For awhile now, Bill Ward has been doing a monthly radio program out of WPMD (a college radio station at Cerritos College in California). This morning comes word that Bill Ward’s previous programs will be rerun in a special programming block.

WPMD.org’s “alternative stream” presents a Bill Ward Marathon. Every “Rock 50” show that the Black Sabbath drummer has done on WPMD over the last three years will be played, in order and repeated, from February 1st through the 8th.

From February 8th through the 15th, the WPMD.org “alternative stream” will celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the demise of the LA heavy metal legend — Pure Rock 105.5 KNAC-FM. The celebration will include full shows, special programs, special guests and historical tidbits from the final days leading up to the end on February 15, 1995, when KNAC-FM left the air. On February 15th the final 8 hours will play in the same time slot that closed out the station in 1995 — from 6am to 2pm. Special guests in those final hours include Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield of Metallica, along with air personalities from the entire history of “Pure Rock” 105.5 KNAC-FM.

For more information on Bill’s appearances on Rock 50, visit the “Rock 50 page“.

HAPPY NEW YEAR READER,

Well Ho, Ho, Ho came and went. I’m still trying to figure out who I want to send Christmas cards to. I’ve been trying to get myself to sit down and put pen to paper these past couple of weeks now to do a Year in Review.

It’s raining tonight, and the surf is high. We’re in the second night of a winter storm passing over Southern CA, U.S.A. Living on the beach, we’ve received notice of possible mild to moderate flooding. I put sandbags out earlier, dropped them against the front door, we ought to be OK.

My wife and I are supposed to be in TX tonight getting our daughter, and coming back home to LA. At about 5AM this morning, we made a decision to call off the TX trip until Sat., Jan 1st.

This Christmas has been really quiet, no kids this Christmas. I actually got to sleep in!! On Christmas Day, that was pretty good.

In thinking about the year, I’m grateful to be sober, and still alive. On Jan 2nd or 3rd 21 years ago, I was at the end of my life, as I understood it, I didn’t get to the end of my life overnight, I killed myself slowly, little by little. I never want what I had drinking, back again.

I’ve tried to be a human doing this year, and I’ve done my best to give when and where I could.

My personal life began to bloom again in ’04 with my wife and I and my daughter, Em, all putting in an incredible amount of hard work to better overcome the hurdles and impasses. My two boys, Nigel in TX, and Aeron in England, are doing great. Aeron, my oldest boy is making incredible music. My younger son, Nigel is participating in life. I feel most fortunate in knowing that both men live healthy lifestyles, not from my doing, it’s just working out that way. I have little or nothing to feel miserable about when I compare my kids to how I was when I was their ages.

I regret not finishing ‘Beyond Aston,’ and having it released in ’04. Everyone here who’s behind the project, all want to see the end result. I’ve had a tough time hanging with the project, myself. It’s been a long time in the making. I’ve written a lot of new stuff this year, in between ‘Beyond Aston’ tracks. Hopefully, this work is going to find a good home that can distribute it. We are shopping with one record company at this time.

The ‘Straws’ project has turned out pretty good. I was hoping to earn a lot of money for the various charities. We slashed the asking price, we’ve definitely raised money, and I thank all of you who have supported ‘Straws.’ The money will get to the proper people. I feel good that we did the project. We had some nice letters back from one or two actors and statesmen/stateswomen, and of course we got great feedback from you, the folks who bought it. Ozzy loves the song, raved about it, that helped a lot.

If there are any ‘Straws’ CDs left for sale, and you haven’t gotten one – Buy One! No, do as you will, I’m just jiving your ass.

Ozzfest, I had a good time. Tony I. and yours truly went out walking as often as possible. We had great conversations and great walks. He’s the best, and I’m honoured that I get to play drums with him. We’ve been together since we were nearly 16 years old. We’re both 56 now. We had a lot to talk about, especially the fact that it’s Sabbath’s 35th Anniversary in ’05. We’ ve been coming stateside for 35 years, in ’05. Of course at this time amidst the rumors gathering in clumps, and scattering across the airwaves of a new Sabbath album, I shall say nothing, but I do hope for a great time with Sabbath in ’05, if it can happen.

On my radio show, ”Rock 50,’ at wpmd.org, we’ll be doing a special 35th Anniversary portion for the entire 12 months of ’05. First show is January 15th, 11:00 AM ‘ 1:00 PM Pacific Time at wpmd.org. Check it out.

Back to Ozzfest, so we got rained on, and I was sorry we didn’t make West Palm Beach. The summer storms across America are most formidable, and this year’s Ozzfest had some brilliant storms. I call it God’s effects or God’s lending a hand to the stage show. Mind you, Priest got plenty of thunder and lightning on their shows, too. I had a great summer with Ozzfest. I loved playing, and it’s a pleasure, it’s a treat, to play with Tony and Geezer. They’re just such great players. It’s just incredible how things are turning out with the band. I thought Ozzy was absolutely brilliant coming from where he was mentally and physically. He overcame, he constantly improved, and he performed with a level of personal strength and conviction that must be recognized and applauded.

When he fell sick, we had a very difficult situation to deal with, and before going any further, I want to salute every single audience member at the now infamous Camden, NJ gig. I love playing Camden, and my heart went out to that audience. Rob Halford deserves a medal for coming in like he did. Rob was great. There is no doubt. I think that night everybody ‘ Tony, Geezer, Rob and myself worked our nuts off. We were very sorry that the Camden audience was disappointed, and at such a late hour in that day. We poured it out, and now I think there’s a live bootleg somewhere, of that show.

Ozzfest, with so many great bands. Slipknot, I think they made the best album of ’04. They need to be honoured. I think the guys are up for a Grammy. Outside of that, I think they deserve Best Album of ’04. Slayer, always brilliant, a great live band. Dimmu Borgir, outstanding band. Lacuna Coil, great people, great band. Judas Priest, what can you say, absolutely fucking great. I want to compliment all the drummers who played Ozzfest this year. The bar is lifted, and a new history of drumming is being born. There are many great drummers who’ve been carving new ideas and techniques for a while now. At Ozzfest this year, I thought we saw a pinnacle of just plain great drummers. I met most of them, some I’ve known for a while. Drumming in ’04 needs much applause. The advancements are nothing short of incredible and beyond.

We say goodbye to many this year. Most notably, and because of the recent tragedy, is Dimebag from the great band Damageplan and of course Pantera. Among others, we also say goodbye to Ray Charles, British radio pioneer John Peel, and on a personal note, Rigger Dan from the Ozzfest crew.

Going back for a moment to Mr. Peel, I think it’s valid to raise a speculative question. Had it not been for John Peel, I question whether Sabbath’s music would have ever reached the airwaves at a national media level in the U.K. in 1969. Pondering that thought for a moment, it’s scary to realize that without airplay, Sabbath’s demise could have come in ’69. Scary thought, leaving hard rock/heavy metal in the balance.

Bush is still President, and music will be as it has always been, powerful and comforting, enlightening and energizing in times of despair or hopelessness, or in times of happiness and strength. We’re still at war, and while young men and women continue to die and receive injury, I’ll do all I can to participate in helping organizations who really help those in harm’s way. I’ll continue, along with my peers and as many musicians that come across my path, to uphold life for all beings and continue to encourage peace. And yes, I support war because sometimes war is inevitable. I’m not anti-war, but at the same time, I hate war, and I hate that people are suffering and dying because of it.

So we go into ’05 at war, and in the shadow of a tsunami that killed thousands and thousands. Old institutions are dying and youth deserves more credibility. Not enough people are saying ‘objectification’ is a crime against mankind. We have really good medicines now for people like me with heart diseases. I hope someone will stand up for old buildings in the U.S.A. and pass a law to stop knocking them down. Again, Bob Dylan’s lyrics from ‘The Times They Are A-Changin” wreak with intelligent insight and form pillars as strong as time itself. The song’s great, play it.

So what time is it? It’s Midnight, Dec. 28th, I just ended writing this piece, the wind is howling and the seka palm and palms period are bowing 45 degrees. The waves are pounding onto the shore and rattling this house’s very foundation.

Happy New Year, Everyone. There’s much to look forward to, and yeah, even if your life is ending or you want to end your life, there’s still much to look forward to. Remember (I know we’ve heard it all before), but suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. So go out and kick ass.

Shit, there’s even really good solutions and ways out of despair and life threatening mental illness and addictions. Not bad, I guess, if that’s your bag in ’05. Again, Happy New Year.

Yours,
Bill Ward

Bill adopted a turkey this holiday season, and wanted you all to meet him. Here’s Abraham..

For this holiday season, Bill Ward has made available for download one of his songs. The song he’s made available is “Light Up the Candles (Let There Be Peace Tonight)” in mp3 format. This song is from Bill’s first solo album “Ward One: Along the Way”, and was originally released back in 1990.

This is a special gift from Bill to his website visitors during this holiday season. However, this is a limited time download, come January 1, 2005 – the download will be withdrawn, so if you’re interested in it, grab it now (legally, too!) from the sounds page here on billward.com. Enjoy!

If you’d like to discuss the release of this song, you can do so here on the billward.com forums!

Last night while watching TV, I heard President Bush approving of the newest Republican ad, I guess in part, to further admonish John Kerry. I have no public opinion on either Bush’s tactics or Kerry’s tactics, however, I feel outraged that wolves were used for this ad to symbolize terrorists via/and/or to play upon man’s fear of wolves now and through the centuries.

What a cheap shot. I’m appalled by this utterly disrespectful attitude towards one of the most charismatic animals on Earth. I find this ad highly inappropriate and numbing. The wolf is part of America’s heritage and landscape, and to use this animal with apparently no conscious respect for it is degrading. I resent that the current administration would use these incredible animals in its verbal brawl with Kerry.

–Bill Ward.

I GOT PRIDE
IT’S LIKE YOU CAN TRIP ME OVER
BUT I WON’T FALL DOWN
UNTIL I’M A MILE
OUT OF YOUR SIGHT

© BILL WARD QUOTE 6/10/04

If you’re reading this, then you’ve already seen the big news – a new site design has been placed online! The last update was ages ago, back in 1999 – it was most definitely time for an overhaul. The information on the site is the same, it just is now housed in a much prettier environment. 🙂

Let us know what you think of the new site layout in this thread on Bill’s forums.

Bill released this statement today regarding Ozzfest 2004 and his participation. Here it is.

June 3, 2004

Dear Sabbath People,

My very best respect to you.

I have read the new Ozzfest statement that it’s going to be an original member line-up for Ozzfest ’04.

In the immortal words of Buddy Holly, “Well alright.”

And while maintaining some disagreement with the Ozzfest statement verbiage, all I can say is “God Bless Black Sabbath. Let’s Fxxx-in’ Rock.”

Rock & Shine,
Bill Ward

In the wee hours of the morning, I received another statement from Bill Ward regarding the Ozzfest 2004 situation. Without further ado, here it is. If there are any further developments, they will definitely be posted here.

Dear Sabbath People,

I have communicated to Sharon that I will accept the proposal of 5/11/04 regarding me playing Ozzfest, and today I received a very positive response from her. At this time, I am taking this response as a move forward. This announcement is for the benefit of all those who these past few days have been so outspoken favouring and supporting me as a member of Sabbath. I personally thank all of you. To All Sabbath People On Earth – Rock & Shine.

-Bill Ward
5/20/04

UPDATE: After having posted this statement from Bill, several sites are reporting that Bill is back in Black Sabbath for Ozzfest 2004. Please be aware that this has not happened yet. This statement just means there are discussions, and while said discussions might lead to Bill being on the Ozzfest tour, it has not happened yet. Any further developments will be covered here.

Earlier today, the news broke that Black Sabbath was to headline Ozzfest 2004, with a lineup of Ozzy Osbourne/Tony Iommi/Geezer Butler/Mike Bordin – without Bill Ward on drums. Here is a statement from Bill Ward about Ozzfest 2004.

“Dear Sabbath People,

This morning I received the very sad news that Mike Bordin is to play drums with Black Sabbath on Ozzfest ’04.

Black Sabbath is, and always will be an important priority in my life. I support Geezer’s, Tony’s and Ozzy’s decisions to move ahead into Ozzfest ’04 without me. I can appreciate they may not be overjoyed with the decision, and I’d really like to be with them. Nothing would please me more than to be a part of the show.

Last week I did receive a proposal which allowed no room for negotiation. It was a cul-de-sac proposal in my opinion, where the only answer was yes or no. I was asked to respond by Friday. May 14th. I wrote a brief letter of decline on Thursday, May 13th. I answered directly at the proposal, and left out any personal comments, other than I was sad to have to decline. What I did not put in my response was this:

I’m willing to be flexible
I’m willing to compromise
I’m willing to negotiate
I’m willing to play.

I understand and believe in a united front when it comes to Sabbath. I can appreciate the fallout from such a decision will upset some people, and I am so sorry. I’m more than willing to support Ozzfest in any way I can.

I’ve walked down this street before when Sabbath did the first reunion without me and had Mike Bordin play instead. I want you to know, I’m not being the bad guy here. I’m not trying to hold anyone to ransom. And I’m not trying to reverse my decision to decline in hope of a positive managerial response to this letter.

I’m ready, willing and able to rock. There are some details on the proposal that don’t work for me. I guess it’s a case of the importance of things on both sides and I think that’s all I can say for now.”