By PETE TATTERSALL from The Sun Herald

Tradition, and good public relations, dictates that a touring band know a little bit of the local jargon. But credit ZZ Top lead singer and guitarist Billy Gibbons for going that extra mile. And for being completely credible while doing it.

“When we were residing in Memphis, one of the great excursions was to take a leisurely drive down through the Delta, winding up at the Coast. And one of our favorite spots, of course, was Mary Mahoney’s,” Gibbons said in an interview this week with the Sun Herald. “And we got to know them quite intimately. It was a wonderful destination to escape the recording studio for a short while. But we’ve made friends along the way, and to this day we’re still great fans of the state of Mississippi, and of course where that remarkable American art form started, called the blues.”

ZZ Top (Gibbons, Dusty Hill/bass, Frank Beard/drums), who kicks off their national tour Tuesday night at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, knows a little something about the blues. According to the venerable Web site allmusic.com, “as genuine roots musicians, they have few peers; Gibbons is one of the finest blues guitarists working in the arena rock idiom…while Hill and Beard provide the ultimate rhythm section support. The only rock & roll group that’s out there with its original members still aboard after three decades, ZZ Top’s music is always recognizable, eminently powerful, profoundly soulful, and 100 percent American in derivation…ZZ Top’s support and link to the blues remains as rock solid as the music they play.”

Gibbons, originally from Houston (Hill and Bass, meanwhile, grew up around Dallas), describes ZZ Top’s music as “fast and furious. I would place it properly in the lane of being rock ‘n’ roll with a blues base… .It’s definitely a guitar-driven expression of our interpretation of what we enjoyed learning. And that was the early days of rock ‘n’ roll and blues. And country. And the list goes on.”

The hard-rocking trio, who formed in 1969, have long been famous for their hard-charging music, popular ’80s videos and trademark beards (except, of course, the beardless Frank Beard).

So what’s the story behind those beards, anyway?

“Well, the patented answer is ‘abject laziness.’ We took a break from the road - we had been on the road constantly from the inception of the band in ‘69 all the way to 1976, the great bicentennial year, which allowed us a decision to take a brief break. It started out as a six-week holiday, which became six months,” said Gibbons. “And during that time I made a dash over to Europe to hang out with some friends in England, and Frank made his way down to the Caribbean…while Dusty made his way down to Mexico. I think he was drinking tequila, but he won’t tell. But we all returned having not seen each other, communicating only by telephone, to discover that we had thrown the razor far, far away. And the image of what started off as a disguise became a trademark.”

Gibbons also spoke fondly of The Robert Fortune Band, a New Orleans-based trio of teenagers (ages range from 15-18) opening for ZZ Top Tuesday at the Coliseum. Robert Fortune, 16, a family friend of Gibbons who’s billed as his protege, learned guitar four years ago at the behest of Gibbons.

“I think you’ll find them a fascinating outfit. They’re youngsters. All around 15 going on 50. They play well, and they lay it down,” said Gibbons. “It’s funny because Robert had a bout with a plate glass window, which layed him up for about four months. And he was instructed to take it easy. And he was scratching his head, wondering how he was going to keep himself occupied during the time. And I went down to the corner music store (in New Orleans) and picked up a cheap six string, and I brought it back to the house and laid it on him. And he said, ‘Well, what am I supposed to do with this?’ And I said, ‘Go learn it.’ But sure enough he did.”

So why start the tour in Biloxi? Was it geographically suited to the needs of the tour schedule?

“Well, we love being down South, and Biloxi has always been a favorite spot of the band’s. And we just wanted to get back into the Southern swing of things, with all the good folks in the neighborhood… .Send out the good word. Tell everybody we’re anxiously awaiting our arrival back in the good ‘ole town of Biloxi, in our favorite state of Mississippi.”

This entry was posted on Friday, March 2nd, 2007