RICKEY MEDLOCKE - Open Doors, Closed Doors Page 2
by Martin Popoff

"When I put that band to rest in '96, I never really looked at putting it back together again. That was a part of my life that I thoroughly, thoroughly really enjoyed and loved. We were young, we had the whole world in the palm of our hands, we were chinning the world, man, we were living the times of our lives. And you know what? I really don't believe in all seriousness that we even knew it at the time. We had hit songs, we had platinum success, and for me, I would rather have people remember it for what it was back then, than four guys coming out on that stage and maybe falling short of what it used to be, and not be able to regain the magic. Then people are going to walk away from it in saying 'Yeah, you know what? I told do it wasn't... maybe it wasn't as great as we thought it was.' I would rather it remain in history as a time when it really was great. It was at a time when we were really on top of our game. I'm not saying never say never. But I've moved on in my life and I still get recognition outside of the bands. That's one of the biggest reasons I got into acting, was to prove to myself that I could do something away from a band, that I didn't need four, five, six other guys together behind me, just to do what I wanted to do, you know, and achieve something I wanted to achieve. I have a career still ahead of me, maybe doing Ricky Medlocke, and those songs I wrote and played in that great band will still be a part of it. I know there's a lot of talk. I hear about the so-called petition being circulated around, that is going to be given to me and my management to force us to think that there are a lot of people out there that really want to see this. But I question, is there? Is there a million people out there that want to see it? I don't think so. Is there a handful? Yeah. So in closing with this whole thing, I'd rather people remember it when it was great, than have them go away with a last impression of it, that it really wasn't all that great."

"The thing is, I always wanted to be an actor," continues Rickey, as we get back to what is beciming a real passion for the man. "I wanted to be an actor years ago and never really got the opportunity to get myself locked into it until about two or three years ago. And then I went out and beat the streets in L.A., met a lot of people along the way, some very encouraging, some not so encouraging. One guy in particular that gave me a lot of encouragement, and told me a lot of the ins and outs, is Billy Bob Thornton. And he and I have become really, really good friends. It's funny, because when I'm wanting to know about a certain... what he thinks about certain things as far as the acting goes, I can always call him and ask him, just to see what he thinks. He's always very helpful. He's just a really, really personal friend of mine, and I really value and respect his opinion."

RICKEY MEDLOCKE - Open Doors, Closed Doors Page 3