SIBLY Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere but I can't be arsed to trawl through all the threads. Q&A: John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin The bassist talks about the bandís monster reunion — and the prospect of a tour DAVID FRICKEPosted Jan 09, 2008 8:29 AM Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones' small bombshell in the current issue of Rolling Stone — "There is a band meeting in January" — will be more than enough to set off new tremors of hope among fans for a full-fledged tour following the group's December 10th reunion performance at the O2 arena in London. But in these additional excerpts from an exclusive interview a week after the concert, Jones also talks about Zeppelin's intense preparations for that night, the backstage vibe, what it was like on stage and why — as he puts it in the magazine and explains in detail here — "It could be fun to do more stuff." What were your feelings the day of the show, in the hours before you went on stage? I tried to keep the enormity of it all as far away as possible, until the last minute. I sat around playing banjo all day. It calms me down. For every show we've ever done, there is always hype, expectancy. For us, it was just "Let's get on and do it." Obviously, it was quite a reception when we did get out there. There was a dramatic quality to opening with "Good Times Bad Times" — the first song on Led Zeppelin's first album. That's the hardest riff I ever wrote, the hardest to play. But it was a good starter, because everybody had to focus. We soon figured out in rehearsals what the first three numbers would be ("Good Times Bad Times," "Ramble On," "Black Dog") and that we would play them straight through. What gave us confidence was the week before [the show], we did a full production rehearsal, with the full screen set up. That was really good. It was a smaller room, and you could hear everything, which is the only thing I regret about those stadiums — you don't hear all of the subtleties. The groove is much tighter in the small room. I can only wish we could play 2000 seaters forever, because that's where it sounds great. But the excitement was there on stage [at the O2 arena], as it was in the old days. At soundcheck, I was surprised to hear you, Jimmy Page and Jason Bonham play instrumental versions of "Good Times Bad Times" and "Ramble On." It was like hearing Zeppelin in dub — the subtleties and interplay that go into the background when Robert Plant sings over them. He didn't do that much singing in rehearsal. Robert wanted to protect his voice. We did a lot of the songs instrumentally for quite awhile, especially when he was out doing promotion [for Raising Sand, Plant's hit album with Alison Krauss]. And it was really good for us. It was us getting used to each other, which you have to do in order to bring this off. You want to be tight. But I like to be free in what I do. I hardly ever play the same bass line twice. Even in songs where it's mapped out, like "Good Times Bad Times," I swap it around a little bit. We all enjoy the freedom to do that. In order to have that freedom, you have to know each other so well. How would you describe Jason's playing during the show? He was very much his father's son. A lot of the fills were not what his dad did at all. He's as fearless as his dad, that's for sure [laughs]. But he did an amazing job, when you consider that he had to answer to every drummer in the world after that show. With that sort of pressure, to bring all that off was astonishing. "Kashmir" was absolutely wonderful, the way he led in and out of the choruses and bridges. How has Jimmy's guitar playing changed or evolved, compared to the Seventies? He certainly hasn't lost anything. He's rock-ier [laughs]. He really goes for the solos. And in the rhythm parts, he throws things in that knock you out. He's matured but lost none of the excitement along the way. In "Ramble On," he recreated the bridge section — the overdubbed harmony guitars on the record — on one guitar with just glide and reverb. He is the one-man guitar army. But we've always had to do that. We never had other musicians or pre-recorded material [in concert]. And there were always a lot of overdubs on the albums. We had to make up for it. You have to take over as many parts as you can, then make up for the rest in the excitement of the moment. That show was basically opening night, and I went through all those opening-night things — "Oh, I must remember that for next time" and "We could get out of that a bit smoother." I was concentrating so hard. But there was a general high going through the whole thing. "Nobody's Fault But Mine" was good. And "Ramble On" — I'm freer in that one than I used to be. I noticed that "Stairway to Heaven" moved at a slightly slower tempo, giving the song a more relaxed elegance, especially when Jimmy hit those twelve-string-guitar strums at the end of the opening segment. Part of the reason for that was the song's placing in the set. It used to come quite close to the end of the show. But putting it in the middle gave it a completely different feel. I really enjoyed it. They are complicated songs to play. There are lots of different parts — you have to get from one to another. There are guitar turns in the middle. To get them all sounding right, you've got to be on your toes through everything. A Zeppelin show is not something you can sleepwalk through. Were there any rough moments — a small mistake here and there? There were a couple, but I'm not going to tell you where they were. If you didn't hear them, it doesn't matter. But the stage production that night — the lighting, the live-action video and digital graphics — was so good you could take that show out on the road right now. [Laughs] Well, that doesn't look like it's going to happen. I don't know honestly. We have to talk about it. What is your standard response to people who ask you, "What's next?" Nobody's asked me since the gig! Before, it was "We've got to wait and see 'til after the gig." But we'll start talking to each other soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIBLY Posted January 9, 2008 Author Share Posted January 9, 2008 Now I know I (like many of you) disect every word these guys say or have printed and Imight see things that aren't there but, and I quote 'The groove is much tighter in the small room. I can only wish we could play 2000 seaters forever, because that's where it sounds great'. which sounds like a band with a future to me!! I know he goes on to trot out the 'we've made no decision yet but are talking soon' band line of the moment but that suggests to me that he expects more band concert activety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigstickbonzo Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Nice article. It would be a dream come true to see them play at small venues, but to meet demand, they'd have to play over 500 venues just to satisfy 2% of the fan base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupernovaLBL Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 I bet you they meet up this month and all decide that they shouldn't have met up and won't play any more gigs or do anything else.... *sarcasm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepncrowes Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 good article, finally some words from the band since the show- let's hope the meeting goes well. Found it interesting they did most of their rehearsing without robert. Sounds like he was worried how his voice would hold up. which probably doesnt bode well for those tour rumors Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIBLY Posted January 9, 2008 Author Share Posted January 9, 2008 Whilst some of LZs material might be more challenging than SS he's been doing full tours for years so I don't think we need to worry to much about his voice holding up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammer of the Cods Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 He had a cold leading up to the show, so maybe he was just backing off because of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdh Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 JPJ sounds like he is "in" for any future Led Zeppelin excursions. It would be wonderful to see and hear the band in small theaters. It would be pricey and of course the usual "why aren't/can't they play in bigger places?" Very insightful interview on what direction the band can take for the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RjK Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Nice insight from traditionally the quietest member of "The Band". :D RjK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minelle Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 That was nice. Nobody's asked me since the gig! Before, it was "We've got to wait and see 'til after the gig." But we'll start talking to each other soon YAY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
croquet'n'cocaine Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Headlines sparked by this innocent interview (as found on Google News just now) (spellings as found): Led Zeppeling Meeting To Consider More Shows - It's rumored that Led Zeppelin are meeting this month to discuss the possibility of further shows in 2008. Jones: 'Led Zep will meet this month' - John Paul Jones has revealed that Led Zeppelin have plans to meet this month to discuss playing together again. NME News Led Zeppelin discuss new tour plans Led Zepplin to tour - Bassist John Paul Jones of the legendary band Led Zeppelin raised speculations that the group might tour saying that they are meeting later this month. Expect this to get a lot worse before it gets better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireOpal Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 That was a lovely article, SIBLY - thank you for that. I have a question about this bit JPJ says about Pagey: "In 'Ramble On,' he recreated the bridge section — the overdubbed harmony guitars on the record — on one guitar with just glide and reverb." Is glide a guitar effect, or just a way of playing/phrasing the notes? I've heard that word in respect to some kind of drum pedal, but not guitar. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captain Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 I find myself disecting every word too. The quote I found most interesting was: "That show was basically opening night, and I went through all those opening-night things — "Oh, I must remember that for next time" and "We could get out of that a bit smoother."" "Opening night"? "Next time"? I'm very hopeful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hand_Of_Omega_91 Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Well, well soon know weather something's happening or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rover Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Now I know I (like many of you) disect every word these guys say or have printed and Imight see things that aren't there but, and I quote 'The groove is much tighter in the small room. I can only wish we could play 2000 seaters forever, because that's where it sounds great'. which sounds like a band with a future to me!! I know he goes on to trot out the 'we've made no decision yet but are talking soon' band line of the moment but that suggests to me that he expects more band concert activety. THANK YOU SIBLY I trust every word that comes out fo the mouth of Mr. JPJ. He's no Bullshitter. That Fucker tells it like it is ! ! ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperDave Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 THANK YOU SIBLY I trust every word that comes out fo the mouth of Mr. JPJ. He's no Bullshitter. That Fucker tells it like it is ! ! ! This is the way I see it: Jimmy is the optomist... Robert is the pessimist... JPJ is the realist... and Jason will do whatever the other three agree on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninelives Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 This is the way I see it: Jimmy is the optomist... Robert is the pessimist... JPJ is the realist... and Jason will do whatever the other three agree on! I don't see Robert as a pessimist at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 "What gave us confidence was the week before [the show], we did a full production rehearsal, with the full screen set up. That was really good. It was a smaller room, and you could hear everything." I would 'KILL' to get a copy of this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leddy Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 Thank you for showing that it seems to me that IF they did a few more shows it would be only a few shows as Plant didn't practise at certain times to protect his voice, I don't think it could cope with a full on tour with Zep material !! His solo stuff even the reinterpretations on Zep stuff is done to suit his voice (in saying that I guess they did tune down for his voice). Its all exciting stuff to think they will meet to discuss at least Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummer Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 It is always common for a singer not to do too much rehearsal with the band. The voice must a preserved to hit the notes accurately. So, it's understandable that RP didn't show up for too many rehearsals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Led Hed Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Anyone know where I can get a copy of the Rolling Stone magazine with Led Zepp on cover????? I found one at Safeway, of all places! All the bookstores were sold out. Not surprising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melanie_72 Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 I know. I called here a few weeks ago and one store had one left and I couldnt make it there. do you think its possible to get one from Rolling Stond in the mail? Yes, just go to the website www.rollingstone.com and click on back issues. See if that works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledzepmanic Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Yes, just go to the website www.rollingstone.com and click on back issues. See if that works. it's $20.00 usd for that back issue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melanie_72 Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 it's $20.00 usd for that back issue That is pretty expensive for a magazine, but with Zep on it, I think it is worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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