Rolling Stones, ZZ Top, Bob Seger Highlight Ghost Hounds' Breakout Year

Ghost Hounds Announces ‘Roses Are Black’ New Album Features Slash, Kenny Aronoff, Reese Wynans, and Michael Rhodes, Out Nov 5th   The band is on tour with ZZ Top this month and will play Bob Seger’s final-ever performance on November 1st   WATCH/SHARE the band’s live performance video for “Fire Under Water” – https://youtu.be/hE0rgl1jA28

On the heels of an opening performance with the Rolling Stones this summer, and the announcement of upcoming performances with ZZ Top and Bob Seger, Pittsburgh rock band GHOST HOUNDS has announced details of ‘Roses Are Black,’ their new album out November 5th, 2019.  Featuring guest appearances by Slash, Kenny Aronoff, Reese Wynans, and Michael Rhodes, ‘Roses Are Black’ was crafted by founder and guitarist Thomas Tull, alongside producing and songwriting partners David Grissom and Kevin Bowe. The album was mixed by six-time Grammy Award-winning producer Vance Powell (Chris Stapleton, The White Stripes, Danger Mouse, Arctic Monkeys, Kings of Leon) and engineered by Eddie Kramer (Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin). Ghost Hounds is a rock ‘n’ roll band at a time when the world needs more of them. The band’s new album recalls the universal appeal of rock’s ‘70s heyday, but with a fresh, crackling energy crafted by Tull, and voiced with fluid power by vocalist Tre’ Nation. The band’s gritty sound reflects the blue-collar heritage of its hometown of Pittsburgh; a versatile outfit whose music fits in an Iron City barroom or a stadium — such as the one in Maryland where Ghost Hounds opened for the Rolling Stones in July. There’s plenty of energy and rock ‘n’ roll abandon, along with tight playing and intricate songcraft. “I think it’s a direct reflection of my own eclectic music tastes,” Tull says. “The Rolling Stones are my favorite band of all time, so a lot of this is inspired by the Stones. They fell in love with American blues. They have great country songs. Those things all appealed to me. Having all those different voices is important, and that’s what I want our band to have too.” ‘Roses Are Black’ certainly celebrates that diversity across its 12 tracks. “Bad News” spreads the good word of Ghost Hounds’ return by throttling up into some 12-bar fury, echoed later on in “Push That Rock Up the Hill” and “We Roll Hard.” “Skin in the Game” reflects that Stones love Tull speaks of, while “Black Rose” and “Fire Under Water” are classic rock tunes and “Almost Loved You” would sound at home in Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe. The group’s softer and soulful side is just as potent on tracks such as “When Your Shadow Touches Mine,” “Til It’s Gone” and “Second Time Around,” and Ghost Hounds’ treatment of “Devil Woman” shoots the Cliff Richards’ original through with high-test adrenaline, including biting guitar solos. Watch Ghost Hounds' live performance video for "Fire Under Water" Listen to Ghost Hounds' recent single "Bad News" ‘Roses Are Black’ represents an exciting new chapter in Ghost Hounds’ nearly 15-year story. Tull initially formed the band during the mid-2000s in Los Angeles, releasing a self-titled, Nile Rodgers-produced album in 2009. The group disbanded as Tull’s focus shifted elsewhere — starting a family and guiding his Legendary Entertainment to success with films such as the Christopher Nolan/Christian Bale Batman trilogy, the “Jurassic World” series, “Straight Outta Compton,” “The Hangover” and many more, along with comics, digital media and other ventures. But after selling Legendary in 2016, Tull still had the desire to, in the words of one of his songs, “push that old rock (and roll) back up the hill.” “I missed music,” Tull explains. “I missed writing. I missed performing. I missed the camaraderie of a band. I decided this was something I really wanted to do.” As the release of ‘Roses Are Black’ approaches, Ghost Hounds’ new lineup – Tull, guitarist Johnny Baab, bassist Bennett Miller, drummer Blaise Lanzetta and powerhouse vocalist Tre Nation – are looking forward to making their case back on the road. “All of these songs to me just come alive in the band’s performance,” Tull says. “We tracked every song live, and we wanted this to be, in some ways, an old-fashioned record, where you can listen to the record and then go hear the band and say, ‘Yeah, that’s the song I heard.’ There’s nothing we can’t pull off live.” ‘ROSES ARE BLACK’ TRACKLIST 1. Bad News 2. Black Rose 3. When Your Shadow Touches Mine 4. Devil Woman 5. Til It’s Gone 6. We Roll Hard 7. Push That Rock Up The Hill 8. Skin In The Game 9. Fire Under Water 10. Second Time Around 11. Almost Loved You 12. Second Time Around (Acoustic) GHOST HOUNDS TOUR DATES Thursday, October 17th – PPG Paints Arena – Pittsburgh, PA^ Tuesday, October 22nd – King Center for the Performing Arts – Melbourne, FL* Wednesday, October 23rd – Donald L. Tucker Civic Center – Tallahassee, FL* Friday, October 25th – MGM National Harbor – Oxon Hill, MD* Saturday, October 26th – The Wind Creek Event Center – Bethlehem, PA* Sunday, October 27th – Foxwoods Resort Casino – Mashantucket, CT* Tuesday, October 29th – Warner Theatre – Erie, PA* Wednesday, October 30th – Wings Event Center – Kalamazoo, MI* Friday, November 1st – the Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA^ ^ opening for Bob Seger * opening for ZZ Top GHOST HOUNDS IS: Vocals – TRE NATION Guitar – JOHNNY BAAB Guitar – THOMAS TULL Bass – BENNETT MILLER Drums – BLAISE LANZETTA Keyboard – JOE MUNROE

La Grange - ZZ Top

ZZ Top is an American rock band from Houston, Texas. Formed in 1969, the group consists of Billy Gibbons (guitar and vocals), Dusty Hill (bass and vocals), and Frank Beard (percussion). ZZ Top's early sound was rooted in blues but eventually grew to exhibit contemporary influences. Throughout their career they have maintained a sound based on Hill's and Beard's rhythm section support, accentuated by Gibbons' guitar and vocal style. Their lyrics often gave evidence of band's humor and thematically focus on personal experiences and sexual innuendos.

ZZ Top formed its initial lineup in 1969, consisting of Anthony Barajas (bass and keyboards) and Peter Perez (drums and percussion). After several incarnations, Hill and Beard joined within the following year. Molded into a professional act by manager Bill Ham, they were subsequently signed to London Records and released their debut album. They were successful as live performers, becoming known to fans as "that little ol' band from Texas", and their 1973 album Tres Hombres, according to Allmusic, propelled the band to national attention and "made them stars". In 1979, after returning from a one-and-a-half year break of touring, the group reinvented themselves with their hit album Deguello and the accompanying tour. ZZ Top incorporated New Wave and punk influences into their sound and performances, and embraced a more iconic image, with Gibbons and Hill sporting chest-length beards and sunglasses. Similar experimentation continued for the remainder of the 1980s and 1990s with varying levels of success. On ZZ Top's 2003 album Mescalero, they adopted a more contemporary sound while maintaining their influences from their earlier musical pursuits.

Maintaining the same members for over forty years, ZZ Top has released 14 studio albums and are among the most popular rock groups, having sold more than 25 million albums in the United States. They have won three VMAs, and in 2004, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. VH1 ranked ZZ Top at number 44 in its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock". They have performed at many charity events and raised $1 million for the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
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Heard It On The X - ZZ Top

ZZ Top is an American rock band from Houston, Texas. Formed in 1969, the group consists of Billy Gibbons (guitar and vocals), Dusty Hill (bass and vocals), and Frank Beard (drums and percussion). ZZ Top's early sound was rooted in blues but eventually grew to exhibit contemporary influences. Throughout their career they have maintained a sound based on Hill's and Beard's rhythm section support, accentuated by Gibbons' guitar and vocal style. Their lyrics often gave evidence of band's humor and thematically focus on personal experiences and sexual innuendos.

ZZ Top formed its initial lineup in 1969, consisting of Anthony Barajas (bass and keyboards) and Peter Perez (drums and percussion). After several incarnations, Hill and Beard joined within the following year. Molded into a professional act by manager Bill Ham, they were subsequently signed to London Records and released their debut album. They were successful as live performers, becoming known to fans as "that little ol' band from Texas", and their 1973 album Tres Hombres, according to Allmusic, propelled the band to national attention and "made them stars". In 1979, after returning from a one-and-a-half year break of touring, the group reinvented themselves with their 1983 hit album Eliminator and the accompanying tour. ZZ Top incorporated New Wave and punk influences into their sound and performances, and embraced a more iconic image, with Gibbons and Hill sporting chest-length beards and sunglasses. Similar experimentation continued for the remainder of the 1980s and 1990s with varying levels of success. On ZZ Top's 2003 album Mescalero, they adopted a more contemporary sound while maintaining their influences from their earlier musical pursuits.

Maintaining the same members for over forty years, ZZ Top has released 14 studio albums and are among the most popular rock groups, having sold more than 25 million albums in the United States. They have won three VMAs, and in 2004, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. VH1 ranked ZZ Top at number 44 in its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock". They have performed at many charity events and raised $1 million for the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
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Tube Snake Boogie - ZZ Top

I needed some ZZ Top...You need ZZ Top!! Enjoy! If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”

Hey Joe - ZZ Top

I came across this and thought that it was a good follow up to is it a cover or a tribute... or just a cool band playing a cool song!

Enjoy!!
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Tech Talk - ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons Rig Rundown

If anyone likes guitar gear more than me...it's Billy Gibbons. Here's a rare chance to look at a bunch of Billy's current gear. Elwood Francis who gives us a look at ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons' array of guitars, including the famous fur guitar, and lets us in on how Billy has everything set up for their tour.
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What is it with all this keeping the Blues alive BS!!! - Bman's Rant

First off I have to ask what is this all about? Why does this question even exist? It is my understanding that Blues Music started in America around 1900 and that it was a derivative of native African culture. Due to the racial conditions present at the time, field hollers, spiritual music and the like was the basis for the black culture and it's music. Blues music evolved from actual feelings inside of a person rather than catchy melodies and lyrics contrived to get airplay on the radio or to sell records. It was conceived to give comfort to those that sang, played and enjoyed it. At this time it was not at all accepted as a form of entertainment outside of the group of people who had been involved with it.... mostly slaves and workmen. It wasn't until WWI that white audiences began to become exposed to this music through the likes of W.C. Handy and Bessie Smith among others.

As free blacks started to immigrate north to the larger cities in search of work, more and more white audiences were becoming exposed to this terrific music but it was still not broadly accepted. Ok. Now lets look back. It has been around a minimum of 40 years to this point with basically no audience and it survives just fine... this is where my question of "Is The Blues Dying" comes in. It's hogwash!!

It took the likes of John Mayall, Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac), the Yardbirds, the Rolling Stones and other British rockers to tell America to wake up and smell the coffee. They produced an updated version of the traditional black blues and audiences were listening. It was this introduction that was the beginning of rock music as we know it. Sure there
was Elvis copying Big Mama and JLL but rock music came out of a real love for the blues. Musical sessions with Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, Otis Spann and others caused an awakening of consciousness of this great music.

It didn't hurt that the introduction of the new Blues Music, being a deep rooted feeling music, coincided with the "album rock" explosion that occurred in the early mid sixties. Guitar players went from making 3 minute songs to expanded 8 minutes songs to play longer

Sure Got Cold After The Rain Fell - Buddy Whittington

Buddy Whittington (born 28 December 1956, in Fort Worth, Texas) is an American guitarist. He began playing the guitar inspired by his sister's records of The Beatles, Rolling Stones and, in particular, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton. At the age of 14 he was already a part of the Dallas/Fort Worth music scene and playing regularly in the clubs along Jacksboro Highway. While attending high school, Buddy played in a band called "Short Change" which opened for Point Blank, a band that he would later join, replacing rhythm guitar player Kim Davis. During the early 1980s, he formed and sang with his own band "The Sidemen". In 1991 they opened for John Mayall and when Coco Montoya left the Bluesbreakers in 1993, Mayall called him to take his place in the band. In Mayall's band Whittington also sings occasionally and contributes to songwriting. 2008 saw the release of his first solo album and touring in Europe with his UK based band which includes Roger Cotton on organ, Pete Stroud on Bass and Darby Todd on drums. He lives in Hurst, Texas with his family.

Buddy Whittington usually plays a 1963 Stratocaster plugged into a Dr. Z amplifier. He also plays a Lentz guitar modeled partially after the Fender Telecaster, but which is a different guitar.

Jesus Just Left Chicago - ZZ Top

Oh...You wanted ZZ Top!!

Billy F Gibbons (born December 16, 1949) is an American musician, actor and car customizer, best known as the guitarist of the Texas blues-rock band ZZ Top. He is also the lead singer and composer for many of the band's songs. Gibbons is known for playing his Gretsch Billy Bo guitar and his famous 1959 Gibson Les Paul guitar known as Pearly Gates. Gibbons has a Bass vocal range, spanning E♭1 to E♭5, one of the widest ranges in Rock. He is noted for using a Mexican peso coin as a guitar pick and uses many pinch harmonics in his solos.

A cornerstone in Hollywood, Gibbons remains a familiar fixture at the Sunset Marquis Hotel, producing studio sessions in the NightBird Recording Studio with actors Billy Bob Thornton and J.P. Shellnutt, along with musicians Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Jed Leiber, Joe "Backbeat" Fazzio, and Dwight Yoakam. Gibbons is also well known for his authentic preparations of Texas style barbecue and Mexican cuisine and is frequently a guest chef around Hollywood, California serving his famous "Renegade Guacamole".

In May 2011, it was announced that Gibbons was named as the 2012 Texas State Musician by the Texas Commission on the Arts.
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Hot Rods Billy Gibbons and ZZ Top

A nice little clip on Billy and hot rods! This is a pretty cool book about Billy, his rods and his gear!

Imagine stepping out of an air-conditioned Kwik-E-Mart and into the hot summer sun, cold soda in hand, when a long-and-low baby blue ‘62 Chevy Impala slowly trolls into the parking lot. How about rolling to a stoplight in West Hollywood and spying a bearded motorist with an 8-ball logo on the louvered and striped hood of his BMW? There’s no mistaking the common thread in these remarkable scenarios—Billy F Gibbons, be-shaded axe-man extraordinaire from ZZ TOP and certified Texas Grade-A gearhead. As with many rockers, Gibbons’ jones for hot rods and customs is the stuff of legend. But beyond this bona fide bluesman’s mastery of the six-string and unrepentant love for internal combustion is a noted collector whose own designs have manifested themselves in his cars and in hundreds of mind-bending custom guitars. In Billy F Gibbons: Rock + Roll Gearhead, Gibbons riffs on his Texas youth, four-decade recording career, and life on the road, but also reveals the tales behind dozens of guitars, including the Famed Pearly Gates, the red Gretsch given to him by Bo Diddley, and the Muddywood guitar commissioned as a fundraiser for the Delta Blues Museum. Also profiled are 10 of Gibbons’ outstanding rods and customs, including Kopperhed, CadZZilla, and the Eliminator coupe. In addition to exclusive photography by Bay Area shooter David Perry, the book is illustrated with dozens of images from Gibbons’ personal archive.
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Just Got Paid

ZZ Top the way you like it...raw and wild!

Rio Grande Mud is the second album by American blues-rock band ZZ Top, released in 1972 (see 1972 in music).

The Rio Grande, from where the album name derives, is the river that forms the border of Mexico and Texas. In Spanish its name means "Big River".

In 1987, this album was remixed for CD release. The full album is currently unavailable on CD in its original mix. Tracks "Francine" and "Just Got Paid" are available in their original versions on the CD release of The Best of ZZ Top. All tracks except "Mushmouth Shoutin'," "Apologies to Pearly," and "Down Brownie" are available in their original mix on 2003's Chrome, Smoke & BBQ boxset. On January 11th, 2011 Rhino released a remastered version from the original 1972 mix on vinyl only.

Billy Gibbons interview

Now this is a brilliant interview with Billy Gibbons... gotta tell you...I wanted to know...so there you have it!!
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Poke Chop Sandwich

Sometimes there just isn't a video and the song is just so strong you gotta look beyond it. This song just has a great groove.... enjoy!!




This song is from the album XXX

Teuffel Guitars

This is a really unusual guitar. You can create right out of the box the vintage sound of 50's strat or by changing the pickup configuration, a 50's Les Paul. It also comes with a piezoelectrico pickup for using a midi system to create any sound you want. Watch the video and enjoy!! These guitars were built in very limited numbers. Good to see them in action!!

Here's a guy with an open mind

Jeff Beck has played every gamut from blues to opera on his guitar. He is likely the best guitar innovator in our lifetime. Who knows what Jimi would have done if he had lived, but Jeff continues to push the limits of what the guitar will do and explore his interests in every direction. Consider his contributions to other albums as well as his own. If you haven't checked out his new cd "Commotion and Emotion" then you can't see how far away from center he has gone, but you could check out his Les Paul DVD and see what he's been working on.

Why do I post him with ZZ Top do you ask. It is because a lot of people don't know that ZZ Top had a really great cd a few years back called XXX. Jeff Beck played a nice part in the cd and it's terrific if you haven't heard it. Lets say...the guys weren't sharp dressed but they did get into the mud!!



Oh...and if you haven't seen "Live at Ronnie Scott's" you missed the boat.