BEST DRUMMER

Jason Bonham

Jason Bonham knew he had graduated from being a replacement for Led Zeppelin's original drummer, his late father John Bonham, to full partnership with guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant and bassist John Paul Jones in Zeppelin's 2007 reunion when, in rehearsals, Jones stopped greeting him with a mere "Hey, Jason." "He would put his hand on my shoulder, squeeze my neck and go, 'How's my drummer today?'" Jason, 41, says happily. "That was a wonderful transition."

For Jason, who was fourteen when his father died in 1980, Zeppelin's historic comeback show at London's O2 arena on December 10th — and the fresh, focused power Jason brought to iconic thunder such as "Black Dog" and "Kashmir" — was a chance to show off what he learned in drum lessons from his dad in the Seventies. "He said, 'Don't run before you can walk,'" Jason recalls. "'If you can groove, that's your main thing. If you can make that exciting, then the rest comes.'"

When asked if he is a better drummer now, as a result of the practice and learning that he put into that Zeppelin show, Jason answers with a confession: "Right up to the last minute, I was struggling with detail. I was trying to replicate what my dad did. It was ruining my fun. Then someone said, 'Why not be Jason Bonham? And John Bonham will come naturally.' It was that simple. I went into the last two days of rehearsal and played without thinking, 'I'll do the fill from '73 into '75.' I just played from the heart.'

"I'm not technically minded — I couldn't describe what I play," Jason says of his attack and technique. "I'm a jukebox drummer, as my dad taught me. We'd put the jukebox on, and I'd play along to music. I play to what I hear. I have a small bag of tricks. But on that night," he adds, referring to the Zeppelin show, "I managed to do the tricks all at the right time." With, he notes, one exception: "I came in two bars too soon in 'Dazed and Confused.' Jimmy stared at me — 'What are you doing?' But I got it back. And it was cool." DAVID FRICKE

Photo: Putland/Retna

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