Legendary guitarist Jake E. Lee (ex-Ozzy Osbourne, Badlands, Red Dragon Cartel) has revealed in a new interview with Tone-Talk that he is once again playing guitar regularly and is eager to return to the stage.
Earlier in 2024, Lee believed he was suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, but after proper X-rays, doctors determined the real issue: he has virtually no cartilage left in his right wrist (and very little in his left), causing painful bone-on-bone contact.
Instead of opting for the drastic bone-fusion surgery (an option chosen years ago by Deep Purple’s Steve Morse), Lee is managing the condition with cortisone injections, intensive physical therapy, stretching, and strengthening exercises. The treatment is working: after four or five years of barely touching the guitar, he has been playing daily for the last couple of months with significantly reduced pain.
“I’m not gonna get surgery,” Lee stated. “It’s getting better. I am playing again, and I wanna go out and do a tour.”
His immediate goal is to finally complete the tour in support of Red Dragon Cartel’s 2018 album Patina, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lee also hinted at new recording plans with the band.
Patina, mixed by Max Norman (Ozzy Osbourne, Megadeth) and co-produced by Lee and bassist Anthony Esposito, marked a stylistic shift toward blues-influenced hard rock compared to the heavier debut album. The current Red Dragon Cartel lineup features vocalist Darren James Smith, bassist Anthony Esposito, and drummer Phil Varone.
Fans of Jake E. Lee, widely regarded as one of the most distinctive guitarists of the 1980s after replacing Randy Rhoads in Ozzy Osbourne’s solo band for Bark at the Moon (1983) and The Ultimate Sin (1986), now have reason to be optimistic about seeing him live again soon.
