Billy F Gibbons Designed a NEWMAN for The Big Bad Blues Tour
The story began when Billy and I met after a ZZ Top show on June 13th, 2018 in Noblesville, IN. I brought a great guitar with a unique 2 tone paint for him to inspect. After the show, spent 4 hours on his bus “peeling the onion” as Billy says.
Soon after that encounter, the design process began to unfold. Billy sent me an email from London saying he would give me a call at 4:30 pm when he landed at LAX. I thought that was a dream and then, at the time he said, the phone rings. The key points of design were discussed; 1) 2 Black guitars 2) hand painted pinstripe binding by a hot rod buddy named Kirby 3) black Swarovski crystals inlaid on the body and fretboard 4) Robotic tuners from Germany, and to top it off, 5) the sound was generated by a special a pickup called A Little Thunder that would play the bass and guitar sounds simultaneous. These guitars were freaks of guitar nature and matching exactly except one right Billy and one lefty for Austin Hanks. Austin plays the other guitar in this power trio who plays upside down and strings the guitar backwards.
When the bodies and necks were painted black and ready to be transported for the pinstripe, Billy gave me the contact info for the pinstriper from Kentucky named Kirby. I scheduled an appointment which was a 3 hour drive away. I got there at 10:00 am and Kirby said the pinstripes would take a couple hours. He was an artist and was doing the work total freehand. When he was done, I asked if he was going to help me load it in the BMW Z4 roadster. He said: “No, but they should be ready to go home tomorrow.” I said “I have to take them back to Indiana today and will have to dry on my way back to the shop. He was not happy but helped me load them with wet paint into the car. One body was in the front seat, the other on the floorboard and 2 necks in the trunk. I leaned them up against things so the 2 necks and 2 bodies wouldn’t move or smear the paint. For the next 180 miles, every time I accelerate or applied the breaks, I laughter to myself at the scenario I had put myself in. With a minor smudge fixed by Jacob Harper,  they were safe and ready to continue the processes that would unfold Billy’s vision for these NEWMANs.
Later on, my phone rang and it was Billy looking for an update on the process. I should have mentioned that we only had 90 days to pull off these guitars from start to delivery. I reluctantly told Billy I was having trouble sourcing the exact Swarovski crystals he wanted. Relief set in when he not only knew where I need to order them, but had the Item # set to memory. Instantly, we were off and running again.
Continuing in the process, the robotic tuners didn’t make it from Germany on time and were left off the build. But, the Little Thunder pickup was amazing.
Billy told me to keep a builders diary of the process, so I did just that. After 43 emails and 24 phone conversations, the guitars we shipped to Hollywood, CA for preparation for the Big Bad Blues Tour.
It was great to see and hear him play our guitars in such iconic venues as The Iridium in NYC and ending the tour at the Troubadour in Hollywood, CA. I have to say it felt rewarding.
A few months after the tour, we were filing a patent protection for NEWMAN body and headstock design. The US Trademark & Patent Office requested a “third party letter from an Industry expert” stating NEWMAN is a “distinct design recognized in the industry.” I drew a blank on who to call and Billy came to mind. He generously wrote them a letter on Cadzilla stationary on our behalf. That’s Rock N Roll and why Billy is such an endearing legend.
Every moment leads to somewhere. 100 tiny battles can win the war. I learned a lot in those 90 days and it all applies to the very step I take.
A special thank you goes out to Elwood Francis for his support and opportunity provided. Jeff
