If the name Jimmie Van Zant sounds soothingly familiar, it's because this fine southern gent is the youngest of a lineage that's been shaping rock 'n' roll for the last 30 years. Cousin Ronnie, who was more of an older brother and invaluable mentor than merely the nephew of Jimmie's father, was the cornerstone of Lynyrd Skynyrd. There are also cousins Donnie, who is the triggerman for .38 Special, and Johnny, who heads up the current roster of Lynard Skynyrd, both Ronnie's brothers, who also provided generous inspiration. Now Jimmie Van Zant takes his shot with Southern Comfort, his J-Bird Records debut, June 20th 2000. Van Zant, admiringly compared to Ronnie, who lost his life in a plane crash with other Lynyrd Skynyrd members, in looks, mannerisms, and vocal ability, wrote or co-wrote every song on the disc, with the exception of a heartfelt rendition of Skynyrd's "Simple Man." He also pays tribute to his departed friend and relative, giving insight and a way to heal with the deeply personal "Ronnie's Song." "He was a great songwriter, and I treasured that at a young age [Van Zant was nine years his junior], but now that I see it today, and I'm up there on stage singin' his songs, and everybody's singing the lyrics word for word, it's a spiritual thing. Maybe our CD has a song that will give somebody a little strength, too. Ronnie's Song' is hard for me to do live, and it was hard for me to record, but I needed to do it. "We were just sittin' around, sippin' on a little beer, and wrote spontaneous stuff," Van Zant reveals of how Southern Comfort came to be. "Livin' every day life, you kind of write about that, and basically that's what I'm about." "I'm not a fantasy writer, or anything like that. I just write stuff that I've experienced in life, or about my friends, or something we've all been through. You channel in to what's goin' on in life." "Get Up," for example, was the result of a Thanksgiving family gathering, during which Jimmie, Donnie, and Johnnie put their heads together to write the lyrics, while "Ronnie's Song" was written in the studio during a Southern Comfort recording session. "The guys were testing me, wanting to hear the song," Van Zant recalls, "and I told them I had it written down, which I hadn't. The whole CD was complete, except for 'Ronnie's Song,' and all the instrumental tracks were done. I didn't have any lyrics for it, so they turned the lights down to set the mood, I smoked a cigarette, took a sip off Jack Daniels, and I listened to what the band members had laid down. I told the engineer to start recording, so it just came right outta my heart. I had to go back and actually write the lyrics down after the track was done." Van Zant's aim with Southern Comfort is for each song to stand on its own, rather than comprising an overall theme. "Here to Stay," for example, with its irresistible country melody, tells its own story about a generations-old farm, and its significance to the family that's lived there. Though this is Van Zant's first commercial recording, he's well established on stages across the U.S., performing at massive summer festivals and Harley-Davidson rallies, including the annual big-daddy consortium in Sturgis, SD, with his current band, which includes Tony Bullard (guitar), Ron Little (guitar), Doug Phillips (bass), and Jason Blackwell (drums). In fact, it was after Van Zant's awe-inspiring 1998 Sturgis gig before an audience of 15,000-plus, that J-Bird founder and perennial music industry heavy-hitter Jay Barbieri approached Van Zant's long-time manager Frank Moyer with a recording contract. "I tripped over the owner's foot," Van Zant jokes. "He waslistening to the band and liked what he saw. Jay Barbieri is a fine gentleman, and he's just like us; we're all in the same boat, so to speak, and without the record companies and your radio stations and the media, bands wouldn't be anything. He enjoys making progress, and taking a nickel and shining it up." Gearing up for a Southern Comfort tour, well-grounded Van Zant offers a sensible and experienced perspective of life on the road, saying, "People think it's sex, drug and rock 'n' roll, glamour, rock stars, movie stars, and the fast lane - and it can be that way and it's portrayed that way through the media - but through all that, there's really a foundation of heart and spirit, and blood and sweat, and just earnin' your way through what you believe in. It's not about dollars, it's about what you believe in, like a fisherman or a painter or a writer, or a Rottweiler with a bone," he smiles. "The only stars I know are in the sky. It takes a lifetime to learn a little, and unfortunately, we don't have time for that. "I'm a country boy, and I'm as happy as I can be," Van Zant says. It's from this place of pride, gentility and love that he wrote and recorded Southern Comfort, and it's these genuine qualities that transport listeners to where rock 'n' roll is about good times, good friends, and livin' a good life. http://www.luckmedia.com

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