John Bonham

[chopsy]

can't let this man slip on to page 2. was just listening to II and it made me want to read through this thread a bit.

[Bonhamludwig1980]

John Bonham is my drum god, he is the reason i have stayed with the drums. i had a falling out period and then i started listening to Zeppelin and it all made sense again. Bonzo will be missed and has been for that last 27 years. The only thing i wanna know still is did he ever use a double bass kit in the studio. i know he used on live but it was never made clear whether or not he took it into the studio Cheers!

[Davey]

Remixed, remastered and expanded Song Remains the Same OUT TODAY!

They gave it the Kevin Shirley treatment, and his mixing work on How The West Was Won makes this a must for me.

I know this album is maligned at times (and I know the performances are edited and cobbled together) but I still love it.

John Bonham, Moby Dick-Dick-Dick-Dick

[Davey]

Later...

I got the Song Remains the Same reissue. No more dodgy edits. They restored an entire MSG show. Sounds great. That 26" vistalite kick is rattling all of Manhattan.

[DWfan20005]

Originally Posted by Bonhamludwig1980

John Bonham is my drum god, he is the reason i have stayed with the drums. i had a falling out period and then i started listening to Zeppelin and it all made sense again. Bonzo will be missed and has been for that last 27 years. The only thing i wanna know still is did he ever use a double bass kit in the studio. i know he used on live but it was never made clear whether or not he took it into the studio Cheers!

He's had a double kit at one point in time but producers, mixers, engineers, band members etc. all pressured him out of using it. They thought it would intrude on the music. Besides why would Bonzo need a doouble bass kit, his drumming is loud enough.

R.I.P John Henry Bonham

[LiveGoat]

The page count for this thread trails off of my screen!!! LOL!!!! Guys, I think if we can get enough pages in this thread, we can petition the man upstairs to return Bonzo to earth!

Anyway, my friend played me some tracks from the Mothership collection and I'll be danged if I ain't gonna shell out the bucks and buy more Zep cds! I'm gonna wait till '08 when the complete works comes out (that's the rumor anyway). The drums are so clear on the new masters that it's like a new recording. It's never gonna stop.

---LG

[Jambo]

Looking for "Four Sticks" video and/or transcript. I've seen LZ twice in the '70's in Tampa. They never played this tune, but what an awesome Freakin' show(s) man. Most of us know that he played this tune with "4 Sticks" so, at age 50 I'd like to see him do this tune before I go home to my final drum kit in the ground.

Drop me a line or reply back here.

Jambo!

[Mook]

They never played it (Four Sticks) live once I'm afraid, might have played the Riff in the midst of a Jam but never the full tune.

Closest you'll get is Michael Lee doing a great job on it with Page & Plant - think it's on the 'Unledded' DVD...

[enforcerdrummer]

I'm seriously considering buying a 14 inch mounted tom (with a snare stand), have a 16 inch and 18 inch floor tom and getting a nice chrome ludwig snare. Then go on ebay and buy some nice Paiste cymbals. I really think 'Bonzo" would of submersed himself into other realms of music if he had lived. He probably would of talked to the greats like Max Roach and Elvin Jones, learned from them, maybe even play jazz at some events. Right before Tony Williams died, he discussed putting together a Heavy Metal band. Imagine what John would of accomplished. I admire Will Calhoun, Neil Peart, Tony Williams, Elvin Jones, Art Blakey, Jack Dejohnette, and many others but one can not forget John Bonham!

[Davey]

Yesterday in London..

[Anduin]

Can't find a thread for Jason Bonham, but here's a nice little gig he played recently:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsHcUwtw5H0&NR=1

[jonescrusher]

As hard as he may try Jason just doesn't have the pocket that John had.....

[mikei]

Originally Posted by jonescrusher

As hard as he may try Jason just doesn't have the pocket that John had.....

I agree. He is a good drummer, but he doesn't have that pocket. Especially in the version of Kashmir I saw on youtube.

Mike

[bonzolead]

Originally Posted by jonescrusher

As hard as he may try Jason just doesn't have the pocket that John had.....

is your name jonescrusher or moodcrusher lol but you have too admit it's the closest thing to the original Zeppelin you're gonna get.at least he gave it a go i'm sure his Dad would've been proud.

Bonzolead

[Anduin]

And to be fair, Bonzo played what he felt like playing, but Jr. is copping his dad's ideas. I think it's pretty common to groove better when you've made up your own part as compared to when you're covering somebody else.

[mikei]

Originally Posted by Anduin

And to be fair, Bonzo played what he felt like playing, but Jr. is copping his dad's ideas. I think it's pretty common to groove better when you've made up your own part as compared to when you're covering somebody else.

You are right.

I didn't mean that the version of Kashmir sucked. It was quite good.

And, I didn't mean that it didn't sound good.

And, I admit that HE is the only person for that job.

However, I just don't think he has the feel of his father. But, how many drummers did have the feel of his father? Not many at all. That is why he was irreplacable.

But I like Jason.

Mike

[ironman]

more...

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=QZxukPZ0pjA

[wooltonboy]

This may be old news, but there's a site where 23 "takes" of John Bonham drum tracks are available. Just drums, nothing else.
It really showcases the magnitude of this man's groove and pocket.
Here's the link:
http://www.saladrecords.com/bonhamfiles.htm

Sorry if this has been discussed before.
Cheers
Phil

[Cypriss]

Thanks for this. Funny when you just hear the drum track i hear things that i never noticed before.

Yes it's an old link, but it's so buried in the forum that someone would probably make a thread asking for the link anyway. *lol*

Someone should sticky this.

These are great. I love on a few of the tracks how you can hear him yelling and grunting.

[Doom]

Excellent thanks. I lost the one I had a while back. Its number 22 that I had before.

[ZildjianMan1023]

ugh.. after watching jason bonham rock out with zepp on youtube


i cant help but say that i am quite down by bonhams death


the man had so much potential..

[Juan Victor]

Originally Posted by pcmckay

He used Paiste 2002 series later on but started with Giant Beats by paiste. For his hi-hats he used 15" Paiste 2002 sound edge, !8" med crash, 20" medium crash, and a 24" Ride cymbal. On occasion he used a third crash over his floor toms which was also a 18" medium crash. And sometimes he had another crash I'm pretty sure a 16" med on the left side of his hi-hat. But his standard set up was the 18", 24", 20" that is what you see in the Song Remains the Same movie.

Hi chuck do u know anything about bonzo tuning, was it a standard tuning. Do you know ways to tune? I mean notes, like C D E etc?

[Hdvd]

Let's not forget that John didn't play the same thing twice, listen to BBC sessions, or live recording and studio recordings... he always surprises me again and again. What a drummer.

I wonder what was his practice habbits...no teacher, only tips.

[jonescrusher]

Originally Posted by ZildjianMan1023

the man had so much potential..

Not quite sure what he had left to acheive.....

[yamaman]

Tuning question:

Not sure if this is what your looking for, but this explains Bonzo's tuning. Good luck

http://www.drummerworld.com/Videos/johnbonhamtech1.html

[slingerland755]

Just a quick comment. I believe the ride on Stairway to Heaven is one of the sweetest sounding rides on record.

[DrummerJoa]

Bonzo was/is one of the greatests!
Most of the drummers like his style and his creativeness...
He is one of my idols and I like to listen to Led Zeppelin but not only for Bonham but the band rocks...
And he had a nice setup!

Grtz

[teehaw]

I was reading in Modern Drummer that during "Rock and Roll" Bonham is actually playing a shuffle with 8th notes on the snare. Anyone have a transcription or a better description?

Thanks.

[NUTHA JASON]

rocknroll is definitely not a shuffle.

[Hdvd]

Well, from my point of view, a shuffle is using both hands at the same time using a defined time signature. John had his right hand on the hi-hat and his left hand on the snare doing the same thing (on the beginning of the song). But it's not a shuffle (no time signature).

They should have said "the same technique as a shuffle"

[LinearDrummer]

Originally Posted by Hdvd

Well, from my point of view, a shuffle is using both hands at the same time using a defined time signature. John had his right hand on the hi-hat and his left hand on the snare doing the same thing (on the beginning of the song). But it's not a shuffle (no time signature).

They should have said "the same technique as a shuffle"

I always thought that was called playing unisons....

Silly me :D

[teehaw]

So during the verse he is NOT playing 8th notes on the hi hat with 2 & 4 on the snare... right? On the snare he is playing 8th notes and accenting the 2 & 4... correct?

[NUTHA JASON]

yes.

and hdvd, a shuffle is a pattern built on triplets acccenting the first and last note of each three. only.

j


I can't remember if I'm the good twin or the evil one.

[teehaw]

Thanks.

Every drummer I have ever seen play this song only plays 2 & 4 on the snare. So I was just trying to clarify.

[Diaz]

A true legend - the man that so many of us drummers respect and want to emulate. Thank god for being introduced to bonham; he intrigues and helps me build my own style. Gone way too early.

[NUTHA JASON]

http://www.drummagazine.com/images/...ham-traps07.pdf

the best bonham article yet. great pics and transcriptions.

j

[Hdvd]

Thanks for the link !

[NUTHA JASON]

teehawRe: John Bonham
I was reading in Modern Drummer that during "Rock and Roll" Bonham is actually playing a shuffle with 8th notes on the snare. Anyone have a transcription or a better description?

Thanks.

just for kicks here is rock n roll the basic verse pattern.

[joeybeats]

In the Feb '08 Modern Drummer cover article with Bonzo's son Jason, the present drummer for Led Zepp, Jason says R&R is the most challenging song for him to play correctly.

"MD: Are there any songs you find particularly challenging to play?

Jason: I think they're all challenging in a certain way. That said, the most challenging Led Zeppelin song for me to play correctly is Rock And Roll.

MD: I think everyone realized how deceiving that song was when the Led Zeppelin DVD came out, and we got to see exactly what your dad was playing.

Jason: Oh, yeah, because you can see his hands. The snare is going all the way through the whole song.

MD: That shuffle is hard to play with a relaxed feel.

Jason: Youre telling me! [laughs] I almost want to play it open-handed because I can do it a lot better with my right than I can with my left. .... You have to lead with the snare. Jimmy [Page] also taught it to me. He said it was inspired by a little Richard tune, "Keep A Knockin." It's one of those things that I don't care how confident I'll be, if we do that song live, when it comes, it will be the one where I'm thinking, "Don't mess it up!" Someone once said to me, "Isn't the ending of "Rock And Roll" the most difficult bit?" I said, "No, no, no," because that bit changed every night for dad, so you can get away with just going around the kit doing the triplets or whatever. But most of the time, playing his stuff correctly is the most hardest thing to do- it's the the subtleties you miss."

Anyway, a good article for those of you who can't get enough Bonzo related info. Joey