Getting the Milwaukee Led Out

I spent the weekend a few weeks ago in Milwaukee, catching up with some Led Zeppelin pals, namely, Steve, the Lemon, Sauer, proprietor of Lemon Squeezings, and Paul Hammond Get The Led Out's guitarist extraordinaire and supplier of fine acoustic guitars to Jimmy Page (well, one guitar - one day I'll get that story on here).

[caption id="attachment_1959" align="alignnone" width="452" caption="Paul Hammond (left) and Jimmy Marchiano"][/caption]

I last saw Get the Led Out at Irving Plaza in New York with Steve Sauer, this time I was seeing them with Steve Sauer on keyboards. It was fun all round.

Before the show Paul took me to see his guitar rig, picking out guitars and mandolins and noodling on them while he talked. He is an impressive player, with a very light  touch and flawless technique. Onstage, that light touch translates into a player who never misses a note. His attention to detail was apparent in everything he showed me backstage, his amp set-up, his pedal set-up and the why's and wherefores of the myriad guitars he uses through the night.

[caption id="attachment_2027" align="alignnone" width="491" caption="Fools in the Rain: Steve 'The Lemon' Sauer and Jimmy Marchiano"][/caption]

On this night I had a good opportunity to watch the other half of Get The Led Out's guitar heroes, Jimmy Marchiano. Post-show it was mentioned to me that while Paul is an excellent technician, Jimmy is a brilliant pure rock and roll guitarist. If you don't take "technician" to mean "unmusical," that's not far from accurate and between the two they deliver a powerful dual guitar attack. Marchiano was particularly impressive on In My Time of Dying, giving a stunningly soulful slide guitar performance while Hammond took a break.

How good are these guys? I went with a pal of mine who had never seen them before. When we arrived I bought a t-shirt, and He was eyeing me suspiciously. You could almost hear him asking, "a t-shirt for a tribute band?" At the intermission I got up to go to the bathroom, and he says, "I'm going out to buy a t-shirt." Half a show and he was sold. The bottom line is, Get the Led Out is that good, full stop. Combining a note-for-note authenticity of the original recorded material and that magic live Zeppelin energy, they are absolutely as good as it gets.



Get The Led Out perform mostly in the North East (they are based in Philadelphia), and if they are coming to a town near you, be sure to see them.

Musical Community Rallies Around Led ZepAgain

West Coast based Led Zeppelin tribute band Led Zepagain have been going through a rough patch. Last week, professional thieves robbed them in Morgan Hill near San Jose. The band's van was broken into and most of their gear stolen, including 2 Les Paul's, a Gibson doubleneck and a Danelectro guitar. The band had no insurance on the gear, so replacing it will be difficult - Zeppelin tribute bands need a Jimmy Page guitar arsenal without the benefit of a Jimmy Page banking arsenal.

A Burns theremin was also stolen, but when Dan Burns found out what happened to the band he sent them a new one and refused even shipping charges (if that Led Zeppelin tribute that I have been trying out for ever comes to fruition, I know exactly where I'm getting my theremin).

Fans and other artists are doing what they can to help the band through, with even the Red Hot Chili Peppers putting out a call for everyone to watch for the gear. In fact a full fledged APB has been sent out in both the Led Zeppelin and the general musical community. A full list of the gear stolen can be found below If you buy or sell musical instruments, know somebody who does or just like to keep an eye on what comes and goes in your local music shop, keep an eye out for the gear below.




A posting from Brenda Wootten, Led Zepagain's bass player, Jim Wootten's wife, tells all (note: I don't normally repost entire posts from other people's sites, but I'm making an exception in this case).

My name is Brenda Wootten, I am the wife of Jim Wootten, who is the bass player for a well known Southern California based tribute band, Led Zepagain.



On June 9, 2012, LED ZEPAGAIN, were victims of one of the worst crimes a band could face. As they slept at the Microtel Inn and Suites in Morgan Hill (Northern California) Tens of Thousands of dollars of music gear was stolen from their van. The alarm was cut and years of investment and sentimental value was lifted from the van. This is a major setback as it puts the band in immediate jeopardy of lost revenue as well as capital investment.

The boys are devastated...

I have set up this site as we have had a lot of fans asking where they can donate funds to help Led Zepagain become whole again!

The band is going to slowly start to replace the stolen equipment so they can continue to keep the magic alive.

Sadly...Non of the bands equipment was covered by Insurance...

Thank you so much for all your support!

List of Led Zepagain's stolen Gear...
Gibson Les Paul Standard 1950's reissue guitar, Light Burst - Ser# 020560474
Gibson Les Paul Classic 1960 reissue guitar, Cherry Sunburst - Ser# 009649
Gibson EDS1275 guitar, Heritage Cherry - Ser# CS-52190
Danelectro 59-DC guitar, black & white
Taylor 514CE Acoustic guitar - Ser# 980915107
Mojave Coyote amp head
Janal Cases Custom pedalboard case
TC Electronix Polytune
Ibanez Turbo Tube Screamer
Boss Octaver
Boss Giga Delay
Small Stone Phase Shifter
Boss Chorus
Cry Baby Wah Pedal
BBE Frequency Boost Pedal
Morley A/B Switcher
Burns Theramin
Electro-Harmonix 22 Caliber Power Amp
Janal Cases Custom guitar flight case
Multi 7-guitar stand
Guitar cables
Flight briefcase
Boss tuner
Strings
3 brass slides
Custom guitar picks
Gaffer's tape
Misc tools
9 volt batteries

1 Ensoniq Kt -76 Keyboard
1 Gator GK-76 Keyboard Case
1 Gator GR-4PL-US Rack Case
1 E-mu Vintage Pro Sound Module w/sound card upgrades
1 E-mu Vintage Keys Plus Sound Module
1 Ensoniq MR Rack Sound Module
1 Kurzweil PC-2R Sound Module w/Orchestral and Classic Keys Upgrade
1 Midiman 6-Channel Mixer
4 6' Midi Cables
4 8' Monster Rock Instrument Cables with angled connectors
3 Live Wire 1.5 Foot Power Cables
1 12 foot Monster Midi Cable
1 Fender Jazz Bass w/active pick-ups
1 Markbass CMD 102P 2x10 Tilt-back Bass Combo
1 Markbass Standard 151HR rear ported Neo 1x15 bass cabinet
1 10 Foot Monster S-100 Speaker Cable with Speakon Connectors
1 15 Foot Live Wire Power Cable
1 Customized banner with John Paul Jones symbol
1 Boss A/B-2 2 Way Switch
2 10 Foot Keyboard Instrument Monster Cables

2 Shure SM 57 Mics
1 Shure SM 58 Mic
1 AKG D112 Kick drum mic
1 Sennheiser e602 kick drum mic
3 Sennheiser e 604 Drums mics
2 Sennheiser e 504 Drums mic
1 Sennheiser e835 Vocal Mic
1 Oktava MK-012-01 Cond mic
1 Boss DD6 Digital Delay pedal
1 Sansa Fuze MP3 player 4 GB
3 25' Live wire Mic cables
1 Bag of Misc adapters and connectors

24" Zildjian ride cymbal
(2) 20" Zildjian crash cymbals
(2) 15" Hi-hat cymbals
SBC Cymbal case
26" Ludwig Amber Vistalite Bass Drum
26" Bass drum case

Shure PSM 900 in ear monitor system
SKB rack case
SKB molded case
Shure green bullet mic
Furman 15 Amp Power Conditioner with Pull-out Lights
Yamaha SPX990
7 blues harps
AKG C 535 mic
3 mic cables
3 balanced qrt cables
Steam inhaler
1 Customized banner with Robert Plant symbol

You can also make a donation to help the guys out.

Two Led Zeppelin Blogger’s are Walking Through Times Square...

Lemon Squeezing’s Steve, The Lemon, Sauer and I were walking through Times Square on Friday. We were heading towards downtown, going to Irving Plaza to see Get the Led Out, when we ran into Elmo. Little more will be said, except to note that one of us took an ass kicking, and Elmo is one smug red furry monster...

We took in a few Zep related sites, most notably 96-98 St. Mark’s Place, where we did pictures and had an organic, all natural iced tea at Physical GraffiTea.





When we got to Irving Plaza, Nech Tytla, the guru of FBO, was standing out front. His expected attendance was iffy due to some personal stuff, but he managed to get away for a few hours and we were glad to see him.



Backstage, I met Paul Hammond, who let me noodle on his Jimmy Page Signature Model Les Paul, a sweet guitar. When Jimmy Marchiano came in Paul introduced me. I had met Jimmy outside earlier in the afternoon, and we discussed Gold Top Les Paul’s as he and I both own one. “Yea, I know him,” Jimmy says. “He owns a ’79 Gold Top.” With a quick handshake and a smile, I knew I just met someone I liked.

We enjoyed the show from right up front (review to follow) and partied with what Steve described as a MILF. Myself, I later told my wife I met a Rachel: from Long Island, her light brown hair framed a pretty, roundish face. Definitely a Rachel, although until Friday it never occurred to me the Friends character was meant to be a type. Somedays I have so much to learn.

After, the first question Jimmy asked me was, "how did the Gold Top sound?"

“Pretty good,” I answered, but I really meant, 'F*#%ing amazing.'

The band played a solid set list, the only song missing that I was expecting was The Song Remains The Same, but I’ll take the addition of Night Flight to the set list as a trade off any time.



Highlights where watching Paul Hammond and his B-Bender on All My Love, due to which I missed most of the song, The Wanton Song, which is always a great live rocker, and the acoustic set. Kudo’s to singer Paul Sinclair’s girlfriend, Diana DeSantis, who nailed the Sandy Denny part in Battle of Evermore.

Any night in New York is a good night, but a hot New York night after getting an ass kicking from a guy in a puppet suit, Getting the Led Out and discussing the merits of JimmyPage.com over beers with a couple of guys who have met Jimmy Page, and have friends who are intimates. It simply doesn’t get better.

Getting the Led Out

Organizing a trip to New York for Get The Led Out at the Irving Plaza on July 15th with Steve "The Lemon" Sauer.

[caption id="attachment_1301" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Get The Led Out's Jimmy Marchiano "][/caption]

I googled Get the Led Out, and the urban dicationary definition of getting the led out came up:

Getting the Led out basically means that you are rocking out to some Led Zeppelin which is probably the best band ever to grace our Earth.

I'll say.

Interestingly, Steve and I will be Getting the Led Out at the very time we should be finding out what Jimmy Page is up to. Should make for a good couple of days.