By Steve Newton You may have heard that British musician Danny Kirwan passed away on Friday, at the age of 68. Don’t feel too bad if his name doesn’t sound […]
By Steve Newton In case you haven’t heard, my first book came out last month. It’s called Gord Downie, and it’s about a poetic Canadian guy who rocked his ass […]
jet sutherland photo By Steve Newton After 35-plus years of writing about other people rockin’ out on guitar, I finally got off my butt, hopped on stage, and did some […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE CHILLIWACK PROGRESS, MAY 6, 1981 By Steve Newton (In the seventh of a series of stories on local bands, The Progress presents a profile on Midnight […]
By Steve Newton Back in January I blogged about the “major concert news” that my old buddy’s cover band, Cold Chain, was gonna play the 40-year reunion for my Chilliwack […]
By Steve Newton It probably won’t garner as much attention as the announcement of the upcoming AC/DC world tour, but I just found out that my old buddy’s cover band […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JAN. 6, 2000 It’s a bit weird coming from a small town that has the same name as a popular ’70s rock band. When […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, FEB. 6, 1992 What makes a rock writer desperate to score the reviewer’s assignment for a Red Hot Chili Peppers show? Could it be […]
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JUNE 25, 2012 By Steve Newton Over the years I’ve heard quite a few folks fondly reminisce about seeing Heart play their high-school gym out in […]
kevin statham photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 18, 1988 By Steve Newton One of the most memorable concerts of this scribbler’s young life was seeing Kiss at the […]
By Steve Newton FULL DISCLOSURE: I’ve worked at the Georgia Straight since ’82 so, yeah, I could be a little biased. I didn’t grow up in Vancouver. I hail from […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 27, 2003 By Steve Newton When I recall my late-’70s/early-’80s fondness for Brit pop-punk Joe Jackson, I drift back to days spent in […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JULY 6, 1995 By Steve Newton I’ve been a Neil Young fan ever since the Harvest days of the ’70s, when folksy, acoustic-based […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JAN. 3, 1991 By Steve Newton I still remember driving into town from Chilliwack to see Goddo at the Body Shop way back in […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 16, 1990 By Steve Newton I’ve been an off-and-on admirer of the Wilson sisters for many years now—heck, they used to play teen […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 29, 1996 By Steve Newton If you were a rock-loving teenager in the ’70s, you probably have some kind of Kiss story to […]
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JULY 12, 2017 By Steve Newton I’ve harboured a peculiar fondness for the Planet of the Apes movies ever since I saw the 1968 original at […]
By Steve Newton Thirty-six years ago today somebody at Circus Magazine sent me a rejection letter. They could have at least signed it. Back in the seventies I devoured Circus. […]
By Steve Newton Back in January of 2013 when I started planning the Ear of Newt website–which I launched on Halloween night that year–I knew I had to get my […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 25, 1993 By Steve Newton Ever since Wayne’s World came out, I’ve been considering legal action against writer/star Mike Myers. You know that […]
By Steve Newton Check out this snapshot of five teenagers on summer vacation in the mid-’70s: That’s me and some buddies from Chilliwack Senior High School, class of 1975, one […]
By Steve Newton The man often looked to as the originator of rock ‘n’ roll, Chuck Berry, died today at the age of 90. The singer-songwriter and guitar legend–best known […]
By Steve Newton Just heard the sad news that Rick Parfitt, guitarist-vocalist for Status Quo, died today from a severe infection at a hospital in Spain. He was 68. I […]
By Steve Newton If you think I got into journalism at the age of 23–first at my hometown’s Chilliwack Progress and then, for the last 34 years, at Vancouver’s Georgia Straight–mainly […]
By Steve Newton I’ve got an intense fear of spiders. Not small ones–or even bigger ones as long as they’re of the “daddylonglegs” variety. No, it’s the dark, hairy, menacing […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE CHILLIWACK PROGRESS, DEC. 29, 1982 By Steve Newton Christmas Eve is traditionally a time for taking in the congenial aura of well-lit trees and jingling yuletide […]
By Steve Newton Back in January of 1984 I called Tony Iommi up for a chat at his home in Birmingham, England. I was pretty psyched, since Sabbath albums like […]
By Steve Newton As far as rock concerts go, I’ve been a very lucky mofo. My 30-some-odd years as a music journalist have provided me with scores of awesome memories. […]
photos by Julie Newton Katz By Steve Newton Okay, so maybe he didn’t steal her away to Vegas. But Steve “Elvis” Elliott sure charmed the heck outta my mom during […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, APRIL 4, 1986 By Steve Newton Until the release of the album Power Lines, Jim Foster had not been heard from for many years. […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE CHILLIWACK PROGRESS, JUNE 17, 1981 By Steve Newton (In the final story of a series on local bands that has profiled Joker, The Lakers, The Vacationers, […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE CHILLIWACK PROGRESS, MAY 20, 1981 By Steve Newton (In the eighth of a series of stories on local bands, The Progress presents a profile of the […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE CHILLIWACK PROGRESS, APRIL 29, 1981 By Steve Newton (In the sixth of a series of stories on local bands The Progress presents a profile of The […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE CHILLIWACK PROGRESS, APRIL 22, 1981 By Steve Newton (In the fifth of a series of stories on local bands, The Progress presents a profile of The […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE CHILLIWACK PROGRESS, APRIL 15, 1981 By Steve Newton (In the fourth of a series of stories on local bands The Progress presents a profile of the […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE CHILLIWACK PROGRESS, APRIL 8, 1981 By Steve Newton (In the third of a series of stories on local bands, The Progress presents a profile of The […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE CHILLIWACK PROGRESS, APRIL 1, 1981 By Steve Newton (In the second of a series of stories on local bands The Progress presents a profile on The […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE CHILLIWACK PROGRESS, MARCH 18, 1981 By Steve Newton (In the first of a series of stories on local bands The Progress presents a profile on the […]
By Steve Newton Talk about a shocker. Got up at the usual 7 this morning, realized there was no instant coffee–and no wife awake to make me a latte–so […]
By Steve Newton I’ve heard a lotta amazing guitar solos in my life, but today I decided to just go ahead and pick the greatest one of all time. I’m goin’ with Mick […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 13, 1985 By Steve Newton Long John Baldry is a giant among British blues-rockers–and that’s not only because he stands 6 feet 7-1/2 […]
By Steve Newton 1975 was a very good year for rock n roll. Maybe even the best. That’s the year of Aerosmiith‘s Toys in the Attic, Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti, and […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, APRIL 15, 1983 By Steve Newton Red Rider plays the Commodore Ballroom Tuesday, April 19. I spoke to the group’s lead vocalist and songwriter […]
By Steve Newton I wasn’t the artsiest rock-music fan to grow up in Chilliwack in the seventies; there was way too much Molly Hatchet in my vinyl diet for that. […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 11, 1990 By Steve Newton You know how some recording artists make you think of old times, and help you crystallize visions from […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 1, 2002 By Steve Newton Seventies hard-rockers Mountain didn’t waste any time in getting famous. The bluesy power trio—best known for the lineup […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JULY 25, 2002 By Steve Newton David Gogo is a festive kinda guy. When he calls the Straight from his home in Nanaimo, he’s […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 7, 2001 By Steve Newton Nineteen seventy-three was a wicked year for rock—or maybe it just seemed that way ’cause I was 16. […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, APRIL 5, 2001 When I hear the name Jay Geils nowadays, I remember how I used to whip over to an old Chilliwack High […]
By Steve Newton Thirty years ago tonight–on November 23, 1984–Nazareth played Vancouver’s historic Commodore Ballroom, touring behind its new album The Catch. In advance of the show I interviewed frontman Dan […]
