Sharp Dressed Men: ZZ Top Behind the Scenes from Blues to Boogie to Beards
For 25 years, the thunderous Texas twang and turbo-charged blues of ZZ Top have scorched pop music hearts and charts. You might expect that a behind the ob-scenes rock memoir written by a veteran roadie would be on the ripe side of raunchy, and this insider's account of life under the big ZZ Top will not disappoint. In his 15 years with Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard, and control-freak manager Bill Ham, Blayney schlepped, drove, and partied his way through innumerable tours and concerts, accruing a wealth of stories that in their presentation and language are reminiscent of listening to an extended barroom monolog in some Texas dive. Be forewarned that the prose is at times very raw, as when Blayney alliteratively describes a drinking contest with drummer Beard: "my throat was hotter than a fresh-fucked fox from a flamin' forest fire." Blayney also conveys a genuine love of the music and the band. Not for the faint of heart or politically correct, but if you have always wanted to steal a peek behind those stony shades and Smith Brothers' beards, read this.Barry X. Miller, Austin P.L., Tex.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.