I'm from Atlanta, raised in the Chamblee-Doraville area. I joined the Atlanta rhythm Section in 1986 playing Bass, Before that I was doing mainly session work on Guitar and Bass with a friend of mine named Jeff Sisk who engineered and played keyboards and did vocals on a lot of songwriter demos for other people. That's how I met Dean Daughtry was through Jeff and the studio. I also spent about a year playing guitar working with Wyzard the bass player from Mothers Finest on a project that never really founds its feet.

Actually I was only out of the band for a week or two in 1989 until I received a call from Barry Bailey asking if I'd like to play Guitar. It being my main instrument I was very happy for the switch. I didn't play on that recording but I was still a member of the group that's why I'm credited on the record. I could go into more detail but it has a lot of moving parts and I'm not sure I know all of them. So as far I see it I never left or wasn't a part of the band.

We've always played live shows as well as done other projects though the Atlanta rhythm Section was everyone's main band.

"96" was recorded for a private company for what I thought was to be a limited release. Since that time they have repacked it and sold it.

"Partly Plugged" was Dean's idea. A lot of classic rock artist were redoing their songs acoustically and we wanted to also but we also wanted some new studio recordings so we had the best of both worlds with that one.

Well yes as far as the songs but as far as the band we were very much in that place and time. Everybody was very happy and it was the most collaborative the band had been in years.

It's the only the Atlanta rhythm Section song I've written on though I have written with other artists. Mainly music, I'm not much of a lyricist.

Yes I played solos on "When" And "What up with dat?"

Mostly it was the same as when J.R. was playing. Now I play more of the solos live though Dave Anderson plays his fair share also. We like to split it up more.

I've never worked with Jeff. We have been friends for years. He's a great player and a great friend. He had loaned me a guitar that was a Buscarino Acoustic-Electric hybrid to use on "Dreamy Alabama" and that's why I thanked him. I did play acoustic with 38 Special on "Rebel to Rebel" at Freebird the Jam. It was a show the night before the premier of "Freebird the Movie" at the Fox but I was just sitting in for that one show.

It was nice to play one last show and celebrate his career but I always held out hope that he would one day return to playing. Even if it wasn't with us I wanted to hear him sing and play again. I miss Ronnie.

We have recorded with the lineup we had in 2010 a project called "With All Due Respect" on Fuel 2000 records. And this goes back to your last question Ronnie sang a couple of versus on "Conversation". The CD has some new and old Atlanta rhythm Section as well as covers of some of our favorite songs by other bands. The label also released "From the Vaults" it is a true retrospective of the band and features a few different versions as well as songs by bands that led up to the creating of the Atlanta Rhythm Section. They are both available at www.fuel2000.com.

Those were some strange years. Ronnie had been shot and was recovering from that when our drummer R.J. Vealey who had been with us for around 5 years had a heart-attack and died about 20 minutes after we had finished doing a show in Orlando. I witnessed it and rode to the hospital in the ambulance but there was nothing that could be done. That stayed with me for years. Also some of us had family members that were going through hard medical times as well as Barry's illness. The band wasn't working as much due to those things, though we still pulling together for support in our personal lives.

No there has never been a thought of stopping. While we miss our friends we still enjoy playing together. If no one came out to hear us we would still play music together. We are fortunate enough that we still have folks who enjoy the music and make it possible for us to go on the road and share it. And to them we are very grateful.

If it is part of the song I absolutely play what Barry created. Of course I'm not Barry and don't play with the exact touch and feel he does. He is one of a kind. The years I spent playing with him only increased my admiration for his skills. I also feel very protective over what he created as he is one of the most important people in my life. I was 22 when I joined and he became a big role model for me. Like a big brother. Now we do have parts of the show that David and I have our own things we do and the band likes to play off of each other in some extended solos.

No they are not related.

Dean kept in touch with Paul more than anyone. It was on the ride home after Ronnie's funeral that Dean approached Rodney about rejoining. Also at the time Justin Senkers three boys were at an age that he wanted to spend more time at home and so Dean reached out to Paul who had sat in with us a few times over the previous year about his interest in going out on the road again. So in 2011 Rodney Justo (vocals), Paul Goddard (bass), Dean Daughtry (piano and keys), David Anderson (guitar), Jim Keeling (drums) and I (guitar) were and still are the band as of now.

He was working on computers.

We had wanted to get as many members from the bands years as possible to play on the recording and that song was a good fit for Paul. The Atlanta rhythm Section from the time it was formed has never broken up. Members have left and others come in, Sometimes people rejoin. We are all friends and respect each other so we wanted to show that in a project we were all part of. Rodney Mills has engineered and or co-produced almost every Atlanta rhythm Section recording and of course Buddy Buie has written, produced and been the heart of the band from day one. Also Buddy and J.R. Cobb are still a writing team and are still creating great songs. We hope to be recording some in the near future.

Yes J.R. is still writing and I believe he plays some at his church.

He did sit in with us a few years ago on a couple of songs. As far as the road he shows no interest at all in travel, and if we do another recording he is always invited to play if he would like to.

As long as I've played with the band, to me, we have always rocked live. We may have shifted up a gear or two with Paul playing again, as he is a true rock bass player. You get a different feel playing live then doing a studio recording. And of course the energy of the crowds can change the dynamics on any night also.

Paul is a great person and a close friend.

Well when people come to see the Atlanta rhythm Section they are expecting to hear the hits and that really doesn't leave much room to change things much. We would like to add "Another Man's Woman".

That would be a question to ask a promoter. I really don't have a good answer.

It seems the same to me. We've continued over the years working through all the changes.

Yes that was the first cruise we have done. I had a great time. There were so many great bands to go see. I remember sitting in my room and looking at the schedule to see that Paul Rodgers was playing and getting in the elevator and end up watching a great show all within 10 minutes. And it was like that the whole trip. Plus getting to catch up with old friends from the other bands was great.

Dean has been talking about a new recording so if it happens it will start sometime in the next year.

We would all love to go back to Europe but I haven't heard of anything in the works.

I play in a couple of local bands time permitting, Just doing covers. I also do sessions for other artists.

I played on a few of the tracks. That was a fun experience. Tim Wilson and Steve Melton put that together because a lot of the artists involved had wanted to work together. Levon Helm became one of my favorite people ever on that project. His daughter Amy has great voice and is a great person to work with also.

We did some recordings with them in the mid 90's and that (the tracks I worked on.) is what was on that recording. As far as how it happened I couldn't tell you. My friend Jeff Sisk and I were running a studio called Hollyberry Studios and we did a lot of recordings there.

I've worked on a few projects over the years. Tim Wilson who co-produced "All Night All Stars" project is a comedian and I've played on most his Recordings. Also Dean and I worked on a James Brown record for the Atlanta Falcons football team (1) and like I said with the studio I recorded so much I can't recall it all. It was fun though. All on 24 track tape. I miss tape.

You know they are pretty simple. Just to keep playing and having fun. I'm a pretty content person. I would like to work with some younger artists and help them fulfill their dreams.

Thanks to you Luc.