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How might Jimmy Page's new singer be announced?

Monday, November 3, 2008

These particular words of John Paul Jones last week stick with me: "When we know what we're doing, we'll let you know," he told BBC Radio Devon.

He was speaking, of course, about the search for a singer to record an album with Jimmy Page, Jason Bonham and himself, and to go on tour.

This comment made me think there would be a grand, official announcement immediately after the decision was made and a singer was picked.

So then why have anonymous sources told Billboard that Myles Kennedy has the deal wrapped up? Why did this story get published Friday with no official word to follow it up over the weekend?

I have an idea. Because it's true and they're going to announce it onstage next weekend!

It's the second time the name of Myles Kennedy has been leaked publicly: Last month, a source told The Sun in England that Kennedy was sitting in with the others in rehearsals. And Dee Snider said he had heard it too.

Last week, Steven Tyler's name was also thrown into the ring after another leak to the Daily Mail in England. That was either a stunt just to throw off the media or, as fellow Aerosmith member Brad Whitford suspects, a last-ditch attempt to encourage Robert Plant to come over and sing.

All these leaks... drip, drip, drip... but no official statement so far.

Jason Bonham evaded me yesterday. I turned out to an event in Hollywood, Fla., where he was scheduled to appear.

And he was a no-show!

The guys at event sponsor Resurrection Drums said they didn't know what happened to him -- "no call or anything" to say he wasn't going to make it.

I wondered if Jason had been suddenly yanked across the Atlantic and that announcement was imminent. But it didn't happen yesterday, and we're still waiting.

If they have picked Myles Kennedy and they announce it today or tomorrow, it would be just in time for the first date of his current band's U.K. tour. Alter Bridge plays its first show tomorrow at the Academy in Sheffield, England.

And the group's London show this coming Saturday is to be filmed for a DVD, which reminds me of the Page/Jones guest appearance at a Foo Fighters show in London five months ago that was filmed for a DVD.

The fact that something Zeppelin-related would happen in London at the second Foo Fighters show was seemingly leaked to a fan with a mouthpiece. So far, no such leak for this Saturday's Alter Bridge show, but I'm all ears if anyone wants to leak it to me!

If Kennedy has the job in the bag, perhaps the leaks will continue throughout this week so as to hype up the London show and get a lot of media attention there.

And then, on Saturday at Brixton Academy, for the encore set, onto the stage walk John Paul Jones, Jason Bonham and Jimmy Page.

It would be there and then -- onstage, in front of screaming fans and a throng of music industry press and mainstream news reporters -- that the full lineup of Jimmy Page's new band is unveiled once and for all.

And then they launch into something new that'll be on the album.

And then they launch into "Kashmir."

I don't know. I'm just thinking.

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Led Zeppelin Reunion


Photo courtesy of Simon Keeping

The surviving members of Led Zeppelin regrouped in 2007, with Jason Bonham on drums, to perform a year-end tribute to Ahmet Ertegun. Their widely praised concert was witnessed in person by fewer than 20,000 people. It is likely never to be repeated, and there are no announced plans to release the concert for home viewing. However, clicking the image above will bring up multi-cam footage of the entire Led Zeppelin performance as it happened on Dec. 10, 2007, at the O2 arena in London.

Many posts on LedZeppelinNews.com have centered on the possibility of a full-scale Led Zeppelin reunion, noting particularly the inaccuracies reported by the popular press.

Page


Jimmy Page stars with fellow guitarists Jack White and The Edge in this guitar documentary, directed by Davis Guggenheim ("An Inconvenient Truth"), which had widespread theatrical showings beginning in August.

LedZeppelinNews.com provided a review of "It Might Get Loud" at that time.

"It Might Get Loud" will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on Dec. 22 in the United States. Click here to pre-order on DVD or Blu-Ray. Prior to this, "It Might Get Loud" will be available on iTunes for two weeks beginning Dec. 8.

- What else should I know about "It Might Get Loud"?

- What else is Jimmy Page up to?

Plant


Just prior to the Led Zeppelin reunion concert in 2007, Robert Plant released the album Raising Sand with Alison Krauss. Their partnership has been the subject of much critical and commercial success, including victories at the Grammy awards two years in a row.

A follow-up to that album has been in pre-production, but Krauss's current priorities are new recordings and eventual touring with her signature band, Union Station. Progress on the second Plant/Krauss album is anticipated following the completion of the Union Station tour.

More recently, Plant entered the studio with famed U2 producer Daniel Lanois for some recording sessions, the nature of which has not been disclosed.

Following the breakup of Led Zeppelin, Plant went on to a rewarding career as a solo artist. He released six albums of his own between 1982 and 1993, two collaborative albums with Jimmy Page between 1994 and 1998, and two more solo albums since that time. Yet until Raising Sand, his biggest commercial success came in releasing an EP of classic cover material under the name The Honeydrippers.

- What else is Robert Plant up to?

Jones


John Paul Jones is now in one of the hottest and hardest rock bands, Them Crooked Vultures. The frontman, handling lead guitar and vocals, is Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age. Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters is on drums. As for Jones, he offers not only bass and keyboard but also mandolin, keytar, lap steel and whatever else is needed.

One album was released in November, and another is forthcoming. A tour of North America completed in November, and the band now heads to Europe in December and Australia in January.

- What's the latest on Them Crooked Vultures, the group featuring John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl and Josh Homme?

- What else is John Paul Jones up to?

Jason Bonham


Jason Bonham, son of the late John "Bonzo" Bonham, does not take lightly the responsibility of carrying on his father's legacy. Having made a head start at drumming while he was a child, Jason is now passing on the same lessons to a third generation of Bonham drummers.

John Bonham's death in 1980 left such an impact on the surviving members of Led Zeppelin that they knew immediately they could not continue as they were. Yet Jason Bonham's familiarity with the band made him a shoe-in to join his father's bandmates on the few occasions reunion concerts have taken place.

This year marked the 20th anniversary of Bonham's most successful album release to date, the Platinum-certified disc The Disregard of Timekeeping released by his band, Bonham. To mark the milestone, he recently toured with a new band and played under the banner of "An Evening with Jason Bonham."

In the past, Bonham has also toured and/or recorded with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Foreigner, UFO, Paul Rodgers, Joe Bonamassa, Virginia Wolf, Airrace, Healing Sixes and Motherland. He also acted in the movie Rock Star and appeared on the reality TV show "SuperGroup."

- What's the latest on Jason Bonham?

Who Else

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