[Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones]

Hi Steve,

So in "The Song Remains the Same", is Jimmy using the eyes to let us see into his soul? I don't think so. I think that he is indeed using them as a mirror reflecting back to us what he is seeing, his perception of things, his view of us perhaps?

Also, I thought that the eye symbol was the "Evil Eye", not the "All-seeing Eye".

You've presented some interesting views worthy of consideration, which was the

point of my original posts - to generate closer examination of the statement and of

the segments.

It's not the Evil Eye, it's the Eye in the Pyramid. As you know, the eye in the pyramid has had many meanings assigned to it through the years, particularly by the Masons. Noted Masonic Author Brent S. Morris points out the following facts:"The first 'Official' use and definition of the all-seeing eye as a Masonic symbol seems to have come in 1797 with The Freemasons Monitor of Thomas Smith Webb -14 years after Congress adopted the design for the seal. Here's how Webb explains the symbol:

"And although our thoughts, words and actions, may be hidden from the eyes of man, yet that All-Seeing Eye, whom the Sun, Moon and Stars obey, and under whose watchful care even comets perform their stupendous revolutions, pervades the inmost recesses of the human heart, and will reward us according to our merits." *

Dr. Morris continues:"Besides the subtly different interpretations of the symbol, it is notable that Webb did not describe the eye as being in a triangle. Jeremy Ladd Cross published The True Masonic Chart or Hieroglyphic Monitor in 1819, essentially an illustrated version of Webb's Monitor." **

"In this first "official" depiction of Webb's symbol, Cross had illustrator Amos Doolittle depict the eye surrounded by a semicircular glory."

"The all-seeing eye thus appears to be a rather recent addition to Masonic symbolism. It is not found in any of the Gothic Constitutions, written from about 1390 to 1730. The eye - sometimes in a triangle, sometimes in clouds, but nearly always surrounded by a glory - was a popular Masonic decorative device in the latter half of the 18th century. Its use as a design element seems to have been an artistic representation of the omniscience of God, rather than some generally accepted Masonic symbol."

"Its meaning in all cases, however, was that commonly given it by society at large - a reminder of the constant presence of God. For example, in 1614 the frontispiece of The History of the World by Walter Raleigh showed an eye in a cloud labeled "Providentia" overlooking a globe. It has not been suggested that Raleigh's History is a Masonic document despite the use of the all-seeing eye."

"The eye of Providence was part of the common cultural iconography of the 17th and 18th centuries. When placed in a triangle, the eye went beyond a general representation of God to a strongly Trinitarian statement. It was during this period that Masonic ritual and symbolism evolved; and it is not surprising that many symbols common to and understood by the general society made their way into Masonic ceremonies. Masons may have preferred the triangle because of the frequent use of the number 3 in their ceremonies: three degrees, three original grand masters, three principal officers, and so on." (Edit: three nights at Madison Square Garden in July 1973... )

"Eventually the all-seeing eye came to be used officially by Masons as a symbol for God, but this happened towards the end of the eighteenth century, after congress had adopted the seal."

"A pyramid, whether incomplete or finished, however, has never been a Masonic symbol. It has no generally accepted symbolic meaning, except perhaps permanence or mystery. The combining of the eye of providence overlooking an unfinished pyramid is a uniquely American, not Masonic, icon, and must be interpreted as its designers intended. It has no Masonic context."

[Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones]

As you say, Page kept his private life well out of the public eye. Perhaps the camera sneaking up behind him and catching him in the middle of his jam disrupts him enough, where he's enraged...eyes boiling red.

Or Jimmy just wanted to have a good laugh with all the occult mumbo jumbo.

Black Dogs

Reports of black dogs date back hundreds of years, with the strange apparitions appearing at crossroads across the planet. The most common belief that surrounds the black dog is their ability to predict doom- in most cases a strange death occurs soon after a sighting. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous book with Sherlock Holmes, The Hound of Baskerville, is honored for its use of the black dog legend. It must be noted, however, that in cases involving small children or women, the dogs actually protect those who see the creature.

Most witnesses describe the creature as a gigantic black hound with glowing red eyes that resemble burning coals. In some cases, the dog was reported as white, yellow or even gray. The dog is abnormally large and muscular and appears on dark and lonely roads late at night. In most cases, the dogs simply appear and disappear from nothing- leaving no trace that they ever existed. Theo Brown, a leading investigator of black dogs, thinks they are actually a symbol of protection and exist as a "universal guardian."

[Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones]

"All my sections are related to the eyes, the eyes being the mirror of the soul."

-- Jimmy Page

"View in Half or Varying Light" -- Led Zeppelin IV

[Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones]

This from Peromyscus:

Eyes That Shine Burning Red

In Jimmy Page: Magus, Musician, Man, George Case rather briefly discusses the movie The Song Remains The Same. He quotes (p.131) Jimmy Page as saying:

"All my sections are related to the eyes, the eyes being the mirror of the soul."

I have to say that idea hadn't occurred to me once in the thirty years or so between first seeing TSRTS and subsequently reading MMM. There are several occasions when the camera concentrates on Page's gaze – no one who has seen the movie will forget the early scene with the glowing red eyes, although I personally was traumatized far more by the scene where the camera actually dives into his eye to show a violent offstage event. But the scenes I noted didn't seem to add up to his eyes being the mirror of his soul – and anyway, isn't it "the eyes are the window of the soul", not "mirror"?

It turns out both are used. Answers.com gives the following citations:

The eyes…are the wyndowes of the mynde, for both ioye & ange…are seene…through them.[1545 T. Phaer Regiment of Life 14]

and

The eye, which is the reflector of the external world, is also the mirror of the soul within. [1940 G. Seaver Scott of Antarctic ii. 48

Phrases.org gives this explanation: EYES ARE THE MIRROR (MIRRORS) OF THE SOUL -- "A person's thoughts can be ascertained by looking in his or her eyes. The proverb has been traced back in English to 'Regiment of Life' (1545). But the proverb was known much earlier. Cicero (106-43 B.C.) is quoted as saying, 'Ut imago est animi voltus sic indices oculi' (The face is a picture of the mind as the eyes are its interpreter). The Latin proverbs, 'Vultus est index animi' or 'Oculus animi index,' are usually translated as 'The face is the index of the mind.' The French say, 'Les yeux sont le miroir de l'ame (The eyes are the mirror of the soul). 'The eyes are the window of the soul' is a variant form of the proverb..." From "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" by Gregory Y. Titelman (Random House, New York, 1996).

Here are the TSRTS scenes showcasing Page's eyes.

During the section of the movie when we establish the band's home life and family duties, you may wonder what we will see of Page, who keeps his family well out of the public eye. In fact, we see Jimmy Page sitting alone by the moat of his house in Plumpton Place (1973) with his back to the camera. He's playing a hurdy-gurdy. He turns round, and in lieu of his eyes, we see twin glows, burning red.

I'm not sure what was intended, but this scene usually gets a laugh. Of course, Led Zeppelin fans are notorious stoners, so burning red eyes are some seriously funny shit, man.

During Since I've Been Loving You, the camera takes a long, lingering look at Page's eye.

At 1hr 10'00", the shot of the band onstage playing Dazed and Confused changes to Jimmy Page's Loch Ness fantasy sequence. The change is done by a dissolve from Page's face to the face of the full moon over a mountain, on top of which waits the Hermit.

After Page touches the Hermit's staff, the camera lingers on the Hermit's face while the old man's apparent age reverses to the stage of a fetus, and then re-ages. The deaging/aging sequence is keyed so that the eyes are invariate while the face changes around them. (This bit I get.)

At 1hr 20'10", still during Dazed and Confused, the camera dives into Page's eye to show a scene backstage. The scene is of a pretty long-haired young man in tight jeans being forced to the ground by burly security men with nightsticks and handcuffs while a crowd of women security guards watch. I don't see how this has anything to do with Jimmy Page's soul, but perhaps someone will enlighten me.

That's all I can recall that showcase Page's eyes in the movie. I wish I saw a pattern, but I don't.

Anyone see any more?

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Yes, I would add if you look very closely you can see an "All Seeing Eye" on the back of the

shirt Jimmy is wearing when he turns to reveal his red eyes. Interestingly enough, in the

next shot of Peter Grant (talking on the telephone) an "All Seeing Eye" can be seen in the

tapestry above his head. Perhaps this was Jimmy's way of saying when it came to the band he and Peter always saw eye to eye.

[Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones]

That would be circa 72-74 in Page's home studio..no?

Quite possibly in the home studio he had in a second floor bedroom at Plumpton Place,

Summer 1974. I'm trying to recall if he has ever said for certain.

[Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones]

Drummer Chris Blackwell:

My parents bought my first proper drum kit for my eleventh birthday. Being left handed my Father set it up backwards - the reason I play left handed but am in fact right handed! Left school at 17 after failing exams twice - not an academic! Went to College for a year to resit them but met Winston Blissett there instead (now bass player for Massive Attack / Lisa Stansfield etc) and consequently failed my exams again! He called me one day from a session he was on - the drummer was ill and was I available? Met some interesting people at the studio. Formed a Jazz / Rock band called the 'Aerial Beagles' (v. big in Chelmsford) after meeting Doug Boyle and Phil Scragg through a newspaper ad, and began to write own material. Did the usual paying-my-dues thing at the Newmarket Cabaret Club backing various cabaret stars whilst people ate their chicken in a basket dinners. All good practice.

Got into session work by pestering all the local studios to use me for free and plastered all their noticeboards with my contact details. Very persistent! Eventually Doug Phil and I formed quite a session unit doing many well paid sessions in and around London. Somebody I worked with during this time was Phil Johnstone who was signed to Virgin as a writer. We demo'd a track of his called 'Heaven Knows' engineered by Mike Gregovic. Lots of writing with Dominic Bugatti (Bugatti and Musker) around this time. Session work eventually led to my working with the producer Bob Sargeant (Haircut 100), Simon Climie and the singer Pauline Black (ex Selecter) and demos with Aha, followed by the inevitable touring; firstly with Toyah in the UK and Europe - I had to learn Simon Phillips' drum parts - then a UK Christmas tour with Buck's Fizz(!). Offered World tour with Cliff Richard but declined because . . .

One of my favourite albums in the world is Led Zeppelin 4, so imagine my surprise when I came home one day to find a message on the answerphone from somebody claiming to be Robert Plant asking if I wanted to join his band! He had heard me drumming because Virgin (Phil Johnstone's publisher) had sent him tracks as possible singles, and I had been drumming on them. Called him back thinking it was a wind up. Turned out it wasn't. Nervously went along to rehearsal. First thing Robert said to me was 'would you like a cup of tea?' and I was immediately at home! Needed a guitarist and bass player, so I suggested Doug Boyle and Phil Scragg. Phil Johnstone was already on keyboards, and there was the band!

Now and Zen we rehearsed and wrote in London Docklands. Came in one day to find 6 inches of water in studio. During the recording at Swanyard Studios with Tim Palmer producing we met Charlie Jones (Phil Scragg decided not to join the tour). Tapes were sent to Jimmy Page to do his solos at his studio, and after a few drunken evenings at Swanyard (I vividly remember being locked in one night as I had fallen asleep in the bathroom) the album was eventually finished. 'Billy's Revenge' a bugger to play! (Rhythm inspired by the sound of a train line that passed over the studio).

Video for 'Heaven Knows' shot in Morocco. Doug had hair extensions fitted that were attached with wax. Very hot in Sahara Desert so they kept falling out. Always knew where he was. Just follow hair trail . . .

First gig in the UK was a top secret affair so we went under the name 'Band of Joy'. The first gig outside Europe blew me away - Quebec, Canada, about 20,000 people, and so much noise from crowd I could barely hear myself play! Intensely emotional experience, and something I really do miss. Stevie Ray Vaughan and then Cheap Trick supporting first leg of tour - fabulous! Played at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary gig at Madison Square Gardens - live TV broadcast across America featuring some true legends. Great fun! Things took interesting turn in Oklahoma - slipped in the backstage shower during support act Joan Jett's set and broke my wrist! 12,000 people were not amused as show cancelled 10mins before due to start. Woke up in hospital with tubes and wires everywhere. Tour stopped for 2 weeks whilst Pat Torpey was drafted in to save the day (hi Pat!). Ended up shaking a tambourine for few weeks. Left wrist aches when I see tambourines to this day. Very depressing. . . tour excellent and Robert a saint for keeping me on!

Manic Nirvana was written at Robert's house in Monmouth and the demos recorded using Robert's old 16 track. I got to play one of John Bonham's old kits (it was in Robert's attic!). Album recorded Olympic studios Barnes, London. Mark 'Spike' Stent producing. Great times. By now I had my own studio and wrote 'Tie Dye on the Highway' with Robert - my first taste of writing with him (surprisingly easy!). Played main guitar riff on record! Wrote 'Watching you' with Phil at Robert's house.

Video for 'Hurting Kind' shot in UK at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in December. Bloody freezing on an open topped bus.

Tour great fun. Banned from backstage showers. Joined on stage many times by Jimmy Page, most notably in front of 125,000 people at Knebworth . . amazing! Gigs on tour as diverse as Florence Italy (where we had to start twice because somebody switched the power off!), Madison Square Gardens NY (a dream come true for me), and Honolulu Hawaii (where part of the ceiling fell down due to the volume!).

Had 'Black Crowes' supporting us for early part of tour. Later replaced by 'Faith No More' - another of my favourite bands! Used to watch their set whenever I got chance. Fabulous drummer (hi Mike!) He's now with Ozzy Osbourne. Got to meet some amazing people and many of my idols and inspirations, all backstage at our gigs!

Knebworth - The Album was an amazing experience. This was a one day festival at Knebworth House in the Summer of 1990 and featured Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Dire Straits, Genesis, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Robert Plant, Cliff Richard & The Shadows, Status Quo and Tears For Fears. We flew in by Helicopter from Battersea. Jimmy Page joined us on stage for a few numbers, notably 'Rock and Roll'. Playing the drum solo at the end in front of 125,000 people was a bit nerve racking! Concert went out on live TV Worldwide and had a huge audience. The vibe backstage was incredible and I got to meet some amazing people that day.

I was very lucky to be involved in one of the great live shows of recent years and I doubt we will see many more like it.

Fate of Nations was interesting. Written and rehearsed mainly at Monnow Valley, Cornwall. Recorded RAK studios, London. Chris Hughes producing. Change of line up in studio led to confusion in ranks. Wrote 'Calling to You' (wild violin solo by Nigel Kennedy) and 'Network News' with Robert before deciding to jump ship. Strange politics came into play - v. interesting time for all concerned. Robert decided the band had run its course and sadly we parted company. Didn't play drums for 6 years after this. Lost interest.

'Calling to you' later nominated for a Grammy. Album did well but I felt strangely disconnected from it. Doug Boyle went off to tour with Nigel Kennedy and later Caravan, Phil Johnstone went to live in Devon, and Charlie Jones remained with Robert through the Plant / Page times until eventually leaving to join British band Goldfrapp in 2003.

[Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones]

PENNY: Close call for Fey on Led Zep show

By Penny Parker, Rocky Mountain News

Published December 27, 2007

Denver music man Barry Fey nearly became famous for being the guy who refused to book Led Zeppelin.

It was Dec. 26, 1968, and Fey had sold out a Vanilla Fudge and Spirit concert in the Denver Auditorium Arena - what's now part of the Ellie Caulkins Opera House.

"About 10 days before the show, I got a call from the agent saying, 'Barry, I want to add an act to our show,' " Fey said. "I said, 'Ron (Terry), all the tickets are sold.'

"He said, 'You've got to do this for me, Barry, this is a big, big act. Their name is Led Zeppelin.' I thought it was a joke."

Fey turned Terry down, until the agent showed Fey the money.

"Ten minutes later Ron called back and said 'Vanilla Fudge is going to give you $750, and if you give $750 of your own money, we still can put Led Zeppelin on the show.' " Fey caved in. The concert crowd had no idea that this new heavy-metal band from Britain was added to the show. That night marked the band's American debut.

"I got up on the stage and said, 'Ladies and gentlemen, give a warm Denver welcome to Led Zeppelin,' " Fey said. "They started playing, and it was incredible. It was an unbelievable show; people were gasping. That was a big day in Denver history."

[Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones]

I just watched the "DVD". In the music video of "Travelling riverside blues" you can see Jimmy playing in the studio. Is there any studio-footage from recording sessions or rehearsals existing??

Very little, and almost none in public circulation. There's a clip of Bonham in the studio

circa '78. Nothing else comes to mind from the '68'-80 era. I have tour rehearsal footage of Page/Plant in Pensacola and also running through The Wanton Song a few times for an English television program. I've also got Robert and his band rehearsing just outside of Dallas in Autumn '88. You may have seen their Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary

rehearsals with Jason, and Jimmy rehearsing with David Coverdale.

[Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones]

On the song Thank You....am I hearing Bonzo joining in on backing vocals?

No, Jimmy.

[Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones]

Hey Steve,

Thought of another mystery for you to solve: on the '77 US tour, the boys had only 13 dates left in America, when the tour was aborted due to the death of Robert's son. In everything I have read about this tour, I never saw any activity planned after the American tour finished. One would think that Swan Song would have announced other live dates, since the US tour was almost completed (Europe, UK, Japan, etc. Also, they did have the US stadium tour planned in August and September of 1975, before the car accident in Rhodes). If no dates, perhaps they were to record a new album? Were there any official plans announced for what was to follow the US dates in '77? Thanks.

Also, were you able to dig out your 1970 Iceland concert review in the magazine you had stored? You mentioned in your previous post that perhaps that article had listed more songs played at that show than just Dazed (as we know from the DVD).

It was never officially/publicly announced, but Peter Grant intended to book a South

American tour in late 1977. Back in 1975, he intended to have them tour Scandanavia

in November. So far as I know only one date has ever been confirmed (magazine advertisement): the Uusi Messuhalli in Helsinki, Finland on 11/5/75. I seriously doubt

any other dates/details were ever publicly released, as it was all very much in the tentative planning stages when Robert's accident occured. In regards to 1980, Peter

intended to have them tour the UK in December and USA West Coast in Spring 1981.

[Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones]

Here's one that's really more out of my curiosity because if anyone would know it would be you, SAJ. Have Jimmy or any of the other members ever been in Delaware? I know that Elton John stayed at the Hotel DuPont a couple times. Just curious.

BTW, any luck with the "Skipper" in FL? My goodies are supposedly arriving within the week. I'll keep you posted.

Jason has played Delaware a few times and Vinnie Moore of UFO hails from there

so Jason also rehearsed for a UFO tour in Dover, but none of the others have.

Jason Bonham:

6/16/01 Dover, DE (venue unconfirmed) (drummer for Healing Sixes)

9/18-21/04 UFO rehearsals for imminent USA tour held in a "sound warehouse"

7/25/06 Harrington, DE Delaware State Fair (drummer for Foreigner)

Note: Cancelled 7/24/06...singer Kelly Hanson had stomach flu and onset of laryngitis

8/20/06 Dewey Beach, DE Bottle & Cork 1807 Highway One 19971 (w/Foreigner)

[Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones]

Steve, beside the 3 public reunions and Jason's wedding reception, to your knowledge have all three surviving members of Zep played any other gigs together since 1980? I'm sure someone with the means have tried to hire them at one point or another for a private function. What are your thoughts?

7/13/85 JFK Stadium Philadelphia, PA

(Live Aid...'Rock And Roll', 'Whole Lotta Love', 'Stairway to Heaven...Paul Martinez on bass, Tony Thompson and Phil Collins on drums)

5/14/88 Madision Square Garden New York, NY

("It's Only Rock 'n' Roll" - Atlantic Record's 40th Anniversary Party...'Kashmir', 'Heartbreaker', 'Misty Mountain Hop', 'Stairway to Heaven'...Jason Bonham on drums)

11/??/89 Hen & Chickens Oldbury, West Midlands, England

(Page, Plant and Jones perform with Chris Blackwell (drums) and Phil Johnstone (keys) at Carmen Plant's 21st birthday party)

4/28/90 Heath Hotel Bewdley, England

(Page, Plant, Jones & Jason Bonham perform a set of five numbers during Jason's wedding reception)

1/12/95 Waldorf-Astoria Hotel New York, NY

(Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame Tenth Annual Induction Ceremony...jam session...'Train Kept A Rollin', 'For Your Love', 'Reefer Headed Woman', 'Bring It On Home', 'Long Distance Call Blues', 'Baby Please Don't Go', with Jason Bonham on drums, Steven Tyler & Joe Perry of Aerosmith...'When The Levee Breaks' with Michael Lee on drums and Neil Young)

12/9/07 02 Arena London, England

(Rehearsal)

12/10/07 02 Arena London, England

(Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert)

No other public performances with all three (Page, Plant and Jones) on the same stage together since 1980. They have made a few public appearances together (mostly to

accept awards) and many instances of two of the three performing/jamming together.

[Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones]

Steve,

Jimmy Page is featured rather prominently on http://www.transperformance.com and I know that he's got it installed on two LPs

Do you know when Jimmy began using this in these guitars, was there any specific person or musician that told him about it and did he ever travel to Ft. Collins, Co. to tour the Transperformance factory?

Jimmy began using TransPerformance-equipped guitars in the studio in 1991. This was while staying with David Coverdale at Coverdale's home on Lake Tahoe where they had begun writing tracks for the Coverdale/Page album using a $50 tape recorder David got

from Radio Shack. 'Absolution Blues' is the first song they wrote, and it is also the first song Jimmy ever recorded using TransPerformance. Neil Skinn, the man who developed

the system, was the one who brought it to Jimmy's attention. So far as I know Jimmy

never went to see Neil's home workshop in Fort Collins, CO, but the Les Paul guitar he had retrofitted went back and forth from there a few times before he accepted it. In so doing, Jimmy became their first client.

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January 11, 2006

Tuning tech catches on with guitarists

By Richard Defendorf

Staff Writer, CNET News

No matter how accomplished they are, musicians who play fretted instruments spend a lot of time playing out of tune. Strings stretch and bind. Fluctuations in humidity and string tension cause instrument necks to bow, arch and twist. Something--it is not always clear what--throws string pitch out of whack. Professional players on stage and in recording sessions find themselves twisting tuner knobs between every song and sometimes in the middle of songs.

"It is maddening that we play instruments that do not stay in tune for very long," Mike Marshall, one of the top mandolin and guitar players on the acoustic-music scene, wrote during a recent online discussion on the topic. "This seems a bit insane, considering the fact that we are surrounded by so much incredible technology."

Technology, it turns out, does offer a remedy for tuning problems--at least for those who play electric guitars. Backers and users of an electronic system called the Performer say it offers a big leap beyond the ubiquitous electronic pitch readers that, while reasonably accurate, still require the player to tune manually. It's also seen as a way to let players use the same instrument for a variety of musical purposes.

Those attributes have helped sell the system to rock icons Graham Nash, Jimmy Page and Joe Perry, along with other concert-stage veterans.

With the touch of a button, The Performer is designed to automatically tune open, unfretted strings to whatever notes the player programs into the system's computer. The retuning can happen any time the player has a moment to strum on open strings, even in the middle of a song.

It works via a system of sensors, computer electronics and miniature motors and mechanics designed for installation in the bodies of Fender's Stratocaster and Telecaster guitars, and Gibson USA's Les Paul.

In their quest for new and distinctive sounds, guitar players can easily load up on pre-amplifiers, digital sound processors and other effects gear designed to change the sound of the instrument with the touch of a foot pedal. Using alternate tunings is another way to change the sound and enhance the playability of a guitar, but it often is handled in a very low-tech way--manually. Onstage or in the studio, when it is impractical to spend several minutes retuning, professionals typically pretune several guitars and switch from one to another between songs.

As it is currently offered, The Performer is designed to readjust the tension on all six strings simultaneously in about five seconds, with the push of a button. A small LCD screen cut into the guitar body displays the note, octave and "cent value" of each string. (A cent is a unit of relative pitch; there are 1,200 cents in one octave). Neil Skinn, the man who developed the system, says the gadget's tuning is accurate to within 2 cents.

Skinn says he began exploring automatic-tuning concepts as a hobby in 1983. His design for The Performer's tension-correcting mechanical devices, which help pull and release the string ends, was inspired by the rocker arms on oil derrick jack pumps. Coming up with an electronic sensor system and writing a software program that could control the system, though, proved much harder.

By the end of 1985, Skinn had decided that the cost of producing an automatic tuner--which at the time would have worked only for standard tuning--made further development unfeasible. But two years later, while enrolled in an electrical-engineering program and working for a scientific-instruments company, Skinn discovered that the vibration analysis at the heart of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy--a tool commonly used to analyze organic compounds--also could be paired with magnetic pickups to accurately determine pitch.

A colleague, meanwhile, developed software that could calibrate the pickup and mechanical systems so that string pitch could be changed while the strings vibrated. By 1988, Skinn had quit school and had begun raising funds that would enable him to work on the project full time.

It took more than a decade, however, to get The Performer to operate the way it does today, with a sound sensor system and software that tunes to a wide range of note combinations but also "touches up" the pitch on each string as tensions change and the guitar neck bends and twists.

"Everyone who got a (Performer installation) up to '98 has a prototype of some sort," said Skinn, who formed a company called TransPerformance to develop the system and retrofit guitars, which he does in his Fort Collins, Colo., home workshop. "It was a really slow process, and each guitar was different from the one before."

So far, he estimated, he has installed 200 Performer systems.

The pros sign up

TransPerformance's first client was Jimmy Page. Skinn said he managed to get a videotape to the Led Zeppelin guitarist that showed how the system worked. Page invited him to a recording studio in Reno, Nev., for a closer look and commissioned a Performer installation in a Les Paul model guitar. Skinn said he delivered the retrofitted instrument in late 1990. It went back and forth between Page and Fort Collins three or four times for re-engineering.

"Sometime in '91, he said, 'This is it.' He started playing it onstage," Skinn said.

The next customer was Aerosmith's Perry. Over the years, mostly through word of mouth, TransPerformance attracted avid amateur players and a fair number of other well-known professionals, including Tom Keifer (Cinderella), Mark Slaughter, Pat Metheny, Mick Fleetwood, Robert Hunter, Kenny Loggins, Eddie Van Halen, Peter Frampton, Sonny Landreth and young guitar phenom Matt Curran. Page now owns three guitars equipped with the system.

A Performer costs $3,400, including installation, which takes about a month. The electronics and motors are off-the-shelf, though most of the mechanical parts are custom-made. The system weighs about 3.5 pounds, adding about 8 ounces to the overall weight of the instrument, once the guitar body (typically solid mahogany or ash with a maple top) is routed out to accommodate the electronics and machinery.

Accustomed to assuaging concerns that retrofitting a guitar will change its sound, Skinn pointed out that the electronics, hardware and setup for the instrument's pickups, volume and tone adjustments remain unaltered and separate from the automatic tuning system, which is powered by a 12-volt cable that plugs into the guitar body. Optional battery packs are available for those who want to play on a wireless system.

The justification for spending a lot of money on an automatic tuning device such as this is, in the end, as much about expanding musical options as it is about convenience. The Performer is designed to tune to any of eight notes (seven half steps) on the first string and any of nine notes (eight half steps) on each of the other five strings. In other words, it is capable of 229,376 tunings, of which there are at least 60,000 nameable tunings.

Word of the tuner's versatility caught the attention of William Eaton, a guitarist who also is director of the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery, in Phoenix. Eaton said he heard about the system a few years ago and visited Skinn's shop.

"I played Jimmy Page's guitar before it got shipped and it sold me right there," Eaton said.

A composer of world and new-age music, Eaton performs three or four times a week, often with small ensembles. He is building a harp guitar with two necks and a poplar-frame body that will accommodate a Performer, soon to be installed. He says he'll store about 30 tunings in the system, allowing him to write songs for a wider range of chords and work with pitch intervals that would be difficult or impossible to play on standard tuning.

"Rather than change guitars during a performance," he said, "this would allow me to make dramatic changes (to the same instrument) in a few seconds."

The need to carry only one instrument, Eaton added, will make air travel to and from performance dates easier.

Skinn, 50, said moral support from his family and investors, and feedback from clients, particularly those who play for a living, helped him persevere through countless hours of re-engineering.

An ongoing source of frustration, Skinn noted, is that most requests for automatic tuners come from acoustic-instrument players. But unless they're interested in retrofitting one of the solid-body acoustics for which Skinn has adapted The Performer, or they have luthiery skills like Eaton's, he has to turn them away. The weight, bulkiness and design of the system make it unsuitable for acoustic guitars, whose sound is derived not only from the vibrations of strings but from vibrations of the thin tone woods that comprise acoustic instruments' hollow bodies.

Which means that players like Mike Marshall will--for the time being, at least--continue to tune manually, one note at a time.

[Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones]

who stole Zeppelin's money in New York? have the subjects been found or was it just a piece of the puzzle to complete a motion picture?

Been a long time brother.

Grant and Cole were among those questioned by NYC police, but no one has ever been charged with the theft. I have said for some time I believe it was an inside job involving

the hotel staff and/or the mob. Led Zeppelin never stayed at The Drake Hotel again; it was torn down just a few years ago.

[Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones]

Steve, Were the Gentle Ghost people given permission to film show, Peter Grant, didn't he take a effort to stop them(bucket of water!)...

Gentle Ghost were filming onstage with TVX filming from the front and projecting their footage onto the giant side-stage screens. Peter knew this in advance, he saw this

happening, and he knew it was being sanctioned thru the promoter. However, he did take issue with Led Zeppelin's performance being videorecorded:

"Some people were trying to videotape the Bath festival and they'd already been told beforehand they couldn't, so I had no qualms about throwing a bucket of water onto the tape machine which blew the whole lot up. Whoosh! It made a horrible smell and then it melted." -- Peter Grant

[Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones]

Thanks Steve. What about the Bath stuff? Doesn't some company in LA own the footage but Jimmy didn't want to pay what they were asking?

In this instance, a link to very interesting details is worth a thousand words:

http://www.ukrockfestivals.com/bathvideo.html

Excerpt (2005):

There is a company in L.A. who has six hours of colour film of Bath, including 30 mins of Led Zeppelin and about a year ago they tried to sell it to Jimmy Page,but they were asking too much for it and he refused to buy it. They have no rights to the film whatsoever, so it was a bit cheeky trying to sell it to Jimmy Page.

Jimmy Page's archives researcher, who knows all about this film, is ringing me next week with all the details, so hopefully we can track them down. As it is in colour it could be part of the Gentle Ghost film - if they took it off the screen it would be in black and white. The other film which was the one Led Zeppelin commissioned was filmed by someone named Paul Whitehead, who now works for the BBC and according to the researcher he used the wrong exposure and only 3 mins was of any use.

Wendy Bannister

[Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones]

I have seen video of The Who and Zeppelin backstage, however, I am pretty certain it was Columbia, MD on 1969.05.25. Now I need to find it or remember where I saw it.

Yes, I believe you are correct on the date and location. My mistake. If you have seen it then that suggests it is not hoarded...and would certainly confirm it does exist.

[Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones]

Steve, I love watching any video/film clips (and parts/whole shows) available out there. What is supposedly being "hoarded" video/film-wise? I love hearing the rumors, etc. on this stuff.

Having had time to give this some consideration, as well as make specific inquiries, I'm

surprised to find there does not seem to be any confirmed video/film clips "hoarded"

in private collections. There are two videos "rumoured to exist": Tokyo (9/24/71) & Houston (5/21/77). We can be fairly certain additional Reykjavik, Iceland (6/22/70) footage exists (or existed), as well as on and offstage footage filmed by promoter Bill Graham and journalist Chris Welch. Finally, there allegedly exists b&w backstage video

of Led Zeppelin & The Who in Baltimore (7/11/69).

[Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones]

My question was just swept under the rug over an Indian meatball.

Not at all, I just need to compile some information before responding to your inquiry.

[manic nirvana]

Love the funk of S S S & Q.....

So far the critics are all picking up on the James Brown sample on 'SSS&Q.' That's an obvious joke, and once and for all, it was from 'Papa's Got a Brand New Bag,' not 'Cold Sweat.' And there are many not-so-obvious jokes, some of them with terrifying implications if they were actually heard. If you listened hard, you'd be quite amazed at what's buried in the mix. We deliberately made it dense to obscure the more wickedly funny ones." -- Robert Plant (1990)

[Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones]

I enjoy consuming unholy amounts of information on the artists I'm in love with. To me there's never such thing as TMI. I treasure those little silly details because they make our heroes warmer and closer, flesh them out - they're human after all! And even more lovable that way.

Agreed. It fuels the imagination and can sometimes be quite revealing, if not funny.

[Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones]

Well, given that I've spent the past five minutes wondering how you crack your tooth on a meatball (an area my imagination should have stayed out of), maybe so.

Robert Plant

Stops Being Polite,

"I'm Not Such An Old Hippie"

By Charles M. Young

Musician June 1990

Three years off cigarettes, a few weeks off caffeine, four hours off the Concorde from London, Robert Plant settles down in a tightly packed armchair in his New York hotel suite with only a pot of room service decaf to stimulate the interview process.

"I just lost a tooth," he says, fingering a well-capped incisor, the bags under his eyes radiating the imminent onset of jet lag. "I bit on an Indonesian meatball and it cracked-the tooth, not the meatball-and it didn't actually fall out until I was doing this live interview on television in Amsterdam. Did you ever try to talk while holding a tooth in with the tip of your tongue? I sounded like one of the Goons from the BBC. Then we mimed a song and I wore these black gloves that I waved mysteriously in front of my mouth. Made it even more deep and meaningless. Made it peculiar, deep and meaningless. I always thought I'd lose it to some young lady delivering a fast uppercut, which happened once. Who would have guessed an Indonesian meatball? Ah well, it's only right that people who have been around as long as I have should occasionally fall apart a little bit".

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

I've edited my original post to retract this having happened at Nirvana...it happened

while promoting Manic Nirvana

[Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones]

hello i believe it was '75 when the work was done.

but i dont know any more details than that nor did i want to know.

he looked as good to me as when he had rotting teeth then missing teeth as he does with dental done.

In July 1990, Robert had just arrived for the second leg of the tour when he confided he had cracked his tooth on an Indonesean meatball.

In July 2005, Robert was on tour in San Francisco, dining at the Kokkari Restaurant (at 200 Jackson Street). He popped one of his dental crowns while eating and was referred to co-owner Kenny Frangadakis who had a dentist office in Cupertino. Kenny referred Robert to dentist Dr. Michael Fox's office (at 500 Spruce Street - Room 208) as it was much closer than his. Robert chatted with a fan while waiting to have his dental work done.

Too much information? Probably.

[Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted by Steve A. Jones]

Not sure whether or not this has been discussed but I was watching TSRTS again recently and noticed that Robert's teeth are quiet 'different' to what we see in 1975 and then on... Apart from vocal surgery in 1974, which we know of, can anyone confirm that Robert had some dental work done also???

Have never seen confirmation of a date for this, but 1974 seems plausible. There is no

question some work was done somewhere along the line. I believe the magazine gallery of this site includes that Zig Zag cover (circa '73) he shared with Roger Daltrey which

shows he was missing a tooth on the upper right side.

[manic nirvana]

any thoughts on this album?

It is not a particular favorite of mine. Nearly twenty years on, it sounds a bit dated. Some of the music seems a bit forced, as if they were all trying too hard to be hip.

'Liars Dance' and 'She Said' (with that typically Plant-esque awkward bit in the middle)

are good tracks, but for me the rest is middle of the road, and at times mediocre AOR.