Knowledge Nostalgia

 

 

If you listened to a rock music station in 1977, and you were playing along with the radio as a way to learn an instrument, you would have been playing along with ZZ Top songs. I know I was, but I’ve since forgotten what it was like to play that way.

Once one form of learning is replaced there’s no going back. But one of the ways of getting off the grid of the replaced “wiring” is to temporarily disable it. This turns the power off, similar to your power going out, and you have to do something unplugged and off the grid of what you're used to.

With the passing of Dusty Hill, I realized in retrospect, irrespective of style, that solid bass parts are harder than they seem. I can't say I'd be playing any ZZ Top material, but my playing is influenced by the players he imitated. The thing about Dusty Hill is that he kept the original wiring.