NAMM: Whole Lotta Drumming—The Bonzo Bash

Everyone loves Led Zeppelin, right? And everyone has a special place in their heart for its departed drummer, John Bonham.

Fitting then, that one of the highlights of the upcoming (not-to-be-missed) rock convention, NAMM, is the now-annual Bonzo Bash.

Back in 2010, Brian Tichy (Whitesnake, Billy Idol, Foreigner) conceived of a tribute concert. A drumkit would sit center stage, and great drummers would come out and pound out their favorite Led Zeppelin tune, with the house band, The Moby Dicks, providing accompaniment. As it happened, the first such concert, featuring 20 drummers, in the ultimate tribute to Bonzo, occurred on the 30th anniversary of John Bonham’s passing. Many of his family and friends were in attendance. Every year, the list of drummers participating gets longer.

By the final song, all participating drummers pound it out together. It’s not to be missed.

Presented by Natal Drums and Marshall Amplification, Bonzo Bash NAMM Jam 2014, held in connection with this year’s NAMM conference on January 23 is at The Observatory in Santa Ana. Previous Bashes have clocked in at over five hours. The massive list of drummers for the West Coast gig is unreal (see list below, still growing at press time).

House band The Moby Dicks is comprised of  Brent Woods (guitar), Chas West (vocals), Dorian Heartsong (bass), Stephen LeBlanc (keys) and event organizer Brian Tichy on guitar. While the event is going to be wild, it’s also only open to conference attendees, so get your tickets if you haven’t already.

Bonzo Bash tickets

Don’t want the women to be left out with all this tribal male drumming. Friday night features a VIP event with the trumpeted name: “Come Get Pussy Whipped!” featuring live sets by four powerful female bands—The Iron Maidens (Iron Maiden tribute), Hammer of the Broads (Led Zeppelin tribute) and Judas Priestess (Judas Priest tribute), with a special appearance by Camel Toe. It’s all on January 24 at Mirror Image Studios in Anaheim.

VIP tickets

Bonzo Bash on Facebook

Bonzo Bash event on FB

Confirmed Bonzo Bash NAMM Jamm 2014 Drummers (as of Jan. 17)

Seven Antonopolous  (Opiate for the Masses)
Carmine Appice (Cactus, Vanilla Fudge)
Kenny Aronoff (John Fogerty, Smashing Pumpkins)

Charlie Benante (Anthrax)

Athena (The Ex-Wives of Rock, Femme Fatale)

Will Calhoun (Living Colour)
Michael Cartellone (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
Fred Coury (Cinderella)
Jimmy D’Anda (Bullet Boys, Lynch Mob)

Courtney DeAugustine (Montrose)

Chris Frazier (Foreigner)

Mel Gaynor (Simple Minds)

Gene Hoglan (Testament)
John Hummel (Lady Gaga)
Brandon Kachel (Barbarian Overlords)
James Kottak (Scorpions)
Ray Luzier (Korn)
Khurt Maier (Salty Dog)
Xavier Muriel (Buckcherry)
A.J. Pero (Twisted Sister)
Stephen Perkins (Jane’s Addiction)
Mike Portnoy (The Winery Dogs, Dream Theater)
Van Romaine (Steve Morse)
Bobby Rondinelli (Rainbow, Black Sabbath)
Rikki Rockett (Poison)
Chris Slade (The Firm, AC/DC)
Glen Sobel (Alice Cooper)
Jason Sutter (Marilyn Manson, Chris Cornell)
Matt Starr (Ace Frehley)
Chad Szeliga (Black Label Society)
Brian Tichy (Whitesnake, Foreigner, Billy Idol, S.U.N.)
Joe Travers (Zappa Plays Zappa)
Steven Wolf (Avril Lavigne)
Simon Wright (AC/DC, Dio, Queensryche)