Drummer JASON BONHAM - "My Dad Had A God-Given Talent And Was My Idol"
September 19, 2010, 14 years ago
Darryl Sterdan from the QMI Agency spoke with drummer Jason Bonham, son of legendary LED ZEPPELIN drummer John Bonham recently about a number of topics. An excerpt from the report follows:
Thirty years ago, the rock world lost its greatest drummer. The members of Led Zeppelin lost their friend and bandmate. But Jason Bonham lost someone far more important: His dad.
"It's obviously a far more personal thing for me," understates the 44-year-old son of John Bonham, who died Sept. 25, 1980. "I was just 14. We never went through the 'I hate you, Dad!' adolescent years. He was my idol."Drummers around the world would echo that last sentiment.
Even before his untimely death at age 32 after a drinking binge, Bonham was universally regarded as rock's most talented, original, distinctive and influential drummer.
Not bad for a guy who never took a lesson -- and didn't even get a set of drums until he was in his teens.
"He had a God-given talent," claims Jason, who has carried on in his father's musical footsteps. "He got his first snare drum at 12. He didn't get a kit until he was 14. But within five years or so, he had done Led Zeppelin I."He did all these amazing feats as a drummer -- which we look at now as iconic and even life-changing to some drummers -- before he was 32. It all just came natural."
Read the entire interview here.
Jason Bonham is celebrating the legacy of his father on the upcoming Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience tour. Dates include:
October
8 - Encana Events Center - Dawson Creek, BC9 - CN Centre - Prince George, BC
12 - Northern Alberta Jubilee - Edmonton, AB
13 - Enmax Centre - Red Deer, AB
14 - Southern Alberta Jubilee - Calgary, AB
16 - Brandt Centre - Regina, SK
17 - MTS Centre - Winnipeg, MB
19 - State Theatre - Minneapolis, MN
20 - Riverside Theatre - Milwaukee, WI
21 - Star Plaza - Merrilville, IN
23 - Metropolis - Montreal, QUE
25 - Grand Theatre - Quebec City, QUE
27 - Hamilton Place - Great Hall - Hamilton, ON
28 - Centre in the Square - Kitchener, ON
29 - Sony Centre - Toronto, ON
30 - Auditorium Theater - Rochester, NY
November
2 - The Orpheum - Boston, MA3 - Count Basie Theater - Red Bank, NJ
4 - Bergen PAC - Englewood, NJ
6 - Merriam Theatre - Philadelphia, PA
8 - Nokia Theater - New York, NY
13 - Florida Theater - Jacksonville, FL
14 - King Center - Melbourne, FL
16 - Verizon Theatre - Houston, TX
21 - Fox PAC - Riverside, CA
23 - Pantages Theater - Los Angeles, CA
26 - Schnitzer Concert Hall - Portland, OR
27 - WaMu Theater - Seattle, WA
29 - The Centre PAC - Vancouver, BC
(Photo courtesy of WENN.com)
