Jason Bonham

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Monday, November 10, 2008

Source: Page, Jones, Bonham watch Alter Bridge in London; DVD filming postponed

There's been no official word from Jimmy Page and the guys on Led Zeppelin this past week, so we rely on inside sources and gossip instead.

Alter Bridge was scheduled to film a DVD at their London concert this Saturday night. I speculated that Page would show up for the concert with John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham in tow -- perhaps to appear onstage with the band's Myles Kennedy, the singer who is said to have been rehearsing new material with Page, Jones and Bonham.

Well, an inside source tells LedZeppelinNews.com the Zeppelin guys did show up for the concert but did not appear onstage. Furthermore, the DVD was not filmed! A decision had been made to postpone filming to Dec. 7, when Alter Bridge performs in Amsterdam at the Heineken Music Hall.

The band apparently did use a handheld camera or three, though, to capture some of the onstage moments at London's Brixton Academy. No word if Page, Jones and Bonham show up in any backstage clips that may have been filmed, although the source reveals they were present at the side of the stage to watch the singer.

Does this signal it is all but decided Kennedy will sing on tour with Page, Jones and Bonham -- whether they would call it Led Zeppelin or not? No decisions have been made, apparently. Would it be an album and tour, or just a tour with no album? Still up in the air, the source says.

How about an album but no tour? Maybe Page is wavering about the possibility too. Some news site called Popbitch says so, relying on the account of a Led Zeppelin fan who supposedly heard from Page himself that he would never tour without Robert Plant.

Never
tour without Plant? Except that he has. Many times. Don't count the times he toured in the 1960s before he and Plant ever met. Every time Page has been on the road since 1980, except for that short span of time between 1995 and 1998, it has been with singers other than Plant at his side. And almost every time, Page's set lists have had Zeppelin numbers in them.

OK, fine, history aside. Would Page tour without Plant ever again at this point? Yeah, I think he would. Page loves touring. Once he gets that itch, it's all he wants to do. And since he hasn't toured in the last eight years, he must be itching to go outside again -- especially since the world is clamoring for it based on the demand and overwhelming support surrounding his only onstage appearance last year.

You can take Jimmy Page out of the touring circuit, but you can't take the touring circuit out of Jimmy Page. And now that he's building a lineup for a new group that involves John Paul Jones, one of the greatest musicians he's ever played with, and Jason Bonham, who forms with Jones as great a rhythm section as Page will ever play with again, and with an enormous Led Zeppelin devotee at the microphone, how can Page ever resist the call of the road? Glandular fever?

No more garden incidents and broken fingers -- OK, Jimmy? Stay healthy!

Also on the rumor mill, has Robert Plant shown up in Orlando karaoke bars singing Led Zeppelin songs as a goof? That's what one New York City radio station has reported. Sounds like a joke to me, but I'll keep my eyes and ears open just in case.

About the author

Steve "The Lemon" Sauer is a writer and musician based in Boca Raton, Fla., who has dedicated a portion of his life researching the history of rock group Led Zeppelin and monitoring the ongoing careers of the band's surviving members. Although he was barely a year old when Led Zeppelin broke up and it took him until his teen years to appreciate the music, it didn't take long to make up for it.

Steve is currently a contributing writer and consultant for Get the Led Out, a weekly syndicated radio program hosted by Carol Miller and syndicated in 100 U.S. markets including New York and Los Angeles. He also provides content for a Web site associated with the radio show, www.LedZepOnline.com.

In 2007, Steve launched Lemon Squeezings: Led Zeppelin News to cover the lead-up to the band's reunion concert at the end of that year. Since then, he has closely examined every rumor of a followup tour since then, often dispelling or clarifying misinformation perpetrated by the mainstream media. Using his journalistic training, Steve has also uncovered some facts and accounts previously unreported elsewhere.

At age 18, he began publishing On This Day In Led Zeppelin History, a daily newsletter detailing the interactions of members Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Bonham, John Paul Jones, and their manager, Peter Grant. The newsletter is located at www.OnThisDayInLedZeppelinHistory.com.

He enjoys uncovering stories and has employed various methods to communicate those stories to Led Zeppelin's vast fan base, utilizing terrestrial radio and the many facets of the Internet: from Usenet newsgroups to plain e-mail and now Facebook and Twitter. Steve also connects with live audiences when performing as a backup vocalist and keyboard player with various bands, including past onstage appearances with three cover or tribute acts performing the music of Led Zeppelin.

Do you have a news tip to share with Steve? Do you have something you would like him to write about? Would you like to book him for a speaking engagement? He can be contacted by e-mail at Steve at LedZeppelinNews.com.

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