Yardbirds.US: News

If you've seen The Yardbirds recently then you know what a fantastic harmonica player that Billy Boy Miskimmin is. Billy's first solo album 'Billy Boy Comes Clean' is now available via mail order from this site. $20.00 check or money order to:
Russ Garrett
459 Columbus Ave
#145
NY NY 10024

Give a listen to some of the tunes on MySpace:


http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=142024979

Pete Townshend And Bill Wyman To Open For Led Zeppelin

Pete Townshend will be one of the opening acts for November's Led Zeppelin reunion show in London. BBC.co.uk reported that Townshend will perform a solo set backed by Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings. Also performing at the November 26th show at London's O2 Arena will be 20-year-old Italian-born crooner Paolo Nutini.

The show, which is being performed in tribute to Atlantic Record co-founderAhmet Ertegun, who died last December. Ertegun had played a key role in signing Townshend, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, and many others.


The show marks Townshend's first full-scale solo appearance since 2001 and Zeppelin's first group performance since their appearance on May 14th, 1988 at New York's Madison Square Garden for the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary concert.

The upcoming London show, like the 1988 performance, will include drummer Jason Bonham filling in for his dad, the late John Bonham.

Led Zeppelin


September 17, 2007, 10:40 AM ET

Legendary rock combo Led Zeppelin is reforming, but for one night only. The British band will play a one-off show at London's 22,000-capacity O2 arena on Nov. 26 as part of a tribute to Atlantic Records co-founder and chairman emeritus Ahmet Ertegun, who died last December. The band recorded for Atlantic its entire career.

The Who's Pete Townshend, former Rolling Stone Bill Wyman, Foreigner and Paolo Nutini will also perform at the event. Profits will benefit the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund, which provides scholarships to universities in the United States, United Kingdom and Ertegun's homeland, Turkey.

Tickets costing £125 ($254) will be allocated on a lottery basis through the Ahmettribute.com web site.

Confirmation of the show, putting an end to several months of speculation, came at a press conference today (Sept. 13) at the O2 when the three surviving members of Led Zeppelin, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, confirmed they would reunite onstage for just the third time in 27 years. The drummer for the evening will be Jason Bonham, son of the band's original drummer John Bonham, who died from a heart attack in 1980.

The concert will follow the release of a new Atlantic/Rhino two-disc, 24-track best-of set, "Mothership," due Nov. 13 in the United States.


Page, Plant and Jones initially reformed with Genesis' Phil Collins and Chic/Power Station sticksman Tony Thompson sharing drum duties for a performance at Live Aid in Philadelphia in 1985. In May 1988, Jason Bonham joined the three originals for another 'one-off" reunion at an Atlantic Records 40th anniversary concert in New York.

Plant and Page teamed in 1994 for an MTV special and subsequently toured globally and released two albums. Jones has also released two solo albums, although his post-Zeppelin work has largely concentrated on production and arranging.

For those who like to buy songs individually or simply prefer to download here are links at all the Mooreland Street releases available at iTunes:

Please bookmark and use your direct link:

Yardbirds: Yardbirds Reunion Jam
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=6444368
British Invasion All-Stars: British Invasion All-Stars
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=5939852
Downliners Sect: Burning Snow
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=14123264
Jim McCarty Blues Band: Outside Woman Blues
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=30830609
Dave Walker & The Ambulators: Mostly Sonny-A Tribute To Sonny Boy
Williamson
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=44991705
The Pretty Things 'n Mates: Rockin The Garage
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=74517118
The Yardbirds: Reunion Jam Vol II
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=130239091
Stairway (Jim McCarty & Loui Cennamo): Raindreaming
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=192564309
Various Artists: Yardbirds Family Tree
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=200385005

Beck denies he's reforming the Yardbirds with Page
(Saturday July 21, 2007 01:20 PM)


Rocker JEFF BECK has denied reports he and JIMMY PAGE are reuniting legendary 1960s band THE YARDBIRDS for a tour to begin in October (07).

Beck and Page were said to be recruiting bassist Chris Deja and drummer Jim McCarty for the road trip, with former member Eric Clapton refusing to take part.

But Beck's manager tells website Billboard.com "there is no truth to any of the rumours" regarding the guitar ace's involvement in a potential reunion.

The Yardbirds had the distinction of seeing three of the most highly-regarded guitarists of a generation - Beck, Page and Clapton - pass through its ranks.

Beck and Page's presence in the band overlapped for a few months in 1966, a time in Yardbirds history captured by a performance in the classic movie Blow Up.

The Yardbirds split in 1968 and original vocalist Keith Relf died from electrocution in 1976, although Deja and McCarty have been touring under the name since the 1990s.

Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Inductees The Yardbirds Release Live CD
On a hot July 19th evening in 2006, the B.B. King Blues Club in New York City was host to the legendary Yardbirds. Captured on tape was a blistering non-stop set of powerful blues and rock n' roll, performed to an insatiable crowd crackling with excitement.

"Live at B.B. King Blues Club" captures a truly memorable performance of 19 songs including such Yardbirds classics as "For Your Love", "Heart Full of Soul", "Shapes of Things", and "Train Kept A Rollin'".

The band features founding members Jim McCarty and Chris Dreja, guitarist Ben King, vocalist John Idan, and harmonica player Billy Boy Miskimmin.

Digital downloads can be purchased at iTunes and all other online music stores. The CD is not found in regular retail music-stores,
The album went on sale today in England and is available at Amazon.Co.Uk (There is a direct link to buy the album on the 'Music Shoppe' page)

Check out the Yardbirds at any of the following stops:
August 9th, New Bedford, Mass (With Eric Burdon)
August 10 Zoellner Arts Center Bethlehem, PA
August 18 Lewis and Clark Landing Omaha, NE
August 24 Hartwood Acres Pittsburgh, PA
August 28 B.B. King Blues Club New York City, NY
August 29th, The Ram's Head, Annapolis, Md.
August 30 Mohegan Sun Casino Uncasville, CT

To all fans of the RaveUps,

The RaveUps (Yardbirds Tribute Band) are very proud to announce their inclusion in the 40th anniversary of the Monterey Pop Festival of 1967 ! The Yardbirds were always considered one of the best and most respected of the British Invasion bands. No other band produced so many legends such as, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page. The Yardbirds dramatically changed the early rock landscape. A tribute to The Yardbirds presents the challenge of creating accurate renditions of the recorded Yardbirds songs, and their free-flowing and open jams called "RAVES". From this music form, the bands name The RaveUps emerged

In addition to several tribute bands such as the RaveUps, Festival director Andrew Hernandez is presenting the "Monterey Summer of Love Festival" this July 28th & 29th from the exact same stage as the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, and has secured five of the original acts who performed in ’67: The Jefferson Starship, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Big Brother and the Holding Company featuring Cathy Richardson of "Love, Janis" fame, Moby Grape and the Grateful Dead’s Tom Constanten. Headlining the event are Riders on the Storm, featuring Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek celebrating the 40th anniversary of The Doors by performing a long list of Doors hits!

Performing on either the main or tribute stages are world class tribute bands, Second Flyte as the Byrds, Carlton Poward as Jimi Hendrix, The Sun Kings performing the Beatles Sgt. Pepper album with orchestra, the Unauthorized Rolling Stones, The RaveUps as the Yardbirds, San Francisco’s Summer of Love Players as The Mamas and the Papas, The Who and The Animals and just added The Floyd Project tribute to Pink Floyd so all the 40th anniversaries are covered with a live performance!.

Also performing from the late 60’s are The Electric Flag, the music of It's A Beautiful Day featuring David LaFlamme and friends and songs from the hit ’67 musical "HAIR" performed by the Stagelight Troop including some of the original cast members. Festival director Andrew Hernandez is also booking contemporary artists to attract Generations X and Y, hoping the kids of the ‘60s and younger generations will connect to discuss today’s world issues and help inspire the surging young activist groups around the World.

Please join us for an exciting weekend in Monterey, celebrating not only the music of the past, and the British invasion, but the beauty of the Monterey area.

The RaveUps

Chris Soleberg, Dave Seabury, Kit Newkirk, Bob Lewis, and Rich Snider

For more info checkout the links below.

http://www.summer67.com/performing.html
http://www.theraveups.com/
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=raveups&search=Search

Jimmy Page - Magus, Musician, Man is a meticulously researched life story of Led Zeppelin's legendary guitarist and producer. From his childhood in war-torn Britain and his pivotal role in the recording studios that launched the British Invasion of the '60s to his milestone achievements, his dark, nefarious excesses with Led Zeppelin, and his emergence as a revered cultural icon and honored philanthropist, this biography - the first ever written about Jimmy Page - portrays all his spiritual, artistic, and personal dimensions. Swinging London, the Sunset Strip, Bron-yr-Aur, Kashmir, and Clarksdale: Magus, Musician, Man traverses through all of Page's hallowed stomping grounds and tells, at last, the complete story of one of rock 'n' roll's most enigmatic and influential talents.

New Crossfire Releases - Led Zeppelin, Zombies and Former Zappa Members - Soon To Hit The Streets



New York, NY. (Top40 Charts/ Glass Onyon PR) - Formidable publisher and record label, Crossfire Records, has some ambitious new releases lined-up for Spring 2007. Crossfire, who has blazed a name in the rock music publishing field by issuing invaluable documentations on music legends like Frank Zappa, Jethro Tull, Manfred Mann and The Zombies, are sole distributors of Led Zeppelin: The Montreux Concerts. Led Zeppelin can be considered the quintessential rock stars of the 1970s with their special brand of classic hard rock. Written by Gilles Chateau and Sam Rapallo, the book explores the band's special relationship with the legendary concert venue, home of the famous Montreux Jazz Festival. Co-author and photographer of Led Zeppelin: The Montreux Concerts, Gilles Chateau, shares his incredible never-before-seen collection of photographs along with insightful interviews, research and text by Sam Rapallo. A portion of the proceeds from the book's sales go to two of Jimmy Page's charities - The ABC Trust and Casa Jimmy.
In keeping with the Led Zeppelin book, Crossfire is making exclusively available Danish photographer Jorgen Angel's fantastic limited edition lithograph "The First Performance", with photos from Led Zeppelin's very first gig in Copenhagen, Denmark on Sept. 7, 1968.


more info at http://www.crossfirepublications.com

Sunday 25th March, a stellar line-up of musicians representing the roots of British rhythm n' blues and rock n' roll will be collaborating to commemorate the life of Art Wood. The evening promises plenty of musical surprises and will be held at York House, Twickenham Town Hall. Art Wood was an industrious protagonist in the early British rhythm and
blues scene, beginning as vocalist for Blues Incorporated with Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies. He went on to form his own band The Artwoods in 1964 and by 1969 after The Artwoods had split, he brought together the fruition of Quiet Melon, a precursor line-up to The Faces. Art Wood remained active as a musician until the time of his illness last year. Sadly following a six-month battle with prostate cancer, he passed away on 3rd November 2006; all proceeds from this gala event will be donated to The Prostate Cancer Charity.

At this stage, artists confirmed to perform at the evening subject to availability are Robin Bibi, The Deputies, The Downliners Sect (with original Sect members Don Craine and Keith Grant), Mark Freeman (Rollin' Stoned), John Hogg and Jesse Wood, John Idan (The Yardbirds), Kenney Jones (The Faces), Mark Lamarr, Leaf Hound (featuring original vocalist Pete French, ex Cactus, Atomic Rooster), Ray Majors (ex Mott The Hoople), Top Topham (Yardbirds), Geno Washington and Tom Nolan and The Bluescasters.

In addition a ‘For One Night Only' line-up of ‘The Art Wood All-Stars' with special guests is being organised. Art's brother Rolling Stone, Ronnie Wood will sign a print of one of his paintings to be auctioned on the night.
Tickets can be purchased via The Eel Pie Club (www.eelpieclub.com) or via Keith Prowse booking agency, full details of the venue and contacts for advanced booking are as follows: -
ART- A Gala Musical Tribute To Art Wood and Celebration Of His Life, Sunday 25th March, Clarendon Hall, York House, Twickenham. Doors open 5pm. Starts 6pm. Finishes 10:30pm approx. Advance Tickets £17.50 (£15.00 Eel Pie Club Members) cash or cheque from Eel Pie Club, or by credit card £17.50 from Keith Prowse, ph. 0870 848 0000, www.keithprowse.com
Author:
Stephanie Lynne Thorburn

Eric Clapton became God when he was a guitarist in the British blues boom finishing school that was John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, a band that also counts Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac) and Mick Taylor (Rolling Stones) as alumni.

Clapton's route to deification is one of many stories woven into Strange Brew, the latest book in Jawbone's critically acclaimed, best-selling day-by-day series. It tells the story of the late 1960s British blues boom, and features not only Eric Clapton and Cream, but also Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones, Manfred Man, Delaney & Bonnie, Blind Faith and John Mayall himself.

Strange Brew is a staggering history, covering hundreds of gigs, radio/TV-appearances, recording sessions, discographical information, trivia, contemporary reviews plus first-hand accounts and recollections from ex-band members and fans. Amidst this treasure trove of information and comment nestle a multitude of fascinating, never-before-published stories, for example, a comprehensive account of Clapton's Greek odyssey in 1965, including the true story of The Glands and Greek band The Juniors, and fresh information about John Mayall's recording with Bob Dylan.

Readers will discover the single live event that provided the opportunity to see and hear Peter Green, Mick Taylor, Jeff Beck, and Eric Clapton, the reviewer who described Fleetwood Mac's 'Albatross' as "a maudlin Mantovani number", the gig at which Mick Taylor and The Rolling Stones were surreptitiously recorded for one of the first rock bootlegs, LiveR Than You'll Ever Be, and the Swedish reporter who described Clapton as sounding "like a lightning strike in a guitar factory". The book's day-by-day format, peppered with great photographs and memorabilia, reveals the way the musicians behind the blues boom worked together, influenced each other, and pushed one another to ever greater achievements.

Author Christopher Hjort is a rock historian, who collaborated with noted American researcher Doug Hinman on the acclaimed chronology of Jeff Beck's career, Jeff's Book. He lives in Oslo, Norway.

Jimmy has revealed plans to record a solo album of new material in early 2007. During an interview with BBC Radio on November 14th he stated that "I'd been hoping earlier on this year to be recording some music that I've already got together, but I had a few things that got in the way of it, and I'm gonna get, I'm gonna start up in the new year. It's an album that I really need to get out of my system. It's fun playing Zeppelin, playing with the Black Crowes, Zeppelin -- and playing their music, too, that was fun -- but there's a good album in there, and it's ready to come out." During the same interview Jimmy also mentioned that there are some more "Led Zeppelin things" that may be released next year.

New book by Dave Thompson....available on Amazon.Com and Amazon.CO.UK

Jeff Beck stands alongside fellow ex-yardbirds Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton as one of the greatest electric guitarists Britain has ever produced. His work in the past three decades has encompassed progressive, soul, jazz rock and instrumental music, winning him the accolade of "the guitarist's guitarist" from innumerable musicians' magazines. Yet despite his eclectic output and many collaborators, fans and critics alike hark back to the short-lived Jeff Beck group of the late 1960's, featuring Rod Stewart on vocals and Ronnie Wood on bass, as his greatest single contribution to rock music. Some go so far as to say that "Truth", their first album from 1968, was the first true heavy metal album, a prototype that set the style for countless (and inevitably less talented) outfits to follow. Award-winning author Dave Thompson has put together the first analysis of this seminal work by a notoriously reclusive character, drawing on existing and new interviews with those who were there or thereabouts to give an incisive view of a rock band that enjoyed a short, sweet and highly influential life. The book features in-depth interviews with Beck himself, together with Bandmate Nicky Hopkins, plus a full cast of friends, colleagues, rivals and onlookers, including Mickie Most, Peter Grant, Donovan, Jim McCarty*, Simon Napier Bell, Lulu, John Entwistle (the who), Jack Bruce (cream), Noel Redding (the Jimi Hendrix experience) and many others, "Truth!" fills this gap at last, to emerge the first truly comprehensive biography of its subject. "Truth!" should receive very favourable press reviews and all the major Jeff Beck, Rod Stewart and rolling stones websites will be promoting the book to the large and very loyal fanbase.

Clapton Could Use Your Help
The producers of Clapton's forthcoming video anthology spanning his career are still looking for your rare home video and photos of Clapton. They're particularly interested in video and images from his time with The Yardbirds, John Mayall's Blues Breakers, Cream, Blind Faith, Delaney & Bonnie, Derek and the Dominos, and anything from the 1970s.

If you have photos, film, video, super 8, or other visual media prior to 1980, please contact them at their new email address: ec_anthology@yahoo.com. Regrettably, the former email address was problematic and the producers would encourage anyone who previously contacted them without a reply to please do so again at this new email address ( ec_anthology@yahoo.com ).

You will be credited and compensated if your footage is used. http://www.ericclapton.com
Nice to know that Clapton wants to include some Yardbirds footage in this. r.g.

Check out the two hour Yardbirds Radio Special on Little Steven's Underground Garage. Great interview with Jim McCarty. Programme #229.

http://www.littlesteven.com

From The London (Canada) Free Times:

Jim McCarty knows the shape of things when it comes to the Yardbirds -- start with the blues and keep adding more.

"We seem to overlap a lot of different styles . . . 'psychedelic blues' is something else that comes to mind," says the drummer, one of two Yardbird originals with the 2006 edition of the British Invasion rock band.

The Yardbirds are among the stars at the 2006 Bluesfest International London, which opens tomorrow with Little Feat headlining at King and Clarence streets in downtown London. The Yardbirds play Saturday night, when David Clayton-Thomas headlines. Guitarist Robin Trower headlines on Sunday, when the fest closes.

More than 40 years ago, the Yardbirds were an R&B band following the lead of the Rolling Stones around suburban London, England. The Yardbirds boasted three of rock's greatest lead guitarists -- Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page -- in succession during the band's glory days of 1964-1968. Rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja is the other original member playing at Bluesfest.

Blues and psychedelic rock -- a style the band helped invent -- are two big parts of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers' myth.

They established their blues street cred by recording with U.S. legend Sonny Boy Williamson late in his life and their place in mod iconography with an appearance in Michelangelo Antonioni's 1966 classic film Blow Up.

"Sonny Boy was quite a character obviously. He was quite drunk most of the time," McCarty says. The Arkansas harmonica player and singer came up with a classic bit of blues mischief when it came time to record. "He did a whole lot of different songs," McCarty says. Startled by their mentor's switcheroo when the tapes were rolling, the young Yardbirds sounded pretty tentative in the drummer's estimation as a result. They sound terrific on their own Five Live Yardbirds, also recorded in 1964. The late singer Keith Relf, who died in 1976, bassist Paul Samwell-Smith and Clapton were there along with Dreja and McCarty back in the day.

The band moved from its bluesy roots to such poppish hits as 1965's For Your Love (too pop for the blues-loving Clapton, who quit) and Heart Full of Soul. Shapes of Things, still the band's signature tune, and Over, Under, Sideways, Down, were hits the next year when Beck was the guitarist.

That is McCarty's own choice as the greatest Yardbirds' era. "The favourite would be '66 -- the year of Shapes of Things," he says. (Your humble host would have to agree!)

It was also the year the band appeared in Blow Up (or Blow-Up as it's sometimes seen). "Antonioni spent five whole days doing that simple shot of us," McCarty says. Antonioni's anti-hero, the photographer played by David Hemmings, enters a London club where the band is playing. The scene shows a fan's dream lineup with Beck, who smashes his guitar, and Page.

Maybe the guitar smashing wasn't just for the Italian director's benefit. Soon, Beck was gone and Page was the guitarist. By 1968, The Yardbirds had crash-landed. Page was left, touring as the New Yardbirds, a band that would morph into Led Zeppelin. Page took a late-era Yardbirds song called Dazed and Confused with him. Eventually, it came to be regarded as Zep's own.

As if to re-establish their claim to the song, the current Yardbirds -- with McCarty, Dreja and three touring musicians -- tend to finish their sets with Dazed and Confused.

McCarty and Dreja revived the band in the 1990s. A guest lineup, including a range of hot guitarists with Beck back for one tune, took part in a 2003 recording of Yardbird classics and new material. One new song, An Original Man (A Song for Keith), pays tribute to Relf.

Lead vocalist and bassist John Idan and harmonica player and backing vocalist Billy Boy Miskinnon are part of the 2006 lineup, taking on the harmonica and vocal duties of Relf and the bass guitar role from Samwell-Smith and Page, who played bass for a time.

Young guitarist Ben King clears up any confusion over who is playing with the band's guitar wizard now. "He's an extraordinary guitar player," Dreja says. "Ben brings youth and energy to the band. When players like Eric (Clapton), Jimmy (Page) and Jeff (Beck) were in the band they were young and unknown, but we saw great potential in them and I see the same potential in Ben."

Mooreland St Records has realesed 'The Yardbirds Family Tree' .... Tracks include cuts by The Yardbirds Experience (with Noel Redding), British Invasion All-Stars, Jim McCarty Band, The Ambulators featuring Dave (Savoy Brown) Walker and 2 new tracks featuring Pete French (Cactus/Atomic Rooster/ Leafhound) on vocals.

NOW available- see Music Shoppe.

From a Hamilton, Ontario newspaper:

Yardbirds founder Chris Dreja is on the phone from his home in London, England. He's the guy who played rhythm guitar behind all three of these guitar gods in their pre-Cream, pre-Zeppelin, pre-Wired days.

We're ostensibly talking about the gig that the latest incarnation of The Yardbirds will play Thursday night at the Corktown. There are 100 questions crowding my mind, none of them about the Corktown gig. But there's one that keeps fighting its way to the front.

"Chris, er, Mr. Dreja, before we talk about the new record and the current tour, I have to ask you one thing. Were you actually first choice as bass player for Led Zeppelin?"

Dreja's heard the question before. He mulls it over carefully. There have been so many versions of the story. The answer goes back 38 years to a seminal moment in rock history, the summer of 1968. The Yardbirds were breaking up. Clapton and Beck had already left to join other bands. Lead singer Keith Relf (who died in 1976, electrocuted while playing guitar in his home) and drummer Jim McCarty left to play folk music and form the band Renaissance.

Page and Dreja tried to keep the Yardbirds going, moving the band in heavier, louder directions. Dreja had switched to bass from rhythm when Page took over the Yardbirds' lead guitar spot (that's right, Jimmy Page was originally hired as a bass player).

They began auditioning vocalists and drummers for what would become, initially, The New Yardbirds and, later, Led Zeppelin. Dreja was the obvious choice for bass. He and Page were already working on early versions of future Zeppelin classics like Dazed and Confused. Dreja was also the senior partner, with four years of Yardbirds credentials behind him. Dreja insists, however, it was never in the cards.

"I had already made my mind up that I was going to follow my other great passion in life ... photography," Dreja, now 60, explains in his polite English accent. "So I had not planned to be in Led Zeppelin. I went on some of the auditions with Jimmy to see Robert Plant and (future Zeppelin drummer) John Bonham, but I wasn't going to go on and play. I had made the decision that I wasn't going to do that and I knew that (future Zeppelin bassist) John Paul Jones would be a perfect choice."

Dreja pauses, perhaps pondering whether he would have been a better choice than Jones, and then adds: "So we'll never know the answer to your question."

Before I even get a chance to blurt out the obvious follow up, he says "No, I don't have any regrets, quite frankly."

He pauses again after being reminded of the untold wealth the surviving members of Led Zeppelin now enjoy.

"Blimey," he blurts out in a stream-of-consciousness second thought. "I don't know. It was a great band, Led Zeppelin. I don't know if I would have wanted to have gone through all that, quite honestly. Yes, I'd be living in a mansion, but, hey man, what can you do? I don't know if all that money and all that success is good for you."

So, how did those Led Zeppelin auditions go, Mr. Dreja?

"There was a bit of a debate whether Plant would make it," he says in a serious tone. "Funny enough, I don't think Robert Plant was Jimmy's first choice. Page was pretty keen on a singer called Terry Reid, actually. The thing is that the two of them, Plant and John Bonham, came as a bit of a pair. You couldn't get one without the other. And Bonham was sensational. Of course, it all proved rather fortuitous, didn't it?"

He means "fortuitous" for Page, Plant, Bonham and Jones, of course. Dreja became a photographer. Ironically, his first paying job in his new craft was to shoot the members of the new band, Led Zeppelin, for the back cover of their first album.

"I got 20 guineas L21, (or the equivalent of about $70 at the time), for doing that," he says. "Of course, at that point no one would have realized it was all going to go the way it did. It wasn't written in stone that Led Zeppelin was going to be the biggest band since The Beatles. I didn't know that, anyway."

For the next 32 years, Dreja devoted himself to his day job, taking pictures for flyers and ad campaigns. There were occasional excursions back to music. In the '80s, Dreja formed a super group called Box of Frogs, consisting of himself, McCarty, Page, Beck and invited guests like Graham Parker and Ian Drury. In 1992, Dreja again got back with McCarty when the Yardbirds were inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. After that, they played occasionally as The Yardbirds with a varying crew of talented pickup musicians.

Three years ago, however, they started taking it more seriously. McCarty and Dreja had written some new songs so they began thinking about recording a new Yardbirds album. They found a bass player/vocalist named John Idan who sounded and even looked a bit like their original singer Keith Relf.

Guitar wizard Steve Vai, formerly of Frank Zappa's band, offered to record them on his Favored Nations label. Vai was a huge fan and offered to play on the album. So did Vai's friend and mentor, Joe Satriani. Dreja and McCarty already had requests from other stellar guitar players to guest on the album -- Brian May from Queen, Slash from Guns N' Roses and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter from Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers. It turns out just about every major guitarist in rock felt they owed a debt to the Yardbirds. Even Jeff Beck got into the act, inviting Dreja and McCarty to his house to record a song in his attic.

"It was bloody brilliant," says Dreja. "And I heard Jimmy (Page) was pissed off he wasn't on it as well."

The critically acclaimed 2003 CD, Birdland, was the result. It consists of eight classics, including Shape of Things, For Your Love, Mr. You're A Better Man Than I and Over Under Sideways Down, as well as seven originals by Dreja and McCarty. Surprisingly, the new songs fit in seamlessly with the old. And the old ones, recorded with that star-studded cast of guitarists, are indeed "brilliant."

The challenge was to take the album on the road. The Yardbirds had some great hits, but they were principally known for their explosive live shows.

"The band had tremendous energy, colossal energy," Dreja recalls about the great Yardbird jams known as rave-ups to their fans."We would start power chording, tearing the 12-bar apart and at some point we'd just go a bit mad, powering the chords to a crescendo, taking them to the top of the mountain and then breaking them up again."

The key was to find a touring guitarist of unquestioned virtuosity who could bring those days back to life. They settled on 21-year-old prodigy Ben King, whom Dreja describes as "a young Eric Clapton." As a matter of fact, Dreja says, the current five-piece unit can still pull off a rave-up in new versions of songs like Smokestack Lightning.

"It's a very exciting band," he says. "It doesn't lean against the bar and take a bow. It fights every night which is how it was in the old days. We never do anything the same way twice and a lot of these things have evolved. Smokestack Lightning almost goes into psychedelia at one point. It's quite amazing."

We are pleased to announce that The Yardbirds first manager GIORGIO GOMELSKY will be in the audience the night of July 19th at BB Kings in NYC.
Giorgio was the man that 'discovered' The Yardbirds and gave them their residency at the famous Crawdaddy Club in London when The Rolling Stones moved on to bigger and better things.

XM Radio will be broadcasting live from B.B. King's Blues Club on 42nd St in NYC on July 19th.

Five LIVE Yardbirds! Be there or be square 8pm on XM 40, AOL Radio or on Direct TV.

LOS ANGELES, May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Eric Clapton is the most admired and honored guitarist of the rock era. By the time he recorded his 1970 solo debut, he was already a superstar thanks to his work in the Yardbirds, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Cream and Blind Faith. Today, the 17-time Grammy winner is the only three-time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -- with the Yardbirds, Cream and solo. Revisiting his debut album, ERIC CLAPTON - DELUXE EDITION (Polydor/UMe), to be released May 23, 2006, explores the landmark recording by expanding the album to two CDs with a remastered version of the original, a previously unreleased mix of the entire album, session outtakes, and related singles recordings.

Box of Frogs- back in print!

In 1982 former Yardbirds members Chris Dreja, Jim McCarty and Paul Samwell-Smith asked John Fiddler to front their new band Box Of Frogs. The band released two albums, with guest guitarists such as Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Steve Hackett, Rory Gallagher - and Ray Majors!
Long out of print now re-released on Acadia Records.

Track listing:

1. Back Where I Started
2. Harder
3. Another Wasted Day
4. Love Inside You
5. Edge
6. Two Steps Ahead
7. Into The Dark
8. Just A Boy Again
9. Poor Boy
10. Get It While You Can
11. You Mix Me Up
12. Average
13. House On Fire
14. Hanging From The Wreckage
15. Heart Full Of Soul
16. Asylum
17. Strange Land
18. Trouble
19. Nine Lives

Legendary rockers David Bowie and Eric Clapton from Cream will receive lifetime achievement Grammy Awards next month. Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker will of course receive Grammy Awards as well.


Veteran rock acts David Bowie and Cream, country outlaw Merle Haggard and blues legend Robert Johnson will receive lifetime achievement Grammy Awards next month, organizers of music's top honors said on Tuesday.

Also set to receive plaques will be opera singer Jessye Norman, late comedian Richard Pryor and folk group the Weavers.

Wed Dec 14, 9:44 AM ET

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page went to Buckingham Palace on Wednesday to receive an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, or OBE, from Queen Elizabeth II — but the award was for his work with poor Brazilian children rather than his music.

The 61-year-old rocker said he was overwhelmed to be given the accolade, recalling how he first became involved with Brazilian children in 1994 when fighting broke out between street gangs while he was in Rio de Janeiro promoting an album.

"At that time in Rio the sun wasn't shining. The army was going into the favelas (shantytowns) and I heard about the plight of the street children," Page told reporters.

He joined forces with the British charity Task Brazil and set up a safe house which has so far supported more than 300 children.

"I think when you're faced with a plight that's inescapable, and there's something you can do about it, you hope you can make a difference," he said.

Task Brazil offers medical and psychological support, food, clothing and job training for street children.

Page was a member of the 1960s band The Yardbirds before helping to set up Led Zeppelin.

BEN KING THE YARDBIRDS NEW LEAD GUITARIST

[Oct. 2005] Due to conflicting commitments to outside assignments, The Yardbirds and Jerry Donahue have mutually agreed to a parting of ways. The Yardbirds have been honoured to have Jerry as one of their lead guitar players.

The Yardbirds tradition of working with musicians of extreme individual talent and potential has lead us to passing the guitarists mantle to a new generation of player. Twenty one year old Ben King has stunned everyone in the band with his unbelievable natural gifts and feel for our music. Ben will undoubtedly be a future star that we are proud to have discovered and we are very excited to have this young and brilliant prodigy in our ranks.