You Know You've Made the Big Time...

when the Onion is satirizing you...

Citing “troubling” statistics revealing that the vast majority of Americans are not receiving all rock all the time, U.S. Disc Jockey General Rich “The Wolf” Haskel urged citizens nationwide Tuesday to get the Led out...

According to the latest Oz 106 listener survey, a shocking nine out of every 10 U.S. citizens are not receiving their daily dose of Zeppelin

Read the whole thing at The Onion

Black Dog in Dubstep

Well, this doesn't make me want to see White House Down:

New Robert Plant Video Upload

Robert Plant's official YouTube page in recent weeks uploaded Sensational Space Shifter performances of Spoonful and Black Dog. Today's addition is Tin Pan Valley.

Led Zeppelin on Live Downloads

Live Downloads, a website which last year began releasing Robert Plant's live shows, now has the Led Zeppelin catalogue available for download. The entire catalogue is available album by album or singly by songs.

Albums are available in MP3, lossless FLAC or Apples ALAC for $9.99 for MP3 or $14.99 for FLAC or ALAC. individual songs, with some exceptions, can be purchased n MP3 only for $1.29.

Sound and Fury Giveaway

Ramble On Radio has unique 8X10 alternate version of the cover to Neal Preston's iBook, Sound and Fury, signed by the author, to give away.



Preston's book is, as I called it on my own review, "a coffee table book on steroids." If you own an iPad, I would consider this iBook a must have at only $9.99.



To win the above 8X10, send an email to rambleon@briangardiner.ca with the subject header Ramble On Radio Blog Contest (clicking the link provided will install that header). In the body of your email I need your full address, including phone number. This contest is open to residents of North America only.

One entry from the webpage per person.

However, you can also enter by listening to Podcast Episode #30, and supplying an email with the appropriate header.

You can enter on Facebook by joining the group Ramble on Radio and entering from there.

You can enter by joining the Ramble On Radio Google+ Community and entering from there.

And, follow Ramble On Radio at @rambleonblog on twitter for a chance to retweet and win.

Contest closes June 7th, and a winner will be chosen live on Ramble On Radio Episode 31.



Sound and Fury is only available for Pad at the iStore.

Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters

Robert Plant's official YouTube page has released a couple of videos from Robert Plant's South American/Australian tour this past winter.

Here's Spoonful



And Black Dog

Peace in Ireland, Sure, but Reuniting Led Zeppelin...

Back on Dec 24th I recorded Episode 26 of the Ramble on Radio Podcast. In that podcast, I alluded to, what I considered to be, the possibility that Led Zeppelin could have reunited for the Hurricane Sandy Relief concert:

... If there's ever going to be a reunion, it's going to be in the next little while. I say that not because I think it will happen, but because the guys actually look like their enjoying each others company when they're together these days. Robert looks like he's enjoying their company very much... They're in a good place, personally it seems, with each other. So if it's ever going to happen, it's going to happen in the next little while... I actually thought it could have happened on Letterman. It also could have happened at the big concert they did for the Hurricane Sandy relief, because ... the band could have hidden inside that lineup. They could have done that fairly comfortably...

Turns out, I wasn't the only one with the thought. The organizers of the Dec 12 benefit concert for victims of Hurricane Sandy at Madison Square Garden thought it as well:

Harvey Weinstein had this great idea that we could enlist Bill Clinton to convince Led Zeppelin to reunite... The president was terrific - 'I really wanna do this, this will be a fantastic thing. I love Led Zeppelin.' And Bill Clinton himself asked Led Zeppelin to reunite...

Clinton, the president who helped broker peace in Northern Ireland, approached the band when they were DC for the Kennedy Centre Honors in early December. Turns out peace in Ireland was the easy one.

As I noted at the time, the band seemed to enjoy spending time with each other and on the set of David Letterman the Monday after the Kennedy Center Honors. One wonders if Clinton had waited until after Letterman if they would have given the idea more consideration.

Stalking Robert Plant

You get the feeling that Robert Plant is used to "being Robert Plant." That he's comfortable with fame, being recognized and much that goes with that. Sometimes, however, fans go over the line, and it becomes uncomfortable even for someone who's been in the spotlight for more than 40-years.

Alysson Billings has been contacting Plant for over 3-years now, appearing at concerts worldwide and sending him flowers, packages and hotel room keys. She claims to be in a relationship with Plant, and his romance with his singing partner Patty Griffin has displeased her, causing her to send him some disturbing messages:

You're relationship with this woman still stabs my mind... This woman is literally evil for you and your life... you are about to fall for that dirty old crotch. And I'm not joking, I cannot, will not, shall not live this way anymore.

These messages caused security experts consulted by Plant to suggest the woman is a legitimate threat to Plant, and he has obtained a restraining order against her.

As for the dirty old crotch herself Patty Griffin, in a recent interview to promote her new album, American Kid (available today), she said of her relationship to Plant, "We're not legally married, no."

Plant and Griffin will be performing together in London next week, kicking off promotion for the American Kid album.

Zeppelin's Tribal Council

All three surviving members of Led Zeppelin were in London this week. While Jimmy Page still lives in London, John Paul Jones was in town to do a few performances with Seasick Steve - on the Jools Holland show and at the Roundhouse. Robert Plant has also made his way into London from his current residence in Austin, Texas, and it appears he will be spending the month.

Plant has a couple of appearances of his own lined up - again on Live with Jools Holland and at Rough Trade East record store - to help promote Patty Griffin's new album, American Kid. Plant was also in the audience at the Seasick Steve/John Paul Jones Roundhouse show on Wednesday.

But the big news may have been the reported, but unconfirmed, meeting of the three Zeppeliners to discuss the upcoming boxset reissues of the Led Zeppelin catalogue. It is no secret that Page has been working on a remaster of the 9 studio albums, including Coda, and that he has been "rooting around in the Led Zeppelin archives," for previously unreleased material.

However, considering Robert Plant's suggestions that he has "nothing on for 2014," offering a hint of a suggestion of a possibility that he may be open to doing some work with his old band mates, discussion about any possibly Led Zeppelin reunion seems likely to have been brought up. Whether any such discussion lasted any more than 30-seconds, or whether any kind of decision was made, will be unknown for a while. But it will be worth keeping ear open for any hints that start coming from the three gentlemen.

That they seem to have met, however, is good news and that progress seems to have been made on the reissues is as well. Hopefully the reissues are coming soon, in real time, not "Led Zeppelin time."

John Paul Jones, Man About Town

John Paul Jones has been the man about town this week, spotted playing bass, mandolin and harmonizing with Seasick Steve to promote the new Seasick Steve album, Hubcap Music, which will be released next Tuesday.

Jones joined Seasick Steve on an appearance on Later with Jools Holland on Tuesday night - the show was rebroadcast in a larger "extended version," on Friday night. On Wednesday, Jones joined SS onstage for the full show at the Roundhouse in London with Robert Plant in the audience. According to #incrediblesteve, "John Paul Jones played 7 different instruments during the show."

On Friday night, Steve took his hubcap guitars to Scotland, where Jones and drummer Dan Magnusson again took the stage with him in Edinburgh and again in Manchester Saturday night.

Here's John Paul Jones with Seasick Steve playing Over You from Live with Jools Holland

Robert and Patty do London

Robert Plant is spending sometime at home in England this month, and as part of his time at home, he will do a few performances with his partner, Patty Griffin.

Griffin will be doing some promoting of her new album, American Kid in mid-May. Plant will be joining Griffin with a performance on Later Live on May 14th, followed by a performance on Later with Jools Holland May 17th. In between, the pair will do an in-store performance in Knotting Hill's famous Rough Trade East record store.

Plant's performance on Later with Jools Holland comes just three weeks after John Paul Jones appeared on the show with Seasick Steve this week. Jimmy Page also appeared on the show last November, although he didn't perform.