Brian Thomas Tichy and his partner Joe Sutton have decided to bring their Bonzo Bash/John Bonham celebration to New York and New Jersey for three shows commemorating the life of rock’s ultimate drummer. The spectacles, sponsored by Modern Drummer Magazine, have been booked on May 30th, May 31st and June 1st to pay tribute to John Henry Bonham on and around what would have been his 65th birthday.
Since the first epic/never done before Bonzo Bash (The Groove Remains The Same) on Zeptember 25th, 2010, which brought 18 of the world’s best drummers together on one drum kit in West Hollywood, Tichy and Sutton have done a total of five Bonzo Bashes with each one gaining more momentum and much deserved attention. With a list that is far too long to include here, it should be noted that 50 drummers and 30 guests have performed over 100 songs through the course of these marathon shows! The last Bonzo Bash, on Jan 24th 2013, the most talked about show at the NAMM music convention, sold out and a second night could have been added. 30 drummers played with a total of 52 performers over the course of 5 hours.
Tichy said, “I had this idea back in 2010 when one day it occurred to me that John Bonham and Led Zeppelin were the only band I had never stopped listening to for over 30 years. The idea literally came to me in that instant. I was going to go for a backyard party or a kegger in a rehearsal room, but then figured if all these drummers actually get together and make it a “thing,” it should be made available for people to see so I talked to promoter Joe Sutton, a Zep Head himself, who happened to have the exact night on hold at Key Club and that was that!
The concept is simple: each drummer chooses his or her favorite Led Zeppelin song and plays it on an amber acrylic drum kit with house band The Moby Dicks. This coming together of the world’s best drummers also brings with it an undeniable, communal spirit that is very hard to find at any other type of rock show. We all have a great time as it’s all about celebrating the amazing drumming of John Bonham and his timeless impact. The energy is thick, the egoless vibes prevail and we all walk away with great memories! I’ve never seen so many smiling faces at a rock show.
People constantly ask for us to take this juggernaut on the road but in theory, it’s not unlike a river crossing of wildebeests during migration season! But, by going to a city like New York with my home state New Jersey next door and inviting the best drummers in the area, it became apparent that we may be able to pull this off after all.
So, grab a couple tickets and get dazzled by a great house band and one of the most unique shows you’ll ever see featuring some of the world’s best drummers around.
Bonzo Bash East Coast Dates:
Thursday, May 30th, The Gramercy, NYC
Friday, May 31st, Revolution, Amityville, Long Island, NY
Saturday, June 1st, Bergan PAC, Englewood, NJ
Drummers: (appearance info. goes by “NYC, LI and/or NJ”)
Carmine Appice (Drum Legend/ Co-hosting ONLY) NYC/ LI/ NJ
Michael Cartellone (Lynyrd Skynyrd/ Damn Yankees) NYC/ LI/ NJ
Liberty Devitto (Billy Joel) LI/ NJ
Joe Franco (Good Rats/ Twisted Sister/ Widowmaker) NYC/ LI/ NJ
Jerry Gaskill (King’s X) NYC/ LI/ NJ
Jojo Mayer (Nerve) NYC/ LI/ NJ
Johnny Kelly (Danzig/Type O Negative) NYC/ LI/ NJ
Jonathan Mover (Aretha Franklin/ Joe Satriani) NYC/ LI/ NJ
A.J. Pero (Twisted Sister) NYC/ LI/ NJ
Mike Portnoy (Adrenaline Mob/ Winery Dogs/ Dream Theater) NJ
Thommy Price (Joan Jett/ Billy Idol) NYC
Van Romaine (Steve Morse) LI/ NJ
Bobby Rondinelli (Rainbow/ Black Sabbath) NYC/ LI/ NJ
Matt Starr (Ace Frehley/ Burning Rain) NYC/ LI/ NJ
Chad Szeliga (Black Label Society/ Breaking Benjamin) NJ
Brian Tichy (Whitesnake/ Foreigner/ S.U.N.) NYC/ LI/ NJ
Steven Wolf (Alicia Keys/ Pink/ Britney Spears) NYC/ LI/ NJ
Special Guests:
Russell Allen (Adrenaline Mob/ Tred) NYC/LI/NJ
Randy Jackson (Zebra) NYC
Sass Jordan (S.U.N.) NYC/LI/NJ
Mike Orlando (Adrenaline Mob/ Tred) NYC/LI/NJ
Eddie Trunk (That Metal Show) Hosting NJ
***Many more drummers and special guests to be announced!***
The Moby Dicks:
Rob Clores (Black Crowes/ Enrique Iglesias) Keys (East Coast Moby Dick/Special Guest)
John “JD” DeServio (Black Label Society/ C.O.P.) Bass (East Coast Moby Dick/Special Guest)
Chas West (Bonham/ Lynch Mob) Vocals (Moby Dick)
Brent Woods (Vince Neil/ Sebastian Bach/ Brentwood Forest) Guitar (Moby Dick)
For more information, please visit facebook.com/bonzosbirthdaybash.
4 Responses
Does Jason Bonham participate in or endorse this? Just curious.
Not involved but played the very first one I’m told
Not involved, not happy itchyis making money and gaining attention from his father.
Hey Lovegun — are you speaking from personal knowledge or just being an idiot piping in with your own conjecture? Let me get this straight — Tichy is “gaining attention” from his father, not from playing drums for/with WHITESNAKE, OZZY, BILLY IDOL, SLASH, FOREIGNER, STEVEN TYLER & JOE PERRY, ZAKK WYLDE, EDDIE VAN HALEN and scores of others — {{{smirks}}} Why the hell would Jason be anything other than supportive of something that keeps his dad in the public eye? Methinks you’re talking out your ass Lovegun72, Jason’s not like that. He and Tichy are friends.