The Girl With The Immigrant Song Tattoo

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series of books and movies has been some of the best of the past number of years. The first Dragon Tattoo movie was outstanding, even if in Swedish. Now they are remaking it for American audiences starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara.

I dislike Daniel Craig. I think his little man-boy version of James Bond is atrocious, pouty in lieu of tough. I consider the Bond franchise rather spoiled by him, and expect him to have similar effect on the "Girl With..." franchise.

The trailer for the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo movie was released last week, featuring Trent Reznor and Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs performing Led Zeppelin's The Immigrant Song.



Lets just say, I'm no more optimistic about The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo today than I was yesterday.

James Dylan Sick Again

James Dylan, the singer in Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience, has come down with an illness, prompting the cancellation of a number of shows. The cancellations began Thursday in Sacramento, California. At that time, guitarist Tony Catania commented on Facebook:

Well I had no idea how fucked up everything has become......we are evaluating the situation

This was the first clue that perhaps, Sacremento wouldn't be the only cancellation.  It wasn't, and Friday Night's show at The Greek in Los Angeles, and Saturday's show in Las Vegas were cancelled as well.

No word yet on any other cancellations. They are, presumably, evaluating the situation.

The cancelled shows have been rescheduled for October. I would assume that means more October dates will be in the offing, possibly meaning round three of the JBZLE.

Robert Plant Receives Americana Award Nominations

Robert Plant has received three Americana Honors & Awards nominations for his Americana album, Band of Joy.

Plant, along with his Band of Joy co-partner Buddy Miller and country singer Elizabeth Cook is nominated for Artist of the Year.

Plant's Band of Joy is also up for album of the year and the Band of Joy itself is up for best group/duo.

Co-producer Miller, who will share in the Band of Joy accolades, is also up for instrumentalist of the year, which he won last year.

The 10th annual Americana Honors & Awards Show goes October 13th.

Jimmy Page from the Ivor Novello's

Last week, I reported from the Ivor Novello Awards that Jimmy Page said his new website was ready, and music ready to launch. Today, a video emerges from the Ivor Novello's that tell a less enthusiastic story:

At the moment I'm constructing a website, because I've had the domain name JimmyPage.com, but I've not had a website. I'm constructing that, I think that'll bring a few surprisesto how things normally are. Once that's done, then I'm going to start working on the new music. It's a whole sort of, knock out effect.

So we'll see you playing soon

Let's hope so. That's the whole idea.

On a reunion, Page was more blunt: I don't know, you better ask the others... I was up to do the O2.

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Update: Transcription has been edited for, I hope, greater accuracy.

John Paul Jones and Seasick Steve Interview

Seasick Steve's newest album, You Can't Teach and Old Dog New Tricks, will feature a bass player for the first time in his five album career. The bass player? John Paul Jones.



I have previously posted the first two video's from the Later with Jules Holland: You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks and  I Don't Know Why She Love Me But She Do.

Video Day

Two new video's for your Saturday morning.

First is another track from Seasick Steve on Later with Jules Holland, John Paul Jones on bass, performing You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks:






Next up is a promo video from Black Country Communion with a Preview video of their new album, 2, featuring The Outsider:

BCC2 on Vinyl

Black Country Communion's PR firm, J&R Adventures, has confirmed that Black Country Communion's second album will be released on vinyl on July 12th. The double album will include a digital download.

The CD and online version of the album will be released in June, at the same time as Black Country Communion begin a short American tour, before heading to Europe.

The track list for BBC2 is:

The Outsider
Man In The Middle
I Can See Your Spirit
The Battle For Hadrian’s Wall
Save Me
Cold
Smokestack Woman
Faithless
An Ordinary Son
Little Secret
Crossfire
Crawl

Jimmy Page "Ready"

Jimmy Page turned up at the Ivor Novello Awards in London on Wednesday. More importantly, he told The Daily Star's Kim Dawson that he will release new music this year, and his website is ready to launch:

Led Zep icon Jimmy Page has vowed to finally release new music this year.

The guitarist, 67, told me: “I’ve been waiting to launch it on a new website. I’ve never had a website. Now it’s ready.”

The website is JimmyPage.com, which has been "coming soon," for the last year. What was never clear was why he was building the site. Now we know it's for the intention of launching new music. Hopefully it will go live soon, with Jimmy Page music to follow.

Get The Candles Out

Carol Miller's syndicated radio show, Get the Led Out, will do a special feature on Memorial Day celebrating John Bonham's birthday.

The special will feature interviews with Simon Kirke (Bad Company), Alan White (Yes), Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Black Country Communion) and Jason Bonham. As well, it will rebroadcast UK and US newscasts on  the death of John Bonham in 1980.

The show will air on affiliate stations during the week of May 23rd to 29. John Bonham would have turned 63 on May 31st.

“What Should Never Be" on American Idol

Haley Reinhart tonight sang a shortened version of Led Zeppelin's What is and What Should Never Be on American Idol. Reinhart is a top three contestant in season ten and sang the Zeppelin classic beside her father, who played guitar.



Earlier in the day it was reported that Haley would be singing the song. According to the young singer's mother:

Jimmy Page and Robert Plant has never given any permission to use a Led Zeppelin songs to Idol. When they heard Haley do ‘House of Rising Sun’ they contacted Idol and said if she wants to do one of our songs she can.

That is, of course, not true. Second place finisher in season 8, Adam Lambert, sang Whole Lotta Love on the show.

Furthermore the idea that Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, who have trouble agreeing on where to eat, agreed to phone American Idol and offer their song doesn't sound quite right somehow.

The story at Examiner.com managed to get the name of the song wrong as well, referring to it as “What Should Never Be by Led Zeppelin."

John Paul Jones on Jules Holland

John Paul Jones was on Later with Jules Holland last night, playing bass for Seasick Steve.

They played Don't Know Why She Love Me But She Do.



Former Squeeze keyboard player Jules Holland's show airs on BBC2.

Going to Q107

Last Friday the Jason Bonham Led Zeppelin Experience was here in Toronto in advance of their show Saturday night. They appeared on Kim Mitchell's afternoon drive time radio show, where they played Going to California:



Nice mandolin playing Stephen LeBlanc!

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For those unfamiliar, Kim Mitchell was the frontman for a seventies band called Max Webster, and had a successful solo career in the 80's. Unfortunately, seventies rock star, successful 80's solo career in Canada means day job in 2011. Rock and roll just doesn't pay the same up here as it does elsewhere.

Not being a fan, one of my favourite moments on his radio show was when he was interviewing Robert Plant during the Mighty Rearranger tour, and Plant gave a classic sarcastic response to what he perceived to be a stupid question.

ZepFest Cancelled

Update, and bumped:

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Some good information and excellent source material in an article by Ally Schweitzer of the Washington City Paper in the ZepFest cancellation:

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2011/05/16/the-disintegration-of-zep-fest/

Meanwhile, Paul Hammond from Get the Led Out reports that they too have not been officially notified of the cancellation. Possibly more disturbing, neither has MissionTix, who are telling customers it may take up wait 48 hours before requesting refunds.

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ZepFest 2011, only two weekends away and set to be staged in Washington DC, has been cancelled:

Rumours began circulating about ten days ago, when Led Zepagain publicly announced they would be dropping out due a lack of upfront money as contractually committed by ZepFest. That came on the heels of Richard Cole dropping out. The response from ZepFest when I enquired about Richard Cole was "couldn't work out travel."

Today, Dread Zeppelin dropped out, and looking into it, I heard word that less known acts, Fosterchild and Craving Strange had either dropped out or been dropped. It was becoming clear ZepFest was in trouble. Enquiries to the organizer resulted in an email sent at 5:57 this evening:

EVENT IS CANCELLED
refunds at place of purchase

[someone will be in touch with you]

One act is now publicly wondering whether a fraud was committed, and certainty the acts involved will lose revenue from not playing that weekend. As well, people who booked a flight will also be out their money.

Ramble On will keep this story up to date as new information becomes available.

Free Black Country Communion Download

Black Country Communion has made a song from their upcoming release, Black Country Communion 2, available for free download. The Outsider is the opening track on the new album, BCC2, available in stores  June 14th (June 13th in Britain).

The Outsider is a hard rockin' song reminiscent of Black Country, which opened the Anglo-American band's first album. While it carries a Black Country like groove, however, it has a short smokin' guitar solo and Derek Sherinian runs some very tasty, Keith Emerson like keyboard work.

Previously, Glenn Hughes performed an acoustic version of Cold.

Achilles in Connecticut

Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience  began their 2011 tour last night in Wallingford Connecticut, wher ethey premiered a new song, Achilles Last Stand:



Joining the Led Zeppelin Experience this time around is former Powerman 5000 bassist Dorian Heartsong (AKA Dorian 27).  He replaces Michael Devin, who had a prior commitment with Whitesnake.

Does Anybody Remember Laughter

Anybody who has seen Dread Zeppelin (see Fest, Zep 11) can attest that Dread Zeppelin does wonderful musical satire of Led Zeppelin. The song Royal Orleans is reportedly satirizing a night in the life of John Paul Jones, although he does deny this.

Now, however, it's The Spoof satirizing John Paul Jones, with a piece on the beautification of John Paul Jones:

Former Led Zeppelin member John Paul Jones has been beautified after undergoing major cosmetic surgery in Los Angeles.

The 65 year old bassist has spent 3 weeks at the exclusive Rodeo Drive Plastic Surgery in an attempt to get rid of the pitted skin that has afflicted him since a bad bout of teenage acne.

Its also understood that Jones has been given a number of botox injections designed to eradicate his laughter lines.

This piece comes the day after Pope Benedict beautified his predecessor, Pope John Paul, in Rome.

Next, Saint Jimmy Page.

Chris Dreja at ZepFest

When ZepFest rolls around later this month, there will be a number of special guests. Among them, Yardbirds rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja.  Dreja was an original member in 1963, playing rhythm guitar behind Top Topham, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. While Jimmy Page originally joined the Yardbirds as a bass player, he soon joined Beck on guitar and Dreja moved to bass.

When he was forming Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page reportedly offered the bass job to Dreja, who declined in order to concentrate on a career in photography. He did, however, shoot a number of pictures of the Led Zeppelin members, including the back cover picture on their first album, Led Zeppelin I.

While he is at ZepFest, Dreja is bringing a number of pictures which he will sell at a merchandise table. One picture of Jimmy Page, signed by Dreja and Page will be sold at the show.

Tickets for ZepFest can be purchased at their website.

Chris Dreja Photography can be found here.

New BCC Song from Zeppelin Sessions

In 2008, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham got together and began working on some new material. The plan was an original album with Robert Plant singing. When Plant decided he wasn't interested in the project, the trio had recordings of 6 or 7 songs. None of that is new.

I have wondered since if any of that material has been released in a different form since. Namely, whether any Them Crooked Vultures or Black Country Communion songs are from those sessions, or are based on material from those sessions.

We now have a part answer. In Black Country Communion's upcoming release, BCC2, the song Save Me started as an idea from those sessions. According to Jason Bonham:

There's a song that started off as an idea that I worked on with (Jones and Page), so I was happy to finish it off with this band and have it come out. It's called Save Me. You'll notice it in the riff. You'll hear a slight Zepesque riff ... it's got a definite feel to it.

You can pre-order BCC2 at the band's website.

ElixirStrings Interviews John Paul Jones

These interviews were posted to ElixirStringsMedia's YouTube page about a year ago. I have no idea when they were taped, but I stumbled across them today, so I thought I'd post them.