Jason Bonham’s Drummer Magazine Interview

Having barely paused for breath since releasing their first album, Jason Bonham is back with his Black Country muckers for record number two

There’s something reassuringly old-skool about Black Country Communion. From the collection of four great musicians, to the honesty of their ballsy rock, right through to their decision to release two albums in the space of a year, it’s fair to say we haven’t seen their likes for a while.  Where we’ve got used to the two/three-year album cycle and studio recordings festooned with Pro Tools’ sleight of hand, Black Country Communion remind us that there’s a far more ‘proper’ way to go about the business of rocking.
Jason Bonham and his band mates – wunderkind guitarist Joe Bonamassa, veteran rocker Glenn Hughes and former Dream Theater keyboardist Derek Sherinian – have become musical crusaders of sorts. Pinning their flag to the twin masts of good songwriting and great playing, their second album – imaginatively (and traditionally) titled Black Country Communion 2 – is as modern, and as refreshingly retro, as their debut.
When we caught up with Jason, days before he boarded a flight to Europe with his band mates, he was keen to tell Drummer that he’d gone back to basics in more ways that one.

Drummer: Two albums from Black Country Communion in less that a year. Remind you of someone?
Jason Bonham: Ha! I know what you mean, but it was always the plan from day one. We wanted to hit the road with two albums in the can. And yes, it was also a nod to the management decisions of old, when Led Zeppelin came out at the beginning of the year and Led Zeppelin 2 followed at the end of the year. We did it slightly differently – ours were separated by two calendar years, but they were only nine months apart.

Drummer: There was also an old-skool attitude to the recording process as well?
Jason Bonham: Absolutely. We certainly didn’t mess about. We were back in the studio seven days after our first two live dates and recorded the whole thing in 10 days. We recored for five days, took the weekend off, did another five days, and that was it. It was recorded, mixed and mastered in that time. The first album was done in four days, so this was luxury in comparison!

Drummer: You seem a lot happier with this record?
Jason Bonham: I am, yeah. It’s definitely more of a drum album than the first. Kevin Shirley, who also produced this record, told me he wanted to focus a lot more on my playing this time around because he didn’t feel as if he’d captured me as a player. I’m very proud of my performances on the first album, particularly as it was done so quickly, but I always thought the drums could have been bigger. This time, and as Kevin says on the liner notes, he wanted to pick a room that would instantly convey my sound as a drummer. It was just a matter of putting the micas in the right place and getting a great take. There were no gates, no samples…just me. I’m over the moon with it.

Drummer: And the album also features one of your songs too – something you’d previously worked on with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones …
Jason Bonham: I’m claiming ‘Save Me’ as my piece! When I was with Jimmy and John Paul, Jimmy asked me if I had an idea I wanted to work on. It was a riff that I’d had for a while, but having Jimmy work on it really brought it to life. I’d also collaborated with Robert Plant’s drummer, Chris Blackwell, on a separate idea, so I added an element of that too and showed the rest of the BCC guys in the rehearsal room. Within a day we’d finished the bones of the song, I sang Glenn a vocal idea which he finished off, Kevin came up with the intro, Derek came up with the chords for the chorus and Joe came up with the bridge and the brilliant playing. It was a wonderfully creative session and I feel very blessed to have brought this song to life from it.

Drummer: We also hear you’ve rewound the clock a little in terms of the kit you’re using?
Jason Bonham: Yes. It was the first time for a while that I’d been in the studio with DW drums. I also went back to my old set-up, which is three racks and three floor toms. I wanted to be Jason Bonham again. It was during my tenure with Foreigner that I switched to Dad’s set-up, and that obviously continued when the Zeppelin gig came up. Before that, I’d been with DW for 22 years, back in the day when it was just me and Jim Keltner using them. I ended up sitting down again with DW and drew up a kit that allowed me to pay tribute to all of my heros – from Chad Smith to Phil Collins to, of course, my dad. The only thing I kept from the Zep days was not putting any dampening in the bass drum – once you figure out how to get the sound you want and the soundman knows how to deal with it, it’s killer.

Drummer: Summer marks the first time Black Country Communion will tour extensively. Looking forward to it?
Jason Bonham: I can’t wait, We start in June and go all the way through to August playing festivals around Europe. It’s going to be a phenomenal summer for us. We swing back to the UK to play High Voltage before embarking on a proper English tour where Michael Schenker opens for us. After that, we head back to the States, so there won’t be a moment to rest. What’s nice is we’re nearly always second from the top on some of these festival bills, which is nuts for a band that’s never toured before. I’m also currently on tour in the US with my Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience, where we’re playing to 1500 people a night. I’m so pleased . I can have my fun, play my Zeppelin music, but I’ve also got my own band too. I couldn’t ask for more!