John Bonham

Well, if John had or had not a fast right foot. You can ask Jimi Hendrix at his graveyard, who stated to Robert Plant once, that John had a right foot like an Spanish castanets! isn't that fast?
 
I've always been a massive fan of John Bonham. I studied the guy for many years trying to work out he played all those great chops and licks!.

I've written and recorded thirty three individual video drum lessons teaching his best beats and fills from nine Led Zeppelin tracks. It's now available for download from my website and if there's one thing I've learned from doing this project was that there is WAY more to the man than meets the ears. A true legend!

Rob
 
Well, if John had or had not a fast right foot. You can ask Jimi Hendrix at his graveyard, who stated to Robert Plant once, that John had a right foot like an Spanish castanets! isn't that fast?

Ian i've never heard that before. learn something new everyday.

Bonzolead
 
after 30 some odd years, I had grown tired of most LZ's stuff, now that I have been ( trying) to learn drums, those songs are brand new again, cause i only listen to the drum parts now, amazing.
 
Does anyone on here know or is ther a "Bonzo/Paiste" expert on here that knows what brand/model cymbals &sizes he used BEFORE his official signed Paiste agreement in july 71? &if he used different weights in the studio &live?
Ta mates! :)
Ado.
P.S.You all have a beaut/bonza&grouse xmas&new year! :).
 
I remit you to my post below. Bonham is a nice drummer; but by NO means fast. Have you heard any drummers in the past...30 years? Jason can easily play what Bonham plays with a single, heck, 90% of professional drummers can. If he says otherwise, or uses a double pedal for single parts (which I doubt), it's probably just to elevate his father's playing.
As I said in my original post, can you *really* not do it? Then it's you who's more special than Bonham in regards to bass drum speed.

P-L-E-A-S-E!....how come most of the time when I read one of your posts...you're stirring something up...very few drummers I know have or had a r. foot like bonham's...including his son whom I met many years ago and so stated (hence his use of a dbl. pedal in certain parts)...Bonham is clearly a drumming icon (and should be) and he's certainly one of the most emulated/immitated rock drummers out there!....and certainly FAST!
 
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P-L-E-A-S-E!....how come most of the time when I read one of your posts...you're stirring something up...very few drummers I know have or had a r. foot like bonham's...including his son whom I met many years ago and so stated (hence his use of a dbl. pedal in certain parts)...Bonham is clearly a drumming icon (and should be) and he's certainly one of the most emulated/immitated rock drummers out there!....and certainly FAST!

Show me footage in which you consider Bonham's playing at his top speed, chances are there are hundreds of links of drummers playing faster. I don't mean to bring Bonham down, as I said, he's a great drummer; it just really ins't about his bass drum speed.
The point behind my posts in this thread was that if you look up to Bonham as a reference for speed, you should look somewhere else; he's cool for his unique groove and sound.


Fox.
 
Show me footage in which you consider Bonham's playing at his top speed, chances are there are hundreds of links of drummers playing faster. I don't mean to bring Bonham down, as I said, he's a great drummer; it just really ins't about his bass drum speed.
The point behind my posts in this thread was that if you look up to Bonham as a reference for speed, you should look somewhere else; he's cool for his unique groove and sound.


Fox.

OK fox I get it, your better than Bonham ever was.
 
Here is brother:

From Jimmy Hendrix:

"That drummer of yours has a right foot like a pair of castanets!"
Source: Thunder Of Drums - To Robert Plant after a Led Zeppelin concert

Ian i've never heard that before. learn something new everyday.

Bonzolead
 
From: Jeff Ocheltree (Drum Technician) about John Bonham.

"There was anger and a bitterness that was starting to form in him. In interviews he was never ever asked questions about his playing, about the time signatures or patterns he used. In fact he was never asked any intelligent questions. I used to spend days and nights with him at the Rainbow Bar & I remember him saying to me, "These idiots don't know anything about drums. All they want to know about is the gossip." In fact John listened to Max Roach, Alphonse Mouzon, Elvin Jones, and a lot of fusion and jazz drummers. That's the thing that gets me about John Bonham - everybody thinks he was into big drums and hitting them real hard. Bonham was into swing and playing with technique. I once heard Jimmy Page play a Django Reinhardt tune at a sound check, and John played along."

Source: Thunder Of Drums
 
Here is brother:

From Jimmy Hendrix:

"That drummer of yours has a right foot like a pair of castanets!"
Source: Thunder Of Drums - To Robert Plant after a Led Zeppelin concert

this is pitiful Ian I have that book & didn't. realize that statement was in there. I've been reading the Richard Cole's(Zeppelin's tour manager) Led-Zeppelin biography lately very good book all about the debauchery of Zep gotta love it. lol

Bonzolead
 
Anyone who's been named the greatest anything is going to be called overrated by somebody. Calling John Bonham or Ringo Starr or Neil Peart or whoever overrated is just something people say when they don't have any real argument to make about the person's drumming.

Not sure I'd call him the best drummer ever, but definitely among the best.

PLEASE DO ME A FAVOUR. we all have our favourite drummers, but never again mention ringo" talentless " star in the same breath as john bohnam and neil peart. the man was, and still is, a useless, clueless comedy drum clown. my dog's got more rhythem, groove n feel when he's shagging his bed
 
Does anyone on here know or is ther a "Bonzo/Paiste" expert on here that knows what brand/model cymbals &sizes he used BEFORE his official signed Paiste agreement in july 71? &if he used different weights in the studio &live?
Ta mates! :)
Ado.
P.S.You all have a beaut/bonza&grouse xmas&new year! :).

i may be wrong but i'm pretty sure he used paiste throughout his time with zep. starting with giant beats ( 15" hi's, 18&20 crash and 24" ride ) which he used for the first 4 or 5 albums before switching to the 2002 range, same sizes.
 
PLEASE DO ME A FAVOUR. we all have our favourite drummers, but never again mention ringo" talentless " star in the same breath as john bohnam and neil peart. the man was, and still is, a useless, clueless comedy drum clown. my dog's got more rhythem, groove n feel when he's shagging his bed


I don't agree with that, and I'm sure Bonham & Peart would agree that you are just wrong as well.

If you just "don't like what he's done" that's one thing, but the rest is ignorance and bashing hiding behind a computer.

Like it or not, Ringo changed a lot of things, just like Krupa did, like Buddy did, Bonham, Peart, Weckl, Grohl etc.....
The Beatles STILL sell millions of units per year, 40 years after they broke up, and it's not because it sucked.

Grammar, spelling, and punctuation also help you in being taken seriously. Have a fun life.

Regarding Fox's comments, I get what he's saying on his points.

I'm of the sort that doesn't care HOW Bonham technically did something, but WHY he did things.
Once you get the techiniques shown to you, or you figure them out, it's up to the individual to get them down, and consistent, so they can be played at any speed someone wants to do them.

His feel is what's different than anyone elses, but you can argue that ANYONE is different for everyone else.

For ME, it's the feel of what he's played. He did a lot of it "first" too, and he WAS and still is, considered "great" by people. IMO rightly so.

ALL the players back then held him in high regard because he was a monster player. What he did still resonates 30 years after he died, so that's saying something. Keith Moon too.

Carmine did a lot of that stuff before Bonham, and he's the source of at least some of his stuff.
People somehow seem to get pissed when that gets mentioned sometimes. Facts are facts though.
Before YouTube got really going, hardly any of us even knew what his voice sounded like. I didn't.
I really wish there was more interviews and "drum stuff" with Bonham so we knew what he was thinking.

As far as "fast", personally, I couldn't give 2shits. There's people playing now that are faster than Buddy Rich (who was freakin' fast when he wanted), and they play just as well. But, Buddy was a musician and did what drove his band. and made everything sound great too. The "audience" just went "WOW!" over the fast stuff.
But back then, who could do any of that fast stuff? There were a couple, but not as famous.
They weren't on the Carson show...and the Muppets :).

Some people don't want to hear about drummers being as good as Buddy either, but it's been a long time since he came on the scene and was "better than everyone else".

That's not taking anything away from what Buddy did at all. He WAS "a master" of the instrument. People still love his stuff today (just like Ringo's!). That's what really counts. It makes people happy and moves them in some way.

Phillips, Smith, Mangini....There's tons of guy's that blow people away now, and that's just the evolution of the instrument.
And, IMO it's not a competition, and there's no "this is the end, that's all there is, it's doesn't get better" with drumming anyway.
 
Well, bonham inspired drummers the world over and will until the end of time.
 
PLEASE DO ME A FAVOUR. we all have our favourite drummers, but never again mention ringo" talentless " star in the same breath as john bohnam and neil peart. the man was, and still is, a useless, clueless comedy drum clown. my dog's got more rhythem, groove n feel when he's shagging his bed

Man, how did I miss this little pearl of wisdom??

Sometimes it's better to keep ones mouth shut and appear ignorant, than to open it and remove all doubt.
 
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