Jason Bonham
Encyclopedia
Jason John Bonham is an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

. Jason's parents are Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

 drummer John Bonham
John Bonham
John Henry Bonham was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of Led Zeppelin. Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast right foot, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove...

 and his wife Pat Phillips. After his father's death in 1980, he has played with Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

 on different occasions, including the Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert
Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert
The Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert was a benefit concert held in memory of music executive Ahmet Ertegün at The O2 in London on December 10, 2007. The headline act was the English rock band, Led Zeppelin, who performed their first full-length concert since the death of drummer John Bonham in 1980,...

 at The O2 Arena in London in 2007.

Biography

Bonham was born in the town of Dudley
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...

, West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...

. He first began playing drums at the age of four, and appeared with his father in the film The Song Remains the Same
The Song Remains the Same (film)
The Song Remains the Same is a concert film by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. The recording of the film took place during three nights of concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City, during the band's 1973 concert tour of the United States. The film premiered on 20 October 1976, at...

, drumming on a scaled-down kit. At 17, he joined his first band, Airrace. In 1985, he joined Virginia Wolf
Virginia Wolf
Virginia Wolf was a British rock band of the 1970s and 1980s. Their albums included Virginia Wolf and Push . The band existed from 1977 until 1988, and featured Nick Bold on lead guitar throughout. Chris Ousey was the vocalist for most of this time and Jason Bonham was the drummer on both their...

, making two albums and touring the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 supporting The Firm.

In 1988, Bonham joined former Led Zeppelin guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...

 Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...

 for his Outrider
Outrider (album)
Outrider is an album by Jimmy Page, released by Geffen Records on 19 June 1988. It is his first genuine solo album, and the first time since 1969 he recorded with a record label other than Atlantic Records/Swan Song Records. It was recorded at The Sol, Page's personal studio...

album and tour. In May of the same year, Bonham appeared with the three surviving members of Led Zeppelin for a performance at Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary
Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary
On 14 May 1988 the Atlantic Records label held its 40th Anniversary Celebration by staging a non-stop concert lasting almost 13 hours at Madison Square Garden, New York. The event was dubbed "It's Only Rock And Roll"....

 concert in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

In 1989, Bonham appeared as a special guest at the Moscow Music Peace Festival
Moscow Music Peace Festival
The Moscow Music Peace Festival was a one-time gathering of high-profile hard rock acts for a performance in Moscow, Soviet Union on 12 and 13 August 1989 to promote world peace and establish international cooperation in fighting the drug war in Russia. It was part of an era of momentous change in...

, performing the song "Rock and Roll
Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin song)
"Rock and Roll" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, which was first released as the second track from the band's fourth album in 1971, with a guest appearance by The Rolling Stones pianist Ian Stewart.-Overview:...

" with many major rock stars of the day. That same year, he formed his own band, Bonham
Bonham (band)
Bonham was a British hard rock band founded by drummer Jason Bonham in 1989, the son of the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. The band's most successful line-up included singer Daniel MacMaster, bassist/keyboardist John Smithson and guitarist Ian Hatton....

, whose Zeppelin-inflected first release The Disregard of Timekeeping
The Disregard of Timekeeping
The Disregard of Timekeeping is the debut album of British hard rock band Bonham, released in 1989 . It was produced by famed record producer Bob Ezrin, who has noted for working with Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd and Hanoi Rocks; in addition to his usual production duties, he also co-wrote three of...

had a hit single, "Wait for You" and the music video for the subsequent single "Guilty" did get some play. However, after a lukewarm reception for their 1992 release, Mad Hatter
Mad Hatter (album)
Mad Hatter is the second and final album from the British hard rock band Bonham, released in 1992.-Track listing:#"Bing" – 4:48#"Mad Hatter" – 5:20#"Change of a Season" – 6:58#"Hold On" – 4:20#"The Storm" – 5:56#"Ride on a Dream" – 5:47...

, the band was dissolved, and Bonham concentrated on session work and guest appearances.

On April 28, 1990, Bonham married Jan Charteris, in Stone, Kidderminster
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a town, in the Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire, England. It is located approximately seventeen miles south-west of Birmingham city centre and approximately fifteen miles north of Worcester city centre. The 2001 census recorded a population of 55,182 in the town...

. His wedding reception included a jam with Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...

, Robert Plant
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...

, and John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (musician)
John Paul Jones is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. Best known as the bassist, mandolinist, and keyboardist for English rock band Led Zeppelin, Jones has since developed a solo career and has gained even more respect as both a musician and a...

. The Bonhams have two children, a son named Jager, and a daughter, Jaz.

Bonham drummed for Paul Rodgers
Paul Rodgers
Paul Bernard Rodgers is an English rock singer-songwriter, best known for his success in the 1970s as a member of Free and Bad Company. After stints in two less successful bands in the 1980s and early 1990s, The Firm and The Law, he became a solo artist. He has recently toured and recorded with...

 on the Grammy nominated Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...

project. A year later with Slash
Slash (musician)
Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...

 and Paul Rodgers
Paul Rodgers
Paul Bernard Rodgers is an English rock singer-songwriter, best known for his success in the 1970s as a member of Free and Bad Company. After stints in two less successful bands in the 1980s and early 1990s, The Firm and The Law, he became a solo artist. He has recently toured and recorded with...

, he appeared at Woodstock II
Woodstock '94
Woodstock '94, often called the "commercial Woodstock" or "Mudstock", was a music festival organized to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original Woodstock Festival of 1969...

 in 1994. Bonham reformed his band with a new lead vocalist, Marti Frederiksen
Marti Frederiksen
Martin Harold Frederiksen is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician. He writes and produces music primarily in rock, country, and pop...

, replacing Daniel MacMaster
Daniel MacMaster
Daniel Stewart MacMaster was a Canadian singer, who sang for the Canadian/British hard rock band Bonham.-Career:...

. Renamed Motherland, they released the album Peace 4 Me later in 1994. However, his down-to-earth nature always showed—on one occasion making an encore drumming appearance for local Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

 tribute bands Fred Zeppelin
Fred Zeppelin
Fred Zeppelin is a tribute band to Led Zeppelin based in the original band's heartland of the West Midlands of England. Drummer Steve 'Blackie' Black also heads Midland talent agency and music organisation Moby Music- named after Led Zeppelin's drum solo "Moby Dick".Although not endorsed or...

 and Led Zepagain
Led Zepagain
Led Zepagain is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1992 by David Swan Montgomery. The band consists of vocalist/harmonica player David Swan Montgomery , guitarist/theramin Steve Zukowsky , bassist/mandolinist Jim Wooten and drummer/percussionist Jim Kersey...

.

In 1995, Jason represented his father when Led Zeppelin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...

, with his sister Zoe by his side. Bonham soon put together another solo project which culminated in In the Name of My Father - The Zepset
In the Name of My Father - The Zepset
In the Name of My Father: The Zepset is a recorded album by Jason Bonham, released in 1997 under than name The Jason Bonham Band. The album consists entirely of cover versions of various songs by English rock group Led Zeppelin, as a tribute to the band's drummer, and Bonham's late father, John...

, which featured the songs of Led Zeppelin. Proceeds from the album went to charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...

. The album followed up with When You See the Sun.

Following an album and tour with his aunt Debbie Bonham
Deborah Bonham
Deborah Bonham is an English rock and blues vocalist and the sister of John Bonham, the late drummer for the band Led Zeppelin...

, Jason Bonham was invited to drum for hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...

 group UFO
UFO (band)
UFO are an English heavy metal and hard rock band, who were formed in 1969. UFO became a transitional group between early hard rock and heavy metal and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal...

. In 2006, he recorded with Joe Bonamassa
Joe Bonamassa
Joe Bonamassa is an American blues rock guitarist and singer.-Early life:Bonamassa was born and raised in New Hartford, United States. His parents owned and ran a guitar shop. He is a fourth-generation musician...

.

Jason Bonham also appeared in the movie Rock Star
Rock Star (2001 film)
Rock Star is a 2001 American comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Herek and starring Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston. It tells the story of Chris "Izzy" Cole, a tribute band singer whose ascendance to the position of lead vocalist of his favorite band was inspired by the real-life story of Tim...

, 2001. Bonham played drummer A.C., of the fictional band Steel Dragon
Steel dragon
Steel dragons, originally known as Greyhawk dragons, are a fictional race of dragon in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game's World of Greyhawk campaign setting...

. The film also featured performances by musicians such as Zakk Wylde
Zakk Wylde
Zachary Phillip Wylde , best known by the stage name Zakk Wylde, is an American musician, songwriter, and occasional actor who is best known as the former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and founder of the heavy metal band Black Label Society. He was the lead guitarist and vocalist in Pride & Glory,...

, Jeff Pilson
Jeff Pilson
Jeff Pilson is an American bass guitarist, best known for his stint in the heavy metal band Dokken...

, Myles Kennedy
Myles Kennedy
Myles Richard Kennedy is an American musician and singer-songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Alter Bridge, and as the lead vocalist in Slash's current solo project...

, Brian Vander Ark
Brian Vander Ark
Brian Vander Ark is an American Singer-songwriter best known as lead singer for the band The Verve Pipe. Born in Holland, Michigan, Vander Ark began playing guitar at age 8. At age 18, he was married to then girlfriend Michelle Marthens and had a son named Joshua Vander Ark. Soon after he joined...

, Blas Elias
Blas Elias
Blas Elias , is the drummer of rock band Slaughter. He also drums for the Las Vegas production of Blue Man Group.-Biography:...

 and Nick Catanese
Nick Catanese
Nick Catanese is Black Label Society's second guitarist at live shows. He supports lead player Zakk Wylde, who has commented that "If I'm Keith Richards, he's Mick Taylor"...

. He also played on the film's soundtrack.

Bonham starred with Ted Nugent
Ted Nugent
Theodore Anthony "Ted" Nugent is an American guitarist, musician, singer, author, reserve police officer, and activist. From Detroit, Michigan, he originally gained fame as the lead guitarist of The Amboy Dukes, before embarking on a lengthy solo career...

, Evan Seinfeld
Evan Seinfeld
Evan Seinfeld is an American musician and actor, as well as a director, photographer, and writer. He has also appeared in several pornographic films under the pseudonym "Spyder Jonez". He is best known for playing bass guitar and serving as vocalist for the heavy metal band Biohazard, and as the...

 (Biohazard
Biohazard (band)
Biohazard is a band originally based in Brooklyn, New York. They are acknowledged as one of the earliest bands to fuse hardcore punk and heavy metal with elements of hip hop. The original lineup consisted of Vocalist/Guitarist Billy Graziadei, bassist/vocalist Evan Seinfeld, guitarist Bobby Hambel,...

), Sebastian Bach
Sebastian Bach
Sebastian Bach is a Canadian heavy metal singer who achieved mainstream success as frontman of Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. Since his departure from Skid Row, he has had many television roles, acted within Broadway plays, and leads a successful solo career.-Early life:Bach was born Sebastian...

 (Skid Row), and Scott Ian
Scott Ian
Scott Ian Rosenfeld , better known by the stage name Scott Ian, is an American musician, best known as the rhythm & lead guitarist for the heavy metal band Anthrax. Ian is also the guitarist and a founding member of the crossover thrash band Stormtroopers of Death...

 (Anthrax
Anthrax (band)
Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Founded by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, the band has since released ten studio albums and 20 singles, and an EP featuring Public Enemy. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene...

) on the VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...

 reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...

 show, Supergroup, in May 2006. The musicians formed a band called Damnocracy (after ditching the names FIST, God War, and Savage Animal) for the show, during which they lived in a mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...

 in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...

 for twelve days and created music. Jason also played drums live with Foreigner
Foreigner (band)
Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm...

 from 2004 to 2007 and part of 2007 to 2008.

Bonham joined the group Black Country Communion
Black Country Communion
Black Country Communion is an English-American rock supergroup featuring Glenn Hughes, Jason Bonham, Derek Sherinian, and Joe Bonamassa.-Formation and Black Country :...

 late in 2009 and is currently recording music with rock icons Joe Bonamassa, Glenn Hughes, and Derek Sherinian.

In 2010, Bonham formed Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience, a live homage to his father's band, which toured worldwide through 2011.

Drums

Jason Bonham is endorsed by Ludwig
Ludwig
Ludwig may refer to:* Ludwig , a German name* Ludwig , a German surname* Ludwig , a 1972 film by Luchino Visconti about Ludwig II of Bavaria* Ludwig , a 1977 animated children's series...

 drums.
Drum Depth Diameter
Bass 14" 26"
Snare 6.5" 14"
Rack Tom 10" 14"
Floor Tom 1 16" 16"
Floor Tom 2 16" 18"

Cymbals

Endorsed by Zildjian
Avedis Zildjian Company
The Avedis Zildjian Company is a cymbal manufacturer founded in Istanbul by Armenian Avedis Zildjian in the 17th century during the Ottoman Empire. At nearly 400 years old, Zildjian is one of the oldest companies in the world...

 cymbals
Cymbal Model Diameter
Crash A Custom Series 20"
Light Ride K Series 24"
Crash Ride K Series 21"
Mastersound Hi-Hat A Custom Series 15"
Gong 40"

Drumsticks

Bonham has produced his own line of signature series drumstick with Pro-Mark
Pro-Mark
Pro-Mark is a Houston, Texas-based American drumstick company owned by founder Herb Brochstein. It is a widely known stick company generally played in drum set, drum and bugle corps and concert bands.-History:...

. The SD531W is made of American Maple
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...

 with acorn shaped, wooden tips. The taper is relatively short and the sticks have considerably large dimensions, being 16.75" (42.5 cm) in length and 0.595" (1.5 cm) in diameter. The sticks also feature the symbol; used by Bonham's father, John Bonham
John Bonham
John Henry Bonham was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of Led Zeppelin. Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast right foot, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove...

; of the three interlocking rings - they are printed next to Jason's signature on the side of the stick.

Led Zeppelin reunion

On 12 September 2007, it was announced that Jason Bonham would step into his father's shoes and play drums for a Led Zeppelin reunion concert
Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert
The Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert was a benefit concert held in memory of music executive Ahmet Ertegün at The O2 in London on December 10, 2007. The headline act was the English rock band, Led Zeppelin, who performed their first full-length concert since the death of drummer John Bonham in 1980,...

. This took place on 10 December 2007 at London's O2 arena
The O2 arena (London)
The O2 Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the centre of The O2, a large entertainment complex on the Greenwich peninsula in London, England.With a capacity of up to 20,000 depending on the event, it is second largest...

 as part of an all-star tribute to Ahmet Ertegün
Ahmet Ertegun
Ahmet Ertegün was a Turkish American musician and businessman, best known as the founder and president of Atlantic Records. He also wrote classic blues and pop songs and served as Chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and museum...

.
His performance was described as "flawless" by music critics.

External links

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