ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons Discusses The Group’s Australian Return: ‘It’s About Grinding Them Bluesy Things Loudly’

When you look at the career of Texas rockers ZZ Top, it’s a little overwhelming to take in all of their accomplishments.

Since forming back in 1969, the group have managed to become one of the most iconic rock trios of all time. Famed for their bearded, bluesy take on the genre, the group – which comprised guitarist and vocalist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard, and bassist Dusty Hill for 51 years – achieved household name status thanks to classic records like Eliminator and Afterburner, with singles like Sharp Dressed Man, La Grange, Legs, and Tush still considered classics.

Sadly, Hill would pass away in 2021, with Elwood Francis stepping into take over, and currently, Beard is taking some time away from the stage due to medical issues. But regardless of how things have changed over the years, ZZ Top are still as incendiary as ever.

This month, ZZ Top return to Australia for the first time since 2013 for an extensive run of shows. In addition to performing on the Red Hot Summer Tour in Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland as part of an immense rocking lineup that boasts George Thorogood & The Destroyers, The Living End, Baby Animals, Rose Tattoo, and Dallas Frasca, they’ve also nailed down four headline dates in Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, and Sydney with George Thorogood & The Destroyers.

Needless to say, if you’re looking for a rock’n’roll education, you won’t need to look far this month.

Ahead of their forthcoming tour, Gibbons was kind enough to chat to The Music about the group’s return to Australia, the state of new material in the wake of Hill’s passing, and how it feels to perform in the band more than five decades on.

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The Music: Firstly, it’s been over a decade since ZZ Top last performed in Australia, and this makes the fifth trip to the country since the late ‘80s. What has Australia been like as a market for the band over the years, and what keeps you coming back?

Billy Gibbons: It’s the friends, fans, and followers enlivening that famed ZZ course. Everybody in attendance represent the most enthusiastic we’ve ever encountered keeping our vision standing long for the repeat return. The fact that it’s so damn far away from our usual avenues of asphalt complicates matters yet we’ve remained deliberate and insistent and the reward for that range of tenacity is kicking things front and centre.

TM: This tour also sees you joined by George Thorogood and The Destroyers. George once said that when he started in music, he wanted to be just like ZZ Top, and felt he’d been bested when he first heard La Grange. This isn’t the first time you’ve shared a bill together, but how does it feel performing alongside someone such as George, who not only has such fondness for your own music, but has blazed such an impressive trail himself?

BG: George is a kindred spirit. And, like us, George and Co. are disciples of our shared hero, Bo Diddley. That’s the fundament writing both our outfits. It’s always a good time whenever we're together with “The Delaware Destroyer” and we’re looking forward to wreaking havoc with Thorogood again and again.

TM: You’re also performing as part of the Red Hot Summer Tour while you’re in Australia, which features a bunch of stellar rock bands. Given your own musical history and current musical trends, what place do you feel rock music has in the musical landscape? Are there any contemporary artists you feel are keeping the genre alive?

BG: There was a time when rock was thought of as a temporary phenomenon and that begat the song Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay. The fact is that there are newcomers leaning into the art of how to play guitars and bash it out on drums and such just about everywhere. It goes to feel the energy will continue on.

Rock is solidly a creative outlet of elemental mayhem. There are some great exponents delivering out there now with the likes of ,say, Lindsay Beaver in Austin, Los Straitjackets, Suzi Chunk in Wales, and Dan Spencer in Nashville. Literally hundreds more stamping rock’s future brightly.

TM: There’s been a little bit of change in the band in recent years due to the passing of Dusty and the inclusion of Elwood. Despite this, ZZ Top seem to be performing just as strongly as ever, but how do things feel for you and the rest of the band?

BG: It's natural as we’ve been long at it together in the fast lane. We were admonished to stay the course to keep on keepin' on. It turns out the feel is right on and clearly, audiences across the board join in with enthusiasm.

TM: It’s currently nearing 13 years since ZZ Top last released an album, though there’s been talk of a new record at some point. How close are we to receiving this album? Where are things currently?

BG: That’s often asked so suffice it to say, we’re watching the stars line up to get down to gettin' down. We have some new, freshly penned numbers, along with some tried and true things out of the blue in mind. The next open date in the roadshow’s calendar will see it happen.

TM: There was also mention from yourself that the new record would include vocals that you, Dusty, Elwood, and even Mr. Beard recorded. Is that still the case?

BG: There’s a wealth of tracks in the captured file taking in a wide range of creative expressions. We’re just as curious as our legion of friends, fans, and followers to traverse that interestingly odd avenue for integrating into future releases. It’s all duly considered.

TM: It’s a little dizzying to look at not only the length of ZZ Top’s lifespan, but the amount of stellar achievements, records, and tours that have come our way over the years. What do you feel is the key to longevity and consistency for a band such as this?

BG: A little dizzying is the understood ongoing order of the hour! We enjoy the mystery of what’s beyond the mirage. Meanwhile, it’s about grinding them bluesy things loudly. Tone, taste, and tenacity remain cornerstones leading onward.

TM: Keeping on that topic to close, what do you feel is the greatest accomplishment that ZZ Top have achieved across these past 56 years?

BG: Apart from our being able to keep at this for all that time? I’ll say it's an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Keith Richards. Just spending time with him would be reward enough. Rock on!

Tickets to the Red Hot Summer Tour and ZZ Top’s headline dates are on sale now.