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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.
Johnny Van Zant Lynyrd Skynyrd -
My dad was a truck driver. We all used to ride along with him. And the way he'd keep awake was to sing while he was going down the road. So we all joined in.
Johnny Van Zant Lynyrd Skynyrd
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When we are out on the road, running up and down the road playing shows, you have to be not only a member of a band but, especially with Lynyrd Skynyrd, you have to be a part of the Skynyrd nation. You have to be a part of the family.
Johnny Van Zant Lynyrd Skynyrd -
People are asking us, 'Why have you gone country?' And we say, 'Man, we were born country.' They gave us the tag 'Southern rock' years ago as a way of not saying country.
Johnny Van Zant Lynyrd Skynyrd -
If you're going into music, work on your music and do it as well as you can. And look at it as a business. I'm in it to make a living, too.
Johnny Van Zant Lynyrd Skynyrd -
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 Van Zant Lynyrd Skynyrd -
They're great songs. How many bands wouldn't like to have a 'Freebird' or 'Sweet Home Alabama' to play every night?
Johnny Van Zant Lynyrd Skynyrd -
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?
Johnny Van Zant Lynyrd Skynyrd
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Nothing was easy for us coming up. But we were rich in family.
Johnny Van Zant Lynyrd Skynyrd -
Our newest member is Johnny Colt, who was bass player with The Black Crowes. Colt fits right in with us. He's loony as heck, and so are we. We have a great time and love doing what we do. I hope Johnny is with us for a long, long time. He is quite the guy.
Johnny Van Zant Lynyrd Skynyrd -
I'm a lover of old traditional country - George Jones, Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette, Marty Roberts.
Johnny Van Zant Lynyrd Skynyrd -
Not every song of Lynyrd Skynyrd's was a single, but songs like 'Tuesday's Gone' and 'The Ballad of Curtis Loew' and 'Made in the Shade,' 'I Need You,' people learned those songs from the radio because radio played albums, not just singles.
Johnny Van Zant Lynyrd Skynyrd -
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.
Johnny Van Zant Lynyrd Skynyrd -
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 Lynyrd Skynyrd
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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.
Johnny Van Zant Lynyrd Skynyrd -
I actually quit the business. I went and drove a truck for a year and a half.
Johnny Van Zant Lynyrd Skynyrd -
I'm a Republican myself, though I think there are actually some Democrats in Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Johnny Van Zant Lynyrd Skynyrd -
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.
Johnny Van Zant Lynyrd Skynyrd -
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.
Johnny Van Zant Lynyrd Skynyrd -
Some of the country stuff in the past has been so polished - if you were a guy with a nice pair of jeans, a big belt buckle and nice hat, you were country.
Johnny Van Zant Lynyrd Skynyrd
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Skynyrd's not just a band; I think it's a lifestyle. It's iconic.
Johnny Van Zant Lynyrd Skynyrd -
We didn't grow up rich people.
Johnny Van Zant Lynyrd Skynyrd -
I think it's just that Skynyrd songs are timeless.
Johnny Van Zant Lynyrd Skynyrd -
We have doctors and lawyers and CEOs as fans.
Johnny Van Zant Lynyrd Skynyrd