Australia’s longest running large-scale Led Zeppelin homage concert, ‘Whole Lotta Love’, is set to return for the third time to Melbourne’s Palais Theatre on Saturday March 21 for one night only, following the first ever Geelong show at Geelong Performing Arts Centre on Friday March 20.

The unrivalled Zeppelin concert experience has toured nationally and built a peerless reputation for exceptional interpretations, stunning musicianship and numerous spine-tingling moments throughout its eleven-year history.

Performing as part of Whole Lotta Love 2015 are Jack Jones (Southern Sons), Jimmy Cupples,  Amy Findlay (Stonefield), Frank Lakoudis (The Voice) and Shay Liza (Sharaya).

Ahead of the Whole Lotta Love 2015 event, we chatted with Joseph Calderazzo, the Lead Guitarist, Creative Director of Whole Lotta Love and Director of CCEntertainment and the show and how tribute shows aren’t the naff cover band performances many assume them to be.

What was the catalyst for starting the tribute show?

“I conceptualised this back in 2002 in the back room of a small club in Kings Cross called the Iguana Bar. I hosted a weekly night for original artists to showcase their songs in acoustic mode which ended up being quite successful and ran for five years. During that time I was looking for a way to bring many of the artists together on the one night so I booked 12 artists and told them they had to do two Beatles songs each in their own style.

We all had a great night and repeated the process 12 months later. In the meantime I was champing at the bit to do an unplugged Led Zep show with acoustic guitars and a few string players. And so it was; I rounded up a bunch of vocalists and musicians and we explored the amazing catalogue of songs, we did two shows and in 2003 Martin Contempree and I teamed up to form CCEntertainment and take our first show, ‘Whole Lotta Love’, to The Basement (Sydney) in full electric mode. That night sold out and since then it’s grown organically and by popular demand from The Basement to larger 2,000 capacity venues The Enmore and State Theatre in Sydney, and since 2011 we have successfully toured the show to Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

From the get-go Martin, who also ran a successful acoustic originals showcase, and I envisaged bringing both profile and emerging singers and musicians together to create world class homage concerts that showcased both iconic music and exceptional local talent. We recognised the CCE shows had the potential to reach a broader audience and the fans of the performers were introduced to our shows and vice versa, so there is a nice synergy.

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Since 2003 we have promoted over 150 homage concerts and seen many ‘tribute’ promoters producing shows of different qualities come and go. We’ve also found that the magic and widest audience appeal lies with Led Zep and Pink Floyd (in 2015 we will be touring our 11th annual ‘The Great Gig In The Sky’ Pink Floyd celebration) possibly because, like The Beatles, the original line up will never tour again.”

How is the magic of Led Zeppelin recreated each year, how are you guys able to keep such a show entertaining without becoming stale or repetitive?

“I think the magic is in the songs, the entertainment value comes from the various guest vocalists and the freshness comes from the fact that we only do this once a year so it’s quite the event when the whole team comes together. The songs are also timeless and we see our audience are eager to see/hear and respond to the different interpretations each year.”

The audience love Whole Lotta Love. What is it about the tribute show that sets it a part from a standard “tribute” show?

“We don’t really see it as a tribute show but more a concert ‘celebrating the music of’ – we take liberties with the music while maintaining the reverence it deserves. We’re not a dress-up clone show playing parts, we’re a bunch professional musos that are also fans of Led Zep playing great songs. The show has been developed organically during the last 12 years and everything we do, we do for the right reasons. It’s very challenging music to play and if the passion isn’t evident then we’re gonna fall flat on our faces.”

We don’t really see it as a tribute show but more a concert ‘celebrating the music of’

How is the set list decided upon?

“Good question, the set list is decided at the same the singers are booked. I try to marry up the right songs with the right vocalist. The set list covers the many musical landscapes that made Led Zep so there’s some folk, some acoustic, some orchestral, some blues and definitely some fiery guitar driven rock.”

Explain the significance of each of the guest vocalists on the 2015 line-up; what will they bring to the Led Zeppelin recreation

“So we have five guest vocalists, three male, two female. Starting with Jack Jones (aka Irwin Thomas aka the guy from Southern Sons) and yes he rocks, he takes risks on stage and is totally fearless. Jack was living in New York for a few years and now lives in Europe. It’s great timing that he’ll be in Australia for these gigs. Jack has done shows with us before and never fails to deliver.

Amy Findlay from Stonefield, (an all girl band of four siblings from Darraweit Guim in Victoria) brings a youthful exuberance to our show. She’s only 25 but was brought up on her her parents’ record collection of ’70s classic rock and she totally gets the Led Zep thing.

We worked together earlier this year at The State Theatre in Sydney (August 2014) and she has a beautiful energy.

Jimmy Cupples; you’d know him from that TV show (The Voice) or from the Melbourne rock circuit. He has a huge vocal range and sets the stage on fire with each appearance (metaphorically speaking).

Frank Lakoudis; also from that TV show; a Sydney resident; this will be his first time in Victoria and we’re excited to be showing him off to Melbourne audiences.

And finally we introduce a fiery young rock-chick Shay Liza from Melbourne band Sharaya. Shay is a bundle of adrenalin fuelled energy that rocks every time.

We’ve heard many times that people have been moved to tears during songs at the show

Of course the band are just as important. How have the instrumentalists been selected?

“As the shows Creative Director, I always look for rock players that have a feel and energy that the music requires which is essentially a rock/blues edge. I also look for people that have a sense of original music so we don’t end up sounding like a cover band.

For the two shows in March we’re very lucky to have Jerome Smith on bass, Jerome is a native of New York and played with many US bands including a stint with Keith Richards’ X-pensive Winoes before relocating to Australia in 1996 to join The Divinyls.

We also have Davey Porter on drums (Vanessa Ammorossi/Electric Mary), Pete Robinson (The Sweet, Electric Mary) as well as me on guitars, Ben Calderazzo on Fender Rhodes and Hammond organ, Talia Browne playing percussion plus a string ensemble led by violinist Adrian Keating (Sydney Opera House concert master). This team makes for some serious performance energy. Like the guest vocalists we regularly change up the musicians on the show, keeping it fresh and edgey.”

What’s your fondest memory/performance for the history of the tribute shows?

“After a show at The Basement in 2007 one of the vocalists (Natasha Stuart) said to me ‘that was a life changing experience’ which is probably one of the best comments/compliments I’ve had.

Musical highlights are many as we’ve had may guests on our shows including Jeff Martin (Tea Party), Dave Gleeson (Screaming Jets), Simon Meli (Widowbirds), Dallas Frasca and they’ve all brought special highlights to the show. We’ve heard many times that people have been moved to tears during songs at the show and recieved literally thousands of emails of support and thanks from punters for producing the show, which helps maintain our passion for it. We also love it when we hear about or see a parent bringing their children to see the show as a way of introducing them to ‘their’ style of music in a live setting.

In 2006 I booked David Campbell (who happens to be a rockin’ singer just like his dad) and during the course of the phone call I asked him if there were any songs he’d like to sing and he said ”anything except Stairway to Heaven” and I thought he said ”Stairway to Heaven” . Up until that point we had never included Stairway into the set. So I went about my business putting the show together and included that song for him as per his request; in the meantime he was happy to oblige with my choice of songs for him. It wasn’t until some time after the shows that I found out what he really said; I guess if that hadn’t happened we would still be missing Stairway from the show…”

‘Whole Lotta Love’, is set to run for the first time in Geelong at Geelong Performing Arts Centre on Friday March 20, and return for the third time to Melbourne’s Palais Theatre on Saturday March 21. For more info visit www.wholelottalove.com.au

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