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"We think we’re onto something: it’s loud and kinda rude."
- Billy Gibbons

The current ZZ Top road swing wraps up next month with shows through Europe, and the band are already talking about what’s next in ZZ-ville.

The Texas trio have been working with producer Rick Rubin on a new album, and will hit the studio after the tour to put things into motion.

“Yes, we’ve begun the process and trading licks and getting it “down,” guitarist Billy Gibbons told The Daily Loaf recently. “There’s still a ways to go yet, but we think we’re onto something: it’s loud and kinda rude.”

The work-in-progress will be ZZ’s 15th studio album - their first since 2003’s “Mescalaro” - and Gibbons is excited to work with Rubin. “We’ve enjoyed a friendship with Rick, which now includes an opportunity to focus our collective energy in a studio setting, which is actually more like bringing the live show into the room,” he told Spinner. “The art of capturing the maverick rogue called ‘live in the studio’ is what Rick does so well — better than anyone. He's very instrumental in striking a resonant chord. He's able to find ways to pull things out that you might not know were there in the first place."

Always a popular live act, Gibbons says ZZ doesn’t take their fans for granted, and expects they’ll be there to support the new record when it’s ready to go. "We're very fortunate that we've established a gangload of fans that may not have a place to go buy a CD but, by hook or by crook, they will either beg, borrow or steal it."