The one guitarist Josh Homme could identify blindfolded: “I know when he’s playing”
Rock and roll was built upon the foundations of countless legendary guitarists, from the rockabilly rhythms of Chuck Berry to the far-out psychedelia of Jimi Hendrix, the power of whom lies, not just in their technical abilities, but also in their distinctive, original style of playing – which, according to Josh Homme, is the mark of a true guitar hero.
Homme, of course, has had his own impact on the landscape of guitar music, penning a litany of now-iconic and often imitated riffs within the realm of Queens of the Stone Age, not to mention the pioneering stoner rock stylings of Kyuss during his earlier years. While the Palm Springs songwriter is rarely mentioned alongside the holy trinity of guitar greats – Hendrix, Page, Clapton – he has certainly carved out a distinctive, beloved style over the course of his illustrious career.
Going back to his earliest rock and roll origins, though, Homme has been indebted to a vast and often surprising array of influences, spanning the spectrum from hardcore heroes Black Flag to Jackson Browne. One particular ray of inspiration that the songwriter has maintained since his childhood, though, is the bearded hard rock of ZZ Top.
Having been a continual voice for blues rock excellence since back in the late 1960s, amassing 15 studio albums and legions of like-minded fans across the globe, ZZ Top should need no introduction. It must be said, though, that the band are a rather surprising outfit for Homme to pluck out of the ether.
Homme did, after all, come of age during the peak of the grunge era, when the abrasive, destructive sounds of Nirvana reigned supreme over the American airwaves, tearing down the world of commercialised, mainstream rock in the process. In all honesty, they couldn’t get much further away from the mainstream rock stylings of ZZ Top, who were at their commercial peak during the 1980s.
Nevertheless, Homme’s early experiences immersing himself in the sounds of ZZ Top certainly seemed to have an impact on the young songwriter. In fact, he has on occasion cited Billy Gibbons among his favourite guitarists of all time, revealing in one 2008 interview, “Billy Gibbons I’ve been listening to since I was 11.”
Seemingly, Gibbons’ appeal for Homme lies not just in his admittedly incredibly skilful playing style, but also in the fact that his style is incredibly unique. “I know when he’s playing, you could blindfold me and I’d know the second I hear him play,” the songwriter shared. “People don’t understand what a difference is made when someone really sticks to their thing, you know.”
After all, there is no shortage of guitarists that, given enough time, could learn to play Gibbons’ repertoire note-perfect, but none of them could truly evoke the same unchanging spirit or exuberant mastery as the real deal.
So, sure, there are a lot of guitarists out there who are, in a technical sense, better than Billy Gibbons, but that hasn’t stopped the ZZ Top guitarist from becoming one of the most recognisable figures in American rock – or, indeed, from becoming one of Josh Homme’s all-time favourite guitarists.
