Week Thirty-Seven: Jesse Sample’s Freak of the Week “Just like Heroes”

Jesse Sample’s Freak of the Week airs EVERY WEDNESDAY at 6pm EASTERN ONLY on RadioRadioX.com 

This is Jesse Sample. Who are your heroes? What do they represent to you? What is it about them that you admire? Tonight, I had a million things to do but it felt like the universe formed a path for me to go see Pantera. I was talking to my wife in the car about how their playing tonight and how I really admire Zakk Wylde. My friend J texted me and the show was advertised on the radio all day. My 6:30 wanted to reschedule and I finally had no excuse. My wife saw the opening and encouraged me to go in.

I’ve been a fan of Zakk Wylde for a very long time. He was a guitarist for Ozzy Osborne, an artist well known for working with the best guitarists of all time. His band, Black Label Society, is a one stop shop if you love brutal rhythms and heroic shredding. Which I do. He also showcases his unique guitar stylings in many other incarnations i.e. Pride and Glory, Book of Shadows, Zack Sabbath…He is a working guitarist and enough of a professional to never rest on his laurels. He embodies heavy metal, and I could feel it tonight from my nosebleed seats.

When I was younger, I admired his speed and his technical power. His melodies and phrasing captivated me for years of my life. I really looked up to him for being an axe wielding berserker with all the cache and style the rock and roll brings.

Tonight was different. I found myself watching a guy do a job. He goes to work the way we all go to work. But he had to be the best to get this job. He had to squeeze multiple lifetimes of practice and commitment into one life. Independent of his world class status as a true master of his chosen craft, the character needed to achieve this level of greatness is wild by itself. You can see it when Aaron Judge steps up to the plate at Yankees Stadium or when a great chef starts by chopping onions. These are high level performers standing on a mountain of hard work, commitment and passion. As I get older, I’m starting to realize that my heroes are handworkers who always find a way. They’re not just onstage or on TV. They’re all around our communities and our families.

Thanks to all of you tuned into RadioRadioX. This is the Freak of the Week “Just like Heroes.”