What, having all the albums, even the "Blueberry Cheesecake Sessions", isn't enough? Owning all *5* videos hasn't satisfied your cravings? Seeing them in concert 15 times hasn't caused you to OD on DZ? You mean now you want to TALK about Dread Zeppelin?? Great! You've come to the right place! Just follow the instructions below and subscribe via e-mail from here.

You're probably asking, "What does the Dread Zeppelin Chat List chat about?" Answer: Everything! From Disco Dread and Gary B.I.B.B. to how Tortelvis got his name to Carl Jah's expert Led Zep riffs to what Rasta Li-Mon brought to the DZ sound to the story behind "Big Ol' Gold Belt" to the the band's starring role in the worst movie ever made. (Whew! There's a bunch to talk about!) Lots of chat about Elvis and Led Zeppelin, too, of course. The chat list is very fortunate to have Jah Paul Jo among its subscribers. So, as a member of the Dread Zep Chat List, you'll get the inside scoop. (For "pure innertanement", check out these recent chat list posts .)

Looking forward to chatting with you!

To post to this list, send your mail to dreadzep-list@eskimo.com. All mail sent to this address will go to all who are subscribed. Please do not send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to the list! Make sure you send those to the -request address.

If you have any questions, comments or flames, send them to chat list host, Jeremy Mixer, at zepmeist@gwi.net

Musings from the Dread Zeppelin Chat List...

The very first time I ever saw or heard of Dread Zeppelin was on 'Entertainment Tonight' way back in 1990. It was quite amusing to see the ET hosts even *talking* about Led Zeppelin, and I had a big-ol' grin on my face the entire time. Anyway, at the end of the story they mentioned that Dread's dream project was to do a reggae interpretaion of Jimmy's "Death Wish 2" Soundtrack, which had me rolling on the floor!

Later,
Scott S.

 

I just got 'No Quarter Pounder' today! I like it even more than I thought possible! And I have a really heavy thing to lay on y'all: I prefer DZ's 'American Trilogy', 'Viva Las Vegas' and 'Teddy Bear' to Elvis's! Yes, it's true! This is a really big thing to admit and I'm glad I could share it with all of you, my DZ pals. 'American Trilogy' is so pure it's just as good as goin' to church!

Dreadfully yours,
Kerri

 

DZ should do 'The Crunge' (if they haven't already) and at the end, have Tortelvis running around frantically asking 'Has anyone seen the fridge?'

It's worth thinking about...

Jeremy

 

At the very start of DZ, I used a Guild Starfire - my first guitar, had it since I was 8. I have always loved Guild guitars. I have The Starfire, The Jetstar and the 'Electric Mud,' Muddy Waters Edition. The original bass that Butt-Boy played was a Starfire that belonged to me. (Butt-Boy eventually ruined all of the equipment that he borrowed from me). The Starfire was a very cool guitar but a real bother to keep tuned.

I was looking for something unusual and, one day while scouring the Hollywood 'Walk of Guitars', I found my first Hallmark 'Sweptwing'. Love at first sight. Of course the righteous guitar-dudes in the shop laughed at me when I bought it. But they laughed at Liberace, too, y'know. I played the original for around two years. The best photo of it is probably on the cover of the 'It's Not Unusual' CD (or was it the long box??).

Jah Paul Jo

 

The best Dread Zep concert I have seen was here in Las Vegas New Year's Eve '95. They sang 'Viva Las Vegas' at the stroke of midnight and the crowd went WILD!

Viva Las Vegas and Dread Zep!

Scott in Vegas

 

I talked to Tort after the show in Ames, IA a couple of weeks ago, and he told me that Dread is in the middle of recording an all-originals album titled "Spambake". I'm pretty excited.

Jeremy (who can't get "Big Ol' Gold Belt" out of his head) Sheeley

 

I'm kind of an extremist when it comes to music that I like. I try to buy anything I can find on a band that I like. I immediately went out and bought used CDs of 'Un-led-Ed' and '5,000,000'. I also paid $10 each for the first two Birdcage singles, I didn't know I could buy them from Birdcage. I still didn't know much about the band, but I loved the music.

In the summer of 1992 I read in the local paper that DZ was coming to Cleveland. My wife reluctantly agreed to go with me. Then I read an interview that detailed the departure of Tortelvis and Ed Zeppelin. I went to the store and checked out "Unusual" and the set list. Not knowing the situation, and without Tortelvis, I decided not to go. A move I regret to this day. I continued picking up various DZ items. Finally in 1993, I stumbled across 'Hot & Spicy' at a record store. I was happy to see that Tortelvis was back and the band was doing Zeppelin tunes again. I eventually wrote to Birdcage, joined the fan club, and purchased just about every CD and video that was available. I highly recomend them all.

Mike P.

 

Whatever happened to the rumor'd "AeroSmiths" take that was supposed to come after It's Not Unusual? You know, where the remaining members of Dread Zeppelin do Smiths songs in an Aerosmith style and Aerosmith songs in a Morrissey death match mood?

Peace and Health,
Jon Steltenpohl

 

Before the Tortster covered it on 'No Quarter Pounder', Gary did it on 'It's Not Unusual". Unfortunately, Lionel Richie wouldn't give DZ permission to issue it in this country. That's a shame, because the album really worked better with 'Brick' seguing quicky off 'Dancin' On The Killin' Floor.' For years, the only way to get 'Brick' was to score the Japanese version of INU. I think Gary's version works much better than Tort's.

JPJo, bless his heart, included it on Dread Talk's last fan CD compilation.

Mike

 

And as good DZ fans we do know from where the 'claw' comes don't we? That's right, it is a combination of Robert Plant whimsical magician-like hand gestures (watch 'The Song Remains the Same' live concert video) and Elvis Presley's karate-like and inspired hand gestures, and the way he holds his hands/arms in the air at the end of a song (see 'Live via Satellite from Hawaii' concert video).

Andy

 

When I first got this particular CD, didn't know the name of the song, and frankly I wondered what the hell they were singing. There is a little clever rap about halfway through.....then a terrific solo.....next thing you know, the rhythm from the solo part of 'Over the Hills and Far Away' is dominating the song, and adds a great ring to it. Actually, I think 'Big Ol' Gold Belt' has to be my all time favorite DZ song.....

Jeremy

 

What's the CD called which has the b-sides and unreleased stuff that JPJo sent me? Does it have a name or anything? I really like the live version of 'Woodstock' on it and 'Hey Hey What Can I Do'. Do I hear touches of 'The Rover' in the beginning of 'Jailhouse Rock'?

Did DZ ever consider recording "Candy Store Rock"? Or would that song have been too obvious? It's got all sorts of food lines, and Plant sings it quite obviously in an Elvis-ish manner. 'Woh baby baby, I got a sweet tooth but my mouth is full... woh baby baby, I got my spoon inside your jar...'

Whippin' cupcakes,
VINOD

 

Some of my friends say ZZ Top does the best 'Viva Las Vegas' until they hear Dread. Yes to 'No Quarter Pounder'!!!!!!

Jay

 

I need my memory refreshed. Jah Paul Jo...is he the one that looks like Peter Frampton or the tall one who has such a stunning wardrobe?

Robert

 

Well, I just got 'Hot and Spicy Beanburger,' and 'The First No-Elvis' in the mail. Thanks JPJo! Years ago, while living in Bratislava, I feared that "It's Not Unusual" was the last DZ disc to come out, and that a great and holy thing had come to an end. (A disco end, no less.) If I'd have known that they just switched labels, I'd have slept better the last three years.

The Birdcage releases are excellent, the other version of 'Stairway...' was surprisingly different. And 'Brick' was profound. So far, though, I think my favourite song is the one about Baby Elvis Jackson going to college. I really like the piano in that one. Where is that riff taken from?

Jared

 

Now is the time when I chime in and take credit for the idea of the Pinto crashing into the milk truck. It was one of a bunch of ideas that we kicked around when I was helping DZ with video stuff. We didn't use it at the time, but I was happy to see the Pinto/milk truck crash show up in a later video. Jah Paul Jo never lets a good idea go to waste....

Warren

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Lynn Hoskins lhoskins@earthlink.net

Last Updated April 30, 1998