ZZ TOP SETS MESCALERO RELEASE ON RCA AND ANNOUNCES "BEER DRINKERS AND HELL RAISERS" TOUR 2003

RCA Records has announced that Mescalero, ZZ TOP's long awaited album of new material will be released worldwide September 8th and in the U.S. September 9th. Originally slated to be released this past spring, the album was postponed in the wake of a realignment of the label and a desire to platform the album's launch with the strongest possible campaign.

RCA Records SVP Artist Development, Hugh Surratt, stated, "Billy, Frank and Dusty delivered an album of great quality and substance back in April. At that time we felt that, in the interest of the band and their music, it deserved a well-planned and coherent roll out program. Rather than rush it out, we consulted with the band and their management who agreed to wait until an optimal release circumstance could be formulated. We're thrilled that the music will finally make its way to markets throughout the world."

Almost since the delivery of the Mescalero master tapes, ZZ TOP has been on the road with their Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers Tour that kicked off with three months of U.S. dates. The band is currently in the midst of a whirlwind European leg during July and August that takes them to twelve countries and includes a Helsinki gig as special guests with the Rolling Stones. Upon their return to the U.S. later in August, ZZ TOP will take up where they left off with more U.S. dates set.

Mescalero is the result of many months of planning, writing, woodshedding, experimentation and recording and represents another major milestone in a remarkable career that encompasses an amazing 34 years of American rock and roll history from these eternal icons of rock, blues and boogie. As it was in the beginning, the ZZ TOP of 2003 boasts its original personnel line up: Billy F Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard. It's the same "little ol' band from Texas," retooled and re-energized for the new millennium. Mescalero is the latest installment in an unparalleled resume that stretches back to 1969 when the group was founded in Houston out of the key components of The Moving Sidewalks (Gibbons) and The American Blues (Hill and Beard).

The completion of a new ZZ TOP album is cause for unbridled jubilance among the band's considerable fan base around the world and this latest effort, especially in light of its delayed release, has been the subject of great anticipation, relieved somewhat by the band's preview performances of "Buck Nekkid" and "Piece" from Mescalero on tour.

Propelled by Billy's blues-based guitar virtuosity, Dusty's driving bass and Frank's fierce drumming, Mescalero incorporates ZZ TOP's traditional recipe for rock, underpinned by a canon of songs that are innovative, sometimes enigmatic and often humorous. Not content to rest on their laurels, the band has taken something of a cutting edge approach on the new album in both sonic and compositional terms. The result is a recording grounded in the band's glorious past with a decidedly contemporary flavor.

Mescalero includes sixteen tracks (fifteen of which were written for the album plus one cover song) for a total running time of approximately 63 minutes; the band refers to the album's length as "a buck and change." The album was produced by Billy F Gibbons and Lone Wolf Production Company. Packaging, created by L.A. artist Ryk Maverick, is inspired by Mexico's "Dia De Los Muertes" in keeping with the border theme of the album.

"The album has some of that old ZZ sound," notes Gibbons "it's the same three guys playing the same three chords but we've gone in some new directions with them." Dusty Hill adds, "You'll know it's ZZ TOP right away but we've kept it interesting and fresh." Frank Beard attributes ZZ TOP's longevity to "the three 't's: tone, taste and tenacity."

The selections run the stylistic gamut from blues-rock to neo-metal to crypto-zydeco to boogie flavored vamps, even including a country inflected ballad and a big dose of TexMex border ambience. In fact, one of the tracks, "Que Lastima" which might be described as techno-mariachi, is sung entirely in Spanish while the title song is a bilingual outing. Beyond the Mescalero originals, the album includes "Tramp," the proto-rap R&B classic, written by Lowell Fulsom and Jimmy McCracklin, that was a hit duet for Otis Redding and Carla Thomas in 1967.

Other Mescalero titles include "Two Ways To Play," "Alley-Gator," "Goin' So Good," "Me So Stupid," "Piece," "Punk Ass Boyfriend," "Stackin' Paper," "What Would You Do," "What It Is Kid," "Crunchy," "Dusted" and "Liquor."

Gibbons commented, "Mescalero - what it is? Nobody really knows! It is strange and alluring and that's a good thing. Try it - you gonna like it."

Mescalero To Be Released Worldwide on September 9

After a wild and raucous jaunt through Europe, ZZ TOP is bringing their tush shakin’ brand of rock ‘n roll back to the U.S. for the second leg of their Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers Tour. The Texas trio, Billy F Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard, will kick off their new stateside dates on August 20th in Las Vegas.

At the end of this 18-date run throughout August and September, the band will have played 93 shows in the U.S. and Europe to set up and support the release of their new RCA CD, Mescalero.

Earlier this summer, their cross-country tour garnered rave reviews. The Chicago Sun-Times wrote, “...the Texas power trio extraordinaire served up their blues-based rock with a wink and a nod once more… Still, the good-humored approach to rock never obscured the stunning, how-do-three-guys-make-this-much-sound musicianship onstage as Gibbons, Hill and Beard plowed through a brawny set …” The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel pondered, “When you stop to reflect on it, ZZ Top is one mighty strange band. Or, more precisely, it is in a class all by itself.” The Philadelphia Inquirer exalted, “If God ever created a more perfect rock act than ZZ Top, he's keeping them as his house band… Pure boogie heaven.”

The 16 tracks on Mescalero range from blues-rock to neo-metal to crypto-zydeco to boogie flavored vamps, even including a country inflected ballad and a healthy dose of Tex-Mex. “Que Lastima,” the album’s techno-mariachi anthem, is sung entirely in Spanish. Beyond the Mescalero originals, the album includes “Tramp,” the proto-rap R&B classic, written by Lowell Fulsom and Jimmy McCracklin, that was a hit duet for Otis Redding and Carla Thomas in 1967. The teen fantasy “Buck Nekkid” and "Piece" have already become fast favorites during this summer’s tour.

ZZ Top embarked upon their "Beer Drinkers And Hell Raisers" tour on April 25, 2003. Click below for tour dates.

BEER DRINKERS and HELLRAISERS TOUR