![]() Perhaps that is Gibbons feeding a bit of mythology. He says the film team and ZZ’s tour crew got signals crossed. “We arrived and our gear was all set up,” Gibbons says. In the 21st century, the historic dance hall in Gruene would have to suffice. The band started at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Beaumont in Feb. “The director asked about getting us to pose for some snapshots in a place similar to where we had started.” “It’s prudent to include the fact that we didn’t know we were being recorded,” Gibbons says. The album was recorded while the group performed at Gruene Hall for the 2019 documentary “That Little Ol’ Band from Texas.” While the band is looking forward, it’s also looking back with the summer release of “Raw,” which is a curious new entry in the ZZ Top discography. It’s like we have a renewed sense of visitation.” Gibbons says Francis joining the band on stage has “created a kind of unexpected reinvention of some longstanding compositions. But Dusty smiled and said, ‘In doing so, he’ll get much more to the point'.” He thought the only difference was that he plays using his fingers and Elwood plays with a pick. “He said if he was late getting back, he’d already appointed Elwood to stop in. “Dusty said he’d been feeling out of sorts,” Gibbons says. Gibbons’ longtime friend and guitar tech Elwood Francis knew the music inside out and also had a pandemic beard that facilitated an aesthetic continuity. But the band has done a great job presenting its music to its fans without him. ZZ Top returns to its hometown this week for a show without Hill. He also possessed a heavy feel for rhythm and with Beard created the launch pads for Gibbons’ instantly recognizable guitar parts. Hill had no capacity for pussyfooting around a subject, but he also had a sharp, back-pocket sense of humor. But if you drove to Pasadena, especially in 1969, 1970, you didn’t have to look out the window to know you were in Pasadena. We weren’t Bob Dylan or anything, writing socially active songs. “It’s a lot of things,” he said, after a laugh. ![]() I asked Hill, all these years later, what was the meaning behind the song and song title “Squank.” Was it an animal? A metaphor? In 2021, I had the good fortune to talk to Hill about “ZZ Top’s First Album,” which was celebrating its 50th anniversary. Where: Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, 2005 Lake Robbins, The Woodlandsĭetails: $29.50-$179 ![]() “We don’t have a smoking room,” he was told. He told me last year, “Sunshine doesn’t hold much for me,” which is a comment I relate to and think about often.Ī decade or so ago, the Houston band was doing an event in a museum in New York when Beard asked a museum employee where their smoking room was. But before we get to that, I felt like sharing just a few thoughts about Hill’s spirited energy. ZZ Top has carried on in his absence, per Hill’s wishes, according to his bandmates. The ZZ Top lineup of Hill, guitarist/singer Gibbons and drummer Frank Beard ran 51 years uninterrupted. The counter reset last year when bassist and singer Dusty Hill died, ending a run in rock ‘n roll for which I find no precedent. Photo: Noah Riffe/Associated Pressīilly Gibbons uttered a phrase about ZZ Top many times over many years, adapting it every so often to acknowledge the passing of time: “Three guys, three chords, (some number) of years.” ZZ Top performs at the Pinewood Bowl, Sunday, Aug. ![]()
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