JASON BONHAM - "My Father Pretty Much Gave Me Every Thing He Could Possibly Give Me In Life But Looking Back, The Things That I Valued More, Were His Time"
July 12, 2013, 11 years ago
Legendary Rock Interviews' John Parks has issued a new interview, conducted with Jason Bonham (JASON BONHAM’S LED ZEPPELIN EXPERIENCE, son of famed Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham). An excerpt follows:
Q: You were 14 years old when your father passed away. With the passage of years, when you think about the time you spent with your dad, does it give you a little bit more clarity in terms of prioritizing the time you spend with your kids now?
A: "You think it does but you still have to remind yourself every now and again. When my son wants to do things you have to stop and think about that unique relationship that you have as a parent with your kids (laughs). It’s been said before, “'hey don’t need another friend, they need a parent', and it’s tough. I mean, my father pretty much gave me every thing he could possibly give me in life but looking back, the things that I valued more, were his time. Riding bikes, beating on the drum kit, that kind of thing. When I look back now, I don’t think about, 'Oh that was such a great gift', or whatever. The fondest memories I recall are just sitting in the car and listening to FLEETWOOD MAC's Rumours over and over again while driving to Wales. So now, every once in a while, my wife will just prod me or remind me that I’m being hard on my kid or remind me of how much those memories with my dad meant to me."
Q: You have mentioned in other interviews that your dad wasn’t a rock star around the house. He was on you about picking up your room, homework and all the other normal stuff dads tend to care about.
A: "Totally! Totally, yeah, when he was at home he was dad. I really didn’t know the other side of him until I grew older and was working and spending time with people who knew him. As I grew older, Jimmy (Page) and Robert (Plant) could tell me the stories (laughs). I soon found out that he was a character and a half (laughs) but it’s so funny if you think about it. The guys were so young back then, everything they were achieving was before they were even in their thirties, before he was even 25 he had already recorded Led Zeppelin IV, which is one of the biggest selling record albums of all time. He’d done so much by that time but he was still a kid really."
Read the full interview at Legendary Rock Interviews.
Bonham is on tour with HEART this summer. Remaining dates are as follows:
July
19 - Detroit, MI - DTE Energy Music Theater21 - Pittsburgh, PA - First Niagara Pavilion – Burgettstown
22 - Cleveland, OH - Blossom Music Center
27 - Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Music Center
29 - Chicago, IL - Ravinia Festival
30 - Indianapolis, IN - Klipsch Music Center
August
1 - West Allis, WI - Wisconsin State Fair14 - Houston, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
15 - Dallas, TX - Gexa Energy Pavilion
17 - St. Louis, MO - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
18 - Kansas City, MO - Starlight Theater
20 - Denver, CO - Fiddler’s Green Amphitheater
22 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theater
23 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theater
24 - Indio, CA - Fantasy Springs Resort Casino
26 - San Diego, CA - Open Air Theater
28 - San Francisco, CA - America’s Cup Pavilion
30 - Portland, OR - Sleep Country Amphitheater
