The Return of The Moving Sidewalks (Billy Gibbons returns to his first band)

New York Times ^ | January 1, 2013 | ALLAN KOZINN

[a fool in paradise]

Before ZZ Top became a blues-rock band known for gritty, boogie-based rhythms, sizzling guitar flights, humorous lyrics and luxuriously long beards, it was a Houston-based psychedelic proto-punk garage band called the Moving Sidewalks. And though its following was decidedly regional at the time – its biggest hit, “99th Floor,” was a chart-topper in Houston for six weeks in 1967 – the group’s recordings can be found on more than half a dozen compilations of 1960s garage band tracks, not to mention the ZZ Top anthology “Chrome, Smoke & BBQ: The ZZ Top Box.”

... with ZZ Top between tours, Billy Gibbons, the guitarist and founder of both bands, has reconvened the Moving Sidewalks for a gig – its first in 44 years – at B.B. King Blues Club and Grill in Manhattan on March 30.

For Mr. Gibbons, the transition from the Moving Sidewalks to ZZ Top occurred fairly smoothly.

“The Vietnam War was in full swing,” Mr. Gibbons said in a telephone conversation, “and it captured our bass player, Don Summers, and our keyboardist, Tom Moore. That left me and the drummer, Dan Mitchell, trying to figure out how in the world we were going to keep this together. We played with other people, and then the drummer twisted off, and the result was what you know as ZZ Top.

“But we all kept in touch, we kept up the correspondence, and it was quite a robust exchange. And remarkably, although I’d gone to a different planet and the other three had their day gigs, they were all weekend warriors, playing in bands here and there. So by a stroke of good fortune, when the opportunity came along, they had the interest, and had kept up their chops.”

[Lancey Howard]

Yes... it definitely was different as to where the big groups played in the 60’s

The '70s weren't much different. In 1971 I saw Humble Pie and Black Sabbath open for Mountain at the Spectrum in Philly. About nine months later, Humble Pie and Alice Cooper opened for Black Sabbath at the Spectrum. Those kinds of "dance concerts" (that's what they called them at the Spectrum back then, because the tickets were for admission only - - sit or stand wherever you could) were very common, basically every week.

In 1975 ('76?) we drove from Penn State over to Bucknell to see Rush and Kiss open for Blue Oyster Cult. Believe me, the tickets for all these concerts were cheap. (By the way, that Blue Oyster Cult concert left me with a headache for three days. It was ridiculously, uncomfortably loud.)

[stevie_d_64]

Major COOL, bump!!!

[RedWhiteBlue]

Mark Erlewine is also responsible for keeping “Trigger,” Willie Nelson’s guitar, alive.

http://www.texasmonthly.com/cms/printthis.php?file=feature5.php&issue=2012-12-01

[Lancey Howard]

Wwo, that’s great! thanks for that story. I will send it to my daughter. The funny thing is, she just needed her guitar fixed when her crew got to Austin, and when she walked into Erlewine’s shop, she had never heard of him. Now she feels honored that he fixed her guitar.

[Huntress]

Thanks. I didn’t recognize him without the beard.

[Liberty Valance]

[cbkaty]

I was fortunate enough to attend the Catacombs event 08/31/1968......I shall never forget.......the Sidewalks were great.....and the Mothers were outrageous as usual........memories......