Led Zeppelin Minus Plant?

After the rumor I previously posted about a Led Zeppelin reunion tour had been squashed, I vowed to no longer listen to the ramblings of British tabloids ever again. However, here's an interesting bit that proves the story to not be entirely untrue.

It seems Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and Jason Bonham are ready to make a gajillion dollars for a tour and are tired of waiting for Plant to come around. They've recruited American singer Robert Kennedy (not JFK's brother) who is most (or least depending on how you look at it) famous for being the lead singer of the rock group Alter Bridge. For those of you who don't know who they are, not to worry, they are the group formed by several former members of 90's monster balladeers Creed after their lead singer Scott Stapp got all crazy on account of the chocolate (in his case the "chocolate" being pills, booze, and other extracurricular activities. The remaining Zeppelin members have brought Kennedy in for rehearsals and Dee Snider (yes Twisted Sister lead singer Dee Snider) has said the band is putting an ultimatum in front of Plant which is, join us or be replaced!

This seems to have worked wonders in the past for bands like Journey, Van Halen, Lynyrd Skynyrd and countless others who turned themselves into a punchline of washed up, money milking, musical hacks, but I think this could have several outcomes for a band of Led Zeppelin's stature. Here are some of my thoughts on these possibilities:

1. Jimmy Page has gone on the road with Zeppelin tunes minus the iconic lead singer before, as he did in 1999-2000 with the Black Crowes. I was able to attend one of these shows and it was phenomenal, however, it wasn't billed as Led Zeppelin, it was billed as Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes, very distinctly. If this same approach is taken and they call it something other than Led Zeppelin, I think they'll still make a ton of money and sell out arenas all over the place. However, I don't see them getting the same money from a concert promoter if the name "Led Zeppelin" is taken off the bill. If Plant doesn't budge, this outcome is likely.

2. Maybe the scare tactic works and Plant comes back singing "I'm Gonna Crawl" to his bandmates as his expression of how he is returning. Think of this though; Plant is a proven musician who doesn't need the money, so I don't think this is likely. The only way he comes back to Led Zeppelin is if he truly wants it, he won't let anyone boss him around, and I'm sure he would fight the remaining members tooth and nail over using the name without his involvement. If he needed all this money they would have done this years ago, the same reason why the Beatles never reunited while all 4 members were still alive, they didn't need the money. Plus, if the Beatles did reunite, we would never have such Ringo Starr solo gems as "Back Off Bugaloo."

3. They put it to rest and stop pressing so hard to Plant can finish up his recent solo re-emergence and let him return on his terms. This would be the best scenario for everyone involved, as it would likely make for the best effort put forth by the four band members.

If Zeppelin goes back on tour with another lead singer, it shouldn't be called Led Zeppelin, they should name themselves after one of their songs, "Trampled Underfoot" as that's what they'll be doing to their lead singer Robert Plant. And of all people, Jason Bonham should not support this decision. His father was the original drummer, who's death caused the group to disband in the first place. Robert Plant is the one who brought John Bonham into Led Zeppelin as the two were great friends before meeting Page and Jones, and going ahead without Plant would be like beating Plant over the head with his father's old drumsticks while tarnishing Bonzo's memory. Unless Jason Bonham owes some shady characters out of a Guy Ritchie film tons of money, I can't see him supporting this without Plant's blessing, unless Page and Jones have a very strong influence on him. (Who knows, maybe Jimmy Page has gotten back into witchcraft lately) Whatever the outcome, whatever they call themselves, and whoever is singing, I'd still pay to see these guys in concert. I just hope it doesn't turn into a merchandising/money ploy that cheats the fans and some of the members of the band.

Here's a link to NME's article that broke the story. It also has a link to the Dee "What the hell am I doing involved in a conversation about a Led Zeppelin reunion" Snyder video reporting on this story: http://www.nme.com/news/led-zeppelin/40389

Ok, I know I've been slacking off as of late, but it is for good reason, which will come in a formal announcement soon. But not bad news at all, rather a new direction, and a huge undertaking I'm working on in the near future.
However, this bit of news is a drop everything and do a backflip in your cubicle news. My new favourite (notice my British spelling of "favorite") music news website, England's NME.com, has broken a story originating from British newspaper The Sun. Apparently the Led Zeppelin reunion tour is on like Donkey Kong, as Peyton Manning would say, for next summer. The lone member to be holding back this monumental tour, lead singer Robert Plant, seemingly couldn't take not being part of the reunion plans. The story reports Plant finally told other band members Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and new drummer Jason Bonham (replacing his father John) that he was ready, and they will soon set rehearsals with next summer in mind for their re-emergence.

Needless to say, I'm beside myself with excitement about this and can't believe it at the same time. I am skeptical to some degree, as the band has aged and their hard rocking songs aren't as easy to pull of as say, Paul McCartney still nicely managing shows showered with his old Beatles numbers. However, I'll be the first one in line for a ticket to this thing, and can't wait to see what they have in store, I'm sure they'll have some sort of wacky visual thing going on to make up with whatever they might be lacking or aged in sonically. As I listen to "The Rain Song" on this miserable day, I'll know that a Led Zeppelin reunion is "What Is and..." definitely not "What Should Never Be," and "That's the Way," it should be. I could go for a swim in "The Ocean" right now, even though I'd just look like a "Fool In the Rain," as they are showing their longtime fans a "Whole Lotta Love," with this reunion. Hopefully "Poor Tom" can make the gig if he's not busy still fighting "The Battle of Evermore"

Here's a link to NME's article: http://www.nme.com/news/led-zeppelin/40014

PS: I beat Rolling Stone to the news again.

"Don't Make Russell Angry, You Wouldn't Like Him When He's Angry..."

Earlier this week I reported on the best new commercial I've seen in months, starring Snoop Dogg. Well, it looks like Snoop is also making headlines this week in Australia, for not so good reasons; well depending on how you look at it.

Snoop is scheduled to tour the continent this October with fellow Los Angeles native Ice Cube, but Snoop hit a snag when the Aussie government denied his international visa to enter the country. Their reasoning behind this is pointed to people in the country allegedly being concerned about the legal troubles in Snoop's past. Now it seems Snoop has turned to a famous friend of his who is a native of Australia: Russell Crowe. Yes, that Russell Crowe. The only connection between the two is that they both had roles alongside Denzel Washington, Snoop in "Training Day," Russell in "American Gangster. Other than that, I have no explanation for how these two very different artists could have hooked up.

Russell has more pull than Nicole Kidman and Crocodile Dundee in his homeland, so he took it upon himself to write a lengthy letter to his native government displaying Snoop's community work, previous tours in the country that went without incident, and their friendship of 3 years. He went on to say, "Snoop has built a stellar reputation with promoters and audiences worldwide."
With that, the Australian government is now reconsidering reversing their decision and may require Snoop to go through some sort of counseling on how to conduct himself while in the country. Looks like the Gladiator himself has plenty of pull in his homeland; that or he's thrown plenty more phones on many occasions at people there than he has here. Or, perhaps Russell pulled the old, "Look, I beat a guy over the head with a phone over in the states, so the least you could do is let Snoop D-O-double Geezy in, mate" line. Just a token (no pun intended) to the kind of stand up guys they both are to have each other's backs regardless the international boundaries between them.

To read more about the story, and Russell's further articulation regarding Snoops charitable community work, you can take a look at the article that's been following this story over at allhiphop.com.

Rolling Stone and Australian newspaper The Daily Telegraph also had news of the story, so this is definitely not a fabrication.

http://allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2008/09/10/20488640.aspx

Here is the Telegraph's coverage of the story:

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,24324782-5001021,00.html

Click here to read the actual letter directly from the Gladiator:

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/image/rc-snoop-letter.jpg