcoming world tour. Here is what Ronnie shared with us…..

AAM: How did you come up with the title, 'MASTER OF THE MOON'?

RJD: " It sounded the best from the titles of songs we had for the new album. It also made for cool artwork for the cover. As well as making some great looking T-shirts."

AAM: 'MASTER OF THE MOON' has more of a dark vibe to it. Unlike on your previous outings where the theme was based on fantasy. This time around you target the grim reality of life that is in the world today.

RJD: "I don't think one can be considered a caring person if you start hiding behind fantasy when all these things are going on in the world today. When we were writing, 'MASTER OF THE MOON', there was nothing but extreme terror, like it's changed, all around. No one knew when the next bomb would hit or when the next plane was going to a building. There was incredible paranoia out there. People dying left and right in Africa, global warming, the war in Iraq, etc. I, being a person of the world, was really affected by what going on around me. 'MASTER OF THE MOON' is a reflection of that. When I reunited with Black Sabbath for the Dehumanizer album after 12 years, everyone expected us to do another album like Heaven And Hell, and we ended up going in completely the opposite direction. I don't think it was a preconceived notion for us to do an album like Dehumanizer [with the new material], but you can definitely hear a lot of similar qualities inside of this one. I think circumstances and current events made us want to stray far from the fantasy elements, and the album became heavier.”

AAM: You've toured the world over playing to millions of fans. How do you prepare yourself for a tour?

RJD: "The only thing we do is rehearse before a tour. I really need to prepare about a week before we go on the road. Knowing that I will be singing for 2 hours a night. No one can just go out on stage and sing after being off a month, which we were. Luckily, I've done lots of interviews and that helps a lot (laughs). What it comes down to for me is rehearsing. We'll change a few songs around, we'll add a few, subtract a few. It's very important because it gives us a chance to get back into the swing of things. So we're not having to learn when we go on stage. "

AAM: Is 'The Master Of The Moon' going to be any different than your previous tours, length wise?

RJD: "This tour is actually a bit shorter. This tour is going to be about a month. We would have loved to go longer, but with the label changing the release date earlier than we had prepared for, it kinda threw things off. We had everything ready. We played Europe before the album was released."

AAM: How did your tour in Europe go?

RJD: “Europe was just unbelievable; it was such a joy every night to be on the stage. As were the shows we did in South America. It was truly amazing!"

AAM: What about for your fans here in America?

RJD: "We're going to do some tracks from the new album to show the people what we've created; we'll do some things that we haven't done in years (some things that Rudy requested). We always try to give the live show a good cross section of the important parts of my career, obviously Sabbath and Rainbow and, of course, the body of work from Dio. It's just an amazing set of music; probably the best live set we've ever done.”

AAM: It's so amazing how you've been in this business for so long and still going strong.

RJD: "Sometimes it can be difficult. When you've done as many albums as I have its easy to paint yourself in a corner. But after I finish recording an album, I can breathe a sigh of relief and say wow I made it through another one, hope I can do it again on the next one."

AAM: Talk to us about your band.

RJD: "This band really cooks. We have Craig Goldy on guitars, Simon Wright on drums, Scott Warren on keyboards and our latest member, Rudy Sarzo. This is definitely the best line-up I've had. Rudy (Sarzo) has made such a difference for us. He thinks the way we do. He's like a family member. Rudy is also something really special. He's so damn good at what he does; live he gives us a real sense of unity. He gives us everything we want; his showmanship is unparalleled. Rudy is just phenomenal, and I hope he will agree to perform on our next studio album as well. Anyone who has been with us through the years, knows that my main concern is for the band. It's not about me, I've had my success. I never really cared about success. I would have been happy just being the bass player in the band and not be the singer.

AAM: We heard a rumor that there is a 'Hear 'N' Aid 2' is the works?

RJD: “We already have one track in place for Hear'N Aid 2. We're going to utilize additional guitar players and singers, like we did last time. I think its important that we grab some of the younger people to get involved with this one, and there will obviously be some people from the past on it as well, schedules permitting.”

AAM: Do you ever look back and admire what you've done for the music world?

RJD: " No I don't. I think once you start looking back to admire yourself its time for you to probably stop. See what I do is take an audience and divide them up when I play. There are the dedicated fans who have supported me throughout the years. Then the other half are the people the fans brought along with them to the show. These are the people who were told by the fans that, "You've got to check Ronnie James Dio out, he's great!” That just puts more of a burden on me. I don't want my fans being told by their friends, "What the hell were you talking about? This guys SUCKS!". I want my fans to be able to turn to that person and say, you see I told you. And to those people they brought along to say, you were right!". So I think if you look back and admire what you've done, you're probably not ready to carry on with your career."

AAM: Ronnie, thank you so much for your time. It was great talking to you again. Any messages we can along to your fans for you?

RJD: "Thank you. It was a pleasure doing the interview. Let the fans know that we are so thankful for their support they've given us. We look forward to seeing them at the shows and having a great time!"

Ronnie Jamnes Dio's work is far from finished, 'MASTER OF THE MOON' is just another chapter in his long illustrious career. Knowing Ronnie he's got a lot more up his sleeve and The Rocker and I can't wait to see what he comes up with next! We'd like to thank Ronnie for sharing with us. It was truly an honor.
The Atomic Chaser and The Rocker

For more info on Ronnie James Dio, please check out The Official Ronnie James Dio Website:

www.ronniejamesdio.com