Phil Carson Associates JASON BONHAM BIOGRAPHY (TOUR DATES BELOW) SPRING 1996 For what turned out to be his first public appearance, Jason Bonham was dressed in a romper suite. He can been seen in the Led Zeppelin movie, "The Song Remains the Same" playing a scaled-down drum kit for a very proud father, John Bonham, the legendary drummer of Led Zeppelin. Jason was five years old. Jason recalls many such appearances. "Sometimes I would be woken up at 2 o'clock in the morning to come down and play that scaled-down kit. The audiences ranged from family friends to the biggest names in rock of that period. Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, members of YES, Bad Company, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer would often drop by our house after shows in the area and a major party would follow. After being woken up for a few of these nocturnal performances, I was able to negotiate my first fee, a much needed day off school." While Jason continued to play the drums at home, his first love became motor cross riding. John Bonham was an enthusiastic supporter of the sport in England and, at the age of 14, Jason was a factory rider for Kawasaki and was placed second in the British Junior National Championships, losing by 1 point. "I won the last race of the season and my competitor had to come in 5th or better to place ahead of me in the Championship. He was lying 8th on the last lap and three people crashed right in front of him allowing him to secure that last vital point. That year Jason made a decision to follow in his father's footsteps, and become the best drummer that he could be. At the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary party in 1988, Jason joined Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones for an epic Led Zeppelin reunion. The atmosphere in a sold-out Madison Square Garden was electrifying and the performance was televised in no less than 60 countries. Later, Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones remarked, "It was uncanny, Jason had every nuance of his father's approach to the group's music, it was as though we'd played together for years." Jimmy Page was the first to fully grasp Jason's potential and, immediately after returning to London, asked Jason to record an album with him. The Page "Outrider" tour followed in 1989 and Jason's drum solo was acclaimed as a high point in the show. In 1990, Jason's debut album, "The Disregard of Timekeeping" topped the rock airplay charts and the success of the single, "Wait for You", helped Bonham garner a gold record. The band toured extensively for 2 years, but the impact of such early success on it's young members, caused a great deal of internal friction. Jason decided to concentrate on session work and writing new music, and in 1993 recorded the Grammy nominated album "Muddy Water Blues, A Tribute to Muddy Waters", with such musical luminaries as Paul Rodgers, Slash, Jeff Beck, Steve Miller, Ritchie Sambora, Buddy Guy, Brian Setzer, and Pink Floyd's Dave Gilmour. Jason toured substantially with this project culminating in a superb performance with Slash and Paul Rodgers at Woodstock II in 1994. Last year Jason returned to his first love and once again played with Page, Plant and Jones at Led Zeppelin's induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1996, he will take his new group, The Jason Bonham Band, out on the road, this time incorporating his love of Supercross with his musical talents. As part of a national tour, the Jason Bonham Band will play at Supercross events in Houston, (March 16th), Dallas, (March 23) and Tampa, (April 6th). Jason will do some demonstration riding and his band will play at the pit party at each event, providing a "Soundtrack for Supercross". "I can't compete with these guys", says Jason of the new breed of riders, "they're light years beyond me. The abilities of people like McGrath, Emmig, and fellow countryman, Jamie Dobb are quite scary. Nonetheless, I'm thrilled to be a part of Supercross 96. The Jason Bonham Band show will feature new music together with selections from Jason's touring experience with Bad Company's Paul Rodgers and Slash. To those who ask the obvious question, Jason replies, "I grew up in a home filled with the spirit and music of Led Zepppelin, it's a joy for me to be able to play a substantial number of these songs at every date." The Jason Bonham Band is: Drums Jason Bonham Guitar Tony Catania Vocals Charles West Bass/Keyboards John Smithson T May 14th The Rock Reseda (warm-up gig) W " 15th Drum Clinic (Mahoneys) Las Vegas Th " 16th The Beach LasVegas F " 17th Travel Day "Are we there yet?" S " 18th Buffalo Rose + DC Golden, CO Su " 19th Travel Day "Who counted the bloody miles, anyway?" M " 2Oth Royal Grove Lincoln, NEB T " 21st Iron, Horse Crystal, MN W " 22nd Travel Day "What f&@#!ng Time do you call this?" Th " 23rd Rock Palace Creve Couer(Peoria), IL F " 24th Connolly's Oaklawn, IL S " 25th Toto's Schaumburg, IL Su " 26th The Odeon Cleveland, OH M " 27th DAY OFF It's time to party!!! (But not too Hard) T " 28th The Asylum Toledo, OH W " 29th McGuffy's Dayton, OH Th " 30th The Blue Note Cincinnati, OH F " 31st Al rosa Villa Columbus, OH S June 1st Harpo's + DC Detriot, MI Su " 2nd The Rocker Grand Rapids, MI M " 3rd Travel Day "If you're sleeping, who the f#@! is driving?" T " 4th Drum Clinic Brockton, MA W " 5th Axis Boston, MA Th " 6th The Strand Providence, RI F " 7th Hampton Beach Casino Hampton Beach, NH S " 8th El 'N Gee New London, CT Su " 9th Malibu Lido Beach, NY M " 10th DAY OFF "I needed this!" T " 11th Tuxedo Junction Danbury, CT W " 12th Water St. Music Hall Rochester, NY Th " 13th Tinks Scranton, PA F " 14th Birch Hill + DC Old Bridge, NJ S " 15th Sterling Room Greenwood Lake, NY Su " 16th DAY OFF "What, another one!!" M " 17th Electric LadyLand (TBC) New York DC Denotes Drum Clinic, there will be more!