When your dad was one of the greatest drummers in rock history, it takes guts to pick up the sticks. Jason Bonham, son of Led Zeppelin’s thundering John “Bonzo” Bonham, has proven for decades that he can pound the skins with the best of them.

In addition to achieving success with his own band, Bonham, Jason, 44, has provided the beat for such artists as UFO, Foreigner and Paul Rodgers. He’s also a member of the new supergroup, Black Country Communion (with guitarist Joe Bonamassa, vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes and keyboardist Derek Sherinian).

He recently launched “Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience,” a live concert and multimedia extravaganza. With Bonham joined by guitarist Tony Catania, vocalist James Dylan, bassist Michael Devin and keyboardist/pedal steel guitarist Stephen LeBlanc, the event utilizes a state-of-the-art sound system and eye-popping light show.

Giant screens display art, as well as montages of John Bonham. At one point, Jason plays a drum duet with his late father. John Bonham died at age 32, following a drinking binge.

Bonham joined Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones for a Led Zeppelin reunion at London’s O2 Arena three years ago. He would welcome another such monumental teaming.

In the meantime, the British-born, Florida-based Bonham is embracing the love of Led Zeppelin fans on the “Experience” tour.

For the latest news and concert dates, visit www.jasonbonham.net. The affable Bonham paused for a chat with Pop Culture Classics.

POP CULTURE CLASSICS:
Before the rave reviews for the ‘Led Zeppelin Experience’ show began coming in, did you have any trepidation or feel that you had to overcome skepticism?

JASON BONHAM:
Exactly, yes. Terrifying. I’m hugely affected by what people think. It could be a million people saying, ‘Great.’ And then one person writes, ‘What the hell is this kid doing?’ and starts slagging me off, for some reason, and then I have to join in the blog and sign in under a different name and go,’Why don’t you like him?’ [Chuckles]

I didn’t want to tarnish it. It wasn’t until I got to Canada, for the production rehearsals, and suddenly went, ‘Wow! This is going to be cool. This is going to work, I think.’

And then, up until an hour before show time, I was still editing and putting a voiceover on the video montage that now opens the show. At that time, it was the middle of show. So we were still switching stuff around, right at the last minute, crossing songs off, adding songs, taking bits here. Then it was time to just go out there and see how it would go... and I haven’t looked back.

It’s just been every night an experience for me, as much as for anything else. Very overwhelming. As much as I’ve done it, people say, ‘But you still get upset!’ Yeah, it’s a natural thing. I play on emotion. And I hope that’s what makes me play well, is that I play from a feeling rather than just playing. I play how I feel. So, if I’m all fired up, in that positive way, sometimes that’s very, very good for me.

And, from the fans, every night, they’ve given admiration and acceptance, which is a huge thing that I think I’ve searched for. Losing Dad at 14, I was looking for that look of ‘You’ve done okay.’ So now, if I get it from the fans, that’s a similar thing.

PCC:
It must be especially emotional doing the duet with the film of your Dad?

BONHAM:
At the time when I’m doing the duet [Chuckles], because I’m trying to keep up with him, it’s more just about me being focused. The saddest song, for me, is the one before. That’s where I really get emotional, on a song called ‘Thank You.’ And there’s a video montage of Dad as a child and as he grows up to where he meets my Mum. And the words to the song, it’s very touching.

The emotional thing for me was about 10 shows into the tour, Sam, who runs the ledzeppelin.com website, sent me a newspaper clipping from 1970, where Dad talked about me as a four-year-old drummer. He said, ‘Well, you know his technique’s not worth shit. But he’s got great time. And he’ll be good.’ And he said, ‘My ambition is for him to play side-by-side with me at the Royal Albert Hall.’

Now, the first clip I play with him, from ‘Moby Dick, is from the Royal Albert Hall. And I didn’t know, at the time we put that together. So it’s kind of weird - I’m actually doing what he asked to do.

And then when somebody said, ‘You’re 22 years older than he was there.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, great. I’m the old guy, playing with the kid. And I’m the kid of that young guy.’ [Laughs]

PCC:
Obviously, starting on drums at age four, you had a natural ability. But how much did you worry about following in your Dad’s footsteps, dealing with comparisons?

BONHAM:
I think I misunderstood the ‘following in the footsteps’ bit, in a few of my early drinking years [Laughs]. You know, I’d take any form of being compared to Dad as flattery. So if I fell off a stool or smashed up a TV set just because I was drunk, and somebody in the bar went ‘Hey, man, that was just like Bonzo!,’ I would be really happy.

Later on, Jimmy Page said, ‘I think you’re trying to copy the wrong John, you know? There was a reason for those antics. And you’re not having a reason for it. You have to remember, we couldn’t be that out of it, otherwise, we couldn’t have created what we did,’ which is very wise.

There’s a lot of fisherman’s tales out there. But Dad was such a fantastic and natural musician. That was the greatest thing about it. Even news for me, while putting all the footage together, and just searching for content that I wanted to put in the show, I found an interview of him, from 1970. That must have been the year he did interviews [Chuckles], because they’re very rare throughout the years.

And he’s asked how long he’s been playing drums and he says, ‘Oh, four years.’ And I’m like, ‘Four years? That means, by the time of ‘Led Zeppelin I’, he’d only been playing drums for two years. Wow!’

So if anybody out there is thinking, ‘It’s too late,’ just think what John Bonham did in two years.

PCC:
How much did you have to work hard at your craft and how much did the drumming just came instinctively?

BONHAM:
I don’t know. There’s definitely something there, a DNA thing, because I really don’t remember being taught. I just remember Dad showing me things

Timing is one of my main focuses. When I started my career, like a lot of drummers, they want to show their chops and do odd stuff. Now I’m like, ‘I really want it to have a pocket, a groove, in the playing.’ That’s one of the elements to it, too. That’s a big focus for me.

I have had to work at it, because I took so much time off when I was younger, I just took it for granted that I played. I was heavily into Motocross. Very, very good as a child. So that was my first career choice. It wasn’t until Dad’s death, about a year-and-a-half later, that, while having my engine pack up in a championship race, they were pushing it back to the pits and I went, ‘You know what? I think I’m going to start playing the drums more again.’ And that was it.

But I was British number two, in the amateur ranks, for a couple of years. I still enjoy riding now. But I’m pleased with my choice of career [Laughs].

PCC:
All the different bands and singers you’ve worked with, do you enjoy embarking on a lot of varied projects musically?

BONHAM:
Yeah, everything has a challenge. And I say to young drummers now, when I meet them and they ask, ‘Any advice?’ I say, ‘Yeah, as soon as you get comfortable, change your drum set. Push yourself to new boundaries. Take something away. Add something. Every now and again, change up your craft, because you can get very comfortable.’ It’s like your workout thing - change your workout and it’ll help, it’ll affect you differently.

But definitely, for me now, the challenge is, instead of trying to copy things, to just keep emotion in play and to be conscious of the dynamics, the level of dynamics that Dad had. That’s very, very strong.

PCC:
So did you have to ponder how much to try to recreate his drumming and how much to just let your own emotions and instincts take over?

BONHAM:
Well, it’s funny. When we did the rehearsals for the O2, the first few weeks, I was like really trying to get every chop. And the main, creditable kind of chops that everyone kind of knows, taking a lot from the albums. But also for me, I was heavily into ‘The Song Remains The Same,’ so I knew those versions very well. And then I had friends of mine sending me like the greatest bootleg versions, which they thought were important, how he played on them. So all of a sudden, there was a lot of different information on different songs.

But what I did try and do was, whatever it was, I would take something - this might sound weird, but interestingly, it works - I took things that he did later on in life, that he didn’t do in the early days, and put it on the early days songs. So, for instance, drum fills that he did on ‘Presence,’ I would take and put them in earlier songs. So it was still him, in that way, but it’s more of my interpretations, taking all the different tools that he taught me in how he played. I’ve got a bag of tricks. It’s not a very big bag [Chuckles]. But I pick ‘em and choose ‘em for certain things. To me, ‘Presence’ is one of his great drumming albums. So every now and then, I would do something in an early song and go, ‘Oh, that’s a drum fill that he used to do in ‘Presence,’ or from ‘Physical Graffiti.’ So it’s kind of cool and unique, when you look at it that way.

But John Paul Jones said, ‘You can tell that you’ve got other influences in there when you play. There’s a couple of other guys in there. I can’t quite put my finger on it. There’s definitely things that show that you come from the same bloodline, but there are other things there, as well.’

There were times when I would search for another hero, as a drummer, who was around. One of the first guys I got into was Phil Collins with Genesis. I followed him around like a stalker when I was 17, when I first got my car. I was so into Genesis. And then Mel Gaynor from Simple Minds, around that time of ‘83 or ‘84. I even went into the ‘2112’ stage and got into Neil Peart, too.

PCC:
What was the 2007 Led Zeppelin reunion like for you?

BONHAM:
I’d thought about it so much in the weeks leading up to it, I don’t know what I expected it to be, but looking back on it, before I knew it, we were walking off stage and I was going, ‘I don’t want to go!’ I said to myself, right at the end of ‘Rock and Roll,’ I had this massive lump come into my throat and I said to myself, ‘This could be the last time you ever do this.’ As much as there was the hype and the talk about a possible carrying on, I went, ‘This could be it.’ It was quite sad. I was like, ‘I like this seat.’ It was nice to be in Dad’s seat.

PCC:
Do you still harbor hopes of participating in another reunion?

BONHAM:
I’d be lying, if I said no. I’d love to. Somebody said about the new tour, ‘You’re fulfilling your dreams.’ Well, yeah, in one way, because I’m playing the music of Led Zeppelin, which I love. But I imagined it with them. I have a good relationship with them. And I’d love to work in any form with any of the guys. They’re my heroes. They know my number. I’m always available.

PCC:
What made Led Zeppelin so special, was it that each member was such a unique talent?

BONHAM:
I think that’s true. And also, definitely, in the craftsmanship. In the early days, Jimmy had a very strong vision of what he wanted to do, where he wanted to go, musically, and how he wanted it to be. And I think that was a major help. He had this vision in his head. And then the people he chose for the band. It was phenomenal.

I remember talking to Jimmy about it. When I worked with them, the six weeks of rehearsal, I was like the journalist. As soon as the song would stop, I’d go, ‘You know in 1975, when you did this... ‘ And they’re like, ‘Oh, God, another question!’ I just wanted knowledge. They were filling in gaps for me. It was cool. Sometimes they’d be in a really, really cool talking mood and we’d all sit down. I mean, they’re magical memories for me.

I remember, at one point, I said, ‘Can you sing ‘Tangerine’?’ And we just sat on a sofa and there was an acoustic guitar on the side. And Jonesy went and picked up his mandolin and they sang, no microphones, nothing, just did it on the spot. Nobody else was in the room, just me. I was like, ‘Oh, wow! This is so cool!’

And Jimmy goes, ‘You’re a real fan, aren’t you?’ I went, ‘Yeah.’ [Laughs]

PCC:
You were so young during the Led Zeppelin years. Were you conscious of the band’s importance at the time?

BONHAM:
I don’t think so. When I meet some of the fans now, they bring their kids with them and their dads are like pushing the kids, ‘Have your picture taken with him.’ And you see the kid going, ‘Dad, chill! My God, Dad, stop it! You’re embarrassing me.’ And I’d say to the kid, ‘Don’t worry. I felt the same way... and my Dad was in Led Zeppelin.’ [Laughs].

He was just Dad. And that was his job. When you don’t know any different, it’s just that. It wasn’t until it was all over and he was gone that you suddenly realize the entity and the size and magnitude. And Zeppelin now, I think they’re bigger than they ever were, in a way. It’s just grown and grown. It’s beautiful and wonderful.

PCC:
Why do you think so many young fans and young musicians are so into the band? Why is the music so fresh-sounding, timeless?

BONHAM:
When I go through charts of the ‘70s, when they were in the charts, and listen to everything else that was going on, they never sounded like anything else in there. There were a lot of bands that had sounds similar to one another. But nobody ever sounded like Led Zeppelin. And still, to this day, nobody ever sounds like them. When it comes on the radio, it’s a completely different sound to anything else. It really was very cool. I mean, nobody did a drum sound like ‘Levee Breaks’... ever.

PCC:
Playing the Led Zeppelin music, has it given you a better sense of what made your Dad so special as a rock drummer?

BONHAM:
Yeah, very much so. I really went and did homework for O2 and really sat and lived it. And we weren’t allowed to say anything about the concert for such a long time.

I was driving to school one day with my kid, in Florida. And he goes, ‘Dad, why are we listening to Led Zeppelin every day?’ And he was like 11. He went, ‘Are they going to do it?!’ I went, ‘Do what?’ He went, ‘Are they going to do a gig with you on drums?’ And I went, ‘Maybe.’ ‘Can I tell all my friends?’ ‘No.’ [Laughs[.

The classic thing is, and I say this in a respectful way, but it made me laugh. His school friends, when he talked to them, he said, ‘Yeah, I was at the O2 gig.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, but you were asleep.’ He said, ‘Who falls asleep at the Led Zeppelin reunion?’ ‘You did.’ He said, ‘I woke up at ‘Stairway.’ Yeah, fine.’ [Laughs]

PCC:
Your kids are really into the music?

BONHAM:
Yeah, they suddenly get it. They came and saw the show for the first time, when we did the Florida dates. I went home and then drove everyone to each different show. I even got my son working for me, doing different things. He was helping out with the merch. He had a blast. He’s 14 now and he’s loving it. He started going ‘round to people, ‘Do you want to buy a shirt? You sir, you look like an intelligent man. Buy one of my Dad’s t-shirts.’ I was laughing. He was so funny.

PCC:
So the kids are both in their teens now?

BONHAM:
My son Jager is 14. And my daughter, Jaz, is 17.

PCC:
What do you want them to remember most about the legacy of your Dad?

BONHAM:
That he was just the most loving guy you’d ever want to meet. He was a hug man. He was a hands-on. He wanted to grab and hug you. The bear thing. We nicknamed him ‘The Bear.’

He was also really quiet. When he would drink, to excess, then he would get into the boisterous loudmouth, but until then, he was a really quiet guy. Most of my mannerisms come from my Mum, who is quite a funny, witty, chatty person. My Dad was a very quiet person. Very shy.

PCC:
Putting this band together for the new tour, was it difficult to find the right ingredients?

BONHAM:
I had no preconceived ideas of how it was going to work until we got all the elements together. I found the singer and then there was still more work to be done, shaping and crafting and putting it down to every little detail. They’ve all worked so hard to do this. You put so much work into it, then you sit back and say, ‘Okay, now we’ve done what we can do, now let’s see what people think.’

And I’m one of these people, we’ll have an emotional night on stage, And then I’ll sit on the bus and get all emotional again, just reading all these Facebook comments. And the reviews. The Rolling Stone review was phenomenal. I know David [Fricke] and he’s a very honest guy, great writer. So that really impressed me.

The Montreal concert was beyond belief. But they’ve all been really way more than I really imagined. I just think Montreal took me by surprise. I was just shocked by the response and the love that people had. The amount of people in the front row of the O2 that I’ve met so far. They’ll bring their picture and they’ll go, ‘That’s me there.’

And one of the guys had left a letter on my Dad’s grave, the day after the O2. And he wrote me a letter and told me what he’d put there. And I remembered reading that letter when I went back to Dad’s grave. It’s bizarre. It’s just a wonderful experience. Everyone says they’re enjoying it. Well, I’m enjoying it back. I enjoy what they’re telling me. Some of the footage this one kid gave me, from his camera, I mean, it’s distorted as hell, but he’s in the front row at the O2, filming like just underneath Jimmy Page. And it’s a great experience.

PCC:
You’re now part of carrying on the Led Zeppelin legacy

BONHAM:
Yeah, that’s kind of... Listen, if they keep coming, the way the fans keep doing, and want it to happen, I have no problem in representing the Bonham name and playing this music. It is great to play. It’s a pleasure to play and an honor to play. And, as I say, it’s a great feeling, the interaction between us and the fans. It’s really nice.

PCC:
Did you have any clear memories of being part of Led Zeppelin’s sound check, when you were a child?

BONHAM:
It’s funny, somebody was just asking me about my most memorable moment on stage and assumed it was the O2. I went, ‘You know what? No. It would be the 1979 sound check at Knebworth, because my Dad was watching me.’ That would be the one. It was the whole day. I could play it back, if there was a USB board in my brain, in color, with every detail, from what we had for breakfast to what speed we were doing when we were pulled over by the police on the way down to sound check. It was a fantastic day.

And I remember him saying, ‘Right, here, we’re going to do ‘Trampled’ now. And he got off the kit. He went, ‘All right, you remember what I told you. The solo will be longer than normal. And just look for Jimmy to put his hand up and that means go to next part.’ ‘Okay, Dad.’ And then he walked out front to watch.

Chris Welch, who was a writer, said, ‘John? Who’s playing drums then?’ He went, ‘My son.’ And then he said, ‘I’ve always wanted to see Led Zeppelin. Now I have.’

PCC:
It must be a perfect time to be embarking on a project like this, because you’ve already established your own musical identity, having played with UFO and Foreigner and Bonham. It must be a good place that you’re in now.

BONHAM:
Yeah. I mean, after the O2, for me, I felt very comfortable, very accomplished. I felt like I had gotten to where I wanted to try and get. I gave them my best. And I really pushed myself on that gig and felt good about it. I was on and off writing with Jimmy and John Paul, which was another fantastic, wonderful experience to do. We were possibly going to do another project together.

PCC:
Is that still a possibility?

BONHAM:
I don’t know. We just put it on hiatus. At the time, the press was just so adamant that we were going to call it Led Zeppelin. They kept saying, ‘’You can’t do anything with the band, using another singer.’ In the end, I think Jimmy had to make a comment, ‘Who says I was going to call it Led Zeppelin, anyway?’ This was going to be something different.

I felt that the press in England were being quite hard at the time. Every time we went to rehearsal, they would be outside. It was the height of the whole ‘Is it going to happen?’ type thing.

But who knows? My phone is always ready and the door’s always open. I love those guys very much. I had a great time playing with them, the six weeks rehearsal, the writing, yeah. Dreams. Wonderful, wonderful memories and things to look back on.

PCC:
And Black Country Communion, plans for that ahead?

BONHAM:
Yeah, we were about to go out on the ‘Experience’ tour, the week prior to the album coming out. And the album debuted at 13 on the English charts, 52 in America. And like Top 30 in 25 countries. I was really pleased. I was like, ‘Wow, this is going to be great.’

So as soon as I finish this, we’ve got two sold-out shows in England to do in December. And then we’re going to record another album in January, and then go out on the road next summer, with two albums. So I’m really looking forward to it.

PCC:
It’s great that you’re able to continue to carve out your own musical identity, as well as helping to keep the Led Zeppelin music alive.

BONHAM:
To me, it was a really cool, very good sign, just before going out on this. Not that I needed that other platform, but I don’t want people to think this is all that I do, because it isn’t. Led Zeppelin is part of my life, a huge part, that I enjoy immensely. But there is a creative side to my brain that needs to be fed, too.