Inside Ronald's Mind: Mac Sabbath's Manager Explains What Exactly Is Going On

Managing a fast food-themed Black Sabbath tribute band was not something Mike Odd ever saw himself wanting to do. But since assuming the role for Mac Sabbath in 2014, he watched the bizarre concept transform into something truly terrifying and awe-inspiring. “The live show delivers something that no other band does. It’s so much more than just a band or just a comedy act, or a social statement or magic show. It’s a lot of things,” says Odd as the band gears up for an extensive North American tour, including a stop at the Oriental Theater in Denver on Friday, October 6.

Now, one of Odd's biggest challenges is dealing with vocalist and bandleader Ronald Osbourne. “Maybe he is as much a prophet as a prankster. But it’s hard for me to believe that because I have to deal with him all the time, and he’s totally ridiculous,” Odd says, laughing. “Those guys don’t talk to press. Ronald’s like, 'There will be a rift in the time-space continuum if modern technology films capture us.'”

Mac Sabbath and its enigmatic vocalist maintain the narrative that they are time travelers sent from the 1970s to warn us about the dangers of fast food. They do so as fast-food characters and set their message to the music of Black Sabbath. Because of this, it leaves Odd with handling many tasks for the band, including all press. This also requires Odd to answer all questions within the context of Mac Sabbath being time-traveling fast-food prophets, not guys in funny costumes.

Before Odd managed the band, he was working at an oddities museum in Los Angeles. “I would get these calls like, 'Come out to my shed and see my two-headed otter skeleton.' Then I go out there and make them an offer,” recalls Odd.

“I get this call saying come down to this burger joint in Chatsworth, California, it will change your life. So I figured I was going to go down there and it would be the Virgin Mary toasted on a hamburger bun or something like that,” he continues. Instead, he was accosted by Ronald Osborne in a full clown suit and kicked out of the restaurant, only to be invited back that night. When Odd returned, he was led into the basement for a full Mac Sabbath performance. “There’s packs of hamburger buns and and freeze-dried condiments. And there’s these mutated fast-food mascots who are screaming about GMOs with these Black Sabbath riffs. I’m like, 'Okay guys, you got my attention.' Then they’re like, 'Okay, now you’re going to be our manager.'”

It all clicked for Odd. He had a theatrical rock band of his own as well as connections with various clubs in L.A. “I said, 'Whatever — I’ll book you guys a couple shows, but I don’t really know how to manage a band, as you can tell from how I manage my band.' But before the band left California, we landed a tour in England and played Download Festival with KISS and Mötley Crüe," Odd recalls. "I thought, 'Okay, maybe this thing does have some appeal past my weird brain.'”

After that, they toured extensively until the COVID pandemic, which, according to Odd, they were able to skip over. “Well, fortunately, these guys are from a different time and place," he notes, "so it wasn’t really relevant.”

While the scope of the live show has taken on a life of its own, what’s really impressive is Mac Sabbath's ability to navigate the world of fair-use law. Odd received some advice from the king of parody: Weird Al Yankovic. “Through a friend, I talked to Weird Al, and he said, 'You’re totally in your fair-use rights and you’re all good, but that doesn’t mean they can’t sue you, and they have more money than you, so if they decide to sue you, they’ll crush you.'”

Thankfully, this has not been an issue for the band, but it has brought its own share of problems. According to Odd, Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys offered to release their album on his label but got cold feet. “He got nervous and said he couldn’t do it unless we got a note from Sony or Sharon [Osbourne]. We were like, 'That’s not going to happen,'” says Odd.

The band continued to make its way after that, with a hectic tour schedule and an impressive line of merchandise including a pop-up book and coloring book. Then, in a stroke a luck, Mac Sabbath received a blessing from Ozzy Osbourne himself when the band performed for him on an episode of the show Ozzy and Jack’s World Detour. The Black Sabbath team was so impressed, it shared the band’s video on its social media.

When the band met Ozzy on the show, the Prince of Darkness asked an important question: "Why Black Sabbath?"

Ronald answered, “Because Black Sabbath is the greatest delivery system for any message.”
Mac Sabbath, 7 p.m. Friday, October 6, Oriental Theater, 4335 West 44th Avenue. Tickets are $28.