You’ll have to excuse Lynyrd Skynyrd lead singer Johnny Van Zant if he’s a little catty these days.
It has nothing to do with an inflated ego in light of the recent announcement that the band will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
He’s just following doctor’s orders.
Van Zant had surgery about three months ago to remove a polyp from his left vocal chord, and part of his voice exercise requires imitating the cat from those old Purina “Meow Mix” TV commercials, singing, “Meow, meow, meow, meow …”
“At first I said, ‘You gotta be kidding me,’ ” Van Zant said. “But now I’m walking about the house singing that. My 3-year-old daughter loves it. She sings it with me.”
Van Zant took a break from his meowing last week for a phone interview from his home in Jacksonville, Fla., the band’s native town. (Yeah, who knew?)
Van Zant is the brother of the band’s original lead singer, Ronnie Van Zant, who died in the infamous 1977 plane crash that also killed guitarist Steve Gaines, his sister Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick and both pilots, and injured several other band members.
He talked about Skynyrd taking its signature Southern rock on a three-night swing through the Pacific Northwest, with a stop at the Everett Events Center at 7:30 tonight slipped in between shows in Spokane and Portland.
And what about that Rock and Rock Hall of Fame thing?
“I think it’s great, man,” said Van Zant, who called it a real tribute to the plane crash victims and “all the guys we’ve lost along the way,” including bassist Leon Wilkeson and guitarist Allen Collins.
“I just love it for them,” Van Zant said. “I think they’re getting their just due. This band wrote songs that people are going to be singing for years and years to come. I just think it’s a great honor to the name.”
The band has certainly earned a spot in rock ‘n’ roll lore, on and off the stage, and in serious and comedic ways.
Tonight is the one time someone can shout ” ‘Free Bird!’” and actually get the request fulfilled.
Skynyrd, which still includes original members Gary Rossington on guitar and Billy Powell on keyboards, played three dates in Las Vegas earlier this month as its first shows back after a three-month break, something Van Zant says should make tonight’s show extra special.
“The good thing is you got us hungry,” he said. “We’re not at the end of some long tour. We’re biting at the bullet to get back on stage.”
And, more than for most bands, the live show is what really drives everything for Lynyrd Skynyrd, Van Zant said.
“Selling records is great, and making new music and singing old songs,” he said. “You can do all that, and if it’s not in front of a live crowd, what’s it all about?”
| 7:30 tonight, Everett Events Center, 2000 Hewitt Ave., Everett. $28 to $44, 866-332-8499. |
Van Zant took over the lead singing spot for a reunion tour in 1987 and is now approaching 20 years as Skynyrd’s frontman – a position he wasn’t totally comfortable in at first.
“I was a Lynyrd Skynyrd fan before I was offered the gig here, and it kind of freaked me out in the beginning,” Van Zant said. “It took me a good three years to feel good in this position. I just didn’t want to hurt the name of Lynyrd Skynyrd.”
Nearly two decades and thousands of grateful fans later, the name is still very much intact.
Associated Press
Lynyrd Skynyrd lead singer Johnny Van Zant performs with Gretchen Wilson at the 2005 Grammy Awards.
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