Jason Bonham

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Monday, December 1, 2008

Myles Kennedy states the obvious when deflecting Led Zeppelin question

Has Myles Kennedy been in the studio with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones?

In this videotaped interview for Stormbringer in Austria, the Alter Bridge singer deflects this direct question, only to offer what sounds like a prepared statement designed to be evasive.

"I'll say this. Can I just say this?" He looks into the camera and says, even with the hand gesture of a politician, "I am not singing for Led Zeppelin."



Of course Myles Kennedy is not singing for Led Zeppelin. If he's singing in a band with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones and even Jason Bonham, it'll be with a few Led Zeppelin members, but they aren't going to call it Led Zeppelin. It won't be called Led Zeppelin without Robert Plant. Even Page's management has said so. We all know that.

Kennedy might as well have said he's not singing for Creed. His current band, Alter Bridge, includes three former members of Creed, with him being the only one in Alter Bridge who wasn't ever in Creed. Same scenario, same concept. But that's not what the interviewer asked, and so that's not the answer he got.

Kennedy doesn't look like he would offer any other explanation. He looks like that's all he is permitted to say. Which, if you're like me, either means his lips are sealed or he just plumb cherishes all the attention.

The interview, which has Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti sitting at the right side of the interviewer and Kennedy on his left, goes for nine-and-a-half minutes before that question and answer. It opens with some questions about the band's decision to play Led Zeppelin songs onstage and Kennedy's blues influences such as Robert Johnson.

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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