“But when we do shows outside of the festival circuit, which are usually theater shows, we can sometimes dig a little deeper. And for most people, the hits are ‘Gimme All Your Lovin’,’ ‘Tush,’ ‘Sharp Dressed Man,’ and ‘La Grange.’ That kind of dictates what we play. But when it comes to the music, we know people want to hear the hits. “We really want to recreate the feel and atmosphere of a real ZZ Top concert,” Schneider said, “right down to the costumes, which are very similar to the clothes the band wore back when they had all of the big MTV videos. When it comes to the music, Schneider and the rest of the band - bassist Bob Zielinski and drummer Jerry Matula - can play just about every song ZZ Top has ever recorded, but they know what the people want to hear. “We were just excited to be backstage with them.” “We were a little intimidated to mention that we were in a ZZ Top tribute band at that point,” he said. Though they had the perfect chance, Schneider says they didn’t let on that they were imitators of the Texas trio. They were three of the nicest guys we’d ever met and were very down to earth.” “Here we are backstage with our heroes, and all of a sudden Billy Gibbons calls us over to take pictures with him and talk. One of Eliminator’s fans, who also claimed to be ZZ Top’s biggest fan, actually got them backstage. But he did have a chance to meet the band once, way back in 1999 after a show at The Pyramid, where ZZ Top were playing with Lynryd Skynyrd. Schneider doesn’t know if the real ZZ Top is aware of Eliminator’s existence or whether they would approve of the band making a living off of ZZ Top music. That’s what sets us apart from the rest.” We love this music and want to make the experience as authentic as possible. “You don’t see a lot of close-up pictures of those bands because they’re so cheesy. “A lot of them have fake glue-on beards and aren’t really as dedicated to the authenticity of it as we are,” he said. Schneider said that until recently, there weren’t a lot of ZZ Top tribute acts around, but over the last decade or so he has seen them pop up left and right. But it also meant I didn’t get good service at restaurants, unless I was a regular.” So I grew it out to avoid those types of people. For several years I kept it nicely trimmed and well groomed, but as a truck driver, I discovered having a beard really cut down on people asking for money and rides. I threw my razor in the garbage and I haven’t shaved since. “The last time I shaved, I was 21 years old,” Schneider said. And that look begins and ends with the beards, a look Schneider has had for many, many years. Of course, it’s one thing to play ZZ Top songs like ZZ Top, but it’s another thing to pull off the look for which ZZ Top is famous. What I would really kill for is a ZZ Top tribute band that I could depend on.’” Well, we took a demo to an agent and he said, ‘Yeah, you guys are great, but I’ve got a hundred tapes behind me of other great bands. “We played a lot of ZZ Top songs in our sets, but we also had some original songs. “Me and the original drummer had a great cover band,” guitarist Ron Schneider said in a recent interview with Whatzup. It’s been a long career that the members of the band still thoroughly enjoy, though being a tribute band wasn’t initially the plan and actually came about unexpectedly. Set to appear March 16 at The Eclectic Room in Angola, Eliminator have been playing the songs of ZZ Top for more than 26 years at festivals, biker bars, and theaters. But that look, a ZZ Top trademark of long beards and iconic clothing, is the main characteristic that separates the weekend warriors from those who live the ZZ Top lifestyle.Īt the top of those “authentic” tribute bands is Chicago-based Eliminator. Do a search for “ZZ Top tribute bands” and you will find a number of groups with different degrees of “authenticity.”
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