Back to the ‘Wack: Newt signs Gord Downie book in Chilliwack
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 […]
Search Results for: Chilliwack
Newt rocks out at 60th birthday bash with members of Chilliwack bands Cold Chain, Horsepower, and Concrete Jungle
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 […]
Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 7: Midnight Smoke says Chilliwack is a “gold mine” for a versatile band
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 […]
Cold Chain revives the spirit of ’75 at the Chilliwack Senior High 40-year reunion
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 […]
Major concert news: Newt’s buddy’s band will play the Chilliwack Senior High class of ’75 reunion
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 […]
Bill Henderson says Chilliwack ripped off its name for the First Nations vibe
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 […]
Call me a hick from Chilliwack, but I ain’t never seen no spiral haircut before
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 […]
Strange Euphoria sparks memories of a (Chilliwack) Coliseum concert
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 […]
Kiss on stage in 1988 is no match for Kiss Alive! in 1975
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 […]
You can tell a book by its covers: The Georgia Straight–A 50th Anniversary Celebration
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 […]
Album review: Joe Jackson Band, Volume 4 (2003)
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 […]
Album review: Neil Young, Mirror Ball (1995)
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 […]
Album review: Goddo, 12 Gauge Goddo (1990)
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 […]
Album review: Heart, Brigade (1990)
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 […]
Remembering Kiss before the reunion tour got Gene Simmons back in diapers
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 […]
Hollywood wins the War for the Planet of the Apes
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 […]
That time Circus Magazine’s editorial department sent me a rejection letter :(
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. […]
The incredible story behind the Ear of Newt autographed guitar
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 […]
Brian May says there’s a spiritual connection between Guns N’ Roses and Queen
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 […]
That time I asked Leslie West about the awesome cowbell on Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen”
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 […]
Rock and roll died today: Chuck Berry passes away at age 90
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 […]
Thinking nice thoughts of Rick Parfitt while listening to “Big Fat Mama” from Status Quo’s Piledriver
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 […]
That time I asked Dickey Betts what song Duane Allman and the Skynyrd boys might be playing in heaven
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 […]
Spider dreams and the new American Horror Story Season 6 poster
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 […]
Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 10: Hydra hasn’t had a bad response yet
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 […]
The Tony Iommi Tapes, 1984: on disturbing the village priest and blowing up Gillan’s boat
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 […]
The greatest concert experience of my life: Bob Dylan with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Greek Theatre, June 13, 1986
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. […]
That time I hired an Elvis impersonator for my mom’s 87th birthday and he stole her away to Vegas!
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 […]
Jim Foster gets his “Steely Dan opportunity” at Mushroom Studios in Vancouver
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. […]
Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 9: Thunderhead are “heavy metal all the way”
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, […]
Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 8: Homegrown just plans on “having a good time”
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 […]
Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 6: The Postcards say “school gets in the way of jamming”
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 […]
Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 5: Citizen’s Band are “too old” for stardom
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 […]
Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 4: Loose Change “breaks in” new singer Lori Paul
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 […]
Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 3: The Vacationers enjoy “doing a couple of Jeff Beck tunes”
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 […]
Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 2: The Lakers say “booking agents are parasites”
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 […]
Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 1: Joker, featuring my old buddy Scott Vye
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 […]
Remembering David Bowie in the seventies
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 […]
The greatest guitar solo of all time: Mick Ronson on Ian Hunter’s “Once Bitten Twice Shy”
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 […]
Long John Baldry on Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, David Bowie–and Dale Martindale of Images in Vogue
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 […]
40 years ago today: Lou Reed releases Metal Machine Music, and my dumbass buddy buys it
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 […]
Red Rider releases Neruda, Tom Cochrane rails against “trendy bullshit”
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 […]
Roxy Music vinyl box offers a second shot at ’70s art-rock
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. […]
Stratmaster Robin Trower talks Hendrix and blues, says “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”
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 […]
Mountain’s Leslie West recalls Woodstock and his band’s old warmup act, Black Sabbath
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 […]
David Gogo gives Depeche Mode a bluesy makeover on Skeleton Key
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 […]
Dan McCafferty says that people think Nazareth is “a good night out”
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. […]
Debbie Davies holds her own with the big boys of blues
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 […]
Nazareth’s Dan McCafferty reveals the story behind “Vancouver Shakedown”
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 […]
Interviewing Jeff Beck, the world’s greatest living rock guitarist
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, FEB. 15, 2001 By Steve Newton Like most teenage guitar-rock freaks in the ’70s, I was big on Aerosmith. I made every effort to […]
