John Paul Jones has no need for further feathers in his cap. The bassist, keyboardist, and general rock ’n' roll badass anchored Led Zeppelin – arguably the most influential hard rock outfit in history – and has gone on to collaborate in too many cool projects to mention. When he took the stage at London's O2 Arena in 2007 with Zeppelin bandmates Jimmy Page and Robert Plant (along with Jason Bonham, son of late, great Zep drummer John Bonham), Jones sealed his reputation as a top-notch performer with deep soul, crisp tone, and killer chops.
Jones could have easily rested on his laurels, retiring to the countryside with his countless acoustic instruments and giving his ears a well-deserved rest. Instead, he formed one of the most riveting new groups in contemporary rock, Them Crooked Vultures. A collaboration between Jones, ex-Nirvana drummer and current Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, and Queens of the Stone Age principal Josh Homme, Them Crooked Vultures took the '70s-era riff rock of Jones's youth and blended it with punk-rock energy courtesy of drummer Grohl.
For his part, Homme tapped the sludgy depths of his stoner rock past. “The first time we got together we just jammed in a normal muso sort of way,” Jones told . “ was one of those early workings.
“Another idea Josh came up with, Dave and I looked at each other and thought, ‘Are you serious? What are you thinking?!’ He played this riff that he’d recorded in a hotel room on an that wasn't even plug.
