Posts in category: Get The Led Out Live

Jason Bonham will bring his Led Zeppelin Evening tour to Australia this April, playing a run of theatre shows around the country. The drummer, son of the original Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, will kick off the tour in Perth on Wednesday, 5th April, before heading to Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Adelaide. Check out the full tour itinerary below.

Jason Bonham has stepped into his father’s shoes on a number of occasions over the years, first playing with a reunited Led Zeppelin at Atlantic Records’ 40th anniversary concert in New York in 1988.

Led Zeppelin: ‘Kashmir’

Bonham has played in a number of other projects across his career, including California Breed, Virigina Wolf, Air-Race, and Motherland. He was also the touring drummer for Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page on his Outrider album run.

For the last few years, Bonham has been mostly touring the Led Zeppelin Evening show around the world. The band won’t be comprised of Zeppelin members; rather, Bonham has recruited singer James Dylan, guitarist Jimmy Sakurai, and bassist Dorian Heartsong for the group. The Led Zeppelin Evening tour was last in Australia in 2018.

“As you get older and suddenly realise the things [John Bonham] accomplished in the short time he was here, it’s a very proud moment as his son,” Bonham told TheMusic.com.au in an interview this week.

“I don’t think he ever imagined that he would be so legendary. He was just this regular chap, but the amount of influence he had on the complete rock’n’roll world was enormous. I mean, it’s a complete honour to even get mentioned in the same sentence as my dad. It’s an accomplishment for any drummer.”

Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening Tour 2023

• Wednesday, 5th April – Astor Theatre, Perth
• Friday, 7th April – Palais Theatre, Melbourne
• Saturday, 8th April – Enmore Theatre, Sydney
• Sunday, 9th April – The Tivoli, Brisbane
• Tuesday, 11th April – Hindley Street, Adelaide

Pre-sale tickets will be available Wednesday, 1st February at 12 pm local time. General sale tickets on sale Friday, 3rd February at 12 pm local time. Tickets via Metropolis Touring.

Further Reading

Led Zeppelin Have Finally Won The Court Battle Over ‘Stairway To Heaven’

Robbie Williams Has Reportedly Been Intentionally Pissing Off His Neighbour, Jimmy Page

Scottish Punks The Exploited Announce ‘Real Punk Rock’ 2023 Australian Tour

The son of the legendary drummer John Bonham, Jason Bonham continues the legacy his father forged as an integral member of Led Zeppelin, bringing The Jason Bonham Led Zeppelin Evening back to Australia for the first time since 2018.

With the eyes of the rock & roll world on him since he was five years old, Jason is a well respected drummer in his own right having performed in such bands as AIR-RACE, Bonham, Virginia Wolf and Foreigner earning several Grammy nominations along the way.

After being invited by Jimmy Page to play with the surviving members of Led Zeppelin in 1988 (eight years after his father’s death), Jason has performed in several other Zeppelin tribute acts.

In 2010, Jason formed his own project – The Jason Bonham Led Zeppelin Evening – a tribute to his father’s music. “To be in that band is a phenomenal feeling,” says Jason on playing with the original Led Zep.

“You can’t really describe it regardless of whether your Dad was in the band or not, it’s just one of the greatest experiences to be in that seat and playing those songs, it’s a dream come true.”

With such a vast and iconic catalogue to choose from, the hardest part for Bonham is deciding the set list. “You never want to leave anything out,” he confirms.

“There were so many sides to the band – the acoustic side, the blues side – there are so many great songs we can play.”

The Jason Bonham Led Zeppelin Evening will headline concerts in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide in April.

“It’s the greatest to represent my family and play these songs live.”

Tickets on sale from 12pm (local time) on 3 February.

The Jason Bonham Led Zeppelin Evening 2023 Tour Dates

Wed 5 Apr – Astor Theatre (Perth)
Fri 7 Apr – Palais Theatre (Melbourne)
Sat 8 Apr – Enmore Theatre (Sydney)
Sun 9 Apr – The Tivoli (Brisbane)
Tue 11 Apr – Hindley Street Music Hall (Adelaide)

Jason Bonham, the son of the legendary Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, has been playing the drums since he was five years old. At 17, he and his band Air Race recorded an album with Atlantic Records and toured alongside Queen, Meat Loaf, and AC/DC. John Bonham died at 32 years old when Jason was just a teenager. 

He has since carried the mantle for his father, performing with the remaining members of Led Zeppelin – Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones, who disbanded after John’s passing. Those instances were in 1988, at the band’s first-ever televised reunion concert for Atlantic Records’ 40th anniversary and the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert, commonly known as Celebration Day, in 2007. In 2009, Jason Bonham founded Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening, which he’s bringing back to Australia this April. Even being mentioned in the same sentence as his father is bizarre, he shares.

“As you get older and suddenly realise the things he accomplished in the short time he was here, it’s a very proud moment as his son,” Bonham says. His dad was a down-to-earth kind of guy, “I don’t think he ever imagined that he would be so legendary. He was just this regular chap, but the amount of influence he had on the complete rock’n’roll world was enormous. I mean, it’s a complete honour to even get mentioned in the same sentence as my dad. It’s an accomplishment for any drummer.

“There was jealousy earlier in life,” Bonham continues, “it was hard when you read all these articles about him, going ‘John Bonham this, John Bonham that,’ but he’s my dad, get your own heroes. I’m glad I grew out of it – it’s mind-shattering to read the lists of top drummers of all time; that list might change, but my dad will always be in the top three, and that’s pretty spectacular.”

The Jason Bonham Led Zeppelin Evening is returning to Australia, and fans are in for a real treat with the band Jason has amassed. There’s vocalist James Dylan, who’s an absolute powerhouse; Jimmy Sakurai, who makes you do a double-take when you watch him on stage to make sure it’s not Jimmy Page; and Bonham’s “main man,” bassist Dorian Heartsong. The band has become the premier way to experience Led Zeppelin’s music in 2023.

“In the beginning, it took a while to put together. The first time I came to Australia, going back to the beginning of 2010 – 13 years, somebody said to me, ‘have you checked out this guy on virtualzeppelin.com?'” Bonham begins, and then he witnessed James Dylan in action. “And then I got his phone number, invited him to my place in Florida, because I didn’t believe what I saw, to the voice coming out of him. So he came to Florida, and he sang, and it blew my mind.” Then it was time to start rehearsals.

Bonham’s bassist at the time, Michael Devin, was offered a position with rockers Whitesnake, which Jason encouraged his bandmate to accept. Bonham was then introduced to Heartsong, who’s also a drummer and “understands me a lot more than most people,” Bonham admits. And the rest, as they say, was history. 

Once again, on a different tour – while the band were in America, someone asked Bonham, “have you checked out this Japanese guitar player named Jimmy Sakurai?” At the time, the band was called the Jason Bonham Led Zeppelin Experience, which had to be amended as Led Zeppelin wanted to use similar terminology. “So, I was thinking, Jason Bonham with a new name, new guitarist, a new band… it was like a rebirth.”

While I’ve only watched Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening perform through YouTube videos, it’s mind-blowing watching the band – the energy matches early Led Zeppelin. If you close your eyes, it’s easy to feel transported to another time when Led Zeppelin was king.

When Jason Bonham plays Kashmir, one of the most beloved Led Zeppelin songs of all time, he models it after his dad’s 1979 performance at Knebworth. “Dad really went for it,” Bonham exclaims. The reason why it’s one of Jason’s favourite songs to play is because he found out that his dad hummed those opening chords to Jimmy Page – you know how it goes – “so when Kashmir started up, that wasn’t anyone else’s but dad’s. He came in and said, ‘I’ve got this.'”

The hardest thing about playing Kashmir, Bonham notes, is keeping it simple. “In 79, when he played it, at the end, he added these amazing fills, so it always stuck with me that the first time the guys heard Kashmir came from dad. That’s one of the best things you could ever say. It stands up to him. It’s probably the second biggest Led Zeppelin song there is – he was a pretty, pretty good drummer,” Jason chuckles.

The Jason Bonham Led Zeppelin Evening provides audiences with “a heartfelt journey,” Bonham says. “Not only through the music, but through the emotions. What it was like, growing up and that’s your family. That’s what your dad does. When you’re so close to it, you don’t understand it. You don’t really get it as much as you do when you walk away from it later on in life.”

He adds, “The show is all of those demons I had to go through growing up and realising that everybody I knew understood how great my dad and Led Zeppelin were. To me, he was just dad, and I was more interested in other music. By the time I understood how amazing he was, dad was gone. I couldn’t tell him, and that was the sad part. I figured out how great he was, and I never had the chance to tell my dad, ‘do you know how good you are?’ That’s why when I do the show now, it’s my way of saying that to him.”

JASON BONHAM’S LED ZEPPELIN EVENING

2023 AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES

Wednesday 5th April, PERTH – Astor Theatre
Friday 7th April, MELBOURNE – Palais Theatre
Saturday 8th April, SYDNEY – Enmore Theatre
Sunday 9th April, BRISBANE – Tivoli Theatre
Tuesday 11th April, ADELAIDE – Hindley Street  

Pre-sale tickets available tomorrow at 12 pm. General sale tickets are on sale this Friday at 12 pm local time. Tickets via Metropolis Touring.

Jimmy Page helped write the book on classic rock with Led Zeppelin. Between his guitar playing, John Bonham’s drumming, Robert Plant’s distinct vocals, and John Paul Jones’ underrated instrumentation, Led Zeppelin albums were essential for rock fans of the 1960s and beyond. Zep’s founding guitarist had a plan on Led Zeppelin I, but making Jeff Beck cry when Page played the record for him might not have been part of it. Still, we can see why Beck shed tears when he heard Led Zeppelin’s version of “You Shook Me” — Page’s band thoroughly upstaged Beck’s version of the tune in every way.

Jeff Beck cried when Jimmy Page played him Led Zeppelin’s version of ‘You Shook Me’

Once upon a time, Page recommended his friend Beck for the Yardbirds (and received a gift for not taking the job). That was in 1965. Fast forward to 1968, and Beck’s solo career started taking flight as Page looked to form a new band after his stint playing guitar in the Yardbirds ended when the band broke up. 

Jimmy Page helped write the book on classic rock with Led Zeppelin. Between his guitar playing, John Bonham’s drumming, Robert Plant’s distinct vocals, and John Paul Jones’ underrated instrumentation, Led Zeppelin albums were essential for rock fans of the 1960s and beyond. Zep’s founding guitarist had a plan on Led Zeppelin I, but making Jeff Beck cry when Page played the record for him might not have been part of it. Still, we can see why Beck shed tears when he heard Led Zeppelin’s version of “You Shook Me” — Page’s band thoroughly upstaged Beck’s version of the tune in every way.

Jeff Beck cried when Jimmy Page played him Led Zeppelin’s version of ‘You Shook Me’

Once upon a time, Page recommended his friend Beck for the Yardbirds (and received a gift for not taking the job). That was in 1965. Fast forward to 1968, and Beck’s solo career started taking flight as Page looked to form a new band after his stint playing guitar in the Yardbirds ended when the band broke up. 

Alabama Shakes are one of the greatest live outfits you’ll ever be lucky enough to see. Brittany Howard has a voice that could stop a category five hurricane in its tracks simply for the joy of hearing her soulful growl, one step up on the same Zeus scale that summoned the phenomenon. Very few singers in history have that same Thor-like thunderous force without straining beyond their chest voice. Fortunately for this cover, Led Zeppelin’s frontman Robert Plant is one of them.

Slipping like a jigsaw piece into the Shakes’ back catalogue, the song is swamped in a bluesy origin. As Led Zeppelin’s guitarist Jimmy Page explained to the BBC: “We had numbers from the Yardbirds that we called free form, like ‘Smokestack Lightnin’,’ where I’d come up with my own riffs and things, and obviously I wasn’t going to throw all that away, as they hadn’t been recorded. 

Led Zeppelin was like a championship baseball team — every member was essential to making the magic happen. Guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert Plant commanded much of the spotlight. Bassist John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham didn’t receive as much credit for Zep’s music. Those in the know understood Bonham was different from his peers, but Jones said his rhythm section cohort never got the credit he deserved as a songwriter. The only trouble with that is that Jones isn’t 100% right.

John Paul Jones said John Bonham never received much credit for helping to write Led Zeppelin songs

Bonham was a revolutionary drummer even before he plied his trade with Led Zeppelin. He formed a vision for his drumming when he was still a fledgling player — to have his drums complement the guitar instead of taking a back seat to it. Page was the perfect guitarist to make it a reality. His goal for Led Zeppelin I was to make it a showcase for the entire band. Bonzo made his presence felt in the first few seconds of Led Zeppelin’s debut. He continued to do so as the band achieved worldwide fame and sold millions of albums worldwide. 

Rita McGrath

Technology is empowering employees to make their own decisions. Organizational structures need to catch up.

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, January 18, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ — Both CEO’s and front-line staff agree that they are capable of self-management. So why do so few firms operate this way?

Ram Charan and Rita McGrath co-authored an article just out in this month’s Harvard Business Review about how technology is creating the conditions for what people call the “permissionless” corporation. In it, the authors suggest that corporations organized like conventional bureaucracies are going to give way to organizations that have figured out new ways of working.

To explain why, McGrath builds on another great piece about the evils of bureaucracy co-authored by Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini, called “What we Learned About Bureaucracy from 7,000 HBR Readers.”

Elements of the permissionless organization

Obviously, there is a need and essential role for leadership in any human social group – someone has to determine strategic priorities, figure out who is supposed to do what and provide guidance as to goals. What McGrath suggest in her article, however, is that many of the bureaucratic tasks of reporting, giving assignments, collecting status updates and providing metrics are now able to be handled by technology with far more speed and accuracy than by using conventional management methods.

A ’permissionless’ organization, therefore, is one in which groups that have all the essential functional skills (engineering, marketing, design, and so on) are given a single objective to work on full-time for a short period of time. It looks a lot like the realization of agile ways of working that McGrath has been learning about for some time now.

Among its core attributes:

-Agreement on key metrics; in particular, leading indicators of important outcomes.
-Using digital technologies to bring operating information right to the front lines.
-Communicating context using simple heuristics that allow everyone to align without the need for time-consuming meetings.
-Switching to multi-functional, often asynchronous, teamwork.
-Identifying and promote leaders who are motivated by team accomplishment, not by political or power goals.

So why does McGrath believe that eventually this way of working will make traditional bureaucracies obsolete? Lean into Hamel and Zanini’s research to sketch out the answer. They received responses from over 7,000 readers of the Harvard Business Review who filled out their Bureaucracy Mass Index diagnostic (try it – it’s free and fun).

Bureaucratic pain is felt most deeply at the ‘edges’

One striking finding from the research is that “individuals working in customer service, sales, production, logistics and R&D were more likely to feel that bureaucracy was growing than those working in functions like HR, finance, planning, purchasing and administration. In other words, the individuals who feel most hamstrung by bureaucracy are the ones most directly involved in creating customer value.”

Recent research by Tiffani Bova of Salesforce finds that firms in which employees have poor experiences are likely to be foregoing significant value and potential revenue growth. So it stands to reason that bureaucratic processes undermine the ability of an organization to please customers, eventually undermining their competitive advantages.

McGrath also pointed out that many of the so-called clever automated systems for customer service are actually creating the conditions for enraging customers.

More than three quarters of respondents also said that front-line employees were either ‘never’ or only ‘occasionally’ involved in the design and development of major change initiatives or programs. If you’re not involved, it’s hard to be enthusiastic, a major predictor of failure for organizational change. McGrath has said elsewhere, …”if you want to keep on top of the pulse of what’s going on, you need to build robust flows of information to the edges and back again.”

Bureaucracy sucks up time with no corresponding creation of value

The survey respondents reported spending an astonishing average of 28% of their time – more than a whole day each week – on feeding the bureaucratic beast. Preparing reports, attending meetings, dealing with internal requests, getting approvals and working through staff function requirements all consumed time that could be much better spent with a different organizational design.

In the permissionless structures McGrath highlights in her article, most of these activities are kept to a bare minimum and are mostly handled either by making sure all the people with necessary skills are working on intact teams devoted to a single objective at any given time and by moving the controls and cross-checks to technology platforms.

Bureaucracy slows things down

Two thirds of the survey respondents – and more than 80% in the largest companies – reported that bureaucracy slows down decision making. Getting approval for an unbudgeted expense, for instance, could take as long as 20 days or more.

In permissionless structures, budgeting cycles are short and flexible. For more on how this can work, please see Bjarte Bogsnes’ excellent work on “beyond budgeting.”

Bureaucracy increases the return on politics

This one was a shocker. Survey respondents said they spent fully 42% of their time on internal issues, such as resolving disputes, competing for resources, HR issues, negotiating targets and other internally-focused issues. Even worse, the proportion grows with the seniority of the survey respondent. The unfortunate implication is that those who need to be most externally focused to pick up weak signals, understand markets and spend time with customers are the least free to do so!

70% of big-company respondents to the survey indicate that political behaviors (such as blame-shifting, resource hoarding and turf battles) are “often” observed. 64% said that political skills often or almost always influence who gets ahead, with that number going to 76% for the larger organization.

As Safi Bahcall has pointed out, when the return on politics exceeds the return on innovation, that’s a competitive drag on performance.

Bureaucracy stifles experimentation and innovation

One common trait shared by innovative companies – 3M, Lego, Adobe, Spotify and many others – is that experimentation by people at the front lines is encouraged, made easy and is modestly resourced. The survey respondents report a completely different reality. 80% reported that new ideas were likely to encounter indifference, skepticism or outright resistance. Even worse, 96% of people working in companies with more than 1,000 employees said it was ‘not easy’ or ‘very difficult’ for a front-line employee to launch a new initiative.

Going permissionless and eliminating bureaucracy requires a new leadership model

As McGrath described in her article, the organizations that successfully made this transition are conscious that leaders who got ahead in the old hierarchical systems are unlikely to be thrilled to give up the power and perks that often came with having a high-status role. “At Fidelity Private Investments, one of the case studies we use, the attention to a new kind of leader was taken so seriously that only people who could demonstrate that they were people-maximizers were considered for leadership positions,” states McGrath. “Others had to find new organizational homes elsewhere.”

One of the more interesting findings from the research is that both front-line staff and senior executives don’t doubt that their operating staff are capable of managing themselves. Only 26% of the CEO’s and 36% of front-line employees felt that a lack of information or competence was a barrier to devolution of authority and responsibility.

Dismantling bureaucracy is not only do-able but essential.

For more on Rita McGrath’s insights and tools go to:

https://www.valize.com

Aurora DeRose
Boundless Media Inc.
+1 951-870-0099
email us here

Everything in Jimmy Page’s music career was a building block for Led Zeppelin. The guitarist learned studio tricks used by producers during his time as a session musician. He also learned how to work quickly in the studio, which was a skill he brought to Led Zeppelin. Perhaps most importantly, Page formed his recording approach, which he once summed up in just 14 words and committed to tape on Led Zeppelin’s debut.

Jimmy Page summed up his Led Zeppelin recording approach in just 14 words

Page learned crucial skills and made a good living as a session musician, but one arduous day in the studio made him realize he had to quit.