Interview: Dusty Hill of ZZ Top

When ZZ Top came up with the idea to tour with Brooks and Dunn for the summer, skeptics questioned the bill's wisdom. ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill thought otherwise.

"We've known each other for a few years," Hill said via telephone from Kentucky. "And the idea was brought up awhile ago and some people were saying, 'It's not going to work because it's country.' But Brooks and Dunn do a pretty lively show, if you've ever seen one. It's going really well and we're having a good time doing it, too."

Hill and his bandmates--guitarist/vocalist Billy Gibbons and drummer Frank Beard--are touring in support of the 25th anniversary collector's edition release of ZZ Top's album "Eliminator," and its debut concert DVD, "Live from Texas." This fall, when the Brooks and Dunn jaunt ends, ZZ Top will head out to play small theaters during the "ZZ Top In Your Face Tour," which kicks off Sept. 26 in Wichita, KS.

Hill, who said that his band collaborates with Brooks and Dunn on stage, spoke to SoundSpike about the theater tour and the pair of 2008 releases, as well as performing live on "American Idol."

SoundSpike: How did the "In Your Face Tour" come together? That sounds like something that's going to be a lot of fun for you, to go back to smaller venues.

Dusty Hill: We're looking forward to that. It's a different type of thing that seems familiar to us that we wanted to do again a little bit, something more intimate.

What brought on the idea? Was it a show or a thought?

Like a lot of things, we were sitting around having a conversation one day and we were talking about, "We ought to really do a club or two or a small theater just for fun." Then we decided, "Let's do a little tour of it." And there you go.

The "Eliminator Collector's Edition" CD/DVD is set for release next week. Did you have a hand in the remixes and remastering?

Billy had quite a bit. I had some. But the thing is, our big hand was in originating it, you know? So this is the 25th year anniversary of that particular album.

I can't believe it's been 25 years.

Next year will be our 40th year together, so believe that one.

To what do you attribute your longevity?

I don't know. Stubbornness? It's hard to say. As I was telling you, we really enjoy playing together. Being a three piece, maybe it's easier. You only have two other guys, musically, and everything else to contend with and work with. When we have the opportunity to play, it's always a delight. That must have a great deal to do with it. The three of us being brought up, even though we didn't know each other in our early lives, on the same type of music, same type of environment, there's a lot of sameness there. It's three peas in a pod, if they'll fit.

It's impressive that you still love what you do after 40 years.

Some people, unfortunately, don't enjoy what they do at all for a living, or whatever. That is unfortunate. We do always enjoy playing music. I can remember when I was in school--God, that was a long time ago--and all these other things, football, whatnot, nothing was really enjoyable. Just playing music. It stayed the same and even became more important. So, yeah, it's as much fun now as it ever has been. With some sprinkles of success on top.

I understand you're working on a new album. When is it due to hit stores?

It's hard to say how long it'll take to record. We have quite a few songs written. We'll rewrite them. We may write with some other people. I don't know how we'll finish it up. We have some material already. We're working with [producer] Rick Rubin this time and we've not recorded with him before, so it could go very fast or not very fast. I don't know. We fully intend to get in there at the end of the year, and however long it takes us is however long it takes us. I've got a feeling that it probably won't take long.

What is the songwriting process with ZZ Top? Do you all have a hand in songwriting?

Absolutely. We do whatever works. If someone brings in an idea, a name or a musical lick or even a whole verse, we'll all hop on it like a bunch of [animals] and start working on it. Sometimes, someone will bring in something further along than that, and that's the way it is. We do whatever makes [us go], "That's a song we should do as a group." You can write a lot of good songs or hear a lot of good songs, but they don't necessarily fit the band.

What do you do with those songs?

All sorts of things. Sometimes we may even go as far as recording them. If we do, we put them on the shelf. We change a lot while we're actually in the studio. We rewrite a lot there. Before somebody says, "It's done," we'll keep rewriting the song.

You sound like you're a perfectionist.

I don't think I am, but I will keep writing a song until somebody calls it.

What was it like to film your new DVD?

It was a great deal of fun. It was outside my hometown in Dallas, which was a hoot. We looked around and noticed we had never done one. Some people had mentioned it and we said, "Hell, let's do one." We got the camera guys and the audio guys and said, "We're going to do a show here, so you get it. Use as many cameras as you think it's going to take. As far as extra stuff, we'll provide that."

How was performing on "American Idol"? Was that something you enjoyed doing?

We had fun doing that, too. I keep using the word "fun," but we're a lot about that. When we were asked to do it, some people were saying, "'American Idol,' a rock band, I don't know." A few years ago maybe that would have been true. But now, hell, it's cool to do. We flew in and rehearsed with the young man, David Cook, and then did the show and then we had to fly out right after our part. I learned he won at the airport--and watched our performance on YouTube. It was a lot of fun, but I missed the after-show party.