Well damn. It looks like ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard is on the injured reserve list.
ZZ Top was forced to cancel a show at the Hollywood Bowl last week due to “unforeseen personnel issues.” Now, the band would not cancel a gig like that unless something was majorly wrong. They wouldn’t even cancel a gig in Waxahachie unless one of the members was physically unable to play. Hence a heightened level of concern among fans of that Little Ol’ Band from Texas.
A couple of days later, the band announced that Beard would be leaving the current tour, replaced in the short run by drum tech Michael Monahan. ZZ Top has tour dates scheduled into October (including a show at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Saturday, October 3), so that indicates a lengthy absence from the stage on Beard’s part. TMZ has reported that Beard is suffering from “serious health issues,” but – at the risk of disparaging fellow members of the media – that’s TMZ, who does not cite a source for the information, so we had better take the report with a salt lick, as a colleague of mine used to say.
It’s a hell of a situation to be in, when, as Little Feat put it, “your mind makes a promise that your body can’t fill.” Or, to take the scriptural route, “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” In any case, feel better Frank. Nobody plays that “falling down the stairs” drum fill like you do. (For reference, check out “La Grange” at 1:09).
Ticket Alert
Serbian-born guitarist Ana Popović was initially known as a blues player, but over the past several years, more soul and funk seem to be entering the picture. Labels aside, you can expect a ripping evening of guitar wizardry on Saturday, September 19, at the Charles Bender Performing Arts Center.
Louisiana’s Better Than Ezra will embark on a tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of its album Closer this fall, playing the House of Blues on Friday, November 20. ‘Cause Knowledge is Power: The band has consistently refused to explain the origin of its distinctive name, though Norm Macdonald did his best to shed some light on the subject several years back.
In some bands, musicians just seem to come and go, and that has certainly been the case for American Aquarium. Over 20 members have been shuffled in and out over the past 20 years, but the frequent personnel changes have not gotten in the way of the band’s productivity or consistency. Under the leadership of founder BJ Barham, American Aquarium has averaged about an album per year, most recently New Ways to Lose, produced by Shooter Jennings. Tickets are on sale now for the band’s show on Thursday, December 3, at the Heights Theater.
And though it’s not until next year, metal heads will want to know that three-day ticket packages are now available for the ninth annual Hell’s Heroes festival, scheduled for Thursday, March 18, through Saturday, March 20 at the White Oak Music Hall. Organizers are still working on the lineup, but if previous years are any indication, it will rock hard.
Concerts This Week
I don’t quite understand why a band would go out on tour prior to the impending release of an album, but hey, it’s rock and roll, and these things happen. San Francisco’s Train will release its latest, Mad Dog in the Fog, at the end of this month, but the band will be performing at the end of this week (Friday evening) at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, with Barenaked Ladies opening.
Terri Hendrix and Lloyd Maines – two of the finest musicians in Texas – will share the stage on Friday at the Mucky Duck. However, this is no run of the mill gig, as Hendrix will offer her fans the opportunity to pick up her forthcoming collection Pen to Paper: A Songwriter’s 30-Year Retrospective prior to its official release this fall. The new set includes all of the songs (over 100) that Hendrix has written and recorded to date, plus a couple of brand-new ones, available in a six CD set or on a jump drive.
Big doings at the Big Easy this weekend, with two of Houston’s preeminent musical talents taking the stage. On Friday, it’s Steve Krase and the Rockiteers providing blues with a solid foundation in harmonica and Ray-Ban shades. Then, on Saturday, vocalist supreme Trudy Lynn will let it rip, showing us how blues is done right, as she has for lo these many years.
Much like cookies and milk, salsa and beer, and olives and martinis, rockabilly and punk rock not only go together, they make each other better. If you have any doubts, look no further than Houston’s Flamin’ Hellcats, who will crank it up at the Continental Club on Saturday, with Killer Hearts opening. The band refers to its brand of music as “101 per cent Texas Vato-Billy,” and you know what? I couldn’t put it any better.
Bob Wills formed the Texas Playboys in 1934, and within just a few years he was filling up dance halls and selling a ton of records with his unique synthesis of country and jazz. And what songs: “San Antonio Rose,” “Stay a Little Longer,” “Faded Love” and others which became standards. Almost 100 years later, the Playboys live on, with former Asleep at the Wheel fiddle player and vocalist Jason Roberts leading the band. Put on your boots and get ready to dance on Sunday at Main Street Crossing. “AH-ha!”
