WonderBOOM’s mononymous frontman Cito is not only a charming, multitalented singer, actor, composer, producer, and musical director, but also a fan of Led Zeppelin. He’s one of the musicians that Jason Oosthuizen recruited to be part of this Sunday’s Led Zeppelin Tribute Show. We asked him a few questions about the event and the band…
Can you tell us how and when you first encountered Led Zeppelin?
In my early days of learning to play the bass guitar, I had been getting into old school rock, like The Doors, etc and Led Zeppelin was a huge one for me.
Why do a tribute show in the first place?
I’m not crazy about tribute shows, but this was a challenge worth taking because they deserve to be recognised for their influence on modern rock music. Their music is still relevant today.
How easy or hard is it to do tribute versions of Led Zepellin songs? Do you add a lot of your own, individual ‘flavour’ to the songs?
The thing about Zeppelin is that they were a “performing” band. Not just great songs but the way they performed them made them stand out and thus very difficult to cover. Each member of the band were phenomenal musicians. And, ja, we can’t be expected to sound exactly like them. That’s just dumb. We’re paying tribute to their music and musicianship. So, there will be our interpretation as a factor. The vocals are the hardest to imitate because we all vocally sound different. I will definitely have my own flavour in singing. The keys of most of their songs are ridiculously high. I hope I do Robert Plant justice…
How different is a tribute show to a Wonderboom or El Cantante show?
Tribute shows take you out of your comfort zone. There’s also heavy expectations to match the original artists from their fans. Can’t escape that.
What’s your favourite Led Zepellin song/album? Why that one specifically?
It blows my mind how they would record two kick-ass albums a year in the beginning of their career. My favourite is IV (4). It’s got Black Dog, Stairway To Heaven, Rock n Roll, Misty Mountain Hop. Killer album!
Can you give us any tease of what people can expect from the show? Any surprises in store?
At the moment, that’s hard to say. We’re still rehearsing and getting our chops right. Wouldn’t want to add to that just yet. I’m superstitious like that. 😉
The Led Zeppelin Tribute Show is happening this Sunday – 5 Nov – at The Good Luck Bar in Johannesburg. You can get your tickets here.
