Billy Gibbons
Billy Gibbons
William Frederick "Billy" Gibbons is an American musician, singer, songwriter, producer, and actor, best known as the guitarist and lead vocalist of the American rock band ZZ Top. He began his career in the Moving Sidewalks, who recorded Flashand opened four dates for the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Gibbons formed ZZ Top in late 1969 and released ZZ Top's First Album in 1971. The albums that followed, Rio Grande Mudand Tres Hombres, along with extensive touring, solidified the group's reputation as...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionGuitarist
Date of Birth16 December 1949
CityHouston, TX
CountryUnited States of America
The blues is a mighty long road. Or it could be a river, one that twists and turns and flows into a sea of limitless musical potential.
Our skin colours may vary, but what's upstairs - there's certain things we've all got in common.
It's important to collect unusual characters. It keeps you sharp.
When I was around 7 or 8 my Dad took me to a B.B. King recording session, well, that really did it. Huge and lasting impressions. After all that I pretty much knew playing guitar was something I was going to do because I just had to do it. And I did.
One springs to mind: one of our very first gigs in a small East Texas town was not well promoted. At least, that was our conclusion. After the band loaded in and the curtain opened, we realized there was exactly one paying customer in the audience. We kind of made the best of it playing through the first set, took a break and bought him a Coke and then went on to perform for the remainder of the night. It wasn't exactly a catastrophe but it certainly stands as legendary.
Until you learn to play what you want to hear, you're barking up the wrong tree.
Lightnin' Hopkins was something of a fixture on the Houston coffee house scene so we were witness to eccentric blues brilliance close up. Then, believe it or not, along came the wave of the English cats like John Mayall, Eric Clapton and the Stones embracing the great American art form - the blues.
White people get nervous and speed things up. You don't have to be in a hurry because you ain't got nothing to gain and you ain't got nothin' to lose. And that's where the groove lies.
If you're really looking for something in particular, it helps to take your time.
My discussion with Keith Richards about the creative process led me to believe that there's an invisible presence of a stream of ever-flowing creativity that we overhear-all you have to do is pull up the antenna and dial it in. This presence allows you to maintain your sense of origin and move forward.
Every once in awhile I'll call up Eddie (Van Halen) and ask, Found that fourth chord yet?
Same three guys, right here. Same three chords right here. And we've been doing this for 35 years.
We've been coming out with you for a long time, ... And it's the same three guys playing the same three chords right here.
Well, everybody faces the fact there really aren't many records stores around to just go and browse. Maybe browse online, yet that tactile feel of flipping through a stack of vinyl remains one of life's simple pleasures.