LYNYRD SKYNYRD –

LYNYRD SKYNYRD – New Record In Early ’08?

By Martin Popoff

LYNYRD SKYNYRD and BLACKFOOT legend Rickey Medlocke sat down with BW&BK before a sold-out show in Niagara Falls to talk music, and not just old music but some fresh stuff for those hot Southern nights…

“The main thing is we've been writing new material, from last fall through the winter, and in some downtime, getting ready for a new CD, for the first of the year,” begins Rickey. “Plus this tour… we’re out all the way through the end of October this year, which is a pretty long run. We started back in the beginning of April, and it's been a pretty long run for us this year. We'll see how it goes. We're really excited about getting back into getting something together because it's been four years since we've had a new record out. So everybody's really excited about that. Myself, I've been recording some new material on my own, and am looking at maybe putting something out on the market here, hopefully within this year, something like that; I’ve got a ton of songs I’ve stockpiled, writing, getting those recorded, doing my thing. Other than that, we've got some film projects that I'm looking at, a television thing and a movie thing right now. So as far as the acting goes, that's continuing; I'm always looking at that. But yeah, things are good right now, things are fine.”

Under the solo situation, would it be under the Rickey Medlocke banner, or within a band situation?

“Well, it would be under Rickey Medlocke. Really, I've come far enough in my career that I'm not sure about getting a band together and calling it a band. Maybe, I'm not really sure, but right now, it's in the early stages to where I’ve got some commitments from some really good other personalities to come in and record, and do some things on the record. So right now I'm just pursuing it as a Rickey Medlocke thing and we’ll see where it goes.”

“It's pretty heavy blues rock,” answers Medlocke, asked where it might go stylistically. “I mean, it's nothing like, what would you say, any departure away from anything in the past, except the songs are really, really good. I've been writing with some really good writers, as has Skynyrd, some of the same writers. A guy named Gordon Kennedy, who wrote ‘If I Could Change The World’ with ERIC CLAPTON, a guy named Trey Bruce, who's been working with VELVET REVOLVER, JOHN 5 who plays with ROB ZOMBIE. Just different people like that. A guy named JEFFREY STEELE, a lot of different people. Song-wise, man, I'm really excited about it because it's right up my alley except it's good material, man. Material like I haven't done in a long time.”

“I think Skynyrd is at a pivotal point right now where, first of all, we need a new record,” says Medlocke, in closing. “And we're looking at a couple of really good packages next year, for next year's touring. But I think right now, one of the most important things for Lynyrd Skynyrd is to get a new record out and have new product.”

See www.lynyrdskynyrd.com for more.