Deb Obarski | |
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Background information | |
Also known as | Blizzy Osbourne (The Little Dolls) |
Born | December 10, 1969 |
Origin | San Jose, California, US |
Genres | Heavy Metal Tribute Contemporary Christian |
Occupation(s) | Musician, vocalist, songwriter |
Website | myspace.com/tvdj |
Debbie Obarski (born December 10, 1969) is an American female singer, best known as the frontwoman of the Ozzy Osbourne tribute bands The Little Dolls and Diary of a Madwoman, as well as a short stint with The Iron Maidens.
Deb Obarski was born and raised in San Jose, California, where she took up singing through her sister and grandmother, as well as in church and school choirs.
At the age of 21, Obarski began her career as a cover band singer. Two years later, she moved to Los Angeles, where she performed a handful of her original compositions at coffee houses. Eventually, she joined a local cover band before it disbanded a year later. Shortly after recording a demo of her original songs, Obarski retired from the music scene for 10 years – eventually marrying, buying a home and divorcing within that time span.
Not too long after her divorce, Obarski returned to her musical roots, singing with a heavy metal cover band part-time before joining the all-female Ozzy Osbourne tribute band The Little Dolls (named after a song from Osbourne's second album Diary of a Madman ) from 2006 to 2009. As the frontwoman of the Dolls, her stage name was "Blizzy Osbourne", a wordplay on Osbourne's solo debut Blizzard of Ozz . [1] In addition, she fronted another Osbourne tribute band called Diary of a Madwoman from 2007 to 2009.
In July 2008, Obarski joined The Iron Maidens ("World's Only Female Tribute to Iron Maiden") to tour Kuwait and Iraq after their lead vocalist Aja Kim departed from the band. [2] As a substitute musician, she continued to tour with the Maidens in the U.S. for the remainder of the year, as they continue to hold auditions for a new vocalist.
Obarski continues to write songs, mainly contemporary Christian music. She currently runs a cover band called CoverLand (featuring members of the Metallica tribute Damage Inc. and the Judas Priest tribute Just Like Priest). In addition, she occasionally plays the role of Sister Mary in the Queensrÿche tribute Empÿre. While not performing on stage, she works as a massage therapist. [3]
Aside from Osbourne, Obarski cites Pat Benatar as a musical influence.
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adopted the nickname "Prince of Darkness".
Sharon Rachel Osbourne is a British-American television personality, music manager and author. She is married to heavy metal singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne and came to prominence appearing on The Osbournes (2002–2005), a reality television show that aired on MTV, which followed her family's daily life. Osbourne later became a talent show judge on television shows, such as The X Factor and America's Got Talent (2007–2012).
Blizzard of Ozz is the debut studio album by British heavy metal vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, released in September 1980 in the UK and on 27 March 1981 in the US. The album was Osbourne's first release following his firing from Black Sabbath in 1979. Blizzard of Ozz is the first of two studio albums Osbourne recorded with guitarist Randy Rhoads prior to Rhoads' death in 1982. In 2017, it was ranked 9th on Rolling Stone's list of "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time".
Tribute is a live album by British heavy metal vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, featuring his work with hard rock guitarist Randy Rhoads, in whose honor the album was released. The album was released on 19 March 1987, five years after the death of Rhoads, then it was reissued on 22 August 1995, and again remastered and reissued in 2002. It peaked at number 6 on the US Billboard 200 chart.
Never Say Die! is the eighth studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath, released in September 1978. It was the last studio album with the band's original lineup and the last studio album to feature original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne until the 2013 album 13. It was certified Gold in the U.S on 7 November 1997 and as of November 2011 has sold 133,000 copies in the United States since the SoundScan era. The album received mixed reviews, with critics calling it "unbalanced" and insisting its energy was scattered in too many directions.
Speak of the Devil is a live album by English heavy metal vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, released on 27 November 1982. It is a double album consisting entirely of live renditions of songs originally recorded by Osbourne's previous band Black Sabbath. The album was entitled Talk of the Devil in the UK, that being the more commonly expressed idiom there.
Ozzfest was an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband Ozzy Osbourne, both of whom also organised each yearly tour with their son Jack Osbourne, and was held almost annually between 1996 and 2018. The Ozzfest tour featured bands of a variety of genres within heavy metal and hard rock, including alternative metal, thrash metal, industrial metal, metalcore, hardcore punk, deathcore, nu metal, death metal, post-hardcore, gothic metal and black metal. Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath played the tour several times over the years.
Heaven and Hell is the ninth studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released on 25 April 1980. It is the first Black Sabbath album to feature vocalist Ronnie James Dio, who replaced original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne in 1979.
"The Trooper" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released as the second single on 20 June 1983 from the band's fourth studio album, Piece of Mind (1983). It was one of only a few songs to get much radio airplay in the United States, thus peaking at No. 28 on the US Mainstream Rock charts. It also achieved success in the United Kingdom, peaking at No. 12 in the UK Singles Charts as well as gaining a much better reception than the band's previous single, "Flight of Icarus".
Phantom Blue was an all-female American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, United States, formed in 1987. Phantom Blue were the first and only female artists to be signed to Mike Varney's Shrapnel Records, only three months after forming.
Rudy Sarzo is a Cuban-American hard rock/heavy metal bassist. Sarzo remains best known for his work with Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, and Whitesnake, and has also played with several well known heavy metal and hard rock acts including Manic Eden, Dio, Blue Öyster Cult, Geoff Tate's Queensrÿche, Devil City Angels, and The Guess Who. He rejoined Quiet Riot in 2021, but has agreed to finish tour with The Guess Who until a replacement can be found.
Lee Kerslake was an English musician, best known as the longtime drummer and backing vocalist for the rock band Uriah Heep and for his work with Ozzy Osbourne in the early 1980s.
William Whitfield Crane IV is an American singer and founding member and lead vocalist of the rock band Ugly Kid Joe, which was formed in 1989. He has also worked in music outside his band, from performing guest vocals on numerous songs to contributing to musical efforts with other rock bands such as Life of Agony, Another Animal, and Richards/Crane.
"Fear of the Dark" is a song by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Written by Steve Harris, the band's bass player and primary songwriter, it serves as the title track to Iron Maiden's 1992 album Fear of the Dark.
Rob "Blasko" Nicholson is an American bassist. His influences include heavy metal bands Iron Maiden, Motörhead, and Corrosion of Conformity. He performed on Rob Zombie's solo albums and is currently part of Ozzy Osbourne's band. He is also noted for his contribution as bassist to metal band Cryptic Slaughter within underground metal circles.
Heaven & Hell was a British-American heavy metal supergroup active from 2006 to 2010. The band was a collaboration between Black Sabbath founding members Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler and former Black Sabbath and Dio members Ronnie James Dio and Vinny Appice. The band's name was taken from the title of the first Black Sabbath album to feature Dio after the band's original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne was fired in 1979.
Linda McDonald is the drummer of the all-female tribute band The Iron Maidens. In addition, she was a member of the Ozzy Osbourne tribute band The Little Dolls and the cover bands Valley Dolls, Crabby Patty and Unholy Pink. Prior to those works, McDonald was the drummer/co-founder of the all-female heavy metal band Phantom Blue from its inception in 1987 to its demise in 2001.
Over the years, a variety of bands have made up the yearly lineups of Ozzfest, a yearly heavy metal music festival that usually tours the United States in summer.
Girls Got Rhythm! is a compilation album featuring various all-female tribute bands. The album is named after the song of the same title by AC/DC.
The Blizzard of Ozz Tour was the debut concert tour as a solo artist by British vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, who had been fired from the English group Black Sabbath a year prior. The tour started on September 12, 1980 and concluded on September 13, 1981.