Ultimate Rhoads

We've all heard the stories about how Randy would find a local music store and set up a classical guitar lesson while on the road, and often end up knowing more than the teachers.

I wonder, has anyone ever spoken to any of these teachers? Has anyone ever come forward and said "I gave this kid a lesson way back when?"

my turn to be cloak and dagger on the Black Pearl...check your pms Ace baby!!!

Cloak & dagger !!!... 'damn your eyes man do you want a mutiny'.... Is this what i think it is Matt ? i remember you mentioned something awhile ago ...MMmmmm!!! am i correct on this ?

nothing exciting just waiting on a reply from his management and then the plan, once I get over the pleasantries and how I have been since I left in 1996..."do you mind answering a few questions?"

It is strange that after all of this time, no one who ever gave Randy a lesson ever came forward to speak of the experience. Not necessarily within the community, but Dee and her school are easily found.
For that matter, I wonder how many of these instructors knew who they were giving a lesson to...not that Randy was overtly famous at that point, but I would guess he had to inform them he was only in town for a day and wouldn't be returning for a second lesson.

T.

AceVader wrote:We've all heard the stories about how Randy would find a local music store and set up a classical guitar lesson while on the road, and often end up knowing more than the teachers.

I wonder, has anyone ever spoken to any of these teachers? Has anyone ever come forward and said "I gave this kid a lesson way back when?"

Not that I can recall..... But wasn't Scott Shelly (Randy's first teacher when he was a kid) interviewed once for the 'doc' ?
viewtopic.php?p=23281

Also in Rudy Sarzo's book (''Off the Rails") some of those lessons are mentioned. Like the story about a young female classic guitar teacher who freaked out when she found out who she was teaching! (something like that)

whoopiecat wrote:It is strange that after all of this time, no one who ever gave Randy a lesson ever came forward to speak of the experience. Not necessarily within the community, but Dee and her school are easily found.
For that matter, I wonder how many of these instructors knew who they were giving a lesson to...not that Randy was overtly famous at that point, but I would guess he had to inform them he was only in town for a day and wouldn't be returning for a second lesson.

T.

I think it may be more of a novelty if anything! Classical guitar is all quite small scale, compared to many other instruments, so having a mainstream musician who plays an electric guitar would be quite refreshing and nice! The novelty being that you don't get many quite big name rock guitarists seeking lessons.

Matt

Yeah i could imagine Randy turning up for the lesson in a cool non Rock star way. If he booked the lesson in his name at the time how many people would of known he was the ex guitarist from Quiet Riot ?. If you hadn't of seen any music press about Ozzy's new band this guy would of just been another punter. How many teachers would remember the names of all their students. Well in Randy's lesson it could of been an eye opener when he left them with 'egg on their face'.

Another thing from the early days of Ozzy was the gigs they did as 'The Law'. These happened prior to the 1980 UK tour. A few warm up gigs in the Cromer / Blackpool area. Very little is mentioned or known of these gigs. Where they happened the venues the songs they played. Even the band cannot remember 100% what venues etc. I think it was mentioned that Roy Wood from ELO and Wizzard fame he turned up at one of the shows. But no fans who went to any of those gigs have ever mentioned it ?.

The thing is; I don't think any renowned musicians who are teachers, are actually star struck/impressed like fans are, when a big name (to the general public) comes for a lesson. I bet like you say Shaun, Randy didn't play up to rock star status either.

Matt

Cpt Matt Sparrow wrote:The thing is; I don't think any renowned musicians who are teachers, are actually star struck/impressed like fans are, when a big name (to the general public) comes for a lesson. I bet like you say Shaun, Randy didn't play up to rock star status either.

Matt

i disagree. bragging rights, especially to the teachers if they later found out he died. im sure if u gave randy rhoads a lesson, or he ended up giving u one, u would sure remember a well rounded and trained musician. if eddie van halen popped in aroudn that time fora lesson, im sure the instructor would be telling people. and bragging. its not everyday a hot shot rockstar (regardless if randy was humble or not) comes in. and im sure offstage he still had a certain style that didnt fit the areas he was in, like how i can go to another state and people know im not from around there

Sik; I didn't say didn't remember, I said 'star struck'; a completely different thing..

Anyway, David (the guitar teacher), never did broadcast it, publicly or in private; it kind of 'slipped out' over a beer with another undergraduate LOL; so he never appeared overly impressed by those facts in my opinion based on this

Matt

I think you have to remember at the time back in 1980 - '82 that Randy was a name in the making. If you didn't know who Ozzy Osbourne was, you would have had no idea who this skinny little wizz kid on the guitar was. So if he turned up at a lesson he would of had to either brag about being on tour with the Ozzy band. Or be asked the queston do you play in a band ?. I could imagine Randy being more focused on the lesson then as the conversation got more friendly he would of opened up and mentioned what he was all about.

If Frank wants to chime in here... Did you go to your first lessons knowing that Randy played in Quiet Riot or did you find this out later ?.

I guess Randy would have had to explain to a certain extent why he would only be taking exactly one lesson from an instructor and it needing to be on a particular day and/or a particular time.
Randy still needed to go to a place like Musonia in every town he visited where he could get a lesson, though he was going for a classical lesson, these places still taught rock guitar, bass, drums, etc...students and other teachers or staff may have known who just walked in the door.
Upon meeting for a lesson, they may have had a conversation about how much Randy knew at that point, which could have turned into discovering that Randy was formerly a teacher himself, why he no longer taught, etc.
Though I don't profess to know what kind of person Randy was, I don't think the man called schools name dropping/ bragging in order to be fit into a lesson schedule.
His lessons would have been memorable to some, as in certain cases, Randy wound up being more advanced than the instructor and teaching them a thing or two.

whoopiecat wrote:Upon meeting for a lesson, they may have had a conversation about how much Randy knew at that point, which could have turned into discovering that Randy was formerly a teacher himself, why he no longer taught, etc.

I have to admit if I were to "teach" Randy a lesson ( yeah right!) it would take all but 5 minutes to know that he didn't come in to learn a new chord. If anything, he would of had a problem with a certain chord progression or way of approaching a solo to a song he was working on. Unless of course he had trouble with some difficult classical piece. In that case, I'd tell him to just go see Matt.