On April 18, Buzz Osborne<\/a> will celebrate the release of his third album under the name Melvins 1983<\/a>, Thunderball<\/a><\/em>.\u00a0The band name references the fact that Melvins’ original drummer, Mike Dillard, is on the record with King Buzzo.<\/p>\n Osborne joined Loudwire Nights<\/em><\/a> on Tuesday (April 1) to dive into the record and many, many other things. Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.<\/p>\n “I’ve remained friends with Mike Dillard since we were in high school,” Osborne told host Chuck Armstrong<\/a>.<\/p>\n “We met and I’ve been friends with him ever since and talk to him, probably, on a weekly basis, whether we’re working or not.”<\/p>\n As Osborne put it, their initial friendship in high school was centered on a mutual love of music.<\/p>\n “He was one of the few people that was interested in the kind of music I was interested in,” he said. “I didn’t know anybody that had any interest in that kind of stuff I was into, so it was kind of nice to meet somebody that was at least a little bit open-minded.”<\/p>\n Osborne explained that it was actually Dillard’s idea to write music together as Melvins 1983 back when they released their first album under the moniker in 2013, Tres Cabrones<\/em>.<\/p>\n “He’s a union machinist, that’s his day job and that’s what he does,” Osborne said.<\/p>\n “We’re working musicians, that’s all we do, so you take that in mind as a songwriter and write to what his abilities are. It was something I’d never really thought of and it was a lot of fun to do. I had a great time doing it. So we’ve done it three times. It’s been really fun.”<\/p>\n Osborne grew up in a small town in Washington, which was one reason why it was so significant to meet a guy like Dillard who was into the same music that he was into.<\/p>\n “I mostly didn’t talk about music to anyone,” Osborne admitted. “I had no older brothers or friends that turned me onto anything. I found it all on my own, so I was just like an island.”<\/p>\n He said that he was a big fan of Led Zeppelin<\/a> and never lost his love for that band, even as he discovered other acts.<\/p>\n “Even though I’m punk rock to the bone, I still love Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd<\/a>, all those bands. I never saw any reason for me to disregard that stuff, you know?”<\/p>\n Even in a small town, Osborne made it a mission to find new bands to listen to.<\/p>\n “I started buying weird records \u2014 what I considered weird \u2014 like Bowie<\/a> in about ’77,” he recalled.<\/p>\n “I would buy them on mail order. You bought magazines like Creem<\/em>, Hit Parader<\/em>, that had pictures of rock bands in them. I would see pictures of a band like The Clash<\/a> or Sex Pistols<\/a> and then I would have no way of hearing what that sounded like, so I would order the records.”<\/p>\n Bowie seemed to be the artist\u00a0who really pushed Osborne into a rabbit hole of discovering more and more music that he would become a fan of.<\/p>\n “[He] turned me onto lots of other things,” he said.<\/p>\n “Once I found the Sex Pistols, I realized, oh, they did a cover of this band called The Stooges<\/a>. And then I found The Stooges. And then I found MC5<\/a> and I thought it just worked like that … Then lots of other punk rock, once it got to the early-’80s…just on and on and on.”<\/p>\n In addition to reflecting on his early days of finding new music, Osborne also shared his respect for Black Sabbath<\/a> ahead of the original lineup’s final show on July 5 in Birmingham<\/a>.<\/p>\n “The first song of the first album is the song ‘Black Sabbath’ \u2014 to me, that says all of it,” he said about what Sabbath means to him.<\/p>\n READ MORE:\u00a0Tony Iommi Reveals Why He Never Wanted to Change Black Sabbath’s Name<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n “I think that was the best song they ever did. That’s got the energy, the vibe \u2014 if I had to pick one song, that would be the song. If I had to play one song for someone who’d never heard Black Sabbath, it would be the song ‘Black Sabbath.’ What is this that stands before me<\/em>? Indeed.”<\/p>\n Osborne admitted he was never a fan of Ozzy Osbourne<\/a>‘s solo career, but he was always into Ronnie James Dio<\/a>‘s time with Sabbath.<\/p>\n “I think he kind of saved their asses,” Osborne shared.<\/p>\n “I think those records are really good. Sabbath, I think, is really great.”<\/p>\n Buzz Osborne\u00a0joined\u00a0<\/em>Loudwire Nights on Tuesday, April 1;\u00a0the show replays online here<\/a>, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET<\/a> or on the Loudwire app<\/a>; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station<\/a>\u00a0and listen to interviews on-demand<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The bands that are touring in 2025, who is opening and how to get tickets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gallery Credit: Lauryn Schaffner<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Loudwire](\"https:\/\/townsquare.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/loudwire.png?w=100\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\nHow Buzz Osborne Discovered Music In a Small Town<\/h3>\n
Buzz Osborne Names His Favorite Black Sabbath Song<\/h3>\n
What Else Did Buzz Osborne Discuss on Loudwire Nights<\/em>?<\/h3>\n
\n
Listen to the Full Interview\u00a0in the Podcast Player Below<\/h3>\n
2025 Rock + Metal Tour Guide<\/h2>\n