COURTESY DKYIMAGE Lenny Mann bows his guitar like Jimmy Page.

Zepplication is
labor of love

When guitarist Jimmy Page messes up in the transitional break of "Rock 'n' Roll" and plays 1-1-4-4-1-1-1-1-5-5-4-4-1-1, instead of 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-5-5-4-4-1-1, do you really care? When a guitarist, such as myself, plays the break, do you just power over it and have fun with the song, or do you ruthlessly and pedantically count the bars and end up messing up, just like the original, because that's the way Led Zeppelin did it, by gum, and you don't mess with the masters. The gods look down in anger!

Led Zepplica with local band Slug Where: Pipeline Cafe, 805 Pohukaina St. When: 7 p.m. Saturday Tickets: $20, 18 and over Call: 589-19099

In that case, you're either in a tribute band or you need to get a life. Think about that at the Led Zepplica concert this weekend. In either case, it should be fun. And loud.

This writer was one of a few thousand who saw the original play at the old Civic Auditorium in 1969. It was a gig that was originally advertised as "The New Yardbirds," the band's original name before becoming Led Zeppelin.

Local video editor, tiki collector and humongous Led Zep fan Allen "Kimo" St. James -- who has seen tribute band Led Zepplica play before -- is the King of Zep Arcana when it comes to the original English quartet. He can tell you the make and model of every guitar Page used during his tenure with the band.

BUT WHY "The New Yardbirds"? "In 1967, Robert Plant and John Bonham created a group called Band of Joy," he said. "In August of 1968, Pagey asked Plant to sing in the Yardbirds. Page changed the name to 'The New Yardbirds' for contractual obligations and subsequently, this became Led Zeppelin."

Where did the name come from?

"It was in an interim session with John Entwhistle, bassist for the Who -- when John and Keith Moon were feeling estranged from (bandmates Pete) Townsend and (Roger) Daltrey -- that's when Entwhistle said: 'This band will go over like a lead balloon!' and Keith Moon corrected him, 'No, this will go over like a lead zeppelin!"

According to St. James, it was manager Peter Grant who later changed the spelling to L-E-D because "thick Americans" would pronounce it as "leed" rather than "lead."

And so, Led Zeppelin, likely the most influential heavy metal band ever to despise the term "heavy metal," was created and ruled the earth for a decade for so. They played Hawaii in 1969, 1970 and 1971.

And now, in 2005, St. James is excited all over again about Led Zepplica, so much so he donated graphic expertise to the gig's promotion posters. Turns out he's known the boys in the band for more than a decade, from a sojourn in Anaheim.

"Our rock gods are sadly gone for the most part," St. James said. "What are we to do if we wanna get the Led out? These are very talented dudes -- Joe Retta as lead singer Robert Plant, Lenny Mann as guitarist Jimmy Page, Darryl Johnson as drummer 'Bonzo' John Bonham and Stan Taylor as bass player John Paul Jones.

"How did they get together? Pure fate, for Lenny. He was playing in a pickup band with Darryl and they jammed on 'Rock 'n' Roll' and afterwards Darryl asked Lenny to be the 'Page master' in the project. Lenny's natural style of playing was very similar to Pagey's so it was a perfect fit."

LED ZEPPLICA has played all across the country to rabid Zepheads, but no concert was as big a blast as one in Chile, when thousands of screaming fans packed the Estadio Chile auditorium. And there were smaller gigs as well, including a 3 a.m. gig in Fairbanks, Alaska, and it was still daylight out. Each gig, however, gets the full treatment.

"It is a labor of love, according to Lenny," St. James said. "They've studied the footage of their concert performances and researched their equipment, clothing and even their musical influences to get inside their mindset and playing style. This attention to detail has made them the most sought-after Zep tribute in the country.

"Darryl says he relaxes onstage and channels Bonham's energy and spirit through him. Someone took an interesting photograph at a live show where Bonzo seems to be sitting next to Darryl in an apparition. I can't explain the shot, but Bonzo's easy to see."

Why would otherwise capable musicians submerge themselves in the identities of others?

St. James pondered. "It's the fans. The looks of the faces of fans that come to see them are priceless. Led Zeppelin's music was magical and they are reliving that experience for them ... something they thought they would never feel again. I heard one fan say it's like listening to a newly found bootleg recording of Led Zeppelin. Is there any higher reward or compliment than that?"