Post by HARD ROCK UNIVERSE on May 24, 2006 23:43:21 GMT -5
Bobby Ingram Of Molly Hatchet
Interview by Nightwatcher
May 15, 2005
In the genre of Southern rock, Molly Hatchet are legends. Formed out of the same musical pool in Jacksonville, Florida that also produced Lynyrd Skynyrd and Blackfoot, Hatchet broke on the scene with their debut self titled album in 1978, and have been one of the torch bearers for southern fried rock ever since. Recently celebrating their 25th anniversary in 2003, despite numerous lineup changes and personal tragedies, such as the recent passings of Bobby Ingram's wife Stephanie and original vocalist Danny Joe Brown, they're still going strong, performing to over 50,000 people earlier this year at the Super Bowl pre-show in their Jacksonville hometown. On the eve of the release of their new album on SPV, 'Warriors Of The Rainbow Bridge,' during a break in the 2005 World Tour, I had the opportunity to sit down and talk to guitarist Bobby Ingram, who's helmed the band for over 20 years, the results of which follow below. Special thanks are in order for Tara at SPV and Dave at Earsplitter PR for helping to coordinate this, and a BIG thanks to Bobby Ingram for doing this interview for Rock N Roll Universe!
Rock N Roll Universe : First of all, Bobby, I'd like to take the time to thank you for taking the time out to talk with me, we really appreciate it.
Bobby Ingram : Thank you so much for taking the time out for me also. You guys have been a supporter of Molly Hatchet for many, many years and we appreciate it so much.
RNRU : How's the tour going?
BI: Well, we kicked off the tour last month in Europe. We started in Amsterdam actually, went all the way through Germany, Berlin, Frankfort, all the way through Nuremburg, ending up in Switzerland. That was pretty much the first leg of it, kicking it off overseas. We just have a few more days off, then we start the United States leg of it. We're going to be going coast to coast, back and forth and all angles in between for the 'Warriors Of The Rainbow Bridge' tour.
RNRU : Since you've just finished the first leg of the tour in Germany and Holland, what are the differences between crowds in Europe versus here in the U.S.? Any difference?
BI : Actually, we have found out through going over there, we thought the first time going over there, "Boy, this is going to be a lot different," but to be honest with you, we found no difference. That kind of showed on the 'Locked And Loaded' CD that we did in 2003, and that was the 25th anniversary of the band. We put that out, and also the 25th anniversary re-recorded album, which has one hit song from each of the 14 Molly Hatchet records. I didn't see much change, and it kind of showed that not only in the southern part of the United States, but the United States in general. All over Canada, the Pacific Rim, Japan and Europe, that there's a common bond, a common unity, a brotherhood, friendship, and there's a passion for Southern rock n roll all throughout the world. We wanted to show that and get that on the CD and show it to everybody.
RNRU : Molly Hatchet is very popular in Germany and you did hit the charts with the 'Locked & Loaded' live CD there. What do you think draws the German people to the band so much?
BI : Well, not only do they have a passion for Southern rock n roll, but we've been fortunately embraced by the hard rock and heavy metal community over there. They love the band. There's just something about it, I think it's the kinship, the brotherhood, the friendship. We're a blue collar band. We're a band that plays people music for the people. And I think that right there says it all. We relate to everybody. There's a lot of things that we say in our songs that maybe the guy next to you really doesn't know how to express it as well, and we kind of like to walk side by side with him, and say, "Hey, we've been there, we know what you're going through, good times and bad times," and we translate that to CD.
RNRU : What was it like playing the Super Bowl pre-show in front of a hometown crowd?
BI: It was fantastic. It was probably the highlight of the band's career. To be in your hometown, playing two Super Bowl events, we were the only group to play two Super Bowl events. To see all our friends out there, to have that many people, it was almost too much. We played two hours before the kick off. There were probably fifty thousand people stage side, and another quarter of a million right outside the perimeter.
RNRU : That's alot of people Bobby..
BI : That's not counting the eighty something thousand people inside the Super Bowl.
RNRU : Is that the biggest crowd you've ever played to?
BI : Well, we did eighty thousand people in Hamburg, Germany, and we actually got that caught on DVD, which is coming out towards the end of the year. And we're very proud of that. It's got two thirds of the newer stuff, a third of the classic material, and it just stomps. It's nothing but rebel flag wavin' and beer drinkin' on a Friday, Saturday night, pick up trucks and you name it. It's Southern rock all the way. We were so fortunate to capture it on DVD. The cool thing was that we captured it outside the United States, so there's the second wave of it going world wide. Southern rock is growing, it's not dissipating.
RNRU : What prompted Dave Hlubek to come back into the band after twenty years?
BI: Dave Hlubek and I have known each other for many, many years. Actually, a lot of people don't know this, I had a band called Rum Creek, and this is a true story. There's this fella that came to the rehearsal, his name was Danny, and he never sang frontman in a group before. He came up and asked me, "Hey Bobby, I'd like to audition for your group." I said, "Do you know how to sing?" And he said, "Well..I think so." I said, "Well, do you know how to FRONT a group?" And he said, "What's that?" Well, that was Danny Joe Brown. I handed Danny his first microphone to sing. I've got original footage that's going to be on the DVD that's coming up of me and him at our first show. About that same time, Dave Hlubek and I met each other, and we've been friends ever since. There's been a little bit of ups and downs, but hey, that's just the way it is over thirty five years. That's the way brothers are. When we stood on stage together it felt so natural, felt so right. There was no other choice, no other logical reasoning except to get him back into the band.
RNRU : With Dave back in the band, how has this affected the live performance?
BI: I think it's only enhanced it. Phil and I pretty much work the stage pretty good. Dave works his side of the stage, and it all comes together. We're all standing up there together. You've got guitars and bass, and everybody right up on the frontline, hammering it out like "Boogie No More," you know that's hard to beat. Then when we go right into "Flirting With Disaster," forget it, it's all over.
RNRU : Besides Dave coming back, have there been any other changes in the band since the last album, or is it otherwise still the same lineup?
BI : Well, we have Dave coming back into the band, John Galvin is still on the keyboards, he's the original keyboard player. I've been in the band twenty years, longer than any member on the face of the earth, Phil McCormack's been in there about ten years. He took Danny's position when Danny wasn't able to perform anymore, God Bless him, he was sick with Diabetes. All our condolences, prayers to his family and children goes out to them. We've been hit with some pretty hard things in the group's career that we've been able to overcome. We've drawn inspiration from these lifetime, real situations that have happened. We're not the only ones that it's happened to. There's a lot of people, in every walk of life that this happens to. You just have to pick yourself up by the bootstraps and continue on. And I know Stephanie, and I know how she was. Some of these people, they did know what she did behind the scenes, and there's a hundred thousand more that didn't know what she did behind the scenes of Molly Hatchet. The phone calls, the faxes, the contracts, the personnel, the payroll and everything else. It's just tragedy on both sides. But we've been able to use their inspiration. They wouldn't have wanted us to stop, they wanted us to continue and do the best job that we can, or all their work would've been in vain. And I know her, and she wouldn't have wanted that, so that led to the Rainbow Bridge, and there's a story about that.
RNRU : Can you tell me more about the meaning of the title of the new album "Warriors Of The Rainbow Bridge"?
BI : Stephanie and I had a dog, since we first got together. We never lived together, never had any children ever, in our lives, with anybody else or together. We were together for twelve years. She was a good girl. We had a family dog that passed away about a year before, and the vet, out of nowhere sent a poem called "Rainbow Bridge," by an unknown author at the bottom of it. And she read that, and she cried all weekend. And we hugged each other.She actually saw and experienced the meaning of "Rainbow Bridge" before she passed away, which gives me chills. The album is titled 'The Warriors Of The Rainbow Bridge.' The Rainbow Bridge crosses over from this side to heaven. And they say in medieval times, that when the Rainbow Bridge is broken, just like in The Bible, that the beginning of the end of the world is Armageddon, so hence, "Warriors Of The Rainbow Bridge".
RNRU : Does this concept extend to the songs on the album as well?
BI : It's one of the heaviest concepts of the Molly Hatchet career.
RNRU : So would you consider the album a concept album of sorts?
BI: It's a concept album with an inspirational meaning.
RNRU : What about the sound of the new album. Can Hatchet fans expect anything different?
BI : You know, I think that the success of Molly Hatchet has been due to our fans. Like I said, a people's band playing people's music. We write about everyday life, not only in our lives, but in other people's lives. And I think that's been the key to the success, that it's not so far fetched that people can't understand it. I mean, we put our pants on the same way, we eat breakfast in the morning, we like to watch DVD's at night. You know what I'm saying?
RNRU : You've got to connect with people...
BI : We go to Wal Mart, we go to the grocery store, Winn Dixie, and you know we talk to people, the whole band. I don't think there's anybody in the band whom, if you stopped them and said, "Hey,aren't you with..?" that wouldn't stop and talk with you."Hey, how are you doing, how are you doing in life?" because they translate to us THEIR feelings, and that's people of the world. We take that and we turn those into songs. I write the music in three days. The honest God's truth, I sit in my underwear in front of the big screen TV, I have lunch and half of a Coca Cola there, and I write the music in three days. Phil writes the lyrics, we go into pre-production on the fifth, and we record the album on the sixth. That way the spontaneity just oozes from the album. It's not overworked, it's not overdemoed, it's not overplayed. It comes from the heart. You know, when you have to think about something too much, that's where you go wrong. Keep it simple and it's hard drivin'.
RNRU : How much of the new album will you guys be playing on the tour?
BI : Actually, we're going to try to play every track live. But we're going to change the set around to do that, because the promoters will only allow us to play a certain amount of time. So we'll try to squeeze as much as we can in. We'll definitely be playing "Son Of The South," that's the single. And we'll be doing "Rainbow Bridge," "Flames Are Burning," and "Moonlight Dancing On The Bayou."
RNRU : On this tour is this going to be "An Evening With Molly Hatchet," or are you going to have special guests appearing with you?
BI : Well that depends, we invite everybody out to come and jam with us. If they're in the area, and they feel like doing it, we don't push anybody. If they want to come up and jam. we'll even jam "T For Texas," a couple Molly Hatchet songs. We have alot of fun with it.
RNRU : What song, or songs are the most fun for you to play on stage?
BI : That's like trying to pick your favorite kid. It really is. I like playing all of them. I have so much fun playing all of them. I think the one that has the most meaning for me right now is "Rainbow Bridge."
RNRU : Do you feel a sense of accomplishment for not only keeping the band alive, but thriving all these years?
BI : I know when Danny and I were together we were getting opposition. Then when Danny left, I was the only one getting opposition. And I got the band back to recording again, on a global basis. And I think that, and the massive amount of touring, I think people came around and said, "Hey this is second generation Molly Hatchet, Bobby's been in the band longer than anybody else, He was in the original band, he gave Danny his first singing job, he's legitimate." As time goes on for every band, there's gonna be member changes. And with those member changes, as long as they stay true to the policies of the group and the songwriting, I don't see where there's going to be any problem. We're seeing veteran bands, and fans, and sometimes they're bringing their children, and sometimes they're bringing THEIR children. So, it's a real generational thing.
RNRU : Molly Hatchet always had more of a hard rock influence than most of the other Southern rock bands. But on recent albums, you've gone to almost a heavy metal sound at times. Is there a reason for the heavier sound?
BI : I think it comes naturally. I think it comes from what's happened the last year, with Stephanie and Danny, the harder riffs. I think we're venting. We're normally pretty smooth guys, you know, but there have been alot of good people around us who've been taken away from us recently.
RNRU : Speaking of that, how have the recent passings of Stephanie, Danny and Jakson Spires affected you?
BI : Well, it's been a life altering situation. I lived alone, and I live alone now. I lived with her. We had our dogs and our horses. Now it's a different thing, I pay all the bills, take care of a lot of stuff that she did, have the mail stopped when we're on the road. But I do it in her honor, it's inspired me.
RNRU : What is your favorite memory of Danny Joe Brown?
BI : I think my favorite memory of Danny was when he was a pallbearer at my mother's funeral. So kind, so gentle, no rock and roll involved at all. And he gave me a lot of comfort. There are many ones, but that has to be my favorite memory.
RNRU : Do you see a resurgance of Southern rock at all in the U.S. lately? This summer you have Hatchet, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers, all on the road and doing really well. Do you see that coming back?
BI : No. I think we've always been out on the road, Skynyrd, .38 Special, Marshall Tucker, but I think the fans are coming back home. I think that's what's happening, that's why we're out on the road so much. Southern rock is here to stay. It's just good times, partying music. If you can't tap your foot and beer drink on a Saturday night, raise a rebel flag, then you're just flirting with disaster.
RNRU : Is there anything else that you'd like to say to all the Hatchet fans out there?
BI : I'd like to thank everybody, everywhere, for sticking with the band for over a quarter of a century. If you buy the records or come to the concerts, that's what keeps us alive emotionally. We do the best job that we can on stage, whether it's for five hundred people or fifty thousand it doesn't matter to us. We just want them to go home happy, and say, "Man, I just had my ass kicked by Molly Hatchet."
Interview by Nightwatcher
May 15, 2005
In the genre of Southern rock, Molly Hatchet are legends. Formed out of the same musical pool in Jacksonville, Florida that also produced Lynyrd Skynyrd and Blackfoot, Hatchet broke on the scene with their debut self titled album in 1978, and have been one of the torch bearers for southern fried rock ever since. Recently celebrating their 25th anniversary in 2003, despite numerous lineup changes and personal tragedies, such as the recent passings of Bobby Ingram's wife Stephanie and original vocalist Danny Joe Brown, they're still going strong, performing to over 50,000 people earlier this year at the Super Bowl pre-show in their Jacksonville hometown. On the eve of the release of their new album on SPV, 'Warriors Of The Rainbow Bridge,' during a break in the 2005 World Tour, I had the opportunity to sit down and talk to guitarist Bobby Ingram, who's helmed the band for over 20 years, the results of which follow below. Special thanks are in order for Tara at SPV and Dave at Earsplitter PR for helping to coordinate this, and a BIG thanks to Bobby Ingram for doing this interview for Rock N Roll Universe!
Rock N Roll Universe : First of all, Bobby, I'd like to take the time to thank you for taking the time out to talk with me, we really appreciate it.
Bobby Ingram : Thank you so much for taking the time out for me also. You guys have been a supporter of Molly Hatchet for many, many years and we appreciate it so much.
RNRU : How's the tour going?
BI: Well, we kicked off the tour last month in Europe. We started in Amsterdam actually, went all the way through Germany, Berlin, Frankfort, all the way through Nuremburg, ending up in Switzerland. That was pretty much the first leg of it, kicking it off overseas. We just have a few more days off, then we start the United States leg of it. We're going to be going coast to coast, back and forth and all angles in between for the 'Warriors Of The Rainbow Bridge' tour.
RNRU : Since you've just finished the first leg of the tour in Germany and Holland, what are the differences between crowds in Europe versus here in the U.S.? Any difference?
BI : Actually, we have found out through going over there, we thought the first time going over there, "Boy, this is going to be a lot different," but to be honest with you, we found no difference. That kind of showed on the 'Locked And Loaded' CD that we did in 2003, and that was the 25th anniversary of the band. We put that out, and also the 25th anniversary re-recorded album, which has one hit song from each of the 14 Molly Hatchet records. I didn't see much change, and it kind of showed that not only in the southern part of the United States, but the United States in general. All over Canada, the Pacific Rim, Japan and Europe, that there's a common bond, a common unity, a brotherhood, friendship, and there's a passion for Southern rock n roll all throughout the world. We wanted to show that and get that on the CD and show it to everybody.
RNRU : Molly Hatchet is very popular in Germany and you did hit the charts with the 'Locked & Loaded' live CD there. What do you think draws the German people to the band so much?
BI : Well, not only do they have a passion for Southern rock n roll, but we've been fortunately embraced by the hard rock and heavy metal community over there. They love the band. There's just something about it, I think it's the kinship, the brotherhood, the friendship. We're a blue collar band. We're a band that plays people music for the people. And I think that right there says it all. We relate to everybody. There's a lot of things that we say in our songs that maybe the guy next to you really doesn't know how to express it as well, and we kind of like to walk side by side with him, and say, "Hey, we've been there, we know what you're going through, good times and bad times," and we translate that to CD.
RNRU : What was it like playing the Super Bowl pre-show in front of a hometown crowd?
BI: It was fantastic. It was probably the highlight of the band's career. To be in your hometown, playing two Super Bowl events, we were the only group to play two Super Bowl events. To see all our friends out there, to have that many people, it was almost too much. We played two hours before the kick off. There were probably fifty thousand people stage side, and another quarter of a million right outside the perimeter.
RNRU : That's alot of people Bobby..
BI : That's not counting the eighty something thousand people inside the Super Bowl.
RNRU : Is that the biggest crowd you've ever played to?
BI : Well, we did eighty thousand people in Hamburg, Germany, and we actually got that caught on DVD, which is coming out towards the end of the year. And we're very proud of that. It's got two thirds of the newer stuff, a third of the classic material, and it just stomps. It's nothing but rebel flag wavin' and beer drinkin' on a Friday, Saturday night, pick up trucks and you name it. It's Southern rock all the way. We were so fortunate to capture it on DVD. The cool thing was that we captured it outside the United States, so there's the second wave of it going world wide. Southern rock is growing, it's not dissipating.
RNRU : What prompted Dave Hlubek to come back into the band after twenty years?
BI: Dave Hlubek and I have known each other for many, many years. Actually, a lot of people don't know this, I had a band called Rum Creek, and this is a true story. There's this fella that came to the rehearsal, his name was Danny, and he never sang frontman in a group before. He came up and asked me, "Hey Bobby, I'd like to audition for your group." I said, "Do you know how to sing?" And he said, "Well..I think so." I said, "Well, do you know how to FRONT a group?" And he said, "What's that?" Well, that was Danny Joe Brown. I handed Danny his first microphone to sing. I've got original footage that's going to be on the DVD that's coming up of me and him at our first show. About that same time, Dave Hlubek and I met each other, and we've been friends ever since. There's been a little bit of ups and downs, but hey, that's just the way it is over thirty five years. That's the way brothers are. When we stood on stage together it felt so natural, felt so right. There was no other choice, no other logical reasoning except to get him back into the band.
RNRU : With Dave back in the band, how has this affected the live performance?
BI: I think it's only enhanced it. Phil and I pretty much work the stage pretty good. Dave works his side of the stage, and it all comes together. We're all standing up there together. You've got guitars and bass, and everybody right up on the frontline, hammering it out like "Boogie No More," you know that's hard to beat. Then when we go right into "Flirting With Disaster," forget it, it's all over.
RNRU : Besides Dave coming back, have there been any other changes in the band since the last album, or is it otherwise still the same lineup?
BI : Well, we have Dave coming back into the band, John Galvin is still on the keyboards, he's the original keyboard player. I've been in the band twenty years, longer than any member on the face of the earth, Phil McCormack's been in there about ten years. He took Danny's position when Danny wasn't able to perform anymore, God Bless him, he was sick with Diabetes. All our condolences, prayers to his family and children goes out to them. We've been hit with some pretty hard things in the group's career that we've been able to overcome. We've drawn inspiration from these lifetime, real situations that have happened. We're not the only ones that it's happened to. There's a lot of people, in every walk of life that this happens to. You just have to pick yourself up by the bootstraps and continue on. And I know Stephanie, and I know how she was. Some of these people, they did know what she did behind the scenes, and there's a hundred thousand more that didn't know what she did behind the scenes of Molly Hatchet. The phone calls, the faxes, the contracts, the personnel, the payroll and everything else. It's just tragedy on both sides. But we've been able to use their inspiration. They wouldn't have wanted us to stop, they wanted us to continue and do the best job that we can, or all their work would've been in vain. And I know her, and she wouldn't have wanted that, so that led to the Rainbow Bridge, and there's a story about that.
RNRU : Can you tell me more about the meaning of the title of the new album "Warriors Of The Rainbow Bridge"?
BI : Stephanie and I had a dog, since we first got together. We never lived together, never had any children ever, in our lives, with anybody else or together. We were together for twelve years. She was a good girl. We had a family dog that passed away about a year before, and the vet, out of nowhere sent a poem called "Rainbow Bridge," by an unknown author at the bottom of it. And she read that, and she cried all weekend. And we hugged each other.She actually saw and experienced the meaning of "Rainbow Bridge" before she passed away, which gives me chills. The album is titled 'The Warriors Of The Rainbow Bridge.' The Rainbow Bridge crosses over from this side to heaven. And they say in medieval times, that when the Rainbow Bridge is broken, just like in The Bible, that the beginning of the end of the world is Armageddon, so hence, "Warriors Of The Rainbow Bridge".
RNRU : Does this concept extend to the songs on the album as well?
BI : It's one of the heaviest concepts of the Molly Hatchet career.
RNRU : So would you consider the album a concept album of sorts?
BI: It's a concept album with an inspirational meaning.
RNRU : What about the sound of the new album. Can Hatchet fans expect anything different?
BI : You know, I think that the success of Molly Hatchet has been due to our fans. Like I said, a people's band playing people's music. We write about everyday life, not only in our lives, but in other people's lives. And I think that's been the key to the success, that it's not so far fetched that people can't understand it. I mean, we put our pants on the same way, we eat breakfast in the morning, we like to watch DVD's at night. You know what I'm saying?
RNRU : You've got to connect with people...
BI : We go to Wal Mart, we go to the grocery store, Winn Dixie, and you know we talk to people, the whole band. I don't think there's anybody in the band whom, if you stopped them and said, "Hey,aren't you with..?" that wouldn't stop and talk with you."Hey, how are you doing, how are you doing in life?" because they translate to us THEIR feelings, and that's people of the world. We take that and we turn those into songs. I write the music in three days. The honest God's truth, I sit in my underwear in front of the big screen TV, I have lunch and half of a Coca Cola there, and I write the music in three days. Phil writes the lyrics, we go into pre-production on the fifth, and we record the album on the sixth. That way the spontaneity just oozes from the album. It's not overworked, it's not overdemoed, it's not overplayed. It comes from the heart. You know, when you have to think about something too much, that's where you go wrong. Keep it simple and it's hard drivin'.
RNRU : How much of the new album will you guys be playing on the tour?
BI : Actually, we're going to try to play every track live. But we're going to change the set around to do that, because the promoters will only allow us to play a certain amount of time. So we'll try to squeeze as much as we can in. We'll definitely be playing "Son Of The South," that's the single. And we'll be doing "Rainbow Bridge," "Flames Are Burning," and "Moonlight Dancing On The Bayou."
RNRU : On this tour is this going to be "An Evening With Molly Hatchet," or are you going to have special guests appearing with you?
BI : Well that depends, we invite everybody out to come and jam with us. If they're in the area, and they feel like doing it, we don't push anybody. If they want to come up and jam. we'll even jam "T For Texas," a couple Molly Hatchet songs. We have alot of fun with it.
RNRU : What song, or songs are the most fun for you to play on stage?
BI : That's like trying to pick your favorite kid. It really is. I like playing all of them. I have so much fun playing all of them. I think the one that has the most meaning for me right now is "Rainbow Bridge."
RNRU : Do you feel a sense of accomplishment for not only keeping the band alive, but thriving all these years?
BI : I know when Danny and I were together we were getting opposition. Then when Danny left, I was the only one getting opposition. And I got the band back to recording again, on a global basis. And I think that, and the massive amount of touring, I think people came around and said, "Hey this is second generation Molly Hatchet, Bobby's been in the band longer than anybody else, He was in the original band, he gave Danny his first singing job, he's legitimate." As time goes on for every band, there's gonna be member changes. And with those member changes, as long as they stay true to the policies of the group and the songwriting, I don't see where there's going to be any problem. We're seeing veteran bands, and fans, and sometimes they're bringing their children, and sometimes they're bringing THEIR children. So, it's a real generational thing.
RNRU : Molly Hatchet always had more of a hard rock influence than most of the other Southern rock bands. But on recent albums, you've gone to almost a heavy metal sound at times. Is there a reason for the heavier sound?
BI : I think it comes naturally. I think it comes from what's happened the last year, with Stephanie and Danny, the harder riffs. I think we're venting. We're normally pretty smooth guys, you know, but there have been alot of good people around us who've been taken away from us recently.
RNRU : Speaking of that, how have the recent passings of Stephanie, Danny and Jakson Spires affected you?
BI : Well, it's been a life altering situation. I lived alone, and I live alone now. I lived with her. We had our dogs and our horses. Now it's a different thing, I pay all the bills, take care of a lot of stuff that she did, have the mail stopped when we're on the road. But I do it in her honor, it's inspired me.
RNRU : What is your favorite memory of Danny Joe Brown?
BI : I think my favorite memory of Danny was when he was a pallbearer at my mother's funeral. So kind, so gentle, no rock and roll involved at all. And he gave me a lot of comfort. There are many ones, but that has to be my favorite memory.
RNRU : Do you see a resurgance of Southern rock at all in the U.S. lately? This summer you have Hatchet, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers, all on the road and doing really well. Do you see that coming back?
BI : No. I think we've always been out on the road, Skynyrd, .38 Special, Marshall Tucker, but I think the fans are coming back home. I think that's what's happening, that's why we're out on the road so much. Southern rock is here to stay. It's just good times, partying music. If you can't tap your foot and beer drink on a Saturday night, raise a rebel flag, then you're just flirting with disaster.
RNRU : Is there anything else that you'd like to say to all the Hatchet fans out there?
BI : I'd like to thank everybody, everywhere, for sticking with the band for over a quarter of a century. If you buy the records or come to the concerts, that's what keeps us alive emotionally. We do the best job that we can on stage, whether it's for five hundred people or fifty thousand it doesn't matter to us. We just want them to go home happy, and say, "Man, I just had my ass kicked by Molly Hatchet."