If not reunite Led Zeppelin, what's Jimmy Page's next move?

Now that Robert Plant has quashed the rumor of his agreement to participate in a Led Zeppelin reunion, the rumor mill must find a new storyline to push.

And in this case, why not revive the one we were fed last week involving Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham?

After all, just because Plant isn't working with those three guys doesn't mean they're not working with each other, perhaps auditioning singers or maybe even already having identified their choice candidate.

A hint passed on to Led Zeppelin fans last week suggests that Alter Bridge singer-guitarist Myles Kennedy has become the boys' top pick in those much-ballyhooed jam sessions in England.

Hey hey, whaddya know? The Myles Kennedy rumor has now gone semi-mainstream, with entertaining Telegraph blogger Neil McCormick picking up on it! Also having written about it is Michael Christopher, music columnist for the Delco Times in Delaware County, Pa.

The mention of Kennedy's name in Zep circles last week was accompanied by a stipulation, assumedly conveyed to fans by insiders, that the Page-Jones-Bonham-Kennedy band would be a new project and not a Led Zeppelin redux.

If that's so, OK, fine. So, the band hypothetically puts out an album of originals. All new stuff nobody's heard before. How well does that go over in a live setting?

That resurrects another scenario previously discussed here: how classic artists can work to ensure their new music is appreciated by fans in a live setting, rather than be ignored as fodder for the proverbial bathroom break.

Still, even an aspiring new act that stars three members who will forever be indelibly linked to their past participation in Led Zeppelin has only one album's worth of original material under its belt. How could this act possibly conduct any kind of a tour without dipping into the Zep songbook for at least half the show?

Is it not human nature on the part of the musicians to want to play the songs that made them famous, and human nature on the part of the paying audience to expect to hear those songs?

And furthermore, is it not human nature to be disappointed if that expectation is not met? After all, this is the same fan base that crucifies Plant whenever he is seen as the lone holdout against a Led Zeppelin reunion, as he is no doubt currently being viewed in light of today's statement.

Plant's stance has definitely disappointed many fans who held a glimmer of hope that what happened in December 2007 could happen again, and soon.

So, if Page, Jones and Bonham have a project together that is not reuniting Led Zeppelin, how different can it be? Or, if you fit this into the context of history-resisting bands like Blind Faith and The Firm, how different must it be?

And what is the consensus on Myles Kennedy among readers of LedZeppelinNews.com?

Robert Plant negates reunion reports; says he will not tour again for another two years

Reports that Robert Plant has agreed to participate in a Led Zeppelin reunion are not true, the singer said today in an official statement.

Plant "has no intention whatsoever of touring with anyone for at least the next two years" following the conclusion of his tour with Alison Krauss on Oct. 5, the statement specifies.

Addressing the rumors that he would be somehow involved with Led Zeppelin, it says: "Robert Plant will not be touring or recording with Led Zeppelin. Anyone buying tickets online to any such event will be buying bogus tickets."

The Sun, a British tabloid, days ago published a story in which an unnamed source reveals Plant had agreed to tour with Led Zeppelin next year and, further, that the other musicians -- original Zep members Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, with drummer Jason Bonham -- were ecstatic over Plant's decision.

That single report triggered a swath of articles in the media parroting the message, now debunked, that Plant and his onetime bandmates would soon be embarking on a tour as Led Zeppelin.

Plant says in the statement: "It's both frustrating and ridiculous for this story to continue to rear its head when all the musicians that surround the story are keen to get on with their individual projects and move forward."

What those individual projects are is unclear.

The Sun had earlier pegged Page, Jones and Bonham as collaborating together on new material and rehearsing with an American singer and perhaps even auditioning others.

Unlike the tabloid's later report about Plant, there may possibly be some truth in the report of the other musicians collaborating.

It was in August that Bonham first revealed in a radio interview that he had at least twice this year been jamming on new material with Page and Jones, although he did not mention whether or not any singers were involved.

At that time, Bonham announced he was leaving the band Foreigner, which is currently on tour with a new album due out next year. He said he wanted to have some time off to spend with his family before committing to any new projects that may require some time. He hinted that the jam sessions with Page and Jones would certainly result in something.

When the press took Bonham's comments to mean a new Led Zeppelin album was already being recorded or that a reunion tour was imminent, Page used an opportunity at an unrelated press conference to deny such assertions as overblown.

Jones is not known to have issued any public statements on the situation.

This weekend, London's Mirror reported that Bonham has put some of his property in England up for sale, which it somehow foolishly interpreted as a telltale indicator of a Led Zeppelin reunion.

Today's statement from the Plant camp concludes with one final thought from the singer: "I wish Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham nothing but success with any future projects."

So, the ball appears to be in the court of those musicians as to what individual, or perhaps collective, projects they will be moving forward on in the future.

As for Plant, evidently, we will not be seeing him on another tour until late 2010 at the earliest.

That doesn't necessarily mean, however, he would rule out any one-off onstage appearances. So, there's just enough ambiguity in his statement to keep hopes alive for anyone desperate to believe Plant could still take part in at least one more concert reuniting him with Page, Jones and Bonham -- such as they did last December in front of 20,000 fans at a concert paying tribute to the late Ahmet Ertegün.

But following a year of touring, Plant deserves at least a little break. A year ago this month, the Daily Express quoted Plant as preferring to sit back rather than embark on a Led Zeppelin tour.

"I know I’m getting on," he said at the time. "When I do come back from touring I'm shocked to find a lot of my mates tend to be going to bed far too early and that means I should probably be doing the same. Maybe I should stop having a good time and get old."

Report: Robert Plant caves, agrees to tour with Led Zeppelin

No confirmation on this story out as of yet, but a report says Robert Plant has responded to the recent reports of his Led Zeppelin bandmates rehearsing and auditioning singers in his stead with a green light to go ahead and include him on plans for touring next year.

An unnamed source told British tabloid The Sun that Plant "realized he couldn't face the thought of not being involved" in a touring band that involved Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham.

If true, this would prove to be the first Led Zeppelin tour since 1980. John Bonham, original drummer for Led Zeppelin, died 28 years ago today, leading the band to cancel its autumn 1980 touring plans and announce its dissolution by year's end. The band also resisted temptation to reunite save for very rare appearances, with last year's one-off (featuring Bonham's son Jason proving his worth on the drums) being the first onstage collaboration of all the band's surviving members in 12 years.

The story was also reported by an Australian news source (and has now been quoted by many news outlets in the United Kingdom and the Far East, although the mainstream press in North America held off on reporting anything by Friday morning).

Again, LedZeppelinNews.com has no independent confirmation of Plant's commitment. (Update: Nor does any other source citing The Sun's report, and in fact Jason Gregory of Gigwise reports a spokesperson for Led Zeppelin provided no comment when asked to clarify.) But we'll see, won't we?

Is this the reunion we've all been holding out for? Oh, let the comments rain down upon my face!

Myles Kennedy first met Jason Bonham in 2000 on set of 'Rock Star' flick

It was during filming of the movie "Rock Star" in 2000 that drummer Jason Bonham first met Myles Kennedy, the singer-guitarist whose name is now being mentioned as having possibly been the mystery vocalist at jam sessions with Bonham, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones this year.

Both Kennedy and Bonham acted in the film, which starred Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston and marked George Clooney's first stint as an executive producer. Bonham played drums in the film's fictional band, Steel Dragon, and Kennedy had a brief singing part in a scene near the film's conclusion.

In an interview with Wall of Sound conducted a few months prior to the film's September 2001 release, Kennedy recalled what he said on the set in his first conversation with Bonham: "I remember sitting down and telling him, 'Your father's music pretty much inspired me to do this.' ... He was really nice about it. He's very proud of his dad's legacy, and he should be."

In "Rock Star," Steel Dragon hires the young lead vocalist of a tribute band devoted to the group to replace its famous longtime frontman. Some are interpreting the recent story published in The Sun as an indication that Led Zeppelin may go that route, favoring a new singer over Plant. Could Kennedy be that singer?

While Kennedy has not served as a member of any Led Zeppelin tribute bands, his various rock groups -- namely Citizen Swing, Mayfield Four and, currently, Alter Bridge -- have easily been identified as bearing Led Zeppelin's influence. The singer, whose vocal range is said to span four octaves, has admitted to being a Led Zeppelin fan since his teen years.

Pretending he was Page and his tennis racket was a guitar, Kennedy at 15 years old would spend hours at a time mimicking Led Zeppelin classics in front of his bedroom mirror.

When Kennedy teamed up with three former members of Creed and the rock fourpiece became Alter Bridge, he relocated from Washington across the country to Florida. That state has been home to Bonham for many years.

Alter Bridge is scheduled to tour the United Kingdom and mainland Europe this November and December. That excursion is currently set to end following a Dec. 7 show at Amsterdam's Heineken Music Hall.

Robert Plant resumes tour with Alison Krauss

Nine more concerts remain on the shared touring itinerary of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. The first takes place tonight at the Starlight Theatre in Kansas City, with the final scheduled appearance two weekends away.

The Raising Sand 2008 tour began in April and included Krauss's first tour dates outside North America. The band traveled to perform in the United Kingdom and mainland Europe as well as throughout the United States and a few selected cities in Canada.

On their album Raising Sand, released last October and produced by T Bone Burnett, the two singers harmonize and take turns on lead vocals, all the while delving into an array of cover songs rich in Americana and styles of music altogether previously unexplored by the Led Zeppelin singer. Many of the studio musicians, already rich in their own musicianship, reprise their roles onstage this year and reliably provided the kind of support required to adapt to Plant's vocal improvisations on Led Zeppelin numbers and other songs he essentially made his own.

Plant returned to England during his time off to accept an award in London on Sept. 2 alongside his Led Zeppelin bandmates, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones. As this appearance narrowly followed Jason Bonham's revelation that he had been rehearsing new material with Page and Jones, Plant's presence sparked a bit of hope that the bandmates would once again reunite just as they had for a one-off show last December. So far this month, Plant's only publicly disclosed comment on the prospect of any further Led Zeppelin reunion was a comment to GQ magazine that he would inevitably be required to sign a great deal of paperwork.

But on Sept. 9, Alison Krauss was at Plant's side when they attended the London ceremony for the Nationwide Mercury Prize. Their album, Raising Sand, had made it to the shortlist of 12 of the best albums of the past year. Elbow's new album won the prize.

Plant was back in the United States by Sept. 17, when he and Krauss met up again in Nashville to pay tribute to Levon Helm of The Band. The all-star concert was affiliated the the Americana Music Association, which gave its top honors to Plant and Krauss the following night at an awards ceremony at the Ryman Auditorium. Sept. 18 also saw Plant join touring partner Buddy Miller onstage for a rendition of a song CMT says will be included on Miller's upcoming album.

The nine remaining Plant-Krauss concerts, beginning tonight, are as follows:

• Tuesday, Sept. 23 -- Kansas City, Mo. -- Starlight Theatre
• Wednesday, Sept. 24 -- St. Louis, Mo. -- Fox Theatre
• Friday, Sept. 26 -- Zoo Amphitheatre, Oklahoma City, Okla. (recently announced; this concert replaces one originally scheduled on this date at Houston's Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, which was canceled due to damages from Hurricane Ike)
• Saturday, Sept. 27 -- Austin, Texas -- Austin City Limits Music Festival at Zilker Park
• Tuesday, Sept. 30 -- Portland, Ore. -- Theatre of the Clouds
• Wednesday, Oct. 1 -- Seattle, Wash. -- WaMu Theater
• Friday, Oct. 3 -- San Francisco, Calif. -- Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Fest
• Saturday, Oct. 4 -- Kelseyville, Calif. -- Konocti Field Amphitheatre
• Sunday, Oct. 5 -- Saratoga, Calif. -- The Mountain Winery

Robert Plant's not the only singer in the world

Back in the Led Zeppelin days, the whole band contributed some harmonies from time to time. And at December's reunion show, drummer Jason Bonham displayed an unexpectedly powerful set of pipes when he backed Robert Plant and took his late father's place on the skins.

Bonham tells us since that show, he has sometimes jammed on new material with original Led Zeppelin musicians Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones. No doubt there were three expert instrumentalists in the room, but which of them stepped up to carry a tune?

Was it Bonham himself, whom Plant encouraged to belt out the opening line of "I Can't Quit You Baby" between songs at the Zeppelin performance?

Was it John Paul Jones, who sang on two of his own solo albums in 17 years apart, and even took to singing "That's the Way" onstage on his last solo tour?

Or have the seldom-heard melodic tones of Jimmy Page's voicebox received a much-needed jolt?

Last week's suggestion that a fourth man has been introduced into the fold seems logical. If there is singing at all, it would make sense to have a singer there so that vocal cues can be heard without unnecessarily diverting one of the non-singers' attention from his instrument.

If they're planning for a Led Zeppelin tour with Robert Plant next year, and if he's temporarily unavailable at this stage in the rehearsals due to touring commitments with Alison Krauss, then it makes sense to have someone sit in who can at least muddle through the old songs.

Anyone who's been listening to Zep's back catalog for a few years could fit that bill. Ahem; I could do it!

The article in U.K. tabloid The Sun hints that the new vocalist is a decent singer who would be capable of serving as Plant's understudy should the original frontman singularly decide a Led Zeppelin tour in 2009 is not in his future.

Too much paperwork seems a fine excuse to sit it out. I mean, with all the various contracts Plant would have to sign if he were to consent to a tour, we don't want the poor dear to come down with carpal tunnel, do we? (Maybe he should take a cue from Jimmy Page and save his ink for those tour plans.)

This reported new singer, who The Sun's informant does not name but says is American, is assumedly a little better than the average guy who stumbles through "Stairway to Heaven" at the karaoke bar after midnight on weekends.

With the Foo Fighters on hiatus, it could be a great opportunity for the two members who sang Zeppelin songs onstage with Page and Jones at London's Wembley Stadium this June. Taylor Hawkins, who sang "Rock and Roll" while Dave Grohl rocked the drums, was the more mellifluous of the pair, but Grohl's energetic command of "Ramble On" -- not to mention his chumming around with the Zeppelin quartet earlier this month -- may have led MusicRadar to its guess that Grohl is already working as Plant's stand-in.

Since getting a singer is being reported as an audition situation, perhaps they've already rehearsed and rejected some candidates. If so, maybe that's why Page was reportedly so eager to get Motörhead singer Lemmy's phone number when the two met up back in June. And maybe they even considered Leona Lewis in a reprisal of her role leading Jimmy Page through a rendition of "Whole Lotta Love" at the Olympics last month.

Now suppose the direction of these Bonham-Jones-Page jam sessions is not to retread the beaten-down path and revive Led Zeppelin onstage with half of its original members. Suppose, instead, there's new territory to explore. What if a singer other than Robert Plant translates to a resulting band other than Led Zeppelin (or the definitive Led Zeppelin tribute act)?

After all, when three of the ex-members of Creed regrouped without frontman Scott Stapp and introduced a new singer, they called it not Creed but Alter Bridge. With a lineup completed by Myles Kennedy of Spokane, Wash., Alter Bridge was a new group altogether.

Could Page, Jones and Bonham likewise blend with a new vocalist to generate something genuine and entire of itself? We may find out someday.

As for now, the latest comment from Page is that the recent reports of Led Zeppelin recording sessions were off the mark. His comment would be correct even if he, Jones and Bonham have been recording an album of fresh material as members of a new band that will dominate their 2009 calendars.