BILLY GIBBONS

You're really never know... This one was just found on my hard drive... Sometimes the most obvious things are the easiest to forget... Anyways, here's a cool brief interview with the Texas Tone King, Mr. Billy Gibbons! I guess I conduct this conversation some six years ago... What an honor... Billy is still the tastiest player on the planet...

ZZ Top celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2009, so this tour may be very special for you guys as well as for the audience. What could we expect from the upcoming european gigs? Any surprise in the setlist or new elements in the show?

We like to change things up in terms of repertoire so there are always surprises, especially for us!  We do all the ZZ songs you probably know but we like to throw in some other stuff.  We’ve performed Willie Brown’s „Future Blues” from the early 1930’s and Jim Hendrix’ „Foxey Lady” on occasion and sometimes we do „Viva Las Vegas” from the Elvis songbook.  You just never know.  We’ve got a great backdrop that a show in itself and we’ve got some fine looking technical support staff who are a pleasing distraction from the three of us when they come up on stage.  Like we said, always a surprise.

It's so weird that this li'l ol' band from Texas is still kickin' ass, as we witnessed on last year's incredibly spectacular Live From Texas DVD. How the hell you guys are so energetic after 4 decades in the showbiz?

You might find this hard to believe but we actually like playing our music for the people who come to see up.  We’ve been practicing really hard for 40 years and are bound to get better if we keep at for a a while longer.

You formed ZZ Top in 1969 along with Dusty Hill & Frank Beard. This line up has never changed over the years and the band never broke up. I can't imagine what's the secret behind this story of success - friendship, patience, or what?

We like to say it’s the three „it's”: tone, taste and tenacity.  All we do is try to have some fun and it seems to be working out.

During the seventies ZZ Top enjoyed major success in America - thanks to the band's bona fide classics like Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers, Precious And Grace, Waiting For The Bus, and hits like La Grange and Tush, but you guys had to wait for the international breakthrough until 1983, when the multi-million selling Eliminator was released. Until that point ZZ Top was all about tube amps and fat Les Pauls, but with Eliminator the band added a brand new element to its trademark sound - the synthesizer. Could you remember who's got the idea to take this risky step forward? Didn't you afraid of losing fans because of that?

We’ve always loved to experiment and we bumped into some early synth machines down in Memphis and thought  we’d give it a try.  To our way of thinking, those contemporary noise making contraptions are just modernized Mississippi blues harps.

Soon after Eliminator the band became fashionable, Sharp Dressed Man, Gimmie All Your Lovin' and Legs were played heavy rotation by MTV. How do you remember that period of time, the "rock star" days of ZZ Top?

We still think of the stars of those videos to be the pretty girls and the cool Eliminator Coupe hot rod car.  We the ’innocent bystanders.’ And just as amazed as the viewers...!

Rumors can be heard that you guys are in the middle of the working process of the band's fifteenth studio record. Could you please tell me a thing or two about the new songs?

Working on a bunch of new songs during the current touring schedule has been fairly intense so we’ve spent mucho time to work them out for the studio.  Let’s put it this way, if you liked „Tres Hombres,” you’ll dig the next one.  More to come.

Production-wise most ZZ Top studio albums were done by yourself and/or Bill Ham, but right now the band is working with none other than legendary music producer Rick Rubin. Why did you guys decide to change the process this time and how did you hook up with Rick Rubin?

Rick has been a friend for a long time so our joining forces with him is a just a natural progression.  He certainly looks the part, we think...!

As a member of Moving Sidewalks, you have toured with Jimi Hendrix in the late sixties. Have you ever got a chance to jam with him?

Yes, we were privileged to exchange licks with him back then.  Wonderful guy who turned the world upside down with his sense of innovation and experimentation.  He was quite in conversation but more than made up for it on stage. In a word: fearless.

A few days ago I've seen when you guys jammed La Grange with Slash and John Mayer at the House Of Blues in North Hollywood. How often do you share the stage with somebody else?

It happens from time to time but not with a whole lot of advance planning.  We were a quintet that night which is a huge departure for a trio like us.  We had a great time with those two – rock’s ’odd couple,’ so to speak.

You got a huge collection of weird guitars. Which is your favorite and is there any totally useless amongst them?

We’ve got some in boxes that were shipped to us in the 1980’s that we’ve never unpacked so those would be in the “mystery” category – for now.  Always a chance we’ll dig in and see what Santa brought for Christmas 1988.  We’ve got a few shaped like racing cars and, of course, the furry ones look like a 60’s mod hairdo... Our all-time favorite is, of course, the renowned Pearly Gates, a ’59 Les Paul that sounds like no other. We have yet to find an instrument to equal its raw power.

Your Pearly Gates guitar is one of the most iconic axes in the history of rock. Could you please tell me the story how did you find "her"?

Years ago, we had a very vintage Packard car which we gave to a girlfriend who drove it to California to try out for a role in a movie. She got the part and we named that car „Pearly Gates” because we thought it had divine connection.  She sold the car and sent the proceeds from the sale back to us. The day the money showed up, a guy called to see if we were interested in purchasing a ’59 Les Paul.  Since the money that bought the guitar came form the sale of the „Pearly Gates” car, we named it after the source of the funds with which it was purchased.  It made divine music so the same totally fit. Try as we may, we haven't been able to find another guitar that sounds as heavenly."

ZZ Top has already played once in Hungary in 2003. Do you remember this gig?

Yes, of course. Great audience and we found out our tour busses were made in Hungary and we pretty much live in those when we're on tour.  It made our performance back then something of a homecoming for us.