One of my all-time fave bands from the ’70s, ZZ Top, is playing Vancouver on March 22. Their albums made my personal Top 30 charts in 1971, ’72, ’73, ’75, ’76, and ’79. Sadly, they didn’t release any LPs in ’70, ’74, ’77, and ’78, not that the seventies had room for even one more shitkicker southern-blues guitar lick. (I watched this hour-plus video of Skynyrd in their prime last night, and it was clear that they used up the quota somewhere in the middle of “That Smell”‘s third solo).
The good news is, this time the Top will perform at a soft-seater (the Queen Elizabeth Theatre) instead of a hockey rink, which is where I’ve always seen them before, including the last time, on a bill with the Stray Cats and the Pretenders in 2007.
So that’s gonna be cool.
The bad news is that the the Li’l Old Band from Texas isn’t doing any phone interviews in advance of the show, so I won’t get the chance to revel in Billy Gibbons’ downhome drawl like I did one time before.
But it’s not all bad news, because I’ve been told that Ear of Newt can submit half a dozen or so questions to the band’s publicist and he forwards them to Gibbons, who “answers them in his own unique way”.
I’d have no trouble coming up with 20 questions myself–in fact I’ve already got 20 in the can from when I was going to interview them for a Vancouver stadium show with Aerosmith in 2009 that got cancelled at the last minute when Steven Tyler ratched himself at a show in South Dakota.
But I’m gonna try something wacky here in celebration of the EON website being up for over four months, and let Ear of Newt visitors get in on the action. I’ll choose the three best questions for Billy Gibbons that are left in the comments section below, and send them in with my batch. (The deadline to post questions is March 5 at noon.)
Maybe he’ll answer one of your questions, and then you’ll be able to brag to all your friends that you once interviewed the legendary guitarist from ZZ Top.
Or kinda did, anyway.
1.Is Master of Sparks based on a true story?
2. Were you and the Moving Sidewalks and American Blues on the same bill? Is that how you met?
3. How come the Moving Sidewalks didn’t end up on the International Artists label?
4.Is it true you have a switchblade collection?
5.who made that meal on the inside gatefold of Tres Hombres?
6.and follow up…are they still cooking?
7.Does ZZ Top have any stuff in the vaults that will ever see the light of day?
8.What’s your favourite Sir Doug story? Did Bill Ham used to do lights for Sir Doug way back when?
9.Did you ever see Cold Sun? or the Golden Dawn play live?
10. Did you ever share a stage with Texas hard Rock monsters Josefus?
11. What is your favourite non-Elevators Roky song?
12.What is Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings not the National Anthem?
13. Can you promise to never stop Rocking?
okay, okay, you win Spackle King! How about leaving some questions for somebody else? Sheesh.
Question – Where can I get one of those wicked weed hats he is always wearing?
Sorry I was just excited!
no sweat, Spackle King. I know you mean well. I think I liked your first and fourth questions the best. I already know Billy’s answer to #13