![]() The group also will do the occasional performance at charity events. A DVD of the groups Jacksonville farewell concert is set to be released next year. On whats next: Another Lynyrd Skynyrd studio album its 10th since re-forming is planned because the band is contractually obligated to deliver one. ![]() We did a thing at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and one of interviewers asked him how it felt to have a band named after you. That was a little bit before my time, he said. But Van Zant, who is a dozen years younger than Ronnie, didnt have Skinner as a teacher. On Leonard Skinner, the bands namesake: He was the unpopular gym teacher for many of the band members because he gave them a hard time about their long hair. We have Democrats in Lynyrd Skynyrd, we have Republicans, we have independents. These people in power are not even wanting to work with each other. So I have liberal ways and Republican ways. I was a Democrat before I was a Republican. ![]() On Skynyrds role in this divided nation: Van Zant doesnt see a role for the band at all except maybe to set an example. I also want to be able to protect my family. Im with Ronnie in that handguns are made for killing. No one, in my opinion, should own an assault rifle that shoots more than once. I do agree with having more background checks. On gun control, a subject Ronnie Van Zant addressed in the popular 1975 song Saturday Night Special: Im a gun owner, Van Zant said without hesitation. Im gonna stick to: We play music, yall do the rest. Im not one to tell someone what not to do. If somebody wants to bring something as long as its not a gun its OK, Van Zant said. On Confederate flags at Skynyrd concerts: The band stopped using the Confederate flag as part of its concerts in 2012, but there is no ban on fans bringing their own to shows, whereas the Atlanta-based Zac Brown Band forbids them. Everyone wants to be a little tougher and have a good time. When I say rebel, I mean James Dean rebel. I think theres more rebels in the North than in the South these days. On audiences in the North and the South: The reaction is the same, Van Zant observed. We were common folks they raised us right. We wasnt rich in dollars but we were rich in family, rich in courtesy, treat people right. God gave him a talent to relate to people through song. On what made Ronnie Van Zant special: Ronnie was a fricking poet, a common-people poet. But they got together and made some great music that stuck. Well, they did go to jail quite a few times, he said and laughed. Most of em probably would have ended up in jail. Its an amazing story when you think about a bunch of guys who are probably not going to have a great life. On why Skynyrd has lasted so long: Because its fricking real music, Van Zant opined. Im thinking, how many more times am I going to be doing this? I just dont feel comfortable with it not being sang. Then Rossington came up to Van Zant in Sacramento one night and said: Ronnie was a singer and a songwriter. So the re-formed band merely did an instrumental version. On what goes through Van Zants mind when he sings Free Bird every night: For years, Van Zant resisted singing the song because I always thought Ronnie was the only person who could sing that. Said Van Zant: Gary said, If Id known that, I would have had one put in a long time ago.andthinsp Rossington is doing great because he got a pacemaker. ![]() On how the tour is going: Wonderful, Van Zant said. We wanted to go out with our boots on high and come riding in like we do, Van Zant said. The group which reunited in 1987 following the 1977 plane crash that killed three members never discussed going on without Rossington. On why Skynyrd is doing a farewell tour: Guitarist Gary Rossington, 66, the bands leader and last surviving original member, was having heart problems, making it difficult for him to tour. With Skynyrd due for its Twin Cities swan song at Xcel Energy Center on Friday, Van Zant called from his Florida home to talk about his brother Ronnie, Free Bird, the Confederate flag, gun control and all things Skynyrd, including the fact that he never had the bands namesake, Leonard Skinner, as a gym teacher at Robert E. Indeed, Free Bird, That Smell, Sweet Home Alabama and the other songs will live on. ![]()
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