![]() ![]() So I have liberal ways and Republican ways. “I was a Democrat before I was a Republican. On Skynyrd’s role in this divided nation: Van Zant doesn’t see a role for the band at all - except maybe to set an example. I also want to be able to protect my family.” I’m with Ronnie in that handguns are made for killing. No one, in my opinion, should own an assault rifle that shoots more than once. “I do agree with having more background checks. ![]() On gun control, a subject Ronnie Van Zant addressed in the popular 1975 song “Saturday Night Special”: “I’m a gun owner,” Van Zant said without hesitation. I’m gonna stick to: We play music, y’all do the rest.” I’m not one to tell someone what not to do. “If somebody wants to bring something - as long as it’s not a gun - it’s OK,” Van Zant said. On Confederate flags at Skynyrd concerts: The band stopped using the Confederate flag as part of its concerts in 2012, but there is no ban on fans bringing their own to shows, whereas the Atlanta-based Zac Brown Band forbids them. ![]() Everyone wants to be a little tougher and have a good time.” When I say rebel, I mean James Dean rebel. “I think there’s more rebels in the North than in the South these days. On audiences in the North and the South: “The reaction is the same,” Van Zant observed. We were common folks they raised us right. We wasn’t rich in dollars but we were rich in family, rich in courtesy, treat people right. God gave him a talent to relate to people through song. On what made Ronnie Van Zant special: “Ronnie was a fricking poet, a common-people poet. “But they got together and made some great music that stuck.” Well, they did go to jail quite a few times,” he said and laughed. Most of ’em probably would have ended up in jail. “It’s an amazing story when you think about a bunch of guys who are probably not going to have a great life. On why Skynyrd has lasted so long: “Because it’s fricking real music,” Van Zant opined. I’m thinking, how many more times am I going to be doing this?” I just don’t feel comfortable with it not being sang.’” Then Rossington came up to Van Zant in Sacramento one night and said: “Ronnie was a singer and a songwriter. On what goes through Van Zant’s mind when he sings “Free Bird” every night: For years, Van Zant resisted singing the song because “I always thought Ronnie was the only person who could sing that.” So the re-formed band merely did an instrumental version. Said Van Zant: “Gary said, ‘If I’d known that, I would have had one put in a long time ago.’ ” Rossington is doing “great” because he got a pacemaker. On how the tour is going: “Wonderful,” Van Zant said. “We wanted to go out with our boots on high and come riding in like we do,” Van Zant said. The group - which reunited in 1987 following the 1977 plane crash that killed three members - never discussed going on without Rossington. On why Skynyrd is doing a farewell tour: Guitarist Gary Rossington, 66, the band’s leader and last surviving original member, was having heart problems, making it difficult for him to tour. With Skynyrd due for its Twin Cities swan song at Xcel Energy Center on Friday, Van Zant called from his Florida home to talk about his brother Ronnie, “Free Bird,” the Confederate flag, gun control and all things Skynyrd, including the fact that he never had the band’s namesake, Leonard Skinner, as a gym teacher at Robert E. Indeed, “Free Bird,” “That Smell,” “Sweet Home Alabama” and the other songs will live on. Even after we’re done, there’s going to be another generation of fans that goes, ‘Hey, this band Skynyrd was really cool.’ The music is going to keep goin’ on long after we’re gone.” “It amazes me that this music is generational. “I’ve been in the band - what, 31 years? - and I can honestly say this is the most proudest I’ve ever been,” Van Zant said this month. Van Zant, 58, knows that his band - Lynyrd Skynyrd, those Southern rockers who made it to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - will never die even though the long-haired boys are in the midst of their farewell tour. This year, Johnny’s daughter, Lindsay, died of cancer at age 35. When he was a teenager, his older brother Ronnie, then the lead singer and chief lyricist of Skynyrd, died in a fiery plane crash at age 29 in 1977. Lynyrd Skynyrd singer Johnny Van Zant knows death. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |