Lynyrd Skynyrd sets sights on '09 for new album

By John Benson

CLEVELAND (Billboard) - After spending the last year or so working with guitarist John 5, the former Marilyn Manson band member who now plays with Rob Zombie, Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd is close to finishing its next studio album.

"We've been doing quite a bit of writing with John 5," group member Rickey Medlocke told Billboard.com. "Everybody thought, 'My god, you are going to write with this guy? How is that ever going to work?' But this guy came in and is really multitalented in all genres.

"I was surprised that this guy could sit down and play Glen Campbell and Roy Clark better than they do, and it blew my mind. And then he loves Southern rock, the blues and country. It really blew us away."

Skynyrd plans to hit the studio this fall and finish recording by the end of the year. An early 2009 release date is the goal, on a label to be announced.

And while Medlocke, a one-time member of the band Blackfoot, has been recording "a ton of stuff on my own," he said that he has no plans release any of it, in the interest of "keeping this thing rolling and doing what we're doing. We're loving where we're at right now."

What the band is doing this summer is a co-headlining the "Rock and Rebel" tour with Kid Rock.

"This thing between us and Kid Rock kind came around when we experimented with it in Detroit the year before last," Medlocke said. "Then this year we started the tour in Madison Square Garden, and it was phenomenal. The shows are selling out.

"He's happy with it, we're happy with it," he continued. "And looking forward to next year, starting next spring or summer touring season, we're looking to do it again, except we'll have a new record out this time. So, it'll be even better for us."

Reuters/Billboard