| · What does SDMF stand for? Society Dwelling Mother Fucker and Strength Determination Merciless Forever |
| · What does GIFD stand for? Get It Fucking Done |
| · What does tBLOt stand for? Black Label Order, the “t” on either side is supposed to represent a cross |
| · How can I contact Zakk and the band? You can contact Zakk personally by going to his twitter account at www.twitter.com/zakkwyldebls. There is contact info for other band members on the Links page. |
| · Does Zakk Wylde ride a motorcycle? No he does not. He also used a stunt double for the Suicide Messiah video. |
| · Is Black Label Society an MC? (Motorcycle Club) Black Label Society is not a Motorcycle Club (MC). Black Label Society is only a band. Black Label Society has NO Motorcycle Club affiliations, however in the past Zakk has talked with MC’s about the BLS Colors. |
| · How do I get patches/vests/wrist bands/guitar straps? Back in the late 90’s/early 2000’s, it used to be that the vests and BLS patches were controlled by Zakk, and only given to people that he feels have earned the right to wear them, specifically people directly associated with the band. But now, anybody can get vests, wrist bands, and guitar straps through Red Monkey Designs other merch can be purchased at the Official Black Label Society Store. There are also many links on this site to purchase the patches from Amazon. |
| · How do I start or join a Chapter? The BLS “Chapters” system is not any sort of official club or organization, it is just a way to describe a BLS fan from a certain area. For example, if you are a BLS fan and live in New Jersey, you are automatically a member of the New Jersey Chapter. Please note that there are no “chapter leaders”, “chapter presidents”, or anything of the sort and there never will be. (Most likely there would be too much drama involved) Anybody claiming to be are just people with a little too much time on their hands that think they belong to something greater than they actually do. Remember, BLS is just a band. Anybody that chooses to have their own gatherings does so on their own volition and at no official capacity. This includes the frowned upon act of riding motorcycles with the 3 piece patch set. |
| · How do I become a part of Black Label Society? You don’t. BLS is just a band. That would be like asking “How do I become a part of Metallica?” Read above about Chapters. There is no fan club associated with the band anymore. |
| · When is Zakk/BLS going to come to my state/city/country? Any information I have on tour dates can be found in the tour dates section (obviously). If they aren’t there or at a reputable online ticket seller, chances are it’s not going to happen. Emailing me will not make dates magically pop up either, FYI. |
| · What happened to TBLO? (The Black Label Order Fan Club) BLS stopped their affiliation on July 1, 2012. News across the web says that they were (and still are at the time of this writing) selling unauthorized BLS merch behind Zakk’s back. Zakk posted a separation statement on Twitter and Facebook: I want to clear up any confusion about whether Black Label Society (BLS) Let it be known in no uncertain terms that BLS and I are NO LONGER And just in case anyone doubts who is sending this, it’s no one other This was about a year later from Barbaranne Wylde (Zakk’s wife): Read more here: rockstarradioshow.com/zakk-wylde-parts-ways-with-the-black-label-order-tblo/ |
| · Where is Philth? After the Japanese tour ended on June 21st 2000, the US tour began right away and there was no break. The entire band came back from Japan sick. The first show was June 23rd, to a packed crowd at The Sun Theater in Anaheim California. About 5 songs into the set, Philth collapsed from his kit due to his stomach flu and exhaustion. Craig Nunenmacher of the band Crowbar (who were touring with BLS) came back on stage and played a few Sabbath songs with BLS, and the show ended. The next 2 shows were cancelled, and then the band returned, playing what some say were their best shows to date. When BLS got to Indiana on July 6th, 2000, about 3 songs into the set, there was a brawl on stage between Zakk and Philth, and Philth was fired from the band. They did a few Sabbath songs with Craig on drums again, and he replaced Philth as BLS’ drummer from that point on. Zakk and Philth are friends again, I was even hanging out and drinking with the both of them on Zakk’s tour bus at Ozzfest 2003 in Ohio. |
| · Does Zakk write all of his music for BLS or does anyone else contribute? Zakk writes all the music for Black Label Society. |
| · What do the numbers and circles in the BLS skull mean / where did the skull come from? It’s a phrenology skull. Phrenology was the study of the shape and protuberances of the skull, based on the now discredited belief that they reveal character and mental capacity. Related reading: http://skepdic.com/phren.html |
| · How did Zakk get the job for Ozzy’s band? Zakk got the job playing for Ozzy when Ozzy’s photographer (Mark Weiss) saw Zakk play and suggested that he audition for Ozzy. Zakk is not now, nor has he ever been, Ozzy’s drug dealer. That was a joke Zakk has made during various interviews. Zakk does not smoke weed or cigarettes either.
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| · What’s up with the patches and MCs? Being that the BLS patch set resembles those of an actual MC, it is advised that you do not wear the patch set while riding your motorcycle as to not cause any conflict with those in an actual MC that could be territorial or hostile. I have seen many reports over the years with fans having issues with MC’s and people ending up in the hospital due to hard headed people that didn’t want to take off or give up their colors. The issue has subsided much over the years due to BLS gaining mainstream popularity and television shows like Sons of Anarchy and Full Throttle Saloon merchandising their “biker-like, MC style” vests, but there is still an issue with MC’s who have no idea who BLS and ZW are. Related Reading: Nick Catanese talks about the colors and MC’s on Blabbermouth.net The following was written up by fellow message board member “DaveUK” back in 2005 after BLS was forced to cancel a show due to fans being terrorized outside a venue before a show. (Keep in mind that this is a worldwide problem, not just the UK!) Attention to all UKSDMFer’s. Please read this information. As many of you may or may not know, there are some serious issues in the UK regarding the Black Label Society back patches, and the Motor Cycle clubs of Britain. Since the BLS patches first started to appear in the UK, there has been a hostile response to them from the MC’s. However, up until the summer of 2005 the situation was largely not known about by BLS fans. This situation changed dramatically in Manchester during the 2005 tour. As any BLS fan will know a small contingent of Satan’s Slaves MC’s turned up at the Manchester show to vent their hostility towards the wearing of the BLS patches. It culminated in the show being canceled. Since then, things have gone from bad to worse. The Manchester incident was seen by the MC’s of Britain as a clear warning and message to Zakk and BLS that the 3 piece back patch set, which is copied from the kind of 3 piece back sets that MC’s have to earn, was unacceptable in the UK without either permission or clearance to display it and wear it from the leading MC’s of Britain. Despite repeated attempts by UK fans to address this issue on the official zakkwylde.com forums, to date no permission or clearance has been sought, and no statement regarding the matter has been made. It must be pointed out that UK fans now know that this was in no way Zakks fault. The seriousness of the matter was never brought to his attention by the staff of his forums. The matter has since been brought to Zakks attention through dialogue with a leading representative of the UKSDMF forum, RoadRunner UK, and Zakks European promoter. Zakk and his management are said to be deeply concerned and are in the process of making a statement. The British based BLS tribute band Sonic Brew, and the owner of the UKSDMF forum have been in contact with the two leading British MC’s, Hells Angels and Outlaws. Both MC’s have been extremely helpful, patient and courteous in this matter. They have made it clear that they have nothing against UK BLS fans, and have no wish for any conflict with us (what a relief). Their issue is solely with the patches and BLS insignia. They have made it clear that should they see anyone wearing them, they WILL remove them and confiscate them. Therefore it is strongly advised that no one in the UK should be seen either wearing or displaying BLS back or front patches, or any T shirts or other clothing displaying BLS insignia until the situation is resolved. Doing so will only put oneself at risk and inflame the situation even further. |
| · What is The BLS Vest Incident? Many of you may have seen a video on YouTube, Facebook, or somewhere else online from an MTV special in 2004/2005 about Zakk getting pissed off at Ozzfest because someone wore this guy Dave’s BLS vest. It was totally scripted. It was not real. It was just an act for the video that they were shooting. At this time, the band was actively selling the patches online and Zakk was no longer in control of who earned vests/patches, nor did Big Dave “pay his dues to get this vest”. This is also the same guy that was screwing with Iron Maidens set during Ozzfest 2005. From Blabbermouth: “Later that evening, as IRON MAIDEN came on stage, their intro was interrupted by [BLACK LABEL SOCIETY] hanger-on and biker wannabe Big Dave, who was at the soundboard loudly chanting ‘Ozzy, Ozzy’ over the PA.” Although reports from that night are now scarce, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was also the same guy that ran across Maidens set with an American flag. Here is a video of the staged incident from the reality show The Battle for Ozzfest:
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| · What happened to the guitar tabs and lyrics? I know, the guitar tabs and lyrics sections were one of the best parts of the site back in the day. As the internet grew during the later 2000’s, there became many new websites and different formats for people to obtain tabs and lyrics. Trying to keep up with all of the songs that Zakk wrote while still trying to maintain a personal life got time consuming, so I decided to discontinue. However, one thing that I will always remember is that this site was the first place to start tabbing out Black Label Society music. Granted, there were a few that were wrong, but it paved the way for others to take what I had and use it as a foundation to work off of. |
| · Why did the bands lawyers send you a Cease and Desist order for the website in 2010? As mentioned above with TBLO, Zakk’s people chose to deal with people that would ultimately screw them over, despite several warnings and concerns from Me, the webmaster of this fansite. I also was screwed over, led on, and promised things from said people without so much as a Thank You for any of my unpaid billable work and effort. From what I’m told, the be all end all was when I made a comment on MY forums that I pay for on MY website about those Epiphone Pee Wee guitars. Discussion was going on and someone made a comment about changing the pickups and the hardware, I chimed in about how crappy they play. Their PR guy saw this and went and told to Zakk’s wife about that and whatever other nonsensical stories he could make up or put a bad twist on in an effort to try and oust me and get me out of the picture because a year prior, I was asked to start working on the official ZW, BLS, and Fan Club websites and he wanted to keep web design segment within his own firm. At the end of the day, looking back at all the events and how everything has panned out, anybody who I’ve ever had an issue with in this camp has tried to (or succeeded in) screwing the band over in some way and are long gone and I have always been able to smell them out. Yet, I’m still here doing what I do all these years later even though I’m barely able to get the occasional photo pass or ticket anymore. |
