Reissues series to feature on Carol Miller show

New York radio personality Carol Miller will be proudly presenting the Led Zeppelin reissues on her program. The first of six weekly broadcasts dedicated to the original three Led Zeppelin albums will air on her flagship station, Q104.3, next Monday, May 26.

• Shows 1 & 2 - Carol Miller's Get the Led Out on the debut album Led Zeppelin
• June 3 - The box sets for the first three albums become available for purchase in the United States
• Shows 3 & 4 - Carol Miller's Get the Led Out on Led Zeppelin II
• Shows 5 & 6 - Carol Miller's Get the Led Out on Led Zeppelin III

Throughout the six weeks, the show will also be airing the recording of Carol Miller's "exclusive conversation with Led Zeppelin guitarist and producer Jimmy Page." From the show's official press release: "Page was intimately involved with the re-mastering process of the original Led Zeppelin material and also with the bonus tracks that will be included on the new deluxe editions of these classic albums."

The radio show is distributed nationwide to classic rock stations. If your classic rock station doesn't already get the Led out properly with Carol Miller, then you'll be missing out! Call your program director and ask for Carol Miller's Get the Led Out. As a disclosure, I contribute to the show, and I'm a fan too.

It just so happens that at the time the last of these six shows airs in New York, I'll be 132 miles away, onstage with the band Get the Led Out, The American Led Zeppelin, at the Ocean City Music Pier, Moorlyn Terrace, in Ocean City, N.J. This will be my ninth time sitting in with the band, playing all the keyboard parts. We'll be performing live the album versions of songs from all over Led Zeppelin's catalog, not just the first three albums.

Just think of all the things I might be brushing up on playing now! Maybe the Clavi on "Trampled Under Foot."What about the synths on "All My Love"? Perhaps the fluty recorders and electric piano on "Stairway to Heaven"? See you in Ocean City!

Led Zeppelin field questions at New York press conference

Led Zeppelin's three surviving original members gathered for a question-and-answer session in New York today, promoting their concert film "Celebration Day."

The film, which captures their 2007 reunion concert as Led Zeppelin, is set to be released in theaters for a limited time next week before Blu-Ray, DVD and CD editions are released in stores in November.

During the press conference, Jimmy Page said part of the reason they decided to go forward with their reunion concert at London's O2 arena was because they hoped to overshadow previous reunion concerts that hadn't gone as well as planned.

"We just really wanted to get it right and go out there to play to people who maybe never heard us, who had heard about this reputation and what we were about, and basically go out there, stand up and be counted for what we were," said Page.

John Paul Jones spoke about the chemistry the band felt instantly upon rehearsing again for the first time in all those years. "The feeling was there," he said. "It clicks again. You don't have to work at it."

Referencing a Funkadelic song, Jones added, "Once the fingers got going again, the brains followed, as did our asses."

Robert Plant praised the efforts of drummer Jason Bonham, who filled in for his late father on drums. "I think we were really propelled by Jason and his enthusiasm," Plant commented.

Plant dismissed the possibility of Led Zeppelin playing live again in the future, even though he heralded their collective performance in 2007. "I think that night back then, we were just hanging on for dear life, watching each other," he said.

"We were so happy that we were actually getting it right and really enjoying it and taking it beyond what we thought we were about that night. There were moments in it where we just took off and pushed off into some place. The responsibility of doing that four nights a week, for the rest of time, is a different thing."

Jones expressed similar comments about the feeling onstage. "There was an immediate feeling of relief, of course, that we actually got through it and did well," he said.

Page argued the possibility of any further Led Zeppelin reunion has decreased because so many years have passed since their gig. "At this time four years ago, we'd have been rehearsing to get to the O2," Page said.

"In December, it'll be five years since the O2, and so that's a number of years have passed in between, so it seems unlikely if there wasn't a whisper or a hint that we would do -- get together to do something or other, even two years ago or whatever, seems pretty unlikely, doesn't it?"

Carol Miller, host of the syndicated radio show "Carol Miller's Get the Led Out," and producer Denny Somach, were among those who attended today's press conference. Photos provided by Denny Somach.

Robert Plant says he's forever committed to Buddy Miller

As Robert Plant picked up one of the big prizes at a Nashville awards ceremony last night, he did more than just thank his touring bandmate Buddy Miller: He pretty much committed himself to having Miller involved in all of his musical projects from here on out.

Plant delivered his remark at the Americana Music Association's annual Honors and Awards ceremony, while accepting the Album of the Year award for his Band of Joy CD. Miller earned two awards of his own at the ceremony.

Before Plant and Miller co-produced the Band of Joy album released last year, they were already touring bandmates from the Raising Sand tour with Alison Krauss. Plant said it on that 2008 tour that he basically decided on sticking with Miller into the uncertain future: "When we toured the Raising Sand tour, I said to the forces that be, I said, 'We can't go anywhere without Buddy Miller,' and I'm never gonna go anywhere without Buddy Miller, ever."

The live audience in Nashville cheered Plant's comments about their hometown hero, who in a few minutes would be named Artist of the Year -- ironically, beating out Plant in the category.

Earlier, upon winning Instrumentalist of the Year, Miller had proclaimed himself "really, really not that good." He said, "I feel like I get away with murder with what I do." Miller mentioned Plant by name, along with Emmylou Harris and Jim Lauderdale, thanking these "wonderfully, incredibly talented people" for letting him "sneak in there behind them."

Plant was much more complimentary of Miller's abilities as an instrumentalist. To him, Miller is "the consummate player of all the licks and the beauty and the soliloquy of great American music that I'd ever heard in my life."

Plant thanked not only Miller in his acceptance speech but also Krauss and his more recent female collaborator, singer Patty Griffin. Said Plant, "When we were making the Band of Joy album, it got to Christmas a year or so ago, and I said to Buddy, 'There's something missing, and it's getting a bit too pastoral.' And so, I have to thank Patty Griffin for really turning the record round."

The British singer also recalled a pivotal encounter with Americana music from even before he was a teen-ager." When I was 12, I heard 'The Mountain's High' by Dick and Dee Dee," he said. "I never looked back. I just kept dreaming of American music and coming over here, and I did. I stole a great deal with my old companions."

The Band of Joy, with Greg Leisz filling in for the absent Darrell Scott, performed the song "Monkey" -- but not before Allman Brothers Band leader Gregg Allman got in a quick comment: "Did you ever think you'd be sittin' here in the Ryman [Auditorium] watching Robert Plant and the Band of Joy?"

Robert Plant, Patty Griffin debut Crown Vic lineup in Marfa, Texas

Well, this may be an early indicator of what Robert Plant's career may look like next. And no, it's not with Led Zeppelin.


But it does include their music.

@SoundcheckMag

No, Robert's not taking his own "Hot Dog" advice from 1979: "I'll never go to Texas anymore." He's long broken that rule.

On Thursday night, he appeared in Texas, as rumored, at Marfa's El Cosmico for the Trans-Pecos Festival of Music & Love. He and native Texan Patty Griffin sang with a band of Lone Star Staters called the Crown Vic.

Something tells me that name may already be copyrighted.

@SoundcheckMag

The band's got electric guitar, mandolin, keyboard and accordion, electric and acoustic bass, and drums. Griffin's on mandolin, too, besides singing and doing her one and only dance.



In uploading a video of their first song on YouTube, MarcDurbin identifies the band members with Plant and Griffin as "David Grissom (electric guitar), Michael Ramos (organ, accordion), Glenn Fukunaga (acoustic & electric bass), [and] Dony Wynn (drums)."

As has been the case with just about every Robert Plant band of the last 20 years -- wait, make that 41 years -- they do "Black Dog." Hmm, that could have been predicted.



Plant's set puts a Texas town seven hours west of Austin on the map. Hundreds are attending the festival in Marfa, reports Nathaniel Miller for Odessa American Online.


View Larger Map

Plant and Griffin are said to have been rehearsing in Austin with the group of local musicians. When Griffin goes on the road with Buddy Miller, Plant is expected to remain in Austin to continue working with Crown Vic.

Robert Plant's name does not appear on the festival poster. His appearance was rumored but not officially announced until the day of the festival opening. Previously, Patty Griffin was scheduled to appear with "special guests" who would be a surprise.

@SoundCheckMag posted on Twitter:

"Incredible! Mostly killer blues rock w/ some Louisiana accordion & beats. A few slow tunes too. [T]heir harmonies are perfect."

Miller added via Twitter that "Rock and Roll" also made Griffin and Plant's set list. KGSR's Andy Langer has uploaded "Misty Mountain Hop" to YouTube. (Hey, it seems like Plant's been listening to Led Zeppelin's untitled fourth album!)

Swan Percussion via Facebook

From Miller's report on Odessa American Online:

Singer Patty Griffin appeared on stage and introduced her band, including one of the most famous lead singers in rock history.

"I'd like to introduce you to my dear, dear friend, Robert Plant," Griffin said to an explosion of cheers.

About 300 people from around the state gathered in Marfa for El Cosmico's sixth annual Trans-Pecos Festival of Music and Love, and the crowd seemed remarkably calm and quiet. Attendees and vendors gathered to listen to music, eat food and drink beer.

Isadora McKeon, producer of the event, said the event was also helping those in need. "Five dollars of each preregistration ticket sold will go to the Central Texas Wildfire Relief Fund," McKeon said. ...

What started out as friends coming together at the building's location, turned into a two day festival of music, vendors and fun. "I'm proud of what we created,” McKeon said.

Since its inaugural festival, the event has grown into three days, with a show added on Thursday, and it will continue to hold events such as the baseball game between Marfa and Austin on Saturday, and have numerous vendors selling art, clothing and food. ...

People who attended the show said they were aware Plant would be at the show, but did not know for sure if he was really going to take the state.

Will Robert Plant sing again between projects?

Campers arriving next Thursday night in Marfa, Texas, for the 6th Annual Trans-Pecos Festival of Music and Love, may find out that one of the unnamed "special guests" appearing with Patty Griffin during her set is Robert Plant!

Jason Bonham announces fall Led Zeppelin Experience tour dates; live DVD from Black Country Communion also previewed

Two bits of news have emerged from Jason Bonham's camp this week: one involving an upcoming live release from his group Black Country Communion, and the other involving his other touring outfit, Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience.

First, a release date has been set for Black Country Communion's live 2-DVD set. While Bonham toured Europe with bandmates Glenn Hughes, Joe Bonamassa and Derek Sherinian over the summer, they filmed what looks like a pretty decent performance of tracks from their two studio albums.

Titled Live over Europe, the two-DVD set will be available Oct. 24 with pre-orders being taken beginning Sept. 13. It will be Black Country Communion's second release this year, following the June release of Black Country Communion 2. It hasn't even been a full year since the release of their self-titled debut.

There's already a trailer for the DVD, just released on YouTube this week. And anyone going to the band's official website, bccommunion.com, can register to receive a free MP3 download of one of the songs included on the DVD. Downloading begins Sept. 8.

For more information on the 2-DVD set, visit this page on Black Country Communion's site.

In other Bonham news, his other band has today announced a slew of upcoming tour dates scheduled this fall. Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience began last year as a large-scale vehicle for the drummer to connect with audiences in sharing his own personal story of growing up with the Led Zeppelin family. The stories Bonham tells onstage are complemented by the songs played by hand-selected musicians who aren't lookalikes or even imitators of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones.

This will be Bonham's third outing with the Led Zeppelin Experience lineup. They have toured the United States and Canada twice already.

Four of the upcoming live dates were rescheduled from earlier appearances that were postponed at the time due to the illness of singer James Dylan. Tickets from the previously postponed California and Nevada shows will be honored on the night of the rescheduled show.

The four rescheduled dates are:

• Oct. 14: Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, Calif.
• Oct. 15: Alliente Casino, Las Vegas, Nev.
• Oct. 17: Crest Theatre, Sacramento, Calif.
• Oct. 18: Uptown Theatre, Napa Valley, Calif.

Ten other newly announced shows are to take place in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Ontario, Canada. The band will be returning to previously entertained markets in some of these cases. The new dates are:

• Oct. 12: Fox Performing Arts Center, Riverside, Calif.
• Oct. 13: Fox Theatre, Bakersfield, Calif.
• Oct. 27: Bergen PAC, Englewood, N.J.
• Oct. 28: Paramount Theater, Huntington, N.Y.
• Oct. 29: Tower Theater, Upper Darby, Pa.
• Oct. 31: Wilbur Theatre, Boston, Mass.
• Nov. 1: Best Buy Theater, New York, N.Y.
• Nov. 2: The Webster, Hartford, Conn.
• Nov. 4: Town Ballroom, Buffalo, N.Y.
• Nov. 5: Casino Rama, Orillia, Ontario, Canada

In addition, the locations of two shows in Quebec remain to be announced later this month.

• One will take place Nov. 6 at a venue in Ottawa or Gatineau; details are to be announced Sept. 19. (UPDATE: It takes place at Casino Lac Leamy in Gatineau.)
• The other show is to take place Nov. 7 in Quebec City; details are to be announced Sept. 6. (UPDATE: It takes place at the Grand Theatre de Quebec.)

Additional tour dates were announced Sept. 15 as follows:

• Nov. 10: The Fillmore, Silver Spring, Md.
• Nov. 11: The Chance, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
• Nov. 12: The National, Richmond, Va.
• Nov. 13: Center Stage, Atlanta, Ga.
• Nov. 16: Hard Rock Live, Orlando, Fla.
• Nov. 17: Seminole Hard Rock Live Arena, Hollywood, Fla.
• Nov. 18: Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, Fla.

Jimmy Page surprises Donovan's crowd with onstage guest spot

Donovan and Jimmy Page play "Sunshine Superman"
Friday night in London.

Jimmy Page sat in with singer Donovan on Friday night in London, in a way reprising an in-studio collaboration dating back to the days before Led Zeppelin was founded.

Donovan recreated his 1966 album Sunshine Superman during his concert at the Royal Albert Hall, with the backing of an orchestra. One of the unnamed "very special guests" teased in advance of the gig turned out to be Page, who recorded electric guitar on the title track while he was one of London's most highly demanded session guitarists.

Page's onstage appearance amounted to adding guitar to "Sunshine Superman" and another one of Donovan's popular singles from that era, "Mellow Yellow."

Donovan, left, and Jimmy Page embraced
after their live rendition of "Mellow Yellow" on Friday.

The gig marked Page's first time playing (or miming) guitar in front of a live audience in more than two years. For the past decade, it was Page's eighth onstage appearance, including the Led Zeppelin reunion concert in 2007.

In recent years, Page has stated he is working on new music and that a return to live appearances would be imminent. He also released a pictorial autobiography last year, participated in the film It Might Get Loud, and planned a possible new group with such familiar artists as John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham.

The guitarist's current project involves developing an official website at www.jimmypage.com.

Black Country Communion previews second album, 'BCC II'

Black Country Communion has released video footage of the band recording Black Country Communion II, an album singer/bassist Glenn Hughes referred to earlier this week as "my proudest musical moment."

Update: Black Country Communion's European summer concert dates so far include the following:

• June 23: Vitoria, Spain - Azkena Rock Festival (tickets)
• June 30: Stuttgart, Germany - Killersberg (tickets)
• July 1: Frankfurt, Germany - Jahrhunderthalle (tickets)
• July 2: Liepzig, Germany - Parkbuhne (tickets)
• July 4: Munich, Germany - Zenith (tickets)
• July 5: Berlin, Germany - Zitadelle (tickets)
• July 6: Hamburg, Germany - Stadtpark (tickets)
• July 10: Weert, Netherlands - Bospop Festival (tickets)
• July 14: Bonn, Germany - Museumsplatz (tickets)
• July 26: Leeds, England - O₂ Academy (tickets)
• July 27: Newcastle, England - O₂ Academy (tickets)
• July 29: Glasgow, Scotland - O₂ Academy (tickets)
• July 30: Manchester, England - O₂ Academy (tickets)

Robert Plant has robust U.S. festival schedule: Wanee, Jazz Fest, Bonnaroo, Telluride, and more?

By Steve Sauer

Robert Plant's robust U.S. festival schedule in the coming months may now include Bonnaroo in June, if a post-encore comment delivered two nights ago is to be believed.

A complete artist roster from the Bonnaroo Music Festival 2011 is forthcoming, but some artists have chosen to spill the beans early, making their own Bonnaroo confirmations public. As of Tuesday's sudden onstage announcement by Plant, his Band of Joy can now rank among acts who've gone that route, including Bruce Hornsby and the Gregg Allman Blues Band.

"We'll see you in summer, Bonnaroo. Come on down," Robert Plant invited his Washington audience from the stage of D.A.R. Constitution Hall around five minutes to 11 p.m.

(Unfortunately, Bonnaroo can't be considered a "summer" festival since it ends over the second weekend of June. Unless the Zodiac did something to the seasons, too ...)

(Oh, and then Plant made a geographical blunder, misdirecting D.C.-area concertgoers "across the Mason-Dixon Line," which would send them to Pennsylvania or farther north, whereas Bonnaroo takes place down south in Tennessee. Oh well, he gets a pass given where he's from!)

Since Tuesday, no other official announcement has been made about a Band of Joy appearance at Bonnaroo, although diligent online media have begun spreading word of Plant's proclamation. There is precedent for Plant making it to Bonnaroo; he and Alison Krauss performed in 2008. (Their Raising Sand tour also hit the Austin City Limits Festival in September that year.)

The addition of Bonnaroo (June 9-12) would keep the already-busy Band of Joy occupied a genre-crossing array of U.S. festivals this summer. They've already been booked to play the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado (June 16-19) as well as earlier appearances at the Wanee Music Festival in Florida (April 14-15) and Jazz Fest in New Orleans (April 29).

The Band of Joy's current U.S. tour, underway since Jan. 18, is now between shows in the South, with North Charleston in South Carolina on Friday, Atlanta on Saturday, Charlotte on Monday, and two final shows in Nashville on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tour dates then continue for at least half the band as Buddy Miller and Patty Griffin take to the seas. Both are booked to play sets aboard the annual Cayamo cruise, departing Feb. 13 from Miami. Aboard the Norwegian Pearl headed returning from the Bahamas one week later, they'll be playing alongside such musicians as former Fairport Convention guitarist Richard Thompson, whose song "House of Cards" has become a Band of Joy concert standard.

Our exclusive on-the-spot concert report from D.C. first appeared online Tuesday night.

Any changes in the set list tonight, Roy? "Only all the time," answers Robert Plant's sound man. He says they rehearse the afternoon of every gig.
Tuesday at 8:49pm

Between the set from the opening act and the headliner, onstage is none other than Darrell Scott, soundchecking his lap steel on headphones. Meanwhile, this is the second Howlin' Wolf song played over the P.A. during the break.
Tuesday at 9:04pm

Before the show, someone asked me if Robert still uses incense at his shows like he did with the Strange Sensation. I wasn't sure, but now I am. The answer is yes. A crew member was just lighting them.
Tuesday at 9:10pm

They're opening with their dirty funky raw country-fried version of "Black Dog" tonight.
Tuesday at 9:14pm

Robert Plant says his 'eyes and ears have been opened'

By Brian Gardiner

Robert Plant eyes up Patty Griffin
during "Rich Woman" in New York:
Mine eyes have seen the glory!

Robert Plant, it seems, does everything differently these days. When an artist plays Toronto one weekend, and New York the next, it is normal that New York is the one everyone talks about, even while the artist is in Toronto. For Robert Plant, who is playing New York this weekend to a wall of silence, last weekend's Toronto shows are again being talked about.

The Observer's Ed Vulliamy spent last weekend with Plant in Toronto talking in depth with Plant about his motivations for performing, how he gets to the shows, and the Wolverhampton Wanderers.

"There's no plan," Plant tells Vulliamy, "this band has a life of its own." Those are key words. When wondering what will Plant do, he is just as much in the dark as you are. Last week, I penned a piece chronicling his desire to write with Band of Joy after telling Rolling Stone he was done writing. The real answer to the question of what's next for Robert Plant lies in that answer: "There's no plan." And if that means Robert Plant is moving on from where his fans are musically, drifting out of significance, he understands that:

"The further I get into it, the harder it will be to get a gig in the Top Rank. I won't fit. If I continue doing this, it will mean obsolescence for me ... I'm just incredibly fortunate that my eyes and ears have been opened. I have to be honest with myself and remove as much of the repetition and fakery as is humanly possible."

Unlike other interviews, other comments, Plant is also more conciliatory, less dismissive, towards his time in Led Zeppelin:

"We were great when we were great. I was part of something magnificent which broke the Guinness Book of Records, but in the end, what are you going to get out of it? Who are you doing it for? You have to ask these questions: Who pays the piper, and what is valuable in this life? I don't want to scream 'Immigrant Song' every night for the rest of my life, and I'm not sure I could."

Comments like "who pays the piper" probably say more about why Robert Plant turned down huge money for a Led Zeppelin reunion. A tour the size of Zeppelin would be a machine grinding away at Plant's creative impulses. Besides, how would a reunited Zeppelin get to the gigs? Not, I suspect, by Plant's preferred method:

"It's all by bus. It's a great way to see America and a great way to meet interesting people. But most of all, I want to be on these kinds of terms with these kinds of people. There's no point in doing it any other way, and if I did, I'd feel uncomfortable. I've got a big name, but I've always wanted to be in a band, one of a band ... I do not want to arrive to join the band in a limo."

Plant is also less dismissive than he has been about other artists continuing to play their old songs, touring with 40-year-old music:

"It would become progressively more difficult to talk about music at a whist drive. All my colleagues that I've known and loved -- our lives have been lived in parallel for 40 years -- and you have to say: each to their own. People get off on what they want to get off on -- I'm not going to tell anyone how to live ..."

Band of Joy in Ann Arbor, Mich.: Robert Plant, Buddy Miller,
Byron House, Marco Giovino, Darrell Scott, Patty Griffin.
Photo by Wyatt Brake

Leaving aside his comments, direct or indirect, about Led Zeppelin, Plant has a lot to say about his Band of Joy as well.

"I wonder sometimes, how did I get into this family of people? Sometimes I feel as though I'm not contributing so much as getting away with it ... this band has a life of its own. It's breaking down all the terminologies; all the terms that apply to different genres are being torn asunder. ...

"It's about contribution. Everyone is throwing themselves into this abstraction called Band of Joy, and no one knows what it is. But we know how to find it, and we go looking. I asked [manager Nicola Powell] if my rambling between songs on stage is getting too obscure. She says no, it's just about mad enough to capture the spirit of the thing."

Why, at his age, does Robert Plant keep doing it at all when he could easily retire to the Black Country, watching the Wolverhampton Wanderers and minding the legacy of Led Zeppelin?

"I would say it was restlessness if it was not something else, which is inquisitive curiosity and the need to challenge myself. It's a two-dimensional gig being a singer, and you can get lost in your own tedium and repetition."

Plant's inability to get lost in tedium and repetition is what fans both love and hate about him. It explains the great moments in his career, and it also explains why Led Zeppelin didn't stop progressing after Led Zeppelin II -- or after their fourth album.

It also explains why he is riding the buses with Buddy Miller and Patty Griffin and not jetting around the world with Led Zeppelin; why he is doing two nights at the Beacon Theatre and not seven at Madison Square Garden; why "Rock and Roll" is now a bluegrass number.

The Band of Joy is getting better as well, Plant tells Vulliamy. "Something went up a notch in Ann Arbor," the singer says, referring to the Michigan concert immediately before the pair of Toronto shows. It continued into the Toronto show, Vulliamy writes:

... in Toronto, somewhere during an old Uncle Tupelo song [sic] called "Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down", a spell of sorts descends on the Canadian theatre, too, an alchemic moment, and the musicians Cheshire cat grin at one another, because they know.

Report: Jimmy Page in Cuba

By Brian Gardiner

What was Jimmy Page doing in Cuba?

Other than buying records and the iconic picture of Che Guevara taken by photographer Alberto Korda, his appearance in the Spanish-speaking nation raises questions about Jimmy's musical intentions.

2008 photo of Jimmy Page by christopherharte

Page spent at least three days in Cuba, reports Michel Hernández for Prensa Latina. Word first got out on Saturday that Page was staying at the old Havana's Hotel Saratoga, so local DJ Juan Camacho and Cuban rock band Tesis de Menta (Mint Thesis?) went down to talk to Page. The guitarist, reportedly looking fit and healthy in shorts and black t-shirt, told the admirers that he was interested in the work of Havana nightclub Maxim Rock.

Maxim Rock, along with the Cuban Rock Agency, works to promote rock bands in Cuba.

Last June, Page visited Brazil, including a stop in a local samba school. At the time, it was suggested Page would return in September to record local musicians. Everybody then believed, Page included, that he was going to be recording in 2010. That was Page's timeline late in the previous year, anyway, when he said:

"I intend to be making music next year, and I've got lots of new music to present."

By December 2010, his tune had changed, as he told Planet Rock's Liz Barnes:

"I'm desperate to be playing, but it won't be 'til next year."

It is now next year, and Page was just in Cuba checking out a rock club and promoter. Is Page planning on doing something with a latin/Spanish feel, much like he did with Moroccan musicians on the Unledded album with Plant?

Time will tell, but we can only hope this Jimmy Page sighting indicates that he's beginning work on his next project.

Them Crooked Vultures star reveals he died on the operating table

Photo by Bill Ebbesen

Literally. Dying on the operating table?

Josh Homme revealed in an interview for England's NME that he died and came back to life on an operating table last year.

He'd been in surgery last autumn to correct longstanding problems with his knee. That's when, he puts it bluntly, "I had an operation and died, and survived on the table."

Details, please?

"I had surgery on my leg and there were complications and I died on the table."

Wow.

"I was in bed for three months, and I've never done that before so I had time to reflect. I got cleared in the middle of December to walk round again and get out [of] bed, so after three months of just living in my mind, I was finally able to walk round again."

Three months without walking?

"So I just sprang into the new year, basically."

So did Robert Plant on New Year's Day 1976 after four months in a wheelchair and on crutches. That was from the auto accident that could have killed him -- and the hospital stay in Greece that could have stopped his life at age 26.

Two singers in bands with John Paul Jones in a similar situation just after tours!

Is Homme serious about this new revelation? NME's Dan Martin, who interviewed him, thinks so. Martin writes: "Josh is prone to exaggeration, but the serenity with which the Queens of the Stone Age leader talks about his flatline leaves us in no doubt that this is not one of his tall stories."

Josh Homme is still with us.

NME issues are available digitally.

Robert Plant extends tour with Band of Joy through April

Robert Plant has added some dates to his current North American tour with the Band of Joy. The schedule will now see the group get back on the road in April for some shows spanning both coasts and some big cities in between.

Their ambitious touring schedule in April is to include:

• April 8: Louisville, Ky. - The Palace [Tickets]
• April 9: Chicago, Ill. - The Auditorium Theatre [Tickets]
• April 11: Milwaukee, Wis. - The Riverside Ballroom [Tickets TBA]
• April 12: Minneapolis, Minn. - The State Theatre [Tickets]
• April 15: Hollywood, Fla. - Hard Rock Live Arena [Tickets TBA]
• April 17: Vancouver, B.C., Canada - The Queen Elizabeth Theater [Tickets]
• April 19: Portland, Ore. - The Schnitzer [Tickets]
• April 20: Seattle, Wash. - The Paramount [Tickets TBA]
• April 22: Berkeley, Calif. - The Greek [Tickets]
• April 23: Los Angeles, Calif. - The Greek [Tickets TBA]
• April 25: Santa Barbara, Calif. - The Santa Barbara Bowl [Tickets TBA]
• April 27: Denver, Colo. - The Fillmore [Tickets TBA]

Plant, who last week was nominated for the first BRIT award of his career, is currently on tour with his group in support the album Band of Joy, released last year just after the group's first trek through the States. The current leg of dates includes:

• Jan. 18: Asheville, N.C. - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium [Tickets]
• Jan. 19: Pittsburgh, Pa. - Peterson Events Center (University of Pittsburgh) [Tickets]
• Jan. 21: Ann Arbor, Mich. - Hill Auditorium [Tickets]
• Jan. 22: Toronto, Ont., Canada - Sony Centre for the Performing Arts [Tickets]
• Jan. 23: Toronto, Ont., Canada - Sony Centre for the Performing Arts [Tickets]
• Jan. 25: Boston, Mass. House of Blues [Tickets]
• Jan. 26: Upper Darby, Pa. - Tower Theatre [Tickets]
• Jan. 28: Mashantucket, Conn. - MGM Grand Theater at MGM Grand at Foxwoods [Tickets]
• Jan. 29: New York, N.Y. - Beacon Theatre [Tickets]
• Jan. 30: New York, N.Y. - Beacon Theatre [Tickets]
• Feb. 1: Washington, D.C. - D.A.R. Constitution Hall [Tickets]
• Feb. 2: Raleigh, N.C. - Raleigh, N.C. - Memorial Auditorium [Tickets]
• Feb. 4: North Charleston, S.C. - North Charleston Performing Arts Center [Tickets]
• Feb. 5: Atlanta, Ga. - Fox Theatre [Tickets]
• Feb. 7: Charlotte, N.C. - Ovens Auditorium [Tickets]
• Feb. 8: Nashville, Tenn. - War Memorial Auditorium [Tickets]
• Feb. 9: Nashville, Tenn. - War Memorial Auditorium [Tickets]

Steven Tyler talks Led Zeppelin -- past and, uh, future? Howard Stern show recap

Photo by Daigo Oliva

An interview conducted live on the Howard Stern show today sheds some light on what Jimmy Page has been, and may still be, up to.

In the "surprise guest's" interview, Aerosmith singer and "American Idol" judge Steven Tyler said he turned down an offer to do some songwriting with Led Zeppelin's guitarist.

Still, Tyler's interview ended with a comment, maybe made in jest, that he might be performing soon with Led Zeppelin.

The conversation first delved into the subject of Zep when Stern, surprised by his guest's appearance, suddenly asked if Tyler really did audition for Led Zeppelin, as reports stated in October 2008.

A one-off Led Zeppelin concert in December 2007 saw Page reunited with Robert Plant and John Paul Jones, along with Jason Bonham, son of original drummer John Bonham. The following year, while Plant was on tour with Alison Krauss, the others were gathered together with hopes of continuing playing music together.

However, with Plant unavailable, they considered forming, instead, a new band. Statements to the effect that Led Zeppelin would continue with any singer other than Plant were untrue.

The story at one time was that Tyler had auditioned for Led Zeppelin, implying Plant would be replaced. Tyler, through his words in today's interview, may have callously reinforced that notion.

Stern asked if Tyler auditioned for Led Zeppelin, and the singer didn't exactly say no.

Tyler mentioned by name the man who was Jimmy Page's manager, Peter Mensch. Tyler said Mench called him to say that Led Zeppelin had "just played live and that Robert wouldn't play with them again." So he was asked, "Want to come over and jam with the guys?" Tyler said it was natural to jump at the opportunity.

However, when he and Page met face to face and was asked to record an album with him, Tyler turned that down due to his allegiance with Aerosmith.

Previously, a source said it was Page who turned down Tyler after an audition Page deemed "shambolic."

(That is enough to make one wonder how Page would do as an "American Idol" judge. Unafraid to express harsh opinions with words such as "shambolic," Page could be the new Simon Cowell!)

Tyler's overall message on the state of Aerosmith's future was that he would drop "American Idol" if faced with a conflict between being a judge and being a lead singer.

Tyler said he thinks he could have several ongoing projects and they wouldn't jeopardize his position with his bandmates in Aerosmith. For instance, he offered, he could play some Led Zeppelin shows.

Yep, that's right, Tyler said of Led Zeppelin: "I may do some dates with them, just a couple of one-offs." But it wouldn't be a barrier: "That doesn't mean I'm joining Zeppelin."

Anyway, catch Jimmy Page's take on how it really went down in 2008 with Jones and Bonham. And how Jones says it went down.

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.

From Asheville to Nashville: Plant plots tour for Eastern half of America

With three dates in the Carolinas, two in North Carolina, and one each in several major markets along the Eastern seaboard, Robert Plant and the Band of Joy are set for a return to North America this January.

The 15-date tour represents the band's first dates this side of the Atlantic since the September release of the Band of Joy album.

The dates, as issued Monday in an official press release, are as follows:

• Tuesday, Jan. 18: Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, Asheville, N.C.
• Wednesday, Jan. 19: Peterson Events Center (University of Pittsburgh), Pittsburgh, Pa.
• Friday, Jan. 21: Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Mich.
• Saturday, Jan. 22: Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, Ont.
• Tuesday, Jan. 25: House of Blues, Boston, Mass.
• Wednesday, Jan. 26: Tower Theatre, Upper Darby, Pa.
• Friday, Jan. 28: MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Conn.
• Saturday, Jan. 29: Beacon Theatre, New York, N.Y.
• Tuesday, Feb. 1: D.A.R. Constitution Hall, Washington, D.C.
• Wednesday, Feb. 2: Memorial Auditorium, Raleigh, N.C.
• Friday, Feb. 4: North Charleston Performing Arts Center, North Charleston, S.C.
• Saturday, Feb. 5: Fox Theatre, Atlanta, Ga.
• Monday, Feb. 7: Ovens Auditorium, Charlotte, N.C.
• Tuesday, Feb. 8: War Memorial Auditorium, Nashville, Tenn.
• Wednesday, Feb. 9: War Memorial Auditorium, Nashville, Tenn.

Robert Plant hits Europe; Jason Bonham pro-shot video appears online; Sons of Albion tours New York clubs

Just some quick hits for the beginning of this work week.

Robert Plant hits Europe

First, Robert Plant and the Band of Joy are back in the United Kingdom again, having just hit Sweden and Norway for a pair of shows and this illuminating TV interview in which Plant discussed a lot about Led Zeppelin -- both in the old days of seeing Stockholm with ABBA in the days of recording In Through the Out Door and, more recently, reuniting the band in 2007.

Said Plant: "The guys in Led Zeppelin were spectacular players, and we lost John, but Jimmy and John Paul are still magnificent. And, really, it was a serendip-- it was an amazing phenomenon that we got together and did what we did, honestly, for honesty's sake, not for money's sake or for kudos ..."

Plant and the Band of Joy play in Edinboro, Scotland, tonight. Shows the rest of this month include the Electric Proms in London on Oct. 29, where the band is to be backed by the London Oriana Choir. It will be Plant's second performance with the 72-piece singing ensemble this year: the choir backed him at the Sound & Vision charity concert on Feb. 25.

Jason Bonham pro-shot video appears online

Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience has finished its first seven-show pass through Canada. Now the band prepares to hit Minneapolis for the first of three U.S. shows. That concert is tomorrow, followed by Milwaukee on Wednesday and Merrilville, Ind., on Thursday.

As of only a few hours ago, some professionally shot multi-camera footage from the Oct. 14 show in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, appears online. In it, the band performs "Good Times Bad Times" in an arrangement similar to the first song of the 2007 Led Zeppelin reunion concert. There are three other full songs as well: "Since I've Been Loving You," "Black Dog" and "Kashmir." Does this mean a DVD release of Bonham's tribute concert may be in the works? Lemon Squeezings will let you know.

Few fan-shot videos of the group online capture full songs, but there are several from the Oct. 17 show in Winnipeg. Check out "I Can't Quit You Baby," "Dazed and Confused" and "Stairway to Heaven."

Sons of Albion tours New York clubs

Another band with a genetic link to Led Zeppelin hit the United States recently for a slew of shows in Manhattan. Katie Higgins, a fan who saw Sons of Albion multiple times, writes her account in the following summary:

Sons of Albion recently wrapped up a two week stint in NYC. I was lucky enough to catch a few of their shows, the last of which was Thursday night at Fontana's in the Lower East Side. Yhey did not disappoint. They played some familiar songs which they've already released, "Take a Look," "I Feel You" and their most recent, "Blackened Heart." Download them from iTunes if you haven't! There were a couple of newer songs which they've hinted about -- "Killing the Machine" and "Primal Scream," as well as a heartfelt softer ballad sung beautifully by Logan -- this is my new favorite.

The band played with a massive amount of energy which grew stronger every night, as did the crowds. Francisco's drumming was amazing, pounding so hard on the drums, his finger bled. Gones (bass) and Nuno (guitar) seemed to escape into worlds of their own while playing with a tremendous passion, creating a sound which is unmistakably their own. Logan sounded great and was at home on the stage; however, the stage was much too small for them and at times he seemed a little like a caged animal looking to break free. He will ... they all will ...

New York-based DJ Carol Miller, host of the nationally syndicated "Get the Led Out" for which I consult, mentions Sons of Albion in her latest blog entry at LedZepOnline.com. She writes:

The band has been making some new music produced by Paul Logus, who is a contributing producer for GTLO, so it's "all in the family"!

So happy with the level of support Sons of Albion have been getting here in New York... All I can say is look out for big things! More to come on this...

Jason Bonham pleased as Led Zeppelin Experience tour kicks off in Canada

Photo by Glenn Francis,
www.PacificProDigital.com

Concertgoers at the Encana Events Centre in Dawson Creek, B.C., Canada, last night witnessed the first showing from the multimedia tour Jason Bonham has spent the last few months publicizing.

So far, the few firsthand accounts from inside the concert venue could not be more positive. Most of what's been said, however, comes from the band members themselves!

About six hours before his second show, Bonham took to the Internet to post his thoughts on the Friday night debut: "This was the opening night of the tour and all I can say is , Thank you for making it one of the best gigs of my life !!!!!!! xoxo."

Update: In another message, Bonham gives away much of the set list. Be forewarned of a possible spoiler alert before clicking here.

Some of his bandmates were also communicating online after the show thanks to the complimentary Wi-Fi on their tour bus. Their bass player, who shall remain nameless unless you click here, granted an e-mail interview to Lemon Squeezings.

"Jason was in heaven from where I was standing," the bass player writes. "It's safe to say he loved every minute of the first show and it was really fantastic to be a part of it with him and the rest of the boys."

Clips of "Since I've Been Loving You" and "When the Levee Breaks" from the opening show in Dawson Creek have made it online.

Zeptember arrivals from Robert Plant, Jason Bonham hit No. 1

Two of the musicians who played onstage with Led Zeppelin in December 2007 released their first new albums since that concert this month, and both discs hit No. 1 on one chart or another.

Second-week sales of Robert Plant's Band of Joy were down by almost half in the United States. Statistics indicate the disc sold 49,000 copies over the week of its Sept. 14 release and 25,000 the following week.

That has been enough to place the album at the top of Billboard's Tastemaker Albums chart for the week of Oct. 2. This chart represents "the week's top-selling albums based on an influential panel of stores comprised of independent retailer coalitions and smaller regional chains. Titles are ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan." It's hanging on at No. 3 in the updated listings posted today, for the week of Oct. 9.

Meanwhile, Jason Bonham's latest album release, the debut album by Black Country Communion, landed at the top spot in its debut on BBC Radio 1's UK Top 40 Rock Albums chart. (Incidentally, the same Sept. 26 chart listing also has the debut disc from another Zep-related supergroup, Them Crooked Vultures, lingering at No. 26 in its 42nd week since release. Oh, and Led Zeppelin's 2-CD set Mothership from 2007 ranks at No. 30! It's still charting high in its 114th week.)

As an independent album, Black Country Communion is doing well. It debuted at No. 2 on the UK Top 40 Indie Album chart. Its debut among independent albums on the Billboard chart was at No. 6.

Other chart listings follow.

For Black Country Communion release, band plays secret London gig

Glenn Hughes;
photo by John Rahim

The members of Black Country Communion have been running the publicity rounds in support of their album release. Black Country was released in the United States today on the J&R Adventures label. While Jason Bonham is flying back to the U.S. straight after the band's London debut in front of 100 people at a secret show, singer and bassist Glenn Hughes remains in England where he'll begin touring right away.

The singer took some time today to update Lemon Squeezings on the success of last night's gig and how it came about. "We were in New York a couple of weeks ago doing the same thing, and we wanted to do a media show in England because the band's strength, we believe, will start from England, and it has today," said Hughes. "It's looking really strong here."

A small assembly of contest winners and media personnel attended the show, which was held at a rehearsal studio in London. The U.K.'s Planet Rock Radio broadcast the show live as the band ran through eight songs on the disc, including their remake of "Medusa" from Hughes's old band, Trapeze. "It was great, really successful, and it's really looking strong right now. It's all go. It's all Black Country Communion, baby," he said enthusiastically over the phone early in the London afternoon.

He believes they've achieved their goal in England for the time being, until they return next year for a longer trip. "We needed to do something in England, something in New York, and this is what we needed to do to get a foundation, a buzz going," explained Hughes.