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.
After intense physical therapy, Lee is recovering well. While none of his injuries were life-threatening, one of the areas of his body damaged during the shooting was his left arm, making his guitar playing even more painful, not that Lee pays much attention to that. “I can live with some pain,” he says. “That’s why they created alcohol.” [Laughs]
Lee’s outlook is nice to hear. Then again, what choice does he have? What else could he do when faced with a wounded left arm and a cartilage-less right hand? One option is that he could quit, which is more or less what he did after Covid forced Red Dragon Cartel off the road in 2020. He was in pain, which he could handle, but time was on his side, so why not?
The results of the time off have been good. When not in physical therapy, Lee has been pulling out his vintage guitars, of which he admits to having too many. He’s reconnecting with SGs, his ’58 Les Paul and various hollow and semi-hollowbodies.
He’s also writing, though not recording, music of his own. Instead, he’s dipping his toe back into the water by laying down a bluesy solo on a yet-to-be-named album by fellow Las Vegas resident and Count’s 77 guitarist, Stoney Curtis.
Oh, and he found time to participate in the Back to the Beginning event in Birmingham, England, on July 5, where his old boss, the late Ozzy Osbourne, regrouped for the last time with his Black Sabbath colleagues Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward.
As you’ll already know, Lee played in Ozzy’s solo band from 1982 to ’87, appearing on the metal legend’s Bark at the Moon and The Ultimate Sin albums in 1983 and ’86.
Lee featured prominently in the Back to the Beginning event’s first supergroup, a band put together by the show’s curator, Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello.
The stellar nature of the lineup – Lzzy Hale (Halestorm), Mike Bordin (Faith No More), Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme), David Ellefson (ex Megadeth), Adam Wakeman (Ozzy), David Draiman (Disturbed), Whitfield Crane (Ugly Kid Joe) and II (Sleep Token) – made the performance Lee’s highest-profile appearance since his Ozzy days.
You can see him on YouTube ripping through The Ultimate Sin, Shot in the Dark, Sweet Leaf, Believer and Changes, the last of these featuring Gen-Z’s poster-boy of the moment, Yungblud, on vocals.
All of this leads to Lee branding this period of his guitar-playing life as a “rebirth.” His mind knows what to do, but his body is lagging behind; still, the outlook is good. “It’s made it interesting,” Lee says. “It’s like I’m relearning the guitar, even though I know how to play it. I’m having fun.”
Jake E. Lee knows a thing or two about fun. He’s shredded beside Ozzy, dropped two of the best records of the hair-metal era in 1989’s Badlands and 1991’s Voodoo Highway, and proved to the world that he still had the goods with Red Dragon Cartel.
But time waits for no one, and to be fair, Lee has never minded retreating when needed. “I’ve taken breaks from the guitar before,” he says. “I always come back refreshed.”
Lee admits this time was different. “It had never been to this length before,” he says. “There were a couple of years where I just didn’t play, unless I was writing something. It’s refreshing. It clears your mind.”
My left hand is a little bit weak, so lately I’ve been playing with sevens to force myself to have a lighter touch
With his left arm getting stronger each day, and a new technique that compensates for the lack of cartilage in his right hand, the outlook for Lee is the best that it’s been in a long time.
For a second, it looked as if he’d have to have surgery to fuse the bones in his right hand, leaving his wrist locked up – but there’s clearly no need for that procedure right now, as fans found out in England on July 5.
This interview took place before Ozzy’s passing on July 22, 2025.
How are you healing up after being shot in October 2024?
“I’ve healed up pretty good. I got shot through the forearm and lost a lot of feeling in my left hand, which doesn’t really affect my playing, but it feels weird. But most of that came back. And I just got finished doing physical therapy for my right wrist because I have arthritis, but that’s getting better. It’s a lot of strengthening and stretching – and steroid shots.”
You recently talked about how there’s no cartilage left in your right hand. How do you compensate for that?
“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.”
Is the pain manageable while playing?
“There’s some pain, but it’s not that big of a deal. Let me quote [the 1989 movie] Road House by saying, 'Pain don’t hurt,' you know what I mean? [Laughs] I’ve had back issues forever, and wrist pain isn’t anything compared to that.”
Are there any techniques you’re accustomed to that you can’t do anymore?
“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.”
Do you feel like you’re almost having to relearn how to play guitar?
“I’m enjoying the sevens right now because it’s a whole different technique as far as the left and right hands. It’s interesting, because, in a way, it’s like learning to play guitar again. But I know how to play guitar, you know? Mentally – and as far as theory and all that – I know exactly what to do, but I have to teach my left and right hands to accommodate me.”
How do you think the Back to the Beginning concert went? I know you experienced some technical difficulties.
“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…’
“So I came out, and I hadn’t heard anything, but Nuno [Bettencourt] had the crowd chanting my name. And I walked out and Lzzy [Hale] and Nuno are doing little bows to me. [Laughs] Then Nuno grabbed me and gave me a kiss on the cheek!”
![[L-R] Ozzy Osbourne and Jake E. Lee](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/tXX8qztxW9McMwqEGPsAfe-1200-80.jpg.webp)
Once you got rolling, what was the experience like?
“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.”
How did you feel physically and emotionally, especially in front of such a huge crowd?
“It was a trip. My wrist was a bit sore, but I’ve gotten used to that. I practiced my ass off for the last couple of months on those two songs, so my wrist is used to being a bit sore. And I get to rest it now! But I haven’t played in front of that many people in decades. It was very heady, if you know what I mean.”
You’re known for using your Charvel, but are you trying anything different during this rebirth?
“I have a lot of guitars. I’ve recently been going through them; I have too many. [Laughs] They’ve been sitting in their cases for a long time! I have a ’58 Les Paul Special that I love, and I just brought it out to do some recording with Stoney Curtis. He asked me to do a solo on it, so I brought the ’58 Les Paul, and it’s blues, so the Les Paul fit that perfectly.
I’ve been really into hollowbodies and semi-hollowbodies lately. They just have a different feel and resonance
What other guitars are you taking out of mothballs lately?
“I have a bunch of old guitars, like a ’63 SG Junior. I love SGs, and I’ve been bringing them out. It’s fun. And I like a wide variety, like hollowbodies; I’ve been really into hollowbodies and semi-hollowbodies lately. They just have a different feel and resonance. I like playing a lot of different guitars because it makes you play a little differently.”
You played a purple custom Charvel at Back to the Beginning. What’s the story there?
“In the Ozzy days, I had my white one, a purple burst and a blue burst. Charvel reissued the white and blue ones, and I’ve been hassling them about getting the purple burst out there. So when this came up, I said, ‘What better promo would there be than for me to come out with a purple burst and have people start asking about it?’ So they made me one.”
“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.”
Are there any updates to your signature Friedman guitar amps?
“Not too long ago, we came out with the 50-watt [JEL-50]. We also did the 20-watt [JEL-20] and the IR [IR-J Dual Tube Preamp] pedal. The 100-watt [JEL-100] isn’t available anymore; that was a limited run. That was a pretty specialized beast. I don’t think there are a lot of guitar players who can get away with using a 100-watt amp.”
Were there any other additions to your rig on the Friedman side for the show?
“Yes. I used the Friedman IR, the Jake E. Lee version. I figured since it was all rental stuff – rental Marshalls – I didn’t know how many people would be playing through it and what the settings would be like. It’s easier for me to have the IR and have it preset so I could just plug in the effects loop and be all set.”
What was it like reconnecting with Ozzy, who you hadn’t seen in decades?
“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.”
What’d he say?
“He said he was sorry he couldn’t spend more time with me. And he said that when he got back to LA, he’d shoot me a text and maybe we could get together and shoot the shit for a while. Everything’s cool. I’m glad it’s resolved and everybody still likes each other.”
Do you see this as closure on the Ozzy chapter of your life – and maybe even a rebirth since you’ve been away for so long?
“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.”
Are you working on new music with Red Dragon Cartel?
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
“I still write. I quit playing guitar for a couple of years because my wrists were hurting, and when Covid came around, I canceled the last Red Dragon Cartel tour. I said, ‘Okay, this will give me a break,’ and I just quit playing guitar for a couple of years.”
Where does that leave you as far as recording and touring in the future?
“Part of the process now is getting the muscles back into it – but I do still get ideas, usually as I’m falling asleep. [Laughs] But I’ll get out of bed, pick up the guitar and record them.”
What’s next?
“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.”
- This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.
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