Zakk Wylde spoke to Inquisitr about his participation in this year's edition of the "Generation Axe" tour, also featuring Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt and Tosin Abasi. Asked how the trek came to be, Zakk said: "This was all Father Steve's vision. Steve put it together. He was the one that reached out to all of us. I've known the guys from me starting with Ozzy — Yngwie, Steve and Nuno. I'm friends with all the guys. We just met Tosin when we went on this one, and he's a buddy now too. It's great because whenever you hear the guys — you know, everybody's checking their gear at soundcheck — immediately, within like one note, you already know automatically who's flying. Just from the vibrato and tone, everyone's technique, which is pretty cool." He added: "It's great rolling with all the guys. The stories and the comedy and the war stories of being in the business, just the pure comedy. I mean, that's just a minefield of comedy gold right there. That's what the music business is, just cartoon characters. That's always a good time. Stevie once said, 'Yeah, putting this tour together, it's great playing with all you guys, but just for these sit-downs at the end of the night while we're rolling, and the comedy, it's just worth the price of admission alone.' [Laughs] That's what Steve would say: 'I'm glad I put it together just for this.'" Vai, Wylde, Malmsteen, Bettencourt and Abasi once again will join together to tour North America to stage 32 appearances across the country. Beginning on November 7 at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California, the run will return to markets where the inaugural tour was celebrated and hit several new cities for the first time. Each tour stop will include a variety of collaborations by the five players, including everyone performing together as one cohesive band with a rhythm section including Pete Griffin (Dweezil Zappa, Stanley Clarke, Edgar Winter) on bass, Nick Marinovich (Yngwie Malmsteen) on keys, and JP Bouvet on drums. Vai, Wylde, Malmsteen, Bettencourt and Abasi will perform songs from their various catalogs and join forces on some well-known songs (as well as probably a few unexpected, unearthed gems). Making this rare tour experience even more special, "Generation Axe" VIP packages will be offered, giving fans access to these guitars masters and exclusive one-of-a-kind memorabilia. A front row package (including a meet-and-greet), a meet-and-greet package, and a VIP tour package will be available. For additional information, visit generationaxe.com.
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