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John Bonham appreciation thread

Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 1:25 pm
by AllenS
Greatest rock drummer ever in my book. Certainly one of the most influential drummers of all time. You can really tell he was heavily influenced by blues, R&B, James Brown's drummers, Max Roach, Art Blakey, etc.

Also, he had such great drum tone and sound. His snare sound in particular was fantastic. Bonham and JPJ made for one hell of a rhythm section.






Re: John Bonham appreciation thread

Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 3:03 pm
by Pocketplayer

Re: John Bonham appreciation thread

Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 3:51 pm
by langmick
It irks me that he's thought of as being a beastly smashed when he had some really nice finesse.

He was influenced by Roach Rich and Williams. That's why LZ sounded the way it did. Pretty interesting to think about when listening to them.

Re: John Bonham appreciation thread

Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 4:05 pm
by Pocketplayer
Been reading the auto bio of Tommy Iommi. He discuss JB a lot. Early days before Zep. Jamming together.
Bottom line: Bonham hit louder than ANYONE! The power is a part of his playing no doubt, but Paice, Columby,
Baker and the rest grew up on the "legends" but also Earl Palmer (intro to Rock n Roll) and that transition Smith
discussed about the triplet bounce (swing hangover) into straight 8ths. Magical time. You combine his natural
talents, with the era, with the drum sound, with the producer(s), with the epic band and e legend emerges.
Bonham took on new status when Weckl talked about him in his post-Freedie clinics about a guy who knew how
to hit the drums and draw out the sound. Here Dave, Smith, and Peart reinvent themselves and Dave basically
says JB was doing this all the time. Powerful endorsement!

Re: John Bonham appreciation thread

Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 4:19 pm
by langmick
I disagree that he hit hard, he hit smartly, which got the max volume from the drum. He did crank it up a notch sometimes but the video Ive seen he is usually the same guy, hitting solidly but not overtly smashing stuff.

That Bonzo bash stuff is so painful to watch. No one gets it.

Re: John Bonham appreciation thread

Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 4:26 pm
by Rodge
Yeah I read that he was not hiting that hard.

Re: John Bonham appreciation thread

Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 4:36 pm
by langmick
Rock and roll promo is so filled with bullshit its insane.

The one guy who I think takes Johns stuff and amps It up smartly is Jon Theodore. He his a monster player and gets a nice sound from similar sizes on his kit. It almost sounds like Bonham on those Mars Volta tunes.

Re: John Bonham appreciation thread

Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 4:50 pm
by Pocketplayer
I disagree that he hit hard, he hit smartly, which got the max volume from the drum. He did crank it up a notch sometimes but the video Ive seen he is usually the same guy, hitting solidly but not overtly smashing stuff.


I agree seeing him in Zep, but I quote Iommi (page 29);
We played at the Midland Red Club, which was in the Midland Red bus depot. It was a social club
where all the people who worked there would go. They had a band there every week,
We used to play alternate weeks and John Bonham was in the other band that played
there. He'd last about 5 minutes in this band because he was too loud and they'd fire him.
Then he'd sneak back in with another band and before long they would get rid of him for
the same reason. He had this drum case with all their names with the name he'd been with
and they'd be all cross out. And the names would get smaller and smaller so he could get
them all on. All this was before bands had PA systems and drums were amplified. He played
them acoustically. But he hit those skins so hard, blimey, it was incredible. He was just so
bloody loud!


As for the Bonham bashing...well, the Internet is full of dickheads. I had a guy tell me that
a certain drummer was lousy because he knew what good was. He was good so he knew!
Hmmm. OK. End of discussion. I commented this drummers solo and energy was as good
as it gets in rock music. I was a gay faggot. There ya go. :)

Re: John Bonham appreciation thread

Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 6:23 pm
by langmick
Loud and hitting hard are not the same thing, Clufetos hits hard, but he has a bit of a soft sound. Danny Carey, he hits very hard, super hard. You are in a small venue and you can feel the air move, literally. He was hitting way too hard...

However, you hit a 6.5" Ludwig Spraphonic right, and that sumbitch is loud as hell.

Maybe Bonzo was loud, but that's a common complaint from musicians about good drummers! :)

I've heard it, and I don't hit hard at all, but I am loud, compared to guys who play in your local bar band.

Re: John Bonham appreciation thread

Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 6:39 pm
by langmick
I remember hanging out a buddy’s place, partaking a little and he put on a LZ boot from 77.

Bonham seemed to be copying a Buddy Rich solo that he might have just heard, lot of the same licks and accents. He was impressive, heavy stuff..

It is hard to believe this is how live shows used to be...



This one seems to take forever to get going, although his snare playing is nice.



It is interesting playing along to Physical Graffiti. His LH comes down so late, and consequently there is such a huge spread in his groove...a bit like how Ringo plays. You feel settled and able to wrap your arms around a groove when playing that way.