Minibus Pimps LP proves Jonesy'll do anything to progress in new ways and old

Say there is a new album featuring John Paul Jones. You'll never know what to expect. Come on, the guy's hard to pinpoint. The top session bassist and in-demand arranger in the 1960s, Jones has always been all over the map, arranging strings for the Rolling Stones and Dusty Springfield, playing bass for Tom Jones and Memphis Slim, and maybe even subbing in on bass for the Yardbirds in the studio (though he denied that vehemently when I interviewed him a dozen years ago).

The soundtrack to this post:

No matter what instrument or how daunting the musical task at hand, here is a man whose career has been defined by a constant (if not nagging) mantra of "Jonesy'll do it." There was the custom manufacture of a triple-neck guitar -- mandolin neck included -- exclusively to accommodate everything he had to reproduce simultaneously on live renditions of "Ten Years Gone" with Led Zeppelin, all while Jimmy Page was satisfied with two guitar necks at once. As a rule, Jones was always expected to handle bass duties even if it meant with his feet because his hands were otherwise engaged with other instruments. If there was a female call-and-response vocal part to cover at live shows, "Jonesy'll do it." This was demanding work!

Even apart from being a major contributing force in Led Zeppelin's songwriting and musicality, Jones persisted in finding time to dedicate his varied talents to discs by the likes of Roy Harper and Madeline Bell. Whatever the session called for, he's been there.

For instance: Need string arrangements on four -- count 'em, four -- of R.E.M.'s singles in 1992? "Jonesy'll do it."

If you were avant-garde singer Diamanda Galás in 1994 and you wanted to write a full-length album with somebody on bass who would also bust out a lap steel guitar to complement your unique voice, who else would you naturally turn to but the same guy who'd just co-produced the last Butthole Surfers album? "Jonesy'll do it."

The same guy composed three Spanish-language songs for a CD recorded by the Harp Collective called Amores Pasados, released in 1995. When that music resembled baroque from the 1600s, the question became inevitable: Is there anything Jonesy won't do?

While the decade proceeded, Jones's focus progressed. Frustrated that the perennial sideman hadn't been considered as a sideman for the widely acclaimed Page/Plant projects of the '90s, he concentrated on putting out two proper solo albums under his own name. On 1999's Zooma and the 2002/2003 release The Thunderthief, Jones really branched out, grabbing anything he could play, be it that triple-neck guitar, various keyboards, mandolin, ukulele, harmonica, koto, autoharp, mandola, yadda yadda yadda. By the second album, he wasn't even content with just instrumentals; he relented and even recorded his own lead vocals. (It really wasn't his first time singing lead on a John Paul Jones album; two cuts he sang on and cowrote with his daughter Jacinda made their way onto the 1985 movie soundtrack for Scream for Help, which was his first full-length solo project.)

Perhaps a more notable attribute on that pair of solo releases was Jones's demonstrated mastery of a burgeoning digital soundscape environment known as Kyma. This sort of thing was nothing he hadn't attempted even in the Led Zeppelin days. When music reviewer Julian Marszalek recently called to mind the mysterious droning intro to the In Through the Out Door track "In the Evening," Jones was quick to take credit for most of the sound. He boasted:

Oh, thank you! That was me! Jimmy put some guitars on it, too, but I did that on the Yamaha GX-1. I found this programme where you have all the filters on the edge where they break up and keep trying to do something else and they keep coming back again. Yeah, that was great, that.

Consider Kyma as just an updated way of achieving a seemingly unlimited array of sounds, which allowed Jones's 1999-2003 solo recordings to take on whole new levels. Thus, if asked to name an artist who at that time was providing a new kind of fanfare for the millennium, one proper response would have been, "Jonesy'll do it."

In 2005, Dave Grohl said he wanted the Foo Fighters' next album to be a double album harnessing the broad musical diversity found on Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti 30 years earlier. Jones, who found himself in Los Angeles for the Grammys anyway, hopped on over to the Foos' recording studio and wound up guesting on the album. Need piano on an acoustic song called "Miracle"? "Jonesy'll do it." Need mandolin behind the harmonica solo on "Another Round"? "Jonesy'll do it."

Once he'd sufficiently made the rounds in the bluegrass/Americana/old-timey music circuit, Jones was the natural pick to produce Uncle Earl's third full-length release. Their session for a hoedown fiddle number for cloggers called "Streak O' Lean, Streak O' Fat" saw Jones playing some barrelhouse piano while one of the g'Earls served as a Chinese-language square dance caller. Oh, and what about some excess hollering in the background too? "Jonesy'll do it."

The following year, whilst producing Sara Watkins's self-titled debut album, Jones overdubbed three of his own instrument parts -- electric piano, mandolin and bass -- all onto an original of hers called "Will We Go." Even with the great Benmont Tench of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers band at his disposal, Jones took it upon himself to lay down the keyboard parts on two other songs as well. He joined the three-part harmony chorus of Sara's catchy album opener, "All This Time," while his bass skills graced about a third of the album as well, once again proving, "Jonesy'll do it."

His next in-studio collaboration with Grohl was a writing and recording project conducted in secrecy throughout much of 2009, resulting in a "supergroup" (like it or not) called Them Crooked Vultures and an eponymous disc that was an hour-plus of heavy yet trippy alternative rock. For this release, his supply closet was stocked with an array of keyboards (including keytar) and basses, plus a lap steel guitar and -- why not? -- mandolin. Round things out with some backing vocals, and you've got yourself a job to do. But fear not: "Jonesy'll do it."

If you were California-born bluesman Seasick Steve, and you'd gone in a short time from busking in obscurity to being suddenly pronounced Mojo magazine's Best Breakthrough Act and a festival mainstay, what would you do to further your the whirlwind acclaim you've been experiencing worldwide? Might a little name recognition help push your next two studio efforts in 2011 and 2013? The first time, how about getting John Paul Jones to play bass on two songs and mandolin on another? The second time, how about getting him back to play on no less than nine songs, this time adding to the instrument mix some Hammond organ, backing vocals, and even (yes, it exists) lap steel ukulele? "Jonesy'll do it."

By no means is this a comprehensive list. For more of his session, production and arranging work back in the day, I could have recited the familiar (hackneyed?) litany of names like Lulu, Donovan, Herman's Hermits, Engelbert Humperdinck, among many others. Led Zeppelin aficionados have been reciting these credits of Jones's since the earliest Led Zeppelin press releases at the end of the 1960s highlighted his earlier achievements. Since then, other studio accomplishments of his ranged from working with Sir Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart, Ben E. King, the Mission UK, Heart, Cinderella, Robyn Hitchcock, and under-appreciated New Zealand garage rock revivalists the Datsuns, whose Jones-produced 2004 CD Outta Sight/Outta Mind is a personal favorite of mine. Still, that less-than-comprehensive list represents the bulk of Jones's studio work available up until last week.

Bearing all of that in mind, whether or not you're aware of the operas Jones has been composing in his spare time, it was difficult to imagine what to expect when earlier this year the Norwegian indie label SusannaSonata announced the March 3 release of Cloud to Ground, a near 30-minute album featuring four live collaborations between Jones and fellow record producer Helge Sten (a.k.a. "Deathprod"). Together, they call themselves Minibus Pimps.

When you've long been conditioned to expect the unexpected, it may come as less of a surprise to realize this latest John Paul Jones album project resembles almost nothing else mentioned above. The Minibus Pimps album -- sold as a 180-gram LP that's packaged with a musically identical CD -- resides in a category all by itself, all but for the sheer fact that there's a lot of improvisation involved in the music.

Improvising is not a first for Jones by any stretch of the imagination, which anyone who's ever paid attention to any Led Zeppelin's live recordings could tell you. (In the above-referenced interview, Jones is quick to namecheck Zep's funk throwback "The Crunge" as their most avant-garde moment caught on album.) In the case of Minibus Pimps, improvisation is inevitable given their modus operandi consists solely of two skilled musicians battling each other in the live arena using not conventional instruments but stealth weapons of digital software. (There's that Kyma stuff again!)

This disc's four distinct titles were culled from live performances they'd made in multiple concert appearances. Here are eight observations about it after I've had a week to take it in.

1. Most (and hardly not all, right?) pictures of the album cover currently shown online include a yellow sticker that is actually part of the plastic shrinkwrap. Remove the shrinkwrap, and the sticker is gone. So that yellow bit is not really part of the cover art.
2. There aren't really any liner notes to speak of.
3. The artist/title/label/catalog number info on the spine, so it's not exactly repeating the feat pioneered by Zep's untitled fourth album.
4. They do list the song titles on the inside of the record. Side one of the LP consists of "Black Aurora" in four parts, 16 minutes total. It isn't obvious from looking at the vinyl where to drop the needle if you wanted, for example, to start with part 2 or 3 or 4. Discerning listeners can tell from listening where one part ends and the next begins.
5. The album's flip side consists of three separate titles: "Cloud to Ground," "Arc" and "Superbolt." At roughly four minutes each, these are about equal in length to the four parts on side one.
6. The US iTunes Store sells the album digitally, and that full album purchase is the only way iTunes lets you obtain "Black Aurora" in all its 16 minutes as one track. The remaining three songs can be acquired separately ($1.29 apiece) without the full album purchase.
7. The CD included in the LP package contains a total of seven tracks. Evidently, the decision was made to separate "Black Aurora" parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 into CD tracks 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. The remaining three titles comprise tracks 5, 6 and 7.
8. As far as physical copies are concerned, I didn't check everywhere the Interwebz had to often, nor did I even bother my local record store. That being said, my limited comparison on pricing for Cloud to Ground persuaded me to buy mine from Bull Moose, an indie record shop located in Maine, thankfully with a Web presence. Unless I'm mistaken, they're offering the best deal for American consumers hoping to own a physical copy of this limited-edition release. On the Bull Moose site, the LP/CD package was available for $19.97. (Compare to upwards of $50 direct from the Norwegian label when you factor in international shipping to US customers!) Now, Bull Moose charges $3 for standard shipping, but there's a loophole: They offer free shipping for orders of $20 or more. The Minibus Pimps release falls three short of qualifying for free shipping, so all you have to do is find another product in their store priced between $0.03 and $3.00 and you can make out like a bandit. For my shipping-free purchase, I opted to invest in a 2012 Michael Kiwanuka single for the princely sum of $1.97. It's like the place was paying me to put another record in my shopping cart!

Minibus Pimps collaborator Helge Sten, who perhaps most famously worked in the past with the group Supersilent, comes across as an obvious Zeppelin fan. As evidence, I'll refer you to one particular remark he made during Julian Marszalek's joint interview with him and Jones published last month by online music publication The Quietus. Quoth the Deathprod mastermind:

"I think there's so much interesting stuff going on in all of their [Led Zeppelin's] music. There's so much variety and energy going on there and that's what sets it apart from so much other music."

At this point, I must clarify that I myself am no stranger to ambient and avant-garde music. Whenever it's late at night and I'm zoning out, or trying to lull myself asleep, or just simply winding down from an adrenaline-filled night where I've just played a live classic rock tribute gig and still facing a few more hours of driving before I'm home again, I'll tune my radio to WXPN in hopes that a show like "Star's End" or "Echoes" will provide a soothing soundtrack to complement my trip into Dreamland. However, for me, this Minibus Pimps album is a little more nightmare-inducing.

Maybe it's also the pain meds I've been taking to mask a back injury I mysteriously suffered last week. Or maybe I was just off-put by the pitch-shifting sounds my questionable turntable was making when I sought to embark on the record's maiden voyage. Or maybe I'm just plain sour (Sauer?).

But so far, I'm deciding to file this Minibus Pimps release away with Jimmy Page's 2012 archival release, Lucifer Rising and Other Sound Tracks. That particular mood doesn't often strike me, but I'll know where to go the next time it does.

If The Quietus's Julian Marszalek is to believed, he intends to "drop some mushrooms to [the album] and watch the Aurora Borealis." In that case, my only complaint would be the album's length. Is thirty minutes really enough to take it all in?

Moreover, does there remain anything musical Jonesy hasn't done?

John Paul Jones' duo Minibus Pimps readies album for March 3 release; Cloud to Ground pairs him with Helge Sten

Source: Fact Magazine

A duo project featuring John Paul Jones is ready to release an album. Jones's partner in the project Minibus Pimps is Helge Sten, a composer and performer of ambient music. The album is due March 3 with the title Cloud to Ground.

"The music is highly avant garde electronic music," advises an announcement by the label SusannaSonata.

Sten worked as a solo artist under the moniker Deathprod and as a member of Supersilent. Jones jammed with Supersilent in live settings part of each year between 2011 and 2013. On other occasions over the same years, Sten and Jones also performed as a duo, using the name Minibus Pimps. Live clips follow after the jump.

Jones, aside from his live work with these acts, and an upcoming opera, most recently appeared on the two most recent studio albums by Seasick Steve: 2013's international release Hubcap Music and the UK-only 2011 release You Can't Teach An Old Dog New Tricks. Prior to this, in 2009, Jones surprised everyone by releasing an album and touring extensively with the high-profile studio trio/live quartet Them Crooked Vultures.

For more insight on Sten's past work, try this Spotify playlist.

John Paul Jones-composed opera to be produced in 2013

By Brian Gardiner
Hot off an on-stage part in the Royal Opera's "Anna Nicole: The Party Always Ends," John Paul Jones is set to compose an opera himself. Jones has been involved in work to compose an opera based on the Isabel Allende short story, "The Judge's Wife."

Jones's opera composition is set for a fall 2013 production. It is to feature a libretto by Amanda Holden and direction from Gerald Thomas. Stuart Stratford has been pegged as conductor.

In December, Jones and Thomas met at the Hoxton Hotel in London to discuss the opera project. Their meeting appears on YouTube.



Thomas's current play, "Throats," features a piano composition by Jones. It is currently playing at the Pleasence Theatre in London through March 27.

"Anna Nicole" has two more performances at the Royal Opera House: on Tuesday, March 1, and Friday, March 4.

John Paul Jones performs at Anna Nicole Smith's big reveal

By Brian Gardiner

Production photo:
Bill Cooper/Royal Opera House

The Royal Opera's "Anna Nicole" premiered Feb. 17 at London's Royal Opera House. Booked for six performances, Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones performed as part of an "onstage" jazz trio.

Composed by Mark-Anthony Turnage with libretto by Richard Thomas, the prospect of an opera on the life of the late Playboy centerfold seems unlikely. It is not, however, unheard of for an opera to be based on an actual person.

Mozart's "Don Giovanni" has a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, who as an ordained priest caroused with legendary womanizer Giacomo Casanova. The libretto for "Don Giovanni" was partially based on the life of Casanova. (The recent movie "I, Don Giovanni" was partially based on this connection.)

More than a century later, composer Francesco Cilea with a libretto by Arturo Colautti premiered "Adriana Lecouvreur" about an 18th century French actress. Its plot features love, anger, intrigue, greed and, finally, the heroine's death.

Novelist and opera aficionado/librettist Robertson Davies once wrote of John Corigliano's "The Ghosts of Versailles," "The plot is of a complexity that I think is dangerous in an opera." It's true that keeping an opera's theme simple allows the composer to let the music shine through. And all great operas are great musical works first and foremost.

Anna Nicole Smith's modern story is no less tragic of a story than topics mentioned above. Although her life is suitable to opera, was justice done through the music? The reviews are now coming in, and the verdict is unclear. The Independent notes "Anna Nicole" is:

often ironical beyond irony itself and delighting in the music of its own wordplay - would carry the day even if the score weren't as terrific as it is…

Production photo:
Bill Cooper/Royal Opera House

Sky News is less impressed, however:

Although the singing is fantastic and the Dutch soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek is excellent as the story's buxom, tragic heroine, the music is less memorable.

And while Eva-Marie Westbroek gets accolades in the bulk of the reviews, Zeppelin fans may be sure, the bassist in the jazz trio was pretty good as well. Reuters reports:

The production included an utterly believable re-creation of a lap-dancing club set in Smith's native Texas and a riotous, cocaine-fueled onstage party that featured a guest appearance by Led Zeppelin bass guitarist John Paul Jones, a long-time friend of the composer.


Jones turning up as part of a jazz trio gives only a small clue to the depth and breadth of Turnage's score for the 80-piece ROH orchestra, under the baton of conductor Antonio Pappano.

John Paul Jones on bass, and a big brassy blonde singer. Sounds like my kind of opera!

Opera covering Anna Nicole Smith's life story involves John Paul Jones on bass

John Paul Jones is involved in an upcoming opera about the life and death of Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith.

"I'll be playing in the pit for some of the time, with the basses," Jones tells Classic Rock Magazine, "and I'm also on stage playing with a jazz trio with Peter Erskine."

Erskine is a drummer, composer and professor (see his official biography).

"Anna Nicole," an English-language opera, debuts at London's Royal Opera House on Feb. 17 and runs for six performances through March.

Looking at Rock Hall's inductee list, thank goodness for alternative honors

OK, I'll give you Bon Jovi. I didn't think there was a cooler album in the world than New Jersey. "Livin' on a Prayer" is still all over the airwaves today, but the first time around for its heavy rotation, that long hair and jean jacket image was all the rage. Trite as the choice can be, I'll give you that Bon Jovi be recognized for their constant string of hits during my formative years.

Alice Cooper's nomination is welcome, as is Donovan's. And if I were just as smart as Robert Plant, I could have explained without first looking it up that Chuck Willis died at age 30 after a short recording career that included "C.C. Rider," "It's Too Late" and "What Am I Living For." I can't fault the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the nomination of Chic either, especially as Tony Thompson gets his posthumous due -- he being the only drummer besides Jason Bonham to come close to forming a band with Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones.

As music industry mogul Bob Lefsetz gives his commentary on the picks announced this morning, he takes some of the words out of my mouth. Here's one particular part that helps me lead into something I've been meaning to cover on Lemon Squeezings for the past few days:

Donna Summer broke disco in the U.S. Then again, isn't it the ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME? Get your own damn hall. But she did make that great rock influenced album "Bad Girls", but if we're gonna put her in, don't we induct the mastermind, Giorgio Moroder? Or is image now key and who actually does the work is irrelevant?

That's why I take delight in knowing a whole different set of honors is set up specifically for the people behind the people. This week, I was introduced to the Gold Badge awards, presented annually by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.

"The Gold Badge Awards celebrate the careers of people who have made a special contribution to Britain's music and entertainment industry, acknowledging work that is often done behind the scenes and without public recognition," a press release informed me on Sept. 20. "Over the last 37 years[,] the awards have paid tribute to a wide range of music industry professionals, including broadcasters, recording artists, publishers, arrangers, managers, producer and record company executives."

One of this year's honorees is, for the first time ever, a member of Led Zeppelin.

Photo: Dustin Rabin

If I had to pick the one member of Led Zeppelin with perhaps the least immediate name recognition, I apologize to John Paul Jones, but he's my guy. Call him the quiet one, call him the orchestrator, or call him the band's best-kept secret; any way you look at it, he deserves a lot of credit for the Led Zeppelin sound, and from day one he's never received the same level of attention as Robert Plant or Jimmy Page.

Play back the video footage of the Earl's Court concerts from 1975 or something like that, don't be surprised to see very much of Jones. That's just the way it is, he has long since come to realize and accept. He'll tell you it was partly by his own design since he could change his hairstyles each tour, not be noticed, and use that as an advantage. He could get away with a lot of the same shenanigans as his bandmates and not have it written up by the press all the time.

A Gold Badge will be presented to Jones next month because of a complicated and noted biography that includes his work as an organist, choirmaster, dance band member, musical director, arranger, Led Zeppelin member, recording studio founder, electronic composition teacher, record producer, solo artist, and Them Crooked Vultures member. Talk about a renaissance man!

So, let the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have Neil Diamond, LL Cool J and Dr. John.

John Paul Jones now joins the honored ranks of Chris Farlowe, Ian "Stu" Stewart, Hank Marvin, "Big" Jim Sullivan and -- oh wow, look! -- Donovan. And they probably all wonder why the hell Roger Daltrey ever received a Gold Badge Award.

John Paul Jones sits in at Africa Express concert in Spain

John Paul Jones at left and Elíades Ochoa at right

John Paul Jones sat in with Cuban singer and guitarist Elíades Ochoa at the Africa Express concert on Saturday, Aug. 7, in Galicia, Spain. Jones played bass on the song "Chan Chan," a song Ochoa helped to make famous outside of his home country in the 1997 recording "Buena Vista Social Club" and the 1999 documentary of the same name.

Jones also sat in during the headlining set by Rachid Taha, which also featured Damon Albarn, who with his band Gorillaz recently replaced U2 at the Glastonbury Festival instead of Led Zeppelin. The set also included Taha's frequent collaborator, Mick Jones, formerly of The Clash, who brought the house down with an all-star performance of "Rock the Casbah."

John Paul Jones's bass was unfortunately drowned out by all the other musicians on that tune. He can at least be seen a few times during fan-shot footage of the song "Ya Raha."



The show took place little over a week after the last concert by Them Crooked Vultures before that group went on hiatus following a year's worth of live activity.

Year-long Them Crooked Vultures stint to conclude this weekend

Them Crooked Vultures Twitter entry

Shortly after the arrival of Them Crooked Vultures in Japan, the band sent a picture to its fan base around the world. It was a photo of a truck in downtown Tokyo promoting the group's Wednesday night show there.

Their gig at the Shibuya-AX concert hall is the first of two shows the group will have played in Japan, with the second to take place Friday. That engagement is for the opening night of the three-day Fuji Rock Festival, with a scheduled 70-minute Them Crooked Vultures set immediately preceding the night's top act, Muse.

After that show, band members John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl and Josh Homme will be going their separate ways for the foreseeable future. With Grohl set to work again with the Foo Fighters on a new album, and with Homme already gearing up for some tour dates with his mainstay band Queens of the Stone Age, the supergroup ends what amounted to a full year of club dates, festival crowds, TV appearances and arena shows.

John Paul Jones plays his No. 1
bass guitar built by Hugh Manson.

All of those live gigs took place only after the secret of the band's existence was made known en masse one year ago next week. Considerable efforts ensured that all rehearsal and recording sessions, with the fresh pots that accompanied them, all took place in private away from the public's watchful and critical eye. The major players saw fit not to reveal their collaboration in advance so as to evade prejudices. Sure, not all reviews of the band's eponymous album released last November were positive, nor were their concerts universally lauded. However, a staple of most opinions of the band was the outpouring of support for Jones, portrayed more than ever before as a gifted multi-instrumentalist as well as a major rocking force and riffmeister.

Mansons Guitar Shop in England offers
the John Paul Jones Signature Bass Guitar.

But no matter how many flashy instruments the former Led Zeppelin co-conspirator wields onstage, Jones may perhaps always be known the best as a bassist. This is why last week's announcement of the John Paul Jones Signature Bass Guitar is fitting. Mansons Guitar Shop says Jones's "number one four-string bass has been made available as a low production unit made in Europe with careful quality inspection and final set-up at the Manson Guitars workshop in the UK. Specification is identical to John's actual bass made by Hugh Manson with all upgrades carried out to date, thus reflecting the 2010 version JPJ has toured with Them Crooked Vultures." Full details, specifications and ordering information can be found at the Mansons Guitar Shop website.

At this time, what plans Jones may harbor for the months that lie ahead have not yet been revealed. A wise bet holds that Them Crooked Vultures will return for another round someday. The week of the first album release, it was unanimous among the three group members that a second album would be on the way -- someday.

Two Led Zeppelin members gigging in London on same night?

There was one week last December in which Jimmy Page appeared at the London theatrical premiere of the movie It Might Get Loud; Robert Plant's son Logan played with his band Sons of Albion in London one night later; and John Paul Jones spent the following two nights playing in London with Them Crooked Vultures.

There may be another close call of the Zeppelin kind in London in two weeks if rumors turn out to be true. One show featuring John Paul Jones is confirmed, but two shows -- including one on the same night -- are rumored that would be headlined by Robert Plant.

Tickets went on sale this morning for a special appearance by Them Crooked Vultures at the O2 Academy Brixton. The show on July 5 is a benefit for Brian O'Connor, a friend of Vultures singer Homme and bassist for the Eagles of Death Metal. Reports say O'Connor has been diagnosed with cancer and has no medical insurance coverage.

In the meantime, Tixdaq has published speculation that Robert Plant would announce two shows at London's HMV Forum. According to the reporting, the first show would take place the same night as the Vultures concert elsewhere in town. The second show would be July 6.

So far, no official word on the dates has been released. (Update, June 19: TBL/Web reports, "We have it on good authority that this will not be the case." Further, TBL/Web linked to an exclusive deal on pre-sale U.K. concert tickets for Plant album pre-sales placed on HMV.com by July 5.)

Tickets went on sale between March and May for 12 Plant shows booked in the Southern United States with the Band of Joy lineup that is to accompany him on his Sept. 13/14 album release. These are the only officially announced concert dates so far for Plant, although his U.S. label, Rounder Records, has said other dates would be announced.

On a related note, tickets go on sale tomorrow for a Them Crooked Vultures show to take place July 28 in Shibuya, Japan. For the moment, it is one of only six concerts remaining for the band before a scheduled hiatus so that members Homme and Dave Grohl can focus other projects with Queens of the Stone Age and Foo Fighters, respectively. Jones has not commented on what plans he may have in store beyond after their tour comes to a close following a July 30 festival appearance in Japan.

Jimmy Page made headlines last week when repeating his intention to release new music this year and to be playing concerts as well.

Led Zeppelin still bigger than the Beatles

What a weekend for Led Zeppelin! The band topped a BBC poll for "I'm in a Rock N Roll Band!" over the also short-listed Beatles and Queen. And John Bonham earned the nod for best drummer as well, during the week he would have turned 62 years old.

Here in the United States, I didn't know much about this until I received the following from Simon, a reader in England who was one of the first guys to fill me in on Led Zeppelin's reunion gig in December 2007. Simon says (he always does that):

The BBC has been running a series of programmes on TV & Radio these past 6 weeks to find the best Guitarist, best Drummer, best Singer, best Bassist and best Band. You might be interested in the results from the national poll:

• Best Band - Led Zeppelin (runners up - The Beatles & Queen)
• Best Guitarist - Jimi Hendrix (runners up - Jimmy Page & Slash)
• Best Singer - Freddie Mercury (runners up - Robert Plant & Kurt Cobain)
• Best Drummer - John "Bonzo" Bonham (runners up - Keith Moon and Dave Grohl)
• Best Bassist - Flea (runners up - no details, but John Paul Jones was in the top 10!)

John Bonham radio documentary attracts John Paul Jones for live interview

It looks like Jimmy Page isn't the only Led Zeppelin member drawing attention to the BBC 6 Music radio special on John Bonham to be broadcast Monday afternoon.

Tight But Loose's news page online says a live interview is to take place this morning with John Paul Jones. As the other half of Led Zeppelin's rhythm section for 12 years, Jones got to know Bonham in a way that nobody else ever did.

Page made a live guest appearance with presenter Lauren Laverne on BBC 6 Music last Tuesday morning, commenting about Bonham and promoting the special, which airs at 3 p.m. BST on the terrestrial radio station and also streaming online at the same time.

The radio special is to be hosted by Dave Grohl, an admirer of Bonham's who is currently the drummer for Them Crooked Vultures, also with Jones.

Tight But Loose did not report the time of Jones's interview except to say that it would take place live air during Shaun Keaveny's program, which begins at 7 a.m. (Update: The pre-recorded interview aired in two parts, during both the 7:00 and 9:00 hours.) Both interviews from Page and Jones are also to be repeated a few hours later, at 12:30 a.m.

John Paul Jones contribution mislabeled on Robyn Hitchcock album

An update on a story published here back in March.

And I don't mind saying, I was right.


Propellor Time, the new album from Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3, was released on March 22 on the British label Sartorial Records, featuring guest performances from John Paul Jones that were recorded during six-day sessions back in 2006.

By the time the album was released, there was no official word released publicly as to which songs Jones played on -- or what instrument he was playing, out of the many instruments he commands.

Hearing only the sound clips offered online at that time, I guessed that Jones was the source of the mandolin that could be heard on two of the tracks, "Luckiness" and "Born on the Wind."

Not so, I was told. Three days after the album release, label boss and musician Terry Edwards wrote to tell me Jones plays mandolin on "Luckiness" and "Evolove." Well, I guessed the right number of tracks, I guessed the correct instrument, and I was right on one of the two songs. I made my correction and was satisfied.

Until a copy of Propellor Time arrived in the mail. Even though the liner notes even identify John Paul Jones as playing mandolin on tracks 3 and 10, which corresponded to the tracks Terry had indicated, I knew it had to be a mistake. There was no mandolin to be heard on "Evolove." Moreover, there was mandolin on "Born on the Wind" but nobody taking credit for it in the liner notes.

I brought the discrepancy up to Terry Edwards, and the label boss replied with embarrassment. He wrote me on April 14 and didn't have a definitive answer yet. He wrote:

"Sorry it's taken a while to get back to you. Robyn's away on tour & I've not been able to ask him about JPJ's involvement - but it sounds to me as if you're right. And we spent SO much time on getting the credits right on the album... I'll report back when I know more."

Today, he sent me his definitive answer.

Hi Steve,

Can't remember if I got back to you re John Paul Jones' contributions on Propellor Time. You're right, of course - he's on the penultimate track, not Evolove. The last two tracks got flipped and the playing credit for JPJ was overlooked. Human error, eh?

All the best, Terry

So, despite how the CD's liner notes read, John Paul Jones plays mandolin on tracks 3, "Luckiness," and 9, "Born on the Wind." Just as I thought! Thanks so much to Terry for following up on this and setting the record straight.

Another thing: Wouldn't that make this pressing of Propellor Time a collector's item? I quickly wrote Terry back asking him if he ought to market it as such. He said they've already gone into re-pressings of the CD and vinyl, with the error intact.

However, rarity seekers need not despair. Terry alerted me to a limited-edition release of this 2010 album on cassette tape (remember those?) that he says is so far the only edition of Propellor Time to have been released with an updated version of the liner notes, correctly identifying the two tracks that feature John Paul Jones. That sounds like an obscurity to me!

It's a limited run of 100 on clear plastic cassettes. They are signed and numbered by Robyn Hitchcock. Each order of this tangible item also comes with a free download of the album (so that you can actually listen to it using modern technology). The tape is available exclusively through the Sartorial Records online shop.

John Paul Jones answers 'the burning question that everyone wants to know': what strings he uses

When Jack White, Jimmy Page and The Edge were sitting in a circle sometime during their meeting filmed for It Might Get Loud, the U2 guitarist brought up a new topic using these words:

"You know, the -- the big question, the burning question that everyone wants to know ... What strings do you use?"

As first seen as an outtake for the movie when it was released on iTunes last December, Page replied that back in the 1960s, he didn't like how tough it was to play the sixth string of the typical set of guitar strings available in England at the time. For that reason, he said he would string his guitar using a banjo string -- "which was ... about the skinniest you could get" -- along with the five thinnest of the guitar strings in a set. He said he used this banjo string technique "for years."

Now, Jones has answered the question of what strings he uses on both mandolin and bass. He uses Elixir strings, and he explains why in this new video interview for the string manufacturer. For anybody not particularly interested in this technical topic, the interview starts off with several more accessible questions.

Finished in America with mixed reviews, Them Crooked Vultures prep summer finale

Photo from Monday night's Them Crooked Vultures concert in Indianapolis courtesy of Pam Groves

For the band Them Crooked Vultures, this summer is going to be full of festivals.

The way the new band with John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl and Josh Homme started playing out live last year was with a gig in Chicago and then some sporadic appearances throughout Europe. That's precisely the path the band is taking at the moment, having just visited Chicago a second time and now leaving North America for some time off. When they start up again, it will be June 3 is Vienna, Austria.

Since April, the band has played six dates in the United States and five in Canada. Toward the beginning of the tour, show reviews veered toward the highly positive. However, some unsympathetic writers took potshots at the group in recent days. Jones is almost universally accepted as infallible, but Homme evidently makes for a good punching bag.

• In a preview of the band's stop in Chicago, Brent DiCrescenzo writes for the online Time Out Chicago that Homme is "the weak link here, ketchup on steak."
• Indianapolis Star reporter David Lindquist writes that Homme had to struggle in concert to keep up with the "towering talents" of his bandmates yet was still unable to "offer something catchy with every tune" in terms of lyrics and melody.

Fan Jeremy Nettles, in a comment on the Lemon Squeezings page on Facebook, defends Homme's performance in Indianapolis. He writes:

"I was at the show, and I honestly thought Homme did a fantastic job all night. I've held similar things against him from his previous projects, and even video of TCV I'd seen before, but last night he was top notch."

Charity auction of Them Crooked Vultures autographed shades ends Monday

A pair of Ray Ban aviator sunglasses signed by the members of Them Crooked Vultures is being auctioned online to benefit the Teenage Cancer Trust.

The right lens bears the silver-toned autograph of the group's only member who goes by three names, John Paul Jones. The etchings on the left lens comes from Josh Homme and Dave Grohl.

The auction ends Monday night in England, which is still the afternoon for the continental United States. As of the time of writing, 14 bids have been placed, with the glasses set to sell for at least £122. Update: After a 31st bid was placed, the auction closed Monday with a winning bid of £300.

Them Crooked Vultures played one night of the 10th annual Teenage Cancer Trust concert series in March. The Who played another night as frontman Roger Daltrey is a Teenage Cancer Trust patron.

In other Them Crooked Vultures news, Josh Homme has given a telling interview looking back on his past 15 months with the band. Published May 7 on the Jam! Showbiz Web site to promote the current Canadian tour, the interview sees Homme answer questions about being in a band with someone who spent the 1970s with Led Zeppelin.

Has Homme stopped looking to his right during Vultures shows and realizing he's onstage with John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin? Homme answers:

"No. And I hope I never do. I always look over and say, 'What a badass, man.' This is something that has yet to stop exciting me."

And how about some of the stories Jones tells? Says Homme:

"The funny thing is, as we were recording, we'd each be sharing stories and talking. And it would dawn on me: These are Zeppelin stories. But really, they're stories about his friends who just happen to be Zeppelin. And the humanizing of those characters has really been kind of tender and cool for me. But yeah, the stories are crazy."

Also, Jones spoke with the Montreal Gazette last week. Among his comments:

"We were in those other bands, so it's possible that the contributions we made to those bands may not be totally unlike to contributions we make to this band. But they're all totally different bands."

John Paul Jones and his ties to MerleFest, as told by 'Dr. Banjo,' Pete Wernick

When musician Pete Wernick goes to MerleFest this time each year, it's not just his performances that festival goers look forward to. They also get the opportunity to learn tips from him in "bluegrass jam camps" he convenes. The man nicknamed "Dr. Banjo" holds these workshops focusing on improvisation several times a year, not just at the annual music festival taking place this weekend in North Carolina.

John Paul Jones has attended MerleFest in the past and jammed with Pete Wernick and many others onstage. In this installment of the LedZeppelinNews.com Interview Series, "Dr. Banjo" discusses how his friendship with Jones came about. Also, he reveals why the Led Zeppelin/Them Crooked Vultures bassist seems to fit in so well with the acoustic music crowd.

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Las Vegas Weekly: 'Them Crooked rock stars'

Positive press continues on the short West Coast jaunt by Them Crooked Vultures, now with the Las Vegas Weekly featuring some overwhelmingly supportive commentary about John Paul Jones.

"... the Vultures' two-hour Joint performance likely could have been called The John Paul Jones Show and drawn the same crowd. If we'd had one of those hokey noise-o-meters the mere mention of John Paul Jones' name would have cracked the red zone, and not without reason. Jones easily was the star of the Joint's one-year anniversary show, taking turns on at least half a dozen instruments, including keyboard, keytar, something fiddle-ish and more varieties of bass than I previously knew existed. The man's got chops to spare and an instrument closet befitting his decades in the music business."

-- Sarah Feldberg, for the Las Vegas Weekly; also reprinted by the Las Vegas Sun

Feldberg's observations about frontman Joshua Homme's behavior and comments during the show are not entirely positive, but she describes the band's music as "a solid rock stew that ricocheted between blues, psychedelic and hard rock without ever sounding unnatural." She adds, "The Vultures don't genre hop so much as they slip into each style like they're putting on a well-made coat. Somehow, they all fit."

Publicity sweep as Coachella hosts Them Crooked Vultures

Friday night's showing by Them Crooked Vultures at the Coachella festival in Indio, Calif., has inspired some rave reviews.

Says the New York Times blog ArtsBeat, "They slammed, unrelentingly, through every one of their cheerfully self-conscious Big Rock songs -- and they share the skill set that made the music breathe and swing even if they never stopped walloping every riff."

The rhythm section of John Paul Jones and Dave Grohl was the subject of some of the focus. Todd Martens, writing for L.A. Times Music Blog Pop & Hiss, reports, "Grohl and Jones were caught in a rhythmic give-and-take, taunting and letting their instruments bite each other, with late-night-attic clanks and just hints of a beat emerging out of the murkiness." The Pop & Hiss article is accompanied by a single Times staff photo, and it's of Jones.

Writer Bruce Feiser leaves the hyperbole out of his Desert Sun coverage of the Vultures set at Coachella, only mentioning the band members by name and saying they "played a wide range of powerful, straightahead rock, including their first single, 'New Fang,' and the Cream-inspired 'Scumbag Blues.'" His focus was on the crowd's admiration for hometown kid Joshua Homme, but Feiser misnamed another Vultures song, referring to "Dead End Kids" instead of "Dead End Friends."

Pop music critic George Varga, writing for the San Diego Union-Tribune's Web site, didn't have much to say about the set from Them Crooked Vultures but made prominent mention of the band early in his recap of Coachella's first night. Varga did see fit to quote Homme as telling the crowd, "What a beautiful night it is. We're here to get the party started on Friday night."

At the same time these Coachella reports were appearing online, Antiquiet finally weighed in on this past Wednesday's Los Angeles show, detailing how that gig at the Nokia Theater differed from past gigs in the area. "Wednesday's show presented a more evolved Vultures; in full command of the material after having road tested it for half a year, the band displayed a confidence and affinity for razor-sharp off-the-cuff jamming that borders on telepathy," writes Johnny Firecloud. "They even debuted a new song ahead of their Coachella performance this weekend," he adds, referring of course to the non-album track "You Can't Possibly Begin to Imagine."

Firecloud concludes Antiquet's review with a great summary of a year's worth of activity by Them Crooked Vultures:

With both Grohl and Homme returning to their other bands with big plans to finish the year, Them Crooked Vultures are finishing this run with an open door, and it's clear they're out to leave a lasting impression with this final string of tour dates. It's been an incomparably awesome ride since news of the Vultures' existence first broke last year, and to witness the band push themselves to deeper, more dynamic heights, challenging each other to further evolve their already ironclad mastery of the craft as they did Wednesday night was nothing short of an honor.

The Denver Post's blog Reverb features an interview with Jones in advance of the group's performance this Monday night at the city's Fillmore Auditorium. In the interview, Jones discusses the roots of Them Crooked Vultures as "the blues from a different angle." He credits Homme for providing much of their approach, saying:

"Josh likes to call it 'perverted blues.' Obviously there are the psychedelic influences, which come around from the '60s and '70s, as well. It's a really nice mix of influences, but he's also influenced by a lot of other things. It's not like we all grew up listening to what was around us. There's lot of soul in what we do.

 Jones also speaks in the Reverb interview about the way the band improvises on stage, each member playing off the others:

"There's a lot of cross-talk in this band, which is nice and exciting, and it gives you a lot of ammunition to fire off in whatever direction you like."

John Paul Jones plays fiddle on new addition to Vultures live set

John Paul Jones played fiddle onstage last night, for quite possibly the first time in his career, while his band debuted a new song in concert at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles.

The song, titled "You Can't Possibly Begin to Imagine" (shortened to "Can't Possibly" on the printed set list), is one of a handful copyrighted by Them Crooked Vultures last year and not included on their debut album.

As the song kicks off, frontman Josh Homme at center stage plays some blues guitar licks, and he is soon joined by Alain Johannes on slide guitar. Eventually, Jones joins out front on fiddle and Homme's lyrics kick in. Soon, Dave Grohl enters on drums, although at a very laid back pace for him. For the middle and second half of the song, Jones switches instruments and plays some rollicking piano.

This new entry into the live set comes as the band last night kicked off a final set of tour dates in the United States before going on hiatus this summer. Both Grohl and Homme have other bands to return to, while Jones hasn't announced exactly what his plans would be during his time off from Them Crooked Vultures.

Them Crooked Vultures winding down temporarily

Just before Them Crooked Vultures took the stage at the Royal Albert Hall in London last night, Ben Jones of Absolute Radio conducted a revealing interview with the band in which John Paul Jones, Josh Homme and Dave Grohl had nothing to hide.

There were no secrets as the three of them answered questions about what plans are still ahead for the band. Their current touring takes them through the beginning of August, after which point the two younger members of the group are to tackle other projects. Ben Jones didn't ask John Paul Jones what was in his own future, and there was no suggestion of a Led Zeppelin reunion either.

A concert review for NME reports on the event, the first night of a week of shows benefiting the Teenage Cancer Trust, whose patron is Roger Daltrey. TBL/Web provides a rundown of last night's proceedings from the perspective of superfan Dave Lewis, who contrasts the Royal Albert Hall then and now, weaving in the fact that the venue was home to one of Led Zeppelin's most famous gigs 40 years ago.

A second Them Crooked Vultures album has not been recorded by this point and no one should expect a second album this year, the interview for Absolute Radio makes apparent. Reuniting their band eventually to go about another set of tour dates in support of a new album is still in the cards, as they've long said. Homme employed an interesting turn of phrase, saying it was like playing a game of calendar roulette to see when all three would be available again.

At least 15 shows remain before the band's current bout of activity winds down, and announcements of added shows within the pre-August time frame have been popping up in the past week. Fans in the Los Angeles area can now expect to see the group at Club Nokia on April 14. A third Canadian date, May 16 in Windsor, Ontario, was announced to complement the previously announced pair of dates in Quebec City (May 11) and Montreal (May 12). Further shows in the United States and Canada in April and May might be announced as well.

This band's planned hiatus comes at just about the right time for Rodrigo Davies, who covered last night's gig in an article appearing this morning on the Web site of BBC Radio 6 Music. That writer suggests that Them Crooked Vultures is on the verge of wearing out its welcome riding on the coattails of the music from its one brilliant album:

Now we're seven months and an album on from the initial impact of such an imagination-capturing musical experiment, one can't help wondering whether stages like this would be a fitting moment to wrap up this round of solos, however impressive they are. ... [I]f the talent of its members is proven by anything, it's the way in which their musical projects have evolved so impressively over time. More Grohl, Homme, [supporting onstage musician Alain] Johannes and Jones please, just maybe not more of the same.

For anyone who was looking to the "Fresh Pots" video released online last week for clues as to whether the band had been recording a second album -- and some news sites reported the video proves they were -- Grohl confirmed that not only was all that footage from the 2009 recording sessions but the bit about seeing a doctor related to his coffee intake was true.

The video states:

Two weeks after this video was shot, Dave was rushed to doctor due to the onset of unwanted physical effects caused by too much caffeine.

For reals. He was kind of a mess.

Since then, he has reduced his intake of the super delicious hot beverage to a healthier level.

Interviewer Ben Jones asked whether that actually happened. Grohl wasted no time in saying, "Yes." He followed up with:

"'Fresh Pots' -- that was a year ago. The 'Fresh Pots' thing was about a year old, and we were in the studio making our record, and I was drinking a lot of coffee. At one point, I was doing Vultures stuff at night, Foo Fighters stuff during the day, and I had a newborn at home. And so, I was sleeping maybe, like, two or three hours a night on an air mattress in a guest bedroom --"

Homme interjected, "The air mattress was actually filled with coffee."

Grohl laughed and continued:

"Yeah, I had too much coffee, and I started having chest pains, so I went to the hospital, and they told me to stop drinking so much coffee."

For future reference, I suppose we should start taking the phrase "for reals" seriously.