On this cool November evening at the beautifully ornate Theatre at Ace Hotel, the quintessential Rock Guitar God JIMMY PAGE made his way down the red carpet and into the Ace Theatre to sit down with the equally-god-like CHRIS CORNELL and talk a little bit about his new pictorial autobiography, the first book by any member of Led Zeppelin!

Filled with familiar as well as never-before-seen images and stories told by Page himself, the book, aptly titled simply “Jimmy Page” (Genesis Publications), follows the legend from boyhood (a photo of him as a young choir boy opened the evening’s discussions), through his time as a session musician, in the Yardbirds, as part of Led Zeppelin, through his solo years and projects including The Firm (remember how great that band was?!?!), and through the many honors he’s received including the Kennedy Center Honors and when he earned the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire (or the OBE) from Queen Elizabeth II herself, although Page did mention that he doubts he’ll ever be knighted. SIR Jimmy Page? Sound good to me!

As the lights went down, Cornell and Page took the stage to an already-standing ovation, and then made their way to the two director’s chairs at stage right. At center stage, images were projected on a huge screen so that the audience could see photos while the two chatted about the selections made by Cornell himself. Page, whose still-boyish charm makes it easy to forget he’s nearly 71 years of age, stopped a moment and pointed out that Cornell had selected the photos we were seeing, but had not pre-screened them with Page before the evening began. So, as we were first seeing each shot, so was Page, which made for some delightfully candid conversations about the background of each unique image.

And through all his fanboy gushings (seriously, he was no different than any of us out in the audience), Cornell led Page in what was a surprisingly natural discussion about what this incredible and extraordinary life has been like for this most cherished musical icon.

According to Page, “I always like to do something different. If you’re inspired by an idea, really make something of that inspiration. That goes for music, as well as anything else, even putting a book together! To have a photographic autobiography is a totally different way of looking at things, but it does the job very well and I think it will bring a lot of pleasure to people.”

I think he’s right.
Spotted in the Crowd: Ozzy bass player Blasko and former Ozzy guitarist Zakk Wylde, Cornell bandmates guitarist Yogi Lonich and guitarist Pete Thorn, KISS spawn and guitarist Nick Simmons, legendary guitarist Johnny Ramone’s widow Linda Ramone, REO Speedwagon guitarist Dave Amato, The Cult guitarist Billy Duffy, Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammet, and multi-intrumentalist Edgar Winter. I think I see a theme.

For more information about Page’s new book, Click Here