Van Zant Brothers to release country cd

[a1aara]

Jan. 12, 2005: The Van Zants, who have long ties to Southern rock, signed with Sony.
Brothers Johnny Van Zant (Lynyrd Skynyrd) and Donnie Van Zant (38 Special) will release their debut later this year with co-producers Mark Wright and Joe Scaife at the helm.
"Signing Van Zant was one of the easiest A&R decisions we've had to make," said head John Grady. "People in Nashville have been trying to recreate southern rock and capture its audience for the past 25 years. We decided why not start at the top with part of Lynyrd Skynyrd and part of 38 Special. Johnny and Donnie Van Zant have wanted to make a country record for a long time. Putting them together with producer Mark Wright makes all the musical sense in the world. I can't wait for people to hear this music."
As one of the lead vocalists and the rhythm guitarist for 38 Special, Donnie Van Zant and band recorded "Caught Up In You," "Rockin' Into the Night," and "Hold On Loosely."
Johnny Van Zant had a solo career before becoming front man for Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1987. As Van Zant, the guys released two independent albums "Brother to Brother" in 1998 and "Van Zant II" in 2001, both on CMC International.
"I'd like to thank Grady and Mark Wright for this opportunity," said Johnny. "We grew up on country music. What country is what we've been doing for years. It's great to work with people who are so musically inclined. Grady, Wright and Scaife are the 'A Team.'"
"This is a dream come true," says Donnie, who worked with Grady previously with 38 Special. "We've had country music in us our whole lives. We are having a blast making this album and can't wait for people to hear it."
Along side songs written by Johnny and Donnie, the Van Zant album includes a track co-written with Jeffrey Steele ("My Town," "These Days") and songs written by Craig Wiseman ("Live Like You Were Dying"), Rivers Rutherford ("Real Good Man," "Ain't Nothin' 'Bout You") and Al Anderson ("Unbelievable," "Cowboy In Me").
Van Zant is managed by Ken Levitan and Ross Schilling at Vector Management.

[Jahfin]

Thanks for the head's up. I heard both of the Van Zant solo albums a few years back and must say I wasn't overly impressed so I'm not too worked up about this upcoming project despite it being labeled a "country" record. Considering what some folks consider country these days I have a feeling it's going to another high gloss Nashville "product" but I'll try to reserve judgement until I actually hear it.

[a1aara]

I argee. The project will probably be more Montgomery Gentry than it will be Skynyrd/38 Special.

[Jahfin]

The post-crash Skynyrd has had it's moments but my favorite work from Johnny was his very first solo album No More Dirty Deals which is virtually impossible to find nowadays. I like .38 well enough too but, as with so many groups, I tend to favor their early stuff best.

[Ilph]

I argee. The project will probably be more Montgomery Gentry than it will be Skynyrd/38 Special.

That's what I'm expecting from this. But who knows, maybe they'll suprise all of us.

[a1aara]

I argee. The project will probably be more Montgomery Gentry than it will be Skynyrd/38 Special.

That's what I'm expecting from this. But who knows, maybe they'll suprise all of us.

I hope you are right!

[sonofabeach]

if they did go the Mont/Gentry route it would still be better than anything they've done in years.

[a1aara]

if they did go the Mont/Gentry route it would still be better than anything they've done in years.

Are we talking about the same Montgomery/Gentry?

[Jahfin]

The fact that they've recorded a song that has been covered by Tim McGraw is already one strike against them. The Montgomery Gentry thing on Crossroads doesn't help matters much either. I have a feeling it'll have very little in common with the type of influences Ronnie Van Zant brought into the band such as Haggard, Jimmy Rodgers and Waylon but we'll see...

[Jahfin]

Southern rock's Van Zant brothers go country

From The DailyBreeze.com
BY COREY LEVITAN
POP MUSIC WRITER

The freshest new sound in country is "Freebird."

Not quite, but the hit country single "Help Somebody" does come from the younger brothers of Ronnie Van Zant, the late singer for Lynyrd Skynyrd. Johnny and Donnie's new band, Van Zant, releases its first album, "Get Right With the Man," on Tuesday.

"We were born country, that's just all there is to it," says Donnie, 52, phoning RAVE! from his home in Jacksonville, Fla.

"Our dad was a truck driver for 35-40 years, so what we listened to as kids was Merle Haggard, Hank Williams and George Jones. Then, obviously, the Ed Sullivan show came on and we saw the Beatles and went that direction."

Johnny Van Zant has occupied his brother's place since the surviving members of Lynyrd Skynyrd reunited in 1987. (The group tours annually and last year released an album called "Vicious Cycle.") Donnie became famous out of that group's long shadow. He's the singer for 38 Special, known for its early '80s rock hits "Hold On Loosely" and "Caught Up In You."

"But country has always been a big love of ours," Donnie says, adding that he's not comfortable with the "gone country" notion.

"It's not like we're selling out," he says. "We're very dedicated to our rock fans. And to be truthful with you, we've done pretty good with our bands. This is something we just really wanted to do bad."

Debuting in March, Van Zant's first single, "Help Somebody," made one of the highest Billboard country chart debuts (No. 44) by a new artist in 15 years.

The buzz was loud enough to get the album -- produced by country notables Mark Wright and Joe Scaife -- released a full month earlier than planned.

"We're very proud of the music we made with Van Zant or we wouldn't have put our name on it," Donnie says.

Country radio never touched 38 Special or Lynyrd Skynyrd back in either group's heyday. But many of today's top country stars grew up on Skynyrd, not Hank Williams. That fact is frequently used as an indictment of modern country. But to two Van Zant brothers attempting to cross over into the genre, it's a blessing. Thanks to Skynyrd-reared acts such as Big & Rich and Montgomery Gentry, today's country has moved squarely into Southern rock's sphere of influence.

"I think country radio right now is what we did back in the late '70s and early '80s," Van Zant says. "If you listen to Montgomery, there's some pretty powerful guitars on there. And I think if 'Sweet Home Alabama' and 'Gimme Three Steps' were released today, they'd be big hit country songs.

"So it's sort of like country has met us half way."

The idea of a Van Zant country album is actually 30 years old.

"It came from Ronnie, so we're sort of living out his dream, too," Donnie says.

The eldest Van Zant was killed in the infamous 1977 Mississippi plane crash that also claimed Skynyrd guitarist Steve Gaines and backup singer Cassie Gaines. The tragedy occurred just a week after the band released its best-selling album to date, "Street Survivors."

A few months before his death, Ronnie phoned Donnie.

"I thought that was weird because Ronnie hated telephones," Donnie says. "But he called me -- like, four or five times in a week -- asking me to come out to his place and go fishing. And I just had to keep saying no, because I was very busy trying to finish up 38's second record."

Donnie calls it his biggest regret in life.

"I really feel in my heart that he knew something was gonna happen," he says.

[sonofabeach]

I actually like the new song "Help somebody".
And it does kinds sound like something that Montgomery Gentry would sing.
Van Zant is gonna be at the Walmart just down the road from me on Friday but I'm not that much into them.
I'll have to download a few songs to see what the new cd is all about.