OnlineHost: John P Zep has entered the room.
HubMeg: Welcome John Paul!
Question: If you could jam with any musician(s) from any era who would it be
and why?
John P Zep: John Bonham and Jimi Hendrix
John P Zep: I don't think I need to say why!
Question: What do you think were the unique qualities that Zeppelin brought
to rock?
John P Zep: Musicality
John P Zep: diversity
John P Zep: power
John P Zep: !
John P Zep: let's see... a good stage show
John P Zep: and commitment!
Question: What Zeppelin recording do you feel features your most creative
bass work?
John P Zep: Oh, that's a hgard one...
John P Zep: Which one doesn't?
John P Zep: I hate false modesty!
John P Zep: "The Lemon Song" is famous
John P Zep: I quite like the bass lates thate are tight in with Bonzo
John P Zep: bass lines, that is
John P Zep: Any live recording of "Dazed and Confused"
Question: did you help in the release of the new bbc release ?
John P Zep: Yes I did.
John P Zep: Tapes were circulated and...
John P Zep: we all amde a decision on what best versions to use
John P Zep: we tried to get as much good stuff on as possible
Question: How do the "younger" bands react when they find out you are
producing their work?
John P Zep: Initially...
John P Zep: they're terrified!
John P Zep: but I think they get frightened that I might want to change them
John P Zep: and that they might not be able to tell me what they want
John P Zep: and what theyd on't want
John P Zep: hopefully, they find that I'm pretty sympathetic
John P Zep: and that if I'm going to produce a band
John P Zep: that i'll let their personality come out
Question: Do you like any new artists?
John P Zep: Some songs from some artists, I think.
John P Zep: Some of Radiohead
John P Zep: there's a single from the Eels that I like
John P Zep: I like some of the English drum & bass/jungle
John P Zep: I like bluegrass as well, at the moment
Question: If Page/Plant tour after their album is released...and they wanted
you to join them...would you?
John P Zep: No, I think they've missed their chance now.
Question: Did the XYZ (former Yes and Zeppelin) project ever really exist?
John P Zep: No! It was pretty much a pressthing, I think.
John P Zep: It was one of those things you read about
John P Zep: and wonder, "Are they talking
John P Zep: about us?"
Question: Did you make up the bass solo in the Lemon Song on the spot?
John P Zep: The word is improvise--
John P Zep: And YES!
Question: What's the best thing about this Live at the BBC album?
John P Zep: It's teh sound of a young, enthusiastic band.
John P Zep: It's a very raw sound.
John P Zep: A cocky young band at the height of its powers.
John P Zep: And John Bonham,
Question: Jonesy, on your upcoming solo album, is it going to be entirely
musical? No vocals, or do you sing? And are you doing and No Quarter
style jazz improv on it?
John P Zep: Entirely musical? Don't you mean instrumental?
John P Zep: The answer is yes--
John P Zep: it is instrumental --
John P Zep: no vocals
John P Zep: no guitar
John P Zep: no jazz
John P Zep: Pure Rock!
John P Zep: (with some funny noises)
Question: you have such a smooth driving bass style who was your influence
John P Zep: A lot of bass players from a lot of different
John P Zep: styles of music
John P Zep: To name a few...
John P Zep: James Jameson
John P Zep: from motown
John P Zep: Duck Dunne (booker t & the mgs)
John P Zep: and some of the great jazz players
John P Zep: such as charles mingus
John P Zep: and Scott LaFaro
Question: Will we be seeing any professional live video i.e. Earls Court '75,
Seattle '77 released in the future for public consumption
John P Zep: it's always possible.
John P Zep: every now and again we feel we ought to
John P Zep: look at this stuff
John P Zep: some of it is good, some not so good
John P Zep: it would be nice
John P Zep: to see some of it out there
Question: I know that you have worked with Lenny Kravitz in the past do you
consider him to be one of the most talented younger musicians today as
i do?oh by the way you do realize you are the best bass player in rock
music historyright?
John P Zep: Is that Lenny Kravitz writing in?
John P Zep: if it is, i better say that he's pretty good too.
John P Zep: he actually approached me
John P Zep: by saying that his bass player left
John P Zep: just before the MTV video awards
John P Zep: he was trying to think of who to use
John P Zep: and he said to me
John P Zep: "why not call the guy i took it all from in the first place?"
Question: Tell us abou the new "Whole Lotta Love" video. I beleive some of
the footage has never been seen before.
John P Zep: Yes, it certainly surprised me!
John P Zep: There's a funny little bit where
John P Zep: Robert and I seem to be doing some strange
John P Zep: Martian dance together.
John P Zep: Don't knwo where tehy found it.
John P Zep: but it's a good video. i must be biased.
Question: what do you feel is your best performance on the keyboard?
John P Zep: oooh...
John P Zep: There's a piano solo on "No Quarter"
John P Zep: at one of the old Court shows
John P Zep: that was particulary successful
John P Zep: (Earl's Court, that is)
John P Zep: I can't tell you to listen to the bootlegs --
John P Zep: Robert will kill me!
Question: What do you think of the current state of rock?
John P Zep: Well, I don't know about America
John P Zep: but in England it seems to be harking back to the 60s a lot.
John P Zep: As I was on most of teh stuff on the 60s that they took it all
form
John P Zep: I can't say that I'm happy to hear it all again.
Question: What did it feel like in 1985 when you played Live Aid in Philly
and at the end of 'Stairway' all 92,000 fans were singing along.
John P Zep: It felt like we hadn't been gone.
John P Zep: Walking on stage was just like coming back home.
John P Zep: It was very exhilirating.
Question: What were your thoughts on Hammer Of The Gods? We all know that
Percy hated it.....
John P Zep: It's a very sad little book.
John P Zep: It made us out to be sad little people.
John P Zep: He ruined a lot of good, funny stories.
Question: will zep be playing at the atlantics 50 th anniversary
John P Zep: There is no Led Zeppelin.
John P Zep: And there's certainly no plans for any reunion of the 3 remaining
members...
John P Zep: that i know of.
Question: John Paul what was your favorite band that seemed a precursor to
the Zep sound i.e. Cream , Traffic, Jefferson AIrplane, et al?
John P Zep: Possibly Vanilla Fudge.
John P Zep: I know that sounds odd, but they really were
John P Zep: extremely powerful
John P Zep: plus they had a great stage show
John P Zep: They had two great voices.
John P Zep: and we became great friends --we supported
John P Zep: them on teh first tour.
Question: Did "The girl I love" evolve into "Moby Dick"?
John P Zep: It kinda sounds like it, soesn't it?
John P Zep: I think it must've.
John P Zep: It was a Pgae riff.
John P Zep: I must admit, I preferred teh "Moby Dick" verison as a riff.
Question: what advice can you give to the younger generation of musicians out
there?
John P Zep: Keep your ears open.
John P Zep: Listen to as much music as you can.
John P Zep: Of all different types.
John P Zep: And listen to the pother people that you're playing on stage
with.
John P Zep: Think not just how you should sound... but how the band should
sound
John P Zep: and work towards that.
Question: is richard cole's book an accurate account of all the partying on
tours you guys did?
John P Zep: It's accurate about his partying!
John P Zep: I don't think he knows who else was there with him!
Question: What is "Kashmire" about? And why the fascination with Tolkien's
Lord of the Rings on the 3rd and 4th Zep albums?
John P Zep: That's a question for Robert.
John P Zep: It's about a journey to Morocco
John P Zep: but you'd get pretty lost if you went by "Kashmir".
John P Zep: Robert was into all that fairy stuff.
Question: What kind of basses do you like to play?
John P Zep: I have my basses made for me by
John P Zep: a guy called Hugh Manson
John P Zep: he's just today delivered a 10-string abss
John P Zep: which i will be using on the record and on the following tour.
Question: What do you consider to be Zepplins best album??? And would you
change anything
John P Zep: You could always change things.
John P Zep: I like Physical Graffitti a lot.
John P Zep: but I like most of every album.
John P Zep: There's a lot to like.
John P Zep: But when you listen to your own music back
John P Zep: you always think you could've done better
John P Zep: but..
John P Zep: make another album!
Question: why don't you play with PAge and Plant anymore? You would still
make great music together
John P Zep: Their plans didn't include me.
John P Zep: Although it did seem to include my music.
Question: Do you think Bonzo is the best drummer of all time?
John P Zep: Of all time, of all places.
John P Zep: That's one of the nice things about listening to the BBC Sessions
John P Zep: I get to hear him live and well recorded.
Question: Plant says "Kashmir" truely defines Zep.....Page says
"Stairway"....what is your opinion?
John P Zep: "Stairway to Kashmir"?
John P Zep: Thatwould be a long track!
John P Zep: They have everything that Zeppelin is about. they have similar
John P Zep: dynamice to songs like "Baby, I'm Ginna Leave You"
John P Zep: Things off teh first album...
John P Zep: That whole acoustic,heavy... journey, really
John P Zep: It's hard talking about siongs in the abstarct
John P Zep: I could play it for you!
Question: What is the meaning of Zoso?
John P Zep: Oh lord!
John P Zep: I really don't know! Jimmy came up with it...
John P Zep: He said it was something to do with Saturday...
John P Zep: but we all chose our signs at dfifferent times
John P Zep: Bonzo and I got them from teh smae book
John P Zep: Jimmy got his from who knows where?
Question: Do you have an ill feelings towards Page & Plant over the No
Quarter tour/album? Did you WANT to be involved, whether they asked you
or not? Did they ask you?
John P Zep: In the reverse order...
John P Zep: BNo, they didn't ask me
John P Zep: I woul;d've certainly thought about it at the time
John P Zep: And it was hurtful, at the time
John P Zep: we were very close
John P Zep: but...
John P Zep: time passes!
Question: Is it true what they say about playing Stairway backwards?
John P Zep: I should think it'd be very difficult!
Question: Why do you use Marshall guitar cabinets instead of Bass cabinets in
your rig
John P Zep: I didn't know that I did!
John P Zep: With the last tour I did with Diamanda Galas?
John P Zep: My 8 string bass was in stereo
John P Zep: and teh bass head went through SWR bass cabinets
John P Zep: and the high end went through Marshalls.
Question: How do you like the recently released Symphonic Zeppelin?
John P Zep: I haven't herad it...
John P Zep: I've heard mixed reports
John P Zep: And a lot of people have asked me over the last 10 years or so to
do something similar
John P Zep: I just couldn't bring myself to. I think we made the definitive
version.
Question: What did you think of the Moog Cookbook version of Whole Lotta
Love?
John P Zep: They got quite a good groove -- I thought it was hilarious.
John P Zep: I thought it was a bit cowardly using real drums, though.
John P Zep: I laos notcied that they used my solo from "All of My Love" from
"25 or 6 to 4" (the chica
John P Zep: so they've obviously been doing their homework!
Question: What age did you start playing the bass?
John P Zep: 14.
John P Zep: I became professional at 16.
Question: What is your favorite Zep album cover? Favorite cover of all time?
John P Zep: The one with the wheel!
Question: Tell us more about your new project:
John P Zep: Blues based and acoustic rock
John P Zep: but using a lot of computer processing and electronics
John P Zep: over a live rhythm section
Question: Did you write the "Black Dog" riff?
John P Zep: Yes. I did.
John P Zep: it came to me on a train coming back from rehersel at Jimmy
Page's house.
John P Zep: I'd been listening to a song on a Muddy Water's record
John P Zep: called Electric Mud, which had a long, rambling blues riff
John P Zep: and i thought i'd like to try something with a similar form
Question: What influenced you in writing the keyboard part for Stairway to
Heaven?
John P Zep: Really, a reaction to what Jimmy was playing on acoustic guitar
John P Zep: I think he had already started writnibg it with robert when tehy
were away in tehir
John P Zep: cottage in Wales and Jimmy had lots of different part sof it
John P Zep: which we put together, the two of us
John P Zep: at Hedley Grange
Question: What do you think of Jason Bonham ?
John P Zep: He's a good drummer, he reminds me
John P Zep: of his dad a lot.
John P Zep: When we played with him at the 40th Anniversary
John P Zep: HE WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO KNEW ALL THE LINKS
John P Zep: BETWEEN THE SONGS
Question: do you miss touring?
John P Zep: yes, that's why i went out with diamanda galas
John P Zep: and that's why i'm going out as soona s my record is released.
Question: CD or Vinyl?
John P Zep: Cd's arent perfect
John P Zep: but i prefer to hear my msuic without the surface noise and pops
that vinyl
John P Zep: used to have
John P Zep: on the other hand, the artwork is more fun
John P Zep: on vinyl
Question: What is your fondest Led-Zeppelin memory?
John P Zep: ummm... playing at the Boston tea Party
John P Zep: for 4 and a quarter hours
John P Zep: with 45 minutes' worth of songs
John P Zep: now that's what i call improvising!
HubMeg: Anything you want to add John?
John P Zep: Enjoy the BBC Sessions!
OnlineHost: John P Zep has left the room.
OnlineHost: Copyright 1997 America Online, Inc.
|
