Just had a conversation with Roy Williams at the sound desk for tonight's Plant/Krauss show. Hailing from near Birmingham, England, he's been traveling with Robert doing his sound for the last 10 years. I asked if he records any of the shows. Roy says they record everything and it goes straight to disk, for reference purposes.
He said last night's Plant/Krauss show in upstate New York was a little different, in terms of crowd control. He called the place a shed and said the security was pretty lax, so much so that everybody rushed down to the floor. He said it didn't affect the performance per se, but it just pissed some people off a little.
We're a little over an hour from when Plant and Krauss take the stage. We just heard a Dr. John song and before that, a guy named Scott Matthews. Roy tells me Scott was the opening act for Plant and Krauss in Europe. Pretty soon, we'll hear the American choice, Sharon Little.
Roy was in London at the Zeppelin show in December, minding the sound along with another guy. It was a rock 'n' roll show and one with a lot of feedback. I asked him about that, and he said it was just in the first two songs. I asked specifically if the O2 set was recorded, and he confirmed if it was, like everything else, recorded for reference. I asked him if the quality was along the lines of something that could someday be released. He said yes it is, but everybody's running around doing other things and releasing it isn't a priority. I asked if the guys realize the demand for that recording, and he smirked as if to say, "Of course they know that." I said it wasn't just guys in Zeppelin T-shirts who want to hear that set. He said yeah, he would like to have a copy too.
Roy was in a Robert Plant and Strange Sensation tour shirt.
Jason Bonham
Jason Bonham, son of the late John "Bonzo" Bonham, does not take lightly the responsibility of carrying on his father's legacy. Having made a head start at drumming while he was a child, Jason is now passing on the same lessons to a third generation of Bonham drummers.
John Bonham's death in 1980 left such an impact on the surviving members of Led Zeppelin that they knew immediately they could not continue as they were. Yet Jason Bonham's familiarity with the band made him a shoe-in to join his father's bandmates on the few occasions reunion concerts have taken place.
This year marked the 20th anniversary of Bonham's most successful album release to date, the Platinum-certified disc The Disregard of Timekeeping released by his band, Bonham. To mark the milestone, he recently toured with a new band and played under the banner of "An Evening with Jason Bonham."
In the past, Bonham has also toured and/or recorded with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Foreigner, UFO, Paul Rodgers, Joe Bonamassa, Virginia Wolf, Airrace, Healing Sixes and Motherland. He also acted in the movie Rock Star and appeared on the reality TV show "SuperGroup."
- What's the latest on Jason Bonham?
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Pre-show with Roy, Plant's sound guy
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John Paul Jones is now in one of the hottest and hardest rock bands, Them Crooked Vultures. The frontman, handling lead guitar and vocals, is Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age. Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters is on drums. As for Jones, he offers not only bass and keyboard but also mandolin, keytar, lap steel and whatever else is needed.
One album was released in November, and another is forthcoming. A tour of North America completed in November, and the band now heads to Europe in December and Australia in January.
- What's the latest on Them Crooked Vultures, the group featuring John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl and Josh Homme?
- What else is John Paul Jones up to?
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Very interesting tidbits from a guy 'in the know', Steve... I'll BET he was smirking!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Y! Just glad to get these encounters.
ReplyDeleteRoy says he gets set lists occasionally, so he'll usually know what song's coming up next. He didn't say much about "When the Levee Breaks" being dropped from the set in upstate New York. They didn't play it in Atlantic City either. But they did three songs I'm pretty sure they weren't doing on the first American leg either, so it about evens out.