I always try to relate a song to something what is going on, the working man, the times, how life goes.

The fans have always been there for us, and they've realized when we were going through a hard time.

When you're dealing with a big amount of money, you should have your own accountant and your own lawyer.

Lynyrd Skynyrd has always been a bunch of rowdy, crazy people, but we love our fans, and that's what the music is all about: touching them. Touching them touches us.

Lynyrd Skynyrd has always been about writing songs and talking to people through them. That's what we do, and that's what we'll keep doing for as long as we can.

If nothing else, we grew up loving the old blues artists and Ray Charles.

Look at Gretchen Wilson. If she came out in the '70s she'd be the queen of Southern rock.

We have to make a living, sure, but it's about the legacy of Lynyrd Skynyrd and what it stands for, what the fans are all about.

I'm always going to keep my eyes open.

I was a Skynyrd fan before I was approached to be a part of Skynyrd, and they always ended it with 'Free Bird,' so I've been watching it since I was a kid.

Hank Junior fans are Skynyrd fans.

I think, hey, everybody has a right to change their mind.

When we were kids, we said the Pledge of Allegiance because we were proud of this country, and we said prayer. You know, we thanked the good Lord above.

We have a lot of friends who are hunters. And you know what? Come hunting season, man, they head to the woods, you know. And again, this country was built on God and guns, folks. I mean, it really was.

The last thing we want to do is disappoint the fans.

They're great songs. How many bands wouldn't like to have a 'Freebird' or 'Sweet Home Alabama' to play every night?

Skynyrd's not just a band; I think it's a lifestyle. It's iconic.

That's your end goal anyway, is to make the fans happy.

Everybody in Lynyrd Skynyrd loves different styles of music, and our minds are very open when it comes to writing our songs and making the band true to what the band is, but also stepping out and doing something current.

Two of my favorite bands, Blackberry Smoke and Black Stone Cherry, I just think both of those bands are a good new progressive kind of Southern Rock that's a little different than us but still has a rootsy thing going on.

Johnny Colt is a character, and most people in Lynyrd Skynyrd are characters, so he fits in great with us. He's got an attitude, man, and I love it, and that's what we need.

We've done shows with Tim McGraw, Hank Williams Jr., Montgomery Gentry, Shooter Jennings.

I didn't know if Skynyrd fans were going to throw rocks at me or eggs or what.

This is America, and everybody should have a right to say what they want to say. But I think there's a time and a place for it.

You don't go to some other country and bash our president.

Music is a great healer.

I was a Skynyrd fan all along. But I was also the brother of the lead singer who passed on. I just didn't want to do anything that would harm the band's name.

We always joke that our road crew will have to wheelchair us up onstage soon because this is what we do. This is what we love to do. This is what God put us on earth to do until the day we take our last breath.

If people want to own a rifle or something like that for hunting purposes only, I tend to agree with that. But semi-automatic weapons and handguns, that's just unreal. I mean, what good are handguns?

In my opinion, the only people who should have handguns are the police.

We go to Europe, and they think we're totally prejudiced 'cause we hang the bars and stripes. But for us, the bars and stripes doesn't mean we want to see anybody in slavery or anything like that. It's just our heritage. To us, the bars and stripes means grits, 'y'all,' and the beauty of the South. There's no prejudice at all in that with us.

We write about things that we've done or things that have happened to people around us.

When you're 17, touring is fun.

Every redneck's dream is to write a song and have it go on a fishing show.

My dad was a truck driver, and from the time I was knee high to a grapevine, I was driving a truck.

I actually quit the business. I went and drove a truck for a year and a half.

I just love going out and playing my brother's songs.

I'm very proud to be from Jacksonville.

We don't get home enough.

Families do not stop living. We have got to keep going on. This is what people do.

People are asking us, 'Why have you gone country?' And we say, 'Man, we were born country.' They gave us the tag 'Southern rock' years ago as a way of not saying country.

Skynyrd just hasn't gotten its just due.

I'm a lover of old traditional country - George Jones, Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette, Marty Roberts.

I kinda feel that my brother wrote some of the best country lyrics ever - 'The Ballad of Curtis Loew,' 'Mississippi Kid' and that little hit 'Sweet Home Alabama.'

Some of the country stuff in the past has been so polished - if you were a guy with a nice pair of jeans, a big belt buckle and nice hat, you were country.

So many artists try to be something that they're not.

When we are out on the road, running up and down the road playing shows, you have to be not only a member of a band but, especially with Lynyrd Skynyrd, you have to be a part of the Skynyrd nation. You have to be a part of the family.

Our newest member is Johnny Colt, who was bass player with The Black Crowes. Colt fits right in with us. He's loony as heck, and so are we. We have a great time and love doing what we do. I hope Johnny is with us for a long, long time. He is quite the guy.

I think country music is Lynyrd Skynyrd. I think a lot of the country music is what we do, but I don't think rock & roll is dead at all.

If rock & roll is dead and gone, man, I am missing out on it.