Paul Sidoti, a long-time guitarist in Taylor Swift’s band—and an even longer-time fan of Ozzy Osbourne—is paying tribute to the Prince of Darkness after his death at 76.
The musician once teamed up with baseball “legend” Omar Vizquel, a former shortstop on the Cleveland Indians, for a charity fundraiser. Sidoti’s former musical group Obnoxious—which later became known as Boxer—made up of bassist Brian Dossa, Jeff Soukup on vocals, and Jim Bonfanti on drums, hosted Tribe Jam 2000, where Vizquel stepped in with a jaw-dropping performance of “Crazy Train” while Sidoti shredded on Randy Rhoads‘ guitar solo, leaving fans stunned.
“RIP to the one and only Ozzy Osbourne.. He lived life to its fullest and influenced so many musicians and singers.. What he did two weeks ago is nothing short of a miracle but in a way he closed his career in the biggest way.. A huge festival honoring him and Black Sabbath and for him to go out that way was so fitting.. All the tributes that day he got to witness..” the guitarist began in his caption.
“And in the video I posted is me with my trio in 2000 hosting Tribe Jam 2000 which featured players from the Cleveland Indians who were performers and had some fun to raise money for charity.. I’ll never forget rehearsing in my parents basement where I had a studio and my dear friend and Indians rock star shortstop, Omar Vizquel, said ‘hey do you know Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne?’ We launched into it, he grabbed the mic and started singing.. it was unbelievable.. None of us knew he could sing and we added it to the show and to this day it remains one of Cleveland’s fondest memories.. Omar Vizquel belting out ‘Crazy Train.'”
“Ozzy, you will live on in our hearts and you’re finally reunited with Randy in that incredible band upstairs.. Sending love to his family, friends, and millions of fans all over the world.. ❤️🎤,” he concluded.
Vizquel shared the moment on his own Instagram page as well, adding, “That was really crazy @paul_sidoti my good friend.”
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Sidoti’s followers were shocked by the clip, with one gushing, “HOLY SHIT BRO UR LIKE [Eddie Van Halen] OH MY GOODNESS.”
“Paul knowing (and playing) with the Venezuelan Legend Omar V. Was not on my bingo card,” another commented.
Someone else followed up, “Didn’t expect Omar to pop up in all the Ozzy tributes today. Awesome story.”
Dossa also reflected on the special moment, admitting, “I couldn’t decide between wanting to play the song correctly and put on a show… or just stand there and be a fan of Omar! Truly a ‘wtf just happened’ moment!”
Related: Ozzy Osbourne Shared Haunting Sentiment About His Death Ahead of Final Concert and It All but Came True
