Rickey Medlocke is everything Lynyrd Skynyrd. A founding drummer, a replacement guitarist and, most of all, a huge fan.

“Lynyrd Skynyrd material, to me, is timeless,” Medlocke says in his thick Southern drawl. “This is the greatest band to ever walk out of the South.”

Medlocke, who spent most of the last 20 years fronting another southern rock band, Blackfoot, was asked to rejoin Lynyrd Skynyrd four years ago.

Constantly touring and recording since, Medlocke is currently playing on one of the biggest rock tours of the year, sharing the bill with ZZ Top and supporting its latest release, “Edge of Forever.”

You’ve been on the road for a little over a month now. How’s the tour going?

It’s going phenomenal, man. It’s a great match-up. I think it’s probably the best bang for the buck you can get these days. And we’re having a great time with it. The guys in ZZ Top are having a great time, and they’re talking about extending the tour after the first of the year.

We tried to keep the ticket prices as low as we possibly could, and I think we’re doing well with it. We’re really having great turn-out.

I’m curious as to how much partying goes on.

It’s actually kind of a funny deal … (laughing) if people could see on the bus, they’d go, “My God, what happened to these guys?” I think that you get to a point in your life where other things become more important than the aspirations of going out after the show and partying every night.

I don’t know, man, we just kind of keep it down to a mild roar and just have a great time with what we’re doing. As long as this tour is gonna be out, you really have to keep your health together. I’m into a whole new different drug called working out.

What did you bring to Lynyrd Skynyrd when you joined?

A lot of people have asked me this question, and I think I’m just much more of an up-energy person. As far as like performing and stuff, I got a lot of energy on stage. The music takes a hold of me and just brings out whatever’s in me. I’ve actually always been that way, and I don’t think it’s ever going to stop.

I try to bring a different dimension to the band as far as rock goes. I really love rock music, so I tried to bring as much of that rock to the new project as I possibly could.

Was leaving Blackfoot hard to do?

To be honest with you, no, it wasn’t. Actually, at that point in my life, I really needed a change. I just felt like I had become really stale and just wasn’t going anywhere. So I ended up getting the call, and I promised the guys that I would give them 110 percent effort as long as they’d need me.

I just feel very fortunate having made it with two bands. Some people never make it with one.

How does “Edge of Forever” differ from past Skynyrd records?

I personally think that it’s a much heavier rock record. Gary Rossington has often said thats it’s probably the best Lynyrd Skynyrd record since “Street Survivors.” Collectively, it feels like a band on this record. It feels like we’re comfortable with each other and confident with each other. And I think Johnny is singing great. He’s at the top of his form right now.

Is it strange watching Lynyrd Skynyrd on “Behind The Music?”

It’s interesting. When they approached us about doing that, we had no idea what they were doing. We didn’t know it was going to start a whole trend thing. What happened was after that thing came out we started noticing that the audiences were getting much, much younger.

Nowadays, especially during the summers, the crowds are so young. And you talk to all of them, and they say, “Yeah we saw your special on the VH1.”

What is missing in rock music today?

You know something, man? It’s all relative. I grew up in a time when rock music was unbelievable. I had Jimi Hendrix to look up to. And Eric Clapton.

Nowadays, I don’t know if there are any emerging figures that somebody can sit there and say, “I want to get into the music industry, who do I look up to? Who do I draw my influence from?”

There’s a lot of bands out there and a lot with something to say. I have my own favorites — Collective Soul, Days Of The New, Creed — but there’s also a lot of new bands I don’t like. If I can’t feel it, if it doesn’t give me chicken skin, when you’re just like one big goose bump, I’m not going to get it.

What’s missing in the music industry is the love of the music. I see these record companies signing everybody.

I watched this program on HBO the other night, and they had this band on there. This was the worst guitar player, I swear to you, that I have ever heard in my life. I wasn’t that bad three days after I started playing. I wanted to take his guitar and smash the fucking thing and say, “Go get a job, dude.”

Which in turn, he might say, “Shut up, you old fuck. You don’t know what you’re talking about.” But, bottom line, I’m not the best guitar player in the world, but you know what? I can get the job done. And in grand fashion.

I have a love affair every night with an instrument called the guitar.

How long will Skynyrd keep going?

Who knows? I don’t think anyone really knows. I think someday we’re going to feel it. We’ll all shake hands and say, “You know what, we’ve had a great run at this.”

Do you still get a lot of people yelling, “Play ‘Freebird?'”

Of course. It’s kinda interesting, man. They don’t as much as they used to because they know it’s coming. If somebody’s there and they don’t know “Freebird” and “Sweet Home Alabama” are coming, they must be unconscious.

But it’s cool, man, when you can step up there and play all-time classic tunes like that. It gives you a warm feeling inside. And there’s not a moment that goes by that we don’t think about the original members who made those songs.

Who brings more chicks to shows, Skynyrd or ZZ Top?

(Laughing) You like doing this, don’t you? Everybody wants to think that they do, but I don’t know, man …

ZZ Top has the reputation.

Yeah, well, they got the reputation, but Lynyrd Skynyrd also has the reputation. Let’s put it this way — how about 50/50. How’s that?

That works.