I started playing guitar when I was, like, 5, and I picked up playing drums when I was 6 years old. Rickey Medlocke More Quotes by Rickey Medlocke More Quotes From Rickey Medlocke We were working 'Good Teacher' up, and it became apparent to me that, as we were playing it, the song had a Hendrix, 'Crosstown Traffic' vibe and feel to it. Rickey Medlocke good me good-teacher teacher Michael Jordan was like basketball Jesus. Rickey Medlocke michael-jordan like basketball jesus I find that America is moving toward a certain type of government that everybody else is moving away from, and I find that very upsetting to me. Rickey Medlocke me government america moving Lynyrd Skynyrd is not a political band, but you know what? We believe in this country. We have a soft spot for our military. We love the red, white and blue, and every night we dedicate a portion of our show to our fighting men. Rickey Medlocke you blue love men We're a working-people's band, and we love America and what she stands for. Also, we love doing shows, whether it's a huge amphitheater or a corn dog fest. We don't care. Rickey Medlocke doing care dog love You can be hip-hop to the max, but you still know 'Sweet Home Alabama.' Rickey Medlocke know you home sweet Politics are the same old thing. We elect people, we put them in office, and guess what they do? They sell us out. They sell us down the river, and we pay for it. Rickey Medlocke river down politics people You've just gotta go in and write from the heart and write the best material that you can and put it out. If one hits, hey, great. It keeps the legacy going. But you've gotta keep doing new material. It's the future of any band. Rickey Medlocke best you future heart All I can say is we love what we do, and the audience is still there for us. I think what's given us such longevity is that our music may not be fancy, but it touches a nerve with the average Joe. Rickey Medlocke think music i-can love Recording should be fun. Rickey Medlocke recording should fun As a young man growing up in that era, I was very influenced by Hendrix and took to a wah wah, and I learned how to really use one effectively as Hendrix did. Rickey Medlocke young-man man growing-up young If you really stop to think about it, the last really big guitar hero was Eddie Van Halen, and that was back in the '80s - early '80s, you know what I mean? That's a long time ago. Rickey Medlocke you guitar hero time I'm Native American, so the racial thing kind of hits home with me. Rickey Medlocke racial american me home I gotta tell you, Rickey Medlocke lived in some of the most magical years in this world's history. I lived in the '60s. I lived in the '70s, right into the '80s, and man, it was bad to the bone. Rickey Medlocke you man history world Here's the deal: You can't go in with the intent that, 'All right, we're gonna write another 'Free Bird' or 'What's Your Name.'' You can't think about it in those terms, because you'll never outdo your history. Rickey Medlocke name you bird history We're about music. We're not about politics. Rickey Medlocke about music politics I was one of the original drummers. What everyone likes to do is think of Lynyrd Skynyrd as the band that picked up again in '73. But I was one of the original members, and I was a big part of that. Rickey Medlocke everyone big think band My old man Shorty was a huge figure in my musical life. Rickey Medlocke old man old-man life I often use dropped D or C - I even go all the way down to A. What can be really cool is drop a guitar down there and have the rest of the band continue in standard tuning. It gives it a lot of power and texture. Rickey Medlocke rest cool guitar power I've got a few great old Marshalls that I use live: '71 and '72 heads and an old combo with 2x12s. Rickey Medlocke old live great use
