John Paul Jones doesn’t need any more accolades. The bassist, keyboardist and rock’n’roll badass anchored Led Zeppelin – arguably the most influential hard rock band in history – and has gone on to work on too many cool projects to list.
When he took the stage at London’s O2 Arena in 2007 with his Zeppelin bandmates Jimmy Page and Robert Plant (as well as Jason Bonham, son of the late, great Zep drummer John Bonham), Jones sealed his reputation as a first-class artist with deep soul, clear tone and dazzling skill.
Jones could have easily rested on his laurels, retreated to the countryside with his myriad acoustic instruments and given his ears a well-deserved rest, but instead he formed one of the most captivating new groups in contemporary rock: Them Crooked Vultures.
Them Crooked Vultures was a collaboration between Jones, former Nirvana drummer and current Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, and Queens of the Stone Age leader Josh Homme. They took the ’70s riff rock of Jones’ youth and mixed it with the punk rock energy of drummer Grohl. Homme, for his part, drew from the muddy depths of his stoner rock past.
“When we first got together, we just jammed in a normal way,” Jones said Bassist. “New catch was one of these early works.
“Another idea Josh had, Dave and I looked at each other and thought, ‘Are you serious? What are you thinking?!’ He played this riff that he had recorded in a hotel room on an electric guitar that wasn’t even plugged in, but Josh told us, ‘No, it’ll be good,’ so we tried it and that became the track Reptiles. If you heard the first demo of this song, you wouldn’t believe it.”
Bassist spoke to John Paul Jones in March 2010 about what it’s like playing with Dave Grohl, why you need a pick to play multi-string basses, and why he has no plans to write an autobiography.
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How did you record with Them Crooked Vultures?
“We basically went into Josh’s studio, sat in a room and wrote and recorded at the same time. It was a very organic process where we were grooving in the studio and working on each other’s ideas. There was a lot of laughter too – it’s incredible that we got so much work done!”
Had you played with Dave Grohl before these sessions?
“No, I didn’t. He’s wonderful and we get on really well. He appreciates good grooves and good riffs. We listen to each other, we encourage each other and we challenge each other, it’s the best combination.”
Has your sound concept changed a lot over the course of this project?
“I play a lot more with a pick. When playing multi-string basses, you have to use a pick, otherwise you can’t take full advantage of the double crosses.”
Do you find that playing with a pick affects your bass response?
“No, not really. It’s just a different feel – a different touch. It’s a much faster touch and gives you more rhythmic drive, especially on faster songs.”
What is that wild looking guitar you’re playing? Nobody loves me and neither do I?
“This is an instrument that Hugh Manson made that is based on the Melobar. It basically lets me play lap steel while I move around the stage. I wanted one that I could hang around my neck, so I asked Hugh to make me one.”
Live, Alain Johannes plays some bass, guitar and keyboard parts. How much did you work with him to bring him up to speed?
“Not much at all – he’s a good enough musician to have taught himself.”
Which basses do you play?
“I have my good old Manson 4-string, plus a 10-string and some 12-strings he built for me. The 10-strings are tuned in octave rows, EADGC, and the 12-string is BEADGC. These go through a SWR SM-900 with 4×10 and 1×15 cabinets.
“I use an identical rig for my bass pedals, which are made by Roland. They cover an octave and a half from C to G and are fed through a Korg M3 synthesizer, which creates the actual sound. I also play the M3 for piano and organ parts.”
With multiple basses, keyboards, slide guitar and mandolin, you often switch instruments. Do you find that this makes it difficult to get into a groove?
“No, I’m more used to it. I did that in the Zeppelin days too. I like changing instruments.”
How much of the performance is set in stone and how much remains open?
“The setlist stays mostly the same, but a lot really changes from show to show. A lot depends on the mood of the night, but we often play a different groove to keep it interesting.”
There are a lot of distorted bass sounds on the album. What effects do you use?
“On the record, most of the distortion comes from running the bass through Josh’s guitar amp. Live, I use an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff. I’ve never really used distortion before – this is something new for me.
“The bass sounded too clean when I first tried it. Now it matches the guitars much better. I usually split the signals from my basses and mix them together to get a mix of clean and distorted sounds.”
Do you miss something about your old acoustic system?
“No… except that it caught fire! In fact, it caught fire quite spectacularly at the end of one show. I assume the power amplifier overheated. But no, I’m quite happy with the SWR. It has a nice, clean, punchy sound.”
Have you thought about writing a memoir or an autobiography?
“No. Several people have asked me, but I’m just too busy. Life is too short to write about it.”
