Paul Rodgers on the creation of “All Right Now”, the mystique of Paul Kossoff, and the awesomeness of Jimi Hendrix

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN EXPERIENCE HENDRIX MAGAZINE, WINTER 2000 By Steve Newton If you polled all the music fans in the world and asked them to name their fave party tune of all time, you can bet that there’d be more than a few votes for Free’s “All Right Now”. That ultimate ode to chasing chicks … Continue reading Paul Rodgers on the creation of “All Right Now”, the mystique of Paul Kossoff, and the awesomeness of Jimi Hendrix

Paul Rodgers on living the rock and roll fantasy and his new album Electric

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 21, 2000 By Steve Newton Anyone who’s ever raised a frosty Molson Pilsner to the bluesy riff-rock of Free or Bad Company would do well to attend the Commodore Ballroom on Friday (September 22), when the singer from those bands, Paul Rodgers, shows off the voice that launched … Continue reading Paul Rodgers on living the rock and roll fantasy and his new album Electric

For Paul Rodgers, everything stems from playing live

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 28, 1997 By Steve Newton Back in the late ’60s, British blues-rock crooner Paul Rodgers wrapped his gravel ’n’ honey vocals around a simple, bludgeoning Paul Kossoff guitar riff and rock history was made. Twenty-seven years after its release, Free’s “All Right Now” has joined an elite club … Continue reading For Paul Rodgers, everything stems from playing live

Paul Rodgers proves that he’s the world’s best guy at going “Whoa-yeaah!” in Vancouver

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MAY 20, 1993 By Steve Newton The first time I saw Paul Rodgers perform live was back in the ’70s, when Bad Company played the Pacific Coliseum on the Running with the Pack tour. I didn’t see him again until last Friday (May 14), but lemme tell ya—the guy … Continue reading Paul Rodgers proves that he’s the world’s best guy at going “Whoa-yeaah!” in Vancouver

Damn Yankees with the Nuge kicks ass; Bad Company without Paul Rodgers licks it

@shotbykevin ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 21, 1991 By Steve Newton Oh man—talk about going back in time! There was Ted Nugent riffing out on “Cat Scratch Fever” and screeching like he had a severe case of it. There was former Styx guitarist Tommy Shaw whipping his still-blond locks every which way while … Continue reading Damn Yankees with the Nuge kicks ass; Bad Company without Paul Rodgers licks it

Paul Kossoff’s son Simon meets Paul Rodgers for the first time

photo by Lucy Piller Legendary blues-rocker Paul Rodgers finally got to meet the son of Paul Kossoff, the former guitarist in his old band Free. In a tweet last week Rodgers mentioned that he had his first-ever encounter with Simon Kossoff in London, and included a photo of the two of them together. “So much like his … Continue reading Paul Kossoff’s son Simon meets Paul Rodgers for the first time

Roger Taylor says Queen hooked up with Paul Rodgers by accident

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, APRIL 6, 2006 By Steve Newton Chilliwack was the perfect place for a rock-crazed teenager to grow up during the ’70s. Not only could you crank “Free Bird” at full blast without fear of recrimination, but the big-city destination of Hastings and Renfrew was only an hour away. Whether it was … Continue reading Roger Taylor says Queen hooked up with Paul Rodgers by accident

Queen and Paul Rodgers rock Vancouver

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, APRIL 20, 2006 What an awesome heavy-metal band Queen used to be. What, you didn’t know Queen used to be an awesome heavy-metal band? Maybe it’s not common knowledge. It guess it helps if you were a hard rock-crazed, Circus-reading teen back in ’73 when the British quartet’s self-titled debut LP … Continue reading Queen and Paul Rodgers rock Vancouver

Yngwie Malmsteen shreds on what he once called “a piece of furniture”: the Gibson Les Paul

By Steve Newton One of my most popular posts on Ear of Newt is the one where Yngwie Malmsteen calls Ibanez guitars “a bad copy” of the Strat and says Les Pauls are “furniture”. Well, if you ever wondered what the Swedish Fender freak would sound like shredding on a piece of furniture, here ya … Continue reading Yngwie Malmsteen shreds on what he once called “a piece of furniture”: the Gibson Les Paul

That time the Cult’s Billy Duffy told me that Thin Lizzy was his number-one “teenie band”, and that it all boils down to the Les Paul

By Steve Newton Way back on April 7 of 1989 I interviewed the Cult guitarist Billy Duffy. That was three days before the band released its fourth album, the Bob Rock-produced Sonic Temple, which would go platinum on the strength of tunes like “Fire Woman”, “Sweet Soul Sister”, and “Edie (Ciao Baby)”. At one point … Continue reading That time the Cult’s Billy Duffy told me that Thin Lizzy was his number-one “teenie band”, and that it all boils down to the Les Paul

If Joe Bonamassa had his way, Rory Gallagher, Paul Kossoff, and Danny Gatton would all be in the Rock Hall

By Steve Newton The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony for its class of 2020 was broadcast on HBO last weekend. I didn’t watch it. Nothing against inductees like T-Rex and the Doobie Brothers, but when somebody like Whitney Houston gets the nod over 2020 nominees like Thin Lizzy and Judas Priest, I … Continue reading If Joe Bonamassa had his way, Rory Gallagher, Paul Kossoff, and Danny Gatton would all be in the Rock Hall

That time Edgar Winter told me about playing Carnegie Hall for Les Paul’s 90th birthday celebration

Carl Lender photo By Steve Newton When I interviewed Edgar Winter in July of 2005 it had only been one month since he’d performed at Carnegie Hall as part of Les Paul’s 90th birthday celebration. He’d been joined at that event by the likes of Steve Miller, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Steve Lukather, Stanley Jordan, Peter … Continue reading That time Edgar Winter told me about playing Carnegie Hall for Les Paul’s 90th birthday celebration

That time I asked Joe Satriani why he chose Ibanez guitars instead of Strats and Les Pauls

By Steve Newton I’ve interviewed Joe Satriani eight times because, hey, nobody plays guitar like Satch. He’s one of a kind. The last time I interviewed him was in 2018, and the first time was way the funk back in January of 1990, when he was touring behind his stunning Flying in a Blue Dream album. … Continue reading That time I asked Joe Satriani why he chose Ibanez guitars instead of Strats and Les Pauls

That time Rob Baker told me that when Paul Langlois joined the Hip he only knew four or five chords

By Steve Newton I did my last Tragically Hip interview in June of 1997, a month after the band had released its concert album Live Between Us. Lead guitarist Rob Baker (I still called him Bobby back then) rang me up from his home in Kingston, and we talked about the live disc and the … Continue reading That time Rob Baker told me that when Paul Langlois joined the Hip he only knew four or five chords

That time Vinnie Paul told me that the guy on the cover of Pantera’s new album got paid $300 for getting punched in the face

By Steve Newton I interviewed Pantera cofounder and drummer Vinnie Paul on February 20, 1992, five days before the release of the band’s sixth album, Vulgar Display of Power. The followup to its breakthrough Cowboys from Hell LP, VDOP featured a cover photo of some guy getting punched in the head, so when Vinnie called me … Continue reading That time Vinnie Paul told me that the guy on the cover of Pantera’s new album got paid $300 for getting punched in the face

That time Gary Moore told me how he scored Peter Green’s ’59 Les Paul

By Steve Newton Gary Moore has been one of my fave guitarists ever since I heard him with Thin Lizzy back in the seventies. I then closely followed his hard-rock/metal solo career in the ’80s, before he got the blues bigtime in 1990. I was fortunate enough to have interviewed the legendary picker once, back in … Continue reading That time Gary Moore told me how he scored Peter Green’s ’59 Les Paul

Yngwie Malmsteen calls Ibanez guitars “a bad copy” of the Strat and says Les Pauls are “furniture”

By Steve Newton Back in 2014 I had a nice little chat with Swedish guitar legend Yngwie Malmsteen, in advance of a Guitar Gods show in Vancouver. I mentioned that the last time I saw him live was on the G3 Tour at Vancouver’s Orpheum Theatre in 2003 or something. We got to talking about his … Continue reading Yngwie Malmsteen calls Ibanez guitars “a bad copy” of the Strat and says Les Pauls are “furniture”

Pantera’s Vinnie Paul explains what makes Phil Anselmo so “Fucking Hostile” on Vulgar Display of Power

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, FEB. 27, 1992 By Steve Newton Would you let somebody punch you in the face for 300 bucks? Considering that knuckle sandwiches sometimes come for free, 300 smackers might not sound too bad. Then again, it depends who’s on the other end of the fist. And whether or not … Continue reading Pantera’s Vinnie Paul explains what makes Phil Anselmo so “Fucking Hostile” on Vulgar Display of Power