the DJ said that a plane carrying a southern rock band had gone down in McComb, Mississippi. The guys were like, “Damn.” We were pretty sure that Skynyrd was going to be playing at LSU. Now, I had spoken with Ronnie the day before, and he told me the right engine had caught on fire coming up from Miami headed to South Car- olina.
The band stopped to call Judy (Van Zant)
and asked her if it was the Skynyrd plane. She said “Yes it was.” And we asked if everyone was okay, and she said “We don’t know yet. They’re still trying to get them out of the woods.” After we got into Atlanta, the radio announced that it was indeed the Skynyrd plane that went down, and that there were some deaths and that Ronnie Van Zant was one of them, as well as Steve and Cassie Gaines and some others. So, that was a really bad day for Hatchet, and I had A&M Records coming in that night to see them at Pinocchio’s. The band played the most incredible set. And at the end of it, they played “Free Bird.” There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Duane Roland came off the stage and he said, “Man! That wasn’t me playing.” It was kind of divinely inspired. On the way back to the hotel, this idiot who ended up later being 38 Special’s manager, said “I just don’t know if they have what it takes.” I said, “Excuse me?! They sounded incredible.” He says, “Well, I’m not sure. Of course, I passed on Lynyrd Skynyrd when I was at CBS.” I said, “Well why in the fuck did you even come? You don’t understand the genre. You’re an idiot!” (Laughs) At the same time, I had met a guy named
Tony Reale who was a sound engineer at Sound Pit Studio in Atlanta owned by Michael Thevis, the “Porn King.” If Michael didn’t like you, he would put you in a 55-gallon drum, pour cement in it and take you out to the Suwanee River and dump your ass in. He had a lot of money and he wanted to sign the band. I said I’m not gonna deal with this guy. I asked Tony if I wanted to showcase the band in the studio sometime could he work it out. He said yes, and asked, do you know who Tom Werman is? I said yeah, I know Tom. He said he’s getting ready to be here mixing Cheap Trick’s new single. I said well, can the band play for him? So, Tony asked Tom if he would listen to them. The band cranked up and played five songs and blew him up against the
wall. He immediately called the head of A&R at Epic, Lennie Petze and he said,” You know, I’ve never asked you guys for a band. I always pre- sented them and let you guys do your thing, but this is a band that I want.” So, they asked me what I wanted to know about Epic, and I said I just wanted to know if we can get a fair deal. He said “tell me about your band.” I said, “Do you want me to blow smoke up your ass or what?” He said, “I don’t care. Just tell me about your band.” I told him they had an incredible following throughout the southeast, they were really hard workers and had some great songs ready for their first album. He said it sounded good. I told him I wanted Tom Werman to produce the first album. I’d also want you to agree that Tom can get a full 6% royalty as a producer. He had been getting 3% as a CBS staff producer, but I wanted him into it heart and soul. So, we made the deal with Epic, and it was a great move. Molly Hatchet had been turned down by seven or eight record labels. They were saying things like, “They are too much like Lynyrd Skynyrd.” I would say, “no, this is a much more powerful band. Skynyrd is a great band, but this is a band to be reckoned with.” Duane was a great player. He would lock in with the bass and drums. Steve would come in and weave in and out around Duane’s part. Yes, Steve was a sloppy player, but it worked live. In the studio, not so much. So, Steve would put his tracks down and Duane would come in and clean them up. I’m not sure Steve even knows that to this day.
Have you heard how Steve’s doing? Isn’t he in a nursing home? Yeah. There’s a guy who watches after him and takes him where he needs to be.
So, Steve is the only original member still alive? Yeah, he is. I talked to Steve about a week ago. He’s the same ol’ Steve, sarcastic as hell. He’s coming back. He had gotten down to 129 pounds and he’s starting to put some weight back on. The weight loss was because of an old girlfriend that he just couldn’t get off of his mind. She came up to see him and said, “You know, I’m married now and have a couple of kids, but I’ve never stopped loving you.” For some reason, that was like stick- ing a firecracker up Steve’s butt. He was like,
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