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ffiWguitarist and mastermindBilly Gibbons is a compul-sive shopper. Late one recentHollywood night he could

be found prowling the aisles of the VirgrnMegastore on Sunset Boulevard, movingstealthily like some African tribal hunts-man, albeit one with a longgreybeard,strange tufted hat, natty black suit, amplesilver wrist jewelry and a white shirt ac-

centuating the night-owl pallor of that small portion of his face left visi-ble by his legendary chin warmer and bizarre headgear. The Great WhiteHunter! He swoops down the aisles, deftly picks through stacks of CDsand extracts the discs that capture his fancy: a collection ofcuts by Fif-ties steel guitar legend SpeedyWest, some Los Lobos albums to preparefor a jam with the famed L.A. band at the Latin Grammys, and a world-beat compilation for the missus, the comely actress Gilligan, who is ap-proximately half nilly's age. "She goes crazy for this stuff" he confides.

For n1e he selects a CD by countrystarBrad Paisley, a new friend ofBilly's, wl,omhe rates pretty highly as aguitarist. Next, Mr.Gibbons roots through the bargainbin, com-menting authoritatilely on tackybut obscuredisco tracks that maybe he ought not admitto knowing so well. Then it's on to the DVDracks. Billy's cravingsome film noir tonight,that ominous, black-and-white, g-moviegenre, filled u'ith razor-sharp killers, danger-ous gun molls and other desperate charactersf f om the f r i nges o f n i d 2o rhcen ru ryAmer i -can society. Billy digs and digs, growingvisiblyfrustrrted. He can't find one he hasn't alreadyseen, but he does present me with a copy ofDillinSer, quite possiblythe only film noirl're

Billy's knowledge offilm is as encyclopedicas his command ofmusical idioms both highand low Just name a cinematic genrervintageHolly,,vood, Italian neorealism, Sixties kitsch,Asian slasher flicks... Bill]' can name directorc,cinematographers, minor actors and actresses,He possesses ahighly retentive and wildly as-sociative mind that seems to require constant"r imulr l ion. One songor movie r ir le \vi l l nig-ger an avalanche ofrelated titles in his feveredbrain. He scurries offto track them down.

The uniquely confrgured, hyperactive mindofBilly F' Gibbons is the engine thatdrivesZZ Top, that Little Ol' Blues Band from Texas,now in its 38th year ofoperation and likely tokeep on running infrnitely, thanks to the caf-feinrted Energizer bunny thatresides in thecuriously adorned noggin olBilly F. cibbons.

"Billy's an interesting gry," says Dusty Hill,ZZ Top's bassist and Cibbons' bandmate for

the past four decades. "He's got a lot ofvariedinterests. lfyou're involved in some venturehe's ilrto, you reallyget into it."

Everybody knows that ZZ Top are or'e olthe greatest things ever to springfrom theTexas mud, but fewer people get the Hol-b.wood connection. Billy's dad, Fred, was asoundtrack musician and composer for MGMduringthe Thirties. His uncle Cedric is one ofthe most celebrated cinematic art directors ofHollyr ood s Colden Age. ln facr. Bi l ly inher-ited the family manse in the Holl)'wood Hills.The adobe-style dwelling is brimming withfurther art iFacts of Bi l ly s mania lor shopping.Museum-quality pieces from his world-c1asscollection ofAfrican art adorn the rooms. Anumber of vintage automobiles, all ofthemblack, are parked out front. And, ofcourse,there are guitars and amps everl'lvhere-rareones, ne$ ones, the ueird and the wonder-ful: a Billy Bo cretsch Jupiterbased on an axgiven to Billyby rock and roll legend Bo Did-dley, abrand-newblack JB Tele adomed withsparklingjewels, a few pawnshop specials,three Watkins Dominator amps ofdifferentvintages and a Marshall Bluesbreaker in red-orange Tolex.

There's even more stuff at Billy's housein Eouston, the cityin which he was bom.Hou.ion is also the sire of ZZ Top s fecord-ingstudio, Foam Box, and eightwarehousescontaining the bulk ofBilly's African art col-lection, hundreds ofguitars, amps, effects andLord kno$.s what else. Billy divides his timebetween the L.A. and Houston residencesas well as various other locales. No one fullyunderstands the comings and goings ofBilly n

Gibbons. That's one ofthe rules.The Houston Billy is the one everybody

knows: the deep-talkin' Texan with a passionfor barbecue, roadhouses, mud-flap gals andstockcar racetracks. But Billy's Holl)'\ 'oodflair is everybit as crucial to ZZ Top's identityand longevity as the group's deep Texas bluesroots. His penchant for showmanship andsharp eye for visuals (agenetic legacy fromUncle Cedric, perhaps) has enabled him toreinventthe band for each succeedingera.

Any one human being's conception ofZZTop depends heavily on the decade inwhichrhar pafl icular human beingmade the pas-sage through adolescence into adulthood. Forthose who came up inthe seventies, zZ Topare the ultimate beer-drinkin', hell-raisin',good-timin', ass-kickin' party band. This is theZZ Top of "T\tsh:' "La Grange," "Whiskey'nMama" and "Enjoy and Get It On." For Eight-ies fans, rhey re one ofthe most ubiquirous.albeir unl ikely. icon. ofthe MTV era. rhreesharp-dressed menwith a sound as gleamingand streamlined as the custom hot rods andcurvaceous cuties seen in the video clips for"Gimmie All Your Lovin'," "Legs" and "Sharp

In the Nineties and bey ond, ZZ Top rc-turned to their roots and emerged as curiouscurators ofthe blues legacy. Bearded barrel-house gurus, serni-m1thical characters, theycame to remind us that rock and roll ain'tnothin' but the bastard offspring ofthe bluesand hillbiJly music. This is the group that =broughr us "My Herd s in Mississippi. -Fuzz- ;bo), Voodoo. -Poke Chop Sandwich rnd"Buck Nekkid." Bless their grizzled beards. P

t ( ; ibbons. E\ c l : \ norc is steepcd i r thc r ichAmef ic. rn r rusi r . r l hcf i txge rh. Bi l l ) . r [ rsorbcdgr-owir l iLrp in l loLrstor l in rhe Fi f t ies. Some ofI i . , . r l . . r ' . r . . . , 1 r ' . r ' , , , - . , . . , r \ o ' r l r - . r iversc sounds conr ingoutof the lecl io, r !h.r r wenor i . cal l 'L-oots nrusic. '

"The lavl i tc channels on thc dia l , " Bi lhr ' r 1 . , . c c . r . . l r , ' n , . l ' , R 8 B , r 1 l . o n . R \ ( r K

:ll1.l KCOH th!rr pl.rycd all thc blues ],ou couldLlse rnd ilso colrntn'irrcl $estclrl tf:rcLs olthe dry, b.rck l hcn Hanl( \Vi l l iams reigrcdkiDg. In t l rose redio of fc l ings. one co! ld hcarthc crossover e lenrents thr t lcd to rhe Lr i r lh ( ) fr 'ock . rnd lo l l : thc b lues niect i r lg colur t r \ ' , nrecti rg h i l lb i l l l .ud l l r cn blL le! ! rss x l lof th is* . i lc l , nonlcgi t iml tc nrusic. r he.rr . t fe l t , morc.

. r i r L i r . l , r i , . r ( , . r | j . . i , . f 1 f ( . r i i 1rr thcr pr imi l i \ 'e vrcr t l l r r tube statc brck then.so \ 'ou coLr ld tLrrn rhrnr up loud ; rnd get bcau-t i fu l l ich c l is to l t ion

Bilhrs drd hrd movetl or hom Holl\1vooll'sst ld i ( ) orchcs rs to hecome I colductol of theHolrstor l S\ m}rh(m\ ' (hchestr . : r : rnd high socict \ bxnLl le ider. But ts i lh s nrusicr l edocl t iu lcoDtinucd on .l|r entifcl! diftircnt tl11ck .rt rgeseler. rhcn a lcchlcss h.rb) sittef Lregrn to bring\()ung nrrster \ \J i l l i i ln rnd his l i |e rc. l l . o lL l s ister out () thc locil lloLrsto]l Iightspors, \1'her.etbe tirtLrrc lc.rdcr ofZZ Top got his fifst tilsre ofl i \e h lues rnd R&B DrLrs ic, p l . r !ed in thc sn ok\ 'rii\'cs thet .rl e the p|opcr crlr.iloDnrent ofrhesemLrsic.rl jtliorrs. The ne\t ln.ljor tu ring poirltoccurrc i l on ( lhr isnrrrs r ro|n ing of 1962.

- 14 GUITII TEGEIIDS

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' ' I got 1n\ ' f i fs t uui t r f on Cbr ist lnrs d:r l ,shof t ly Ni tcr l l l rLr fned 1: , " Bi l ly sx)s. ' t t"

r ' . ' . i t : 1 , i k . r , ' . . i n 1 l , - c L r . r r r r , . lson N,Ielod) N1llker, \{ ith :r leDdef Ch|lnpanrp- I in netli.rtely. r'ctired to ln\' r-ooIn rndlearncr l hos to p l r l thc int ro f igule f lom Rl 'Ch.rr le s"Wh:r t 'd I Sx\ ' . ancl by sLrnr lo l n I hadst:rrled leelnirg thc signirture Jjlnl11! Reedrhvthnr l ines."

HAllGlll' WlTll llEll0RlXrI.IFE BETORE ZZ T|lP

Bi lh p l$ ed in u \ 'ar ' icn of junio l h igh . rndhigh school rock brnr ls dur ing thr t goldent r I - r , r , . , r ' ' \ r ' o r c , . . . , t , | ' | r r ' r " r

glrrges rnd brLScments across r\n1ef ic.r, linockingtogethel thci l own loLrglr t : r l {c on rhe Br i tish ln lasion sounds olgroups l ikc thc Rol l ingStones, Kin l is rnd \hrLlb i fds. I lut h is f i rs t l i r l l \ .pfof tss iorrr l rc t \ \ ' . rs thc N,Ioying Side$.r lKs, lps lchcrtc l ic h lLres oLrtEt pLr i tcrncd : r f tef Texrs 'celebr. i te l . l 13th l . loof E1e!r tors. I 'hc latc Six-t ies h.rd i r r ivcd. Hipt ie. lour u. , rs t lk ing hold.

' 'The re Nrrs tb is b ig hoLrsc in I loustoncal lcd the Lorr is i rnr housc, 'Bi l l r fcc:r l ls . " I r$ rs rhis girrlt. bcauriilrl ttl:tls tlrarlsion. .rncii t becl l11e thc bighippic hoLLse i r to\ \n. Thcrc\ \ .erc l i t t lo cuL) ic les tht l t becr lnc loonrs to l i r ein. t he Elc\.itors li|ed therc. $rc nn)\'cd ir-The Red Cfr !o l . r , enothcI r 'enrr l .k . rLr lc pslchcdcl ic brnd, l i red thcrc too. Thosc guvs $ ererut is ts o l r l l sor ts. \ " isLr l l .ut is ts. Tho hoLrscr ' . rs a lcr l in te lest ing k ind of l t isr ic erc l . r le.

I r \ \ rs not fcs i r ic ted to just lnr is ic i tns i thcr-c! 1 r < i - l r ( . 1 , u f ; r . . . . r l r : i r . 1 . ^ ' y r r p l e

Bi l11, h imsel fh.rd considcr-ed r caleel inthc v isuxl af ts short ly xf ic I h igh school . ' Ihad cnlo l led in . r r t col lege lnd rhcn rr 'ent ufto ALrstiD to go to the Uni\'ersit! of fcxas tostud\ er t , " he sr !s. 'But the mLLsic $ ' rs I s t ronlier cnll at th:rt tilne. It was cithcr- one oI theothcr, : rnd I chose lnLrs ic, . t l though I kcpt ons, i th ln) i r t f ixat ion. th is nevef ending qLrcstro f igure oLrt ho\ to dr i l \ f r l iDe l io l r point Ar o t o i n t B . '

tsut ihc :rrt school religee soon fourti rva|sto nani fest h is b izr l le l isLl r l sers ib i l i t iesthrol rgh mLrsic gcar: Bi l l , , s mrnir fo l the r i l t lcustonr iz i r rg o l gui t . r rs ( latcs bacl i ro h i \ Nlo\ing s idcl r lhs d:r 's . Evidcncc oi th is crn bclounr l in h is lcccnt col lee t . rb lc book, l toc l , nndRol l ccdr ledd. On pigc 152, \ r 'e f ind | r photoof : r s tnnge, squr le bodicd custom job l incds. i th p i rk fur ; $c foreLre.r l of the rrc l l knol ltilzzy gLritrrs fionr ZZ 'fop s \'ITV efr t\yo

' ' I w:rs | r l \ \ rvs i b ig f r r of Bo Di l ld lc\ ' . s : rvsBi l l l : And i f lou look c losclr r r r thc corcrpho|og-r'rph on thc LP cntitleLl &) ,Did.//c-y ls .lIofrr. |rs he sits on rhe floor', hc s got his i:,-nolrs rcct ingul : r r ( ] r 'e tsch on onc s idc:rnd onrhe othcr s i i lc thcrc s i s ingle-cutr$ r \ C; ibsonLes Prul . I r . thr t \ rs cover-cL1 in sh:rg g le l crr 'pct ing. This \ \ ' . rs t fu lv the inspir r t ion to cmLr-l . t te that h ind ofc lezv gui t r l c lLr l t . q, l r icb i d idon r butchclccl Tclecrsrer , r idcd rnd rssi r tcd

peting. This was trulythe inspiration to emulate that kind ofcrazy guitar craft, which I didon o butchered Telecaster, aided aId r\ . i l redbyD.n Summers, the bass player forthe Mov-ingSidewalks. He was also quite talented asa craftsnan in glitar building only in thosedrys. i t wasn\ so much guirar bui lding r" gui-tar aberration. we learned how to ruin quite afew guitars real quick.

' 'Bur Mr. Summers helped bring rhose earlycustom guitar ideas into reality, evengoing onto create the first spinning guitar He devised aspinningdevice that he added to his FlyingVbass during the Moving Sidewalks' tour withJimi Hendrix. There were a couple ofmo-ments in the set where we turned D.n loosc.Ofcourse, he had to unplug his bass to avoidgert ing the patch cord tangled up when the instrument $ as spinning.lThir was years beforewireless, of course f, B]ut it was such a magneticvisual thing. Dn Summem loaned his talentsyears larer ro the ZZ Top spinning fu rry guitars. So what goes around comes around."

' I t was unspoken but quire evident rhrHendrix rhrew caurion ro rhe winds. Bi l l )notes, "and decided to do things to and witha guitar that were not necessarilyrvritten inaly ofthe how-to books. For instance, itwasconsidered a no no to chain two truzz-Tonestogether. But I saw Hendrix chain five ofthenrogerherl And he d do this personalized dance.stomping or five differnt pedals, sometimesplaying with all five ofthen on at once- I thinkit's fair to give hin1 the award forbreakingthe rules and startingto do things that no onedared do before. That was p tofhisgenius:atotal lack of fear."

ETIEI PEIRTY GATES:TIIE EIRIII |lT zz IOP

By the start ofl969, the reverb-drenched,combo-organ enhanced, early psychedelicsound ofthe MovingSidewalks had been allbut total ly ecl ipsed by the hervier power-rr iovibe initiated by $oups liLe the Jimi HerdrixExperience, Cream and Blue Cheer Aroundthis time, which coincidedwith the UnitedStates' escalation ofthe vietnamwar, theSidewalks'bassist and organist were draftedinto the army. This left Billy free to pursue hisdrearr offorming his own power trio.

And so ZZ Top were born. The originalincarnation featured Bi l ly, Movi[g Side-wrlks'drummer Dan Mitchel l and l-aniercreg on bass. This l ineup recorded one stn-gle, "salt Lick," backed with "Mil ler 's Farm."It was okay, but things didn't rexlly gel untrlthe drummer Frank Beard and bassist DustvHill fell irto place as th ZZ Top rhythmsection that would reiglr supreme for thenext four decades.

Hil l :nd Berrd l- :d played togefher in rherroun psychedd i cb lueso r r5 r . Amer i ca ' l B lues .which released t,'ro albuns:,4mericdn BIuesDo TIEir Thi1g and Atntericatl Blues Is Here"There were songti t les l ike'Chocolate Ego'; 'Hill says, laughing. "You get the idea. Also,I'dplayed u.ith Freddie King on and ofl I playedat the Fillmore in San francisco for two weeks

1tn I feoo le . l k r xnd l lnJ l l r rne |dere onr heb i l l . a l ong$ i rh t sudd \ cu ) . B ' ueC l -ee land Electric flag [d Sij(ties act that featured

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guitarist Mike Bloonlfeld and future Hendrrxc oll abordtor BLtddy Mil e s.l"

Clearly, Dusty and Frank wer-e a seasonedrh)'thm sectjon bythe tinre theyjoined forceswith cibbons. "Billy's band opened for Hen-drix," says Dusty.'American Blues opened for(he Animals and Herman s Hermirs. I[ Iacrue hrd r l i t r le parry w.rh Herrnan s Hermir.after th show. You can imagine. It didn't goon all dght long. well, at leastnobody hit anybody. I think itbroke up just in time."

"l don't think they werethe partiers that we wer-e,"Beard adds.

Beardjoined ZZ Top f irstand then brought Hill intothe picture. Dusty beat outa bunch of other potentielb|lssists. His audition quicklymorphed from a try-out to ajoyous, hourJongjam on ablues shuffle. It's one ofthelegendrry episodes in ZZTop lore.

"Dusty and I knw eachother's tricks," Beard ex-plains. "so auton'utically hisaudition sounded four timesbeiter than th other bassplayers we were auditio Dg.I really wanted Dusty in theband. So when the other bassplayers were up thre, I madesure it was plentylame. WhenDusty got up there, we knewall these little punches andkicks we could do together rtcertain poi[ts. And itwas like,'Wowl Oh man!' "

consid-ered.a no-no toehain two

X'uzz-Tonestogether.But f sawHend.ri-x

chain fiveof then

together ! "- Gibbons

its richness ofto[e might be the result ofthatcombinarion ofg! i tar and ampli l ier. So rhequestwas to go lind r Les Paul sunburst and aMarshall amplifier"

Billl'got the g:uitar first a 1959 sunburstcibson Les Paul that has passed into legendunder the name Pearly cates. There are manym)-ths as to where Billy obtained Pearll', themost promine[t being that the guitar was

found under a bed. Billy willadmit to paying$250 forthe guitar, an incredibledeal whe[ l'ou considernot only what the instru-ment is worth todaybut also the staggeringamount ofgood use Billyhas gotten out ofPearly onevery ZZ Top albuF fromthe very first to the most

"Out ofthe 1,750 or sosunburst Les Pauls madebetweer 1958 and'60,although each has its ownstylized personality char-acteristics,I've yet to 6ndone that is not rip-roarin'groow," Billy declares."They're all wicked. ButPearly remains the queen.I gress she wasjust madeon the right dan with theright piece ofwood, rightamount ofpaint, r ightamount ofwrapping onthe pickup. I cal1 alwaysrely on Pearlyto make theamp stmd up and bark.Pearly is such a powel-

Nearlv as important as findingthe rightrh).thm section even more some mightsay was linding the right gritar rig to bringthat raw, munchy ZZ Top sound to life. Inthe Moving Sidewalks, Billy had used nainlyStrats and Teles through American-madeVox Super Beatle amps. Now he was after aheavier sound and had decided hejust had tohave a Les Paul and a Marshall. In 1969, n'dndyou, this was far from being the stand d gearcoffiguratiol it is today. Marshall amps werebrand new in the states, and glitarists wereju- t beginnirg lo recognize rhe rr lue of theLes Paul as rwerpon ofrock destruction.

-Thc rnr ' t ique o ' the 'u rbursr Les Prul .Billy explains, "was frrst ignited by KeithRichards, who had what is thought to be thefirst sunburst that made the London scene.You've probably seell pictures ofKeith Rich-ards bursr wirh a Bigsby. What rnakes rhrLinstrument intriiuingis that you also seephotographs ofit being played bt' Jimmy Page,Mick Jagger, Brian Jones aryl JeffBeck. soit must have been passed around a bit. Butwhat reallygot me excited about the sunburstLes Palrl was the back cover ofthe first JohrMayall and the Bluesbreakers LP lreledsedin 19651, the'Beano'album lBlues Breakerswith Eric Claptonl. There we see Eric Clnptonwith a Les Paul and a Marshall combo ampin the background. And imnrediately thosewho could put two and two together began tosuspct that this wonderful gritar sound |lnd

house, high output instrument. lt will kick thepreamp's butt. And when the preamp barks,the amp will follow."

With his coveted sunburst Les Paul irhand, Billy set about acquiringthe amp ofhisdreams. The magic wizard who made thiswish come true was none other than JeffBeck.Or more accurately, JeffBeck's roadie.

Fellow hot rod enthusiasts and guitar acesboth, cibbons and El Becko bonded on one ofBeck's very Iirst U.S. tours.

'Jeffstopped at Houston for a show, and Ihad the opportunity to hang out with lT im alittle," Billy recalls.'And I was fascinated bythese giant, t: l amplifiers he had, these M:rr-shall l00-watt rigs. It was the Super Lead 1OO,modelnumber 1968. And it was Jeff's roadiewho had a fr iendship with Jim Marshallandhad a way to buy Marshalls cheap and get'eminto the States. Interestingly enough, we usedrhe.anre Mrr.hol l r ig for Dusq . ba\. playing.The wealth ofgrind that those rmps offeredworked just as well for bass as for guitar. Sowe had two identical amp stacks, both beingguitar rigs, lhatwe used for guitar and bass.Theywere purchased for $80o U.S., delivered.And they didn't require tr'ansformer voltagepowef supp]ies. The]' were some ofthe firstmrde ior U.S. I lo-volr \4rr.hl l . . We houghltlvo and vertrquickly reordered tlvo more. Oneis good, more is better

"Those amps played a big role in how tosoh-e the trio puzzle: how to make three sound

suddenl_vbecame rcrl wide, no holds barred,rnd all holes filled. It was great for us, becausewe LliLln'l hrve to hire sidclnen; $,c kept theband three. It wrs:r lot nlore.rffordable. Fcrler

IHE t01t00lt YEARS, PIISE 0ltE(t970-72)r llllcl( DIGS'EMlB,v no\r,. ZZ Top wr'e srlrtiDlito ath act

attention. Their nanegcr, tsill Ham, seculedthcm a deal rvith London Records. Thc li'uvswere delighicd to be on the srme record labelrs the Rollirlg Stoncs. Thcy plonr ptl,r, ho led upin a small Texas lecordins- frcilit].. Robin Hoollts-

" r : . I d io. , . r rd l . rocl eJ our r l rer l Jr l ' r r t

disc, aptly naned ZZ ?op'.s ar7-stAlbun andrelersecl in 1970.

"\,Ve rrtenptcd to crcatc matefialwfirteb_\ . the thfee ofLLs, u i th no idea ofrrhclc i trvoukl go,'Bill_v sa!s. "l rha! vou herr is \r'hat) ^ L r g ( t . l l r . r u r , , , f . l r . r r r . c " - d i . , n t e . l i r E ithat \r,e \r,ere merel) Lrpstart cop\.ists attempt-. r

. r ' . l r . r " r r o u r r e - . i o n n i t h c 1 - l u < . . i u r

frled \{ith \\'hat we thought $'ould sound likeI(eith,lleck, Pagc, Clapton, N,Iick Tiylor, PeterGreen.. . those ku)s. Clrorv iDgup. Frank andDust_v hrd listened to the senlc ridio stntionsI J i J : I r , l r , - r i . \ r , t r t i o n o . r r o l N u . \ , i l LWLAC, end the samc Mcxican border blasters.So ue had a shar 'ed exper iencc f rom the star tthai r.:rs able to be broLlghr for\\'.ird irl thccrcat i (n l of ZZ Top, p lus the bon!s ofhuvingne\,lbund hc|ocs in the British In\,!lsion guvs.It rves r haDdv way t0 start."

The rlbu]n is yerv l1]uch a "livc in the sru-dio" affair', recordecl with the gloup's ncrvlvacquired tour i rg r ig. "The f i rsr r lbun is a l lPe:rrll, Grtes thrlrugh a 1Oo-\\'att N,Inrshrll,'B i l ly exphins. "Dust) ' was pleyi lga Danclcc-tro Longhofn bass throulih his l0O lvatt l,lirshal l . tn famous Dusn fashion. he lofgot tobr ing his '51 Tele bass to thc studio, so he hndto usc the house brss et thc studio, rrhich w:rsthis \rcird Danelecrfo LoDghorn. I think it lrxse two pickup nnrdcl, or nriybe N single. Andthrt s $f iat nade upthc sound. '

Short l t r f ter the debLrt . r lbum rvas com-plctcd, Bi l l i took his f i r 's tsteps tLrnard a issingthe imprcssivc gr i tar- col lect ion tbathepossesses todrv. "Peerly had such a lobust:rnd distinctiye personalitl, eDd it rvas ml goalto get a sparc," he sa,vs. "Looking at lrerrl).. IthoLrght , Lct 's scc. th is is jLrst a chunk of lvood.I t lnustbe these hLrnlbuckingpickups thnt, r r r l < e i r . o r r r d . ^ p l e r t . \ o r r r l J . . . 1 | . r . r , ' t .L . r , r r . , r ' , , r l c - . r l , r r r . r L e . l J . r l i r \ ' r . .

'Let's ger rrothcr cibsol guitar rvith thesehun]bucking pickupsl ' We didn' t cven kno$that thc sought-rfter hurrlbucking pickupsrvcre thc oncs marke!l 'PAF'-Prtent AppliedFot, the first carly humbucltels.

''But lnv secord two huml ckingcibson{,rs a 1958 korin,r Flving V A buddy do\rr ihestreet saill, Hc! rnxn, )'ou w:rnted a GibsoD\r'ith t$o hunlbuckcrs.l goi one I Llon't need.I'm still ple,ling nrf l'encler So,-lo you u'ant robLrv th is Cibson? I don' t even knoM nhrt i t is .I t 's k ind ofodd. l t 's hnrd to holL l on I 'ouf legrnd ph). But i t 's got thc pickups,vou went. ' Isaid, 'wel l , i f i r 's got the pickups, br iDg i t ovcr-Ho\i nluch

_\'ou $,anr?" And he seitl,'Thlcchundred bucks. Thatrvxs 950 more lhrn I prid

,

fof Pexrll, but I said, 'Okal,,1ine. And ).cs, it hada gTeat sourd.It{,as a f:rf cr\r irom the shapc ofthe Les Peul, but ithid those eally PAFs."

Billv s glritrr collection had grorvn appreciabl l by the t ime sessions fbr thc sccondZZ Top allruln. Rio a;, dnd" Mxd (1972), rolledrround. " I had icquirecl sonrc more ofrhoset\\'o - h Lllrb LLcker' alibson g'uiters," hc says,' 'nonc ofwhich rvele natching up to Pear l l rThe1.x'elc a littlc lcss 1ou!1, so I rentirine.lonthe quest . I sr id, 'C cr ta in ly thele 's anotherqlritar out thefe that sounds likc Pearl)..' BLrth.c vet to lind one. (llose, ves. But Perrl] isstill the benchnlerk."

Norletheless, severrl ofthosc othcr $itarsc.rrle in handy for oveldubs on Rio crunde.L/rd. tsilh' nadc exiensive use olr 1956 sur,-bLrrst Fencler Stretocrster, \\.hich plor.idecl rnicc' single-coil counterpoint to Pc:uly's thro:rq,roar "Nloling from the 6r'st albul1r to the scc

onLl . 'Bi l l ,v notes, 'we thought, lCs not oLrt ofoul rcalm to use a ferv rlifferent Eirlilars and. r r p \ , u g r \ i r I I ' , r r r r . ^ r r r . l . . T h e r r r r . i cexplosion that $as t rk ingplace at the t i r rc waspm\.idinia \\,ide rrnlie o{tonrl verirnces, rrdthat's \r-hcn rvc were $ illing to get inventive."

Slide guital oveldubs madc their lirst ap-peirance on Rio crdnd.'Md.l. tsilly used a1958 Sunbufsr Les Pnul-nor qui te Peal l r butrot at a l l shabbv for the s l ide leads on JusrGot l'aid." He plays slidc in a varich ofopcnr I i r 9 . . - \ f ^ l ^ g i e ' o F e " l . l t . d l s . i r , r ' r A r .Cfdndc,VIud. is xn inshrrrrental slide nrrmberph)e.l in oper E," he c\plains. Open C; LD GD G B Dl and open A [E A E AC, El are t \ !

ZZ Top's iritial "Southcrn Man" pelsonnstarted to come into fbctls on -fiio Grdnde,/t rrd.songs l ike 'Just cot l l , r id" . rncl "Cheir , r let"plojcct a stlong. blue-coll:rr, \\,orkin -ntin

identity. But the fondness for cowboy hatsand westem garb was known to cause conftr-sion back in 1972. for insta[ce, the crowd wasa mite perplexed when ZZ Top opened for theRolling Stones in 1972.

"We gotword that Mick Jagger heard ourf ir . t album and l iked ir . Dusq Hil l relare:.'And he wanted us to open for the Stones inHawaii. Thatjustblew us away. Butthe nextthing I heard was that Stevie Wonder openedfor them here in the States and actually gotbooed at one show So I was scared to death.We get onstage in Hawaij with our cowbo}hats, boots and jeans and you could hear a pindrop. Somebody went, 'Oh no, thev're a coun-try band.' "

"Butwe had our Marshallstacks crankedand we were ready to pounce for the kjll,"says Billy, taking up the tale. "we very quicklyhad to getgrindingto dispelthe mlth: Yeahwe may look like wejust felloffa wagon, butwe're here to entertain."

"We got an encore on all three shows wedid, Dusq :dds. And ir was wri(ten up irLRol/ ingStone or sonerhing l ike rha(. I t wasone ofthe first big steps for us. And I've gotgrear memories of lhar. l i le neer irg Char iewatts down at the bar and having a few."

TltE toltlolt YEtRs, PfltsE rYt0(l07il-76): Slllil(lGlGRS 0ll lcl0The album that put ZZ Top on the map wasfreslJombres. Released in 1973, itwas therecord that crystallized ZZ Top's sound andearly style.

Like Rio Grande Mud, the title ?res lfom-bres reflects the influence oflaFrontera, the Mexican borderflavor that creeps into Texanculture in generaland the ZZTop aesthetic in particularAnd bythis point, Zz Top hadbecome a highly seasoned liveact, an inevitable byproduct ofalmost constant tourlng.

"Not to knock London Re-cords, butthey didn't do a greatdeal for us," says Hill. "wewere humping every night.Any gig. Eveq' gig. Opening forwhoeverwe could,"

At the same time, with twoalbums under their ornatewestern belt buckles, ZZ Tophad become comfortable andhighly competent in the re-cording studio. All ofthesefactors helped to make ?resIlornbres the group's first Plati-num album and an enduringcatalogitem to this day.

"?res -lJombres was olrr firstbreakthrough, ard it's still afavo te discwith fans and theband," says Bi1ly. "One of thereasons for that is that it has ourfirst Top-10 hi!'La crange.' "

ZZ Top's tribute to a legend-ary Texas brothel, "La Grange"is a shuffle boogie in a styleinitiated bv bluesman John LeeHooker and revived by late-

there t sanother

guitar outthere thatsounds likePearly. ButI 've yet to

finiL one.Closer Xos.But Pear1y

is st i l lthe bench

mark. tt- Gibbons

Sixties blues group Canned Heat. ZZ Top puttheir own stamp onthe idiom, although Billy'slow-pitched lead vocal came aboutsomewhatby accident.

"We'd cut the music track, and I was work-ing on the vocal," Billy recalls. "Butsomehowitwas notgelling. We worked and worked onit. I remember the session had started earl;,and we'd gotten to the pointwhere everyonewas gettirg fati$red and hungry. So I said,'Look, take a lunch breal. And t remembelI was sitting in a metal foldingchair, havingstood up in front ofthe vocalmic for hours.Ipulled the microphone down and asked theengineer ro give i t one more (D. Bur he washavingsome kind oftechnical difficulty andsaid, 'Uh, you'll have to wait a minute until Ifiglre this out.'

'After a little while he said, 'we're run-ning, but I'm not sure ifwe're taking [i.e.recordinSl this. You'll probably hear it in yourheadphones, but don't pay any attention toit.'So I heard the music start. And it wasjustone ofthose things where I started horsingaround with this lowvoice.I got through thefirst stanza ofthe two. I happened to glanceup through the control room glass and theengineer was lookinghappy and excited, making gestures that seemed to say, Keep going.You've got somethinghere and we're gettingit on tapelAnd thatwas the take and the 6nalkeeper the vocal you hear on the record."

The extrabeelJ guitartrack combines twoofBilly's favorite guitars: Pearly cates and a1955 maple-neck, hard tail Stratocaster, bothpumped through 100-watt Marshalls. Thecombination of Pearly's Les Paul/humbucker

low end growl and the Strat'scrisply defined,single-coil sparkle is a potentone. The Strat is heardfrrst, stating the song'smain chordaltheme.

in when the drums andbass enter doublingtheStrat's rh)'thm pattern andkicking the groove into

'T f i . r 'qc sh . r i c i " s rone ofthose great playinggreat-sounding instru-mentsl' Billy says. "I stillhave it. By the time werecorded lres lfombres,we'd entered the era ofthe overdub. So it gave usa glorious opportunity tobring both Pearly and theStmt into the picture."

Billy also used the Stratto play both of the song'smemorable so1os. The second lead is the first everon a ZZ Top disc to incor-porate pinch harmonics, atechnique that would become a slgnrture erementofBilly's glitar style. 'Andthat happened quite byaccident, too," he notes, "Ihad not studied itor any-thing. I just reailycame

across it and said, 'cee, this is an odd effect.'Atthat t ime i t was quice novel. Those harmonicscan be highlyunpredictable. But the techniqueisbasically picl followed byflesh from thethumb. My question is how does Dusty do itwithout a pick? How does Dusty play at all ismyquestion. Buthe plays very well. He's thebest, and very loud."

Like ZZ Top's First Album and Rio GrandgMudbefore it, Ires Ilombres was recorded atRobin Hood Brian Studio in Texas, but it is thefirst ZZ Top album to be mixed at Memphis'legendarv Ardentrecording studio, one morefactor that puts it in a different league thanits predecessors, Memphis, Tennessee, is oneofAmerica's great music cities, known, withsomejustice, as the Home ofthe Blues. B.B.King, Howlin'wolf, Elvis ?resley, Jerry LeeLewis and Otis Reddingcame from Memphis.With Sun Studios, Sam Phillips' Memphis Re-cording Service aIId Stax and Ardent in town,Memphis has always been a great recordingdestination aswell.

ZZ Top f irst came to Memphis ro phy :blue' iest ival. The promoter had heard theirrecords and assumed theywere black. Thisni"understanding mrde rhem lhe only whileartists on the bill, but everythingworked outfine in the end.

"There were a lot oflocal musicians hang-ing rbout. Bi l ly nrrrates. We made 5uch agood impres' ion rhar ue had the opporruniqto meet them after the showwas over Allthelocal hotshot gunslingers were there. Anda couple ofthem said, 'cee whiz, you guysmake some pretty good records. why don'tyou consider recordinghere in Memphis?'lsaid, 'we've just completed a series ofrecord-ings which we're readyto take to the nextlevel. we call it ?res IJombres, in keepingwithour Tex-Mex origins.'They said,'Since youalreadl' recorded it, would you consider mx-ing iL here? \\e hare r . tud io l"ere ir \ .4emphiscalled Ardent, and there's some real handytalent on the engineering staff As a matter offact. Led Zeppelin havejusr f inished recordingthei Led Zeppelin III album atArdent.'

"Well, that wasbig news. After abriefdiscussion, we decided, Let's give it atryAnd havingmixed our frrst Top-10 record atArdent, which was a big deal, we now had abond with music made in Memphis. And weworked atArdent recoldingstudio for thenext 20 years."

Itwas a no-brainer for the band to headfor Ardent when the time arrived to recordthe follow-up to tres llombres. The studiosessions would yield haif of what became ZZTop's second Platinum success, Fdnddngo.The otherhalfofthe album was culled from ahell-raisin'live show in New Orleans. So {ansgot the best ofboth worlds: some first-rate ZZTop studio tracks and a taste ofthe live soundthat had made the group a hot concert drawin the Seventies. The album also offered thewider palette ofguitar tones than an]' ofitspredecessors.

'?dnddngo was when we were starting toshow up bringing truckloads ofguitars," Billysats. "This was a real tuming point in learn-ing how to experiment with unusual gear. Itturns out that the engineers who worked atAident John Hampton, Terry Manning and

cutTtn lEcExts tt S

Joe Hardy were all gearheads ard had roomsofoff-the-wall equipment they had managed to:rmass. One ofthe favorite amps on that album\ as l Si l \ er lone 2rl2 combo that h:d belongPdto Alex Chilton lMempfi is legend of Box Tops/BigStar fdne *'ho f ettuently recoftled at Ardentl.Manyofthe artistswho passed through Aidentended up using it. AId there was e 4xl2 tweedFender Bassman and a little topJoading tweedFender Harvard with a to-inch speakerthathad belonged to Steve Cropper [Mernphrs gr:irarleg, nd ofsta>. Retotds OrisRedding Booka r.dtld the MGs famel;'

Billy's distorted tones on Fdnddngo tracksiike "Nasty Dogs and trunkyKings" hit a newlevel of graininess-a tough, squared-off,highlyclipped tone thatwould become an-other signature cibbonsguitar timbre. Billyattributes the tonality in part to the adventofsolid-state compressors, mic pre ampsand other studio gear cominginto currencyar studioi l ike Ardenr in the mid-Selenties.Elsewhere on the disc, "Heard It on the x" rsa superb slide workout in open G, and "BlueJean Blues" features some ofthe most lyrical,minor-ke_v, sJow-blues playing Billyhas everdone. For the song, he pJayed a maple-necked'5o S t r r l . and r l r e r r su l l i ng c l cd | | l onc . h i r nmers with amazingdepth and clarity.

"Thrt was ano!her studjo experiment," saysBilly. "The guitar was pl ggd directly into theboard. our eqllipmenttruck had broken downand we had no amps, but the clockwas run-ning and the engineer said,'Well, ifyoujustwant to get somethingdown ontape, we canplugyour guitar straight into the board.' Ofcourse, Fenders are by nature ultra-clean andbright, so puttingthat Strat through the boardworked for that particular tune. 'Blue JeanBlues'couldbe called one ofthe more haunt-ing slow-blues-based numbers that we'vemanaged to get down. The quietness ofit allallowed thatclean effect to be used to goodad\ anrage. l t s ven, dif ferenr lrom what *e reknown for-a kind ofrash, hard, distortedtone. But it's still a favorite."

By far the best known track on Fondango,hoi,ever, is "Tirsh," a brash uptempo shuffletnal Decame a malor nltTot zz 1op. lnereare numerous, varied and highly imaginativeinterprerations ofwhal rhe word " lulh. asapplied in rhe song. aclual ly means. buL i t sclearly the tale of one man's quest for some-thing fine. sung with fearsome upper-registerintens ity by Dusty Hill.

"we wrote 'Tush' at a soundcheck in Ala-balna il,I about six of eight minutes," the bassist recalls. "It was hot as hel1, and with theexception of a very few words the songyouhear on the record is whatwe wrote that day.we always tape our soundchecks fof that veryreason [i.e. songu,riting]. Usually, though, it'sa little lick or avocal line or something, not awhole damn songl"

The oniythingthat could matchthe intensityof"Tush" is a ftrll-on live setby ZZ Top, whichis nactly what fi\ of-Fdndango's songs deliver.

"For that pafticular show, we were at afanous New Orleans venue called theWare-house," Billy recollects. "It's a great room, atLrrn ofthe centxry wood-and-brick warehouseright on Tchoupitoulas Streetin a line ofmanyold warehouses. Notonly was it a popuiar place

to go but the sound ir-side was fabulous. withthat much brick and oldwood, it wasjust thisfesonant box oftone,It didn't really matteru'hrt )'ou brought intothere, the room made itsound $eat. EverybodyI've ever talked to whoplayed at the ware-house has said,'Yeah,isn't that a great-sounding place to play?' "

tne flafinum suc-cess of ?res Ifombresand -Fdnddngo enabledZZ Top to mount oneofthe most ambitiousand bizarre tours inalt ot rocx nls(ory. zzTop's world Wjde

as "Taking Texas to

l-sprobably thebest exanpleof ZZ Top'sforay into

the super-1owfrequencies. t t

- Gibbons

a kind ofredneck drag.This wry overinsistenceon their Texas roots wasone ofseveral factors that5eparateal zz lop t rom tneherd of "southern boogie"bands that had also gainedcurency irthe mid to lateSeventies.

And like all great con-cepts, it functioned onseveral levels. More down-home fans could raise alonghom Bud in the air andholler "hell yeah!" whilehipsters could feel like theywere sharing an insidejoke.ZZ Top were following theage old showbiz maxim:Take whatever it is you'vegot and exaggerate it.

"Well, we had a glaringawareness of our inabilityto look like fashion mode1s,"

6t

the People:' They meant that literall)'. The35,000-square-foot stage was hewn in theshape of Texas and weighed 35 tons. It tookfive massive trucks to transpotthis mammothstage and all its attendant rigging, notto menrion ranch-l ' :nd props rhat included fences,windmills, live cacti and livestock. Yes, a livesteer and buffalo, along with assorted breedsofbuzzard and rattlesnake, all had roles in thebig extravaganza. Theywere attended by fullyqualified animal handlers, who also traveledwith this rollingrock and roll circus. Nonethe-less, sometimes the critters gotloose, terror-izing concertgoers,

As for Gibbons, Hill and Beard, they weredecked out in elaborately stitched and or-nately studded western suits designed andhandmade by the famous country-and-west-ern tailor Nudie Cohn. The outfits includedbig ol' cowboy hats, naturally. Billy and Dustyplayed custom axes with Texas-shaped bodies.By this time, Billy's lifelongquest for a guitarequal to Pearly had led him deep into design-ingcustom instruments. Gibson made him theTexas'shaped glitars, but over the years, Billyhas harched increasingly ourrageou. guitardesigns with a number oftop luthiers, JohnBolan being a particularly favorite accompirce.

By way of context, the worldwide TexasTour rolled down the highway at a time whenmusicalstars like David Bowie, Alice Cooper,Kiss and Parliament-Funkadelic were mounringhighly elaborate concert tours, bringinglarger. than l i fe gui l lot ine execurions. spaceship landings and other spectacles to the rock"r..r6es. Seen rgain.r the b:ctdrop ofrhe"e bigsho*-s, the world wide Texas Tour functionedas both competition and parody.

The mid Sei.enties were also a time whenglam was very much the prcminent fashionmode in rock. A lot ofgroups and their fanswere r-y'ng ro look l ike androgynous, decadent, urban, ultrahip space aliens. Meanwhile,ZZ Tup u ere guing rrourd l ike shit l ickerson acid-very much the antithesis of glan'Lalthough everybit as dressed up and im-ag conscious as th glamsters. The cowboyhats that had been a liabilitt'ir '72 had beentransformed into a high concept statenetl,

Billy deadpans. "To this day, one ofthe bandin-jokes is aimed at our fearJess bass player,Dusty Hill, who is known for being irnmr.rneto fashion. Be it clothing, the favorite guitarofthe day, the newest amp, you will not 6nd itin Dusty's closet.In the beginning, we didn'thave time to designwardrobe; we were tour-ing too hard, busting our ass to get to the nextshow and going onstage in whatever we hap-pened to be wearing That in j tselfbecamrpan or rne percepfion 01 LL toq: |Jn)eanthey're those Texas guys, I've seen them. Theywear cowboy hats and cowboyboots a lot.'What started out as every day clothingto leavethe house in over the yearsbecame a Irade-mark, whether intentional or not:'

Keeping the Longhom State motifgoing,ZZ Top decided to name their next albumTEds, the Spanish spelling for the tenitorythat had once been part ofMexico. It's anotherclassic, bluesyzz Top disc, but a pronouncedcountry inf luence also creeps inro the mix,The album's hit single, "It's Only Love," isnot only one ofcatchiest things the band hasevery done but also possesses an unmisralable twang. And "She's a Heartbreaker" is ascou ry as rt gers.

"Oh, without question," Billy concedes."Around thattime I was driving from Houston down to Austin a lot ofhear the FabulousThunderbirds, who werejust getting startedand playing'Blue Monday'nights at a pizzajoiit inAustii called the Rome lnn. Andhalfivay down, you could startto pick up thisgeatAustin radio station, KOKE-IM. One ofthe DJs on there decided to turn the playiistupside down and create a format that could gofrom ceorge Jones to the Rolling stones, backto back. That certainlyhad an impact on me.

'And atthe tim, there was this great wave,a new movenent comingout of c alifomia:counrry rock. l t had srarred when Roger Mc-cuinn lowed the Byrds to go in that directionon sweetheart of the Rodeo: the cowboy-ification ofrock, with pedal steelguitar shou,ing upon rock records. And comingoutofthat l ineupof the Byrds you had Graham Parsons and hisband, the FlyingBurrito Brothers. And craham was ofcour'se hang continued on page 66

3EE.!

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With Reeycle?, ZZ Top looked- tothe future by going back to theirroots. Bil ly Gibbons and. DustyHil l recall how it felt to boogieagaln . By Harold Steinblatt & Brad TolinskiOIICE UFOI| A TrUE there was William Bunch,bluesman. The said Bunch wasn't a bad guitarist,and he was a prettygood pianist. Buthe had agredr imaginaLror. so one d11 he began cal l inghimslfPeetie Wheatstraw, the Devil's Son InLaw and High Sherifffrom Hell. And Peetie didpretty good for himsell

Wil l :rm Bunch undersrood r hrr rhe blues isore than music, It is entertainment. Even mLrre

so, it is mJsferious.Tommy Johnson, like the more famous

Robert, was said to have sold his soul to thedevil in exchange for his skills on tl,e guitar.Accordingto blues scholars, TomnTy did littleto discourage such talk. Like Wiiliam Bunch,he understood the power of mystery. ConsiderCharlie Patton, known as the Father ofthe DeltaBlues, and Aaron "T-Bone" Walkef perhaps thegrearesrg!i tar isr to.one our ofTej\as. Theifstyles couldn't have been more dissimilar, butthey had at leastone thingin common: theywere energetic eltertainers who, longbeforeJimi Hendrix restrunghis first Strat, playedglitar over their heads and behind their backs.

Billy cibbons and Dusty Hill understand theblues. "Understand," as theword is used here,

is not meantin the historic or musicalsenses,r1-ough lhe two are cenrinl) wcl lequipped i t)those arenas. As a child, Billy spent countlesshours inthe time-honored pursuit of ListenirutoMusic You're Not Supposed To. Today, in the truetradition ofthe blues obsessive, his eyes lightupin intimate recog tion atthe mere mention ofanobscure Deltagritarist. And DustyHill? He wasplayingbass behind the legendary Freddie Kingat.15-an age when mostkids think a "shuffle" issomething laz)' people do.

Nevertheless, Gibbons alld Hill understandthe blues in a manner that transcends theirconsiderable knowledge of the music'sdereJopmenr ard instrurnental rechnique:.Unlike so nany second-rate, would be bluesplayers, they share an intuitive feel for the blueson an entjrely different level.

Perhaps the best indicators ofthis sensibilit_vin Bill], and Dustj were the greatvideos fromthe tlimindtor album-particularly "SharpDressed Man" and "Legs." cibbons, Hill anddrummer Frank Beard were nothingless thangenii inthose clips, beni$, intengible fi$rreswho existed solely to spread thumbs upencouragernenr rrd hot-hrbe good cheer r

neprint0d from GUITAR W0B[0, ilovrnbor 1gg7

'-j1 ^ . . r

3a u .

\, $ r''

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f" --

/ ' -

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deserving, overworked souls worldwide. TheZZ Top bol. are the lea.r- iocu5ed perlona. inthe videos-the most mysterious. The beardsfur'therblur their identities. cibbons andHillare notAmish farmers. Nor are they 19thcentury prospectors, or Hasidic Jews. Theyare a bit like peetie Wheatstraw, the Devil'sSon-In-Law and High Sherifffrom Hell.

ZZ Top and william Bunch wouldunderstand each other-that muchwas madeclear by the group's 1991 rlbum, Rcycler.While it was by no means an acoustic bluesalbum, itwas the rootsiest thing cibbons, Hilland Beard had done in years, the work of menwho know the blues-the entertainment, themy\lery. As Bi l ly himselfsang, My Head ' inMississippi"-..

OUTTAI| WORI.D What is it abouttheblues that attracted you?

BILIY OIEBOIS The backbeat. The twoand the four made your head snap. Plus itwascoolbecause our parents hated it. lldugfis]

oUSIY HlL|. Actuall)., mymother turnedme on to the blues. We had Lightnin' Hopkins

as well as Elvis Presley records. I thoughteveryone had them. I'd go over to ftiends'houses and ask them to put on some Howlin'woll and theywouldn't know what I wastalking about. Then, whn theywould comeover lo mv hou5e. I d p la l r l rem ,ume blues.Their parents ivouldn't let them come back.[lau3its] The blues were still called "racerecords" back then.I lneall, how cold is that?

The motion on those records reall]'caprured me. l loved rhe feel ingofrhe music.When I started playing,I couldn'twaitto playsomethingthat had that much feeling.

Gw In whrt wa1 did rhe blues sr imulareyour imagination?

HlI.L When I was younger,I'd listen toa song and take it literally. I'd rhink, Boy,what a drag. How horrible, he mustbe reallybummin'. Ifitwas about sex I'd think, Bo$ Iwish I was that gu].l

OW Because your appearances are sounNual, and yourvideos are so clever, it's veryeasy to believe that ZZ Top live the lyrics totheir songs. Il1 that way, the band comes closeto capturing the essence ofthose legendary

on tho E |.o6toqa,Phoenlrr arkon4 ,lo!,1

A 24 curtrn rErErDst;ta

countrybluesman,GIBEOIS You're right. Cotton is no longer

picked by hand, so the problem is: How do yougo aboutwriting fresh blues? The blues dealswith the highst ofhighs, the lowest oflowsand allpoints in between. So \re had to createsurrealistic entities tha! could handle thoseextrene mood srvings. It seemed that this wasthe only legitinate way to approach it. we liketo think ofourselves as the Salvador Dalis ofthe Delta.

OW The ZZ Top phenomenon is awonderful vehicle for fantasy. Do the fans everconfuse your real selves with your video andvinyl personae?

HlLI- Oh yeah, especially when I'm athomelFor example,I ' l lgo into a conveniencestore, and invariablythe guybehind thecounterwill say, "What are you doinghere?"like he doesn'tbelieve I eat, or somethinglThen once that's out ofthe way, he'll startlookingoutthe window to see ifthe car andthe three girls are out there.I usually end uptellinghim that the girls are repairingthe carback at the house, so he won'tbe too bummed.

ow Billy, you've mentioned that Bo Diddleywas one ofyour big innuences. Likeyou, hewas known for his odd-shaped guitars, greatrhlthm chops and unusual stage clothing.

OIBBOIIS He was the perfectbridgebetween Delta blues and rockers like ChuckBerry Bo's tone-which was produced by acusrom GrelSch g!i tar and two DeArmon!single-coi l pickups set in Lhe middle roggleposition, and a Magnatone amp-wasdramatically different. He didn't sound likeanyone else,

His sound, combined with his array ofbizarre rectangular guitars, made him a realhero. The fact that a major manufacturerbuiit him a special guitar also intrigued meI rhough l , who i s t h i . guy?Howd idhege tcretsch to make him a gtlitar? He's still one ofthe most fascinating figures in American rockand roll.

Interestingly, his sound seems to bemaking a comeback. Recently I've hearda couple ofrecords featuring his distinctrh}'1hm tone. I guess it's taken the music\rorld 30 years to finally crack the code.[aug,ris] It's still a,fne sound.

cwwho else influenced your sound?GIEBOHS Dusty and I recently compared

nore5 on Ihar suhjecr and carne Lp u irh r heobvious: B.B. King, MuddyWaters, JimmyReed, Howlin' Woll John Lee Hooker andAlbert Collins. But some ofthe more obscureinfluences include Terry Simpson, who playedwith a Texas outnt called the Raiders. Theyhrd several instrumental hits in the Sixties,includirg "Stick Shift," "Motivation" and"Raising Cain:' The Nightcaps, out ofDallas,\ u p r p . t s ^ h i o i n f l , , a n . p e

Htr.|. Even once in a while, Billywill throu'a Nightcaps l ick in the midJle of a song duringa live shoq and we'lljust look at each other

a

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frnd wink. I lovc it {4rou he Lloes thrt, 'c:rusc itLrsLr: r l ly doesrr ' t belorg thcrc.

\ l \ ' ' r J . i , r i r f L r c n c e . $ ( r l r _ r r | | i \ d r i r .phvers and b:rnds; i s tar ted pl . rv ingtrass b\ 'accident . N{\ ' o l ( lcr brothcr-ph|ed gui t r r rnd I. . r r \ \ . f n r r . 1 . . ' r ' L l r n r e . r r r . r - r , r ' r l i z e dive ner- ,ded to complctc the fh) thm sect iorr ,so the\' elecred nre to [re thc bass p]:rl'er.Str.right arr r\, we \\'efe pleving in clubs rndjrnlnlinlt \\'ith clcr-\tody in to\\,n, so I reallvlce|ned to phl r rh i lc onsiagc. Ai tefp l , r ) ingl i I Io r ,eals, I lancled I g ig $, i th FroddieIiingl I \\'.rs anazcd that the,v even let lllc onthc s lnre st iee, becrusc I rcal lvwl lsn t \ ,errgood though I ceme prett)' chelp. [du!'/rsl ]wrs onlv 16 i t thc t imc aud\1as petr i f ied.

BacL then, the clubs $-cre still segfeiated.One night \r,c plx_\'ed rhe Ascot Bellroorn.* 'h ich u,as e black c lub. I d idn' thave a dl ivcr 'slicense et the time, so sonebody droppecl

#{-{

Bllly In Houston. tslS

' r c r I | u l l , " l r r r : r I f r l ' r o r ' e d ^ o f . . ' n Lthc dffr xn. \\'ho lvas l prc|tl'big felli, sridsolnc\ 'hr t thfeateningl i , "Wh.r t do You want?"I s N i d , ' l h l w i t h t h c b a n d . ' I I e l o o k e d n l e o \ e rand s:r id, ' I don t th ink so. ' .hst as al l rhesepeople star tcd gather img eroLlnd, l rcdLl icpushed his s..rv through tlrc crotd rnd sxidquictll.. "C nron. Aftef ore sorg. elerithing\\'rs rll right.

ow \Vh.t gear did l.ou Lrse \r,hen vou lverepla l i rgwi th Ffeddie Kirg ' i

HILL I wxs fhvinli rn old hoLlori'bod!Hrfnronr through \ \4rate\ 'of I could bofro$. Ifinalll stcpped up to rn Anlpcg, \\4rich I lovedbecruse it had r-ollcrsl

clBBOl|S Love that outborfd geirrllarqlnsl

cW \ hs l reddic vour rnain in l luence?HIL! I lerr l led how to p la] 'pr i lnaf i l ) ' f fom

Fr-eddie, ny hrother and Billy. IDtclcstingly,

allthree shrre thc sanlo philosophv: "Less isbrst." And "So/id less is t/re bcst." Ifyou have asolicl forrndation. then i,oLl can pia)..

cw ulh).is Dalhs such r hol,r' pl.rce for'g1litaf?

CIBEo S Culrurx l ly , up Llnt i l the rr idFi f t ies t |efe q rsn t n lLrch to do except p la\ ' .

cw Dust1, \rho influelcc(l vour singing?HrLL l r i i ia lh; Ehis r l id L i r t le Rich.ud.

Then thefe $rs r ld lggap. l nr Dotknockir"Pxt Boone iDcl Bobb] Vec rnd ill thxt stlrff,but it was leall) gctting bo rirlts-. Then cancthe Enilish g11\.s. who fcallv saved nre.I thinlpcoplc likc the Beirles Iifted clclrrrnc b:rck up.

G W t s c r i l l r i r L $ ' . r f / | l r i n r , , , / L l " t \ ,\ rhole produdion st l lc changed. The p| in. r | r, l i f , r r c , . . r . l re he.rr r i , r Lh. r ' l r L l r r rL . .cLio l\\rhere rr:rr\.gfolrys s\reetened their sound Lxr i ld inEi s!nthesizcd str ings ani l bel l tones, voUt(Jok thc opfosi te route by c loubl ingbass l rneswith fet, en.llog sh'lc sl'nrhs. At !imes, thosedoublecl b.rss l ines uelc supplcmcntei l \ r i th. rddi t ion:r l s ix teenrh-note bass ost i l la tos. Hortc l ic l thet . rppro.rch o.olve, anel hor.d id,vou fecl. rbout that rs I bass pla lcr-?

HILL I fe l t f iDe ibout i t . I hnyc Do pfoblms\\ , i fh an\ . th ing thai \1. i l l enhrnce the sound.I considef the synthesizcl to bejust another 'instr-umnt. I l(no\\'sorlle peoplc havc rproble ln $ i th i t , but cveutu:r l l i , thel '11 getLrsed to i t . In d1e er f lv dr \ .s , thc) wouldn t leta dflurlner ph| ir the cnnd Olc Opn,. Now

GW I $,xs['t tryingto suieest dri]t d1esynthesizefs hrd a regatilc in4ract onthc soDgs. I {,rsjust wondering ho\\. thcproduct ion stv lc c\ 'ohcd.

cIEBONS \ Ie hrd recordcd t l fdco : rdDeguello r-ith cvcllone in seprrrte lroorhs, aDd\re hated ir.It felt too stcrile. lt relrll\' bothefedLrs to be conneded \\'ith hcadphoues rndmicrophones. So et the outsct o l t l i r r i , rdrorr . . i r i J r l r , ' r ' ^ r l i l r c i - c l L , . , . I \ . n J r r . ,in one roori. Out ofthat 8"r-ouI focus crnle Inc\r r t tcnt ion lo tempo. We star tcd phf ingiocl ick t racks, c ium machines rrd sequencersfol adclecl precisior.rncl found thrt \\'c cnjo]'edi t . l t r lso hrd r posir i |e i lnprct or t ightcningup oul p laf ing. I f

, r ,ou ' l l not ice, dre t iming onElirlndror is tightcr than on our ffeviousIcco|ds. \Ve steltecl rdhering to 11 srri(lcntobserlancc ofteDrpo. ZZ Top becones a f trp iece brnd $,hcn " l { r T inrc ' xr ivos.

HIL! \ Ihen rhe fhythrn sect ion is rock. r l i , r . b i h , r l . . r r r p r r e L e ' r r r r . r o h ,Thafs \ \ ,hefe the sequcrc ingcanrc in. I r 's | rstrangc but eifecti!e combination. Plat'in8in thc samc loom :rllorrs Lrs to re.rp lhe [rllbenef i ts of thr t "hLrnan fcc l . ' At tho sarret i Inc, wc fe able to juxt . rpose that roots!groove on top ofmachire-generr led fh l thms.The approach allows Lrs to cor]lbine thc bcst o ftroth $'orlds.

GIBBo S l t wasn' t rcalh. thr t cr lcLr l : r ted,because rr'e rerllv didn't kno\r'\llat \r'r: irefedoirg in the synthesizer dom:r in $hichnladc

it n orc fun. We took our cuc ftom lrrnkZappa. lvho s.r id, 'Don' t rerd the n1inual ; justget youf hxnds d;rtv ancl Llo it."

|iw Ho$ did Rc.rclrcomc togethcr?cIEBONS ,Rc( rclcr \\.rs intefesting to

nrake, hecrusc in i t i r l lv s e p1:urned to fo l lorvthe l inc.rge cst . rb l ishcd inEl i r r i r . r r ( ' and-,Vicrlurncr. Wc hdd $'rittei rr couplc ol highl)st |uctu|ecl pop tunes i r r oufstudio in I Iouston.' lhcn \ \ 'c n 'cni oLrt to Los Angclcs for : r couplcofn(nl ths i rd got into thc \hole seqLrcnccr,oycr l th iDg- in- i ls-p lxcc lh ing. BLrt \vhen we.rrr i rcd i r l \ ' lcmphis to f in ish the lccoLd, l ' .s l id into i d i t fefen! lnode. \Vhi le u.e r i .ercl a i t ing io l a l t ofoul h igh-tcch gcel to r l r ive,l c sct up in r circlc :urd stated pll ing andjrnnins. rs r Lrrr rd. fhc soLrnd, cvcn thoLrghi , \ \ . , . n , , 1 1 . r . ' ' J , ' , q - . i . l r i l i r $ c r ' .l .ar Thc lcsul ts ofsonrc of thosc scssious carrbc herrd or cuts l ike '2000 l lLLrcs rnd x l l !Herd 's in N, I iss iss ipf i . " Both : r re renr in iscentofoLu ear l icr music, nhich is nh1'* .c cal lRccrc/er our ?,"s l1onbft,-tlinirdfof rlbun-

\\ie LliLln't iblndon rhe groLrnd \\'e co\,efedor l l l i r r i rdtor rndAf icrbarrrcr I 'ou c:rn st i l lhel r ' the scqucrccr 's i tnd s lnthesizcfs bLrtthc\"rc r luch nrole L lnobhusive. \Ve al loNedsomc of thc loLrghcl c1cmcnts of thc b:rn i lto conrc shiniig dlroLrgh. Nlv Hc.rd's inX' l iss iss i fp i , ' \ \ ,h ich \ \ ' : rs one ol tLe l l rs t(omplc icd t r rcks on thc a1bum, is aglcatexNmlr lc ofho$. rc r r ixed thc nsv l i th thco . l I r ' ' | : . r ' r . . , . - . i ; h t , l ' < ' . 1 c n o ; . ,f \ , - r r . f . , L r ' l r - r l : . ' 1 1 C i r r . l t l r - n u r rthose highl) gated clc(tlonic dlum lills, rvhichnroclernized rhe t r -ack.

cw Ho\r long did it trkc for lou toc0nFlcte thc.r lbuln?

G I B B O S \ . 1 c n r ' : r ' r t s ( I e l l o , l , . . r i ' ntime ir Houstor arld Los Angclcs, it rool{us foLrr months to nakc. Rc(vc1or \ ras oneofouf longer pfo jects. I th ink i t rook e\ t rxtirne bccaLLsc $.c mn'cLi ro Nlcnrfhis Soundstudios on Bcalc sn-cct . That a|ca is chockful lo lc l is t l rc t ions. Tfere ivere l lo t ofg lcarchalactcrs a l la ls hugingout on thes!reets. l here \ fas onc strect lnusic i rn namc. lAlabenrr , r 'ho knel or l \ one song: 'BNb\.

Plc:rsc Don' t co. ' BLrt thar 's r l l he needed tkno\: Hct Lrlal it fof onc clo*.d, ud rrirendrer, r rould nrove on, he c l phl i t . rg.r in fb l thcncxt cro\r'cl, and so on.

cW l l i l ly , )oLrr tone is i r ls iant l )recognizrble. $ ih l r t does i t consist of?

clBBoxs Tonc gocs hand- in-brni l rv i thdel i !er \ ' . rnd I crcdi t oLrr produccr Bi l l HaIrrfo l corching ne on u,here the notes shouldfr11. You can lorll_v thicken the glritxr rrrck bvleyjn:j brrk just a Lrrcath frorrr ihc do{.nbcat.Thal \ i i ! , . the gui t . r r isrr ' t colnpe! ing di rect l !u i th thc bass : rnd bass drum for sprce. I t 'ssLLrpr is lng hos nluch th.r t l i t tLe t r ick c l r l ad. l

Also, it s har(l not to gci x glcat sounLlnowrdrys, wi th r l l thc $.undcrfu l cquiprrcntou rhe |nr f let . I nr part icuhf l ) inpresscd

i1 i th Tube wolks 'Mosvalve amp.I t 's just the\\.ildcstthing. UJc used the Mosval\-c and ourusunl irssortmen! ofFenlderc and \,Iarsha1ls,

|rw Bill]', _vou rnd Dusq'r'eIe close

fricn,.ls and musical collcagrres ofStcvicR.r \ ' \ ' : r rghxn. I t would be : rpp|op| i r te i fvoerconcludcd our conlc lsr t ion wirh sonre \ \ .ofds

clEBOl lS He $, i rs i r t r 'enendous pl l ryer:urd at lemcndous person. There \ \ ' rs i rer lbc.rLrtiful sensc ofclosLrrc:it stelic lla! s[er ' . ' . ' . ( ' cc. \ \ 'e r , l l (J I lL r ,L 'oLr lh