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Friday, June 19, 2009

Jimmy Page and Jack White discuss future plans, video games at L.A. press conference

Reuters and the New Musical Express are reporting on a press conference with Jimmy Page and Jack White that took place this morning in Los Angeles. Both are in town for the city's film festival and tonight's premiere of "It Might Get Loud" there.

Both stories carried a humorous quip from White on whether he might consider playing again with Page, such as on the solo album White is rumored to be embarking on. "I think Jimmy needs to practice a little more," he commented. Yeah, he was joking.

The Reuters coverage carries more interesting remarks from both guitarists on the way music is presented to today's youth. For instance, neither thinks video games are very useful for musical practice.

White said, "That's like the only outlet now, that you have to put [your music] in a video game to get it in front of [kids]. That's a little sad."

Reuters carried a long, candid remark from Page about amateur musicians setting out to imitate their heroes:

"If you start with the first track on the first (self-titled Led Zeppelin) album, 'Good Times Bad Times,' and you think of the drum part that John Bonham did there, how many drummers in the world can actually play that? Let alone Dad on a Christmas morning? There might be a lot of alcohol to be consumed over Christmas, he still ain't gonna get it."
Interestingly, as the NME story tells us, Page pointed out that both he and White, and also their third co-star, The Edge, are all self-taught guitarists.

The film premieres in L.A. about an hour and a half from the time of writing.

Update: Getty Images and the Associated Press have photos of Page and others at the premiere. Also, the video below is from a Q&A session at the L.A. film premiere.

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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