Southern Rock

[sheclown]

Big Engine "Turn it On"

http://www.youtube.com/v/zsVMGx6j0do?hl=en_US

[sheclown]

"Gimme Shelter" Jamaica 2012 -- Little Feat

http://www.youtube.com/v/eVTcq2Hn0TQ?hl=en_US

[sheclown]

gary rossington

Ronnie was two years older than us.  I was on a baseball team called the Lakeshore Rebels, and he was on a team called the Green Pigs.  Bob was on a team called the Bugs, because his sponsor was an exterminator.  Our team was a school team.  The Green Pigs were from the Green Pig restaurant.  We were only, like, fourteen.  Anyway, Bob Burns had a set of drums he'd got because somebody owed him some money.  Instead of the guy paying money, his father gave him an old set of drums.  So that's what started him thinking "Hey, let's play drums."  I started playing the drums, too.

About a month later, I decided I'd get a paper route and start collecting Coke bottles, and I bought a guitar from Sears and Roebuck.  It was a Silvertone.  It came in the case with the amp.  It all came in one piece.  It was cool.  I bought that for sixty bucks, I think.  It seems like it took me five years to pay for it.

from "Lynyrd Skynyrd:  an oral history"

Bob Burns, earlier this year on the Rock Legends cruise..

http://www.youtube.com/v/T-nSTdf8TZc

[sheclown]

Number 55:  "I know a Little"  Lynyrd Skynyrd

http://www.youtube.com/v/uUVIyj2ToJQ?version=3&hl=en_US

[sheclown]

from "Turn it Up!" by Ron Eckerman

an incident on the road with Lynyrd Skynyrd, truck stop, 1970s.

    Leon was trying on hats, having found a huge rack of them in the gift shop.  He was rapidly whipping them on and off.  These weren't caps, although there were plenty of them as well, but hats, and strange ones at that, so he was in hat heaven.  Allen was nowhere to be found and neither was Jo-Jo.  Cassie and Leslie were looking through a rack of cassette tapes while Artimus was sitting at the counter in the restaurant with Kevin, talking about the band's stage sound.  That's when a group of genuine Southern redneck truckers strolled in wearing their trademark plaid shirts, insulated vests, and baseball caps, looking for trouble and amusement, and a few long-haired hippies must have been their favorite target.  In spite of a counter full of empty seats, they sat right next to Artimus.  Artimus took a new interest in his food, bending down over his plate, careful not to look at the truckers, his shoulder length hair hiding his face.  I saw them immediately and prepared for the worst, locating Dean and telling him to round up the troops and get them on the bus...fast!  He glanced around, saw what I was worried about and began moving, but I had made a fatal error.  I had sent Dean to the restaurant and his hair was the longest of anyone's.  I began rounding up the people in the gift shop and looking for the ones that had disappeared while Dean hurried to the restaurant.

     In moments the trouble began.  The truckers had already started picking on Artimus, who was at heart a peace-loving hippy...but with a temper and a wild side.  Luckily enough, Kevin was with him so we at least had a clean-but, rational being in the mix, but Ronnie was watching the proceedings from a booth with an eagle eye and it wasn't long before he decided to move to the counter, followed by Gary and Billy.  They never got that far.  I heard it all the way from the gift shop -- so did the lady at the check out stand, who was already on the phone with the highway patrol.  The truckers started in lightly, talking just loud enough to ensure everyone could hear , as they started complaining about how hippies were ruining the country.  This escalated quickly and they began commenting about how something "smelled bad" in this diner.  "Oh, it must be those damn hippies" and in moments the truckers had squared off with Artimus and Kevin. Everyone was off their barstools and standing nose to  nose.  One of the truckers took a swing at Artimus, which he somehow ducked, while Kevin faded back a few steps avoiding the trouble.  I heard a huge crashing noise a moment later.  It sounded like a gunshot, as Ronnie had picked up the closest projectile, a bottle of ketchup, and threw it at one of the truckers at point blank range.  He missed, but the bottle exploded against the counter and the ketchup went everywhere.  It was quickly mistaken for blood, the lady behind the counter started screaming, the truckers were frozen in confusion, looking at their ketchup-stained clothing, trying to figure out if they had been shot or cut, and the band exited in a hurry...

pg 40 -41

http://www.amazon.com/Turn-Up-Death-Southern-Style/dp/0984685901/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363344147&sr=1-1&keywords=ron+eckerman

a great book, well-written

https://www.facebook.com/turnitupbook?ref=ts&fref=ts

[sheclown]

http://www.youtube.com/v/HzA786Gtd6M?version=3&hl=en_US

[sheclown]

gary rossington

"We never got popular in Jacksonville until we made it everywhere else.  "

leon wilkeson

"We tried to do a lot for the town.  Any group of musicians who went independent on their own, wrote their own music, and strove to make it as a band were considered desperadoes in Jacksonville."

from: "Lynyrd Skynyrd:  An Oral History

[Adam W]

gary rossington


"Any group of musicians who went independent on their own, wrote their own music, and strove to make it as a band were considered desperadoes in Jacksonville."

from: "Lynyrd Skynyrd:  An Oral History

So, basically, not .38 Special!

I was very surprised to learn that every one of their hit singles was co-written with professional songwriters. Those guys probably never would've scored a hit if not for a) where they were from, b) who they were related to and c) the ringers they brought in to write the songs for them.

[sheclown]

a great story, from the same book, describing how Allen Collins came to the band.

gary rossington

We needed another guitar player, because I didn't know barre chords real good, and I didn't have a good amp.  that little Silverone wouldn't cut it.

We knew this skinny little Allen Collins played with the Mods and he had a big amp and he knew barre chords.  He was good, you know.  So we went looking for him, and he had a little bicycle all souped up and was riding down the road.  He saw Ronnie and, like I said, Ronnie was a redneck, kinda, sorta, and had a bad reputation.  He used to get into fights and stuff.  We pulled up in Ronnie's car, me and Bob and Ronnie, alongside Allen, who was riding his bike down the street, to ask him, "Hey, you wanna come talk to us about playing in a band that's starting? We know you got a guitar and amp."

He thought Ronnie was gonna beat him up, so he hauled ass.  He went through some woods and threw his bike down and he had to chase him on foot, and we finally caught him.  We went, "Allen, we ain't gonna hurt you, we just wanna play." So that's how it all started.

http://www.amazon.com/Lynyrd-Skynyrd-An-Oral-History/dp/0972044639/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363527084&sr=8-1&keywords=Lynyrd+Skynyrd%3A++An+oral+history

[sheclown]

[sheclown]

gary rossington


"Any group of musicians who went independent on their own, wrote their own music, and strove to make it as a band were considered desperadoes in Jacksonville."

from: "Lynyrd Skynyrd:  An Oral History

So, basically, not .38 Special!

I was very surprised to learn that every one of their hit singles was co-written with professional songwriters. Those guys probably never would've scored a hit if not for a) where they were from, b) who they were related to and c) the ringers they brought in to write the songs for them.

Are you trying to be ironic?

And speaking of Donnie Van Zant

on facebook this morning:

--- As many of you already know, Donnie Van Zant has not been able to join the band's performances for the past 6 months. In accordance with doctor’s strict orders and due to health issues related to inner-ear nerve damage, he will also not be able to join 38 Special onstage in the foreseeable future.

Donnie will continue to write and record with the band and 38 Special will continue its nationwide tour in support of their Live From Texas album. Lead singer and band co-founder Don Barnes and the rest of the band wish Donnie a full and speedy recovery. ---

[Adam W]

I'm not being ironic at all. All of .38 Special's hit singles were written by professional songwriters who weren't in the band.

That's kind of sad, really. At least it is for a rock band.

[Adam W]

I mean honestly.  Do you think that Elvis wasnt really a rock n roll musician because his first platinum hit was written by Jville 'professional' songwriter, Mae Axton?

Im pretty sure he didnt write 'amazing grace' either.

Its just absurd.

There's a difference, though, between rock'n'roll singers/performers (especially those from that time period) and rock bands (hard rock bands, even) from the post-Beatles era.

Rock bands work on the principle that they write and perform their own music. That's why Aerosmith got kind of lame when they started recording Diane Warren hits.

It's all fine from a music standpoint, sure. If you like it, fine. But taking it back to the quote that was posted from Gary Rossington - he made a big deal about bands writing their own music. So clearly it was an issue for the people who were their peers.

[sheclown]

For me the larger issue is that J'ville seems oblivious to its glory -- be it any of the Van Zants, Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Dave Hlubek, Tim Lindsey...you name it.  Not to mention the other genres of musical greatness.

Where's the SOUTHERN ROCK HALL OF FAME?  Where's the recognition that greatest comes from this city?

No where.

[Adam W]

For me the larger issue is that J'ville seems oblivious to its glory -- be it any of the Van Zants, Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Dave Hlubek, Tim Lindsey...you name it.  Not to mention the other genres of musical greatness.

Where's the SOUTHERN ROCK HALL OF FAME?  Where's the recognition that greatest comes from this city?

No where.

Well, we certainly don't have a Southern Rock Hall of Fame. But I wouldn't think the city is oblivious to it's history in this regard - or at least I disagree with you there. I think the city is mired in its past in that regard. You can't escape Lynyrd Skynyrd in Jacksonville. Second-rate bands like Molly Hatchet and Blackfoot are lionized by locals.

Obviously it all comes down to personal opinion (as far as whether or not bands like Molly Hatchet and Blackfoot are any good). But Jax is a city that is aware of it's history, as far as Southern rock goes. So much so that other rock music (and other types of music) created in the city tends to get overlooked as a result.

Lots of great local bands existed in Jax during the 80s and 90s. But they struggled to get coverage in the Florida Times-Union and on local TV channels - but whatever abomination that was masquerading as the latest incarnation of Lynyrd Skynyrd would get plenty of column inches for it's latest abortion of a record (Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991, The Last Rebel, etc).

I'm not saying we shouldn't embrace our Southern Rock past - we most certainly should. But I think we do already. I think Jax is a proud Southern Rock town.