“I walked out and Nuno had the crowd chanting my name. It was overwhelming. I’m surprised I didn’t trip and fall down”: Jake E. Lee on defying expectations, arthritis and gunshot wounds to mend his friendship with Ozzy at Back to the Beginning

Jake E. Lee photographed July 5 in Birmingham, England, with the custom Purple Burst Charvel he played at Back to the Beginning — (Image credit: Ross Halfin)

All’s been quiet for several years on Jake E. Lee’s proverbial Western Front. The guitarist has taken extended breaks before, like the one after the demise of his beloved Badlands in 1993. Still, after forming Red Dragon Cartel in 2013 and reeling off two well-regarded records in 2014’s Red Dragon Cartel and 2018’s Patina, the thought was that Lee was back to stay. Covid put a pin in that, as it did with most sectors of the world.

Making matters worse is that Lee suffers from particularly nasty arthritis in his right hand, leaving him with “basically no cartilage.” That’s painful, but probably not nearly as painful as a life-threatening incident in October 2024, when he was shot multiple times while walking his dog near his home in Las Vegas.

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“I have arthritis in my right hand, and they said the cartilage is basically gone. I can’t feel it; it’s bone on bone. I’ve had to adjust my playing style to where I’m using mostly the elbow on the right hand, trying to use as much elbow movement as I can, while keeping the wrist movement down to a minimum. The only operation they had available was to fuse the bones together, and then my wrist would pretty much be locked in. I didn’t want to do that.”

“I usually use a heavy pick, but I went to a lighter one. It forced me to have a lighter touch with my right hand, and that’s been interesting. And my left hand is a little bit weak, so lately I’ve been playing with sevens to force myself to have a lighter touch. And it’s interesting because Billy Gibbons uses sevens, and that's what Tony Iommi and Brian May use, I think, and they don’t have a problem with getting a good tone.”

“Yeah, there were a few. [Laughs] There was this whole setup, like, ‘Has anybody seen Jake?’ And I was backstage, and I knew my guitar needed tuning, and I kept saying, ‘Where’s the rest of the band? Shouldn’t I be out there?’ But they said, ‘No, we’re not ready for you!’ I was like, ‘Okay… can I go out now?’ They said, ‘Okay, you can go.’ Then they led me to stage right, and I said, ‘Shouldn’t I be stage left? I’m playing over there…’ But they said, ‘No, you’ve got to go this way…’

“The crowd was chanting my name. It was overwhelming. I’m surprised I didn’t trip and fall down. [Laughs] But because of all that, I was a little out of tune – but it was worth it. To have that introduction and reaction was good for my soul. And then, with Shot in the Dark, we rehearsed it a certain way, but I think David got a little excited and jumped ahead. So I didn’t get to do my cool harmonics at the beginning, but that’s okay! Did I play my best? Maybe not. Was I in tune? Maybe not. Was it fantastic and amazing? Absolutely.”

“It’s a sweet guitar, and it’s a little different from the versions Charvel has come out with. It’s a Gibson-scale length, with the jumbo frets up to the 12th and then thinner frets above that. I can get a little more meat on the string and a little more wood underneath. And it’s a roasted maple neck, and the body – I think they call it ‘cooked ash,’ so it’s lighter, and they get all the moisture out of it.

“It’s beautiful. Hopefully they’ll come out with a version of it. Also, Kirk Hammett let me play his Greeny Les Paul backstage. I can confirm that it’s a magical piece of wood. I didn’t want to put it down – didn’t want to leave it. I’ve missed it ever since! It’s so resonant; it just sings. I almost wish I’d never played it! [Laughs] Nah – I’m glad I got to bask in its magic, if for just a while.”

“I did get to talk to him. There was a big photoshoot a couple days before the gig, and I talked with Sharon, and she brought me over to Ozzy. There’s no ill will; there has never been any on my part. Business is business. I don’t think anything they ever did was to try and fuck over Jake; it was always about business. I didn’t know how they’d be, but they were amazing, friendly, open, welcoming and loving. I hadn’t seen either of them in decades, and after the show, on the flight back, I got a text from Ozzy.”

“There’s a certain amount of closure. For years, in the back of my head, it was like, “I hope I get to see Ozzy one more time.” I would’ve hated for the last time I spoke to him to be in 1987. I wanted to tell him I’m grateful for the opportunity he gave me. [Back to the Beginning] was the perfect place to do it – so I did it, and he thanked me. That was a big bucket-list check-off.”

“I’d like to do a tour with Red Dragon Cartel, because we never really got to finish off touring for Patina. We got cut off halfway through because of Covid. After that, we’ll see. But I like doing guest spots. It’s challenging, but Stoney’s a friend. I knew I could go in there, and if I played like crap, he’d tell me, ‘This isn’t really up to snuff.’ I’m open to doing that right now and then getting Red Dragon Cartel out on the road.”

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Andrew Daly is an iced-coffee-addicted, oddball Telecaster-playing, alfredo pasta-loving journalist from Long Island, NY, who, in addition to being a contributing writer for Guitar World, scribes for Bass Player, Guitar Player, Guitarist, and MusicRadar. Andrew has interviewed favorites like Ace Frehley, Johnny Marr, Vito Bratta, Bruce Kulick, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Tom Morello, Rich Robinson, and Paul Stanley, while his all-time favorite (rhythm player), Keith Richards, continues to elude him.