Site News
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"FREE BIRD" ON CONAN O'BRIEN'S LAST TONIGHT SHOW
Did you catch Conan O'Brien's last "Tonight Show" this past weekend? If so, you probably saw him end the show with a celebrity jam session featuring Will Ferrell, ZZ Top, Ben Harper and Beck… And they sang "Free Bird"! If you missed the show, you can still watch the video below. Conan and friends did a good job, but no one will ever top the original!
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10
Skynyrd-signed guitar highlights raffle
By Bill Dean
Entertainment editor for
The Gainsville Sun
Hailing from Jacksonville, Lynyrd Skynyrd's ties to Gainesville are surprising perhaps only in their depth and longevity. They go back to the late '60s and early '70s when the unsigned band performed shows in Gainesville, including several for Tom Petty's Mudcrutch.
Today they continue with the group helping to raise funds for Gainesville's Earl Gardner, who as a 7-year-old in 2007 received burns to 40 percent of his body at his home in northwest Gainesville.
The band recently sent Earl's family an Ibanez guitar autographed by singer Johnny Van Zant, guitarists Gary Rossington and Rickey Medlocke, and others associated with the group along with 38 Special singer Donnie Van Zant.
The guitar is being raffled off Saturday with proceeds from the $2 donations per chance going to defray Earl's continuing medical expenses. Chances are available at the Short Stop in Gainesville, Alachua Farm & Lumber Center in Alachua, the Spindrifter Lounge, Sonny's Pit Bar-B-Cue in Alachua, Hitchcock's grocery stores in Alachua, Trenton, Hawthorne, Newberry, Old Town, Jasper, East Palataka and Keystone Heights.
The drawing for the guitar will be held at noon Saturday at Alachua Farm & Lumber Center, at 14101 N.W. 145th Ave., Alachua, though participants don't need to be present to win. For more information, call the Alachua Farm & Lumber Center at (386) 462-3003.
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07
New Lynyrd Skynyrd Posters and Greeting Cards!
We are now offering a greater selection of new posters and greeting cards! Check them out for the Lynyrd Skynyrd fan on your holiday list or get a rockin' gift for yourself!
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01
Ronnie Van Zant Portrait by Michael Cartellone
Michael Cartellone creates an amazing tribute to Ronnie Van Zant!!
Click on the portrait below for more details and to order your Limited Edition copy.
Michael says: "The long awaited Ronnie Van Zant portrait is now available - I worked on it all year while the band was on tour and I could not be more proud of this tribute to a great man. Please visit my web site and check out the slide show presentation which documents the progression of this artwork while out on the road."
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26
Black Friday Special: Autographs From Lynyrd Skynyrd
Black Friday Special: Autographs From Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd's instant classic God & Guns 2 CD Special Edition or Standard Edition comes with an autographed booklet from the band. Don't forget, the double CD Special Edition contains 6 bonus tracks. GO HERE to order now.
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20
Lynyrd Skynyrd Rocks the Wellmont Theater by Elliot Levin
NY-Hard-Rock-Music-Examiner
Southern rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd played in Montclair, NJ last night, filling the newly restored venue with hoards of fans both old and young.
The current incarnation of Skynyrd, with guitarist Gary Rossington as the only full-time original member, still boasts an impressive pedigree, including original singer Ronnie Van Zant’s younger brother Johnny on vocals, and original drummer Rickey Medlocke now on lead guitar. Check back with Examiner.com this weekend for a preshow interview with Rickey as he discusses his musical influences, modern politics, Skynyrd history, and more.
The band, playing their fourth New York metro area appearance since August, opened with new song Skynyrd Nation, one of four new tunes that would be played over the night. The Wellmont Theater’s stage was heavily packed, as the band now consists of a staggering nine musicians filling out the classic triple guitar sound. Flatscreen TVs flashed Skynyrd images as singer Johnny Van Zant belted out songs old and new, and the audience of long time fans sang along to classic tunes such as Gimme Back My Bullets, Tuesday's Gone, That Smell, and the always poignant Simple Man, which Van Zant dedicated to US troops both home and overseas.
Newer tunes off Skynyrd’s freshly released album, God & Guns, also featured prominently in the setlist, and were well received by the crowd, especially the hard-rocking radio hit Still Unbroken. In another merging of the old and new, a noticeable amount of children were present in the audience, cheering right next to their proud parents, especially during the bands’ best known material such as Sweet Home Alabama as a new generation was introduced to one of the best-known rock bands of all time.
Of course, no Lynyrd Skynyrd concert would be complete without an encore performance of Free Bird, arguably the most famous encore song of all time. The band played the classic ballad with the same tight perfection they demonstrated the entire night, keyboardist Peter Keys hammering away at his piano while Medlocke shredded through the solo regularly voted to the top five of virtually every list of all-time best guitar, solo, or rock songs. Flatscreen TVs displayed the names of Skynyrd members who have passed away over the years, as all of the musicians powered their way through the heavy metal guitar climax of the song, Van Zant hoisting an American flag tied to his microphone stand high above his head as the audience roared in appreciation.
As Rickey Medlocke said earlier in the day, “Lynyrd Skynyrd may be called Southern rock, but really it’s American rock. We’re as American as can be.” Truly, last night’s performance demonstrated one of the last classic rock bands still touring and making new music, with no sign of slowing down. From first song to last, Skynyrd delivered a hard rocking concert that satisfied everyone, and made it clear that they plan to be around for a long time yet. While last night night's show was the fourth and final local appearance for 2009, expect the Skynyrd family to roll around again soon.
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19
Skynyrd Still Skyward
Skynyrd Still Skyward
by Mark Smith
TRAGEDY and triumph.
Never have two words been more deeply entrenched in the psyche of a music group than with American rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Since its formation as a garage band in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964, it seems the group has never been able to experience one without the other.
After rising to world-wide fame in the early 1970s with enduring classics Sweet Home Alabama and Freebird, the group was forced to disband after losing three members, including songwriter Ronnie Van Zant, in a plane crash in South Carolina in 1977.
In 1986, before the band’s reunion, surviving guitarist Allen Collins crashed his car while drunk, killing his girlfriend and leaving him paralysed from the chest down.
He died from pneumonia on January 23, 1990.
The band, now led by Van Zant’s younger brother Johnny, continued to record, sparking an exciting new period.
Then in 2001, Leon Wilkeson, the band’s bassist since 1972, was found dead in his hotel room.
In 2006, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Guitarist Hughie Thomasson died shortly after.
So it’s strangely poetic that in 2009, the band’s latest triumph is something that has again risen from the ashes of tragedy.
The band’s new album God and Guns has been heralded as the group’s finest record since its 1970s hey-day, but guitarist Rickey Medlocke says it took the untimely death of two more of its members to get it that way.
The band started recording the album in 2008, but lost keyboardist Billy Powell and bassist Ean Evans during the recording process to a suspected heart attack and cancer respectively.
“One of the key elements in this whole thing that really pushed us to dig deep and come up with the goods was the fact that we had lost Bill Powell and our bass player Ean Evans to cancer, and knowing that we had started this record with them, and all of a sudden we couldn’t finish it with them,” Medlocke said.
“And we knew that if we didn’t get this record out they would have been very disappointed.
“At one point we even talked about calling it a day but then we said, ‘you know what, we can’t do that because Billy and Ean would be very upset’.
“So we picked ourselves up by our bootstraps, dug down deep and really, really committed to making a great CD.”
The album blends a range of musical styles from blues and country to hard rock and includes guest appearances by Marilyn Manson guitarist John 5 and Rob Zombie.
The album debuted at number 18 in the US charts, its highest result since the 1977 album Street Survivors.
Lyrically, it takes aim at what Medlocke describes as a nation of forgotten values.
The album title is a reference to a speech US president Barack Obama gave in San Francisco deriding small town America for clinging to their God and guns.
“Our country (the US) is trying to be so politically correct, and a lot of the family values and personal values have been forgotten,” he says.
“It’s not the way half of our nation wants it to be. And this record kind of speaks out for some people who maybe can’t speak out for themselves.
“We go out and say, ‘hey, when did it get to be that kids can’t pledge an allegiance to the school in the classroom or be in the classroom and say their prayers’?
“Everything has become that if you’re doing something, you’re insulting someone else’s religion, or if you say something you’re insulting someone else’s race.
“We don’t try to use the band as a political stance; we are just musicians who write about real substance. And we’ve been writing about what is on people’s minds for years.”
Medlocke puts the group’s endurance through so many tragedies down to a simple love of the craft.
“When you’ve got great bands that have spent their whole lives playing music, what else are you going to want to do?,” he said.
“We have fans from 15 to 65 years old and it’s pretty amazing for us.
“I think that’s what drives us through the tragedies.”
Medlocke also hinted at the possibility of playing in Australia for the first time.
“There has been a lot of interest in an Australian tour. We have never been out there, but it is something we really want to do,” he said.
God and Guns is out now through Roadrunner Records.
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18
Amazon's Deal Of The Day
Get God & Guns for $2.99
Head over to Amazon right now to purchase the digital bundle of Skynyrd's new album, God & Guns for the low price of $2.99.
The album features the hits "Still Unbroken," "Simple Life" and the powerful "That Ain't My America."
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18
Amazon's Deal Of The Day
Get God & Guns for $2.99
Head over to Amazon right now to purchase the digital bundle of Skynyrd's new album, God & Guns for the low price of $2.99.
The album features the hits "Still Unbroken," "Simple Life" and the powerful "That Ain't My America."
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11
PURCHASE TICKETS FOR UK SHOWS
Any Frynds out there in the UK? Lynyrd Skynyrd is crossing the pond in March 2010 to play a string of dates, and members of LynyrdSkynyrd.com get advance access to presale tickets! Members of the Skynyrd Nation fan club will get first access, but the presale opens to the public at 6PM GMT (that's 1PM EST if you're in the States) on November 12. Be sure to get your tickets fast, because they are limited and available on a first come, first served basis.
4/3/10 - Birmingham LG Arena (Birmingham, UK)
5/3/10 - Cardiff International Arena (Cardiff, UK)
6/3/10 - Hammersmith Apollo (London, UK)
8/3/10 - Manchester Apollo (Manchester, UK)
9/3/10 - Glasgow Clyde Auditorium (Glasgow, UK)
All tickets available at https://www.artistarena.uk.com/lynyrdskynyrd
*** If you are having difficulty accessing the ticketing link, make sure you are allowing cookies. If that isn't working for you try using another browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, etc...). If after all of that and you still can't get in, please call 212.420.1700 or email skynyrdnation@artistarena.com for assistance.
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11
SKYNYRD NATION UK PRESALE
Any Frynds out there in the UK? Lynyrd Skynyrd is crossing the pond in March 2010 to play a string of dates, and we're giving first access to presale tickets to the Skynyrd Nation fan club tomorrow! The fan club presale will begin at 4PM GMT (that's 11AM EST if you're in the States) tomorrow, November 12. Be sure to get your tickets fast, because they are limited and the presale opens to the public at 6PM GMT tomorrow!
4/3/10 - Birmingham LG Arena (Birmingham, UK)
5/3/10 - Cardiff International Arena (Cardiff, UK)
6/3/10 - Hammersmith Apollo (London, UK)
8/3/10 - Manchester Apollo (Manchester, UK)
9/3/10 - Glasgow Clyde Auditorium (Glasgow, UK)
All tickets available at https://www.artistarena.uk.com/lynyrdskynyrd
Fan club members only, use the following username and password to access reserved presale tickets:
Username: lynyrd
Password: skynyrd
*** If you are having difficulty accessing the ticketing link, make sure you are allowing cookies. If that isn't working for you try using another browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, etc...). If after all of that and you still can't get in, please call 212.420.1700 or email skynyrdnation@artistarena.com for assistance.
Additional presales may be announced shortly. Please do not call or email about shows that are not listed here, as we will post the information as soon as it's available.
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04
" I believe that God had plans for me" - Gary Rossington
By Julie Rosenbaum-Engelhardt
Evansville Courier & Press
EVANSVILLE -- To lead guitarist Gary Rossington, it wasn't fate that saved his life when he was a passenger on the plane that went down in 1977, killing lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and two other members of Lynyrd Skynyrd.
"I believe that God had plans for me and it wasn't my time to go," said Rossington, the lone original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, who will perform at 8 p.m. Friday at Roberts Stadium. "I believe there was a reason for me being here. It sounds crazy, but that's what I really believe."
Unlike many bands who once enjoyed megastardom, Lynyrd Skynyrd isn't content to just play old hits. They recently released their new CD "God and Guns," from which they performed "Simple Life" on several late-night talk shows.
"This band has a lot of talent and we had a lot to say," Rossington said. "We're very happy with the response 'God and Guns' is getting."
Growing up in Jacksonville, Fla., Rossington stood in front of a mirror with a broomstick, pretending to be Elvis Presley. When he saw the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show, he decided he wanted to get a Silvertone guitar.
"I was raised by my momma," Rossington said. "We didn't have much money, so I got a paper route and paid a $1.60 a month until my $8 guitar was paid for."
Playing Little League baseball, Gary met up with Ronnie Van Zant.
"Ronnie couldn't sing, but he acted like he could and we put a little band together and he sang Beach Boys and Stones songs," said Rossington, who barely knew any chords at the time.
Eventually, Lynyrd Skynyrd became one of the most admired bands of the 1970s and "Free Bird," along with Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven," and Derek and the Dominos' "Layla," became an anthem for the entire decade.
Dale Rossington, Gary's wife, and a backup singer for Skynyrd, recalls that the Georgia phone book published their phone number and address.
"I can't tell you how many kids called about learning to play 'Free Bird' on their guitar and school projects," said Dale, an Angola, Ind., native who still considers herself a Hoosier. "One even sent up a screenplay. It was wild."
Gary donated his guitar, Berneice, named after his beloved mother, to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; Skynyrd was inducted into the Hall in 2006.
After the plane crash, the band went on hiatus and Rossington formed the Rossington-Collins Band. Dale Krantz, who had been a backup singer for .38 Special, which was fronted by Donnie Van Zant, joined Rossington-Collins as lead vocalist. She and Gary were later married. "The love story is still going strong," Dale said.
While Rossington was conducting this telephone interview, his two little grandchildren came down to show him their Halloween outfits. One of his grandchildren is named Jackson, after Jackson Hole, Wyo., which Gary says: "I've been to so many places in this world and I've never seen anything as beautiful or as close to heaven as Jackson Hole."
In 1987, Skynyrd did a reunion tour with Johnny Van Zant, the youngest of the three brothers, as lead vocalist and they've been going strong ever since. Johnny has fond memories of Ronnie, who was also Skynyrd's primary songwriter.
"My brother is probably up in heaven, fishing and laughing at us for having to work so hard down here," Johnny said.
Within the last year, tragedy struck Skynyrd once again. Keyboardist Billy Powell died of an apparent heart attack in January and bassist Ean Evans died of cancer in May. But as the song from "God and Guns" says, they're still "Unbroken." When tragedy hits them like the legendary Phoenix, Skynyrd continues to rise above the flames.
By Julie Rosenbaum-Engelhardt
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
http://www.courierpress.com
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Fan Comments
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bamachick73 said about Life in Lynyrd Skynyrd... by Johnny Colt
Appreciate you sharing such a personal time in your life. You've tamed that monster and have overcome what so many struggle with every da... -
raidersfan said about Life in Lynyrd Skynyrd... by Johnny Colt
Best thing I have seen on this site in a long long time. Thanks to Johnny for opening up and giving us this inside look. -
jaymanslawncare said about Life in Lynyrd Skynyrd... by Johnny Colt
Wow... I truly have chills crawling up my arms... Great great great story. Your an inspiration JC. jdkga... aka Jayman -
Kim G said about Life in Lynyrd Skynyrd... by Johnny Colt
There are times that you have to descend to the depths of despair in order to rise up. Sounds as if you hit rock bottom, but used the ex... -
ls-streetsurvivor said about Life in Lynyrd Skynyrd... by Johnny Colt
It's easy to stand with the crowd. It takes courage to stand alone. ▬▬▬▬▬▬.ılılıll|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|llılılı...
