In an interview with Toledo Free Press Star, Dusty Hill, the bassist and co-vocalist for ZZ Top, didn’t bring up the fame or fortune associated with being a rock star. Instead, he wanted to talk about a cause close to him: Veterans Matter.

The Toledo-based nonprofit provides rent deposits for veterans who are screened and aided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Veterans Affairs Supported Housing program (HUD-VASH). Many unhoused veterans don’t have the means to pay the deposit or first month’s rent upon moving into new homes, something required for HUD-VASH housing programs.

“As a citizen of the United States, I just think that it’s a shame that men and women in the service are having a hard time getting housing when there’s definitely something that we can do about it,” Hill said.

He recently made a video to support Veterans Matter’s “60,000 Soldiers Housed” campaign.

“They told me the best thing I could do is to use my face a little bit or whatever, so I’m more than happy to do that,” he said.

Along with bandmates Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard, Hill has been rocking out (and rocking a long beard) for quite some time. ZZ Top has sold 25 million discs since 1970, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

Hits include “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Legs,” “La Grange,” “Got Me Under Pressure” and “Gimme All Your Lovin.”

The band will play an 8 p.m. show Nov. 1 at Stranahan Theater. Tickets are $48-$68.

Hill, a Dallas native who resides in Houston, said the Texas attitude has influenced the group’s music.

“It’s hard to say how Texas has influenced our music, because how could it not?” he said.

Hill said he, Gibbons and Beard listened to the same radio stations coming out of Mexico while growing up. When they met, they learned about their common pasts.

ZZ Top

“We had a lot of the same exact influences. It’s kinda like when you hear those weird stories about twins who grew up separate and when they met they went, ‘Wow,’” Hill said.

What keeps the group together is its sense of fun, Hill said, adding that he hopes that feeling extends to the audiences.

“This sounds clichéd, but we really enjoy playing music together, the three of us,” Hill said. “I hope that feeling is contagious. I mean, we’re having fun. I hope that allows people in the audience to have fun.

“Our audience is actually pretty mixed in age. [There are] people my age (63), but I see people in their early to mid teens out there,” he said, adding, with a chuckle, “We do have a new record out, but I don’t know how many people have heard it.”

Modesty aside, the September-released “La Futura” debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200. The album has some new influences — the single “I Gotsta Get Paid” is based on the rap song “25 Lighters” by DJ DMD with Lil’ Keke and Fat Pat.

“The original form, if you heard it, you wouldn’t think ZZ Top would get a hold of that, but there was something about it,” Hill said. “We made it our own.”

Rick Rubin, a record producer who has worked with everyone from Johnny Cash to Sheryl Crow, lent his talents to the album too, Hill said.

However, Hill noted that the album does not signify a career revival.

“I don’t like this resuscitate-career-type talk. There’s nothing wrong with our career because we’ve always worked,” he said.

Hill also said he may bring a program similar to Veterans Matter to Houston.

“I’ll talk to the people [while in Toledo] and try to get something going on where I live. You do what you can,” he said simply.

Veterans Matter started in February after a conversation between Ken Leslie, founder of homeless advocacy group 1Matters, and Shawn Dowling, the coordinator of Healthcare for Homeless Veterans of the Ann Arbor VA Health System. They were discussing what was missing from housing programs: rent deposits. Leslie approached ProMedica for support and was granted $26,250 from the health care system’s Advocacy Fund. Just 11 days after the project’s conception, a couple was able to move out of a shelter and into a home.

Hill said he appreciates the program’s straightforward approach.

“Money’s taken, money’s given and money’s paid and people are housed,” he said. “If I were in their place and I were coming home, it would be nice to have a place to go right away.”

Toledo also holds memories for ZZ Top.

“We played a lot of places. Toledo early on was just something that … felt comfortable,” Hill said. “It was always good to us. It’s always been fun playing Toledo.”

Tags: Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard, Johnny Cash, Ken Leslie, Mr. Atomic, Rick Rubin, Sheryl Crow, Veterans Matter, ZZ Top

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 30th, 2012 at 10:32 am and is filed under In Concert, Music, Philanthropy, Star.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

It’s a familiar scene: Customized hot rods rolling over cracked, dusty terrain. The vehicles stop, doors open, and three sultry women emerge.

The sizzling images are accompanied by searing guitar riffs — and that oh-so recognizable voice.

Splice in shots of two bearded men sporting hats and sunglasses playing guitar and bass and a mustachioed drummer. Leave the ladies with a silver double Z keychain and fade out.

ZZ Top’s video for “I Gotsta Get Paid” from the new disc “La Futura” pays tribute to the past while the trio races on. The disc opener is based on the rap song “25 Lighters” by DJ DMD with Lil’ Keke and Fat Pat.

“[‘25 Lighters’] was recorded at a Digital Services Recording in Houston, where we were working on the ‘Rhythmeen’ disc at the time, and we got to know the guys and that song remained with us since then,” lead singer and guitarist Billy F Gibbons wrote in an email interview.

“It really stayed in our head as we figured out how to deconstruct it and transform it into a guitar-based, blues-infused rocker as you hear it on ‘La Futura.’ That guitar breakdown is something of a tribute to the great Lightnin’ Hopkins, another of our ‘heroes of the Houston ghetto.’ ”

ZZ Top

Since 1970, the Texas hombres have sold 25 million discs, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, thanks to classics “La Grange,” “Tush,” “Cheap Sunglasses,” “Legs,” “Got Me Under Pressure,” “Gimme All Your Lovin’” and “Sharp Dressed Man.” Gibbons, bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

ZZ Top will play an 8 p.m. show Nov. 1 at Stranahan Theater. Tickets are $48-$68.

Gibbons answered some questions for Toledo Free Press via email from a tour stop in Kansas City, Mo.

Toledo Free Press: ZZ Top has been playing for more than four decades. What gives your music that longevity?

Gibbons: We enjoy what we do and realize that there’s nobody we’d rather do it with. This is because each of us has developed a “sixth sense” about the other two. When we deliver a new riff, we can predict with almost metaphysical certitude how we will respond with it, of course. The point is it’s still a fine, fine time when we get to light the fuse.

TFP: What was it like being part of MTV’s heyday, making those now iconic videos with your cool car?

Gibbons: It was like the greatest! We had those pretty girls to work with, and our little ’33 Ford Three-Window Coupe got to be a star. The irony was getting to be bystanders in our own videos.

TFP: Have you or Dusty shaved since you grew your beards in 1976? How do care for that famous facial hair?

Gibbons: No, we haven’t, but I do scissor it every once in a while to keep things (somewhat) in line. We suds ’em up and apply conditioner and air dry when possible, but sometimes there’s a rush circumstance that necessitates the use of power tools, like a blow dryer.

TFP: Your first band, The Moving Sidewalks, opened for The Jimi Hendrix Experience — what was that like?

Gibbons: We found him to be as warm a guy as you could possibly imagine, instantly inventive on the spot, and always happy to share his ideas and act as a mentor. Jimi led us not only in guitar technique, but the importance of theatrics and asserting one’s self onstage as well. It’s one thing to play, it’s something else to entertain, and Jimi had both of those aspects down cold!

TFP: In addition to your hot guitar playing, you’re also known for hot sauces and barbecue sauces — and work in the kitchen. Cooking up any special dishes of late?

Gibbons: We’ve got our own BFG Brand line of sauces. The BBQ sauce is sweet, tangy, spicy and smoky, all in one. Great on ribs, chicken, beef, anything that needs a little zing. And, of course, the BFG Brand Sauce Piquant will perk up just about anything you might consume. It’s the real “hot stuff,” fo’ sho’!

TFP: You’ve had an amazing career so far; what are you most proud of?

Gibbons: The topper, so to speak, has got to be our induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by the one and only Keith Richards. That will always stand out as the pinnacle of what we’ve been able to accomplish over all this time.

Tags: Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard, Keith Richards, ZZ Top

This entry was posted on Friday, October 19th, 2012 at 4:29 pm and is filed under Arts and Life, In Concert.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.