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Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington reassured fans that, despite having announced their farewell tour, the band will be around for some time to come – and may even continue to be seen after the final road trip is over.
“This farewell tour will take a year or two to go all the places we’ve been and play them one more time, so it’s not like we’re going away,” he told Billboard in a new interview. “We’re just winding it down a little bit. We’ll be doing this a while longer.”
Rossington accepted that his health issues in recent years had been a major consideration in planning the farewell. “We’ve been doing this a long time and we’re getting older, and it’s really hard touring and traveling,” said the band's sole remaining founder member. “My health isn’t very great, so it’s harder for me to tour these days, and everyone’s got kids and families and grandkids now. So we’re just gonna kick back a little bit because of our age. … I just want to go out on a high note and make sure the band’s name stays in high regard, instead of going out and playing fairs and casinos and things like that. I want to live it still filling arenas and sheds, like we still can.”
In the meantime, the band’s plans include a documentary and an album to follow 2012’s Last of a Dyin’ Breed. “We have a lot of songs we've written through the years and we write a little bit here and there and have a few new songs we're gonna do," Rossington said, adding that the intention was to make the band's final album “the best one.”
Asked if the band might even roll back on the decision to quit, he said, "Maybe. I know we're going to take some time off after this farewell tour that's all planned, and then who knows? Even, like, the Eagles and a lot of people retire for a year or two and they have to come back. It's just in your blood, y'know? So I don't know if it's really ever gonna end. … Even if the touring ends we'll still do special shows and special guest things here and there with the whole band.”
Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington reassured fans that, despite having announced their farewell tour, the band will be around for some time to come – and may even continue to be seen after the final road trip is over.
“This farewell tour will take a year or two to go all the places we’ve been and play them one more time, so it’s not like we’re going away,” he told Billboard in a new interview. “We’re just winding it down a little bit. We’ll be doing this a while longer.”
Rossington accepted that his health issues in recent years had been a major consideration in planning the farewell. “We’ve been doing this a long time and we’re getting older, and it’s really hard touring and traveling,” said the band's sole remaining founder member. “My health isn’t very great, so it’s harder for me to tour these days, and everyone’s got kids and families and grandkids now. So we’re just gonna kick back a little bit because of our age. … I just want to go out on a high note and make sure the band’s name stays in high regard, instead of going out and playing fairs and casinos and things like that. I want to live it still filling arenas and sheds, like we still can.”
In the meantime, the band’s plans include a documentary and an album to follow 2012’s Last of a Dyin’ Breed. “We have a lot of songs we've written through the years and we write a little bit here and there and have a few new songs we're gonna do," Rossington said, adding that the intention was to make the band's final album “the best one.”
Asked if the band might even roll back on the decision to quit, he said, "Maybe. I know we're going to take some time off after this farewell tour that's all planned, and then who knows? Even, like, the Eagles and a lot of people retire for a year or two and they have to come back. It's just in your blood, y'know? So I don't know if it's really ever gonna end. … Even if the touring ends we'll still do special shows and special guest things here and there with the whole band.”
