zz top

Rip It Up, Issue 199, 1 March 1994, Page 7

zz top

Elvis: "We did not step on his blue suede shoes but we did see him.

Saturday and a call comes through from BILLY GIBBONS, and he explains in his slow Texan drawl that he's not quite ready yet but he'll phone back in an hour. That's good news as I was expecting the excessively sane drummer Frank Beard. Billy's more fun. He phones back in about 20 minutes.

My lame opening question is—how's the day going? Are you having a good time? “You can only have a good time on the Mexican Border," is Billy's dry reply. This guy's so cool, you wonder if he died and maybe you're interviewing a Japanese talking elevator. Do you live on the Mexican border?

"No. I live in a hotel." You must have somewhere called home.

"Oh yeah. Texas, California, I dunno, my ex-girl-friend's."

This line of questioning is fruitless, let's try videos. Tell us about the video for 'Pin Cushion'?

“We start in three days. Somebody said 'Why 'Pincushion?' and well our ears, nose and eyebrows and other parts of the body are pierced — I'm just kidding." Did you record the album in 93?

"Yeah, at the Ardent Recording Studio in Memphis, Tennessee and we spent quite a bit of time in our rehearsal room making, shall we say, skeleton songs, then we went to Memphis to make it official, shall we say."

Is Memphis still a special place in southern music? "Yes, indeed, Memphis is notorious for all kinds of music including all the music that influenced us — country, hillbilly, Jesus music and especially blues. Then there came the 60s period and Stax Records. For us to have our homes in hotels, going to a studio outside of anywhere is simply a holiday."

You recorded a tribute to one of Memphis' legends with 'Viva Las Vegas'. How did this

come about? "We wanted to create a product called "ZZ Top's Greatest Hits" and included in that was two extra sides and one of them was something strange called 'Viva Las Vegas' and it became popular and required a video and we had a blast, it was wonderful." - - Are all you guys Elvis fans? “Oh yeah." Did you ever see him live? "Yes.". 'Cos he never really left America. "We did not step on his blue suede shoes but we did see him?' You've, been heavily involved in the Harley Davidson 20th anniversary celebrations. "We were invited to make a presentation leading the 20th Anniversary parade with some knarly Harleys. In addition to that there was another invitation to make a performance as the finale of the evening and it was most enjoyable. As you

know, Harley Davidson and all of the biker gangs chose to make a donation to a special charity called MDA and it's a very strange and unusual problem." Do you own more than one customised Harley? "Following the completion of Cadzilla, the first two Harleys were called Hogzilla One and Hogzilla Two and now we have a special Harley Davidson called ZZ Spunk One." ? ? Is that you own personal bike? "Yeah." Do you ride it much on the road? "Well, between shows, yes. Would your record companywant you on the bike too often? "We have customised these

motorcycles to be quite low, and only at 100 miles an hour does it get a little shaky." Will you obtain ownership of the ZZ Cadzilla car? Will it be driven?

"Yes, it is drivable, it has made appearances in videos and movies but presentely it is being escorted with the car show. But to answer your question, yes it is intended to be safe and sound with ZZ Top." 'Velcro Fly', one of my favourites, was missing from you Best Of compilation. What happened? "Ah, 'Velcro Fly'! Read between the lines. It's— ah — totally sexist!" Since when did a song being sexist eliminate it from a ZZ Top album? "Well, it appeared as one of the singles from the ZZ Top album called Afterburner and there was only room for 12 tracks and 'Velcro Fly' was shall we say, very well known ..." Do you consider it not one of the best 12?

"Oh no, we included it in the last show, so we enjoy it." What sort of tour will you be undertaking when the album's released?

"It will be a world wide global tour and we'll see you soon." A friend works in a toy store in LA. Do you buy plastic ants and collect toys? "If depends. If there's an old guitar, yes. Some of the hot rod model kits are interesting. We make the rounds, we go down Melrose and look for old blue jeans, cowboy hats, things like that. And we just make the rounds."

Do you have any favourite places to shop in LA? "Well, it’s a big city and it takes a while."

Billy has a final greeting prepared. "ZZ Top look forward to coming to see you — Billy Gibbons signing off — buy your dancing shoes, get your earplugs and wear a seat belt."

MURRAY CAMMICK