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ZZ Top Looking to ‘LA FUTURA’
By John Benson
There are only so many musicians or bands that are instantly recognizable. Whether it’s a Keith Richards lick, a Tom Waits howl or a Slash guitar solo, transcending the rock genre isn’t easy to do.
One act that falls into this category is Southern rock blues outfit ZZ Top — bassist-singer Dusty Hill, drummer Frank Beard and guitarist-singer Billy Gibbons — which last year returned with its 15th studio album “La Futura.”
From the first seconds of lead track “I Gotsa Get Paid,” a cover, mind you, of rapper DJ DMD’s “25 Lighters,” Gibbons’ thick, blues-based riffs and ruff-and-gruff vocals leave no doubt it’s ZZ Top.
The band, known for such hit songs as “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Legs,” “Tush,” “Sharp Dressed Man” and “La Grange,” is once again touring with a Sunday show booked for Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica in Cleveland.
The Vindicator talked to Gibbons vie email about what it was like working with uber-producer Rick Rubin and the future of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee trio.
Q. Congrats on the new album. Do you feel “La Futura” marks new territory for the band?
A. Most definitely. And as we push forward, there certainly remains a wide awareness of what came before. The album references what some have called ZZ’s “classic sound,” as it arrived in some new and innovative ways. Recording, for us, provides renewal. We’re digging the result.
Q. What was it like working with Rubin? Did he take the band somewhere new?
A. It felt very natural since we’ve known him as a friend for so long. He brought out the best in us by constantly suggesting that we could always top [pun intended] ourselves, take after take. Invariably, he was right. Yes, he took us back to “us.” He told us he wasn’t trying to reinvent ZZ Top but to get us to be the best ZZ Top we could be. That was new since we thought we were doing pretty well, but he made it “weller.”
Q. As for ZZ Top covering a rock song, how did “I Gotsta Get Paid” come about?
A. Our trusted engineer played a part in “I Gotsa Get Paid,” derived from the underground Houston rap song “25 Lighters.” We heard that one [from him] working alongside some of Houston’s kingpin hip hop and rap artists about 19 years ago, and it remained stuck in our mind. It’s taken this long to take a hardcore rap song and turn it into a guitar-driven rocker. It’s also something of a tribute to Lightnin’ Hopkins, whose down home blues comes from the same Houston ghetto as “25 Lighters.”
Q. When you look back at ZZ Top’s ’80s videos, what comes to mind?
A. Pretty girls, a shiny red car and lots of fine, fine times. We were the guest stars in our own videos, which focused on those elements and, of course, the music. It worked out well, as you know.
Q. What’s the legacy of ZZ Top?
A. Three guys from Texas did what they wanted to do for more than four decades and a whole lot of folks dug them doing it.
Q. Finally, how much longer can you guys remain a touring and recording outfit?
A. As near as we can tell, we’re almost halfway there. Stay tuned.