THEM CROOKED VULTURES AT ROSELAND

OK, the above performance isn't from Them Crooked Vultures' Roseland show, it was two nights before on Saturday Night Live. But like on SNL, they were big, bad, riffy and had mad swagger (in the parlance of the times). They were a heaving juggernaut of awesome heavy blues-based (but not blues reverent) rock. TCV is on the cover of the new Guitar World, and in the feature, frontman Josh Homme says that he would have had a real problem if he felt like he was filling in for Robert Plant, Jimmy Page or Kurt Cobain. It's actually the perfect attitude to have. It allows the group to be their own group and not a "supergroup." Also in the article, it looked like Dave Grohl kept Josh from making the band too riff-y and not song-y enough... there are some killer riffs and great songs on the album, but I wish they worked on the songs a bit more. That said, they were righteous live, especially on "Scumbag Blues." It was great to see Dave Grohl playing drums (I never saw Nirvana; I've seen Dave play drums a bit with the Foo Fighters and I saw a Mike Watt gig when he played drums for most of the show). This was the first time I ever saw John Paul Jones perform: I have seen both of his surviving Led Zeppelin ex-bandmates, but never John. He was just as cool as you would expect. He's 64 and playing super heavy rock with guys decades younger than him. He looks great, sounds great and his fingers move super fast. I've heard that Them Crooked Vultures are thinking about the next album already. Here's hoping they knock it out quickly, I can't wait to hear where they go from here (with apologies to Dave's bandmates in the Foo Fighters).

Honorable mention to guitarist/keyboardist Alain Johannes, who plays with the band at their live shows. A former member of Eleven (I saw them open for both Pearl Jam and Soundgarden), he also plays with Homme in Queens of the Stone Age and on Josh's Desert Sessions albums, he really added to the band's live sound.  They should have him join as a full member, even though he isn't famous.

BEST OF THE 00's: DAVE GROHL

I remember watching The Backbeat Band on the MTV Movie Awards in 1994 and wondering if Dave Grohl would ever play to such a large crowd again.

At this point, of course, Nirvana had ended with Kurt Cobain's death, and no one could have anticipated that Dave Grohl would have become what he became. Dave was playing drums for a "supergroup" that also featured Afghan Whigs frontman Greg Dulli, Soul Asylum frontman Dave Pirner (a huge star at that time), Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, Don Flemming of Gumball and Mike Mills of R.E.M. They recorded an album of garage rock classics for the soundtrack of the film Backbeat, about the early days of The Beatles when they were playing clubs.

Of course we know how it all turned out: Grohl became the singer/songwriter/leader of Foo Fighters, one of the biggest rock bands of the second half of the '90s. 1995's Foo Fighters (essentially a solo album on which Dave played everything, except one guitar track by Dulli), 1997's The Colour and The Shape and 1999's There Is Nothing Left To Lose showed that Grohl was a great songwriter and leader in his own right, certainly influenced by Nirvana, but not afraid to go more metal, or more pop. Refreshingly, he didn't have a problem with being popular, playing arena stages, and rubbing shoulders with classic rockers.  That would continue in the '00.

2000's releases were a cover of Pink Floyd's "Have A Cigar" for the Mission Impossible II soundtrack (Foos drummer Taylor Hawkins sang lead, and Queen's Brian May played lead guitar), and a bunch of guest appearances.  Dave, along with Frank Black and David Bowie guested on a great song, "Jewel," from Bowie (then-) guitarist Reeves Gabrels' solo album, Ulysses.  In interviews, Grohl expressed hope that those musicians would work together again (which never happened). Also that year, Dave wrote, sang, and played drums on "Goodbye Lament" from Tony Iommi's debut album Iommi. Grohl has always had a great sense of humor (remember the Nirvana In Utero commercial with Bobcat Goldtwhait, and the Foo Fighters "Big Me" video?). In 2001, he played drums on Tenacious D's debut album, a rocking album.

Speaking of rocking, in 2002, he briefly joined Queens Of The Stone Age for the Songs For The Deaf album, probably the best album Dave played on in the '00s. The lineup at that point was singer/guitarist/songwriter/founder Josh Homme, along with bassist/vocalist Nick Oliveri and singer Mark Lanegan (formerly of Screaming Trees). I don't always buy into the Queens, but I have a lot of respect for Josh, and this is his finest moment. The album really overshadowed the next Foo Fighters album, One By One, which came out later that year, and that point, I kind of wondered if Dave was still into the Foo Fighters.

There were more sessions: he played guitar on Bowie's cover of Neil Young's "I've Been Watiting For You," played drums and some bass on Cat Power's You Are Free album and played drums on the entire Killing Joke self-titled album (reportedly free of charge).

In 2004, he put out the long-talked about Probot project. A full-on underground metal project, Grohl was recording (on his own) metal jams in the style of some of his favorite old bands.  Eventually he started calling the frontmen of those bands to contribute lyrics and vocals, and the album includes Lemmy, Max Cavalera, King Diamond and Mike Dean of Corrosion Of Conformity among others. The album got respect among real metal fans who didn't give a shit about Nirvana or the Foo Fighters.

In 2005, he played drums on one of Garbage's best songs, "Bad Boyfriend" (filling in for the band's usual drummer, Nevermind producer Butch Vig), and also on most of Nine Inch Nails' With Teeth. It turns out that these outside projects help keep him inspiried for the Foo Fighters, because on the next album, the double CD In Your Honor, he seemed rejuvinated.

Named in tribute to John Kerry (who Grohl "opened" for on his campaign trail in 2004), the album was half rock and half more acoustic stuff.  The acoustic side had some notable guests, including Norah Jones, Josh Homme and John Paul Jones. This was the best of the decade's three Foo Fighters albums, and led to two tours: a rocking arena tour and an acoustic theater tour, which yielded the band's first live album, Skin and Bones. The album featured a song that Dave wrote while in Nirvana, "Friend of a Friend," and during the tour Dave started playing "Marigold," the Cobain-less Nirvana tune that he wrote and sang.

In 2006, Dave returned to rocking and comedy by reprising his role as Satan (first played in Tenacious D's "Tribute" video).  This time he played the role in the D's film, The Pick Of Destiny, also adding satanic vocals to "Beezleboss (The Final Showdown)."  The next year saw another great Foo Fighters album, Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace. Since then, they've released a very Petty-esque song "Wheels," for their Greatest Hits album, and of course now Dave is spending time with his new band, Them Crooked Vultures, featuring Josh Homme and John Paul Jones. I haven't even gotten into the Foo Fighters jams with John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page,  or the fact that Dave has also jammed with Paul McCartney.

The guy really has the best of all worlds: he can play loud rock and also acoustic, he's got a great band but can play in other bands and guest on other people's albums.  He can jam with McCartney and King Diamond. He's got the rock star lifestyle and remains a cool guy (and a family man at that). I imagine he'll be on the road for much of 2010 with Them Crooked Vultures, and after that, who knows.

JIMMY PAGE GETS ROAD ENVY

Jimmy Page tells Sky News that he has some new music ready, and that he wants to hit the road to perform in 2010. He, of course, wanted to tour as Led Zeppelin after the epic reunion concert from two years ago, but Robert Plant nixed the idea due to his tour with Alison Krauss (and he may not have wanted to do a Zep tour anyway). Now, John Paul Jones is preparing for a tour with his new band Them Crooked Vultures (with Foo Fighter Dave Grohl and Queen Of The Stone Age Josh Homme). Now Jimmy must be all, "I did that 'Zeppelin-legend-tours-with-younger-artists-thing' years ago when I toured with The Black Crowes as my band!"  Maybe he'll do something like that again.  I'm curious to see what form his music will take.  He's only dione one solo album (1988's Outrider), I wonder if this will be a solo thing like that or more of a collaboration.

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: NIRVANA, FOO FIGHTERS, THEM CROOKED VULUTRES

For those of you who are new to No Expiration, if you enjoy reading my musings on music and you have a satellite radio, you can hear me Wednesday mornings on SIRIUSXM's OutQ Channel. I am a guest of The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick at about 9 am ET every Wednesday. (You can actually get a free online trial and listen on your computer at www.sirius.com/freetrial). This week, I am talking about albums by Nirvana, Foo Fighters and Them Crooked Vultures. Someone commented to me that the common denomonator is Dave Grohl, which is both true and false.

There are two new Nirvana releases out now: the first is the 20th anniversary edition of Nirvana's debut album, 1989's Bleach. Dave Grohl hadn't yet joined the band. Chad Channing was the drummer on that album. Supposedly, it cost $600 to make the album, and there are no outtakes, because they couldn't afford extra tape, so if they didn't like a take, they taped over it. So why get this reissue? Because it includes a live set from the era on the CD and on a bonus DVD. Channing plays drums on that gig -it is early Nirvana, really, really raw.


Then, there's Live At Reading, recorded on August 30, 1992. They were one of the biggest bands in the world at that moment, and Kurt Cobain was getting really sick of it. One complaint I've read about the CD is that it cuts the in-between song banter, which gives it a bit of context, there's a lot of Kurt's whining. On the CD, they cut that, so you hear a powerful set of awesome songs performed with fury (and some boredom). But some people think it's misleading I guess.

It's weird (or maybe not) that both Nirvana albums came out on the same day last week (they are on different labels, SubPop owns Bleach while Universal put out Reading), and on the same day, a Foo Fighters Greatest Hits album came out. When Nirvana first broke up, I remember Dave played drums for a "supergroup" on the Backbeat soundtrack (a film about the Beatles' early days as a club band). It was Grohl, Mike Mills of R.E.M., Don Flemming of Gumball, Dave Pierner of Soul Asylum and Greg Dulli of The Afghan Whigs. They covered all the same old songs that The Beatles covered. I remember seeing them perform on the MTV Movie Awards, and wondering when Grohl would get to play big crowds again! Around that time, drummer Stan Lynch quit The Heartbreakers, and Tom Petty invited Dave to join the band. He didn't, but he did play for them on one episode of Saturday Night Live. I remember hearing Kris Novoselic telling Eddie Vedder about Dave's new project on an episode of Pearl Jam's "Monkey Wrench Radio," and he played a few songs from the demo, which sounded really cool. A few months later, the Foo Fighters opened for Mike Watt (Dave also played drums for Watt) but no one really had heard of them! It was pretty great though. By all accounts, Dave is a cool guy, and I'm glad he's done so well. I saw the Foo Fighters headline an arena last summer, and it was a good show.

Finally, Them Crooked Vultures. I've written about them a bit already. It's Dave Grohl on drums (and I think some vocals), Josh Homme of Queens Of The Stone Age and Eagles Of Death Metal on guitar and vocals and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin on bass and keyboards. Their album comes out next week, but they're letting you listen to it on their YouTube page. I've got to say, it sounds pretty awesome.

START THE LED ZEPPELIN RUMOR MILL AGAIN...

The other night at the Q Awards, Robert Plant told the BBC that he's been talking with the organizers of England's Glastonbury Festival about playing their fest this summer. The event has already sold out, without naming one performer! But the festival seems to like having a very hip bill with some prestigious bigger names headlining - such as Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young and Paul McCartney. Plant said to the "beeb": "There is a place for me there, but I have no idea who with." He's always so cagey: of course millions of people would be hoping that he is referring to another Led Zeppelin reunion (although, this time around, John Paul Jones is the Zep-guy with the busy schedule, due to his new band Them Crooked Vultures). But he could just as easily be referring to another performance with Alison Krauss. Of course, as great as Robert and Alison are, they probably wouldn't be the right choice to headline that festival.

THEM CROOKED VULTURES LAND NOVEMBER 17

Them Crooked Vultures - the band featuring John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin on bass and keyboards, Dave Grohl of The Foo Fighters on drums and Josh Homme of Queens Of The Stones Age and The Eagles Of Death Metal on guitar and vocals - will release their self-titled debut on November 17. I can't wait to hear it. A friend of mine recently went to see them at Roseland in NYC, where they played all new music that no one had heard yet, and supposedly it was awesome.

Speaking of The Foo Fighters, I heard their new single "Wheels," from their upcoming greatest hits album, and it is very Petty-like. I like it a lot.

ANOTHER GLIMPSE OF THEM CROOKED VULTURES

I can't wait to hear their album, and see them in concert.

SO WHAT DO THEM CROOKED VULTURES SOUND LIKE?

Them Crooked Vultures is, as I've mentioned, John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl and Josh Homme. They have a website, and here's 15 seconds of what they sound like. I'm sold already.

DAVE GROHL + JOSH HOMME + JOHN PAUL JONES = THEM CROOKED VULTURES

The Dave Grohl/Josh Homme/John Paul Jones band I wrote about will be playing their first gig this weekend according to Billboard. They also have a website. They're called Them Crooked Vultures. Pretty cool!

DAVE GROHL/JOSH HOMME/JOHN PAUL JONES TO FORM NEW BAND

A few years ago, I remember Dave Grohl telling Mojo magazine that he wanted to do another side-project with Josh Homme of Queens Of The Stone Age (and The Eagles Of Death Metal) and John Paul Jones. Both guys guested on The Foo Fighters' 2005 album In Your Honor (not on the same song) and of course Dave is a one-time member of The Queens. Well, Josh's wife, Brody Dalle, formerly of The Distillers and now of Spinerette, kind of spilled the beans about the project to Antiquiet. I can't wait to hear this.

The Foo Fighters are supposed to be on hiatus, but they just played for Barack Obama and lots of U.S. troops at The White House on July 4, and they played a new song, "Wheels," which is going to be on their greatest hits album, which is coming out in November.

LED ZEPPELIN'S CRED TO REMAIN INTACT: PLANT-LESS TOUR PLANS CANCELED

Thank goodness for that. Jimmy Page's manager Peter Mensch told Music Radar that Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham tried out a number of singers for a tour, and none of them worked out. Thank goodness for that. I know Page and Jones just wanted to go out there and rock one more time, but it was just a bad idea. Meanwhile, I hear Robert Plant and Alison Krauss are starting to work on their second album together; I'm sure they'll be performing at the Grammys.

JOHN PAUL JONES TO JAM WITH SONIC YOUTH

When fans bump into John Paul Jones in the street, I bet one question they don't ask him is, "Why don't you collaborate with Sonic Youth on a performance of a piece composed by multi-media artist Takeshisa Kosugi?" Find out more about this at The Guardian. 

I wonder if the Sonic Youth folks know that JPJ's other next move is probably to tour with a Robert Plant-less "Led Zeppelin" featuring the dude from the Creed offshoot band. 

THE LATEST LED ZEP RUMOR: CHRIS CORNELL?

Rumors have been circulating that Chris Cornell may be one of the guys that Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones are considering approaching for their "Led Zeppelin" reunion tour. Cornell says he hasn't been approached. Well, he would be a cooler choice than the dude from Alter Bridge. Although I wonder if he could hit the notes - he is older now than Plant was when Zeppelin broke up.

Still the Alter Bridge thing would be so embarassing: not only would it make Page and Jones look lame, it also might lead to a Creed reunion. I've heard that they've also been jamming with Steven Tyler. Page toured with The Black Crowes a few years ago. I'm not a huge Crowes fan, but I think Chris Robinson would be a decent choice. But, as I've mentioned before, I think it would be better to just reunite The Yardbirds instead.

AN OPEN LETTER TO JOHN PAUL JONES

Hi, Mr. John Paul Jones. I've recently written "open letters" to your friend and bandmate Jimmy Page - twice. Actually, one of them was to you and him. I don't mean to come off creepy. But I gotta ask you one last time: Please don't tour as Led Zeppelin without Robert Plant. You will just look silly.



Don't get me wrong: I'd love to see you on the road with Jimmy. Having Jason Bonham on drums is fine with me also. I just think it will look super lame without him. People would love to see you guys play together. They'd love to see and hear you perform Zeppelin songs. Just don't call it Led Zeppelin, because it isn't Led Zeppelin. I mean, when Robert and Jimmy toured without you in the '90s, they just called it "Jimmy Page & Robert Plant." Hey, man, I'm just looking out for you!

AN(OTHER) OPEN LETTER TO JIMMY PAGE

Hi, Mr. Jimmy Page, it's me again. It's been about a month since I last wrote. Last time, I kind of begged you and John Paul Jones not to do a Led Zeppelin tour without Robert Plant.

But it struck me that I wasn't really offering you any other alternatives. So I decided to come up with some.

I remember before all the hype about Zeppelin reuniting to play the O2 Dome started, there were actually rumors that you and Jeff Beck were going to do a Yardbirds tour. I think Jeff said he wouldn't do it, but I bet he could be convinced. It would be awesome, and, with all due respect, it would be easier to get someone to sing the late Keith Relf's parts than Robert's. There'd be a bit less pressure and less scrutiny on a Yardbirds tour than a Zeppelin tour. You could still do Zeppelin songs!

Or get Terry Reid to sing Zeppelin tunes, that'd be cool. The rumor has always been that he was your first choice to sing in Led Zep anyway.

Here's some other guys that might want to collaborate with you guys: I know Dave Grohl has been saying that he wants to take some time off, but he's also said he'd drop everything to do a Zeppelin tour. I know he was referring to playing drums for you guys, but maybe if you get him and one or two other guys to switch off on vocals. I bet Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes would do it! Maybe Jack White would - he's said that Robert was his least favorite part of Led Zeppelin. Ben Harper has covered Zep before, and he's jammed with John Paul Jones!

Speaking of John Paul, he works with that bluegrass group, Uncle Earl, right? Maybe you guys could do an acoustic tour with them. And take Dan Tyminski of Union Station (that's Alison Krauss ' band. They've had to wait for her to finish a tour with Robert!).

Whatever you do, please comment here and PROMISE me that you're not really thinking about using the guy from Alter Bridge. I don't want to hate on the guy, it isn't my style, but you're about to see your stock plummet if that happens. (And also, don't call David Coverdale either).

Thanks - Your Fan Always,

No Expiration.

LIVE FOO FIGHTERS DVD

Earlier this year, The Foo Fighters headlined two nights at England's Wembley Stadium. They jammed on two Led Zeppelin tunes with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones. Now the shows are coming out on DVD. Hopefully they'll contain the tunes with Jimmy and John Paul.

That same week, Dave Grohl joined Paul McCartney onstage for two songs: that would make a great bonus feature!

ROBERT PLANT DENIES ZEP TOUR RUMORS

Enough with these rumors! That's Robert Plant's attitude. He took the rare move of commenting on his website via a press statement about the Led Zeppelin tour rumors.

It says that after this leg of his tour with Alison Krauss wraps up on October 5, "...Robert has no intention whatsoever of touring with anyone for at least the next two years. Contrary to a spate of recent reports, Robert Plant will not be touring or recording with Led Zeppelin. Anyone buying tickets online to any such event will be buying bogus tickets.
'It‘s both frustrating and ridiculous for this story to continue to rear its head when all the musicians that surround the story are keen to get on with their individual projects and move forward,' Robert Plant said.
'I wish Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham nothing but success with any future projects,' he added."

When I wrote about this reunion last week, I'd mentioned rumors that Page, Jones and Bonham were rehearsing with an American singer. Since then, I decided not to write about the rumors that Plant was going to go out with them. Anyway, I guess those were the rumors that Robert was referring to in this statement. So, it looks like Jimmy and John Paul may be taking the Yes route next year: touring with the son of one member, and an "understudy" for another. Not a cool move. Jimmy and John Paul, please, please PLEASE reconsider.

OPEN LETTER TO JIMMY PAGE AND JOHN PAUL JONES

Mr. Jimmy Page and Mr. John Paul Jones:

I know not to believe things that I read in silly tabloids like The Sun, but please put out a press statement assuring fans that you aren't actually rehearsing for a "Led Zeppelin" tour with Jason Bonham and a new singer.

Yes, it may be disappointing that Robert Plant has decided to keep touring with Alison Krauss and not entertain the idea of a reunion. But please, don't do this. Jimmy, remember when you did that tour with the dude from white snake? 'Nuff said.

It's true that the things that Robert said in the latest issue of the British version of GQ weren't too cool ("The endless paperwork was like nothing I've experienced before. I've kept every one of the emails that were exchanged before the concert and I'm thinking of compiling them for a book, which I feel sure would be hailed as a sort of literary version of Spinal Tap"). But this is no way to get back at him. The idea of a Zeppelin tour in 2008 or 2009 is dicey anyway -- Jason is great, but he's not John Bonham -- but without Robert, it just looks desperate and lame.

I think you need some tough love here from a true fan. Hopefully Robert will come around when Alison returns to her regular band, the excellent Union Station.

Best,

No Expiration

JIMMY PAGE: "TO DO A REUNION, YOU NEED FOUR MEMBERS"

Jimmy Page was at the Toronto Film Festival with Jack White and The Edge to promote It Might Get Loud, the film about the guitar that the three of them are featured in. A journalist asked, point blank, if Led Zeppelin will be reuniting: rumors have been circulating again, since Jason Bonham has been saying that he's been jamming with Jimmy and John Paul Jones. Rolling Stone says that Jimmy said no: "If you're going to do a reunion, you need four members." 

Of course, this probably won't stop rumors from circulating. I guess it must be flattering that so many people ask about it, but annoying (for Page) that he can't do anything about it, as long as Robert Plant doesn't seem interested. 

JASON BONHAM TALKING CRAZY

Apparently, Jason Bonham's term with Foreigner is now up, and he's been jamming with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones (but not Robert Plant). He talked about this with a terrestrial radio station, and now it is circulating around the web. I read about it at the hard rock/metal blog Blabbermouth.

I don't see any way that a new Led Zeppelin song can live up to the band's legacy, unless they just do a blues cover. A new album? No way. But - for the love of God - please don't do anything without Robert, guys, it will just make you look lame. Don't do a project with different lead singers on each track. Don't try to replace Robert with a different singer, and especially not David Coverdale.