STATIC-X Bassist TONY CAMPOS On ‘Life-Changing’ OZZFEST: ‘Eternally Grateful’ To OZZY And SHARON
He says the 1999 tour transformed the band’s debut into a chart success.
Summary
- STATIC-X bassist Tony Campos recalls meeting Ozzy Osbourne during Ozzfest 1999, describing it as a life-changing moment.
- The tour helped catapult ‘Wisconsin Death Trip’ into a platinum-selling success, boosting sales dramatically.
- Band members, including the late Wayne Static, credit Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne for giving them their big break.
STATIC-X bassist Tony Campos recently looked back on the band’s breakout opportunity on Ozzfest in 1999, recalling a memorable encounter with the Prince of Darkness himself, Ozzy Osbourne.
In an interview with PipemanRadio at this year’s Bloodstock Open Air festival, Campos shared a story that highlighted Ozzy’s character and the tour’s monumental impact on the then-up-and-coming evil disco pioneers.
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Reflecting on the experience, Tony said:
“One of the coolest things that I can scratch off the list of shit I never thought would happen, we got to do a photo shoot with Ozzy back before our first Ozzfest in ‘99. And we’re hanging out in our dressing room waiting for [legendary rock photographer] Ross Halfin to set up the photo shoot. And Ozzy just comes in and he just sits down and hangs out with us and starts telling us stories about BLACK SABBATH days, how he’d shoot heroin in his neck behind Tony Iommi’s Marshall stacks. And we’re all just like little kids listening to their grandpa tell stories. We were, like, ‘Whoa, cool.’ And it’s just, like, he didn’t have to do that. He was just such a cool dude, and he was awesome to us.”
Campos continued, emphasizing the tour’s importance for the band’s career.
“Just getting to do Ozzfest that year was such a life-changing event for us,” he stated. “And I’m eternally grateful to him and Sharon for giving us that opportunity.”
That sentiment has been consistently echoed by other members of the band over the years.
The 1999 edition of Ozzfest is widely credited with launching STATIC-X into the mainstream, turning their debut album, “Wisconsin Death Trip”, from a promising release into a platinum-selling behemoth.
In a 2019 interview with the “Talk Toomey” podcast, original STATIC-X drummer Ken Jay spoke about the buzz surrounding the band on that tour.
“We were on the second stage, but we were the band to watch,” Jay recalled. “Every day, our crowd just got bigger and bigger. You could feel it happening. We were out there in 110-degree heat in the middle of the day, and kids were just going absolutely insane for us. Sharon Osbourne came out to watch our set a few times, and you knew she had an eye for what was connecting with the fans. That tour was everything for us; it was the springboard that shot us into the stratosphere.”
The tour’s impact was felt almost immediately in record sales. The late, great STATIC-X frontman Wayne Static discussed the phenomenon in a 2001 interview with Rock Sound magazine. “‘Wisconsin Death Trip’ had been out for a few months, and it was doing okay, but the second we hit the road with Ozzfest, it just exploded,” Wayne said.
“We went from selling a couple thousand records a week to 20, 30, even 40 thousand in a week by the end of that summer. It was insane. It showed you the power of that tour. It really put us on the map and proved that if you could win over the Ozzfest crowd, you had a real shot. We owe a lot to that.”
STATIC-X is currently on tour in support of its latest album, “Project: Regeneration Vol. 2,” which features the final vocal performances of Wayne Static.
The band continues to pay tribute to their fallen frontman with current vocalist/guitarist Xer0.
In July 2020, STATIC-X released “Project: Regeneration Vol. 1”, the band’s first album in more than a decade.
The record featured newly discovered vocal performances from the late Wayne Static, with original members Tony Campos, Koichi Fukuda, and Ken Jay handling instrumentation. Campos, as the only member to appear on every STATIC-X album, played a key role in bringing the project to completion.
In June 2023, the band announced the “Machine Killer” U.S. tour with SEVENDUST, coinciding with the upcoming release of their follow-up record.
“Project: Regeneration Vol. 2” arrived in January 2024, again showcasing previously unused Wayne Static vocals alongside new material written by the reunited lineup.
By late 2024, Campos addressed questions about the band’s future in interviews, stating that STATIC-X would continue as long as it remained enjoyable for the members and supported by fans.
He also noted the growth of a younger audience, with longtime listeners now introducing the group to a new generation of concertgoers.
In August 2025, Campos confirmed that the long-gestating STATIC-X documentary, “Evil Disco: The Rise, Fall, And Regeneration Of Static-X”, was nearing completion after years of delays due to the band’s heavy touring schedule.
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