By: Dave Ricci
Out of the ashes of tragedy, new chapters have been written.
Virtually every fan of rock and roll knows the tragic story of the 1977 plane crash that killed Lynyrd Skynyrd front man, Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and backup singer, Cassie Gaines.
But what people tend to forget is that Jacksonville’s favorite sons are still on the road, and are coming to Western New York.
Lynyrd Skynyrd returns to our region when they headline the Tuesday, July, 26 show at Artpark in Lewiston.
On a 10 year hiatus since that horrific plane crash that left several other band members seriously injured, Lynyrd Skynyrd returned to the road with a successful 1987 tour and have since put out seven albums, the most recent was “God and Guns” that was released in 2009.
Led by founding member and lead guitarist Gary Rossington and front man Johnny Van Zant,
Also on board are guitarist Rickey Medlocke. A longtime associate of the band’s, many die-hard fans know Medlocke for not only writing the Skynyrd tune “White Dove” but also for his memorable falsetto voice on lead vocals.
Holding true to the foundation and musical values the original band was built on the current edition of Lynyrd Skynyrd doesn’t disappoint in anyway.
Rossington is still a first rate guitarist and Van Zant, with his powerful voice and stage presence, is hauntingly similar to his late, great big brother. Only Johnny Van Zant could do justice to Skynyrd classics like “Free Bird,” “Sweet Home Alabama,”
“Call Me The Breeze,” “Tuesday’s Gone,” and others.
Sadly, these Southern Rock icons have tasted sadness more than once in their careers as guitarist/founding member Allen Collins (1990), bassist Leon Wilkerson (2001) and keyboardist Billy Powell (2009) have also passed away. But they still keep pushing on. But not for a easy paycheck. They keep going because music is in their blood and every show is a way to honor their fallen friends.
The current band was assembled with great care to ensure that the integrity of the “Lynyrd Skynyrd” name would be maintained.
It isn’t a thrown together simply for a quick-buck road trip type of band. Every guy in the current lineup fits the Lynyrd Skynyrd mold perfectly and understands how lucky they are to be in this band.
The rest of Lynyrd Skynyrd includes drummer Michael Cartellone, Robert Kearns (bass) and guitarist Mark Matejka and Peter Pisarczyk, who joined the band shortly after Powell’s death.
Lynyrd Skynyrd, on their seventh try, was finally welcomed into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March of 2006.
They ranked No.95 on Rolling Stone’s greatest acts of all-time list and Guitar World dubbed “Free Bird” as the third best guitar solo ever.
The Mick Hayes Band is slated to open the show at 6:30 p.m.
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