VIVA BILLY

Rip It Up, Issue 177, 1 April 1992, Page 8

VIVA BILLY

So Billy, exactly how long has it been since you shaved? "Well, I guess the clever answer to that would be, it's been a while and it will probably be another while yet. How's that?"

Thafs just fine, a suitably dry comeback from a man who's made a career out of music that is full of dry but dumb humour. As you should know, Bill/s the very hirsute guitarist for ZZ Top, one of the finest trios of Texan boogie merchants to ever walk the face of the earth. The more sophisticated among you may well dismiss ZZ Top as some sort of petrolhead nightmare, but thafs a highly unjust approach.

have been as successful as ZZ Top. Whafs the secret of your success Billy?

Take their new Greatest Hits compilation, it covers 1973 til 1990 and gives you a good idea of whafs happening. Sure there's some duff plodders here, but whole chunks of it are downright brilliant. They take the beat and spirit of Muddy Waters and Jimmy Reed and the Midnighters and plenty of other fine R&B, toss in a some of Little Richard's general mindset, then play it really loudly with some classic white boy rock stylings for good measure. Plenty of bands have tried, but few

'Well, I was talking to both Frank and Billy just a couple of hours ago when we were gearing up for these interviews and they reminded me that they had performed together for a period before we formed as ZZ Top, so the/ve actually been hammering out this rhythm thing for some time. When someone asks 'What is the secret to staying

together for so long?', aside from the love of music I have to say ifs the solid backbeat and I have to credit Frank and Dusty for just being solid." You guys were all involved in the late 60s in some serious Texan punk bands like the Moving Sidewalks weren't you? "Yeah, we had bands, and oddly enough they were working in another part of the state and although we'd heard about each other, we never got the chance to

see each other perform until this year, when some guy did a couple of old videos on which the bands appeared. So I got to see their group and they got to see mine. It was pretty interesting." Rhythm and Blues seems to have a strong part in your musical mix too. "Oh yeah, thafs the cornerstone, thafs what you first learn and ifs stayed pretty much a part of what our music has been about, and we don't have any complaints on that, it kept us thrashing along." And fair enough too, Bo Diddley has made a 40-year career out of a couple of riffs, so why not ZZ Top? Like Bo and other greats they realise the importance of presentation, you need a gimmick to work and you need to keep it fresh. ZZ Top have certainly taken that to heart, they still put on a show, from the high tech animated junkyard that accompanied them on the recent 'Recycler' tour and the instantly recognizable videos down to the soft shoe shuffle that the boys bust at all their shows, the/ve always been aware of entertainment.

You guys don't take things entirely seriously do you?

dressing room warm-up song that made it onto the soundstage, then from there onto a demo and from there onto an album. If II definitely be fun to watch where it takes us, thafs for sure. I must say I'm pleased Dusty's performing, he's definitely quite a bit out there. Of course he stays out there, ifs just now he's decided to join us as well." Just in case it seems like ZZ Top are musical recidivists of the worst kind, lets get contemporary. Mr

"Ifs just us, you know? We took a brief fling at writing like Bob Dylan, but it didn't work for us. What he says fits him and what we say fits us, and thafs the way it is." I sure don't see Bob Dylan using a guitar that spins around like yours do. "Yeah, we had a lot of fun with those, ifs pretty crazy though, it makes them hard to play." ZZ Top's historical fascination is by no means parasitic. The/ve long been involved in the Delta Blues Museum in Mississippi and have included as a bonus deal on the Greatest Hits album, a cover version of Doc Pomus's Viva Las Vegas', a track already taken to great heights by Elvis Presley and later the Dead Kennedys and now elevated even further courtesy of Mr Dusty Hill's fondness for the King's more interesting moments. Why Viva Las Vegas'? "Ifs a little weird, but it was a

KIRK GEE

Gibbons is one aware guy, from legendary Memphis producer Jim Dickinson's latest combo Mudboy . and the Neutrons to more eclectic items, he certainly knows his shit, from Shinola. Where's rock heading? "Well, it's showing up in the most unusual places, my buddy Al Jourgenson seems to be training a legion of followers to understand the roots, but not to let that hold them back from thrashing on. Ifs great, the underground stuff is like, sampling the old and mixing it with the new. Man, it's coming on strong." You're into stuff like Ministry? "Oh yeah, 'Jesus Built My Hotrod', that new thing of theirs, if that's any indication of what's to come you better put on your seatbelt!" Well, it does feature another of my favourite Texan psychos in there, Mr Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers. "Yeah, he's great. There's a band called Pigface as well, I caught 'em live and picked up a cassette of ? theirs, and man, that's pretty out there stuff, ifs definitely attitudinal." So there it is, the past and the present according to Billy Gibbons, guitarist, bearded man and general all-round cool guy. After all that I suppose the only way to end it all is with the future. So whafs up? "We're actually trying to figure that out, there will be some studio sessions coming up, but the interest with this Greatest Hits may mean we need a brief live tour happening. I hope so, we got to get down your way, we definitely got to do that H soon.