ZZ Top Getting To Work on New Album

We last saw a new studio album from Texas rockers ZZ Top back in 2003 when they released Mescalero. Late word from Billy Gibbons is that the other two members of his group, bass player Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard (I just love the way the only guy in the band without a beard is named Beard!) are in the studio in the Dallas area making preparations for their new album.

Gibbons visited with Billboard recently while hanging out at the South By Southwest Music And Media Conference in Austin, Texas.

Gibbons told Billboard that they hope to have the new album finished before the summer and describes the difference between working on the road and working in the studio. He described recording as "fun," but there was no word on which activity he or the group prefers.

The group is hoping to hit the road and do some touring early this summer in Europe and perhaps schedule some dates here in the U.S.

Another interesting tidbit of news revealed is that Gibbons taped a guest appearance on the season finale of the Fox series Bones, where he plays someone’s dad. As the Stones famously put it, "What a drag it is growing old."

Catch the full story over on Billboard.com.

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Tags: European, New Album, tour, ZZ Top

The Story Behind ZZ Top’s Fuzzy Guitars

ZZ Top’s bearded frontmen certainly have made some interesting selections when it comes to on-stage instrumentation. I don’t know about you, but other than a ZZ Top show, I have personally never seen a fuzzy, sheepskin guitar or bass.

The Gibson Guitars website has a current story about these famous instruments and the man behind the creation of some of the widely-recognized axes in the business.

Matthew Klein of the Gibson Custom Shop is the man behind the scenes who is responsible for the creation of these unique instruments which have helped the Texas trio define their unique look.

It will be interesting to see what kind of unique guitars ZZ Top and the Gibson Custom Shop will come up with next if they decide they need another new look for the stage.

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Tags: gibson, guitars, ZZ Top

ZZ Top Sets Out On Comeback Trail

ZZ Top, the Texas Trio best known for songs like "Cheap Sunglasses" and "Legs," have made some changes recently in hopes of breathing new life into a career that has been in decline since their last big hit album back in the early 1990’s.

But don’t be too quick to count these guys out. Having dropped their former manager of 37 years in favor of a new one, ZZ Top hopes to change its image enough to earn back the popularity they once enjoyed.

Although the group has continued to draw crowds for live performances, the group does not seem satisfied with that and makes no bones about the fact that they want to make a new album that will place the group firmly back in Grammy territory.

"We want a Grammy. We’re in this to make a great record that people want to hear," says the band’s new manager, Carl Stubner.

It’s clear that ZZ Top is starting to ramp things in preparation for that new Grammy-worthy album. A deluxe 25th Anniversary edition of the group’s hit album Eliminator will be released early next year and a live DVD and CD from a recent show in Grand Prairie, Texas will be available sometime next summer.

No firm timetable seems to be in place for a new album right now, although they hope to release on Columbia sometime next year. Whether or not it ends up being the groups ticket to the Grammy Awards is up to the fans.

Check out the full story at the Houston Chronicle.

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ZZ Top Prepares To Hit The Road

Having completed the first leg of their North American tour during March and April, the Texas trio is set to hit the road to continue with the second leg of the tour.

The tour will begin on July 14 in Woodlands, Texas, and then move across the country, stretching the tour into September. Most of the performances will be a triple bill with Stray Cats and The Pretenders sharing the spotlight.

The band’s original plans for a European tour this summer were scrapped due to Dusty Hill’s medical problems that stem from a benign growth in his middle ear. Hell of a thing for a musician, of all people!

Having separated themselves from RCA records a while back, the band is currently looking for a new label to partner with and get started on a new album. The group’s last album of new material, Mescalero, hit the stores back in 2003.

For more of the story as well as ZZ Top’s tour itinerary, see the story on LiveDaily.com.

ZZ Top To Re-release Two Albums Early Next Year

According to Billboard, ZZ Top will be re-releasing two of their best-known albums. On February 28, Warner Brothers will re-release Tres Hombres and Fandango! with previously unreleased live tracks included.

Since I’m not much of a live music fan, this release sounds like a non-event to me. However, if you don’t already have the number 8 track of the original Tres Hombres, a tune entitled La Grange, I’d say the purchase of the entire album would be worth it just for that one tune. That one’s got to me my all-time favorite ZZ Top song, followed closely by Cheap Sunglasses.

On second thought, I’d probably recommend the Greatest Hits album, since that pretty much has all the best stuff on it and fits the bill nicely for someone like me, who is not a huge ZZ Top fan, but really enjoys some of their best-known work.