So…the new band name will be just “Z Top”? 
Just read an article where Billy said Dusty specifically said when he stepped back "Do NOT cancel the tour while I’m seeing the doctors. " Dusty was supposedly emphatic about it. So, their guitar tech of 30 years is taking Dusty’s spot and the show must go on. Good for them.
Okay, but sadly Dusty is not “seeing the doctors” anymore. I think canceling the current tour would be the right thing to do. If they plan to keep this current tour going, they should offer a refund to any ticketholders who wants one. And going forward, the band should not be called ZZ Top. (Would Cream still be Cream without Jack Bruce? Would Rush still be Rush without Geddy Lee? Would the Police still be the Police without Sting? – I know these analogies are not perfect, but hopefully they help make the point.)
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Well, here’s the story with direct discussion with Billy Gibbons.
I am a longtime fan of Reverend Billy G. In this instance, though, if I may paraphrase Shakespeare’s Hamlet, “Billy doth protest too much, methinks.”
VARIETY: How are you feeling about continuing on with your guitar tech filling in [on bass for the deceased Dusty Hill]?
Billy Gibbons: Well, it was a direct directive from Mr. Dusty Hill. When he grabbed my arm and said, “I think I’m due to go visit the physician to see if I can bounce back,” he said, “In the meantime, I want you to grab our guitar technician, Mr. Elwood” — Elwood Francis — “and take him out of that tech station and strap him up with my guitar and make him carry on with every single note.” And I said, “Well, if that’s your wishes, I’ll respect that.” And sure enough, we’ve been very, very fortunate to have a stalwart standby to fill in.
I guess it comes down to what you’re willing to accept as “the band”.
Was it still Pink Floyd when they kicked out Roger Waters? (The courts said yes) Or for that matter, when they kicked out Syd Barrett? What’s Genesis? Did they end when Ant Philips left? Or Guns and Roses in its various iterations? What about those “Beatles” songs that got released for the Anthology? Does it matter WHICH member leaves? Like, is Boston defined by Tom Scholz or Brad Delp? I mean, Scholz was the driver, but Delp was the VOICE and it’s a lot easier to find someone who plays like Tom than sings like Brad. It gets rather philosophical in nature when you think about it.
Scot Bertram wrote a good article on it, and I’d recommend the book “Twilight of the Gods” he references but for the fact that Hyden makes the decision to reframe Disco Demolition as a racist and homophobic protest. Not…actually…true…
Anyhow. Enjoy the music however makes you happy.
Death ends but one life…if we decide to end other things that might live on (very much in memory of one that has passed)…is that not much better than the living who remain deciding to “stop living”, too???
The Eagles should go away because…???
Yes, indeed, “enjoy the music however it makes you happy”.
Seems like most bands continue on after the death of a band member. Led Zeppelin did not, cannot think of many that called it quits. Queen has been touring with Paul Rodgers of Bad Company in recent years and released a live album. I am sure we can come up with a whole list of bands that replaced dead band members, like The Who, The Eagles, The Pretenders, etc.
That last Who album that came out last year was surprisingly good. It wasn’t the same, but it was surprisingly enjoyable. Given the extreme enmity most of the world has towards the Eagles, I can’t see people buying much new stuff from them. Given what Fleetwood Mac did to Lindsey, butthead that he can be, I’m pretty much done with them. Oh well. I’ll enjoy what sounds good.
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I read an interview with Pete saying he would only hear from Roger when he was desperate for money and wanted to do a tour. The enduring value of songwriting.
I hope enough time has passed that this won’t sound disrespectful. After Dusty died I was set for a ZZ Top weekend playlist. After Tres Hombres followed by Eliminator, I was underwhelmed and went back to jazz.
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@christophervalle: A moving tribute if ever there were one …
/S
Maybe I was setting expectations too high, like Stevie Ray Vaughan high, yet underwhelmed I was.
Well, with apologies to Steve Earle for bastardizing his famous quote about Townes Van Zandt (see below), I think ZZ Top is the best rock trio to ever come out of Texas, and I would have stood on Stevie Ray Vaughan’s coffee table in my cowboy boots and said that.
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Wait - you have cowboy boots?