Post by String Bean on May 13, 2005 21:25:06 GMT -5
Van Zant brothers living Ronnie's 'dream' with country CD
By JOHN GEROME | Associated Press
May 11, 2005
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Southern rockers Johnny and Donnie Van Zant figure they have as much right as anybody to cut a country album.
Their father was a truck driver who played Merle Haggard and George Jones around the house. Their late brother, Ronnie, led the rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd, whose Southern imagery and rootsy sound were influential in country as well as rock.
And fans of the brothers' respective bands _ the revamped Skynyrd in Johnny's case and .38 Special in Donnie's _ are more likely to blast Gretchen Wilson and Tim McGraw from their pickups than 50 Cent and Britney Spears.
The Van Zants' new CD, "Get Right With the Man," is guitar-driven rock with just enough down-home snap to get on country radio. The first single, "Help Somebody," is at No. 31 on the latest Billboard chart.
The brothers recently spoke with the AP between bites of shrimp cocktail at a Nashville restaurant.
AP: Why a country album at this stage in yer careers?
Johnny: We're not trying to jump on any kind of bandwagon or anything. We're just being ourselves with this CD. We have a real love of country music.
Donnie: When we were kids, we grew up listening to country music. When our brother Ronnie was killed in '77 (in a plane crash that also took Skynyrd guitarist Steve Gaines, vocalist Cassie Gaines and road manager Dean Kilpatrick) his dream was to get into the country market. So we're kind of living his dream too.
Johnnie: Skynyrd got to cut one of Merle Haggard's records, "Honky Tonk nite Time Man." (He starts singing a bit of the chorus.)
AP: Do you think country music fans will be receptive to a pair of rock 'n' rollers?
Johnny: When you look at what's on country radio now with Big & Rich, Gretchen, Montgomery Gentry, Kenny (Chesney) and all those good folks, it's kind of leaned our way. We did the Grammys with Tim McGraw and he gave the best compliment. He said, 'What would country be today without Lynyrd Skynyrd?' If Skynyrd came out today it would be right there on country radio.
Donnie: It's not like the Van Zants have gone country. It's sort of like country has met us halfway. Really, what we've done on this CD is not that different from what we do with our own bands.
AP: How different was it for you co-writing with Nashville songwriters? Four of the 11 tracks were even written by outside writers. That's not the norm in the rock world.
Johnny: As far as writing with the other writers, it was natural. Very natural. Those boys are like us. They came from the same background.
Donnie: We know when we hear a great melody. After the first listen, whether we wrote it or didn't write it, we wanted to record it.
AP: Do you think Southern rock is still alive today as a genre?
Johnny: I think it's called country. Look at Montgomery Gentry. If those boys came out in the '70s they'd be Southern rock. Look at Gretchen Wilson. If she came out in the '70s she'd be the queen of Southern rock. I don't know if people realize it, but most country artists these days _ a lot of them _ were in rock bands when they first started out. Same thing with the country radio DJs. They'll say, 'I spun yer records on rock radio way back when and now I'm on the country station.'
Donnie: It amazes me how many country artists have come up to us recently and said that we were a big influence on them.
AP: How was it working together on this album? Any friction?
Donnie: With both of us being on the road so much _ Johnny with Skynyrd and me with .38 Special _ we don't get to spend a lot of time together. So this really has been special for us. We got to spend a lot of time together and get caught up on a lot of the family issues that we had that we've worked out. We really worked out a whole world of problems (laughs).
AP: Some of these songs have a surprising spiritual side to them. Even the title of the album, "Get Right with the Man," has religious connotations. Are rock fans ready for that?
Johnny: I think our fans are hardworking people, flag-carrying people, religious people.
Donnie: They want to be moved emotionally and spiritually the way I want to. That's what we've tried to do here.
By JOHN GEROME | Associated Press
May 11, 2005
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Southern rockers Johnny and Donnie Van Zant figure they have as much right as anybody to cut a country album.
Their father was a truck driver who played Merle Haggard and George Jones around the house. Their late brother, Ronnie, led the rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd, whose Southern imagery and rootsy sound were influential in country as well as rock.
And fans of the brothers' respective bands _ the revamped Skynyrd in Johnny's case and .38 Special in Donnie's _ are more likely to blast Gretchen Wilson and Tim McGraw from their pickups than 50 Cent and Britney Spears.
The Van Zants' new CD, "Get Right With the Man," is guitar-driven rock with just enough down-home snap to get on country radio. The first single, "Help Somebody," is at No. 31 on the latest Billboard chart.
The brothers recently spoke with the AP between bites of shrimp cocktail at a Nashville restaurant.
AP: Why a country album at this stage in yer careers?
Johnny: We're not trying to jump on any kind of bandwagon or anything. We're just being ourselves with this CD. We have a real love of country music.
Donnie: When we were kids, we grew up listening to country music. When our brother Ronnie was killed in '77 (in a plane crash that also took Skynyrd guitarist Steve Gaines, vocalist Cassie Gaines and road manager Dean Kilpatrick) his dream was to get into the country market. So we're kind of living his dream too.
Johnnie: Skynyrd got to cut one of Merle Haggard's records, "Honky Tonk nite Time Man." (He starts singing a bit of the chorus.)
AP: Do you think country music fans will be receptive to a pair of rock 'n' rollers?
Johnny: When you look at what's on country radio now with Big & Rich, Gretchen, Montgomery Gentry, Kenny (Chesney) and all those good folks, it's kind of leaned our way. We did the Grammys with Tim McGraw and he gave the best compliment. He said, 'What would country be today without Lynyrd Skynyrd?' If Skynyrd came out today it would be right there on country radio.
Donnie: It's not like the Van Zants have gone country. It's sort of like country has met us halfway. Really, what we've done on this CD is not that different from what we do with our own bands.
AP: How different was it for you co-writing with Nashville songwriters? Four of the 11 tracks were even written by outside writers. That's not the norm in the rock world.
Johnny: As far as writing with the other writers, it was natural. Very natural. Those boys are like us. They came from the same background.
Donnie: We know when we hear a great melody. After the first listen, whether we wrote it or didn't write it, we wanted to record it.
AP: Do you think Southern rock is still alive today as a genre?
Johnny: I think it's called country. Look at Montgomery Gentry. If those boys came out in the '70s they'd be Southern rock. Look at Gretchen Wilson. If she came out in the '70s she'd be the queen of Southern rock. I don't know if people realize it, but most country artists these days _ a lot of them _ were in rock bands when they first started out. Same thing with the country radio DJs. They'll say, 'I spun yer records on rock radio way back when and now I'm on the country station.'
Donnie: It amazes me how many country artists have come up to us recently and said that we were a big influence on them.
AP: How was it working together on this album? Any friction?
Donnie: With both of us being on the road so much _ Johnny with Skynyrd and me with .38 Special _ we don't get to spend a lot of time together. So this really has been special for us. We got to spend a lot of time together and get caught up on a lot of the family issues that we had that we've worked out. We really worked out a whole world of problems (laughs).
AP: Some of these songs have a surprising spiritual side to them. Even the title of the album, "Get Right with the Man," has religious connotations. Are rock fans ready for that?
Johnny: I think our fans are hardworking people, flag-carrying people, religious people.
Donnie: They want to be moved emotionally and spiritually the way I want to. That's what we've tried to do here.
