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BrewingFrog

BrewingFrog

Was I supposed to type something here?
I can remember those times, when Hwy 6 was a two-lane road running through the utter boonies...

It is now absolutely unrecognizable, a six-lane behemoth choked with stoplights and strip centers.

Feh.

I remember reading an interview with Billy about his car, the fine '36 Ford (IIRC) he had back in the day. He told the tale: "Yeah. I have a buddy with a Turbo Porsche. Saw him the other day. We were stuck in traffic on 45. I waved to him. He waved back."
 
Frog-in-law1995

Frog-in-law1995

Active Member
Hoosierfrog said:
There is a terrific documentary on Reelz, if you have it, with Billy Gibbons narrating the history of ZZ Top:

ZZ Top: That Little Ol’ Band From Texas

Longest active band still playing - 50 years!


Excellent.
Click to expand...

Maybe with the original lineup, but the Stones formed in 1962 and are still touring.
 
Frog-in-law1995

Frog-in-law1995

Active Member
BrewingFrog said:
I can remember those times, when Hwy 6 was a two-lane road running through the utter boonies...

It is now absolutely unrecognizable, a six-lane behemoth choked with stoplights and strip centers.

Feh.

I remember reading an interview with Billy about his car, the fine '36 Ford (IIRC) he had back in the day. He told the tale: "Yeah. I have a buddy with a Turbo Porsche. Saw him the other day. We were stuck in traffic on 45. I waved to him. He waved back."
Click to expand...

6 is crazy now. Drove it countless times in college (I hated B/CS, plus had a gf in FW (for a while, at least), so I came home a lot). Went that way for the first time in forever on a trip to Galveston a couple summers ago and it might as well be 35. The split around Reisel really threw me, and I had no clue where to look for the cops now. Though as I near 50, that doesn’t matter quite like it used to in my days of viewing speed limits as a personal challenge.
 
S

Showtime Joe 2.0

Active Member
Frog-in-law1995 said:
Maybe with the original lineup, but the Stones formed in 1962 and are still touring.
Click to expand...
So too are the Beach Boys (formed in 1961), the Temptations (formed in 1960), and the Four Tops (formed in 1953), just to mention a few groups that come to mind and still feature at least one original member. But ZZ Top may well hold the record for longevity with an "all-original member" cast as such. However, given that vocal groups tend to change members frequently, I think the fact that the Four Tops maintained their original line-up from 1953 to 1997 (when the first one of them died) was quite impressive as well.
 
Hoosierfrog

Hoosierfrog

Tier 1
Frog-in-law1995 said:
Maybe with the original lineup, but the Stones formed in 1962 and are still touring.
Click to expand...

Yeah, no dead guys or replacements. Good story about how the Stones heard them, were blown away, and had them open for them in Hawaii. Everyone moaned, thought they were a hillbilly band.

They said Charlie Watt would drink at the bar all day until they left for the concert. Marveled that he could function.
 
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E

Endless Purple

Full Member
My family moved out there along that 2 lane road back in the late 70s (so after the event linked above). I was young and remember the first time down the road to our new home.. Was not sure what to expect.

We were not that far from the member of ZZ Top that lived out there. Never could keep the names straight.
 
M

Mean Purple

Active Member
Hoosierfrog said:
There is a terrific documentary on Reelz, if you have it, with Billy Gibbons narrating the history of ZZ Top:

ZZ Top: That Little Ol’ Band From Texas

Longest active band still playing - 50 years!


Excellent.
Click to expand...
Saw them in concert a few years back. Dudes went full throttle right out the gate. Was awesome.
 
O

OICU812

Active Member
Hoosierfrog said:
Yeah, no dead guys or replacements. Good story about how the Stones heard them, were blown away, and had them open for them in Hawaii. Everyone moaned, thought they were a hillbilly band.
Click to expand...

Saw the Stones at Cotton Bowl on Nov. 1, 1981(I remember the date because they also played the night before, Halloween, and it rained heavy but our date was clear blue sky and about 70 degrees.). Opening act was the T-Birds, followed by ZZ Top*.

We had general admission and showed up around 8 am to get good spots on the field in front of the stage. They were searching people coming in, making folks nervous, and at one point a guy came up and down the line shouting, "We are only checking for weapons, NOT drugs!" Collective sigh of relief.

Epic show all around.


*footnote for ZZ Top fans- They had a moderate hit with a song called, "Francine," which was written and originally performed by the leader of Houston band Herschel Berry & the Natives. Got to see them at some random club in Houston around this same time, was awesome.

* Footnote to the footnote: Tried to see/hear the original "Francine/Francene," via YouTube, and it reminded me, that I think HB surrendered like, ALL his rights when he did his deal with ZZTop. You can find umpteen versions of ZZTop doing that song, including a Spanish version that is brutal and better left to the imagination, but ningunas by HB, even though he has quite a few live performances on Youtube. Brutal business, the record industry.
 
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Frog-in-law1995

Frog-in-law1995

Active Member
Endless Purple said:
My family moved out there along that 2 lane road back in the late 70s (so after the event linked above). I was young and remember the first time down the road to our new home.. Was not sure what to expect.

We were not that far from the member of ZZ Top that lived out there. Never could keep the names straight.
Click to expand...

All I remember for sure was that Frank Beard is the drummer (the one without the beard). Billy Gibbons is the lead singer/guitar and Dusty Hill plays bass, but show them without instruments and I doubt I’d know for sure which was which. Gibbons is taller, I think?
 
Skip Jansen

Skip Jansen

Active Member
When I was in H.S., one of my best friend's (girl named Robyn) Dad was really good friends with Billy Gibbons.

So, every time ZZ Top was in town, they would come out to Mel's house. He lived on a river that was kinda off the beaten path and was pretty secluded.

They were the coolest guys. The two things I remember most is, I had no idea people could smoke that much pot. And, I realized that beautiful women love musicians no matter what they look like. :p Their Wives/GFs were all off the chart gorgeous.
 
Hoosierfrog

Hoosierfrog

Tier 1
Frog-in-law1995 said:
All I remember for sure was that Frank Beard is the drummer (the one without the beard). Billy Gibbons is the lead singer/guitar and Dusty Hill plays bass, but show them without instruments and I doubt I’d know for sure which was which. Gibbons is taller, I think?
Click to expand...

Gibbons is the taller one, is also a minister (married a couple at a concert I was attending), Frank Beard (the only one without one) former heroine addict that Dusty and Billy made go to rehab and Dusty the only Yankee (from Dallas) who also does a passable Elvis.

Beard doesn’t grow one so he could go out in public and not be noticed. Didn’t want the other two to go with him to be anonymous. So Frank made a point to follow him a tell everyone in malls “he’s the drummer!”
 
Hoosierfrog

Hoosierfrog

Tier 1
Ron Swanson said:
Saw the documentary a while back, good stuff.

Saw Billy Gibbons a few years back at the Luling City Market getting BBQ. He was wearing sweat pants
Click to expand...

Billy Gibbons does or used to have a big home and recording studio on Sugar Creek golf course. A friend of mine's father (retired Marine light Colonel, crew cut and all) was getting ready to tee off with 3 other guys in the late 80s when (as his dad put it) some hippy with cowboy boots with spikes, a Smith Bros Cough Drop guy beard and a baseball hat came up and asked if he could join them as a fourth. Said he wasn’t near as weird as he looked and was a decent golfer. Asked what he did for a living and told my friend he was in a trio called “Zoo Zoo something. My buddy was laughing his butt off when his dad asked if there was any money in it. He told him they did alright, then said paid for that “spread over there” pointing to his swankienda with attached recording studio. My friend explained who was, all his dad said was “nice fella, needs a haircut and shave though.”
 
Hoosierfrog

Hoosierfrog

Tier 1
OICU812 said:
Saw the Stones at Cotton Bowl on Nov. 1, 1981(I remember the date because they also played the night before, Halloween, and it rained heavy but our date was clear blue sky and about 70 degrees.). Opening act was the T-Birds, followed by ZZ Top*.

We had general admission and showed up around 8 am to get good spots on the field in front of the stage. They were searching people coming in, making folks nervous, and at one point a guy came up and down the line shouting, "We are only checking for weapons, NOT drugs!" Collective sigh of relief.

Epic show all around.


*footnote for ZZ Top fans- They had a moderate hit with a song called, "Francine," which was written and originally performed by the leader of Houston band Herschel Berry & the Natives. Got to see them at some random club in Houston around this same time, was awesome.
Click to expand...

Do you remember Neal Ford and the Fanatics, I think Billy may have played with them for a minute. There used to be a place Galveston (The Living Eye?)where those 60s group played that was in an old shore artillery bunker from WWII.
 
O

OICU812

Active Member
Hoosierfrog said:
Do you remember Neal Ford and the Fanatics, I think Billy may have played with them for a minute. There used to be a place Galveston (The Living Eye?)where those 60s group played that was in an old shore artillery bunker from WWII.
Click to expand...

That woulda been just a bit before my time, although I do remember some of those bunkers, and lots of clubs on as well as away from the beach that were, ummm, "gritty." :) I remember specifically the Balinese Room (another ZZ Top song) which was out on the end of one of the piers on the Seawall. When I was old enough to go in it had changed from a speakeasy to a dressy restaurant with a live jazz combo, which it turns out was something of a deal-closer as a date place. :)
I really, really miss what Galveston used to be- Mostly a seedy, quiet little beach town with great food and wide open beaches and lotsa groovy girls from all over H-town there to frolic.
 

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