As one of the most iconic and innovative rock bands of all time, Led Zeppelin’s legacy has reached many corners of the world, including the Sea to Sky. Die-hard fans of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham and John Paul Jones will next get to revisit the magic on Jan. 13 at 9 p.m., when A Whole Lotta Led swings by Dusty’s Bar & BBQ in Whistler.
Lead vocalist Greg Reamsbottom, who is also known for fronting the ever-popular Hairfarmers, knows the appeal of Led Zeppelin cuts across generations.
“Led Zeppelin’s one of those bands where the music is just timeless,” he says. “We’ve got people in the audience that have seen Led Zeppelin in the ’60s and ’70s, to 19-year-old kids who are barely allowed to come into the bar.
“It’s an honest, old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll show, and there seems to be less and less of that in the mainstream these days with so much focus on pop music and hip hop and stuff like that. I think people really like a good old-fashioned dose of rock ‘n’ roll.”
Reamsbottom and fellow Zeppelin tribute specialists Phil Richard, Wes Lawrie and Kevin Torvick are used to playing in front of a kaleidoscopic audience. Whistler’s constant inflow and outflow of tourists—folks who at least in theory are here for a good time—change the demographic on a regular basis as they mix with a stalwart bunch of locals. One can’t leave out the seasonal workers either, some of whom grew up appreciating Led Zeppelin in their native United Kingdom.
They all tend to have one thing in common: high standards for any group that tries to emulate one of the GOATs of rock.
“In some ways, my job’s pretty easy—either you can sing this or you can’t—but for the musicians in the band, it’s important to play the way the audience expects to hear it,” Reamsbottom says. “There’s some people out there that know when you miss a note, because they know every single one.
“You have to really do your homework, and you really have to listen to each other, because there’s a lot of cues and a lot of moments where the music swings. Sometimes it pushes the beat, sometimes it pulls back on the beat, but it’s really intricate. The road map’s there, and it’s always our goal to get as close to that as we can.”
Having a good time
A Whole Lotta Led first materialized in 2001, shortly after Reamsbottom met Richard in the now-defunct Boot Pub: a venue once graced by beloved musicians like The Tragically Hip. Richard was looking for someone with the vocal range to do Plant’s performances justice, and Reamsbottom was that man.
The group had its first Boot Pub show in February 2002, and the current lineup with Lawrie and Torvick has been together for four years.
“[Unlike with the Hairfarmers], I don’t have to play drums so I’m strictly vocals,” he says. “The Hairfarmers also play some Led Zeppelin songs, but the difference [with A Whole Lotta Led] is the full-band dynamic with the big drum kit, amazing bass player and super loud electric guitars. It’s definitely a twist in the narrative, for sure.”
Nowadays, the band doesn’t tend to play too often—at least not in one spot. Reamsbottom has found two or three shows per year in the corridor is a sweet spot, balancing fan experience with not oversaturating the market. The Zeppelin cover group also takes its show on the road, performing at times on Vancouver Island.
“It’s been just really good camaraderie,” remarks Reamsbottom. “Everybody does their homework, everybody shows up ready to go, and we have fun. We have a good time playing this music, and that’s really what it’s all about.”
More info on the band and its upcoming show can be found here.
