It’s full on with the in progress TBL 33 right now and the latest addition to the content of  this forthcoming issue is the interview I conducted a couple of weeks back with Barney Hoskyns. His book Trampled Underfoot The Power And Excess of Led Zeppelin is due out next week.  My conversation with Barney centred on the construction of the book, the numerous interviews he undertook and his take on the story. This discussion got right into the world of Led Zeppelin –something I’ve been lucky enough to experience a fair few times when interviewing the likes of Peter Grant, Bill Curbishley, Richard Cole, Warren Grant etc. Barney has a very balanced take –while there is plenty of the dark stuff represented in the book he has also centered on their extraordinary achievements. As he put it:

‘’I would really like to feel that people come away from it with a sense of absorbing the Led Zeppelin story with a microscope and getting really deep into the human side of it and what it really felt like to be in the middle of that world and to be swimming in their river.’’ Barney has produced a very different slant in allowing the interviewees to speak for themselves in oral quotes based format.

The result of this lengthy conversation will be presented in full in the forthcoming TBL issue 33 due early October.

Incidentally the interview took place in the Hammersmith based offices of Rocks Back Pages the on line rock archive Barney is director of. This is a vast online source of countless features on rock and pop writing from a variety of journalists and magazines – NME, Melody Maker etc. RBP produces a highly informative weekly newsletter offering archive content and more. For more details and how you can subscribe here.

http://www.rocksbackpages.com/

The office is something of an Aladdin’s cave of literally thousands of back copies of all manner of music magazines from the last 50 plus years. I was literally amongst rocks back pages – and like a kid in a candy store because this is my bag – I have a fair few back issues of this type myself but this was just amazing to view – endless bound copies of NME, Melody Maker, Disc, Kerrang, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Cream etc – you name and it’s likely to be there. I put this to the test when I stumbled upon copies the visionary UK rock magazine Let It Rock. I was an avid subscriber of this mag from age 16 in the 1970s. Lo and behold Barney was able to fish out the February 1974 issue that has the first ever DL printed text – a letter I wrote proclaiming (quite rightly) the importance of bootleg LP’s. Memories indeed.

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It was good to catch up with Hats Off To Led Zeppelin boys at their sold out gig at the excellent Stables venue in Milton Keynes. They played a great set and went down a storm and I have to single out drummer Simon Wicker who was absolutely awesome. Dear John himself would have been proud of that performance. Afterwards it was nice to catch up with Warren Grant and his lady Karen -and always great to see Mark Harrison.

Beforehand we hooked up with the TBL crew at a barbeque at Michaela’s house in nearby Bletchley. Thanks to Dan for the cooking, Charlie for letting me play the drums in their garage and Michaela for showing me such household delights as her beautiful antique 78rpm wind up gramaphone. Legendary!

Michaela and Gramaphone

With Hats Off post gig at the Stables MK

Warren, Karen, DL and Janet at the Hats Off Stables gig

Mark, Warren, Tom, DL, Phil post Hats Off gig – combined Led Zep Earls Court gigs attended between us at least 17!

I had an advance hearing of the new Black Country Communion Afterglow album this week – it’s another supremely crafted exercise in the art of what one might describe as modern classic rock. The band sound very much a collective unit. Highlights include the Who like Midnight Sun which has a Won’t Get Fooled like opening and a wonderfully acrobatic solo from Joe B, Big Train which has a deep soulful vocal performance from Glenn while This is Your Time which is forcefully driven along by Jason. More on this to follow.

Here’s a link to all the latest BCC info:

http://www.noblepr.co.uk/Press_Releases/blackcountrycommunion/afterglow.htm

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Here’s a mixcloud link to hear the lengthy interview I did on MonFM with Andrew Mon Hughes on August 7th talking about the usual subject…and the Whisper to a Scream book. It turned into quite a relaxed podcast like chat – it’s about 45 minutes long so if you can find some time to soak it all up here it all is:

My segment kicks off at 1:07.00.

http://www.mixcloud.com/MonFM/the-classic-rock-show-with-andrew-mon-hughes-070812-8pm-10pm/

The DJ Andrew Mon Hughes is a world expert on the music of The Bee Gees and he had some interesting insight into some Bee Gees related sessions John Bonham contributed to which I’ll be pursuing in a future TBL issue.

Here’s a link to an online interview I did for Helen Donlan at Omnibus Press

http://www.omnibuspress.com/News/12-08-27/Interview_with_Led_Zeppelin_author_Dave_Lewis.aspx

If you have yet to indulge in the book –brighten up your September…here’s the ordering link:

http://www.tightbutloose.co.uk/?page_id=14483

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August 31st is upon us – back in 1969 that was the day Led Zeppelin performed at the Texas International Pop Festival as can be heard via a great sounding tape. I’ve just been playing the CD I have of this titled Plays Pure Blues and from the moment the kitch MC is heard to somewhat say ‘’Ladies and gentlemen please welcome the Led Zepp-elin’’ and they kick in to Train Kept A Rollin’ this is an absolute sensational performance.

This is for me one of, if not the best if the best Zep live remnants of their first 12 months together.

So that has been on the player –I also clocked a listen to the rather fine Duquesne Whistle the new single from Bob Dylan’s new album Tempest –the album has received some rave reviews.

Elsewhere spurred on by Mike Tremaglio’s magnificent Zep 1972 USA tour log in the forthcoming TBL, I had a good listen to some 72 CD’s including Burn Like A Candle,Triangle of Love, Sizzles In Seattle and the official How The West Was Won.  Get ready to do the same when TBL 33 lands in early October.

Above: Work in progress TBL 33

Here’s the ordering links:

For the single issue

http://www.tightbutloose.co.uk/?page_id=15543

For 2012 subscriptions

http://www.tightbutloose.co.uk/?page_id=1469

It’s the good lady Janet’s birthday today (we had a nice trip out earlier to nearby Hitchin) and mine ahead next Wednesday. Can’t beleive its’ nearly the end of the summer as it feels like we did not get much of one and It’s already beginning to feel like autumn.

On going into September is more work to complete TBL 33 and other projects –so it’s ever onward , though it isn’t always easy – but like the sign says, you have to keep calm and carry on…

Have a great weekend,

Dave Lewis – August 31st, 2012.