Gibbons album is tribute to dad

Billy Gibbons says his solo album Perfectamundo is “in no small part a direct homage” to his dad.

The ZZ Top guitarist’s father was a big-band leader and composer, who encouraged his son’s early discovery of percussion instruments.

And that’s one of the reasons Perfectamundo features experimental approaches to Afro-Cuban music.

Gibbons tells Chron: “I had been banging on anything and everything around the house that made a loud noise. Maybe I’d just turned 12.

“My dad had become entertained by all this banging and clanging, so one day I found myself on a plane to New York, where I was marched off to learn how to do it right.”

His father took him to mambo and Latin jazz musician Tito Puente. “This was the clincher – he didn’t say, ‘Let me show you what to do.’ He handed me some timbale sticks and said, ‘Let me hear what you want to play.’

“Apparently I had good feel for it. He said, ‘We’re not going to have a problem here. Let’s begin.’ That started it all.”

Gibbons is currently touring with his band the BFGs “It’s an intense audience,” he reports. “They’re not screaming like at a rock show – they’re standing up, some are clapping and dancing, others are studying every single guitar lick. There’s a sense of, ‘What is this?’”

Asked about ZZ Top’s future plans, he says that Dusty Hill and Frank Beard are “enjoying a nice holiday as I’m beating the touring trail,” and that they’ll be back in action next year.

Billy Gibbons: Life Beyond ZZ Top

Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.