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I asked Billy about the band's name, and he talked about the fact that many bands from that era, such as the Rolling Stones, were largely influenced by the blues legends of the day. It was a crazy year because he started it with two other guys and recorded a record then, but changed the band and redirected its sound that same year by bringing aboard Dusty Hill and Frank Beard, the band's historic lineup until July of this year, when Hill passed away. ZZ Top had their biggest hits in the '80s, and is considered by many an '80s rock band, with "Gimme All Your Lovin'," "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Legs" really catapulting the band with the help of the MTV video age.īut Gibbons actually formed ZZ Top in 1969, after the Hendrix tour ended.
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"Jimi actually taught me how to play 'Foxy Lady' when I was 17, ya know!" I formed a band called the Moving Sidewalks and we actually opened for Jimi Hendrix on his first North American tour," he said. "Then the late Sixties hit, and I got involved in that Woodstock-style rock. I actually started as a percussionist," he said. His favorite was Tito Puente, so through his musical connections he sent me to New York to study with Tito. My father was an orchestra leader and concert pianist, but he loved that style of music. "Growing up in Texas I was surrounded by Latin-influenced music. "Well, it is a fusion record based on Cuban rhythms," he said. I asked Billy about his new album and what would be in store for us later that night. It was definitely surreal, as I have seen ZZ Top countless times on television and in magazines, but never on stage. He was dressed in what looked like pajamas, a free-flowing cotton button down shirt and baggy pants ensemble. As I walked in I was met with a sly grin, but there he was, a legitimate, all-too-familiar, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, with a 2-foot beard and knitted skull cap. I met him in our main green room, downstairs from the theater. It was a sight to see as many men (I think they were all men!) were sporting beards of various lengths similar to Billy's long, signature style. When he arrived at the theater early in the day of his concert, a huge group of devoted fans were already congregating at our backstage door. I was able to score Billy Gibbons, founder and lead vocalist of the rock band ZZ Top! He was on a short national tour promoting his latest album entitled "Perfectamundo," a solo effort with his "other" band, the BFGs, and the humble Arcada was lucky enough to land his Chicago appearance! WAS I EXCITED! To have the towering presence of Charlie Daniels in his white cowboy hat and fiddle on my stage was really cool, as was Bret Michaels' rock 'n' roll cowboy hat and signature American flag jeans were as large as life as his band Poison is!īut speaking of cool, iconic looks, I recently knocked another milestone meeting off my extensive bucket list, and his look is about as legendary as rock music itself.
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To have Lisa Marie Presley at The Arcada was, as Fleetwood Mac has referenced countless times toward "The White-Winged Dove," her face was "hauntingly familiar!" I did many shows with Alice Cooper, and seeing Vince Fernier in character as "Alice" with his signature makeup really represented rock of the 1970s for me. However, some performers just have that familiar, iconic "look" and presence that brings you back, too. There have been countless moments like these over the years, and these are the emotional trophies I have been lucky enough to hold inside my heart.
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When I worked with Lynyrd Skynyrd and Johnny Van Zant raised a microphone stand to the heavens with his late brother Ronnie's top hat on the mic and their band-symbolic Confederate flag tied to it (please, nothing political about this), I welled up in tears as we all remembered that fatal plane crash that killed many of the band's members, including brother Ronnie Van Zant. I actually get caught up in it all emotionally sometimes. That's the best part of my job, for I am a true fan of the music, with a deep admiration of the entertainers' milestones shared with their fans. Well, I proudly proclaim I AM star-struck! Not so much so that I grovel and stutter and trip over myself when I am in their presence, but I am to the level where I completely marvel at what these entertainers have accomplished and at how much their work has been a part of my life.