BLACK SABBATH UPDATE: TONY IOMMI HEALING, BILL WARD COOKING

Of course, I'm sorry to say I have no news about the status of the lawsuit
Any longtime reader of No Expiration knows that I am a huge fan of the original Black Sabbath. As I will tell anyone within vocal range, I was asked to pen a liner notes essay for The Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath 1970-1978, which collects all of the studio albums by the band's original lineup of Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward. As such, I'm glad to report that, according to the BBC, Tony Iommi's recent surgery on his hand went well. He had been experiencing pain in his joints, the cartalidge had worn down. No matter what you think of Tony's music, the very fact that he even plays guitar is inspiring: two fingers from his fret hand were chopped off on his last day of work at a factory - he was quitting to become a professional musician. He thought he'd never play again. Until he heard a recording by Django Reinhardt, an incredible guitarist who only had two fingers on his fret hand. He created fake fingertips, played with very light strings (ironic, as he essentially used them to invent "heavy" metal) and became one of the most influential guitarists of all time. You can read more about this at Tony Iommi's website.

Moving on to Bill Ward, here's an interview with him from The Rock and Roll Cook, where he talks about being a vegetarian. He's not the only vegetarian in Sabbath: Geezer Butler is also a vegetarian, and even recently shot a video for PETA. between Tony Iommi and Ozzy (and Sharon) Osbourne. I hope they settle it soon though. For great Black Sabbath news by the way, check out this website run by a real fan, it's where I saw both of these links.