Sunshine Sketches of Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience

Jason Bonham rolls into Central Ontario this weekend, playing Casino Rama in Orillia. Orillia’s claim to fame is the home of Canadian author and humourist Stephen Leacock, and the setting of his most famous book, Sunshine Sketches of a Little Townis reputed to be Orillia.

Heading into the show, Toronto Sun’s Darryl Sterdan has a short interview that is full of information. Bonham tells Sterdan that, should there be another Led Zeppelin Reunion, he’ll find out when we all find out:

When I was last with those guys they said, ‘You will always be the last to know of anything from now on because you can’t keep your mouth shut.’

He adds defeatedly, “They said ‘What are you going to do? Say no?’”

There are a few more very interesting tidbits in the interview, including that the band had to learn “the entire catalogue.” These guys are prepared to play any Zeppelin song (note to Bonham: Fool in the Rain on Saturday Nov 5, please).

As well, he Bonham reports that Black Country Communion will be recording ‘3’ sometime next year. This was reported previously, but Glenn Hughes has since announced he’s recording a solo album and doing a world tour in 2012, which seemed to preclude also doing a BCC album.

Hopefully Black Country Communion doesn't have the same "don't tell Jason rule" as Led Zeppelin does.

Black Country Communion 2 Track List

Black Country Communion’s second album, due for release June 14 in USA and Canada (June 13 in the UK), will feature 12 songs and run 70 minutes.

Previously bassist and vocalist Glenn Hughes has said BCC2 is a “rock ’n roll rollercoaster… organic… darker than ‘1.‘”

The track list for BCC2 has now been released:

1. The Outsider


2. Man In The Middle


3. I Can See Your Spirit


4. The Battle For Hadrian’s Wall


5. Save Me


6. Cold


7. Smokestack Woman


8. Faithless


9. An Ordinary Son


10. Little Secret


11. Crossfire


12. Crawl

No word on whether Save Me is the 1979 Brian May penned song from Queen's The Game album.

Black Country Communion 2 Complete

Mastered and ready for June release, Black Country Communion’s 2nd album, BCC2, is longer, harder and darker, according to singer and bassist Glenn Hughes.

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“BCC 2 70 mins. Long. A Rock ‘n Roll Rollercoaster… organic… darker than “1”… my darkest lyrics since Addiction,” said Hughes via Facebook. (Addiction was Hughes 5th solo album. Released in 1996 it is the album that is regarded as his heaviest, both musically and lyrically. Many of the songs focus on Hughes drug addiction that he experienced through the 1980’s).

On Thursday, Hughes mentioned he had a mastered CD in hand. This comes after commenting that “BCC has given me a new belief in Rock ‘n Roll…” And yesterday (Friday Feb 25), Hughes comments that:

Joe Rocks [sic] harder than ever… and I get to sing some desperate blues… this album has woken the Rock

Hughes is not the only one excited about BCC 2. Kevin Shirley is reported to have said it’s the “best album of his career.” The Caveman, Kevin Shirley, has himself said on Facebook, “…it’s sounding awesome. Anyone ready for some big Bonham drums.”

Desperate blues, Joe Bonamassa rocking hard and big Bonham drums. Sounds like BCC2 is an album to look forward too.

Leaving behind recording, Black Country Communion announced their first two North American shows this week. BCC will perform two shows in California before beginning their European tour in June, appearing in San Diego June 9th and Anaheim June 10th. More shows will be announced.

BCC Tour Dates

According to Tight But Loose, Black Country Communion has scheduled some summer tour dates in Germany.

• 30th June Stuttgart, Germany


• 01st July Frankfurt, Germany


• 02nd July Leipzig, Germany


• 04th July Munich, Germany


• 05th July Berlin, Germany


• 06th July Hamburg, Germany


• 14th July Bonn, Germany

Meanwhile, Black Country Communion have begun recording their second album, BCC2. According to Glenn Hughes:

We recorded our first new BCC 2 song 2day...it F------ Rocks...play it loud...GH

Black Country Come-June-ion

Glenn Hughes announced via Facebook and Twitter that Black Country Communion's second album, BCC2 will be released in June to coincide with a summer tour.

Black Country Communion is currently doing pre-production for BCC2, and are expected to go into the studio by the end of the month.

In a throwback to the 1970's, when bands produced albums yearly or more, BCC2 will be the supergroup's second album in less than a year. BCC's 1st album was released last September to favourable reviews. The band just finished two performances in England over the Christmas break, which were also strongly received.

Glenn Hughes on BCC

Classic Rock magazine interviewed Glenn Hughes on the occasion Hughes receiving a Classic Rock Award (A gong) for for his work with the charity Childline:

Whenever they call on me I’ll be there, no problem at all. I urge all my musician mates to do the same.

Childline is a counselling service for children and young people who both Hughes and his wife are involved with - and good on both of them.

While they had him, the subject of Black Country Communion came up. Hughes suggested Led Zeppelin fans might just enjoy the show:

Two UK shows are booked for late December and we commence work on the second album on January 10 at the same studio in LA that the Hughes/Thrall album was made...

They’ll feature most of the first album and we might throw in a Led Zeppelin cover and some other things.

According to his Facebook page, Hughes had been very busy writing songs for BCC2, as he's currently calling it. A few weeks ago he noted he played what he had for Kevin Shirley, and it was well received. But he apparently wasn't done there, offering today:

My every wakin' moment is spent workin' on new BCC songs here in Brazil... I have no choice... the tap has been turned on... I am grateful... GH

It sounds like it will be a good 2011 for Black Country Communion.

Black Country Communion for Christmas

Black Country Communion has decided to launch the band from the place where it took it's name, England's Black Country.

BCC today announced two English shows over the Christmas holidays:

Wednesday Dec 29th at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall.
Thursday Dec 30th at O2 London Shepherd's Bush Empire

There will be an exclusive ticket pre-sale beginning next Monday, Nov. 15th through radio station Planet Rock. Tickets to both shows will then go on sale to the general public Friday November 19th.

The shows will be Black Country Communion's first full concerts. They performed a short, invitation only show that was broadcast on Planet Rock on September 20th, the day before their debut album was released.

Released on September 21st, the debut BCC CD, featuring Glenn Hughes, Joe Bonamassa, Derek Sherinian and Jason Bonham, has met critical acclaim. It reached #1 on Britain's music charts in October, and has been selling well.

After the two shows, Black Country Communion, according to both Jason Bonham and Glenn Hughes, will return to the studio to record BCC2, before doing a full tour beginning in the spring.

Black Country Communion to Tour in May

In a recent interview with LeHigh Valley Music Blog, Jason Bonham lays out the itinerary for his supergroup Black Country Communion:

Yes, we got a show in England we’re going to do at the end of the year, ‘cause I finish this, then I’m going to go home for a couple of weeks and I go to England for Christmas and then do the Black Country show at the end of the year. And then we’re going back in the studio in January and recording another album. And we hit the road, I think, in May of 2011.

Black Country Communion is Bonham's group with singer/bassist Glenn Hughes, guitarist Joe Bonamassa and keyboardist Derek Sherinian. Their debut album, released in September, is an international hit that reached #1 on the UK music charts.

BCC Returns to the Studio in January

The story that Black Country Communion would go back in the studio soon  is true. According to Glenn Hughes, as posted on his Facebook Page:

Studio is booked in LA for BCC 2 in January... good times people... its all about the music... GH

Hopefully a tour will follow later in 2011.

Black Country Communion II

Is a second Black Country Communion album in the works?

During an encounter with fan Wyatt Brake before his Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience show last night in Merrilville, Indiana, Jason Bonham reportedly told him that a second Black Country Communion album was being planned.

Although the conversation was brief and hurried, Bonham indicated that BCC would be heading into the studio in the new year (or, possibly, releasing the album in the new year) before taking the band on the road. Brake wrote in the Led Zeppelin mailing list For Badgeholders Only (FBO):

...it sounds like the band wants to have two albums' worth of material under their belt before they do a full-scale tour... this triggered an immediate comparison to Robert Plant's decision not to tour until 1983, after completing both Pictures at Eleven and Principle of Moments.

One may recall Plant's reasoning for not touring after Pictures at Eleven was so he would have a full shows worth of material to do, and not have to rely on any Led Zeppelin songs. Perhaps Black Country Communion feels the same way about playing Led Zeppelin/Deep Purple/Joe Bonamassa songs.