Post by jacksonvillekid on Oct 19, 2007 0:36:08 GMT -5
Band of famous brothers has influenced Southern music for decades
By PETER COOPER
Staff Writer
Sunday, 10/07/07
Johnny and Donnie Van Zant kind of miss the abuse, if truth be told.
Sitting in a booth at Noshville on Broadway, the brothers tell stories of their older brother's rants and rages. Time, perspective and tragedy have a way of making folks wistful even for such indignities. Plus, big brother Ronnie — the legendary Lynyrd Skynyrd lead singer and primary lyricist who died in the band's 1977 plane crash — made a lot of good points.
"Oh, he raised hell at me because I turned down a gig at a skateboard park when I was a teenager," said Johnny, who teams with Donnie in country duo Van Zant. "He said, 'What's wrong with you? You could be making that money and playing that gig.' I said, 'Yeah, but it's a skateboard park.' He said, 'I don't give a (rip), get out and do it.' He knew you had to pay your dues."
Donnie, who is also the leader of .38 Special, isn't filled with sympathy over Johnny's decades-ago dressing down.
"Hey, at least he didn't beat the hell out of you like he did me," he said. "I never won, and he actually broke my nose. But . . . I mean, I did hit him in the back with a Coke bottle. That probably (ticked) him off."
The nose-breaking didn't hurt as much as the time when Donnie sought his older brother's musical approval, trying to prove to Ronnie that he was ready for the big time. Ronnie listened and considered, then said the music Donnie was making was pretty good, but that now he had to go on the road and spend years playing every blood bucket and dive bar in the South. Then and only then would he be ready for a record deal. It was back to that dues-paying thing.
"I did it, because he said I should," Donnie said. "We hit the road and it made us better. I owe so much to Ronnie."
Every singer who treads near Southern rock territories owes much to Ronnie Van Zant, and no one more than his younger brothers. In the years since Ronnie's death, Southern rock has merged its way into the country mainstream — if Skynyrd or the Marshall Tucker Band were new acts these days, they'd surely be lumped into "country" — and Johnny and Donnie are seeing success on record and on tour with the Van Zant brand. Johnny also tours as Lynyrd Skynyrd's lead singer, singing the songs his big brother first made famous.
"When Skynyrd reunited, they originally wanted both of us to join," Donnie said. "But I was still very busy with .38 Special, and I also didn't know whether I could sing my brothers' songs. It took me a lot of years to . . . well, I'm still not over it. To be truthful, I didn't really know whether I wanted Johnny to do it. But I saw him play with them in Jacksonville and saw what a good job he did, and I went, 'Hey, that fits like a glove.' To even attempt to fill Ronnie Van Zant's shoes, that's something else."
Johnny still tours with Skynyrd and Donnie still tours with .38 Special, and then there's the Van Zant thing. It's hectic, but the brothers are thankful for the work. They're also thankful to have achieved the music business rarity of scoring gold records (for selling more than 500,000 copies of an album) in country and in rock 'n' roll. For new album My Kind of Country, they didn't try to write songs any differently than they do for their rock albums. It all just kind of works out.
"Songwriting is about spontaneity and having fun," Johnny said. "The kind of songs that work for Van Zant aren't different from the things that work for Skynyrd. Our fans have been listening to country radio for the past 10 years. They are the country format. You know, years ago, an agent called and was talking about Skynyrd doing some dates. He said, 'We've got this opportunity to make some money, but I don't know if it's the right package.' I said, 'Who's it with?' He said, 'Hank Williams Jr., but I don't know if his fans are your fans.' Well, of course they are. The shows were great, and the people showed up."
Writing in Nashville also allows Johnny and Donnie, who live in Jacksonville, Fla., to do something they've been doing since they were kids: take some pointers from people in the know.
"You've got great songwriters here in Nashville," Donnie said. "We were born at night, but not last night. We're looking to get something from them, and learn."
www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071007/ENTERTAINMENT01/710070320/1055/ENTERTAINMENT
By PETER COOPER
Staff Writer
Sunday, 10/07/07
Johnny and Donnie Van Zant kind of miss the abuse, if truth be told.
Sitting in a booth at Noshville on Broadway, the brothers tell stories of their older brother's rants and rages. Time, perspective and tragedy have a way of making folks wistful even for such indignities. Plus, big brother Ronnie — the legendary Lynyrd Skynyrd lead singer and primary lyricist who died in the band's 1977 plane crash — made a lot of good points.
"Oh, he raised hell at me because I turned down a gig at a skateboard park when I was a teenager," said Johnny, who teams with Donnie in country duo Van Zant. "He said, 'What's wrong with you? You could be making that money and playing that gig.' I said, 'Yeah, but it's a skateboard park.' He said, 'I don't give a (rip), get out and do it.' He knew you had to pay your dues."
Donnie, who is also the leader of .38 Special, isn't filled with sympathy over Johnny's decades-ago dressing down.
"Hey, at least he didn't beat the hell out of you like he did me," he said. "I never won, and he actually broke my nose. But . . . I mean, I did hit him in the back with a Coke bottle. That probably (ticked) him off."
The nose-breaking didn't hurt as much as the time when Donnie sought his older brother's musical approval, trying to prove to Ronnie that he was ready for the big time. Ronnie listened and considered, then said the music Donnie was making was pretty good, but that now he had to go on the road and spend years playing every blood bucket and dive bar in the South. Then and only then would he be ready for a record deal. It was back to that dues-paying thing.
"I did it, because he said I should," Donnie said. "We hit the road and it made us better. I owe so much to Ronnie."
Every singer who treads near Southern rock territories owes much to Ronnie Van Zant, and no one more than his younger brothers. In the years since Ronnie's death, Southern rock has merged its way into the country mainstream — if Skynyrd or the Marshall Tucker Band were new acts these days, they'd surely be lumped into "country" — and Johnny and Donnie are seeing success on record and on tour with the Van Zant brand. Johnny also tours as Lynyrd Skynyrd's lead singer, singing the songs his big brother first made famous.
"When Skynyrd reunited, they originally wanted both of us to join," Donnie said. "But I was still very busy with .38 Special, and I also didn't know whether I could sing my brothers' songs. It took me a lot of years to . . . well, I'm still not over it. To be truthful, I didn't really know whether I wanted Johnny to do it. But I saw him play with them in Jacksonville and saw what a good job he did, and I went, 'Hey, that fits like a glove.' To even attempt to fill Ronnie Van Zant's shoes, that's something else."
Johnny still tours with Skynyrd and Donnie still tours with .38 Special, and then there's the Van Zant thing. It's hectic, but the brothers are thankful for the work. They're also thankful to have achieved the music business rarity of scoring gold records (for selling more than 500,000 copies of an album) in country and in rock 'n' roll. For new album My Kind of Country, they didn't try to write songs any differently than they do for their rock albums. It all just kind of works out.
"Songwriting is about spontaneity and having fun," Johnny said. "The kind of songs that work for Van Zant aren't different from the things that work for Skynyrd. Our fans have been listening to country radio for the past 10 years. They are the country format. You know, years ago, an agent called and was talking about Skynyrd doing some dates. He said, 'We've got this opportunity to make some money, but I don't know if it's the right package.' I said, 'Who's it with?' He said, 'Hank Williams Jr., but I don't know if his fans are your fans.' Well, of course they are. The shows were great, and the people showed up."
Writing in Nashville also allows Johnny and Donnie, who live in Jacksonville, Fla., to do something they've been doing since they were kids: take some pointers from people in the know.
"You've got great songwriters here in Nashville," Donnie said. "We were born at night, but not last night. We're looking to get something from them, and learn."
www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071007/ENTERTAINMENT01/710070320/1055/ENTERTAINMENT