John Bonham

[MunsieMan]

In my opion one of the greatest drummers of all time, Fool In The Rain, When The Levee Breaks, Poor Tom all great grooves. Moby Dick...out of this world and Good Times Bad Times with all the triplets and his lightning fast foot. And D'yer Maker the very first Zeppelin song i could play. One thing i loved about John Bonham is that all his drums seem to fit in the song. Any other comments on John Bonham


p.s. My first post :)

[DogBreath]

A sound unlike any other. Truly a drum god.

http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/John_Bonham.html

[MunsieMan]

A sound unlike any other. Truly a drum god.

http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/John_Bonham.html

i couldnt of said it any better myself the guy was a fricken animal, i can play Moby Dick with sticks but if i tried to do that with my hands i probley wouldnt be drumming for awhile i dont no how he could play with his hands that hard in the studio and when they were bleeding he kept going...and Fool In The Rain was recorded with 3 MICS, thats insane

[G-MaN91]

i read a biography earlier in the year about him, hes one of the greats. some of my favorites are achilles last stand, kashmir, rock n roll, wanton song, good times bad times, and when the levee breaks

[DrZoidberg[ITA]]

Oh,i love bonzo.. Led Zeppelin are one of my favourite group.. The solo in Moby Dick is awesome,anyway,i found out three audio tracks of Fool In The Rain and the solo is built by three different recording
I love the way he says "one thwoah,one twoah three four" :D

[Superlow]

Bonzo, is still to this day one of the most influencial rock drummers or drummers period. My favorite part of his playing is his feel or pocket. I recommed that you guys pick up the How the West was Won live CD. Some of the most spectacular drum work I have heard out of Bonham and Led Zeppelin

[Dill X]

John Bonham is without a doubt one of the greatest drummers ever, and arguably the greatest rock drummer to ever live. When I first heard Moby Dick live on my computer I was completely blown away, and then to find out that he played with his hands! I was shocked how loud he could play with just his hands.
John Bonham set a standard for rock drumming and his influence on rock drummers is noticeable in almost every rock player. Bonham is still one of my main influences.
The man's a bloody animal!

[Speedy]

John Bonham is personally my favorite drummer. I loved how he would just beat the crap out of his drums. Going thru a couple pairs of drumsticks a night. I got that book on john bonham "a thunder of drums". it was a very interesting book to read. i remember reading one part where it said that he was playing at a night club and broke a crash cymbal, a bass pedal, a drum head, hi-hats, and im sure some drumsticks while doing that. I have the zeppelin dvd, with the moby dick drum solo. best thing i have ever heard and seen in drumming. john bonham is not just the best rock drummer ever, but the greatest drummer ever to live.

"Just watch me tonight, I'm gonna totally demolish this drumkit." -John Bonham

[Dill X]

"Just watch me tonight, I'm gonna totally demolish this drumkit." -John Bonham

Ha Ha. That's an awesome quote from Bonham. He probably lived up to his promise as well.

[Seras]

Ever heard of this quote by Bonzo...he once said to Robert Plant

"You ARE good. But you are half as good as a singer as I am a drummer"


Comments anyone?? and please, dont point out the arrogance in this quote...he was just being honest....:)=

[Dill X]

Heh. Yeah, I saw that one before. But he was right...the man was just a complete animal!

[DogBreath]

I think it comes down to defining the terms. Plant was a great rock singer, exactly as good of a singer as he needed to be for an all-time great rock band, but comparing his singing technically to some of the greatest singers from all genres, he falls short. Bonham, on the other hand, was a drumming god. So they were equally matched in Led Zeppelin, but Bonham was extraordinary to the point of inspiring awe and wonder.

[Dill X]

I think it comes down to defining the terms. Plant was a great rock singer, exactly as good of a singer as he needed to be for an all-time great rock band, but comparing his singing technically to some of the greatest singers from all genres, he falls short. Bonham, on the other hand, was a drumming god. So they were equally matched in Led Zeppelin, but Bonham was extraordinary to the point of inspiring awe and wonder.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

[MunsieMan]

i have this 4 dvd bootleg concert of Zeppelin and the camera is mainly focused of Bonham and in moby dick he plays with his hands and breaks the drum head...he truely was an animal

[Speedy]

Ever heard of this quote by Bonzo...he once said to Robert Plant

"You ARE good. But you are half as good as a singer as I am a drummer"


Comments anyone?? and please, dont point out the arrogance in this quote...he was just being honest....:)=


yea i have heard that before, heres a website with lots of quotes to bonzo.

http://www.geocities.com/bonzofreak/quotes.html

[Big_Drummer]

i respect bonham but i didnt like moby dick solo i didtn like anything.

[MunsieMan]

Bonzo, is still to this day one of the most influencial rock drummers or drummers period. My favorite part of his playing is his feel or pocket. I recommed that you guys pick up the How the West was Won live CD. Some of the most spectacular drum work I have heard out of Bonham and Led Zeppelin

i went to the library today with my mom and i saw How The West Was Won 3 disc CD and i remember seeing on here someone recommended it i look on the back Disc 2 Track 4 Moby Dick 19 min long i pop it in and thought it might get boaring but i was listening to it and i couldnt believe how good it was i mean i knew bonzo was a god but this solo was unbelievable its insane he is 2 good for words i recommened that CD to anyone who likes Bonzo

[Kevlar]

I'm not sure I can add much to what's been said...
He's definetly one of my faves...I got into Led Zeppelin about the same time I got into drumset, so Bonham was probably my first real influence on the kit and that wasn't a bad place to start. :) "When the Levee Breaks" was one of the first grooves I learned.

Hey...MunsieMan mentioned mic's and that reminded me...I heard that "Levee" was recorded (the drums at least) with only 2 mic's, one 10 feet away and the other 20. Anybody know if I've got that right?

[G-MaN91]

ive read that his kit was set up at the foot of a stairwell, and that there was just a sterio pair of microphones placed on the second landing.

[MunsieMan]

ive read that his kit was set up at the foot of a stairwell, and that there was just a sterio pair of microphones placed on the second landing.

i heard that to that would explain the way his drums sounded if it was set up in a stairwell only bonham would do something like that

[Bonham to the moon]

man i'm glad to see that you all love bonham soo much, the last time this forum was up there were some pretty bad arguments cause i said he was better than Peart.

[Jason Dorn]

Great drummer mabye not as technical as a Peart or Bozzio but I find him to have a feel and pocket that these drummers dont. And power man I dont think I've ever heard someone play like that he is a true monster or should I say was to bad such a waste I can only imagine what he would be doing now. Probably the most influential rock drummer ever. Plus he probably has the strongest and one of the quickest right foot I've heard. I never say better or best in talking about drummers because its so subjective but he certainly is one of the greatest.

[MunsieMan]

man i'm glad to see that you all love bonham soo much, the last time this forum was up there were some pretty bad arguments cause i said he was better than Peart.

that didnt happen to be on the Taborama Forum did it? and ya bonzo had a powerful right foot im trying to develope mine its almost as fast as his but it is DEFANITLY not as strong

[DrumBum213]

Great Drummer Great Band.

[Raymond Bloom]

well, yeah, Bonzo was just great, BUT...we have to admit that we wouldn't been discussing and admiring him if he wasn't dead...like with Elvis who is earning more money than he ever did http://www.pearldrummersforum.com/images/smilies/smile.gif

[DWMan]

Yeah, Bonzo is awesome...

But is it true that he is completely self-taught?

[CerpinTaxt]

Bonzo is by far the best rock drummer of all time, a complete animal. He was quite posibly the man to define the word "hard hitter"

[Freddie Freeloader]

did any of you check those bonham drum outtakes.... a friend of mine sent me a link that had like 20 bonham drum outtakes!! haha.... i downloaded all of 'em... the link isn't active any more, but its just bonham and his massive drum sound! frikkin awesome! and my buddy who sent me the link, he's an ace guitar player...... he took one of the tracks, cut it up, and then made an entire tune out of it!
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/2/blackstratblues_music.htm
check it out... its the first track there, its called 'evil'..... its instrumental, and has a friend of his making noises in the background, but its awesome. that's BONHAM playing drums. you'll know the instant you play the track.

[Stu_Strib]

Two things that mark a great drummer, and Bonzo has them both:

1) You can tell right away who it is playing

2) The parts seem simple and you can look at the notes written out, but you still can't replicated the sound (groove, pocket, feel, etc.)

As for him being dead comment, that's just silly. True, some people's legacy becomes much bigger in death that it ever would have been during life (Elvis, Marylin Monroe, for example). Bonham's skills were never as dubious as many of the other deceased artists.

He may be dead, but some of the greatest rock drumming lives on in the recordings. Even today, people strive to achieve that sound.

Whereas many art forms are striving for new and progressive styles, rock can always fall back on Bonham style drums and do well.

[shootz]

Gotta be one of my favorites!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !

[DogBreath]

did any of you check those bonham drum outtakes.... a friend of mine sent me a link that had like 20 bonham drum outtakes!! haha.... i downloaded all of 'em... the link isn't active any more, but its just bonham and his massive drum sound! frikkin awesome! and my buddy who sent me the link, he's an ace guitar player...... he took one of the tracks, cut it up, and then made an entire tune out of it!
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/2/blackstratblues_music.htm
check it out... its the first track there, its called 'evil'..... its instrumental, and has a friend of his making noises in the background, but its awesome. that's BONHAM playing drums. you'll know the instant you play the track.

That song Evil rocks!

[NUTHA JASON]

yeah that dude is talented with his mixing and bonzo is just typically enormous!!!

I WANT I WANT!!! THOSE DRUMS ONLY TRACKS FREDDY!!!

J

[Gorm]

yeah that dude is talented with his mixing and bonzo is just typically enormous!!!

I WANT I WANT!!! THOSE DRUMS ONLY TRACKS FREDDY!!!

J

I have them as well, if you have aol instant messenger send me a message my screen name is Gorm9999 I ll give em to you.

[Freddie Freeloader]

yeah that dude is talented with his mixing and bonzo is just typically enormous!!!

I WANT I WANT!!! THOSE DRUMS ONLY TRACKS FREDDY!!!

J

hey man, you know, i've actually been trying to send you the files through gmail, but something's seriously wrong with my connection. i'll keep trying and send atleast 2 to you before today SOMEHOW. i'm in india man, the internet connection here sucks!
haha. i'm going out of town later today and won't be home for 10 days (though i will log on here as often as i can) so i'd better send you atleast a few of the tracks today. hahaha.
and didn't i tell ya'll that track is awesome. oh yeah, if you scroll down on his page, you'll find a track called 'beaten into submission' on his page that i played drums and bass on. actually, its on my soundclick page too, and i posted a link to it in my introduction thread.
check it out, that guy is an absolutely monstrous guitar player and i feel so proud to be his friend.

[cactusman]

im pretty sure you guys have a idea of what im talking about when i say "the signature john bonham fill." if you listen to the guitar solo in The Stairway to Heaven, bonham does a fill that sounds like it comprised of sixteenth notes on the floor toms. Im trying to figure out exactly what hes playin. sometimes it sounds like he incorporates the bass drum as well. In anycase, did anyone figure out exactly how he plays it?

[Milo]

Sounds like the first stroke is the snare then he moves on to the toms fast The bass drum is the last note. Kinda like 'snare,tom,tom,BD' Then he does almost the opposite coming out of the fill, snare being the last note. 'tom,tom,BD,snare'

[Speedy]

At first, I never knew how he did it. Then one day I kept on trying different patterns until it sounded just like bonzo's.
First you hit the snare and bass drum then move your left hand to the rack tom and hit it then your right hand to the floor tom and hit it. So it goes like: snare/bass,rack tom,floor tom. Tell me how its sounds after you have tried it.

[MunsieMan]

i always play it like this

snare
tom
floor tom
bass drum

snare with your right hand tom with your right hand floor tom with your right hand then bass drum with your right foot. He does it in the Rock And Roll Outtro alot to (6 times)

[Mcot2]

No. Your all wrong.

Snare, snare, rack tom, bass, floor tom.

Then repeat fast but on the repeat you dont need 2 snares.

[Mcot2]

Ok in rock and roll it might be

snare, rack, floor, bass.

[Milo]

Well hopefully he didn't plan to just rip off the fill so I guess you could do it anyway we've suggested. That's beauty of that fill. It's fast enough that you can put your strokes in any order to achieve the result you want.

[Stu_Strib]

the part on stairway

16th note triplet Snare, 16th note triplet high tom, 16th note low tom, 8th note kick, repeat three times, then the last one just backwards.

The pattern isn't hard, it the 5 against 4 part that might be throwing you, you put 5 of those patterns into the space of 4 beats.

Its not hard, but its REALLY hard to make your kit sound like Bonham's.

[theduke86]

I always played it as a "six" in sixteenth notes... RLRL RF RF and so on. I could be wrong, i'll have to check it out again.

[NUTHA JASON]

stu's got it right guys. i have the led zep drum transcripts book and also the dvd.

its triplets in 16ths with some cross sticking. although he also sometimes throws in a double bass hit like a castanet but the bassic fill pattern is (triplets)


high tom....I ... .L. .R. .L.
floor tom...I ... ..R ..L ..R
snare.......I .LR ... ... ...
bass........I x.. x.. x.. x..
------------I -3- -3- -3- -3-

Notice the cross sticking in the third triplet...looks really cool on the video when he does it.
j

[hypecast]

Transcriptions here:

http://rdeneau.free.fr/en/index.php3

and here:

http://ledzeppelin.alexreisner.com/drumtranscriptions.html

I don't know for sure whether either one is spot-on (I haven't even listened to the song since I found them), but I sure had fun with them.

p.s. I found the first one through a link on DW, so thanks to the original poster (NuthaJason, maybe, if not please forgive)

[Stu_Strib]

looking at those transcripts, I guess it could be played as 32nds with 16ths instead of 16thnote triplets and and 8th on the bass.

I was way wrong on the last one though....I thought it was just another of the same pattern just starting on the kick and going backwards..I see now its actually a sixtuplet pattern.

[cactusman]

thanks for all the input guys. now i just need to work on the chops and the dynamics.

[Mcot2]

Ok, bonham has a LOT of fills.

But it doesnt matter how you transcribe them really.

There is a point where reading music becomes useless, and listening is the best way to learn something. I would say just listen to what he is doing, and try to get the dvd so you can see it.

Once you get the basic concept of using your foot in a linear mannor its not hard.

It really doesnt matter if it is a triplet or a sixteenth.

[Stu_Strib]

Ok, bonham has a LOT of fills.

But it doesnt matter how you transcribe them really.

There is a point where reading music becomes useless, and listening is the best way to learn something. I would say just listen to what he is doing, and try to get the dvd so you can see it.

Once you get the basic concept of using your foot in a linear mannor its not hard.

It really doesnt matter if it is a triplet or a sixteenth.

Of course it matters if its a 16th note or a triplet, because they are different notes and different patterns. Unless you don't care if you are playing it accurately or not.
And reading is invaluable. At what point does it become 'useless'?

[fusssion]

Doesn't Neil Peart's instructional video (on this site) show that basic fill, but Neil is referring to Steve Gadd doing the fill....it's the basic fill......yes?

[onemat]

Hi Everyone,

This just got posted over on Drumzilla's Lair, but I thought it was educational and worth posting here. Here are 23 drum tracks (isolated) from the album "In Through The Out Door" Apparently these were floating around the web awhile ago and then disapeared. Here they are again. These have been collected and put up on the web by the drummer from Neal & The Vipers.
I especially like tracks 22 & 23. Get 'em while their hot!

The Bonham Tracks: http://www.saladrecords.com/bonhamfiles.htm


Young Neal & The Vipers: http://www.saladrecords.com/

[HardRockDrummer]

thanks a lot. im a huge fan of john bonham!

[MunsieMan]

thank you so much...your a good man i hope this are good tell me is there the fool in the rain snare outtake in the middle of Fool In The Rain where he does the rudiments

[DogBreath]

Holy moly, those drums sound HUGE! Too bad the clips are so short.

[finnhiggins]

There was some degree of disagreement over whether these are actually Bonham, but I enjoyed them either way and tend towards thinking they probably are.

The guy who was hosting them originally got pissed off with people constantly emailing him demanding to know what they were, how he got them, details of recording dates etc when in reality he knew nothing and quite clearly stated on his page that he wasn't 100% these were Bonham at all... I got them back when they were up, anyway. There was a link to them off Matt Chamberlain's website.

[onemat]

There was some degree of disagreement over whether these are actually Bonham, but I enjoyed them either way and tend towards thinking they probably are..

To my ear, I have no doubt that it is him. Some of the count offs and other vocal sputterings sound familiar too, like I've heard them on other Zep albums. Anyway, thanks for the fill in of information about these tracks. I never saw or heard them before yesterday, so I figured some of the people here hadn't seen them either. Like everybody else, I wonder what other audio and video is out there waiting to be discovered. ...Matt

[Dill X]

Those drums are just thundering.
John Bonham has amazed me from beyond the grave once again!

[PearlDrummer014]

Mr. Bonzo is to date my all time favorite drummer. not necissarly the most skilled drummer when it came to rudiments but it was all about the feel of listenin to his music. he puts u in the drivers seat. and his legendary right foot is amazing all of his work is done on a single bass drum witch was astounding back in the day and still today he inspires many kids to pick up sticks

[Dill X]

not necissarly the most skilled drummer when it came to rudiments but it was all about the feel of listenin to his music.

Even even though he may not have been good at rudiments, what does it really matter? Look past the technical mumbo-jumbo and look to see how natural and raw his playing was. Even Bonham said himself that it doesn't matter whether you can pull off a triple parradiddle during a show or not because no ones going to know but you.

And in the wise words of Jon Theodore of The Mars Volta, "There's no reason to study a rudiment unles
s you have a concept on how it can be applied to your life."

[NUTHA JASON]

it is a mistake to use the words 'not' and 'skilled' in a sentence about john henry bonham. it reveals a lot about your ears and approach to drumming and nothing about the truth. john bonham is above negative comment here please.

like ringo and to some extent charlie...
don't bash bonzo.

no way, no how.

i have avoided describing my love for the guy but here goes:




John henry bonham.

probably the greatest rock drummer in history. his sound and approach are often shadowed by the sheer intensity of his choices. each song is a gem of drumming. you can listen to them over and over again and eventually you see how this genious drove the band...chose the unobvious and subtley made it obvious. everybody cites the moby dick, whole lotta love, levi breaks examples. but i have the complete boxed set and let me tell you there are those rarer songs where you see what an enormously creative guy he was.
listen to:

fool in the rain - one of the most beautiful purdy shuffles (better that roseanna IMO) that hi hat accent is perfectly placed and a bastard to mimick.

gallows pole - drumming only at the end of the song is an exciting blue grass (or is it motown?) that comes in on the off and then shifts back and forth like breathing.

stairway to heaven - also only near the end of the song some beautiful open grooving so orchestrated that no 30 seconds is the same. the figure he throws in at the end of that solo illuded me for years.

dazed and confused - the song that taught me blues drumming and also alerted me to the usefulness of triplets, starting huge fills in very odd places and riding on a crash cymbal.

good time bad times - the first song on the first record and look at how bonzo introduces himself to the world. a drummer's song. the broken one footed triplets, the power. the choice of groove.

black dog - did kieth moon ever do something so un-obvious? bonzo starts each phrase so off it is like a hiccup. then he releases the tension the third time around and goes on his ride. and then there those thunder crack like fills near the end of the song.

rock n' roll - a song with a hook of a start. and an ending that blisters the ear with enviable hand speed. best to watch it on disc two of the DVD. when robert plant grins and looks around at the end of the song it is becuase he knew his mate was about to do something awesome on a drum kit...

bonzo's montreaux - a more musical solo than moby dick. an everest for single bass-drum drummers to climb for sure.

four sticks - can anyone actually play this song? i heard even bonzo avoided it after he got it down on tape. its a monster.

heartbreaker - listen to the bass drum work in the fill at 2:00. wha? unfortunately badly recorded but listen carefully to how much is there.

celebration day - at 1:52 bonzo shows some masterful snare flams at incredible speed. the man was a master at rudiments.

rain song - for bonzos beautiful brushwork. a dynamics genious not just a basher. he uses brushes for the whole song even the parts where it sounds like sticks.

lemon song - beautiful gong start but LISTEN TO THE FILLS BETWEEN 5:13 AND 5:27 ... IF YOU ARE NOT YET A CONVINCED BONZO FAN, YOU WILL BE!!! According to the legend this was all done in one take and BEFORE 1970!

over the hills and far away - hi-hat foot work is exceptional. he holds it open for an unusual amount of time. and there in comes the groove. in this song his bass drum sound is wonderful. this is what i want my bassdrum to sound like. at 3:10ish you even hear his speedking squeak.

living loving maid - what a cool beat! i love the way the whole groove changes at 00:20, 00:54 and 1:27. this is a cool snare sound.

the crunge - odd times. 9/8 this is a terrible beat to try and copy.

and

the ocean - 17/8 (we've done for already but now we're steady and thyen they went one...two...three...four... what a count in.)

poor tom - i love this snare work and that bass drum punches it out undeniably. perfect control almost as if he looped it.

i could go on

and on...

he's my hero.
what can i say.

i don't model my drumming on bonzo (well not much). i model my creativity on him. when confronting a new song i think how bonzo would do it. i like to imagine he is watching me and that usually makes me kick up my drumming a notch.

j

[Drummer_Boy]

John Bonham, I'm sure, was the greatest drummer in rock history. He wasn't the best in all history, but definately the best in Rock history. What he comes up with was great, his technical skill was great, and Moby Dick was great. He was probably the 3rd most influential drummer to me today, and I love John Bonham, and I love Led Zeppelin. John Bonham will always remain a legend in rock history, and always will Influence people. There weren't many people at the time, who played Rock n' Roll, and could do what he did. Maybe Neil Peart, but that's for another forum. His timing was pretty solid, and he could play in really crazy time signatures. So I close this saying, Bonzo was the greatest drummer in Rock history.

[NUTHA JASON]

except that neil peart joined rush in 1974 when bonzo had already released five albums.

j

[finnhiggins]

Just to put a cat among the pigeons, I once met a guy in London who used to do session work back in the late '60s, and his take on Bonham was that he got the credit for a movement that he wasn't entirely the innovator of - that there were a bunch of guys around London at the time working to bring the solidity and huge sound that Bonham had going into rock music, rather than the previous Mitch Mitchell-esque jazzy approach. Bonham was just the first of them to get really big, while the rest remained relatively unknown.

Of course, this is all anecdotal and I can't vouch for any of it.

Personally, I think Bonham is a great drummer. If you want to play rock music there's rarely an occasion where you actually need to use anything more than he did, and he did it all so well!

[NUTHA JASON]

bonzo was from birmingham. besides there is plenty of historical evidence rather than anecdotal evidence to support the popular view. the cat discoveres that the pigeons are eagles.

see

the biography by chris welch and geoff nicholls
the rhythm magazine interview with jeff ocheltree
the various authorized and unauthorized biogs of zep.

j

[finnhiggins]

bonzo was from birmingham. besides there is plenty of historical evidence rather than anecdotal evidence to support the popular view. the cat discoveres that the pigeons are eagles.
j

Sorry, poor phrasing. Wasn't attempting to imply Bonzo was from London, just that there were (possibly) London players doing the same thing prior to Zep getting big. Also not suggesting I know this to be true, just something I heard. You're obviously a man that knows more than me on the subject - I'd love to have my source here to hold the opposing POV, but I'd have no idea how to get hold of him so I'm hardly going to argue :)

[bigbang]

hey nutha ..either charlie gets complete immunity from bashing or i spill the beans on bonham and the great led zepplin!

[NUTHA JASON]

charlie does get immunity from bashing? but what beans were you going to spill?
j

[onemat]

Just to put a cat among the pigeons, I once met a guy in London who used to do session work back in the late '60s, and his take on Bonham was that he got the credit for a movement that he wasn't entirely the innovator of - that there were a bunch of guys around London at the time working to bring the solidity and huge sound that Bonham had going into rock music, rather than the previous Mitch Mitchell-esque jazzy approach. Bonham was just the first of them to get really big, while the rest remained relatively unknown.



Matt replies: On "Hurdy Gurdy Man" by Donovan from 1967, John Paul Jones was on bass. Listening to that record I'd swear it was Bonham on drums, although I don't know for sure. One thing is certain that style of drumming was there on that record.

[Thinshells]

A few points to ponder.

1) For me personally, Black Dog has the toughest timing to get right. One hell of a odd thing.

2) Bonzo's kit was like Buddy Rich's kit on steroids. Back in 1965, young drummers bought a kit to look and play like Buddy or Gene. Then, it was the fab-4 Ludwig kit. Zep hit, and the kit to have was that big-kick Bonzo kit. In the here and now, virtually all companies make a configuration to emulate this. Bonzo made vista-lite and green sparkle cool.

3)In an era of single-head toms, cardboard-box sounds, Bonzo lowered the boom. It was his time to move techtonic plates with that cavernous 26" kick drum, and his tom-punishing style. It was a far cry from the tippy-tap 4/4 rock and roll style of the 60's that so many Brit-invasion bands had, and American wannabe's did to. Imagine Zep with a drummer like Densmore from the doors, or the cat from Dave Clark 5. Ok, nevermind...I can't handle that image right now...

"Make me sound like John Bonham" Don Henley Eagles, 1976
"But you don't play like John Bonham" sound tech

[onemat]

I just did a little research on "Hurdy Gurdy Man" and found this on a song facts page. The drummer was a guy named Clem Catinni and John Paul Jones is quoted as saying he recorded "Hurdy Gurdy Man" 2 years before he even met John Bonham. I guess that answers my question. Still the track is worth listening to, the drums are great.
Here's the site I found:
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.lasso?id=1097

Clem Catinni played drums on "Telstar" by The Tornados produced by Joe Meek. Many people say it is the first British Invasion record of the rock n roll era.

Matt

[bigbang]

heh heh just kidding man just wanted to make sure that a pioneer like charlie gets the respect he deserves...

[DevilsDrummer]

Bonhams amazing deffinatley one of my favorite drummers. I found this thing one time of him playing and there just short little tracks, i didn't c it posted before so here ya go.

http://www.saladrecords.com/bonhamfiles.htm

Check it out its awesome.

[Thunder Of Drums]

Didnt make me start drumming, but he keeps me drumming. my biggest influence and favorite drummer of all time, John Henry Bonham (which is why i talk about him so much)

[cicatrizoo]

"No Quarter" has some great ghost-note work. It has a very odd-time feel to it and switches into a funky ass sixteenth-note pattern for the outro. I practice to this track constantly.

BTW, Tool's cover is equally stunning. I love the fact that Danny decided not to just ape the beat.

[bigbang]

sorry guys but i've held back long enough : don't get me wrong i love jb as much as the next person but the truth must come out 1) led zepplin was totally hated by the critics thru most of their career and the record buying community(remember i'm 43 years old so i have some memory left that the scotch wiskey did'nt kill)2) the most popular bands at the time where deep purple ,alice cooper ,black sabbath, sweet , the osmonds (ahhhh) , jackson 5 , grand funk ,sly stone, etc... remember i'm not putting them down.3) it really was'nt till the advent of f.m. radio and the classic rock format that things started happening for them (by this time jb had passed. sidenote : kiss was the most popular band in the world by then.Carmine appiece(i think i spelled his name wrong)was considered the far better drummer at the time.led zepplin was considered underground hippie music then and only appreciated by the sub culture.And we all know the story of jimmy page being the biggest thief of american black music. sorry to piss anybody off but that's the way it was in the 70's.....wayne

[Thinshells]

sorry guys but i've held back long enough : don't get me wrong i love jb as much as the next person but the truth must come out 1) led zepplin was totally hated by the critics thru most of their career and the record buying community(remember i'm 43 years old so i have some memory left that the scotch wiskey did'nt kill)2) the most popular bands at the time where deep purple ,alice cooper ,black sabbath, sweet , the osmonds (ahhhh) , jackson 5 , grand funk ,sly stone, etc... remember i'm not putting them down.3) it really was'nt till the advent of f.m. radio and the classic rock format that things started happening for them (by this time jb had passed. sidenote : kiss was the most popular band in the world by then.Carmine appiece(i think i spelled his name wrong)was considered the far better drummer at the time.led zepplin was considered underground hippie music then and only appreciated by the sub culture.And we all know the story of jimmy page being the biggest thief of american black music. sorry to piss anybody off but that's the way it was in the 70's.....wayne

I think you did kill some brain cells.
Led zeppelin outsold the Beatles for a number of years. How in the hell were they hated by the record buying public with huge record sales and world-record setting arena attendence???

And most critics are talentless hacks with an axe to grind and poor taste. If we went by thier opinions, all rock bands suck.

[Kevlar]

sorry guys but i've held back long enough : don't get me wrong i love jb as much as the next person but the truth must come out 1) led zepplin was totally hated by the critics thru most of their career and the record buying community(remember i'm 43 years old so i have some memory left that the scotch wiskey did'nt kill)2) the most popular bands at the time where deep purple ,alice cooper ,black sabbath, sweet , the osmonds (ahhhh) , jackson 5 , grand funk ,sly stone, etc... remember i'm not putting them down.3) it really was'nt till the advent of f.m. radio and the classic rock format that things started happening for them (by this time jb had passed. sidenote : kiss was the most popular band in the world by then.Carmine appiece(i think i spelled his name wrong)was considered the far better drummer at the time.led zepplin was considered underground hippie music then and only appreciated by the sub culture.And we all know the story of jimmy page being the biggest thief of american black music. sorry to piss anybody off but that's the way it was in the 70's.....wayne

True or not, I don't know, but it all does nothing to affect my love for the band's music and Bonham's skills.

[bigbang]

lol yes i don't have many brain cells left in fact i could probably count them on one hand .but the facts are facts, i still love zepplin to so i won't bring up the fact jb was a raging alcoholic......ooops

[MunsieMan]

lol yes i don't have many brain cells left in fact i could probably count them on one hand .but the facts are facts, i still love zepplin to so i won't bring up the fact jb was a raging alcoholic......ooops

lmao ya he was an alcoholic which resulted in his death but i was thinking all preformances Bonzo did he did drunk and after moby dick hed gulp down a pint of beer and a few shots of Vodka before playing the next song if bonham can play the drums that well and get that sound drunk imanige him playing sober it would be either terribly bad or amazing


Bonzo's kit was like Buddy Rich's kit on steroids.

lmao thats a good one

[bigbang]

it's truely sad that he was taken away so early,the actual cause of death was an overdose of anti-buse (which is to combat alcohol) and drinking while on them, A very lethal combination.I'd like to think that his playing would be much better(if that's possible) while stone sober.He was a great pioneer and a HUGE influence on many drummers.

[bigbang]

thinshells ....first don't bash ringo... lol.. second the beatles far outsold zepplin until they broke up..remember the beatles were very much mainstream at that time, popular with kids and adults (and even charles manson)Zepplin was still on the climb then and bands like the beatles , stones, clapton, the who,embraced them and took them under their wings and brought them to the mainstream...wayne

[Thinshells]

thinshells ....first don't bash ringo... lol.. second the beatles far outsold zepplin until they broke up..remember the beatles were very much mainstream at that time, popular with kids and adults (and even charles manson)Zepplin was still on the climb then and bands like the beatles , stones, clapton, the who,embraced them and took them under their wings and brought them to the mainstream...wayne

I missed the part where I bashed Ringo. That must be an in-joke somewhere.

Look at the year by year growth in Zep record sales. They took off in a few short years. They did outsell the beatles for a while (that is a lot of records) had multiple records on the charts at once, and have been listen in the Guiness book of records as largest attendence.

Now, the other stuff is just anti-Zep bashing for the sake of trying to downplay thier significance. As of 1975, Zep were legends. Anyone who knows Zep knows Bonzo died by drinking himself to death in 1980, but that has nothing to do with the fact they have a huge catalog of rock classics and they are beloved worldwide. I say this and I am not a rabid fan, but I am realistic about it. I remember "disco sucks" and there is no way I'd listen to that instead of Zep. For that matter, pure dance music and love ballards always outsells everything else on a consistant basis.

Anybody still got a New kids on the block poster? Grew out of it? Thought so. Anyone practice drum licks from the Jackson 5 or the Bee Gees to hone your grooves and challenge yourself to the nth degree?

This is getting close to nothing more than a zep bashing thread by a few individuals.

[NUTHA JASON]

Anybody still got a New kids on the block poster? Grew out of it? Thought so. Anyone practice drum licks from the Jackson 5 or the Bee Gees to hone your grooves and challenge yourself to the nth degree? great post.

look i love zepellin. they were self indulgent maniacs lets not beat around the bush. their album sales were as large as plant's ego (which is measured in light years) and their legact will certainly last as long as a jimi page violin bow solo seemed. i have the original LZ video and it was horrible, fantasy sequences and mostly shots of plants bleach stained crotch even during moby dick we first had to follow the two ballon heads offf the stage.
the fact is that they were a band perfectly fitting to their time and as serious studio song writers they were superb. john paul jones in no small way reigned in a lot of the weird stuff and he and bonzo are the two guys i really listen to. just look at the results once the band split up. once the two johns were out the music just sucked.
i love LZ and it is still incredible to me that for 15 years now i have listened to the almost daily with out growing tired. no other band can lay that claim so in effect they are also a band for all time.
j

[Bernhard]

If somebody chose to buy a big BassDrum - put the Set down at the staircase and practise on triplets including Bass-Drum......I think this are good ideas.

But if someone starts heavy drinking for achieving Bonham-Drum-Level, it's for sure the wrong way.

I think, it's a tragedy how this ended up. With alcohol every playing becomes bad without exception. Even John.

Bernhard

[jamndrummer]

If somebody chose to buy a big BassDrum - put the Set down at the staircase and practise on triplets including Bass-Drum......I think this are good ideas.

But if someone starts heavy drinking for achieving Bonham-Drum-Level, it's for sure the wrong way.

I think, it's a tragedy how this ended up. With alcohol every playing becomes bad without exception. Even John.

Bernhard

Yes, I agree, I watch all the shows about bands and members in bands how either drugs or alcohol consumed them during fame. Then after they get cleaned up (providing they lived through it) they go back into music but its never the same the second time around.

[HardRockDrummer]

for reference: http://www.riaa.com/gp/bestsellers/topartists.asp this is only the US sales. 61 million more records outdo the Beatles.
the beatles sold far more records than other artists overall. however i do think led zeppelin were the best band to ever exist. Robert Plant's ego? who cares. he's an amazing singer \. i've got his solo album and it sounds very good imho. as for jimmy page, well... i know his solos were about 20 mins each, but he's a guitar guru that influenced a million other guitarists, much like ringo's drum influences.
on JPJ's website there's a video of him playing a triple-neck guitar! very cool. be sure to check it out.

if he was still alive today we would no doubt think he's the greatest drummer ever to live. imagine led zeppelin if they were still around. i'm quite sure they wouldn't be like the rolling stones...

"they were self indulgent maniacs lets not beat around the bush"- i agree to some extent. However, there were bigger self-indulgent maniacs called Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention.

[HardRockDrummer]

don't get me wrong i really like Frank Zappa as well

[NUTHA JASON]

i agree. it was the times they lived in. robert plant himself says of himself in those days: 'i had so much nose candy...'

certain drugs make you think you are a gid and when you are in a huge bad with people worshipping you the result is unsurprising.

queen were having their legendary after tour parties in these days and yes there were things like zappa and jim morrison. the 70s were great and dangerous.

and i do like plants after zep stuff but it hardly compares to the chemistry that came before. and jimi, well jimmi wasted himself for many years and then started comming back. and JPJ? he carried on composing.

i wish bonzo was still alive. i wish bob marley was alive to. and many others. freddy mercury? the miracle is that they lived at all.

j

PS: i just wish bonzo had made an instruction DVD.

PPS: what are we all doing on september the 25th. it will be the anniversarry of his death. 25 years without bonzo. i think they should do a 'burning for bonzo' concert with steve, dave, chad, phil and co playing zep songs on an orange vistalite. that would be cool. actually i rather fancy that our rather popular DW founder could phone some contacts and get hudson music to organise it. come on berhard, what do you say?

j

[JohnMunsey]

Bonzo brought swing element into rock! not jazz! lol

Stairway to Heaven, a top rock song has sublte swing inflections! Neato!

[Bernhard]

actually i rather fancy that our rather popular DW founder could phone some contacts and get hudson music to organise it. come on berhard, what do you say?

j

Absolutely speechless - for the first time

Bernhard

[NUTHA JASON]

Bonzo brought swing element into jazz!

i think you mean 'into rock'
he he
jazz already always had swing in it.

but i do agree.

[Thinshells]

If somebody chose to buy a big BassDrum - put the Set down at the staircase and practise on triplets including Bass-Drum......I think this are good ideas.

But if someone starts heavy drinking for achieving Bonham-Drum-Level, it's for sure the wrong way.

I think, it's a tragedy how this ended up. With alcohol every playing becomes bad without exception. Even John.

Bernhard

I was in high school. We were actually studying current events and then the bad news flashed across CBS news. Bonzo had died. It was utter shock and disbelief. I mean, I wasn't really a Beatles maniac, nor a Nirvana fanatic so when John Lennon was killed and Kurt Cobain killed himself, it didn't have that much affect on me.

But when self indulgence silenced the hammer of the Gods, I knew Zep would never be the same. It was a crushing blow to lose such an influence. He's probably up there playing some golden Ludwigs right now. That would explain thunderstorms....

[Roger-It]

the best drummer ever. nothing else to say, since you've already said a lot.

[Raymond Bloom]

He's probably up there playing some golden Ludwigs right now. That would explain thunderstorms....
Hey, that explains much!! :o
Well sayed! :)

[Manji]

Bonham is easily my favourite drummer. The hours I've spent working on my right foot because of him.

[MunsieMan]

bonham is an awsome drummer i to have spent hours on my right foot its as fast but its DEFANITLY not as strong, i also got my hands on the Rock And Roll drum outtake MUHAHAHAHA

[dothecrunge]

sorry guys but i've held back long enough : don't get me wrong i love jb as much as the next person but the truth must come out 1) led zepplin was totally hated by the critics thru most of their career and the record buying community(remember i'm 43 years old so i have some memory left that the scotch wiskey did'nt kill)2) the most popular bands at the time where deep purple ,alice cooper ,black sabbath, sweet , the osmonds (ahhhh) , jackson 5 , grand funk ,sly stone, etc... remember i'm not putting them down.3) it really was'nt till the advent of f.m. radio and the classic rock format that things started happening for them (by this time jb had passed. sidenote : kiss was the most popular band in the world by then.Carmine appiece(i think i spelled his name wrong)was considered the far better drummer at the time.led zepplin was considered underground hippie music then and only appreciated by the sub culture.And we all know the story of jimmy page being the biggest thief of american black music. sorry to piss anybody off but that's the way it was in the 70's.....wayne

Sure. That's exactly why they knocked the Beatles off the charts, and demolished every attendance record known to man.

[MunsieMan]

...your right everyone disliked Zeppelin and no one wanted to see them in concert *rolls eyes*

[Thinshells]

...your right everyone disliked Zeppelin and no one wanted to see them in concert *rolls eyes*


They must have been hated by the record buying public as well. The record company hated them so much that they kept giving them gold and platinum records instead of regular vinyl. They hated the zep box set, and they REALLY hated How the west was won cd and dvd. They hated it so much it went to number 1!

[THE ANIMAL]

sorry guys but i've held back long enough : don't get me wrong i love jb as much as the next person but the truth must come out 1) led zepplin was totally hated by the critics thru most of their career and the record buying community(remember i'm 43 years old so i have some memory left that the scotch wiskey did'nt kill)2) the most popular bands at the time where deep purple ,alice cooper ,black sabbath, sweet , the osmonds (ahhhh) , jackson 5 , grand funk ,sly stone, etc... remember i'm not putting them down.3) it really was'nt till the advent of f.m. radio and the classic rock format that things started happening for them (by this time jb had passed. sidenote : kiss was the most popular band in the world by then.Carmine appiece(i think i spelled his name wrong)was considered the far better drummer at the time.led zepplin was considered underground hippie music then and only appreciated by the sub culture.And we all know the story of jimmy page being the biggest thief of american black music. sorry to piss anybody off but that's the way it was in the 70's.....wayne
I'm sorry Mr BigBang but where have you been, i think the scotch whiskey has destroyed more brain cells than you think. I'm a similar age to yourself and i remember the period quite vividly and zepplin were MASSIVE at the time and still are. The only difference between them and the bands you mentioned are ther lack of single activity in the charts.

[Bonzo]

This is hilarious!!! I remember in the 70's, they had to book 6 nights at the old Chicago Stadium, they sucked so bad. No other band has ever booked that many nights in a major venue in Chicago. Not even close. I hope to be in a band that rots like that someday!

[jangus]

sorry guys but i've held back long enough : don't get me wrong i love jb as much as the next person but the truth must come out 1) led zepplin was totally hated by the critics thru most of their career and the record buying community(remember i'm 43 years old so i have some memory left that the scotch wiskey did'nt kill)2) the most popular bands at the time where deep purple ,alice cooper ,black sabbath, sweet , the osmonds (ahhhh) , jackson 5 , grand funk ,sly stone, etc... remember i'm not putting them down.3) it really was'nt till the advent of f.m. radio and the classic rock format that things started happening for them (by this time jb had passed. sidenote : kiss was the most popular band in the world by then.Carmine appiece(i think i spelled his name wrong)was considered the far better drummer at the time.led zepplin was considered underground hippie music then and only appreciated by the sub culture.And we all know the story of jimmy page being the biggest thief of american black music. sorry to piss anybody off but that's the way it was in the 70's.....wayne

So you were 7 when LZ debuted?

[HardRockDrummer]

sorry mr. bigbang, i don't agree with your statement. although it is known that they weren't especially 'liked' by the critics, i don't think they wered hated by them.

[dothecrunge]

This is hilarious!!! I remember in the 70's, they had to book 6 nights at the old Chicago Stadium, they sucked so bad. No other band has ever booked that many nights in a major venue in Chicago. Not even close. I hope to be in a band that rots like that someday!

It was actually four nights, and it was in April of 1977. They also had a three night stay in January of 1975. Both of these Chicago stints weren't up to par because it was the beginning of both tours. By the end of April, they were playing better than they ever did in 1975, and for Led Zeppelin fans [or bootleg collectors], 1977 was probably thier worst touring year.

[Raymond Bloom]

Actually I remember from an intrview with Ian Paice, he sayed: ''Led Zeppelin were never a live band, they worked incerdibly well in studio but live... that just wasn't their thing''
Edit: this is not how he sayed, that is how I remember, I will try to find that interview

I have to agree with Ian, when I listen to Deep Purple, then it is allways their live recordings, but when Led Zeppelin, then allways (70%) studio recordings. Well some of the live stuff is awsome, for example - Since I've been loving you (from the BBC sessions) on the studio record it is not even close as good as live

[dothecrunge]

What? You guys don't believe Wayne on the 70's? You mean you don't believe a half-witted, middle-aged-raging alcoholic?

[HardRockDrummer]

i believe all the things he said about jackson 5 and grand funk, and don't be so harsh about the guy.
i do like Deep Purple live than studio recordings as well. Personally Made In Japan is far better than Machinehead because it has far more improvisation and cool solos.

[NUTHA JASON]

okay guys that's enough member bashing. everything here is opinion and need not be lead by IMHO or IMO. wayne stated what was true to him in the 70s. but it is a big world. let's get back and keep back on topic.

just spent an hour playing 'Darlene' from coda over and over again. i love that hihat accent.

also played 'fool in the rain' from beginning to end with bonzo and hooray, i made very few mistakes.

j

[Bonham to the moon]

also played 'fool in the rain' from beginning to end with bonzo and hooray, i made very few mistakes.


damn thats a fun song to play. . .

[dothecrunge]

also played 'fool in the rain' from beginning to end with bonzo and hooray, i made very few mistakes.

Now play with baseball bats to emulate his sound!

[Donovan]

A long while ago my dad brought home "Led Zeppelin I", It must of been the only thing I listened to for a month. From then on I gradually collected everything zeppelin I could find, (curently I have every studio record including The song remains the same soundtrack, and both the TSRS movie and the double disc footage...of course this took awhile to collaborate)...It just so happened that I had just started drumming then, so John Bonham inspired me to dive into drumming head first...I have "A thunder of drums" which just amazing book, i suggest any Bonham fan to get it. I'm still in awe of his powerful expertise.

Donovan

[nemo]

Tomorrow (25,sept) it 25 years sins John Henry Bonham tragic passing
Pleas think a moment about John.
hey is one of the greatest drummers

John Henry Bonham
May. 13,1948
Sept. 25,1980
The legend lives on

http://www.led-zeppelin.com/johnbonham/
http://www.led-zeppelin.com/20yearsgone.html

[A thunder of Coxy]

Indeed R.I.P John (Bonzo) Henry Bonham. Watched the vids on that site ye posted and once again just amazed with his creativity and power.

R.I.P John.

[Zildjian232]

sorry guys but i've held back long enough : don't get me wrong i love jb as much as the next person but the truth must come out 1) led zepplin was totally hated by the critics thru most of their career and the record buying community(remember i'm 43 years old so i have some memory left that the scotch wiskey did'nt kill)2) the most popular bands at the time where deep purple ,alice cooper ,black sabbath, sweet , the osmonds (ahhhh) , jackson 5 , grand funk ,sly stone, etc... remember i'm not putting them down.3) it really was'nt till the advent of f.m. radio and the classic rock format that things started happening for them (by this time jb had passed. sidenote : kiss was the most popular band in the world by then.Carmine appiece(i think i spelled his name wrong)was considered the far better drummer at the time.led zepplin was considered underground hippie music then and only appreciated by the sub culture.And we all know the story of jimmy page being the biggest thief of american black music. sorry to piss anybody off but that's the way it was in the 70's.....wayne

that is biggest lie ive ever heard. Along with The Beatles, Led Zeppelin is one of 2 bands with 5 diamond albums, meaning sales of more than 10 million each. They are Led Zeppelin 4 (22 mil), Physical Graffiti (15 mil), Led Zeppelin II (12 mil), Houses of the Holy (11 mil), and their Boxed Set (10 mil). black sabbath,jackson 5 did not sell that many recrords. dont tell me they were not popular until after bonzo died. the crictics probley didnt like them that much, but thats probley because they were so different than anything else up there. and everyone knows the media sucks. come on the box set took out 50 cent in the record sales charts 20 years after they broke up.

[XNIRVANAX]

RIP BONZO!!!! YOU WILL NEVER BE FORGOTEN!!!

[NUTHA JASON]

yesterday was my 30th birthday and the 25th anniversary of john bonham's tragic death. a hero and a legend and sorely missed. perhaps in 5 years there will be a burning for bonham tribute.

i will be there.

j

[Thinshells]

yesterday was my 30th birthday and the 25th anniversary of john bonham's tragic death. a hero and a legend and sorely missed. perhaps in 5 years there will be a burning for bonham tribute.

i will be there.

j


Actually, I read that Mike Portnoy was part of a Bonzo tribute, to the point Tama made him a zep kit.

[cjl71178]

A drummer who's inspired everyone of us.....

RIP BONZO!!!

[ewanlaing]

oh god am i gonna ket killed for this. first off john bonham was an amazing drummer. his right foot was indeed very fast and his triplet fills were vey impressive. he played a lot of really cool stuff. two things, however, bother me when i listen to zeppelin. one is personal, in that i'm not actually a huge fan of that kind of rock, though i'm not saying it's bad music. heck it's incredible. the second is this. moby dick solo is, in my opinion, slightly too long and slightly too dull. even the studio version. i can never be bother to properly pay attention to the whole thing, cos it isn't exciting to me. it doesn't seem to have a pulse to it. the fact that the concert version was half an hour makes it worse, though the video clips on this site did make it seem like a much better solo. i think the studio version was a mistake, and i personally prefer the guitar parts. don't kill me please.

[A thunder of Coxy]

WELL THEN EWANLAING!!!!! Nah just kidding I suppose we all have opinions, negatives, positives and basically judgements on songs (solos) whatever. I myself do like the studio recording of Moby Dick and could never get bored of it, even the live version for that fact (probably because Im still learning a technique off it which is stupidly difficult). Its my opinion on it anyway we are all different thats what makes us copy from each other (cheesy I know).

[dothecrunge]

oh god am i gonna ket killed for this. first off john bonham was an amazing drummer. his right foot was indeed very fast and his triplet fills were vey impressive. he played a lot of really cool stuff. two things, however, bother me when i listen to zeppelin. one is personal, in that i'm not actually a huge fan of that kind of rock, though i'm not saying it's bad music. heck it's incredible. the second is this. moby dick solo is, in my opinion, slightly too long and slightly too dull. even the studio version. i can never be bother to properly pay attention to the whole thing, cos it isn't exciting to me. it doesn't seem to have a pulse to it. the fact that the concert version was half an hour makes it worse, though the video clips on this site did make it seem like a much better solo. i think the studio version was a mistake, and i personally prefer the guitar parts. don't kill me please.

The original length of the album version of Moby Dick was about 10:00 minutes long. It was his usual style. Sticks>hands>sticks. For some reason, Page opted to edit out everything other than when Bonzo used his hands.

Another tidbit of information: The intro and outro of Moby Dick and the actual solo were recorded at seperate times.

[NUTHA JASON]

in some ways i could agree with you ewanlaing but always remember to put the event into its context. what were other rocks solos like at the time. remember that you and i have been spoilt by almost thirty years now of drummers who have done wonderful solos AFTER bonham. read my signature and understand that binham is a giant upon whose shoulders many drummers now stand taller. led zep were quite indulgent in the solo department. but i'm not really interested in bonham as a soloist. i ABSOLUTELY love his grooves and structural ideas. i have never attempted to cover moby dick but i can cover nearly every other zep song, for no other reason but for the joy of playing along with the man himself. i learned to groove from two drummers: john binham and phil rudd. funnily enough it was phil collins and chester thompson that got me into solos.


j

[Thinshells]

The all purpose Bonham Checklist:

1) Powerful, open sound. This was a rarity in a time of single headed, cardboard box kits. He HIT the drums and got them to ring out. He was *THE* counsummate rock drummer, not a warmed over jazz or bop drummer.

2) Unique, and iconic kits. He made vistalite even cooler to have. You know you want one, or a green sparkle maple kit. He had big drums, and used them all, nothing was wasted or for show. You have to love the gong and that hihat jingle ring.

3) Indulgent, but ground breaking solos. Like them or not, they were a lot groovier and better put togeather than most rock solos of that era. You can keep "toad", iron butterfly and Peter Criss. I'll take Bonzo's force majeure.

4)The groove: he played in a way that wasn't just 2/4 or 4/4. Listen to his swing closely, and it's far from simple robotics. When the leavee breaks is a towering groove, probably the most sampled and influential in history. He spiced his playing well.

5) The foot like castinets. Literally developing the first "power foot" of rock. he could hammer his kick, and play fast doubles and triples that took most drummers two kicks to do. He set a precedence in rock drumming: to really HEAR and FEEL the kick drum. He was a prime mover for the music. He was the perfect ying to Paige and Jones yang.

For all the reasons and above, he remains the godfather of rock drumming, with a nod to Carmine Appice. Bonzo is listed on countless pro drummers "greatest influences" list. It's one thing to have great chops or a solo now, building on what Bonzo started.

[Oxygeneral]

Hi There!!

I always thought that Bonham would have been great with a funky soul kind of outfit. His Moby Dick solo never did anything for me, but the way he used space was very influential to my drumming. The best Led Zeppelin album was the last one - In Through The Out Door. "Carouselambra" is a masterpiece.

[ewanlaing]

fair points guys. i thought the drums sounded kinda weird, i didn't realise he used his hands. it was that part of the solo i found slightly dull. i do love the song, and i think i am a bit of an ignorant kid when it comes to drum solos. by the way, in moby dick, for the little guitar solo bits, was jimmy page deliberately going slightly over time?

[dothecrunge]

fair points guys. i thought the drums sounded kinda weird, i didn't realise he used his hands. it was that part of the solo i found slightly dull. i do love the song, and i think i am a bit of an ignorant kid when it comes to drum solos. by the way, in moby dick, for the little guitar solo bits, was jimmy page deliberately going slightly over time?

Of course. Jimmy Page deliberately does everything.

Listen to the intro to "Friends", you can hear one slightly out of tune string. He does little things like that all the time.

Another example. Listen to "The Crunge", he tests the strings to hear himself before the guitar part kicks in, yet he does it live!

[DrummerEven]

John Bonham and Led Zeppelin was the creators of "rock" .
We can just say that Bonzo was and is the best rock drummer ever.










<3 Bonzo

[ewanlaing]

this is hard to disagree with. i can't think of a modern rock drummer who hasn't taken a trick or two from him.

[ClockworkOrange]

So many fallacies still exist about the man, it's a shame really.

Bonham never played intoxicated on any Zeppelin show, he took great pride in being the glue that held the band together, the buck stopped with him. He knew that if he was 'off' the band never stood a chance of sounding it's best...the other members of Zeppelin knew this, also. The pride also manifested itself in a 'phobia' that was stronger than his inclination to overindulge in drink to combat the feelings of guilt he would get while touring(from being away from his family) and the boredom that accompanys it, he was more afraid of having a 'bad night' and the guilt he'd feel as a result(similar to Charlie Watts in this 'perfectionist' regard), than the other guilty feelings that were drowned in drink. He had a JOB to do, and he was gonna do it to the absolute best of his ability.

He did overindulge greatly off stage, and often 'jammed' with other groups totally drunk. The comment about demolishing the drumkit applied to a drumkit that belonged to a poor unsuspecting drummer of whom, Bonham was about to jam on his kit...perhaps in a state of intoxication...as this was when the 'devil' would come out in him.

On his own drumkits, he never 'thrashed' the drums and cymbals were struck correctly. He broke very few things. When younger, he would be harsh on sticks, this changed qtuickly, however, and he rarely broke them afterwards. Heads? He had the same Emperor snare head on that 402 for three US tours. Follow the performance history from the DVD....very little bashing, if any, is evident.

I will tell you he was a master drum tuner. EVERY tension rod was tuned in perfect pitch to the others on that particular head. Tuning is a lost artform, his ears were sensitive enough to perceive any discrepancy. I believe Joe Morello has this talent, also.

He loved to sing. He often wished he was, in fact, the singer, not Plant, and loved the opportunity to put harmonies of lines in on Zep tunes, even his tune count offs were sung...we've done four already....and from the 'outtakes' of Fool, One ah, Two ah...etc . Kinda reminds one of Buddy Rich's forrays to the mic.

He was an originator of a specific new style of drumming for a newly emerged genre. It wasn't the straight ahead metal of Sabbath or the classically influenced metal of Purple, it was the 'metal' that would incorporate every other type of music from English Folk, to Blues, to Psychedelic to Middle Eastern and Indian to Country and Pop, everything into an immediately recognizable sound that could only be attributed to Zeppelin. The vehicle he would choose to draw the template from would be the R+B and Funk styles that were newly emerging from the US with selected synchopated Blues ones. The backbeat influences of these styles were coupled with the desire to shadow and mimic the rhythmic strum patterns of the Electric Guitar in the many and varied compostions and make the rhythmic 'thrust' of the music as potent, yet, unassuming, as possible....quite brilliant, really.

Through all these involvements in all these music genres, his drum sound fit perfectly. Some may complain about D'Yer Maker, BUT, if you played the typical cross sticked and accented reggae pattern that accompanies the upstroked guitar of the genre, it would have fit as appropriately as all the other compositions.

As Carl Palmer says 'He(Bonham) got it right, I got it wrong'.....though, this is a comment regarding the style of music for the American marketplace, it is just as appropriate concerning the approach to the instrument, as it was Bonham's drum style that was the underlying foundation to the compositions of Zeppelin, and indeed as witnessed by the beginning drum beats of 'Levee' or D'yer Maker or Moby Dick or Ramble On....artistry that is immediately recognizable.

For those who don't recognize this, one day the light bulb will go on and you'll understand the magic, majesty and magnificence that was John Henry Bonham.

[aahznightsky]

I still think he's an amazing drummer but jfyo, he didn't tune his drums. His drum tech did. Jeff Ocheltree. Look him up. He's been the tech for Lenny White, Cobham and a number of other amazing drummers. It was Ocheltree who started the whole "resonant heads tighter for projection" concept that made bonham's drums sound so great.

[dothecrunge]

I still think he's an amazing drummer but jfyo, he didn't tune his drums. His drum tech did. Jeff Ocheltree. Look him up. He's been the tech for Lenny White, Cobham and a number of other amazing drummers. It was Ocheltree who started the whole "resonant heads tighter for projection" concept that made bonham's drums sound so great.

Jesus Christ. Enough with Jeff Ocheltree. I'm so sick of that hack. JHB started working with him in 1977. NINETEEN SEVENTY SEVEN. Is that too hard to understand? JHB had been playing drums, and tuning them himself LONG before JO was around.

[ClockworkOrange]

I still think he's an amazing drummer but jfyo, he didn't tune his drums. His drum tech did. Jeff Ocheltree. Look him up. He's been the tech for Lenny White, Cobham and a number of other amazing drummers. It was Ocheltree who started the whole "resonant heads tighter for projection" concept that made bonham's drums sound so great.

Was Ocheltree around teching for Bonham during the fourth album? How about Presence? How about Grafitti?......I don't hear much of a difference in the great sound from the live performances of Madison Square Garden in 73, to Earl's Court in 75 to Knebworth in 79.....it sounds pretty damned good to me all the way through.
Mick Hinton was Bonham's longest 'serving' roadie. Recently he says in a current issue of an English percussion publication, 'Bonham tuned all his snares, himself....' he states he tuned the rest of the drums. THIS, in my opinion and according to MY research is wrong.
What is 'wrong' about the tech statements is the fact that replacing a head, by removing an old one and putting a new one on doesn't constitute 'tuning'. John Bonham tuned ALL his drums prior to shows by checking them and adjusting where necessary, that went for Hinton, Smith and Ocheltree, and I stand by this belief.

"John would sometimes check my bottom head tuning before shows-especially in humid areas." Jeff Ocheltree, Modern Drummer magazine

John Bonham would, in fact, from all my research, check a drum as soon as he discovered a sonic discrepancy and tune to bring the drum back to perfection.
The techs had very little work to do regarding 'changing' heads with Bonham. He HATED new drumheads, and as Ocheltree says, " Bonzo wouldn't change the heads unless it was absolutely necessary- he liked the sound of heads played in."

You have to cross all the comments by those involved with all your other research to get an accurate picture of what really was the situation. Unfortunately, Bonham doesn't rank on your influential drummer list anywhere that would cause you to devote the years studying him that I have.

[aahznightsky]

Jesus Christ. Enough with Jeff Ocheltree. I'm so sick of that hack. JHB started working with him in 1977. NINETEEN SEVENTY SEVEN. Is that too hard to understand? JHB had been playing drums, and tuning them himself LONG before JO was around.


Even if he started working with Bozo in 77, how on earth does a hack do such a good job that he's hired by countless top level players?

[NUTHA JASON]

Jeff is no hack. he was very experienced when he started working with bonzo and was much more experienced afterwards. the fact does remain the bonzo was his own engineer. his tastes were prime. JO stepped in but only to help not to create the famous bonham sound. i have loads of material about bonham from a large variety of sources. JO would tune up the kit as per bonham's instructions but he was never allowed to tune bonham's snare. john always did that himself. i think it is wrong to take away from either of these great men.

hope this helps.

j

[ClockworkOrange]

Even if he started working with Bozo in 77, how on earth does a hack do such a good job that he's hired by countless top level players?

Interesting, you've gone from taking the guy's words as gospel to calling him a hack.

[aahznightsky]

Interesting, you've gone from taking the guy's words as gospel to calling him a hack.


lol! All I'm saying is that if Dothecrunge calls him a hack, why was he in such high demand. I don't think he's a hack at all!

And I agree with Nutha %100 on ALL of this.

[Speedy]

Jesus Christ. Enough with Jeff Ocheltree. I'm so sick of that hack. JHB started working with him in 1977. NINETEEN SEVENTY SEVEN. Is that too hard to understand? JHB had been playing drums, and tuning them himself LONG before JO was around.

Man, why you getting so angry over this? Oh and by the way..I don't think Jeff Ocheltree is a hack. There has to be some good in him if he's Bonzo's tech. Wouldn't you agree?

[ClockworkOrange]

Well, the term 'tech' has changed a lot over the years.

The guy that schlepped your drum cases up over flights of stairs and drove the truck in the 60s was a 'tech' or roadie. Today, the duties can involve not only the setting up of equipment, but, all the correspondence and communication btwn the player and the companies that supply him with gear to scheduling appointments, bodyguard duties, concierge, labour/union relations, event planning and whatever the 'artist' wants in the job description.

The thing most pro players with high profile bands desire is discrepancy and non disclosure, next to the ability to stick a drum kit up via the tour method.

There isn't a 'large' market for drum tech/roadies and the guys that operate in the field usually do so for more than one 'name' drummer, they get their gigs usually through a 'word of mouth' chain. The first question is always 'Can they keep me set up and deal with my gear?" the second is, 'Can they keep their mouths shut?'

[DogBreath]

Jesus Christ. Enough with Jeff Ocheltree. I'm so sick of that hack. JHB started working with him in 1977. NINETEEN SEVENTY SEVEN. Is that too hard to understand? JHB had been playing drums, and tuning them himself LONG before JO was around.
Hey buddy, calm down. That is no way to express yourself here. Try something like this in the future:

"Actually, it's my understanding that Jeff O. started working with Bonzo in 1977. If that's true, then he shouldn't get credit for the tuning for the majority of Bonzo's career."

Or something along those lines. See the difference? Also, it is completely unnecessary to say, “I’m so sick of that hack." That is bashing and is a quick road to a ban, and I know that's not what you want. Calm down, dial it back a notch, and keep it respectful.

[dothecrunge]

Hey buddy, calm down. That is no way to express yourself here. Try something like this in the future:

"Actually, it's my understanding that Jeff O. started working with Bonzo in 1977. If that's true, then he shouldn't get credit for the tuning for the majority of Bonzo's career."

Or something along those lines. See the difference? Also, it is completely unnecessary to say, “I’m so sick of that hack." That is bashing and is a quick road to a ban, and I know that's not what you want. Calm down, dial it back a notch, and keep it respectful.

I see your point.

All I ever hear about Bonzo and his drums are Jeff Ocheltree this, and Jeff Ocheltree that. I'm sick of it.

[finnhiggins]

I see your point.

All I ever hear about Bonzo and his drums are Jeff Ocheltree this, and Jeff Ocheltree that. I'm sick of it.

That's fine. But coming from somebody who, in many discussions on many drumming subjects, is quite happily off on a "John Bonham this, John Bonham that" tangent... I think you need to be a bit more forgiving.

Bonham is a great drummer with a great career and who left an indelible mark on our instrument. Ocheltree is a great tech who has done a lot of excellent work in his chosen field. So if other people choose to talk about Jeff a lot... well... that's just fine. Or should I remind you of the fact that 80% of your posts appear to refence Bonham in some way?

[dothecrunge]

Bonham is a great drummer with a great career and who left an indelible mark on our instrument. Ocheltree is a great tech who has done a lot of excellent work in his chosen field. So if other people choose to talk about Jeff a lot... well... that's just fine. Or should I remind you of the fact that 80% of your posts appear to refence Bonham in some way?

People can talk about Jeff all they want. What people need to stop doing is crediting Jeff with Bonzo's entire career. Bonzo's drums sounded like cannons way before Jeff was ever around, so I don't see how Jeff did anything to help Bonzo's sound.

And what is "refence"? Is that a typo? Did you mean "reference"?

If you did, then yes, most of my posts pertain to John Bonham. Why? Because I know a great deal about the man. You don't see me talking about Peart all the time, do you? I wonder why? Because I know nothing about the man at all, and I don't really care either. I'm a fan of Led Zeppelin, and it's members, and I take great pride in the knowledge I have attained over the years. I don't see anything wrong with that.

I mean, I don't quite understand the point of your last sentence. Should I start talking about other drummers? Would that make your shoes fly off in a fit of joy? [I think I've used that here before ;)]

[ClockworkOrange]

Crunge is right. John Bonham didn't owe anybody anything. Not Page, not Ocheltree.
Everything he did was down to him.

[finnhiggins]

People can talk about Jeff all they want. What people need to stop doing is crediting Jeff with Bonzo's entire career. Bonzo's drums sounded like cannons way before Jeff was ever around, so I don't see how Jeff did anything to help Bonzo's sound.


That's fine and dandy, but you do seem quite antagonistic towards the guy. Bonham had a great sound. A lot of any drummer's sound comes from the hands, so I'd be quite happy to argue that Bonham would have sounded like Bonham on even my drum kit. The job of somebody like Ocheltree (or any of Bonham's other techs) would be to set things up and (potentially) work in conjunction with the sound engineers on recordings or in concert environments to get a great drum tone. In other words, rather than defining Bonham's sound they'd be more about preserving and presenting that sound so you can enjoy it.

There were many more people involved in getting the "Great Bonham sound" down on record for us to enjoy today. Ocheltree was one of them - at least during the latter period - so I really think you're being a bit harsh towards him. Yes, he doesn't deserve all the credit. That's obvious. But he does deserve some. The fact that he is alive and has a DVD available probably helps his standing in this respect quite a lot.


And what is "refence"? Is that a typo? Did you mean "reference"?


Yup, thanks for catching that. I type pretty fast, so typos tend to slip through sometimes if I don't preview...


If you did, then yes, most of my posts pertain to John Bonham. Why? Because I know a great deal about the man. You don't see me talking about Peart all the time, do you? I wonder why? Because I know nothing about the man at all, and I don't really care either. I'm a fan of Led Zeppelin, and it's members, and I take great pride in the knowledge I have attained over the years. I don't see anything wrong with that.

I mean, I don't quite understand the point of your last sentence. Should I start talking about other drummers? Would that make your shoes fly off in a fit of joy? [I think I've used that here before ;)]

Well, it's never happened before - but you could try it and we'll see how it goes!

[Bernhard]

Because I know nothing about the man at all, and I don't really care either. I'm a fan of Led Zeppelin, and it's members, and I take great pride in the knowledge I have attained over the years. Should I start talking about other drummers? Would that make your shoes fly off in a fit of joy?]

Yes, please talk also about other drummers.

I'm dissappointed that you don't care about other drummers. How you can you praise someone as good or best, if you know nobody else???? I see all your posts in another light now....

Bernhard

[dothecrunge]

Yes, please talk also about other drummers.

I'm dissappointed that you don't care about other drummers. How you can you praise someone as good or best, if you know nobody else???? I see all your posts in another light now....

Bernhard

I've never said Bonzo was the best drummer. If a "favorite" thread comes up, I'll say Bonzo, because he's my favorite, but I would never say he was the best.

[mediocrefunkybeat]

It always amazes me... one post from Bernhard and suddenly I feel belittled and insignifcant...

Well Dothecrunge, I appreciate your feedback on John Bonham. It is obvious that you know a good deal about the man, but I think we all need to open our mind a bit. I did, I started listening to ?uestlove, and my biggest influence when I started was Lars Ulrich. So there's an example of a fairly open mind; and I feel much better for it.

[Bernhard]

It's incredible, where the name of John Bonham appears everywhere spread over the forum - and this is only the first 2 percents:

in the Jeff Indyke thread
in the Billy Ward thread
in the fastest Double Bass Player thread (sic!!)
Drugs us end music (of course)
Introduce yourself (lol!!!!!!)
Tre Cool (bluffffffffff......
Joey Jordison (arrrggghhh.......
Danny Carey
PDP problems
Stuff you will probably never hear.....
USE AC/DC
Peter Criss
tell me who's the best Metal drummer (double lol)
Meg White (aha!!!!)
Do you sing while playing (...better not)
Anyone Evans EC2 heads....
ching ring hihat tambourines ....why not?
Keith Moon (almost forgotten.....)
Jimmy Chamberlin
Brann Dailor
Virgil Donati
Drums Schools vx. Private Teacher
John Densmore
DW 9000 Pedals (..thats new to me really, because DW didn't exist then....)
The Grand Master Buddy Rich (sorry, he loved only Steve Gadd)
Chris Adler (..not even born then)
My Pearl Export....hmmmm
Dream Singer Duets ( sorry, it's meant Tracy Bonham)
Do people still think Led Zeppelin is overrated???? - what a question

Well, well, I loved this guy once......
Bernhard

[ClockworkOrange]

...and you'll love him again.

[Kev Richardson]

Still the number one influence in rock drumming today!

[Thinshells]

Even if there was a separate "Bonham" forum, his name would still be used anywhere/anytime key words like Ludwig, Paiste, Led Zeppelin, the 60's, 70's, drinking etc. were used.

With Bonham, the die hards will find any reason to bring up his name.

"I like to use library paste for little projects..."

"Hey! John Bonham once ATE some library paste, and he was very good at doing it!"

[dothecrunge]

It always amazes me... one post from Bernhard and suddenly I feel belittled and insignifcant...

Well Dothecrunge, I appreciate your feedback on John Bonham. It is obvious that you know a good deal about the man, but I think we all need to open our mind a bit. I did, I started listening to ?uestlove, and my biggest influence when I started was Lars Ulrich. So there's an example of a fairly open mind; and I feel much better for it.

If it helps, you always seemed insignificant to me.

:P

[mediocrefunkybeat]

I always feel insignicant; don't worry... personal complex.

[NUTHA JASON]

but just remember:


don't bash bonham!

[ClockworkOrange]

Maybe it should be, bash Bonham before he bashes you!


LOL!

[finnhiggins]

Even if there was a separate "Bonham" forum, his name would still be used anywhere/anytime key words like Ludwig, Paiste, Led Zeppelin, the 60's, 70's, drinking etc. were used.

With Bonham, the die hards will find any reason to bring up his name.


Indeed. It doesn't half get tiresome, I have to say! There's what, five hundred-ish drummers on Drummerworld and these guys have somewhere between little and nothing to say about the other 99.75% of them? Urk.

Bonham is a great drummer, but raising one single topic in any conversation on any subject is a good indication that you're probably getting stale and boring in life.

[Milo]

Even if there was a separate "Bonham" forum, his name would still be used anywhere/anytime key words like Ludwig, Paiste, Led Zeppelin, the 60's, 70's, drinking etc. were used.

With Bonham, the die hards will find any reason to bring up his name.

"I like to use library paste for little projects..."

"Hey! John Bonham once ATE some library paste, and he was very good at doing it!"

My truck broke down this weekend, mechanic told me I need a new John Bonham. Met this girl at the club that night. Let's just say she was pretty John Bonham'd. She Bonham'd me right there in the parking lot.

[NouveauCliche]

My truck broke down this weekend, mechanic told me I need a new John Bonham. Met this girl at the club that night. Let's just say she was pretty John Bonham'd. She Bonham'd me right there in the parking lot.


Milo wins.


I'd Bonham him.

[finnhiggins]

My truck broke down this weekend, mechanic told me I need a new John Bonham. Met this girl at the club that night. Let's just say she was pretty John Bonham'd. She Bonham'd me right there in the parking lot.

What happens when a man goes through his own portal?

[Thinshells]

My truck broke down this weekend, mechanic told me I need a new John Bonham. Met this girl at the club that night. Let's just say she was pretty John Bonham'd. She Bonham'd me right there in the parking lot.

That's the "Smurf" way to use the name. I was also thinking of that old SNL skit with the superfans.

"What if John Bonham was coaching the bears?" "They'd win 114 to negative 20!"

[Milo]

That's the "Smurf" way to use the name. I was also thinking of that old SNL skit with the superfans.

"What if John Bonham was coaching the bears?" "They'd win 114 to negative 20!"

Yeah, I stole that from FG. Good catch. Aight...Coach Ditka versus a hurricane. HOLD ON HOLD ON. The name of the hurricane is...hurricane Ditka.

[DogBreath]

What happens when a man goes through his own portal?
I know that's illegal in Utah and North Dakota, but I'm not sure about anywhere else.

[MunsieMan]

alright on MSN people have been asking me to tab out the fool in the rain snare solo thing. Now I can play it, I dont think its note for note, I mean i just improvise, but read this and make it groove like that and see how yea like it.


R l r l R l r L r L r l R L r l

I dont think its right but if you make that groove it sounds pretty cool, make sure you get your high hat going to if you listen closely in Fool In The Rain he has the high hat goin and also some double bass here and there

[Zildjian232]

In the clinic section jeff pocaro talkks about his rosanna beat and he says that fool in the rain influenced his beat and he also talks about how to play it.

[MunsieMan]

thats true, but this is the latin snare part he just talks about the main groove of Fool In the Rain, but this is the part after the whistle, you should hear my drum teacher play this, he doesnt quiet play it like how i do, but its good

[NUTHA JASON]

yes there is a whole excellent thread devoted to the purdy groove half time shuffle section. this thread is about the middle latin section.

i think that there is a danger of becoming dependant on charts and reading. sometimes, as i'm sure was very often the case with bonzo, its got to come from the heart. i learnt the latin part of the song long before i could understnad the shuffle part. let john paul jones' piano part guide you. the sticking is not that importnat its the accent that are. and bonzo plays them so suprememly that you can hear them through all the other busy ness that is in the section. simply recreate what you are hearing.

j

[MunsieMan]

thats exacly what I do, well said...

[Sutor]

I need some help in getting my single pedal technique going again, i've become lazy using double bass and havn't got the speed and technique in my right foot much anymore.. especially with fills, i cant seem to make a good, fast sounding fill without double bass.
Has anyone got any excersises or actually fills they use, like John Bonham, where he uses crazy right foot stuff and toms, or bass and snare paradiddles etc.

Andy.

[aahznightsky]

I owuld say just work on practicing with a single pedal again. Get strong powerful doubles with a foot so you can get rolls and rudiments between your hands and feet. I think it's important to keep single pedal skills up even if you have a double pedal, it just makes you that much better (plus more hi hat!) because even with a double pedal now, I only use it sparingly for fast rolls and such that I can't execute with one foot. Yet, haha

this case is a warning to all those guys wanting to start drumming with double pedals from the beginning!

[MunsieMan]

alright a fast foot is always nice to show off, bonham does that alot...he loved triplets and playing past the bar...on his Moby Dick solo from Royal Albert Hall he does this lick alot...


HT|----l--r--l--r--||

FT|-----r--l--r--l-||

SD|-lr-------------||

BD|o--o--o--o--o--o||


i lead with my left hand so everything in this starts with Left but just start with right and so forth for those right handers out there...hope that helped

[NUTHA JASON]

nice one munsie. another triplet figure goes like this


T1|..X...
T2|...X..
BD|XX..XX
----3--3-

J

[kjsm]

i would like to add here that john bonham is deemed amazing and alll thise and 'crazy right foot stuff' whatever
im not saying he's overrated but first of all there is a lot of crap talked about him - secondly, stuff like the famous john bonham triplet is really just a double, that uneducated people didnt understand properly - a triplet is not a group of 3notes but rather a group of 3notes (or 2notes but in the feel of 3 ie with one stroke missing) that are played in the time signature space of 2 beats.#
these 'triplet's of john bonham's are either 2notes most of the time with a stroke skipped but still 'swung' (that would be the 'triplet feel'), OR he hits eg one of his massive floor toms for one/two strokes and then makes one (or two) quick strokes on the Speedking pedal.
just stop deifying him

[DrumNut]

This guy does Bonham well!

Jeff (http://www.drumradio.com/clinic.htm)

[NUTHA JASON]

nobody's deifying him we just appreciate him and admire him. and very often the missing stroke of the triplet is played elsewhere ... a snare ghost or a hihat stroke.

don't bash bonzo - forum rule.
j

[jamndrummer]

Sutor


John Bonham Style

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I need some help in getting my single pedal technique going again, i've become lazy using double bass and havn't got the speed and technique in my right foot much anymore.. especially with fills, i cant seem to make a good, fast sounding fill without double bass.
Has anyone got any excersises or actually fills they use, like John Bonham, where he uses crazy right foot stuff and toms, or bass and snare paradiddles etc.

Andy.


Andy,
What I found to be helpful for me and may work for you also is this: I have a double pedal I use, however; I dont consider myself a double bass drum player, but I do practice utilizing both pedals. I practice open-hand technique and I try all reverse playing which includes only uses left pedal for single pedal grooves. That way, If I need to play a song requiring high speeds and double kick, I can but all the while I dont loose my single foot technique.

It takes time, hope it helps.

[SORdrummer]

Hi im new to the drummerworld forum. I am going to be in a Led Zeppelin show in mid January and I'm on Immigrant Song. I have been practicing this song hour after hour and i think i've figured out my problem.

You know when your anxious about something and u just sit in a chair and bob your leg up and down really fast, kinda like you really have to go to the bathroom? Well I play the first measure to Immigrant song fine, but after that my leg starts to move too fast like that and it completly messes me up. Does anyone know what might be wrong or have any idea how i can fix this, i really don't want to give up this song and id like to get help w/ this ASAP thanks to any who help.

If anyone can REALLY help me out with this please make a post saying so, so that i can talk one on one. Thanks again

[mediocrefunkybeat]

Well you may want to increase your spring tension just a tad. I have a similar problem with The Immigrant Song, I start playing it too fast. The trick with this song is stamina. It's hard, really hard, to keep it going for more than a minute or two, at least in my experience.

It may be that you're using the pedal's resonance too much, by tightening it a tiny bit you may help prevent this. Alternatively, play it toe-heel like JB would have done.

[NUTHA JASON]

or

practice the song slowly. like 20 b/min slower with a metronome. in terms of structure this is a simpler zep song with nearly the same groove throughout. play the basic groove 20 b/min for five minutes. stop have a short break. then increase the speed 10 b/min and play it for about three minutes. break and then play the song at the groove tempo.

are you bringing your left hand up for the extra hihat accent? or are you trying to do a double with the right? i bring my left up as i find this swings my body around and helps feel the groove - also the hihat offers no rebound (splashy sound for the song so no bounce) and therefore its much too hard to try play the figure with the right hand alone.

my current everest is the cover as close as possible without effects or overdubs: Bonzo's montreaux. i'm taking it a section at a time. i listen to the section 10 times with my eyes shut, then i start slowly breaking it apart and emulating it on my kit at much slower tempos. even that fill at the start of the song is awesomely hard. i used to think it was just single strokes from snare and then down the toms. but bonzo was in showoff mode that day i'm telling you! listen to it now if you have it. 3 strokes on the snare, then he reverses sticking over two toms and ends in a parraddidle structure. but all the time the bass drum is pumping the sixteenths beneath this...as far as i can tell it goes like this:

T1|....L.L.........
T2|...R.R.RLRLL.L..
T3|............R.RR
SN|RLR.............
BD|XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Or near enough.
then the first groove which must [MUST] have those ghost notes. this part isn't so hard. then the first stop.
then next the part which nearly kills me. extraordinary bass drum work. not only is it a continuous stream undeneath some lovely time signature snare and cymbal work but the dynamics are brilliant. his bass drum volume looms around the groove. this is where i am in the solo now.
when i can do the whole thing i'm going to do it at gigs whenever a guitar string breaks.

j

ps: does anyone have any TAB for this monster?

[Thinshells]

This months DRUM! has intro tabs for Rock and roll, and the crunge.

[jamndrummer]

http://www.saladrecords.com/bonhamfiles.htm - for all your J.B fans. Here is a nice site!

[gr82bagn]

Jamndrummer,

Is that the actual kit he played? Were are they located? Great links and thanks. John Bohnam, "In the days of my youth".

[RockDrummer]

To me, John Bonham is one of the best drummers that ever was. His playing, style, setup, EVERYTHING was perfect. And he was monster. Playing 30 min solos, playing with his hands even after his hands bled, his was the greatest that there could be. I've only been a drummer for a short while, but already his playing has influenced the way I want to play.

[Dannar]

So many fallacies still exist about the man, it's a shame really.

Bonham never played intoxicated on any Zeppelin show, he took great pride in being the glue that held the band together, the buck stopped with him. He knew that if he was 'off' the band never stood a chance of sounding it's best...the other members of Zeppelin knew this, also. The pride also manifested itself in a 'phobia' that was stronger than his inclination to overindulge in drink to combat the feelings of guilt he would get while touring(from being away from his family) and the boredom that accompanys it, he was more afraid of having a 'bad night' and the guilt he'd feel as a result(similar to Charlie Watts in this 'perfectionist' regard), than the other guilty feelings that were drowned in drink. He had a JOB to do, and he was gonna do it to the absolute best of his ability.

He did overindulge greatly off stage, and often 'jammed' with other groups totally drunk. The comment about demolishing the dr