Album review: Queensrÿche, Empire (1990)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 4, 1990 By Steve Newton It looks like studio giant Little Mountain Sound might be getting a wee bit of local competition as […]
Search Results for: Queensryche
Queensrÿche’s Geoff Tate give kudos to Maiden, Priest, and Sabbath (with Dio)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 14, 2000 By Steve Newton At the big metal show slated for the Pacific Coliseum on Wednesday (September 20), Seattle hard-rockers Queensrÿche will […]
Queensryche’s Geoff Tate praises the “real musicians” of prog-rock
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 19, 1991 By Steve Newton When it comes to progressive rock bands from the ’70s, there’s no middle ground—people either love ’em or […]
Queensryche guitarist Michael Wilton does double duty in Soulbender
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, AUG. 12, 2004 By Steve Newton Local metal legend Devin Townsend will be the main attraction when his eponymous hardcore group headlines the Showroom Cabaret on […]
Queensryche resurrects prog-metal storytelling
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, SEPT. 30, 2004 By Steve Newton The 1980s aren’t generally regarded as great years for hard rock, thanks mainly to the scores of hair-farmer bands that–capitalizing […]
That time 29-year-old Steve Vai told me that he suffered making “For the Love of God”, but that blowjobs also do the trick
By Steve Newton I did my first interview with Steve Vai when he was touring with Whitesnake in May of 1990, but I was more interested in talking about his […]
That time I told Ace Frehley that I thought the first Kiss album was the best Kiss album
By Steve Newton I was crazy about Kiss when their first album dropped back in the Year of Our Lord, 1974. I was 16 at the time, which is all […]
God bless Scott Gorham’s guitar solo on Thin Lizzy’s “Romeo and the Lonely Girl”
By Steve Newton I freakin’ love guitar solos, where some talented artist carefully chooses the perfect notes and uses vibrato and tremolo and all that other technical shit to come […]
That time I asked David Lee Roth if he regretted leaving Van Halen
By Steve Newton I did my first interview with David Lee Roth in June of 1994, when he was promoting his Nile Rodgers-produced album Your Filthy Little Mouth. He called me from […]
That time Allan Holdsworth told me that a lotta people love the things that he hates…like his old band U.K.
By Steve Newton Since I got “temporarily” laid off from work yesterday–after 35 years with the Georgia Straight newspaper in Vancouver–I’ve been wondering which of my hundreds of old interviews […]
That time Stevie Ray Vaughan told me how much he liked Colin James
By Steve Newton When I interviewed Stevie Ray Vaughan in July of 1990, six weeks before his death, I asked him what he’d been listening to in his spare time–if […]
That time John Mayall told me that his Bluesbreakers of 1988 were the best band he ever had
By Steve Newton The first time I interviewed blues legend John Mayall was in December of 1988, shortly after he’d released his Chicago Line album, which featured smokin’ guitarists Walter […]
That time I asked Steve Vai if he was daunted by stepping into Eddie Van Halen’s shoes with David Lee Roth
By Steve Newton I did my first interview with Steve Vai in May of 1990, when he was just 29. He had just released his solo album Passion and Warfare, […]
That time I asked Billy Gibbons if he’d play “Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers” for me in Vancouver
By Steve Newton Just finished watching that ZZ Top documentary on Netflix, That Little Ol’ Band from Texas, and it was pretty cool. I especially liked the way it focused […]
That time I asked Steve Morse if the success of Joe Satriani and Steve Vai boded well for instrumental-rock artists
By Steve Newton When I interviewed Steve Morse for the first time in May of 1991, the American instrumental-rock scene was making great strides. While Morse himself was winning over […]
That time Stevie Ray Vaughan told me about the labour of love he’d never live to see released
By Steve Newton I did my second interview with Stevie Ray Vaughan six weeks before he died in that goddamned helicopter crash, which was itself less than a month before […]
That time I called up Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and asked for “Mr. Ugly Stinky”
By Steve Newton When I interviewed Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea back in 1996 I was instructed to call his Phoenix hotel and ask for “Mr. Ugly Stupid”, the […]
Rory Gallagher’s fierce talent exposed by unearthed live tracks, but will the Rock Hall even notice?
bob geldof photo By Steve Newton Rory Gallagher is quite likely the most underrated rock-guitar player of all time. Even though his instrumental prowess has been constantly raved about by […]
That time 20-year-old Sebastian Bach sang me a line from his Schooner beer commercial
By Steve Newton Way the hell back in 1989 I did an interview with Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach. That was less than a month after the release of the band’s […]
That time I asked Mike Rutherford about the biggest highlights of Genesis’ career
By Steve Newton Way back in December of 1983 I did an interview with Mike Rutherford, who at the time was the guitarist-bassist in Genesis, joined by singer-drummer Phil Collins […]
That time Dickey Betts told me to quit being so “reclusive” and come meet him after the show
kirk west photo By Steve Newton In case you haven’t heard the news about Dickey Betts, the 74-year-old guitar legend fell and cracked his head and is now in a […]
Joe Satriani responds to Yngwie Malmsteen’s claim that Ibanez guitars are “a bad copy” of the Strat
By Steve Newton I did my eighth interview with Joe Satriani the other day–man, I love that guy–and finally got to ask him about something that his former G3 tourmate […]
Exclusive excerpt from my new book, Gord Downie, about the late frontman of the Tragically Hip
By Steve Newton The following is the Preface from my new coffeetable book, Gord Downie, published by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. of New York City and currently available at Indigo, […]
Album Reviews
Aerosmith: Honkin’ on Bobo (2004) Eric Clapton: Me and Mr. Johnson (2004) Jimi Hendrix: Axis Outtakes (2003) ZZ Top: Mescalero (2003) Nickelback: The Long Road (2003) Joe Jackson Band: Volume […]
Yes guitarist Steve Howe on paying tribute to bass god Chris Squire at the Rock Hall
kevin kane photo By Steve Newton I called Steve Howe up at a Yes tour stop in San Diego in 2017 and had a nice chat with the British guitar […]
That time Ronnie James Dio told me what he really thinks of Ritchie Blackmore and Yngwie Malmsteen
By Steve Newton Last year I posted an audio clip from my 1985 interview with Ronnie James Dio in which he kindly offered me backstage passes to a show in […]
Ever wonder why the Allman Brothers look so damn happy on the cover of At Fillmore East?
By Steve Newton The Allman Brothers’ At Fillmore East is widely recognized as one of the greatest live albums in rock history. And you won’t get any arguments about that […]
