David Allan Coe actually went to jail one time. Some fan cursed Lynyrd Skynyrd, and David Allan Coe kicked his teeth in. He ran and kicked a guy's teeth in for saying something about Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Johnny Van Zant
If it wasn't for Al Kooper, there might not be a Lynyrd Skynyrd. He's the one who found us at Pinocchio's in Atlanta, Georgia, and signed us to Sounds Of The South through MCA, brought the band to attention.
If you're only a fan of the old music, that music's gonna wind up sounding even older.
It is a scary world out there, and believe me that if someone were to try to come into my house, I want to be able to protect myself.
That's your end goal anyway, is to make the fans happy.
When you're 17, touring is fun.
On our Web site, we have people complaining about us not playing new stuff. But there's so many classic Lynyrd Skynyrd songs, you can't go out and just do a bunch of new things.
As Christians, it's our duty to stand up for what we believe - that's called testifying.
'Free Bird' is timeless, 'Sweet Home' is timeless. They're just timeless songs.
We write about things that we've done or things that have happened to people around us.
To me, making a CD is like writing a book.
It's for the common people, people who have made this great country of ours. That's what the heck I say we always write about.
My father was a Democrat.
Who knows what the heck the future will bring.
We always pay tribute to what the old Lynyrd Skynyrd has done - I'm very proud of that.
We write stories about common people and common things. That's what Skynyrd always is about - the real working class of America.
We're musicians; we're not politicians or anything.
Two of my favorite bands, Blackberry Smoke and Black Stone Cherry, I just think both of those bands are a good new progressive kind of Southern Rock that's a little different than us but still has a rootsy thing going on.
We are not saying that every idiot out there should own a gun - and there should be better background checks on guns. Not everybody should have the right.
I want to be there for the last note of 'Freebird' when that happens.
Skynyrd is a big family. We have argued, fussed, and fought.
I saw B.B. King in concert one time where he had this guy that would bring him out a glass of water and towel to wipe his forehead with.
I'm a Republican myself, though I think there are actually some Democrats in Lynyrd Skynyrd.
I always try to relate a song to something what is going on, the working man, the times, how life goes.
The fans have always been there for us, and they've realized when we were going through a hard time.
When you're dealing with a big amount of money, you should have your own accountant and your own lawyer.
Lynyrd Skynyrd has always been a bunch of rowdy, crazy people, but we love our fans, and that's what the music is all about: touching them. Touching them touches us.
Lynyrd Skynyrd has always been about writing songs and talking to people through them. That's what we do, and that's what we'll keep doing for as long as we can.
If nothing else, we grew up loving the old blues artists and Ray Charles.
Look at Gretchen Wilson. If she came out in the '70s she'd be the queen of Southern rock.
We have to make a living, sure, but it's about the legacy of Lynyrd Skynyrd and what it stands for, what the fans are all about.
I'm always going to keep my eyes open.
I was a Skynyrd fan before I was approached to be a part of Skynyrd, and they always ended it with 'Free Bird,' so I've been watching it since I was a kid.
Hank Junior fans are Skynyrd fans.
I think, hey, everybody has a right to change their mind.
When we were kids, we said the Pledge of Allegiance because we were proud of this country, and we said prayer. You know, we thanked the good Lord above.
We have a lot of friends who are hunters. And you know what? Come hunting season, man, they head to the woods, you know. And again, this country was built on God and guns, folks. I mean, it really was.
The last thing we want to do is disappoint the fans.
They're great songs. How many bands wouldn't like to have a 'Freebird' or 'Sweet Home Alabama' to play every night?
Skynyrd's not just a band; I think it's a lifestyle. It's iconic.
Everybody in Lynyrd Skynyrd loves different styles of music, and our minds are very open when it comes to writing our songs and making the band true to what the band is, but also stepping out and doing something current.
Johnny Colt is a character, and most people in Lynyrd Skynyrd are characters, so he fits in great with us. He's got an attitude, man, and I love it, and that's what we need.
We've done shows with Tim McGraw, Hank Williams Jr., Montgomery Gentry, Shooter Jennings.
I didn't know if Skynyrd fans were going to throw rocks at me or eggs or what.
This is America, and everybody should have a right to say what they want to say. But I think there's a time and a place for it.
You don't go to some other country and bash our president.
Music is a great healer.
I was a Skynyrd fan all along. But I was also the brother of the lead singer who passed on. I just didn't want to do anything that would harm the band's name.
We always joke that our road crew will have to wheelchair us up onstage soon because this is what we do. This is what we love to do. This is what God put us on earth to do until the day we take our last breath.
If people want to own a rifle or something like that for hunting purposes only, I tend to agree with that. But semi-automatic weapons and handguns, that's just unreal. I mean, what good are handguns?
