A Mighty Led Zeppelin Tribute at O’Mainnin’s in Bristol

Led Zeppelin recorded nine albums. They performed more than 500 concerts. And they’ve spawned more than 50 working tribute bands, more than a dozen of which are named after their song “Custard Pie.”
Including Asheville, N.C.’s Custard Pie.
Scheduled to tear the roof off O’Mainnin’s Pub in Bristol, Tenn. on July 23, Custard Pie does not have a Plant, Page or Bonham.
“But we do have a Jones,” said Custard Pie’s David Connor Jones, “and (like Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones) I do play bass guitar.”
Lead guitarist Aaron Wood fills the role of Jimmy Page. Drummer Jamie Stirling covers for John Bonham. And here’s a huge difference, lead singer Rhett McGahee serves as Custard Pie’s Robert Plant.
How’s that again? McGahee is a woman, and Plant though long of hair and high of voice, was no woman.
“She’s a dead ringer. She sounds more like Robert Plant than any of the guys out there,” Jones said. “She can hit the high notes that he could hit on their first three albums. And she can hit the low notes, too.”
Established in 2005, Jones said the band got together simply on a whim.
“We honestly didn’t think it would last six months,” he said. “But people flipped out.”
Several explanations apply. For one, even though the band officially split when drummer John Bonham died in 1980, Led Zeppelin has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in recent years.
Walk through a high school sometime. Odds are good that more than one teen wearing a Led Zeppelin t-shirt will walk by. Check their iPods. Odds are even better that dozens of the band’s songs from “Rock and Roll” to “Black Dog” will be on them.
“They wrote epic songs,” Jones said. “They ruled the ’70s. They played more than 500 shows in nine years and sold out every one of them. Plus, Plant is a powerhouse.”
Classified as a tall order, to accurately summon the enveloping and massively mauling rock sound of Led Zeppelin demands equal parts talent and devotion. Custard Pie does not cover them note for exact note.
“We’re not Led Zeppelin,” Jones said. “But we’re pretty close to them when compared with the other Led Zeppelin tribute bands. Plus, we’re heavy. We’re definitely loud.”
Loud and well stocked with songs. Scan the catalog of most any great band and the occasional lemon smells through. But not Led Zeppelin, Jones said.
“They just didn’t write any bad songs,” he said.
Many became rock masterpieces. Those include “Whole Lotta Love,” “Going to California,” “Kashmir,” and most perhaps more famously “Stairway to Heaven.” Hear Custard Pie at O’Mainnin’s, hear most of those songs.
“We always do ‘Custard Pie,’ ‘I Can’t Quit You,’ ‘Bring it on Home,’ and ‘The Ocean,’” Jones said. “We rarely do ‘Stairway to Heaven’ and I don’t think we’ve ever done it electrically. But July 23 is my birthday, so who knows, we might bring that one out. C’mon out to O’Mainnin’s.”
Don’t the know way to O’Mainnin’s. State Street, 712 is the number, Bristol on the Tennessee side the city. Still don’t know the way? Then follow your ears.
“You’ll hear the crowd go through the roof,” Jones said. “There’s an energy of a live show that you won’t get from a CD or from your iPod.”IF YOU GOWho: Custard Pie
When: July 23, 10 p.m.
Where: O’Mainnin’s Pub, 712 State St., Bristol, Tenn.
Admission: $5Info: (423) 844-0049
Web: http://www.custardpie.info
And: http://www.myspace.com/custardpieasheville
Custard Pie audio: http://www.custardpie.info/music.html
Led Zeppelin audio: http://new.music.yahoo.com/led-zeppelin/tracks/

TOM NETHERLAND is a freelance writer. He can be reached at