Guitar Legends 099 (2007) ZZ Top

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guitaristandmastermind Billy Gibbonsis a compul-

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be foundprowlingthe aislesof the Virgrn Megastoreon SunsetBoulevard,moving

stealthilylike someAfrican tribal huntsman,albeitonewith a longgreybeard,

strangetufted hat,natty blacksuit,ample silverwrist jewelry anda white shirt accentuatingthe night-owlpallor of that smallportion of his faceleft visible by his legendarychin warmer andbizarreheadgear. The GreatWhite Hunter!He swoopsdownthe aisles,deftlypicksthroughstacksof CDs andextractsthe discsthat capturehis fancy:a collectionofcuts by Fifties steelguitar legendSpeedyWest,someLos Lobosalbumsto prepare for a jam with the famed L.A. band at the Latin Grammys,and a worldbeat compilationfor the missus,the comelyactressGilligan,who is ap-

proximatelyhalf nilly's age."Shegoescrazyfor this stuff" he confides. the pastfour decades. "He'sgot a lot ofvaried interests.lfyou're involvedin someventure he'silrto,you reallyget into it." Everybody knows that ZZ Top are or'e ol the greatestthingseverto springfrom the Texasmud,but fewer peopleget the Holb.woodconnection.Billy's dad,Fred,was a soundtrackmusicianand composerfor MGM duringthe Thirties.His uncleCedricis one of the mostcelebratedcinematicart directorsof Hollyr oods ColdenAge.ln facr.Billyinherited the family mansein the Holl)'woodHills. The adobe-styledwelling is brimmingwith furtherartiFacts of Billys manialor shopping. Museum-qualitypiecesfrom his world-c1ass collectionofAfrican art adornthe rooms.A numberof vintageautomobiles,all ofthem Billy's knowledgeoffilm is asencyclopedic black,areparkedout front. And, ofcourse, ashis commandofmusical idiomsboth high there areguitarsand ampseverl'lvhere-rare and low Just namea cinematicgenrervintage ones,ne$ ones,theueird andthe wonderHolly,,vood,Italian neorealism,Sixtieskitsch, ful: a Billy Bo cretsch Jupiterbasedon an ax Asianslasherflicks...Bill]' can namedirectorc, givento Billyby rock and roll legendBo Didcinematographers, minor actorsand actresses, dley,abrand-newblackJB Teleadomedwith He possesses ahighly retentiveandwildly assparklingjewels,a few pawnshopspecials, sociativemind that seemsto requireconstant threeWatkinsDominatorampsofdifferent songormovierirle\vill nigvintagesand a MarshallBluesbreaker in red"rimulrlion.One ger an avalancheofrelated titles in his fevered orangeTolex. brain.He scurriesoffto track them down. There'sevenmorestuff at Billy's house The uniquelyconfrgured,hyperactivemind in Eouston,the cityin which he wasbom. ofBilly F' Gibbonsis the enginethatdrives Hou.ionis alsothe sireof ZZ Tops fecordZZ Top,that Little Ol' BluesBandfrom Texas, ingstudio,FoamBox,and eightwarehouses now in its 38th year ofoperationand likely to containingthe bulk ofBilly's African art colkeepon running infrnitely,thanksto the caflection,hundredsofguitars,amps,effectsand feinrted Energizerbunnythatresidesin the Lord kno$.swhat else.Billy divideshis time curiouslyadornednogginolBilly F.cibbons. betweenthe L.A. and Houstonresidences "Billy's an interestinggry," saysDustyHill, aswell asvariousother locales.No one fully ZZ Top'sbassistand Cibbons'bandmatefor understandsthe comingsandgoingsofBilly n

For n1ehe selectsa CD by countrystar Brad Paisley,a new friend ofBilly's, wl,om he ratespretty highly asaguitarist.Next,Mr. Gibbonsrootsthroughthe bargainbin,commentingauthoritatilely on tackybut obscure discotracksthat maybehe oughtnot admit to knowing sowell. Then it's on to the DVD racks.Billy's cravingsomefilm noir tonight, that ominous,black-and-white,g-movie genre,filled u'ith razor-sharpkillers,dangerousgun molls and other desperatecharacters f f o mt h ef r i n g eosf n i d 2 o r h c e n r u r y A m e r i can society.Billy digsand digs,growingvisibly frustrrted.He can't find one he hasn'talready seen,but he doespresentme with a copyof DillinSer,quite possiblytheonly film noirl're

Gibbons.That'sone ofthe rules. The HoustonBilly is the one everybody knows:the deep-talkin'Texanwith a passion for barbecue,roadhouses, mud-flapgalsand stockcarracetracks.But Billy's Holl)'\ 'ood flair is everybit ascrucial to ZZ Top'sidentity and longevityasthe group'sdeepTexasblues roots.His penchantfor showmanshipand sharpeyefor visuals(ageneticlegacyfrom UncleCedric,perhaps)hasenabledhim to reinventthebandfor eachsucceedingera. Any one humanbeing'sconceptionofZZ Top dependsheavilyon the decadeinwhich rharpaflicularhumanbeingmadethe passagethrough adolescence into adulthood.For thosewho cameup inthe seventies,zZ Top arethe ultimate beer-drinkin',hell-raisin', good-timin',ass-kickin'party band.This is the ZZ Top of "T\tsh:' "La Grange,""Whiskey'n Mama" and "Enjoy and Get It On."For Eightiesfans,rheyre oneofthe mostubiquirous. albeirunlikely.icon.ofthe MTV era.rhree sharp-dressed menwith a soundasgleaming and streamlinedasthe customhot rods and curvaceouscutiesseenin the video clips for "GimmieAll Your Lovin',""Legs" and "Sharp In the Ninetiesand beyond,ZZ Top rcturned to their rootsand emergedascurious curatorsofthe blueslegacy.Beardedbarrelhousegurus,serni-m1thicalcharacters,they cameto remind us that rock and roll ain't nothin' but the bastardoffspringofthe blues and hillbiJlymusic.This is the group that = broughrus"My Herds in Mississippi.-Fuzz- ; bo),Voodoo.-PokeChopSandwichrnd "Buck Nekkid."Blesstheir grizzledbeards.

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t ( ; i b b o n s .E \ c l : \ n o r c i s s t e e p c di r t h c r i c h A m e f i c . r nr r u s i r . r lh c f i t x g e r h . B i l l ) . r [ r s o r b c d g r - o w i r l i L r pi n l l o L r s t o r il n r h e F i f t i e s .S o m e o f I i . , . r l . . r ' . r . . . , 1r ' . r ' , , , - . , . . , ro\' r l r - . r i v e r s cs o u n d sc o n r i n g o u t o f t h e l e c l i o ,r ! h . r r w e s rusic.' n o r i .c a l l ' L - o o t n " T h e l a v l i t c c h a n n e l so n t h c d i a l , " B i l h r ' r 1 . , . c c . r . . lr , 'n , . l ' , R 8 B , r 1 l . o n . R \ ( r K :ll1.l KCOH th!rr pl.rycd all thc blues ],ou could Llsernd ilso colrntn'irrcl $estclrl tf:rcLs ol t h e d r y , b . r c kl h c n H a n l ( \ V i l l i a m s r e i g r c d k i D g .I n t l r o s er e d i o o f f c l i n g s .o n e c o ! l d h c a r t h c c r o s s o v e re l e n r e n t st h r t l c d t o r h e L r i r l h( ) f r ' o c k. r n d l o l l : t h c b l u e s n i e c t i r l gc o l u r t r \ ' ,n r e c t i r g h i l l b i l l l . u d l l r c n b l L l e ! !r s s x l l o f t h i s * . i l c l , n o n l c g i t i m l t c n r u s i c .r h e . r r . t f e l tm, o r c . . r i r L i r. l , r i , . r ( , . r | j . . i , . f 1 f ( . r i i 1 r r t h c r p r i m i l i \ ' e v r c r t l l r r t u b e s t a t cb r c k t h e n . s o \ ' o u c o L r l dt L r r nr h r n r u p l o u d ; r n dg e t b c a u tifullich clistoltion Bilhrs drd hrd movetl or hom Holl\1vooll's s t l d i ( ) o r c h c s r s t o h e c o m eI c o l d u c t o l o f t h e H o l r s t o r lS \ m } r h ( m \ (' h c h e s t r . ::rr n dh i g h s o c i c t \ b x n L l l e i d e rB . u t t s i l h s n r u s i c r le d o c l t i u l coDtinucd on .l|r entifcl! diftircnt tl11ck.rt rge seler. rhcn a lcchlcss h.rb)sittef Lregrnto bring \ ( ) u n g n r r s t e r\ \ J i l l i i l n r n d h i s l i | e r c . l l . o l L ls i s ter out () thc locil lloLrsto]l Iightspors, \1'her.e tbe tirtLrrclc.rdcr ofZZ Top got his fifst tilsre of l i \ e h l u e sr n d R & B D r L r s i cp,l . r ! e di n t h c s n o k \ ' rii\'cs thet .rl e the p|opcr crlr.iloDnrent ofrhese mLrsic.rljtliorrs. The ne\t ln.ljor tu ring poirlt o c c u r r c i lo n ( l h r i s n r r r sr r o | n i n g o f 1 9 6 2 . -

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G U I T I IT E G E I I D S

' ' I g o t 1 n \ 'f i f s t uuitrf on Cbristlnrs d:rl, s h o f t l y N i t c r l l l r L r f n e d1 : , " B i l l y s x ) s . ' t t " r ' . ' . i t : 1 , i k . r , ' . i n 1 l -, c Lr . r r r r , . l son N,Ielod) N1llker,\{ ith :r leDdef Ch|lnp anrp- I in netli.rtely. r'ctired to ln\' r-ooIn rnd l e a r n c r lh o s t o p l r l t h c i n t r o f i g u l e f l o m R l ' C h . r r l es " W h : r t ' d I S x \ ' . a n c lb y s L r n r l o ln I h a d st:rrled leelnirg thc signirture Jjlnl11! Reed rhvthnr lines."

HAllGlll' WlTllllEll0RlXr I.IFE BETORE ZZT|lP

Bilh pl$ ed in u \'ar'icnofjuniol high .rnd h i g h s c h o o lr o c k b r n r l s d u r i n g t h r t g o l d e n t r I - r , r , . , r ' ' \ r ' o rc , . . . , t , | ' | rr ' r " r glrrges rnd brLScmentsacross r\n1efic.r, linock i n g t o g e t h e l t h c i l o w n l o L r g l rt : r l { co n r h e B r i t i s h l n l a s i o n s o u n d so l g r o u p s l i k c t h c R o l l i n g S t o n e s ,K i n l i s r n d \ h r L l b i f d s .I l u t h i s f i r s t l i r l l \ . p f o f t s s i o r r r l r c t \ \ ' . r st h c N , I o y i n gS i d e $ . r l K sl, p s l c h c r t c l i ch l L r e so L r t E tp L r i t c r n c d: r f t e fT e x r s ' c e l e b r . i t e l .1l 3 t hl . l o o f E 1 e ! r t o r s . I ' h c l a t c S i x t i e s h . r d i r r i v c d . H i p t i e . l o u r u . , r st l k i n g h o l d . ' ' T h er e N r r s t b i s b i g h o L r s ci n I l o u s t o n c a l l c d t h e L o r r i s i r n r h o u s c , ' B i l l r f c c : r l l s ." I r $ rs rhis girrlt. bcauriilrl ttl:tls tlrarlsion. .rnci i t b e c l l 1 1 et h c b i g h i p p i c h o L L s ier t o \ \ n . T h c r c \ \ . e r cl i t t l o c u L ) i c l e tsh t l t b e c r l n c l o o n r s t o l i r e in. t he Elc\.itors li|ed therc. $rc nn)\'cd irT h e R e d C f r ! o l . r , e n o t h c I r ' e n r r l . k . r L rpl cs l c h c dclic brnd, lired thcrc too.Thosc guvs $ ere r u t i s t so l r l l s o r t s .\ " i s Llrl . u t i s t s .T h o h o L r s c r ' . r s a l c r l i n t e l e s t i n gk i n d o f l t i s r i c e r c l . r l e .

Ir \\rs not fcsiricted tojust lnrisicitnsithcr-c ! 1 r < i - l r ( . 1 , u f ; r . . . . r l r : i r. 1 .^ ' y r r p l e B i l 1 1h, i m s e l f h . r d c o n s i d c r - e dr c a l e e l i n thc visuxl afts shortly xficI high school. 'I h a d c n l o l l e d i n . r r t c o l l e g el n d r h c n r r ' e n tu f to ALrstiDto go to the Uni\'ersit! of fcxas to s t u d \ e r t , " h e s r ! s . ' B u t t h e m L L s i c$ ' r s I s t r o n lier cnll at th:rt tilne. It was cithcr- one oI the o t h c r , : r n d I c h o s el n L r s i c.,t l t h o u g hI k c p t o n s , i t h l n ) i r t f i x a t i o n .t h i s n e v e f e n d i n g q L r c s t r o f i g u r e o L r th o \ t o d r i l \ f r l i D e l i o l r p o i n t A rotoint B.' tsut ihc :rrt school religee soon fourti rva|s to nanifest his bizrlle lisLlrl sersibilities t h r o l r g h m L r s i cg c a r :B i l l , , s m r n i r f o l t h e r i l t l c u s t o n r i z i r r go l g u i t . r r s( l a t c sb a c l i r o h i \ N l o \ i n g s i d c l r l h s d : r ' s . E v i d c n c co i t h i s c r n b c l o u n r l i n h i s l c c c n t c o l l e e t . r b l cb o o k , l t o c l , n n d R o l l c c d r l e d d . O n p i g c 1 5 2 ,\ r ' e f i n d | r p h o t o o f : r s t n n g e , s q u r l e b o d i c d c u s t o mj o b l i n c d s . i t h p i r k f u r ; $ c f o r e L r e . rol f t h e r r c l l k n o l l 'fop tilzzy gLritrrs fionr ZZ s \'ITV efr t\yo ' ' I w : r s| r l \ \ rvs i big frr of Bo Dilldlc\'. s:rvs B i l l l : A n d i f l o u l o o k c l o s c l r r r rt h c c o r c r pho|og-r'rph on thc LP cntitleLl &) ,Did.//c-yls .l Iofrr. |rs he sits on rhe floor', hc s got his i:,n o l r s r c c t i n g u l : r r ( ] r ' e t s c ho n o n c s i d c : r n d o n r h e o t h c r s i i l c t h c r c s i s i n g l e - c u t r $r \ C ; i b s o n L e s P r u l . I r .t h r t \ r s c o v e r - c Li n1 s h : r gg l e l c r r ' p c t i n g . T h i s \ \ ' . r st f u l v t h e i n s p i r r t i o n t o c m L r l . t t e t h a t h i n d o f c l e z v g u i t r l c l L r l t .q , l r i c b i d i d o n r b u t c h c l c c lT c l e c r s r e r ,r i d c d r n d r s s i r t c d

peting.This wastrulythe inspirationto emu latethat kind ofcrazy guitar craft,which I did on o butcheredTelecaster, aidedaId r\.ilred byD.n Summers,the bassplayerforthe MovingSidewalks.He wasalsoquite talentedas a craftsnan in glitar building only in those drys.it wasn\ somuchguirarbuildingr" guitar aberration.we learnedhow to ruin quite a few guitarsreal quick. ''BurMr. Summers helpedbringrhoseearly customguitar ideasinto reality,evengoingon to createthe first spinningguitar He deviseda spinningdevicethat he addedto his FlyingV bassduring the MovingSidewalks'tour with Jimi Hendrix. There were a coupleofmomentsin the setwherewe turned D.n loosc. Ofcourse,he had to unplughis bassto avoid gertingthepatchcordtangledup whenthe in wasyearsbefore strument$ asspinning.lThir wireless,of coursef, B]utit was sucha magnetic visualthing. Dn Summemloanedhis talents yearslarerro the ZZ Topspinningfurry gui tars.Sowhat goesaroundcomesaround." 'It wasunspoken but quireevidentrhr Hendrixrhrewcaurionro rhewinds. Bill) notes,"and decidedto do thingsto and with a guitar that were not necessarilyrvrittenin aly ofthe how-to books.For instance,itwas considereda no no to chain two truzz-Tones together.But I sawHendrix chain five ofthen rogerherlAndhe d do thispersonalized dance. stompingor five differ€ntpedals,sometimes playingwith all five ofthen on at once-I think it's fair to give hin1the awardforbreaking the rules and startingto do thingsthat no one dareddo before.Thatwasp tofhisgenius:a total lack of fear."

ETIEIPEIRTY GATES: TIIEEIRIII|lTzzIOP

By the start ofl969, the reverb-drenched, combo-organenhanced,earlypsychedelic soundofthe MovingSidewalkshad beenall but totallyeclipsed by the hervierpower-rrio vibe initiatedby $oups liLe the Jimi Herdrix Experience,Creamand Blue Cheer Around this time, which coincidedwith the United States'escalationofthe vietnamwar, the Sidewalks'bassist and organistwere drafted into the army.This left Billy free to pursuehis drearr offorming his own powertrio. And so ZZ Top were born.The original incarnationfeaturedBilly,Movi[g Sidewrlks'drummer Dan Mitchell and l-anier creg on bass.This lineuprecordedone stngle,"salt Lick,"backedwith "Miller'sFarm." It was okay,but things didn't rexlly gel untrl the drummerFrankBeardand bassistDustv Hill fell irto place asth€ ZZ Top rhythm sectionthat would reiglrsupremefor the next four decades. Hill :nd Berrdl-:d playedtogefherin rherr r .e r i c aB o u n p s y c h e d d i c b l u e s o r rA5m 'llues. which releasedt,'roalbuns:,4mericdnBIues Do TIEir Thi1g andAtntericatl BluesIs Here "Thereweresongtitleslike'Chocolate Ego';' Hill says,laughing."Youget the idea.Also,I'd playedu.ith FreddieKing on and ofl I played at the Fillmore in Sanfrancisco for two weeks 1tn I feoole.lkr

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guitaristMike Bloonlfeldandfuture Hendrrx collabordtorBLtddyMil es.l" Clearly,Dustyand Frankwer-ea seasoned rh)'thm sectjonbythe tinre theyjoined forces with cibbons."Billy's bandopenedfor Hendrix," saysDusty.'AmericanBluesopenedfor (he Animalsand Hermans Hermirs.I[ Iacr ue hrd r litrleparryw.rh Herrnans Hermir. afterth€ show.Youcan imagine.It didn't go on all dght long.well, at least nobodyhit anybody.I think it brokeup just in time." "l don't think they were the partiersthat we wer-e," Beardadds. BeardjoinedZZ Top first and then brought Hill into the picture.Dusty beat out a bunch of other potentiel b|lssists.His audition quickly morphedfrom a try-out to a joyous,hourJongjam on a bluesshuffle.It's one ofthe legendrryepisodes in ZZ Top lore. "Dusty and I kn€w each other'stricks,"Beardexplains."so auton'uticallyhis auditionsoundedfour times beiter than th€ other bass playerswe were auditio Dg. I reallywantedDustyin the band.Sowhen the other bass playerswere up th€re,I made sureit wasplentylame.When Dustygot up there,we knew all theselittle punchesand kickswe could do togetherrt certainpoi[ts. And itwas like, 'Wowl Oh man!'"

its richnessofto[e might be the result ofthat combinarion ofg!itar andamplilier.Sorhe questwasto go lind r Les Paulsunburstand a Marshallamplifier" Billl'got the g:uitarfirst a 1959sunburst cibson LesPaulthat haspassedinto legend under the namePearlycates.There are many m)-thsasto where Billy obtainedPearll',the most promine[t beingthat the guitar was found under a bed.Billy will admit to paying$250for the guitar,an incredible dealwhe[ l'ou consider not only what the instrument is worth today but alsothe staggering amountofgood useBilly hasgottenout ofPearlyon everyZZ Top albuF from the very first to the most

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consid-ered. "Out ofthe 1,750or so a no-no to sunburst Les Paulsmade ehain two betweer1958 and'60, althougheachhasits own X'uzz-Tones stylized personalitycharyet to 6nd acteristics,I've together. one that is not rip-roarin' Billy declares. But f saw groow," "They're all wicked.But Hend.ri-x Pearlyremainsthe queen. shewasjust made chain five Iongress the right dan with the right pieceofwood, right of then amountofpaint,right amountofwrapping on together ! " the pickup.I cal1always

- Gibbons

Nearlv as important as findingthe right rh).thm section even more some might say was linding the right gritar rig to bring that raw, munchy ZZ Top sound to life. In the Moving Sidewalks, Billy had used nainly Strats and Teles through American-made Vox Super Beatle amps. Now he was after a heavier sound and had decided hejust had to have a Les Paul and a Marshall. In 1969,n'dnd you, this was far from being the stand d gear coffiguratiol it is today. Marshall amps were brand new in the states, and glitarists were j u - t b e g i n n i r g l o r e c o g n i z er h e r r l u e o f t h e Les Paul as rwerpon ofrock destruction. -Thc rnr'tique o'the 'u rbursrLes Prul. Billy explains, "was frrst ignited by Keith Richards, who had what is thought to be the first sunburst that made the London scene. You've probably seell pictures ofKeith Richa r d s b u r s r w i r h a B i g s b y .W h a t r n a k e sr h r L instrument intri€iuingis that you also see photographs ofit being played bt' Jimmy Page, Mick Jagger,Brian Jones aryl JeffBeck. so it must have been passed around a bit. But what reallygot me excited about the sunburst Les Palrl was the back cover ofthe first Johr Mayall and the Bluesbreakers LP lreledsed in 19651,the'Beano'album lBlues Breakers with Eric Claptonl. There we see Eric Clnpton with a Les Paul and a Marshall combo amp in the background. And imnrediately those who could put two and two together began to susp€ct that this wonderful gritar sound |lnd

rely on Pearlyto makethe amp stmd up and bark. Pearlyis sucha powelhouse,high output instrument.lt will kick the preamp'sbutt. And when the preampbarks, the ampwill follow." With his covetedsunburstLes Paulir hand,Billy set aboutacquiringtheamp ofhis dreams.The magicwizard who madethis wish cometrue was noneother than JeffBeck. Or more accurately,JeffBeck'sroadie. Fellow hot rod enthusiastsand guitar aces both, cibbons and El Beckobondedon one of Beck'svery Iirst U.S.tours. 'Jeffstoppedat Houstonfor a show,and I had the opportunityto hangout with lTim a little," Billy recalls.'AndI was fascinatedby thesegiant,t: l amplifiershe had,theseM:rrshalll00-watt rigs.It wasthe SuperLead1OO, modelnumber1968.And it was Jeff'sroadie who hada friendshipwith Jim Marshalland had a way to buy Marshallscheapand get'em into the States.Interestinglyenough,we used rhe.anreMrr.holl rig for Dusq . ba\. playing. The wealth ofgrind that thosermps offered workedjust aswell for bassasfor guitar.So we had two identicalamp stacks,both being guitar rigs,lhatwe usedfor guitar and bass. Theywere purchasedfor $80o U.S.,delivered. And they didn't requiretr'ansformervoltage powef supp]ies.The]' were someofthe first mrde ior U.S.I lo-volr\4rr.hl l.. Wehoughl tlvo andvertrquicklyreorderedtlvo more.One is good,more is better "Thoseampsplayeda big role in how to soh-ethe trio puzzle:how to makethree sound

suddenl_vbecamercrl wide, no holds barred ,rnd all holes filled. It was great for us, because we LliLln'l hrve to hire sidclnen; $,c kept the band three. It wrs:r lot nlore.rffordable. Fcrler

IHEt01t00ltYEARS, PIISE0ltE (t970-72)r llllcl(DIGS'EMl B,vno\r,.ZZ Top w€r'e srlrtiDlito ath act attention. Their nanegcr, tsill Ham, seculed thcm a deal rvith London Records. Thc li'uvs were delighicd to be on the srme record label rs the Rollirlg Stoncs. Thcy plonr ptl,r,ho led up in a small Texas lecordins- frcilit].. Robin Hooll t s - " r : . I d i o . , . r r d l . r o c l e J o u r rl r e r lJ r l ' r r t disc, aptly naned ZZ ?op'.sar7-stAlbun and r e l e r s e c il n 1 9 7 0 . "\,Verrtenptcd to crcatc matefialwfirte b _ \t .h e t h f e e o f L L su, i t h n o i d e a o f r r h c l c i t rvoukl go,'Bill_v sa!s. "l rha! vou herr is \r'hat ) ^ L rg ( t . l l r . r u r , , , f . l r . r rr . c " - d i . , n t e . l i r E i that \r,e \r,ere merel) Lrpstart cop\.ists attempt. r . r ' . l r . r " r r o u r r e - . i on n i t h c 1 l-u < . .i u r frled \{ith \\'hat we thought $'ould sound like I(eith,lleck, Pagc,Clapton, N,IickTiylor, Peter G r e e n . . . t h o s keu ) s . C l r o r v i D g u pF. r a n k a n d Dust_vhrd listened to the senlc ridio stntions I J i J : I r , l r , - r i . \ r , t r t i on o . r ro l N u . \ , i l L WLAC, end the samc Mcxican border blasters. S o u e h a d a s h a r ' e de x p e r i e n c cf r o m t h e s t a r t thai r.:rs able to be broLlghr for\\'.ird irl thc c r c a t i ( n lo f Z Z T o p , p l u s t h e b o n ! s o f h u v i n g ne\,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 srudio" affair', recordecl with the gloup's ncrvlv a c q u i r e dt o u r i r g r i g . " T h e f i r s r r l b u n i s a l l Pe:rrll, Grtes thrlrugh a 1Oo-\\'att N,Inrshrll,' Billy exphins. "Dust)'waspleyilga Danclcctro Longhofn bass throulih his l0O lvatt l,lir s h a l l . t n f a m o u sD u s n f a s h i o n .h e l o f g o t t o b r i n g h i s ' 5 1 T e l e b a s st o t h c s t u d i o ,s o h e h n d to usc the house brss et thc studio, rrhich w:rs this \rcird Danelecrfo LoDghorn. I think it lrxs e two pickup nnrdcl, or nriybe N single. And thrt s $fiat nade upthc sound.' S h o r t l t r f t e r t h e d e b L r t . r l b u mr v a sc o m p l c t c d , B i l l i t o o k h i s f i r ' s t s t e p st L r n a r da i s s i n g t h e i m p r c s s i v cg r i t a r -c o l l e c t i o nt b a t h e possessestodrv. "Peerly had such a lobust :rnd distinctiye personalitl, eDd it rvas ml goal to get a sparc," he sa,vs."Looking at lrerrl).. I t h o L r g h t L, c t ' s s c c .t h i s i s j L r s ta c h u n k o f l v o o d . I t l n u s t b e t h e s eh L r n l b u c k i n g p i c k u p st h n t , r r r l .RetotdsOrisReddingBooka r. dtldthe MGsfamel;' Billy's distortedtoneson Fdnddngotracks iike "NastyDogsand trunkyKings"hit a new levelof graininess-atough,squared-off, highlyclippedtone thatwould becomeanother signaturecibbonsguitar timbre.Billy attributes the tonality in part to the advent ofsolid-statecompressors, mic pre amps and other studiogearcominginto currency ar studioilikeArdenrin the mid-Selenties. Elsewhereon the disc,"Heard It on the x" rs a superbslideworkout in openG,and "Blue JeanBlues"featuressomeofthe mostlyrical, playingBillyhas ever minor-ke_v, sJow-blues done.For the song,he pJayeda maple-necked '5o S t r r l .a n dr l r er r s u l l i n cg l c d |l|o n c. h i r n merswith amazingdepthand clarity. "Thrt was ano!herstudjo experiment,"says Billy. "The guitar was pl gg€ddirectlyinto the board.our eqllipmenttruck had brokendown and we had no amps,but the clockwas running and the engineersaid,'Well,ifyoujust want to get somethingdownontape,we can plugyour guitar straightinto the board.'Of course,Fendersareby natureultra-cleanand bright, so puttingthat Stratthroughthe board worked for that particulartune.'BlueJean Blues'couldbecalledone ofthe more haunting slow-blues-based numbersthat we've managedto get down. The quietnessofit all allowedthatclean effectto be usedto good ad\anrage. lt s ven,differenrlrom what*e re known for-a kind ofrash, hard,distorted tone.But it's still a favorite." By far the best known track on Fondango, hoi,ever,is "Tirsh,"a brashuptemposhuffle tnal Decame a malornltTotzz 1op.lnere are numerous,variedand highly imaginative interprerations ofwhal rheword"lulh. as appliedin rhesong.acluallymeans. buLit s clearlythe tale of one man'squestfor something fine.sungwith fearsomeupper-register intensity by Dusty Hill. "we wrote 'Tush' at a soundcheckin Alabalnail,Iaboutsix of eight minutes,"the bass ist recalls."It washot ashel1,and with the exceptionof a very few words the songyou hearon the recordis whatwe wrote that day. we alwaystape our soundchecksfof that very reason[i.e.songu,riting]. Usually,though,it's a little lick or avocal line or something,not a whole damnsongl" The oniythingthat couldmatchtheintensity of"Tush" is a ftrll-onlive setby ZZ Top,which is €nactlywhat fi\€ of-Fdndango's songsdeliver. "For that pafticularshow,we were at a fanous New OrleansvenuecalledtheWarehouse,"Billy recollects."It's a greatroom,a tLrrnofthe centxry wood-and-brickwarehouse right on TchoupitoulasStreetina line ofmany old warehouses. Notonly wasit a popuiarplace

to go but the sound irside was fabulous. with that much brick and old wood, it wasjust this fesonant box oftone, It didn't really matter u'hrt )'ou brought into there, the room made it sound $eat. Everybody I've ever talked to who played at the warehouse has said,'Yeah, isn't that a great-sound ing place to play?' " tne flafinum success of ?res Ifombres and -Fdnddngoenabled ZZ Top to mount one ofthe most ambitious and bizarre tours in alt ot rocx nls(ory. zz Top's world Wjde

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probably the best exanple of ZZ Top's foray into the super-1ow frequencies.

- Gibbons

as "Taking Texas to

the People:'They meantthat literall)'.The 35,000-square-foot stagewashewn in the shapeof Texasandweighed35tons.It took five massivetrucks to transpotthis mammoth stageand all its attendantrigging,notto men rionranch-l':ndpropsrhatincludedfences, windmills, live cactiand livestock.Yes,a live steerand buffalo,alongwith assortedbreeds ofbuzzard and rattlesnake,all had rolesin the big extravaganza. Theywere attendedby fully qualifiedanimalhandlers,who alsotraveled with this rollingrock and roll circus.Nonetheless,sometimesthe crittersgotloose,terrorizing concertgoers, As for Gibbons,Hill andBeard,they were deckedout in elaboratelystitchedand ornatelystuddedwesternsuitsdesignedand handmadeby the famouscountry-and-western tailor Nudie Cohn.The outfits included big ol' cowboyhats,naturally.Billy and Dusty playedcustomaxeswith Texas-shaped bodies. By this time, Billy's lifelongquestfor a guitar equalto Pearlyhad led him deepinto designingcustom instruments.Gibsonmadehim the glitars, but overthe years,Billy Texas'shaped hasharchedincreasinglyourrageou.guitar designswith a numberoftop luthiers,John Bolanbeinga particularlyfavoriteaccompirce. By way of context, the worldwide Texas Tour rolled down the highwayat a time when musicalstarslike DavidBowie,Alice Cooper, Kiss and Parliament-Funkadelic were mounr inghighly elaborateconcerttours,bringing larger. than lifeguillotineexecurions. space ship landingsand other spectacles to the rock Seenrgain.rtheb:ctdropofrhe"ebig "r..r6es. sho*-s,the world wide TexasTour functioned asboth competitionand parody. The mid Sei.enties were alsoa time when glamwasvery much the prcminentfashion modein rock.A lot ofgroupsand their fans werer-y'ngro looklike androgynous, deca dent,urban,ultrahip spacealiens.Meanwhile, ZZ Tup u ereguingrrourd like shitlickers on acid-very muchthe antithesisof glan'L althougheverybit asdressedup and imag€consciousasth€ glamsters.The cowboy hatsthat had beena liabilitt'ir '72 had been transformedinto a high conceptstatenetl,

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a kind ofredneck drag. This wry overinsistence on their Texas roots was one ofseveral factors that 5 e p a r a t e azl z l o p t r o m t n e herd of "southern boogie" bands that had also gained curency irthe mid to late Seventies. And like all great concepts, it functioned on several levels. More downhome fans could raise a longhom Bud in the air and holler "hell yeah!" while hipsters could feel like they were sharing an insidejoke. ZZ Top were following the age old showbiz maxim: Take whatever it is you've got and exaggerate it. "Well, we had a glaring awareness of our inability to look like fashion mode1s,"

Billy deadpans. "To this day,one ofthe band in-jokesis aimedat our fearJess bassplayer, DustyHill, who is known for beingirnmr.rne to fashion.Be it clothing,the favoriteguitar ofthe day,the newestamp,you will not 6nd it in Dusty'scloset.In the beginning,we didn't havetime to designwardrobe;we were touring too hard,bustingour assto get to the next show andgoingonstagein whateverwe happenedto be wearingThatin jtselfbecamr pan or rnepercepfion 01LL toq: |Jn)ean they're thoseTexasguys,I've seenthem.They wear cowboyhatsand cowboybootsa lot.' What startedout aseveryday clothingto leave thehousein overtheyearsbecame a Irademark,whether intentionalor not:' Keepingthe Longhom Statemotifgoing, ZZ Top decidedto nametheir next album TEds,the Spanishspellingfor the tenitory that had oncebeenpart ofMexico. It's another classic,bluesyzz Top disc,but a pronounced countryinfluence alsocreepsinrothe mix, The album'shit single,"It's Only Love,"is not only one ofcatchiestthingsthe band has everydonebut alsopossesses an unmisral abletwang.And "She'sa Heartbreaker"is as cou ry asrt gers. "Oh,without question,"Billy concedes. "Aroundthattime I was driving from Hous ton down to Austin a lot ofhear the Fabulous Thunderbirds,who werejust gettingstarted and playing'BlueMonday'nightsat a pizza joiit inAustii calledthe Romelnn. And halfivaydown,you could startto pick up this geatAustin radio station,KOKE-IM. Oneof the DJs on there decidedto turn the playiist upsidedown and createa format that could go from ceorgeJonesto the Rolling stones,back to back.That certainlyhadan impacton me. 'And atthe tim€,therewasthis greatwave, a new movenentcomingout of c alifomia: when RogerMccounrryrock.lt hadsrarred cuinn lowedthe Byrdsto go in that direction on sweetheartof theRodeo:the cowboy-ifica tion ofrock, with pedalsteelguitarshou,ingup on rockrecords. And comingoutofthatlineup of the Byrdsyou had GrahamParsonsandhis band,the FlyingBurrito Brothers.And cra ham wasofcour'sehang continuedonpage66

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