Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens said in his recent interview on Rocking With Jam Man’s YouTube channel that he thinks it may have been too soon for ZZ Top to continue with their tour after Dusty Hill passed away.
As you may know, Dusty Hill, ZZ Top’s legendary bassist passed away on July 28, 2021. Although his bandmates and long-time friends were devastated by the news, the band decided that the show must go on and did not give up on their current tour.
They revealed that they will continue the tour by replacing Hill with their guitar tech Elwood Francis. This decision was justified by the band as they said that Hill wanted Francis to take his place and take the band to the ‘top.’ Thus, ZZ Top decided to go on with their shows. However, not everyone thought it was a good idea.
Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens, the heavy metal vocalist associated with Judas Priest and Iced Earth, is one of those people who think that it is too soon for ZZ Top to continue with their shows. Even though he stated that the band would know best, he also confessed his thoughts and tried to approach the situation from different angles.
Here is how he told his opinion:
“Probably a little too soon, yeah, but I think it was worked out. They worked it out, this was something that was an unfortunate thing that was going to happen.
So I think they worked it all out and had it planned, so maybe it’s not, maybe it’s almost like a passing a torch to somebody.”
Owens also commented upon the recent sudden deaths of musicians. In these difficult times for the music world, Owens stated that he is now afraid to go to sleep in case something happens to him as well.
He described his feelings saying:
“It’s been crazy how many musicians have just passed away. Ex-Slipknot drummer, ZZ Top bassist, Metal Church singer, Ratt’s guitar player, all within, I mean, I’m afraid to go to sleep…“
You can watch the full interview below.
