It started as just an interesting lineup for a diverse concert: the blues boogie of ZZ Top, the pop- punk of The Pretenders and the rockabilly of the Stray Cats.

But once it hit the road, it turned into a love fest of musicians rediscovering one another after crossing paths for years.

"ZZ Top has been a revelation. I know why Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix rated (Billy Gibbons) so highly. He's just one of the guitar greats. Billy is the coolest dude on Earth," says Chrissie Hynde.

Gibbons is equally thrilled about the other bands.

"To hear these guys once again get after it like they always did - it's patently amazing to realize how accomplished their playing skills are," he says.

In separate interviews, Gibbons and Hynde sat down to talk about the tour.

Chrissie Hynde

Rocky: What did you think of this tour when it was brought to you?

Hynde: "I immediately said yes. I didn't think I was going to do anything this year. My manager said, 'We were just offered a tour with the Stray Cats and ZZ Top.' I said, 'We'll take it.' "

Rocky: You have a history with the Stray Cats, right?

Hynde: "I was one of the first nine people to see them when they started in the punk days in the U.K. We were all at a pub. Slim Jim was telling me last night: 'Yeah, it was you and Joe Strummer and Lemmy (from Motorhead) down there.' We go back with those guys. It's a great band. People love it: honest, pure rockabilly. They're very theatrical, a real sense of showmanship. And ZZ Top has been an absolute revelation."

Rocky: So what have the shows been like?

Hynde: "It's madness. The audience has a really great vibe; that's my favorite thing. I walk through the audience every night. There's a sense of real guitar fans. It's waitresses and bikers and varying degrees of that."

Rocky: The Pretenders box set and expanded reissues made fans happy. Were you involved?

Hynde: "We've been completely hands-on. . . . I have no business head. I think we're one of the most underexploited bands. We just kinda trudge along and do our thing. When they said they're doing these reissues and box set . . . it was one of those things where it's going to happen with or without our involvement. Because there are people who are no longer with us (the late Pete Farndon and James Honeyman-Scott), I have to make sure they're well-represented. Looking back on it, it gives us an overview of where the band has been."

Rocky: Is there more music coming?

Hynde: "We're going in the studio in September, so we should be making a new record. I know it's way overdue, but it interferes with my goofing-off time."

Rocky: It seems like you do whatever you want, whenever you want.

Hynde: "Yeah. I'm not too am- bitious. I've never had that thing of 'We want to be the biggest band, I want to be the biggest artist, I want to be mainstream or maximize this.' That's why I'm so impressed with ZZ Top. They're such masters, and they're so at the top of their game and have been for so long. They're not mainstream, they're outlaw. My rock 'n' roll has got to be outlaw. As soon as you capture the masses, it's McDonald's to me."

Rocky: Is there anyone you want to work with? You've done everything from Neil Young to Cher.

Hynde: "I didn't seek out these people. You just bump into them, something comes up and you do it. Or not. I just lucked out. Iggy Pop and Bob Dylan. Do you have to have any ambitions beyond that?"

Rocky: It's hard to believe it has been more than 25 years since The Pretenders broke through.

Hynde: "I've been in the audience for so many years I can only see myself as a fan and part of the audience. I'm always uncomfortable when somebody recognizes me. I can't get the waitress out of my blood. Sometimes I don't act very gracious. I just don't have what it takes, I really don't."

Billy Gibbons

Rocky: What do you make of the lineup?

Gibbons: "The first I heard of it, I thought somebody had made a mistake. It was quite rewarding to join up this rather diverse range of entertainment. Chrissie Hynde and her outfit present something a little different as well. Everybody (in the audience) has maybe their favorites, but everyone is staying till the very end. Everybody seems to be enjoying themselves."

Rocky: I think that, like with the Stray Cats, your image has overshadowed your talent. People think ZZ Top and it's cars, beards and Legs.

Gibbons: "We're the band with the pretty girls and the red car (laughs). You're right - one ran the risk of being part of the wallpaper instead of being a featured part of a presentation. You're looking at the band, but you've seen the video 200 times. It has turned around. We're actually bringing back some of the early ZZ Top video imagery in the live show. It doesn't get in the way of the music."

Rocky: You put out a box set recently with your full career, even some early Moving Sidewalks music.

Gibbons: "The box set is for a lot of really die-hard fans who wanted everything. They didn't have to scour the bins of the odd record store. For once they could just hit it and get it. The beauty of the set was, it brought together the pre-MTV era and the after-MTV era. We at one time had a lot of friends and fans who had discovered ZZ Top when we were just starting out, just down the road from you guys, a little club in Boulder, Tulagi's, way back. If you were around in the '70s, that was a great little spot to catch some really good sounds up close. Then there's the other group that discovered ZZ Top just through the videos. I remember talking to some people who said, 'Wow, when did you guys have time to make this other new stuff?' I said, 'No, this is the old stuff, before MTV.' "

Rocky: Hendrix praised your guitar- playing. Keith Richards inducted you into the Rock Hall. What's that like?

Gibbons: "It's pretty gratifying for us as a band. To be recognized by your peers is a real bonus. Having Keith Richards take a moment to be part of this thing - he's been a hero of ours forever. That was a very special moment. It comes back to sticking with your guns and making sure when it comes time to play you give it 110 percent, the best you can do."

Rocky: What's up with the new album?

Gibbons: "(This tour) provides us an opportunity to garner some experiences out here on the road. Most of the ZZ Top material had its humble origins in talking about shared experiences - just things we encountered while touring. We're looking at November. The incoming e-mails, faxes and phone calls all say, 'Hey, let's get something new.' There's a reason for us to stay near to the ground and stay focused."

Mark Brown is the popular music critic. Brownm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2674

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