Wednesday, October 21, 2009

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.

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