Randy Rhoads Quotes

"To this day I don't have a guitar idol. I have people who are my favorites." 
Randy Rhoads 

"I've been playing about 18 years and I started to get a style when I started teaching. People wanted to learn everybody's licks, and at first it was okay. Then I thought 'Wait a minute, you've got to get your own style.' So I started combining what they wanted to learn and just a bit of techhnique. You hear so many different people everyday, you find yourself in it, if you can understand that. You're teachinng everybody's licks all day. I never did that, because I never had a stereo. I never copped licks off records. I started when I was really young, when I was 7. I never got to cop records because I didn't have a record player. So by the time I got to teaching, I didn't want people to carry on doing that too long." 
Randy Rhoads

"The kids that we play for aren't interested in musical expertise. If I sat down and played some classical, besides those that were interested in the musical side of it, with most of the kids, it wouldn't impress them. They're headbangers. Ozzy has an incredible following with his audience, and most of his kids want non-stop..... It calls for flash. It's very heavy and everything is very powerful. The solo features are only to show off Tommy and I. At the same time, they're not supposed to represent anything like,'This is what I can do.' It's just a quick flashpot going off."
Randy Rhoads

"I used to play constantly. In fact, I couldn't put it down. Now that I'm out there, I practice less than I did because I don't have the time. I can't sit down in a hotel room and practice." 
Randy Rhoads

"Strange enough, one of the bass players (Dana Strum) in a local L.A. band auditioned for Ozzy on bass. They were looking for a guitar player. He was using this guy from L.A. for a while. Apparently Ozzy went through every player in L.A. I never even knew about it. I never looked for auditions or gigs. I was stuck in a rut." 
Randy Rhoads

"I wasn't a big Sabbath fan, to be honest. They were great at what they did. Obviously they did it well, and made it huge. I respect that. Let's not go into it, but I wasn't a big fan. So anyway, I was kind of wary about auditioning because I'd never been to an audition. When I did come down, he said all these guys had Marshall stacks and Echoplexes. I brought a tiny practice amp. I started tuning up and he said, 'You've got the gig.' I didn't even get a chance to play." 
Randy Rhoads

"Both of my parents are music teachers. My mother owns the school that I taught in. My brothers and sisters are musicans. My mom pushed me all the time. She knew that I could do it. She knew more than I did. She thought I would go somewhere. She gave me the job and helped me get equipment, which a lot of parents don't do. Alot of my students had to go out and fight for it." 
Randy Rhoads