Jimmy Page's manager claims singer auditions failed, 'no plans' for tour

OK, so the only thing that stands in the way of a new album and tour with Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham is identifying a singer. Right?

That's what one would be led to believe after being exposed to the words of Page's manager, QPrime's Peter Mensch, who just said as much when he spoke with BBC Radio, as reported today.

But now Mensch is quoted, also today, by another news site saying something a little different. According to Joe Bosso's report on MusicRadar, the manager has told that site:

"They tried out a few singers, but no one worked out. That was it. The whole thing is completely over now. There are absolutely no plans for them to continue. Zero. Frankly, I wish everybody would stop talking about it."

Confused? Parse these words from Mensch carefully:

"Led Zeppelin are over! If you didn't see them in 2007, you missed them. It's done. I can't be any clearer than that."

Right. We already knew that, considering past disclosures to that effect from Page himself and an unnamed QPrime representative speaking on his behalf. This is almost exactly what Page told reporters last September:

"Playing at the 02, that was our reunion and it was one day and it was at the 02 in London. ... And basically that was it because if you're going to do a reunion, you need four members. John Paul Jones, myself and Jason would sort jam afterwards but it was nothing as monumental as people are speculating."

It almost sounds like MusicRadar's reporter was asking Mensch about a Led Zeppelin reunion, rather than a new collaboration between a singer and the established trio of Page, Jones and Bonham. It was precisely this line of questioning that went out of fashion last year after it became clear Robert Plant wanted no part of a Led Zeppelin reunion.

But it's interesting to see Mensch commenting on the fruits of the rehearsals, particularly that of the "few singers" they "tried out," "no one worked out."

While it has been reported that Page, Jones and Bonham were auditioning or rehearsing or jamming with singers Myles Kennedy and Steven Tyler last year, there have been no previous comments on how fruitful any singer rehearsals or auditions were.

And so, if you believe MusicRadar's quote from Mensch, then that's it: The project is called off. It won't happen.

The MusicRadar report concludes with one final quote from Mensch on the topic. It asks him what Page's plans are for the new year, and the manager replies:

"F--- if I know. I'm waiting to hear."

We all are, Jimmy. In fact, we have been for a while.

The guitarist turns 65 this Friday, Jan. 9. Jones just celebrated his 63rd birthday last Saturday, Jan. 3.

Aerosmith guitarist says Page trying to motivate Plant to return to Zeppelin

Guitarist Brad Whitford of Aerosmith, in an appearance today on the syndicated "Todd n Tyler Radio Empire," explained what bandmate Steven Tyler was doing in England with Jimmy Page.

"First of all, they did it for fun," said Whitford, who plans to tour with Aerosmith again beginning in March 2009. His comments were the first from the Aerosmith stable confirming a report published Saturday in England's Daily Mail that mentioned Tyler's jam session with Page and Led Zeppelin bandmates John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham.

Whitford brought up Aerosmith's history of playing with Page and his own particular admiration of Page as a guitarist. He then speculated as to the message Page and the others may have been trying to relate to Robert Plant by way of the media.

"I actually think Jimmy wanted Steven to come over and play a little bit because, I think, he was trying to light a fire under Robert," Whitford said. "Come on! Come on, Robert, let's go!"

Plant announced in September in a message on his official Web site that he has no intention of touring or recording with Led Zeppelin for the next two years.

The "Todd n Tyler Radio Empire" interviewers asked Whitford if, out of all the singers in the world, Steven Tyler is one of the most intimidating Page and company could have brought in to motivate Plant. Whitford's answer was as short as it needed to be: "Yes, absolutely."

The program also conducted an interview with Danny Goldberg, who worked with Led Zeppelin's organization for three years in the mid 1970s. In that interview, Goldberg said he believes Plant will come around and play with Led Zeppelin again someday, even if it is two or three years from now.

Vocal auditions continue; Alter Bridge singer would juggle bands, bandmate says

The search for a new singer to join Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham is on, sources including Jones himself have confirmed either publicly or to news organizations.

Jones said as recently as yesterday that no one singer had been identified for his project with the other musicians. He did say the new music is loud and has been enjoyable for everyone involved.

His comments, delivered Sunday, were the first to come directly from any of the musicians after Robert Plant announced he had no intention of touring or recording with the others despite having joined up with them in December at Led Zeppelin's only full concert in over 27 years.

Two days ago, England's Daily Mail reported that Steven Tyler had been rehearsing with Page, Jones and Bonham, citing an anonymous source. Jones, in his spoken comments the following day, did not allude to any particular singers but said an announcement would be made only after a decision is made.

One oft-cited possible singer for Page, Jones and Bonham is Myles Kennedy, who is currently the vocalist for Alter Bridge, a Florida-based rock group that is scheduled to tour the United Kingdom and mainland Europe in November and December. This will include an early date, Nov. 8, in the Led Zeppelin base of London, that will be filmed for a DVD release. (This development is somewhat reminiscent to me of the Foo Fighters shows in London that were released on DVD earlier this year with an encore set including Page and Jones. I'm not saying history will repeat itself; I'm just saying it crossed my mind.)

For the first several weeks, none of Alter Bridge's members were known to be addressing the longstanding rumors of Kennedy's possible selection to join Page, Jones and Bonham. Guitarist Mark Tremonti has broken the silence in an interview published in Kerrang magazine, revealing that Kennedy would remain a member of Alter Bridge during time off with the British musicians. Tremonti says he welcomes the attention Alter Bridge would gain if Kennedy were to tour in some capacity with Page, Jones and Bonham.

Tremonti, a former member of Creed, formed Alter Bridge in 2004 with two other former Creed members and selected as their new singer Kennedy, who was singing for West Coast group the Mayfield Four. It was with a brief singing and acting role in the 2001 film "Rock Star" that Kennedy made his theatrical debut, giving him his first-ever connection to Bonham, who played drums for the movie's fictional band.

While Kennedy has not directly commented on his rumored link to Page, Jones and Bonham rehearsals, he did recently write on his official blog that he has been composing new music that could be used for a project other than Alter Bridge. He did not elaborate on what that project might be.

In August, Bonham became the first of the bunch to reveal he had been jamming with Page and Jones in England. Page offered sparse words early in September tempering media speculation that a Led Zeppelin tour or album was a certainty. Plant's announcement that he did not intend to participate in any Led Zeppelin activities followed at the end of the month, which coincidentally included the 40th anniversary of Led Zeppelin's first concert.

Steven Tyler rumor aired on eve of John Paul Jones Q&A

A public question-and-answer session with John Paul Jones scheduled to take place tomorrow just got more interesting.

It has been quiet since the statement by Jimmy Page that his jam sessions with Jones and Jason Bonham were not as monumental as the press had been making them out to be. At the time, media reports speculated about a Led Zeppelin album or tour already under works.

But that was before Robert Plant said he had no intentions of taking part in either an album or tour. And it was also before rumors spread placing the other rehearsing Led Zeppelin bandmates in the midst of a singer other than Plant.

Names like Myles Kennedy and Jack White have been touted in the press, but not a word on the subject has been uttered by Page, Jones or Bonham. It has been a while since any of them elaborated on it, and Jones in particular has been the least vocal in recent months.

But the quiet one is about to open his mouth. Jones is slotted to take questions during the event. Surely, not everything people want to know from Jones at this point has to do with instruments and strings and tunings. Especially not when the latest singer rumored to be jamming with the Zeppelin trio sans Plant is none other than Steven Tyler of Aerosmith!

What will Jones say tomorrow if asked to confirm or deny the rumors of his involvement with Page and Bonham and another singer? The question has been ready since the Mansons Guitar Shop in Exeter, England, announced Jones's participation a few weeks back in workshop taking place this weekend.

Perhaps the level of interest will be much higher thanks to the latest rumor about what has been going on behind closed doors and what might be around the corner.

An unnamed source has apparently told the Daily Mail that Tyler has spent a few days rehearsing with the others. As reported only one day before the Q&A with Jones, the source says, "Steve was jamming with Zep. They had a great time but Steve kept fluffing his lines. He got quite flustered about it."

Tyler has long admitted to being a huge fan of Led Zeppelin -- and also of Page's earlier band, the Yardbirds. The Boston band was founded in the early 1970s while Zep had just taken off. Aerosmith recorded "Train Kept A-Rollin'," which was a cover the Yardbirds used to play and had been resurrected in concert by Led Zeppelin in the band's early days. Page sat in with Aerosmith in 1990 while the group played London.



After Tyler inducted Zeppelin into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, he and Aerosmith's Joe Perry sat in with Bonham, Jones, Page and Plant for a few songs.



Tyler also narrated the hour-long program "Legends" for VH-1 that focused on Led Zeppelin.

It is likely that during tomorrow's question-and-answer session, Jones will be prompted to address publicly for the first time the rumors he and the others involved with Led Zeppelin have been jamming with singers. Even if no decision has been reached as to what project may come out of the jamming, the opportunity to talk about Tyler or Kennedy will be there for Jones, should he choose to.

Kennedy, who fronts the band Alter Bridge and also plays guitar in addition to sporting a wild vocal range, has not commented on reports spread by Britain's The Sun and elsewhere that he has been musically involved with Jones, Page and Bonham.

Jones may have to tell all. The day of reckoning is upon us. This is tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow ...