Rest in Peace Frank Braun

Very sad to hear of the recent passing of Frank Braun. He was a well known ZZ Top fan in Europe who had a special relationship with the band and especially Billy. Frank has been invited on stage at shows before and the group always made a point to spend time with him when they were touring.

I had a few exchanges of correspondence with Frank in the past and he was always very kind and fun to speak with. He spoke highly of this blog which meant a lot to me. He also gave me the inside scoop about the impending release date news of "La Futura" about a week before it was officially announced which I felt truly reflected his passion both for the band and for fans who loved ZZ almost as much as he did.

Below is a very nice memorial composed by P. Anthony. I wish Frank all the best in his next life.

ZZ Top and Jeff Beck

Finally, a co-tour with ZZ that I can support. Great news to see these guys doing a tour together, and both playing full sets and apparently joining together to jam a little at the end. Should be fantastic stuff.

My friend in the Northeast has already committed to a show in Massachusetts and I'm debating about trying to see a few shows as well. So far the 2014 shows have been relatively low key without too many set list surprises (although "Catfish Blues" is a nice addition). Maybe Jeff Beck, who Billy admires particularly, will inspire the band to freshen it up a little for the co-tour.

I have yet to see any live recordings from this year aside from the Youtube clips and all that. If anybody has a complete recording of a show from this year please let me know.

ZZ will hit Europe soon where they continue to have an amazing following. I wonder how well "La Futura" sold across the pond....

Now that I think about it "Drive By Lover" would be a cool song to hear live...

Old and New

Here is a fantastic image recently posted on Facebook. Photo credit goes to T. Dukes.











"And the Wheel Rolls On" for ZZ per Mr. Plant's prophetic words. Coming to a place near you, the ZZ Tops are again hitting the road hard. If the past few years have been an indication of what lies ahead than a continually updated set list is indeed something to look forward to.




I only managed to catch ZZ one time last year, a show near Richmond in May. I failed to blog at the time that I got to speak to Elwood for about 10 minutes or so prior to show time. When I commented how great the current set list was, he replied "its all Frank. He said they had to play some different numbers". So thanks goes to Rube and lets hope he's still voicing his opinion.



Hopefully I'll be able to catch them 2 or 3 times this year, we'll see what the clock allows...

Hi Ho Rodeo

No ZZ at the Houston Rodeo 2014.


But you can always go see REO Speedwagon or Robin Thicke.


Just kidding. Horrible, horrible music coming from those people.

Letter to a Friend

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Great to hear from you. Happy New Years as well. Yes 2013 proved to be very busy and 2014 looks to be more of the same. Thanks for the kind words regarding the web site - I miss sharing my thoughts and keeping fully up to speed on all things ZZ.

The full Rodeo lineup is set to be announced in a few days so I'm hoping they will play it this year. If so I'll make the trek to Houston. Outside of that I haven't kept up too much on announced tour dates. I did see them last spring and will make sure to see them this year if they come round.

It would be nice to hear La Futura part two but someone's gotta get off their duff to make it happen. Rubin is too busy spreading himself too thin working with everyone under the sun and I don't believe Billy and Rubin parted the best of ways. Seems Billy got frustrated at Rubin for the delays but then Billy's got no excuse - he never forces himself into the studio and hunkers down either.

I do believe Billy when he cites tons of solo recordings but its all just bits and pieces in varying states of completion. He gets off on floating from project to project, city to city and is unwilling to put in the time and effort it takes to make an album anymore. Just look at all the side projects he has picked up recently - playing with the Moving Sidewalks, playing a solo gig, recording on all these albums of other artists - I think he's afraid he'll rot if he doesn't keep moving. Almost like Mick Jagger. Remember in his earlier 30's he just floated around in Europe and Africa for three years doing nothing - I think he'd go crazy if he tried that now.

Personally I don't see how Dusty and Frank have the will to keep going. There is a lot of love there but no break since 2006 is crazy. Frank in particular looks pretty rough - he has put on weight and chain smokes continually. He quit smoking in the 80's but has picked it back up hard. I don't like to think about this aspect but its very real that any day people like Jimmy Page, Charlie Watts, Frank, etc. could meet their maker.

Jagger summed it up well - when asked how he felt about getting old he replied "it beats the alternative". What else is there to do but rock right?

I think Futura will very likely be the last release from ZZ while they are active. There could be another release down the road after they fold for whatever reason but its really all up to Billy and he's busy chasing the tumbleweeds.

Write back and take care

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