Rickey Medlocke

My dad was a musician, played on the road and played all of his life. And I grew up in a musical family. I heard it all. I mean, I got accustomed to listening to Roy Acuff and all the old guys. It was really cool for me growing up in a family like that.

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.

Blackfoot was one of the ultimate live bands... there was no pretense, no gimmickry; it was sound, lights, and rock and roll. Our whole goal was to be terrifying... to strike fear and cause havoc in a closing band's minds.

I think what the public knows as 'Southern rock' will never be repeated.

It's exciting and refreshing to listen to new rock. And I like a lot of it - Filter, Vertical Horizon, Stabbing Westward... I even enjoy some Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock.

Country has just crossed so many lines now, that Skynyrd falls right into that category.

We've always been hardcore rebels.

As long as the fans keep comin' out, we're gonna keep making records and keep being there.

You have to be as original as possible. It's a tough thing to come up with something totally original.

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.

Music is a healing tool.

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.