Jason Bonham Still Battles Pre-Show Nerves

Having the last name of Bonham in the drumming world is like having the last name of Dylan or Presley or Lennon. Jason Bonham is well aware of the expectations, something he was reminded of when he paid tribute to his iconic father, late Led Zeppelin kitman John Bonham, at a Guitar Center Drum Off in L.A last month. "You're in a front of a bunch of drummers and doing a tribute to one of the greatest drummers of all time," he tells Spinner. "It's a little bit of, 'Alright, pull up a chair and sit down and watch' kind of vibe."

But then again, he's used to that -- he was watched by a lot of drummers when he played the O2 Zeppelin reunion show. "It's kind of like the O2 vibe when I look back now," he says. "I was talking with Chad [Smith] about it and he sat with Steve Gorman and Dave Grohl. They all sat there giving it like, 'Okay, fair enough.' And they commented after each song, 'Pretty good.'"

Like most artists, Bonham is his harshest judge. "I'm still my biggest critic and just think everything I do is like, 'Oh, that sucks. Oh my god, that's crap,'" he says. We were surprised that even after pulling off the Zeppelin reunion, Bonham still has those doubts. "Oh yeah, all the time," he says of pre-show nerves.

He has some friends helping him get over the nerves though. "I must say, if you ever have a doubt of your own worth or self these guys have made me feel very flattered," he says, citing the rehearsals for the tribute to his dad as a perfect example. "The last rehearsal we had one of the pieces we've been waiting for kind of came together very quickly and Tommy [Lee] said, 'Just try it out.' I did it and went back to my room across the street and Tommy and Chad [Smith] and Danny [Carey of Tool] and a few of the others came in and said, 'You've got to end the show with that. We cannot top that. You have to do that.' So it was very flattering."