Some of the best known drummers in rock are teaming up on September 25th to pay tribute to Led Zeppelin's John Bonham on the 30th anniversary of the legendary drummer's death. John Bonham died on September 25th, 1980 of pulmonary edema, which is fluid accumulation in the lungs, after ingesting 16 shots of vodka. He was 32-years-old.

Among the drummers taking part on the tribute show at L.A.'s Key Club on Sunset Strip will be Bonham's son, Jason Bonham (Bonham, Led Zeppelin, Foreigner), Steven Adler (Guns 'N Roses, Adler's Appetite), Vinnie Appice (Black Sabbath, Heaven And Hell), Kenny Aronoff (John Mellencamp, John Fogerty), Frankie Banali (Quiet Riot), Fred Coury (Cinderella), Jimmy D'Anda (BulletBoys), James Kottak (The Scorpions), Khurt Maier (Salty Dog), Chris Slade (The Firm, AC/DC), Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Chickenfoot), Brian Tichy (Whitesnake, Foreigner, Billy Idol), Joe Travers (Zappa Plays Zappa, Duran Duran) and Simon Wright (AC/DC, Dio). Vanilla Fudge and Rod Stewart drummer Carmine Appice will perform via video.

Among the musicians joining the drummers on stage will be: guitarist Brent Woods, bassist Michael 'Denim' Devin, keyboardist Stephen LeBlanc, and vocalist Keith St. John.

Jason Bonham admits that like many fans, through the years he's sought to better understand his father through Zeppelin's catalogue: "I've always been a fan. It is the first and foremost thing. Y'know, after losing dad at 14, you pick up the albums and want to know everything about my father I should have asked when he was alive."

Bonham will launch his upcoming multimedia Led Zeppelin Experience tour on October 8th in Dawson Creek, BC.

Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience tour dates (subject to change):
October 8 - Dawson Creek, BC - EnCana Event Centre
October 9 - Prince George, BC - CN Centre
October 12 - Edmonton, AB - Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
October 13 - Red Deer, AB - Westerner Park / ENMAX Centrium Arena
October 14 - Calgary, AB - Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
October 16 - Regina, SK - Brandt Centre
October 17 - Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre
October 19 - Minneapolis, MN - The State Theatre
October 20 - Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theatre
October 21 - Merrillville, IN - Star Plaza Theatre
October 23 - Montreal, QC - Metropolis
October 25 - Quebec City, QC - Grand Theatre
October 27 - Hamilton, ON - Hamilton Place Theatre
October 28 - Kitchener, ON - Centre In The Square
October 29 - Toronto, ON - Sony Centre For The Performing Arts
October 30 - Rochester, NY - Auditorium Theatre
November 2 - Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre
November 3 - Red Bank, NJ - Count Basie Theatre
November 4 - Englewood, NJ - Bergen Performing Arts Center
November 6 - Philadelphia, PA - Merriam Theater
November 8 - New York, NY - Nokia Theatre Times Square
November 13 - Jacksonville, FL - Florida Theatre
November 14 - Melbourne, FL - King Center For Performing Arts
November 16 - Houston, TX - Verizon Wireless Theater
November 21 - Riverside, CA - Fox Performing Arts Center
November 23 - Los Angeles, CA - Pantages Theatre
November 26 - Portland, OR - Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
November 27 - Seattle, WA - WaMu Theater
November 29 - Vancouver, BC - Centre In Vancouver For Performing Arts

The Steve Miller Band has announced a one-night-only benefit show to aid the non-profit Kids Rock Free music education program. Miller will perform on September 17th in Corona, California at the "Rock & Roll Formal" at the Fender Center Amphitheatre at the Fender Museum Of Music & The Arts. The Fender Center provides free and low cost music education classes to more than 14,000 children from over 100 cities throughout Southern California. The upcoming benefit will raise funds for 800 students currently on the Kids Rock Free music education wait list at the Fender Center.

Steve Miller has been a long time supporter or music education, and hads performed at several fundraisers to help the Rock Free program. Most recently, he invited a Kids Rock Free student to perform at Steve Miller Band concerts in over 18 cities across the country during his current tour.

For his latest release, Bingo! which marks Miller's first album in 17 years, he decided to keep away from a major label and signed with Roadrunner Records, an indie outfit he felt was more committed to music than commerce: "Yeah, well, the Roadrunner guys have been aware of what I've been doing, and I've been talking to them about working on this project, and earlier, a few years earlier. I just didn't wanna sign a deal or do anything until I had finished doing the work myself. I wanted complete 100 percent artistic control over it. So I finished it up and now we've done a worldwide deal."

Steve Miller Band tour dates (subject to change):
September 17 - Corona, CA - Fender Museum Of Music & The Arts
September 18 - Irvine, CA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
October 2 - Miami Gardens, FL - Sun Life Stadium

Former Electric Light Orchestra cellist Mike Edwards was killed in a freak accident on September 3rd, in Devon, England when a 1,323 pound bale of hay rolled down a hill and struck his van while driving. Edwards, who was 62-years-old, swerved into another car in an effort to dodge the bale. Investigators are looking into whether the hay fell from a nearby tracker working on a farm near the road. (Reuters)

Edwards, who was renown for outlandish antics -- such as playing his cello with a grapefruit, was in ELO from 1972 to 1975 and was featured on the bands albums ELO 2, On The Third Day, the live collection The Night The Light Went On (In Long Beach), and Eldorado: A Symphony.

He contributed to such early ELO classics as "Showdown," "Boy Blue," "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle," "Can't Get It Out of My Head," and the band's cover of Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven."

Robin Gibb is recovering from emergency stomach surgery last week after enduring what has been described as "extreme stomach pains." Fans and family were shocked at the similarity between Robin's symptoms and those of his late twin brother and Bee Gees bandmate Maurice Gibb -- who died suddenly of heart failure in 2003 after undergoing emergency abdominal surgery at age 53. Robin has canceled a series of solo shows for later this year.

A message was posted to fans on RobinGibb.com which read in part: "In the circumstances he is making a good recovery. Robin continues to be monitored by his Doctors but is feeling impatient at sitting at home and looking forward to getting back to work. Robin would like to thank everyone for the wonderful 'get well' messages and gifts that he has received which we are sure will aid his recovery."

An unnamed source close to the Gibb family told Australia's Herald Sun: "The similarities with Maurice's tragic death were eerily worrying. Everyone was praying there wasn't something in their genes that made both twins susceptible to some deadly condition. Thankfully he's home and feeling much better, but doctors are still examining test results." (RTT News)

The Troggs lead singer Reg Pressley suffered a stroke while on vacation with his family in Spain. The 68-year-old singer is best known for the Troggs classics such as 1966's "Wild Thing" and 1968's "Love is All Around." His wife of nearly 50 years, Brenda Pressley, told Britain's Sunday Express that Pressley was playing with his grandchildren when the stroke hit: "It was very frightening. He had a serious stroke. I was very upset at the time. He was in hospital for a week but is now back in our house in Spain recuperating. He won't be coming back to England for a few weeks."

The stroke has reportedly affected his vision, balance and voice. (Vintage Vinyl News)

Olivia Harrison is thrilled with Carlos Santana's recent cover of her husband George Harrison's Beatles classic "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," which is featured on his new album Guitar Heaven: Santana Performs The Greatest Guitar Classics Of All Time. Olivia told Spinner.com, "It completes the circle really. Carlos is really the one that can close it. Eric Clapton did it, Prince did it with that incredible solo at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a few years ago. What that showed to me was no matter how hard you play the song, it doesn't have limitations. I think Carlos is not trying to blow his horn -- he's trying to play those notes that are appropriate."

Santana, who like Olivia, was born in Mexico, explained the importance of the cover, saying, "It says that we have become those that we admire. What made the Beatles and Bob Dylan completely young and eternally relevant is the heart. If you have a certain heart, you're able to complement the songs to a point where you uplift them into a new place."

India.Arie, who sings lead on the track, recalled Santana telling her about Olivia's reaction: "He told me that she said she cried and jumped for joy. I like the idea. I'm honored by the possibility that I just made her happy in that her husband's not here and she's hearing the song."

Since Harrison's 2001 death, Olivia is in charge of the Harrison estate and makes the final decisions regarding all Harrison-related projects. She spearheaded the re-releases of his Apple albums The Concert For Bangladesh, Living In The Material World, his entire Warner Brothers collections -- and the recent Traveling Wilburys collection.

We asked Olivia if she had been prepared to become the manager of George's musical legacy: "Sort of. Because, you know, he paid great attention to detail and he worked on anything, any project that he did for himself, he was working on the artwork, he would be working on all aspects of it. So, you know, we were together a long time and it just sort of became (that) I know how he did things. So -- was I prepared? No and yes (laughs)."