Southern Rock's Finest at the State Theatre in St Petersburg

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SOUTHERN ROCK’S FINEST -will headline the State Theatre (dowtown St Pete) with special guests Rebel Pride, Sobriety X, Un4Givin, Down Jr., Brian Chris, and Lavafish. Also coming along with SRF will be author GENE ODOM, former head of security for Lynyrd Skynyrd ,body guard of Ronnie Van Zant, and Skynyrd plane crash survivor. Gene will be signing his highly acclaimed book "Remembering the Freebirds of Southern Rock", and selling great Skynyrd photos etc. from his personal collection.Don’t miss this Show!!

Security For Lynyrd Skynyrd

I traveled with the band off and on for a couple of years because I'd
get tired of the road and want to come back home to work. Then, in
late 1976, I decided to stay with the band full-time to try to stop their
drinking and fighting habits. I was the only person that could say jump
and they would say how high. This was because they knew I had
never smoked or drank in my life and never will and because of this
Ronnie Van Zant trusted me more than anyone in the world.

I told him that I could see what drinking before a gig was doing to
their performance, so I started taking the first limo to the auditorium.
I'd take one bottle of Jack Daniels, two bottles of champagne, and
give them away or pour them out, leaving one bottle of Jack Daniels
and one bottle of champagne for the band when they arrived. They
never knew what I was doing until it was too late and then they'd have
to go out and play, sober as judges.

I knew my help was appreciated when Ronnie, Allen, and Gary
came up to me one night and said, "We never thought we could play
in front of 15,000 people sober. We appreciate what you've done for
us."

I finally did away with all the whiskey and champagne. The only
alcohol left in the dressing room when they arrived was a six-pack of
beer and part of it was left when they went on stage.
It made me feel great to see Lynyrd Skynyrd play and perform the
way I knew they could. When the accident occurred, all of the
members of the band were sober and going to stay that way; I know
because I was there. The rough and rowdy band that everyone knew,
left when I came. The most expensive thing they broke while I was
with them was a lamp and it was broken by accident.

I probably cared for Lynyrd Skynyrd more than anyone. I didn't
work for the money. I did what I did for my friends because a friend is
worth more than money. He is worth a lifetime.

Thanks,
Gene Odom

http://lynyrdskynyrddixie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1538

Skynyrd Insider's Story

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Former bodyguard penning tale about
life after accident
By RYAN TRARES
DAilYJOURNAL STAFF WRITER


The death of a rock 'n' roll legend can define an era.
The death of a close friend can define a man.
No matter how many years pass, Gene Odom always will
remember the night of October 20, 1977.
Music fans will recognize the date.
Some where over Mississippi, the airplane carrying rock band Lynyrd
Skynyrd crashed, killing charismatic lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and
Four other people aboard. Odom was on that plane. As the band's security director and Van Zant's personal bodyguard, he helped pull his childhood friend into a plane seat and strapped in the sleeping Van Zant.
"That was probably three seconds beforethe crash," he said.
The rest is rock 'n' roll history.

For Odom, the crash ended the chapter of his life with Lynyrd Skynyrd.
But his story extends further than his association with the famed band.
With the help of Franklin resident Scott Coner,he's telling his own tale.
The two joined forces to write "Theirs Forever: The Ballad of Gene Odom,
"a retrospective of Odom's life,complete with an accompanying album of
original music Coner wrote. Odom and Coner came together through their musical interest and while Odom was doing a favor for one of Coner's friends. The friend, a Lynyrd Skynyrd fan who was suffering from cancer, wanted to see the band's old neighborhood. Coner contacted Odom, who escorted the man through their old haunts. The friendship built from there. Odom has published two books about his time with the band. The first, "Lynyrd Skynyrd I'll Never Forget You,"
was a self-published collection of memories he had growing up with Van Zant. The second, "Lynyrd Skynyrd, Remembering the Free Birds of Southern Rock," follows the same formula, focusing on Odom's time with the band. With this book, Coner felt it was time for Odom to tell his own story. "His life, the interesting portions, didn't stop in 1977.They really started then," he said.

For the past week, the two have been working at Coner's Franklin home and office as Odom tells his story. While not dwelling on it, Coner knows it would be difficult to write the book without starting with the close relationship between Odom and Van Zant. The two were childhood friends. They grew up in the same poor neighborhood in
Jacksonville, Fla., and spent time fishing and hanging out, often wreaking havoc. They stayed friends after Van Zant started playing music. When Lynyrd Skynyrd started its meteoric rise, Van Zant asked Odom to be his bodyguard. Despite all of the tales that come from living with a rock band, Coner was fascinated by the parts that came after the plane crash. He wanted to delve into Odom's rehabilitation from that wreck, which severely burned him and cost him his left eye. After two years spent recovering, Odom went to work as an ironworker. But a work accident in 1990,combined with the injuries sustained in the plane crash, made it too difficult to work. He has been living on disability since then. The book will touch on Odom's divorce in 1989,an event he calls horrendous. He also will write about his two daughters and grandchildren, who are referenced in the title "Theirs Forever." To go with the book, Coner, his musician friend Johnny Burbrink and Odom have been working on an album of original songs.

The lead track is "The Ballad of Gene Odom," a haunting song detailing the fateful plane crash and legal troubles that arose in the 1980s with the surviving band members. adorn still holds some resentment for the current version of the band, which he refers to as "second-class Skynyrd" and "that clown act." Their touring under the Lynyrd Skynyrd name and playing the old songs without Van Zant violates an agreement they all signed after the crash. But Odom tries not to dwell on that. He instead
wants to honor his friend while also saying something about his own life.
Coner hopes they appeal to Lynyrd Skynyrd fans while opening up new veins of music to their ears. The plan is to have the package ready to go by fall. Coner said they hope to have some music available on Odom's Website, www.LynyrdSkynyrdDixie.com as well as perhaps a sample chapter. "We're going to try and coerce them into taking a step out here in faith and saying maybe there's something outside of Freebird' and 'Sweet Home Alabama,'" he said.

http://lynyrdskynyrddixie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1534

"Street Survivors" Album Cover

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Street Survivors” Photo of Album Cover

I remember what a hard time the band had trying to get the picture
for the front cover of the "Street Survivors" album. The set'up at
Universal Studios was a metal trough in front of the band, one in each
of the windows located on both sides of the band, and an explosion
that would go off behind the band. The explosion would go off, setting
the troughs on fire, just as the picture was being taken, giving the
effect of Lynyrd Skynyrd coming into town and setting it on fire
-which was what they always did. The problem was that the flames in
the trough in front of them would rise up too high causing the band
members to jump back.

On a couple of occasions, the gas that was being used to start the
fires would burn too long causing the wood in the town setting to
catch on fire. The studio firemen would come in and put the fires out
and then they'd have to start all over.
Finally, after about a hundred fires and a half a day of shooting they
got it right. The picture was almost perfect except Gary was jumping
back a little.

After the plane crash and the death of Ronnie, Steve, and Cassie,
the survivors decided that the fire scene wasn't very appropriate and
they took the picture that was originally supposed to go on the back
cover of the album and put it on the front. The fire scene ended up on
the back cover.

Thanks,
Gene Odom

http://lynyrdskynyrddixie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1505

Hit Men On The High Seas

THE HITMEN ON THE HIGH SEAS Cruise - Valentines 2009
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Gene Odom will be speaking onboard THE HITMEN ON THE HIGH SEAS cruise sharing his experience about his travels with the original band Lynyrd Skynyrd and the tragic airplane crash on October 20, 1977.
The Hitmen of Music Row are “hitting” the Caribbean for the HITMEN ON THE HIGH SEAS cruise event. The Hitmen of Music Row consists of master songwriters Bob DiPiero (George Strait’s “Blue Clear Sky,” Brooks & Dunn’s “Can’t Take the Honky Tonk Out Of the Girl”), Craig Wiseman (Kenny Chesney’s “The Good Stuff” and “Summertime,” Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying”), Jeffrey Steele (Rascal Flatts’ “What Hurts The Most” and “My Wish”), and Tony Mullins (Kenny Chesney’s “How Forever Feels” and Rascal Flatts’ “Me & My Gang”). They have written 39 #1 songs, have over 300 charted singles, have over 800 recorded songs, and have songs on albums with over 150,000,000 combined sales. This cruise is departing from Miami, FL Sat 2/14/09 with stops at Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands and Ocho Rios, Jamaica, returning back to Miami, FL Thu 2/19/09. The Hitmen of Music Row will be filming onboard the ship for segments to use on their reality show which airs on GAC.

Every passenger will be able to enjoy Carnival Cruise Lines exceptional stateroom accommodations, dining options, a variety of facilities and activities, entertainment, fitness center, Camp Carnival children’s program, special shipboard events and fabulous destinations. Those passengers sailing with the HITMEN ON THE HIGH SEAS will be given a special access pass upon boarding which will enable them access to special concerts performed by The Hitmen of Music Row, songwriting workshop, autograph sessions, and a Q & A session.
The only way to book this cruise is by visiting http://lynyrdskynyrddixie.com/category/blog/fan-pages/ or by calling the reservation hotline at 352-422-2620.

JAWS!!!

I was flipping the channels last night and ran across the movie "Jaws". It reminded me of a good story. It was the same creek me and Ronnie fed the wasp larvae to the bream. You had to be careful because this creek had alligators that lived in it. They never bothered anything, but they sure would scare the hell out of you. There was a particular alligator that lived to the left of Ronnie's house. This alligator was about thirteen feet long. It was the biggest alligator Ronnie and I had ever seen, so he named him Jaws. Ronnie's brother-in-law, David Seymour, used to be a guide in the Okefenokee Swamp for eight years and had seen a lot of alligators, but he said that this alligator was the biggest one he had ever seen. Ronnie wouldn't get in the water if Jaws was around. Well, one day, Ronnie, David, and I were building a boat house. Ronnie and David were in the water holding up a twenty foot pole so I could jet it into the ground with a pump. I had started up the pump and suddenly got a wild idea to scare the hell out of Ronnie. I hollered, "There's Jaws." Ronnie screamed and splashed up the ladder. I laughed so hard, I think I wet my pants. Man, was he mad. He said, "Son, your time is coming." The next day, bright and early when we started to work, sure enough, there was Jaws, lying in his same old spot. We didn't go in the water until after Jaws had left and had been gone for about an hour. We just worked on top of the dock. We decided it was safe to go in the water and I said, "Okay, I'll start the pump." Ronnie, David, and Judy were all standing on the dock watching. I had to start the pump with a pull rope, so I wrapped the rope around the crank and gave it a good pull, but the rope broke. I was splashing around trying to figure out what had happened when Ronnie yelled, "Look out, there's Jaws." It scared me so bad that I ran into the dock, bumped my head, and got all scratched up. By the time I got up on the bank I realized what he had done because they were all laughing their guts out. After that, we finished the boat house with no more Jaws jokes.

Thanks,
Gene Odom