Jason Bonham describes his early involvement in Robert Plant's solo career; drummer performs early Plant song in concert

Jason Bonham, whose newly launched official Web site contains several videos from the celebrated drummer's career, has just yesterday uploaded a brand-new video from one of his concerts last week in California.

Bonham had five dates scheduled this month, billing shows as "An Evening with Jason Bonham." During shows, his band has been playing songs from his own past as well as from that of his father, the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham.

One song from Jason Bonham's own past is one that required a spoken introduction from the man behind the drum kit. Bonham spoke up before performing "Like I've Never Been Gone," a song from Robert Plant's first solo album in 1982, to tell a story about his own life and how he came to be involved in Plant's post-Zeppelin career in those days.

To set the scene, the 44-year-old describes the setting as "a period in my life which was a bit -- quite sad, really."

I was 14 years old and had just lost my father and really didn't know what to be doing in life, but Mr. Plant came along, picked me up from school one day. He said, "Would you like to come and jam?"

So I did, and we went to his house, and Robert was working on the first solo album, Pictures at Eleven. And this, to me -- I did all those demos, by the way, before Phil Collins came along, ...

It was a great moment, and it was a great time where I could just forget about that Dad had gone and just be playing music. It really helped me through it. This song means a lot to me. It's called "Like I've Never Been Gone."

In tweaking band lineup, Jason Bonham prepares for Calif. dates

Less than a week after the sudden cancellation of his tour's first three shows in Florida, drummer Jason Bonham announces some changes to the lineup of his group he will be bringing to California for a pair of concerts.

Bonham apologized to fans on his newly launched official Web site last week, explaining that the singer tapped for his band, Kelly Keeling, had taken ill. "We wanted to give Kelly all the time he needed to make sure he could or couldn't sing," Bonham wrote online on Oct. 16, one of three consecutive days last week his band, Bonham, was to appear in Florida.

Bonham says his band is "back on track and working real hard" to prepare for the gigs in California next week, Oct. 29 at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano and Oct. 30 at the Canyon in Agoura Hills. Following some adjustments, the performances are now to feature a revolving door of singers.

• One special guest vocalist already named will be the namesake's own sister, Zoe Bonham, who recently joined him at a charity gig for a rather impromptu version of "Black Dog," which brother Jason described as "fantastic" in a radio interview.
  
• Also on the docket is Marti Frederikson, who sang for Bonham's band Motherland and whose voice fans of the movie Almost Famous will recognize on "Fever Dog" and the other very Zeppelinesque songs by the fictional band Stillwater.
• Also lined up is Doug Henthorn, who continues to sing for the band Healing Sixes, which had Bonham in its lineup several years ago.
• The final singer slated for the West Coast dates is Franky Perez, who was lauded in his renditions of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" and "Whole Lotta Love" in the company of Bonham and guitarist Slash at a festival in Norway on June 30.
  
  It is often suggested Perez is a top candidate for the singing gig in a reformation of Slash's supergroup Velvet Revolver, which he originally formed with two of his fellow Guns N' Roses alumni and lead singer Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots.
  

Bonham's latest message posted online assures fans they're in for quite the show. "We have had to change the set a little, but it's still going to kick ass," he promises.

First two shows of Bonham tour canceled due to illness, says band spokesman

The first two outings by a new lineup of the band Bonham have been canceled. Last night's show at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was scrapped hours in advance, followed shortly by the withdrawal of tonight's appearance in Orlando.

The cancellations were forced by an illness of Bonham's singer, says Sam Rapallo, webmaster for the newly launched JasonBonham.net official Web site. Singer Kelly Keeling would have been making his debut with Bonham at the shows.

Refunds are available for the pair of shows, and no plans have yet been announced to reschedule the dates. As of the time of writing, the third scheduled Bonham date -- tomorrow night's gig at the State Theatre in St. Petersburg, Fla. -- has not been affected (Update: It was also canceled), nor have the two California shows scheduled for Oct. 29 and 30.

Update: Following the cancellation of the third date, Jason posted a message on his official Web site, stating:

To all, I feel so bad for everyone that turned up and didn't know but we wanted to give Kelly all the time he needed to make sure he could or couldn't sing . We all have worked so hard the past week . I can only say it will only make it better. I hope we can be real ready for CA in 2 weeks . Love tto all JB

Jason Bonham offers home movies on newly launched multimedia site

Click on the newly launched www.JasonBonham.net, and one of the first images to flash on your screen is that of the young drummer as a child being coached on a small drum set by his proud father, the legendary Led Zeppelin skinsman John Bonham.

Then click into the meat and potatoes of the site's multimedia category, and you can choose from an assortment of rarely before seen videos Jason Bonham has posted. One particular gem in the bunch is home video footage of the next generation of Bonham drummers. Jason's son, Jager, is developing an airy right foot to generate some of the forcefulness on a bass drum made famous by the grandfather he never met.

Jason Bonham was already a veteran of several of his own bands by the time he was pulled to work with such acts as Paul Rodgers, UFO and Foreigner.

With Paul Rodgers:


With UFO:


With Foreigner:


With Slash:

Jason's street cred rose substantially when he performed an acclaimed show with the three surviving members of Led Zeppelin at the end of 2007.

Now, the 43-year-old drummer finally launches his first official Web site on the week of three concerts in Florida presented as "An Evening with Jason Bonham," starting this evening. Featured on the site are an array of photos and videos highlighting the career that has been practically as long as Bonham's life.

It's too early to tell if Jager will follow in his father's footsteps and carry on the family name. Such was the situation in the late '70s, when Jason was a child. Much to his dad's dismay and eventual encouragement, Jason took to dirtbikes and became a sponsored competing rider with a shot at turning pro. It was a year after John Bonham's death that Jason says he "hung up the helmet and picked up the sticks again."

Jason Bonham promotes upcoming appearances

Jason Bonham has been hitting the airwaves today to discuss a band he'll be taking on the road this month. He's to be headlining performances under the guise of "An Evening with Jason Bonham" this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in Florida, with two more shows in California at the end of the month.

In a live, in-the-studio interview on today's "Mark and Brian" morning show on KLOS 95.5, Bonham discussed his upcoming shows as well as his performance last night with Slash at the Roxy Theatre in Hollywood for a charity event benefiting the Painted Turtle. Bonham says his sister, Zoe Bonham, was "fantastic" on vocals when she joined up to sing Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog."

For Bonham's upcoming shows, the band lineup will consist of two guitarists: Ian Hatton, who played for the original Bonham band (1989-1992) as well as the reformation Motherland (1994), and Tony Catania, who played in the Jason Bonham Band (1995-1997). Two new recruits for the band are singer Kelly Keeling and bassist Francesco DiCosmo. They'll be playing songs from Led Zeppelin and all of the other bands Jason has toured and recorded with, such as UFO and Foreigner, plus his own bands.

Also on their upcoming set lists are some songs that Robert Plant included on his first solo album. Bonham explained that he played on demo versions of Plant's "Like I've Never Been Gone" and "Burning Down on One Side." "I did all the demos for that," Bonham said. "I used to be picked up from school when I was, like, 13 [or] 14, just after Dad died. ... [I'd] go into Robert's house, and all the guys in the band would be there."

That, of course, wasn't Bonham's only link-up with the members of Led Zeppelin. He was Jimmy Page's choice of a drummer when he finally went solo in 1988, and that year also saw Bonham playing for the first reunion under the Led Zeppelin name. Most recently, Bonham played with Page, Plant and John Paul Jones as Led Zeppelin in concert at the O2 arena on Dec. 10, 2007.

Reflecting on that show, Bonham said today that it was only two or three days before the big show that Plant asked Bonham to sing back-up on a few songs during their two-hour set, including opening number "Good Times Bad Times."

He compared playing with Led Zeppelin to pulling the Excalibur out of the stone and added that it was unfortunate that he also had to put the sword back. Bonham said that once he got over his nausea just before the show, he was solely focused on impressing Page, Plant and Jones and ignoring the other famous people in the audience.

In other news, KNAC.com listeners who tuned in for a scheduled phone interview with Jason Bonham instead heard only the Internet DJ claiming to have been blown off by a guest for the first time ever.

Early this morning, a news alert said Bonham was scheduled to call into the Internet radio show "Uncle Scotty's Hot Tub" at 11:30 a.m. Pacific time. Just ahead of the scheduled start time, the DJ went on a sexist and racist rant, addressing his listeners as "klansmen." As the start time of the interview passed, Uncle Scotty started badmouthing his no-show guest.

Later, the DJ admitted Bonham had been given wrong phone number to call in for the show. Also, when he checked his e-mail correspondence with Bonham's people, he realized that they had confirmed an 11:30 p.m. call-in, a time when the Internet radio station is off the air.

Study into the trend of rock reunions includes Led Zeppelin's 2008 no-go

Led Zeppelin's will-they-won't-they saga of 2008 has become the stuff of legend. The news of yesteryear has become the history of today.

Financial Times reporter Ludovic Hunter-Tinley reports from a rehearsal of the pop group Spandau Ballet, the focus of the article's introduction is on the band's collective decision to mend its wounds in favor of a long-awaited reunion tour. A few paragraphs after this focus is established, Hunter-Tinley shifts the thrust of the article to concentrate instead on other groups that have been under pressure to reunite.

Enter Led Zeppelin, along with fellow classic rockers Pink Floyd, the Police and Genesis, as well as Blur, Spinal Tap, and pop acts like the Spice Girls and Take That.

The writer says the Led Zeppelin show in December 2007 was a success:

"... [T]he sense of history was extraordinary. From the moment they opened with “Good Times Bad Times”, it was clear that the sexagenarian hard-rockers still had the old magic. On the train afterwards, fans compared the distances they had travelled to be there: one had flown in from New Zealand."

The writer then details what can happen "when a reunion fails to spark." One member of Spandau Ballet, singer Tony Hadley, offers how "embarrassing" it is to see "49-year-old guys trying to look 25."

When the writer approaches the subject of "questions of authenticity," Led Zeppelin comes up again. The band that headlined the Ahmet Ertegun tribute concert on Dec. 10, 2007, was Led Zeppelin but with Jason Bonham on drums instead of John Bonham, Hunter-Tiney asserts, making exception for "purists" who "insist" that the band was not Led Zeppelin.

The writer turns it into an issue of expendability: It's OK to replace John Bonham, but it wasn't OK for Robert Plant to be replaced when he didn't want to participate in a tour at his age. There's even a quote from Plant on the subject: "The whole idea of being on a cavalcade of merciless repetition is not what it's all about."

As for Jimmy Page, last year he said it best: "If you're going to have a reunion, you need four members." It was the perfect thing to say at the time. It was September, and Plant had not yet issued a statement leaving himself out of the running. Page's spare words on the subject resounded in the following months as it was suggested he, Jones and Bonham would carry on with another singer. Maybe Page never meant Plant had to be involved; maybe he was intentionally being ambiguous because he thought somebody else could be the singer if Plant wouldn't step up to the plate! It sure got me thinking.

Ultimately, it was revealed that they didn't want to call their band Led Zeppelin, and Plant once even made the point of saying Led Zeppelin would not exist without him. (Perhaps he knew they wouldn't because he'd filed a craftily worded preventive injunction or a demand of excessive royalties should they replace him and use his songs! Theories, people! Theories!)

Regardless of anyone's best intentions, a large segment of the press insisted on using the Led Zeppelin name when referring to a potential grouping of Page, Jones and Bonham, even with another singer. The public at large saw it the same way, and the outcry against a Led Zeppelin reunion without Plant even prompted other notable people -- Jeff Beck and his manager, promoter Harvey Goldsmith, to name a few -- to speak out against dishonoring the Led Zeppelin name with another singer.

It was much the same for the members of Yes last year, when they first attempted to go on the road with a singer other than Jon Anderson to play concerts under a name other than Yes. The only name promoters wanted to use was Yes, and so it became another Yes tour.

One has to think that Page, who was spotted at one of the early concerts with Journey's latest Steve Perry clone, paid careful attention as last year's situation with Yes unfolded. Perhaps it's one factor that led him to decide against going out with three-fourths of the band that played as Led Zeppelin and use another singer.

Nobody has disclosed publicly exactly who made the decision last year to halt singer auditions and call off whatever project had potentially been in the works even after Plant had withdrawn from Led Zeppelin reunion considerations. It seems likely that Page made himself aware of what else was going on in the musical landscape enough to know even a new band with Jones and Bonham could affect Led Zeppelin's historical image.

Hunter-Tinley notes, "A full Led Zeppelin tour would ... have done stratospheric business."

One obvious end result of this is the way John Paul Jones has quickly bounced back, emerging in the supergroup Them Crooked Vultures. He's at another point in his career when he's earning all sorts of praise, not the least of which comes from drummer Dave Grohl. Jones was spotted at the Austin City Limits festival this afternoon playing mandolin on three of Sara Watkins's songs, when he'll later take the stage with Them Crooked Vultures. Grohl is going to make certain that Jones holds a reputation of being a versatile musician who can rip on mandolin "and just blow your head off."

Another end result is the way Jason Bonham has also bounced back. He quit his steady gig last year, touring with Foreigner, just in case he might be called into the prospective project with Jones and Page that never materialized. However, 2009 has already seen him sitting in with a number of acts and making other appearances. He's billed to show up at a Slash and Friends gig in Las Vegas tonight (Update: This did not come to fruition as he had apparently dropped out of the lineup at some point), and then there are some other gigs coming up, including one just announced today.

It's Oct. 11 at the Roxy Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., "Rockstar Karaoke" featuring singer Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, Sugar Ray's Mark McGrath, Kelly Hansen of Foreigner, Lemmy from Motörhead, Trevor Rabin of Yes, and others. Proceeds are to benefit the Painted Turtle, a camp for seriously ill children. Tickets are on sale here.

Page has been making the movie "It Might Get Loud," and he's been busy promoting it and saying he has something else planned that he has to start on in 2010. Apparently, it's not an autobiography; this much he revealed last month while he attended a book launch by -- who else! -- Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet. But a new musical project, Jimmy? I hope so. I really, really hope so.

Plant, when he's not talking about a new album with Alison Krauss, has been collecting awards and occasionally singing Led Zeppelin songs onstage without Page, Jones and Bonham. We'll see what else the future may hold for him!

But meanwhile, specific details of the recent past remain no clearer.

Jason Bonham sets U.S. tour dates with Bonham; Slash also to welcome drummer at Las Vegas gig

Earlier this year, Jason Bonham reunited his first band, Airrace, and went on a U.K. tour with them.

So why not reunite his most successful solo band, Bonham, and go on a U.S. tour? The magic 8 ball says that's in his future.

Over a short time between 1989 and 1990, the band took its Zeppelin-influenced sound and released a hit single called "Wait for You" as well as a Gold-certified album The Disregard of Timekeeping.

Now, Bonham has just announced five shows in Florida and California next month. Here is the complete list of announced tour dates thus far:

• Oct. 14 - Revolution Live - Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
• Oct. 15 - House of Blues - Orlando, Fla.
• Oct. 16 - State Theatre - St. Petersburg, Fla.
• Oct. 29 - Coach House - San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
• Oct. 30 - The Canyon - Agoura Hills, Calif.
  

The band, Bonham, is said to be performing its own music along with that of some of the drummer's other recent projects: UFO, Foreigner and, definitely, Led Zeppelin.

Tickets to the above shows are on sale now through Ticketmaster and can be purchased here.

In addition, Jason Bonham is to be in Las Vegas before those dates take place. He is scheduled to perform with Slash in an all-star show at the Mirage hotel and casino on Oct. 2. (Update: Jason did not perform this date as he evidently dropped out of the lineup in advance.)

It is shaping up to be similar in spirit to the June 30 gig in Norway that saw Bonham playing drums for Slash's 90-minute set that saw guest vocal appearances from Ozzy Osbourne, Fergie and Franky Perez. During that show, Perez sang "Immigrant Song" and "Whole Lotta Love," and Fergie sang "Black Dog."

For the Oct. 2 show, Slash's announced onstage guests are to include:

• singer Courtney Love of Hole
  
• guitarist Joe Perry of Aerosmith
• drummer Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe
• singer Rob Zombie of White Zombie
• drummer Matt Sorum of Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver
• guitarist Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick
• guitarist and singer Rocco DeLuca of Rocco DeLuca and the Burden
• singer Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls

Plus, there are supposed to be other "surprise" celebrity appearances! Click here to reserve your spot at the event.

Slash was said to have been putting the finishing touches on a solo album in recent weeks. Drums on that album are said to be played by Josh Freese, who previously worked with Nine Inch Nails.

Jason Bonham joins Slash in Norway for all-star set including Led Zeppelin songs

As part of Jason Bonham's busy season, the drummer earned an assist June 30 by playing a 90-minute set at Norway's Quart Festival as part of Slash's backing band. They played four songs each with Ozzy Osbourne and Fergie on vocals, although the best singer may have been Franky Perez, who opened the set with "Immigrant Song" and also sang "Whole Lotta Love" as an encore. Scott Rowley, writing for Classic Rock magazine, expressed high praise for Fergie in her rendition of "Black Dog." Photographer Ross Halfin added, "Jason Bonham played drums and I must say he was right on it, he nailed every song."

Photo credit: Ross Halfin

Slash ready for festival gig in Norway with Jason Bonham, guests

"I'm looking forward to the gig," Slash tweeted two days ago, referring to his headlining set today, June 30, at the Quart Festival in Norway. "It[']s been almost a year since I played a whole show," the former Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver guitarist noted, adding to his earlier comment, "Maybe it will help make up for the cancelled VR gig a while back."

Slash tweeted on Friday when rehearsals were to begin, adding one day later, "We've got a great set for Norway, but we're not playing any songs from my new cd." He has been in the studio this month, putting the finishing touches on a solo disc that will reportedly see guest vocal appearances from Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas and Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath.

Both of those singers are to appear during the Slash and Friends set today. Slash has revealed the members of his Quart Festival band lineup: drummer Jason Bonham, bassist Chris Chaney from Jane's Addiction, guitarist John 5 of Marilyn Manson's band, singer-guitarist Franky Perez and keyboardist Teddy Andreadis. Guitarist Ron Wood, whose former bands include the Faces and the Rolling Stones, is also a confirmed guest.

As for what this lineup will be playing, Classic Rock magazine recently found him detailing a set of "mostly covers":

"Anything from 'Whole Lotta Love' to 'Use Me' to Fleetwood Mac’s 'Oh Well' or 'The Thrill Is Gone' – depends on who’s singing. I did 'Sweet Child o’ Mine' with Fergie – she’s got a great f---ing rock ’n’ roll voice, that girl. It’s a casual thing but at the same time now that you're talking about it it'll sound more serious than it is …"

Slash mentioned "Whole Lotta Love." Here's a version he played live last December with Chester Bennington on vocals.



A Saturday press release from the Quart Festival also provides further clues as to a possible set list. It repeats the claim of "Sweet Child o' Mine," so that one's probably in the bag. It adds "Crazy Train," which logic tells us would have Osbourne on vocals. Also hinted for an appearance during the set is "Black Dog."

As for Bonham, today's gig with Slash comes in the midst of some onstage activity reuniting him with his first professional band, Airrace. Their first reunion show took place June 19 in Milton Keynes, England, with further appearances set for July 4 and 5.

Jason Bonham to perform at Drumfest in U.K.; date follows four other June/July appearances

Jason Bonham has been announced as one of the participants at Drumfest, to be held July 12 in Birmingham, England.

The day-long event comprises one part of the National Rock and Pop Festival '09, along with Guitarfest on July 11 and Stick It to Multiple Sclerosis on July 13.

Alongside Bonham, another big name appearing at Drumfest is Carmine Appice. As drummer for the Vanilla Fudge, he became a great friend of John Bonham's during Led Zeppelin's earliest concerts in North America.

The Drumfest Web site says, "The biggest names in drums will be performing on the main stage from 12am until 5pm." Other drummers announced for the event are Gregg Bissonette, JoJo Mayer, and Simon Phillips of Toto.

This summer date of Jason Bonham's takes place after his other scheduled performances in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. This includes one with Slash, Ozzy Osbourne and Ronnie Wood at the Quart Festival in Norway on June 30, and also three dates with the band Airrace on June 19, July 4 and July 5, all in England.

Led Zeppelin's first reunion with Jason Bonham remembered

A special edition of "On This Day In Led Zeppelin History" went out today, the first in a while. In it, I wrote about the show that happened 21 years today, honoring Atlantic Records on the occasion of its 40th birthday. More to the point, it was the second time Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones played together in a concert setting since the death of John Bonham -- and it also happened to be their first concert outing with Jason Bonham on drums. So, I included a clip of an interview conducted earlier this year with Mark Stein of the Vanilla Fudge. Here's the video of that interview related to the Atlantic Records concert, never seen or heard before today.



Portions of the same interview have been aired earlier this year on "Get the Led Out XL," to which I gladly contribute. The radio show started up in January on the 40th anniversary of Led Zeppelin's debut album being released. We've been doing a "this day in Led Zeppelin history" type of thing on daily installments of the show since then, and today's edition includes a never-heard-before audio interview with Chris Squire, Yes bassist, comparing Jason Bonham's performances at the Led Zeppelin reunion shows in 1988 and 2007. (He's much more keen on the most recent show.)

There are a lot of good interviews we've been putting on that show lately. We just aired a full hour episode with Led Zeppelin publicist Danny Goldberg. Earlier this month, I arranged for author Dave Lewis to interview Zep's old tour manager, Richard Cole. I just got the audio back on that one yesterday, so stay tuned for that. Check with your local radio station to see if they already "Get the Led Out" with Carol Miller.

Jason Bonham adds Airrace concert dates to summer schedule

Drummer Jason Bonham is becoming increasingly in demand again, now having been booked to play a few shows in England reuniting him with the members of his first professional rock band.

Bonham was 17 years old when he joined Airrace, which released an album called Shaft of Light on the Atco label in 1984. The album was put to CD for the first time in 2003 by the reissue label Wounded Bird Records. The hopes of selling more CDs appear to have prompted the group to get back together.

Classic Rock magazine reports that three other original members are to join Bonham (shown on right in picture) in the reunited Airrace: guitarist Laurie Mansworth (left), singer Keith Murrel (center) and keyboardist Toby Sadler (not shown). In addition, new member David Boyce is to play bass with Dean Howard on second guitar, completing the six-piece lineup.

Three British concert appearances by Airrace, with Bonham on drums, are currently scheduled for this June and July, with Mansworth telling Classic Rock magazine a more permanent reunion, including a new album, could be in the works.

On June 19, Airrace is to headline a show at the Pitz in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. The band is also set to support British rock group Thunder at Sheffield City Hall on July 4 and in Cambridge on July 5.

One more Airrace date is to take place Oct. 24 at the Firefest in Nottingham, although it has already been announced that Bonham would sit out for that show due to scheduling conflicts. Classic Rock's report does not specify exactly what commitments are keeping Bonham from playing this date, which once again leads one to wonder.

Of course, it could be as innocuous as a previously scheduled family outing for the Bonhams. But on the other hand, with John Paul Jones saying last week that he hopes "to be everywhere this summer" with "a couple of other people" who've been "working [with him] on some other music, which is more rock based," one cannot help but wonder what other plans are on the horizon.

Bonham's June and July concert dates with Airrace surround his only other announced live appearance this summer, a June 30 headlining set at Norway's Quart Festival combining him with Slash, Ozzy Osbourne and Ron Wood. No other performances by this de facto supergroup lineup have been scheduled.

Last August, Bonham left Foreigner as its regular drummer while the band was very busy touring, stating that he wanted to spend some time with his family in the short term before returning to the music scene. At the time, it seemed possible to him that a few jam sessions earlier that year with Jones and Jimmy Page would allow him to continue playing with them, as he had onstage at the Led Zeppelin reunion in December 2007. Page's manager said in January 2009, however, that auditions for a new singer to join a touring and recording band with Page and Jones had concluded, without anyone having landed the gig.

Meanwhile, the natural selection for any group including Page, Jones and Bonham -- Robert Plant -- spent last year touring with Alison Krauss, with their joint album Raising Sand deemed a commercial and critical success. A potential follow-up album is already in the works, but Plant is already dabbling in at least one other project: He is scheduled to take part in this Saturday's headlining act at the three-day Womad festival, which is already underway in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Jason Bonham to perform in really awesome supergroup

Dude, no way! This has to be bullcrap. Or maybe just mistranslated.

We have a Norwegian paper and a festival Web site that both seem to be claiming our friend Jason Bonham is going to hook up with some really famous musicians for a show in Oslo, Norway.

On guitar, you have chain-smoking Gn'R axeman Slash. On vocals, you have the Sabbath-crooning, bat head-chewing, obscenity-spouting pater familias Ozzy Osbourne. And on bass or guitar or whatever he damn well pleases, we have the O'Doul's-swilling Faces and Stones vet Ronnie Wood.

Imagine how lucky these stars of the '70s, '80s and '90s will be to have the direct descendant of Zep skinsman John Bonham pounding away for them!

Good for Jason, good gig!

The show takes place June 30 at the Quart Festival in Oslo, Norway. In case that's all this lineup does, you may want to check into flights now.

No summer tour plans announced for any Zeppelin members; only a rumor of Jimmy Page joining Jeff Beck

• Jeff Beck, newly inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, is on tour right now. The first date was last night in Scranton, Pa., and he's set to visit Philadelphia's Electric Factory tomorrow and New York's Irving Plaza the next couple of nights. From there, he's off to New England, the Midwest and California, before a U.K. tour in June and July, with some Canadian dates and a short European tour rounding out that month.
  
  As for a rumor reported today by Boston Herald's Inside Track that says Jimmy Page may join Beck "on tour later this year," it's not a rumor I could find anywhere else recently. Of course, we did hear back in July 2007 another reported rumor -- that time courtesy of Rolling Stone magazine and others -- that Page and Beck were going to join up with the already-touring original Yardbirds members Chris Dreja and Jim McCarty, and that hasn't happened.
  
  But you never know if Jimmy Page might show up at Jeff Beck's concerts. Check out those tour dates here and decide for yourself.
  
  
• Sara Watkins just released an album produced by John Paul Jones, and she'll soon be out on tour. It looks like she's booked to open for Old Crow Medicine Show for a few dates in the South, starting this Thursday. She's supposed to play on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" next Monday night and then head to Minneapolis for shows on April 15-16 that kick off her first-ever headlining tour.
  
  Jones will not be a regular in the touring lineup although he is scheduled to appear with her on Monday's TV spot, which will tape in New York. Jones is committed to being in New York to perform with Sonic Youth on April 16-19, during Watkins's headlining shows in Minneapolis, Naperville, Ill., and Nashville. But if Jones sticks around in New York for just a few days more, he would still be around when Watkins performs at the Mercy Lounge on April 22. This may be the best chance of Jones sitting in during the tour, but you can view all the tour dates here and decide for yourself.

Side note: While Watkins is out touring, she will presumably take with her Pete Thomas, who drummed for Elvis Costello in the Attractions lineup that was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and again later for Costello's Imposters lineup. That lineup also included bassist Davey Faragher, who was said to be one of the members of the Watkins solo band (also called the Works Progress Administration -- and, previously, the Scrolls) back when it was lining up in December 2007.

• But it probably doesn't bother Elvis Costello when his former bandmates find new things to do. He has a new band now called the Sugarcanes, and he'll be using them on a dozen or so tour dates this June and August. The band includes Stuart Duncan on fiddle and banjo and Dennis Crouch on bass; both toured last year with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Also in Costello's Sugarcanes lineup is Jerry Douglas, who's a member of Krauss's Union Station. They'll be supporting Costello's June album release, Secret, Profane & Sugarcane, which (also like Plant and Krauss's Raising Sand) is produced by T Bone Burnett and features him on electric guitar.
  
  
• There was speculation late last year of a new studio project by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss leading them to some tour dates this year. However, nothing more currently appears on the horizon. Heck, there hasn't been any indication that any recordings proceeded beyond the "pre-production" stage as Krauss pronounced it. No word even if Krauss will be out at all this year.
  
  And whatever happened to Plant's band the Strange Sensation? I always thought it would be natural for him to return to that group once he was done with Krauss. That's the group that helped him record the albums Dreamland and Mighty ReArranger, and he went out on tour with them several times between 2001 and 2007, right up until Raising Sand was released. All throughout Plant's association with Krauss, the front page of his official Web site had a link to biographies of his band members, who were listed as the guys in the Strange Sensation. But last week, his site was redesigned for the first time in four years, and the Strange Sensation stuff has disappeared.
  
  
• Tour dates for Foreigner continue without Jason Bonham on drums anymore. They've had Bryan Head on drums ever since Bonham's departure last summer, which he explained at the time he was doing so he could rest up with his family in the event he was suddenly called into action by Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones. Foreigner's out playing all the time and currently has shows booked through October.
  
  
• The surviving members of former Swan Song recording artist Bad Company have reunited again and will be playing 10 shows in late June and early July. I'm a fan of the fact that this band's first reunion of the original lineup reunited in honor of Peter Grant, their manager and Led Zeppelin's, after his 1995 funeral. They played a show last year, and they're returning to the same venue to kick off their limited tour and sell a DVD of the 2008 appearance.
  
  Perhaps it's a plan the Led Zeppelin members ought to consider since they have a DVD to release and seemingly don't have very much else to do in the near future.
  

Jason Bonham sits in for Led Zeppelin tribute band's encore

Jason Bonham didn't just attend Saturday's concert by tribute band Led Zepagain.

Sure, for most of the set, he stood on the floor at the House of Blues on Sunset Boulevard just like anyone else who'd come to hear four musicians recreate a full Led Zeppelin concert from 1977.

But for an encore, Bonham took the place of regular drummer Jim Kersey, a mustachioed lookalike of the man whose memory lingered in a teen-aged Bonham and inspired him to practice so he could play like his dad.

Above, Bonham thrills singer Swan Montgomery during a rendition of "Rock and Roll" that closed Led Zepagain's recreation of a 1977 Led Zeppelin concert.

Photos courtesy of dirkbag.com

And here, Bonham basks in a warm audience reception at the House of Blues on Sunset Boulevard with all four members of the band, which also includes, on left, Jim Wooten as John Paul Jones and Steve Zukowsky as Jimmy Page.

Don't forget that this is the same tribute band that Page once paid a visit back in January 2004. What is it with these guys that they're attracting such big names to their shows?

In an unrelated story, I can see why Robert Plant might be tempted to pay the $8 cover to get into Fontana's on Manhattan's Lower East Side tonight for a midnight set by his son Logan's up-and-coming band, Sons of Albion.

Led Zeppelin members, where are they now? Short answer: the United States!

It's been all quiet on the LedZeppelinNews.com front. Just like much of last year, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones aren't making any public statements about their plans. And now with Robert Plant off the road, and with Jason Bonham not doing anything we know of, it seemed appropriate to comment on everybody's last known, current or predicted near-future whereabouts.

As previously predicted here, Jimmy Page is set to be in Cleveland on April 4, when he will speak at the induction ceremony of Jeff Beck into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, according to reports by the Cleveland Plain Dealer and USA Today. Earlier this month, photographer Ross Halfin reported on his blog that he was shooting Page for some upcoming projects, the nature of which he did not discuss. One thing we do know is that Page stars in a movie to be released in theaters this summer, "It Might Get Loud."

John Paul Jones sat in with Sara and Sean Watkins in Los Angeles during their performance on March 5 at Largo at the Coronet. I am willing to bet he joins them again tomorrow night, March 21, for the Watkins Family Hour's special appearance. Sara Watkins's debut solo album, produced by Jones, is set to be released April 7 on the Nonesuch label. (Watch this space for a review of the CD soon.) And on April 16-19, Jones will be in New York for the premiere of some new music of his, a collaboration with Sonic Youth.

Jason Bonham is also said to be in Los Angeles tomorrow night for a performance by the tribute band based out of that city, Led Zepagain. Guitarist Steve Zukowsky says Bonham is confirmed to attend the band's concert at the House of Blues on Sunset Boulevard on March 21. The tribute act is set to revisit Led Zeppelin's 1977 tour with the complete set list, faithful recreations of the equipment and costumes, plus the lasers, fog and other lighting that were a staple of the band's final tour of North America. With rear-screen visuals added, it looks to be a show not to miss -- an assessment Bonham seems to be willing to give a chance.

Robert Plant was known to be in a recording studio in Nashville with Alison Krauss in January, just prior to picking up five Grammy awards each in Los Angeles. Krauss is now said to be preparing for a tour later this year with her regular group, Union Station, which may mean that any future projects between her and Plant are on hold for the moment. In the meantime, Robert was last spotted in his hometown of Wolverhampton, England, greeting a racecar driver who was a fan of his.

His son, Logan Plant, is currently making big news. Logan's band, Sons of Albion, is in the United States for the first time, appearing in Austin, Texas, at the presently ongoing South by Southwest Festival. You may recall that Plant gave a keynote speech at this event in 2003 and performed at that time with his own band, the Strange Sensation. Following three gigs in Austin, the Sons of Albion move on to New York City for three more gigs in small clubs. They are set to appear March 24 at Annex, March 25 at Fontana's and March 26 at the Delancey. And who knows if some paternal support is in the cards at any of these New York shows!

So, even if there isn't a Led Zeppelin reunion on the horizon, there are still plenty of opportunities to catch the surviving members of Led Zeppelin and their relatives!

Myles Kennedy admits he jammed with Led Zeppelin members last year; singer-guitarist says there are no plans to continue

Myles Kennedy has finally admitted he sang in rehearsal with Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham last year.

But the chance of continuing with them in some capacity is now gone, he says.

"I'm not singing in Led Zeppelin or any offshoot of Led Zeppelin, but I did have a great opportunity and it was something that [I'm] very grateful for," Kennedy says in his first interview confirming his involvement last year with members of Led Zeppelin.

The singer-guitarist has previously sidestepped the issue and deflected direct questions, also refusing to address it as recently as two weeks ago.

His first confirmation came in an interview conducted at the National Association of Music Merchants' 2009 NAMM Show. Speaking to Eric Blair for an edition of the online series called "The Blairing Out Show" posted to YouTube Jan. 19, Kennedy broke the silence.


Asked how it felt being in the rehearsal room with Led Zeppelin members, Kennedy said, "Surreal. It was great." He would not comment on whether they were rehearsing new material.

His admission comes within two weeks of the disclosure by Jimmy Page manager Peter Mensch that some singer auditions took place last year for a Led Zeppelin offshoot band involving Page, Jones and Bonham.

Last August, Bonham became the first of them to admit to the press that jam sessions had occasionally taken place earlier in 2008 with him drumming for Page and Jones.

"I've been working with Jimmy and John Paul and trying to do just do some new material and some writing," he said at the time. "I don't know what it will be, but it will be something."

Kennedy, when asked to name the songs he sang with them, avoided the question. "I don't know," he said. "I'll tell that story someday, but for now it was a good experience, and I'm still pinching myself. Let's just put it that way."

Bonham's comments last August did not specify whether any singer was involved, but a disclosure to the press from an unidentified source soon said a singer was involved, at least in the placeholder capacity should Robert Plant decide to take part once his touring commitments with Alison Krauss expired. Kennedy was named shortly thereafter, and by the year's end, other names were speculated on, such as Steven Tyler's.

Kennedy is the first of those singers to admit publicly that he was involved in rehearsals.

Jones spoke last October of a project under consideration at that time that would have Page, Bonham and himself in a band fronted by a singer yet to be determined. He said he anticipated the project would include an album and a tour. He seemed to be under the impression that an announcement would be forthcoming.

Plant, meanwhile, has extended his professional relationship with Krauss beyond last year's tour, and they are said to be currently working on their second album together. Their first album, Raising Sand, is on track to pick up as many as five more Grammy awards at next month's ceremony after yielding them one Grammy last year.

Plant also issued a statement last September that said he would not be taking part in any Led Zeppelin activity.

While it was widely speculated in the press last year that Led Zeppelin was planning to tour and record under that name without Robert Plant, both Page and his management intoned that the band under consideration would never call itself Led Zeppelin. Plant, speaking in November at a time when the Page-Jones-Bonham project may have still been under consideration, also commented that his former bandmates would not be using the name Led Zeppelin in their endeavors.

Myles Kennedy announces his plans; fronting Jimmy Page's band not among them

Myles Kennedy has been working on solo material over the past month, he says in a new interview posted on his official Web site. The only other project on the Alter Bridge singer's slate, he says, is eventually developing a new album with his band.

Absent from his announced plans is any mention of the obvious. Both Kennedy and his interviewer manage to sidestep any mention of the rumors that he was under consideration for a new band featuring two of Led Zeppelin's original members -- Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones -- and Jason Bonham, the son of original Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham.

Kennedy says he has been crafting music that would not suit his band Alter Bridge because it "isn't aggressive" enough for that outlet. His solo work, he says, is more of the "singer/songwriter" vein, and he's been spending a lot of time on it since Alter Bridge completed its tour in December.

"I basically got home from the European tour and then the next day I was in the studio," Kennedy says in the interview. He indicates he has been working on this new material alone, an approach he says is "a great way of challenging myself to learn to trust by instincts," although he "still had rather have a band."

Sources last year indicated that Kennedy had been rehearsing with Page, Jones and Bonham last year and was prepared to sing on a tour and album with them. Twisted Sister singer Dee Snider revealed in October he'd heard Kennedy would be tapped for activity in 2009 as long as a Led Zeppelin tour with Robert Plant wouldn't trump their plans.

Further, a confidential source in November told LedZeppelinNews.com that Page and Jones got a close-up look at Kennedy's band in action when they attended an Alter Bridge concert in London that was to be filmed for a DVD. Kennedy implies in his interview that the band postponed filming until toward the end of the tour because the London show was too early in on the tour for all of the band to be "firing on all cylinders." If that's the case, then perhaps Page and Jones were underwhelmed with Kennedy and just didn't have the patience.

That assumption jibes with the statement on Wednesday, by Page manager Peter Mensch, that Page, Jones and Bonham "tried out a few singers, but no one worked out."

Some fans will undoubtedly see this week as the official passing of the Gary Cherone era in Led Zeppelin's history. They breathe a sigh of relief today.

Even more sadly, since today is Page's 65th birthday -- the age currently viewed in countries including United States as the retirement age -- is the completion of that quote from Page's manager on any possibility of Page, Jones and Bonham continuing to work together in any capacity:

"That was it. The whole thing is completely over now. There are absolutely no plans for them to continue. Zero. Frankly, I wish everybody would stop talking about it."

Source of dismal assessment of Led Zeppelin reunion status offers murky clarification

So, more on those two seemingly conflicting quotes from Jimmy Page's manager that showed up on the Internet yesterday.

MusicRadar now offers an explanation pointing out that the BBC article providing the earlier quote from Mensch is actually dated Jan. 7, 2008 -- a year ago.

And therefore, MusicRadar surmises, the interview we were all reading yesterday must have been a year old and carry only information that has become obsolete through a year's passage of time.

So, MusicRadar argues, the correct explanation is that Mensch now says the possibility of future collaboration among Led Zeppelin's members is off the table. That's what he told them on the phone yesterday, so they consider the chance of this collaboration non-existent now, although it could have been at the time of Mensch's earlier interview for the BBC, whenever it was truly conducted.

But that argument doesn't exactly hold water with me, and here's why.

MusicRadar is right that the BBC article is dated Jan. 7, 2008, not Jan. 7, 2009. Good catch.

However, explain why the Peter Mensch interview clips were used in the most recent "Music Week" podcast on the BBC site. I downloaded and played it yesterday where this new podcast was displayed ever so obviously. It wasn't hidden in some year-old archive where I had to dig it up. It was right there.

If the BBC interview were really a year old, in theory, somebody would have recognized it. I would like to think I would have remembered coming across it only 12 months ago. I would like to think somebody at the BBC would have intercepted it before it were released for a second time.

There's no way the BBC would have purposely hoarded the interview for a full year before using it! What would the purpose of that be?

OK, now let's consider the content of the interview. BBC interviewer Matt Everitt refers to rumors that Steven Tyler was jamming with Page and Jones -- rumors that didn't exist before late October 2008. Peter Mensch also discusses the auditioning of singers, which wouldn't have happened by this time a year ago.

The BBC interview was probably conducted in November, or late October at the absolute earliest, circumstances mentioned in the interview suggest.

So I would think the 2008 inscription on the article's dateline was the result of a typographical error. As of yet, this has not been corrected. (Update: It was a typographical error, and it eventually was corrected. It now reads 2009.)

But as to why Peter Mensch would deny to MusicRadar having given an interview to the BBC, I don't know.

Maybe he gave the interview a month or more ago and didn't know what interview MusicRadar was referring to when it came up in yesterday's brief phone conversation.

We do have further reason to believe, however, that when MusicRadar's Joe Bosso called Peter Mensch yesterday for comment on the BBC article, the interviewer asked (pitifully) about a "Led Zeppelin" tour. Look, even MusicRadar admits the conversation went something like this:

JB: "Hey Pete, nice interview with the BBC, who's replacing Robert Plant, then?"
PM: "What interview? I haven't spoke to those guys for like four months or something."
JB: "So Led Zeppelin are not going to tour and record?"
PM: "No chance."

So, I guess that's what Peter Mensch was saying wasn't going to happen: a Led Zeppelin tour. Feh. Like we really needed clarification on that point.

But is it possible Mensch also means, by extension, there's no chance of any project involving collaboration between Page and Jones?

Because if that's what he means, then, well, that sucks!

As far as the comment that Mensch has no clue what Page will be up to in the event that this band with Jones and Bonham has already fallen through, that's saddest of all.

Somebody on the discussion group For Badgeholders Only has suggested that this signals the end of Jimmy Page's career once and for all. What a sad assessment if this is true.

Jimmy Page's manager claims singer auditions failed, 'no plans' for tour

OK, so the only thing that stands in the way of a new album and tour with Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham is identifying a singer. Right?

That's what one would be led to believe after being exposed to the words of Page's manager, QPrime's Peter Mensch, who just said as much when he spoke with BBC Radio, as reported today.

But now Mensch is quoted, also today, by another news site saying something a little different. According to Joe Bosso's report on MusicRadar, the manager has told that site:

"They tried out a few singers, but no one worked out. That was it. The whole thing is completely over now. There are absolutely no plans for them to continue. Zero. Frankly, I wish everybody would stop talking about it."

Confused? Parse these words from Mensch carefully:

"Led Zeppelin are over! If you didn't see them in 2007, you missed them. It's done. I can't be any clearer than that."

Right. We already knew that, considering past disclosures to that effect from Page himself and an unnamed QPrime representative speaking on his behalf. This is almost exactly what Page told reporters last September:

"Playing at the 02, that was our reunion and it was one day and it was at the 02 in London. ... And basically that was it because if you're going to do a reunion, you need four members. John Paul Jones, myself and Jason would sort jam afterwards but it was nothing as monumental as people are speculating."

It almost sounds like MusicRadar's reporter was asking Mensch about a Led Zeppelin reunion, rather than a new collaboration between a singer and the established trio of Page, Jones and Bonham. It was precisely this line of questioning that went out of fashion last year after it became clear Robert Plant wanted no part of a Led Zeppelin reunion.

But it's interesting to see Mensch commenting on the fruits of the rehearsals, particularly that of the "few singers" they "tried out," "no one worked out."

While it has been reported that Page, Jones and Bonham were auditioning or rehearsing or jamming with singers Myles Kennedy and Steven Tyler last year, there have been no previous comments on how fruitful any singer rehearsals or auditions were.

And so, if you believe MusicRadar's quote from Mensch, then that's it: The project is called off. It won't happen.

The MusicRadar report concludes with one final quote from Mensch on the topic. It asks him what Page's plans are for the new year, and the manager replies:

"F--- if I know. I'm waiting to hear."

We all are, Jimmy. In fact, we have been for a while.

The guitarist turns 65 this Friday, Jan. 9. Jones just celebrated his 63rd birthday last Saturday, Jan. 3.