Ed King's Journal: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
ED KING'S JOURNAL:
Skynyrd Guitarist's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Blog
Gary Rossington, Billy Powell, Artimus Pyle, Ed King and Bob Burns.
A lot of the ceremony's details have been written about already, so I'll just post what I think's been left out.
First off, I have to express my appreciation to Gary Rossington for making me feel at home. I didn't expect that. Actually, it felt like I'd never left. Now I kind of feel bad for HALF the bad stuff I said about him!
And Medlocke treated me like an old friend. I think I may have to form another opinion about his place in the band.
Some of you have asked about the Nokia gig. As some of you already know, I have a problem with some of their 'feels' and 'tempos'. A lot of what they play is on top of the beat - nothing behind it. For me, almost everything has to be behind the beat to feel right. "Sweet Home Alabama" felt like the 'merrie melodies' version! When it's on top of the beat, my head wants to EXPLODE. So, if I looked a little uncomfortable to some (on stage at the Nokia), you'll understand. It was real good that I went to the gig and I was blown away at the lengths the band went to to accomodate me. You've already heard about them tuning UP to natural pitch so I wouldn't have to mess with my Strat. Gary even told the crew that he'd BUY ME A GUITAR if he had to. He was serious.
As usual, the road crew are a great bunch. Brian Evors (who's been with Skynyrd since '87 and a man I highly respect) was a huge help. Leon's son, who we used to call Lee-Lee, was there. He's now 22 and the spittin' image of Leon. I forgot to ask him what his name is now. GREAT looking kid!!
And his girlfriend was an absolute knockout. The apple doesn't fall very far from the tree. I gave him my card and told him I'd teach him some bass stuff if he's interested. He should consider it...you never know how many bass-genes he may have inherited from the old man.
Couldn't quite figure out Bob Burns' hair! Looked like he'd IRONED IT. But I have to tell you, he nailed the feel to SWEET HOME ALABAMA. I don't think I've felt it that good in a long, long, long time. When that song feels right, it's all good. Thanks, BOB!
Kid Rock. He initiated a conversation and we spoke for a long time backstage. I was very impressed with this guy. How can you not like someone who knows the lyrics to the entire Skynyrd catalog? He calls rap music the 'blues music of this generation.' Very well spoken and he used much of what we talked about in his speech at the ceremony Monday night. Funny...he absolutely REFUSED to have a speech written for him or to write one himself. So he just winged it and used his notes. I hope he's happy when he sees it played back!
Solomon Burke. This man is absolutely huge. In the neighborhood of 400 pounds. When the show began, he was seated on a throne center-stage wearing a solid black suit that sparkled. And when he sang, I began to think the throne wasn't grandiose enough or didn't have enough gold stuck to it. Egads. He IS soul-music royalty. Larger than life. You'll hear it Tuesday...he did a soul medley backed by Letterman's band that was inspiring to the point even Ed King got on his feet and yelled and screamed. I am a solid Solomon Burke fan. He's amazing.
I never watch MTV but I understand Matt Pinfield is big over there. We spent about an hour going over rock and roll trivia. Even though he was born in '61, he's very 'old school.' He'd better call me when he rolls through town.
Metallica was so loud they blew up the diaphram in my microphone. The engineers didn't realize there was a problem with my sound until AFTER our performance.
We'd no sooner stepped off the stage when the head engineer approached me and said my guitar parts were not usable. I was crushed. So I had to go into a studio Tuesday morning and re-do some things. When a diaphram blows up, the sound gets REAL fuzzy. So, in FREEBIRD, the sound actually fit pretty well. And there was no way I was going to be able to duplicate what I'd played the night before. I hope it all works out in the mix. We'll see on Tuesday.
Tight security. Backstage in the area where the inductees meet before being escorted to the stage, stood STRATAHOLIC and MIKEY88. I had to have a black wristband, a hand stamp and an all access pass around my neck... THEY get in without ANY CREDENTIALS?! I was proud of those boys.
The 'best dressed' award has to go to Dale Rossington. I'm not a clothes-connoisseur but I know what I like. She was stunning in every way.
Artimus gets a runner-up for his tux.
Our 2-room corner suite at the Waldorf-Astoria featured a 20 X 50 foot tiled outdoor deck. There are only 6 rooms in the entire hotel that have one. And it would've been great had the doors NOT been WELDED SHUT. I guess some idiots in times past threw some stuff overboard and now the deck is off-limits to everyone. What a pisser!!
Anyway...it was a great time. And, as Kent Griffith would say...there's another load of Ed King's bullshit!!
Bye y'all. Ed
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