Artimus Pyle and APB

Hey kids....hello NY and everywhere else. Welcome back to the Birdcage. As some of you know, I used to work in radio here in New York and in Pittsburgh. I spent many years working at nightclubs as a DJ. The band that first grabbed me when I was a kid was Lynyrd Skynyrd. They are the reason I decided I needed to be in music. There were other bands I enjoyed....but Skynyrd was special. So when I got the chance to do an interview with Artimus, I jumped on it figuring that some of you would be interested.

I'm sure those of you who love music have a band or two that just seems to sing to you. Lynyrd Skynyrd did just that for me. When the plane went down in 1977 I felt as if I'd been robbed. At the very height of their success it ended in a terrible tragedy. However, the music was so strong.....Skynyrd fans wouldn't let it die and the members who survived needed to keep playing. After several other projects the band reformed. Almost 30 years later and the band still tours, records and keeps the old tunes alive. But tragedy is never far away when it comes to Skynyrd. Allen Collins survived both the plane crash and a deadly car crash only to lose his life later as complications from both crashes set in. Leon Wilkeson passed away after years of drugs and alcohol. And the fighting....between band members, wives, lawyers and managers have taken a terrible toll.

It was my intention to do a nice fluffy puff piece on the band and Artimus. In all honesty, I never wanted to discuss any of the negative issues with him. But as my research concluded and Mr. Pyle began to speak....I knew it was impossible to talk about the great Lynyrd Skynyrd and not talk about them. 90 minutes after we began, Artimus invited me to hang out some time. If I ever get the chance....I certainly will. Heck, I'm honored he even asked !

We discussed things other than Skynyrd....like his band APB, A show APB performed three days after 9-11 at the Stone Pony as well as Stevie Ray Vaughn and family. But each time I thought I'd heard everything, Artimus would tell me about something else I was not aware of, and often it was more tragedy. That's not to say it wasn't a fun conversation. Right off the bat I knew I liked Artimus and I admire him more now than before. We both have a passion for great music and a love for those taken from us way too soon. After a few minutes I felt like I was speaking with an old friend.

Ever since the interview was recorded I have struggled to find the time and the correct method to publish it. It occurred to me that it would only work if the whole thing was just put out there. No editing, no attempt at hiding anything. So, what I've done is transferred the recording into two MP3s for you to download and play. I recommend Winamp if you need a player. What you'll get is the complete conversation we had on June 10th, 2003.

I'm going to give you some highlights of parts one and two for those who may not want to download a pair of 11 meg files.

Part One: Size: 11.3mgs (approx) Download

I asked Artimus about his time in the US Marines and how it's effected his life. His response included a description of his days in the Core as well as how it helped during the aftermath of the plane crash. We spoke about how the studio recordings were put together and then how the band transformed those recordings into one of the best live shows of any time.

Ticket stubs to the 1991 show at the Beacon in NYC and Jones Beach

We then discussed several different live shows I had seen or listened to. The 1979 reunion, the 1987 tribute tour and then the 1991 album and tour. During this tour I saw the band at the Beacon Theatre in NYC. To this day it was the finest show I have seen by anyone at anytime....and I have seen some of the best bands of our time. Ten days later I was at Jones Beach to see them again. Artimus had left the band. Here's where the story gets uncomfortable. Artimus felt strongly about carrying on the names of Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, Leon Wilkeson and Dean Kilpatrick in an honorable way. It's his opinion that abuse of drugs and alcohol by the band needed to stop or at least slow down. When it got to be too much, he left.

I should add that I have seen the band's most recent line up several times. The first tour Skynyrd did with Hughie Thomasson and Rickey Medlocke as official members was the only time I didn't walk away satisfied. Frankly, the show was short and badly performed. The next time around it was clear that they had some time to practice a bit....and it was much better.

Part one ends with a discussion on family.

Part Two: Size: 10.8mgs (approx) Download

Part two opens with Artimus suggesting his life become the subject of a movie. The Plane crash is talked about again. Cameron Crowe is mentioned as a possible director. We then moved on to the tragedy that happened at the club in Rhode Island with Great White.

Next, Artimus answers the Gary Rossington claim that he fled the crash site as opposed to the tale that has been told for years that Artimus went for help and saved lives. It made no sense to me that after repeating the same story for years that Mr. Rossington would choose to say this on the VH-1 Special "Un-Civil War" and I found his comment deeply disturbing. Artimus went for help....and that's a fact.

I visited Ronnie Van Zant's Gravesite

Next, I asked Artimus about the site where Ronnie Van Zant was buried before it was disturbed. I visited the grave on Oct. 21st, 1992. I had a feeling that some presence had overcome me. Instinctively, I knew exactly where to go as we entered the cemetery A photograph taken by my brother showed a strange artifact coming out of Ronnie's stone.....I have no explanation for what happened there except something did happen. Artimus then explained that he has felt a presence and describes his visits there. So you know, I don't make a habit of visiting graves.....but Ronnie and Skynyrd will always be special to me.

An un-altered image taken at the site

Live from Planet Earth is a live CD available at Artimus' site. I own it and recommend it to any fan of Skynyrd or APB. As Artimus says....it rocks. We talk about the recording of that CD at the House of Blues in Orlando.

We next discussed the difference between the lyrics of Ronnie Van Zant and the more recent recordings. Artimus reads to me a Rolling Stone article reviewing Vicious Cycle, the newest Skynyrd release. He then alleges that some of the songs on 1991 were not written by those credited. I was shocked by this claim and greatly disappointed. While I enjoy the new CD (Vicious Cycle) I now see how weak the songwriting is when compared to the songs penned before Street Survivors. Perhaps that's not fair to say....but there it is.

Mama (I'm afraid to say goodbye) still brings tears to my eyes. This track from the 1991 lp is a powerful song. Download the mp3 to listen to it.

I asked Artimus about being interviewed by a Hockey website and he revealed that his Dad was a big fan of the game. This is followed by Artimus responding to my offer of an open segment, to say anything he wanted to the fans of Skynyrd, APB and Hockeybird readers. He covers a lot of different topics including how some people in Jacksinville Fla. wanted to take down these young, wealthy rock stars. Where there is money, lawyers and thieves are sure to follow.

While I was surprised by the subject matter during this interview which was painful at times....I have a huge amount of respect for Artimus Pyle. He could have continued to ignore the indiscretions of the rest of the band and collected tons of money. He threw that away based on his principles. An honorable act to say the least.

Artimus' wife, Kerri Hampton-Pyle does the html work for the APB website and it can be found here.

I want to thank Artimus and Kerri for their generous time in doing this interview. I am honored that Artimus would agree to do this even though Hockeybird is not a music site.

----}- Bird

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