Johnstone on the left, Plant on the right. ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 17, 1988 By Steve Newton Let’s say you’re a songwriter with a whole bunch of tunes you want the world to hear. You’re not sure who to send them to, but you figure “What the hell”, and mail a bunch of them off … Continue reading Robert Plant keyboardist Phil Johnstone says they don’t do “Stairway to Heaven”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 18, 2007 By Steve Newton You may be wondering what Led Zeppelin‘s grizzled old blues-metal crooner was doing making a collaborative CD with a country-roots superstar. Was Robert Plant hanging out with Alison Krauss so she would play fiddle on the newfangled Cajun version of “Stairway to Heaven” … Continue reading Album review: Robert Plant/Alison Krauss, Raising Sand (2007)
By Steve Newton Last week I posted a blog about the ten best rock concerts I ever saw at the Pacific Coliseum in the 1980s. Well, I saw a few decent shows at the Coliseum in the ’90s too. Here’s 10 of my faves: Aerosmith, October 25, 1997 from the newt’s collection At the climax … Continue reading The 10 best rock concerts I ever saw at Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum in the ’90s
tedeschi trucks photo by susan weiand By Steve Newton Melissa Etheridge: confessional folk-rock singer-songwriter from Kansas performs with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra as part of her I’m Not Broken Tour. March 23 at the Orpheum Theatre. Reverend Horton Heat: psychobilly band from Dallas, Texas, featuring guitarist-vocalist Jim Heath, with guests Dale Watson and Jason D. Williams. March 26 at the Rickshaw Theatre. … Continue reading Newt’s top 20 Vancouver concert picks for 2024
By Steve Newton I’ve just been watching the TV news, and apparently there’s quite an uproar among Celine Dion fans because she wasn’t included in Rolling Stone‘s new list of “The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.” Well, here’s another uproar for ya: why the hell isn’t Phil Lynott’s name on the list? You know, … Continue reading Rolling Stone shockingly omits Phil Lynott from its Top 200 singers list. And Paul Rodgers too!
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MAY 23, 2002 By Steve Newton You’ll rarely find Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural, Jr. without his trusty Hohner accordion—or the mile-wide grin that comes whenever he plays it. But the 54-year-old musician wasn’t always so enamoured of the instrument. When he was a youngster in Lafayette, Louisiana, Dural couldn’t stand … Continue reading Buckwheat Zydeco says everybody has a different vibration, man
By Steve Newton I did the third of my three interviews with Jon Bon Jovi in June of 1987, when his band was touring behind its massively successful third album, Slippery When Wet, which went on to sell over 12-million copies in the U.S. alone. A year earlier the group had barely caused a stir … Continue reading That time Jon Bon Jovi told me that his band’s new Slippery When Wet album was just meant to be a fun summertime album
By Steve Newton I’m a little show on the uptake sometimes. For example, just yesterday I was typing up my old interview from 1987 with Rick Richards of the Georgia Satellites, giving the article new life on the internet after being trapped on yellowing newspaper and stashed in a banker’s box for decades. In the … Continue reading 36 years later I finally got turned on to the rockin’ glory of Warren Zevon’s “Even a Dog Can Shake Hands”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 30, 1989 By Steve Newton Diehard Led Zeppelin fans were either impressed or outraged when Kingdom Come’s debut album came out two years ago. The LP–made here in Vancouver at Little Mountain Sound and produced by Bob Rock–sounded an awful lot like a tribute to (or cloning of) Messrs. Page and … Continue reading Kingdom Come hopes to avoid Zeppelin comparisons with new In Your Face LP
By Steve Newton I’ve interviewed American singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Alvin, a founding member of the Blasters, four times over the years, ’cause he’s just plain great. This is the first time, back in November of 1991, when he was touring behind his second solo album, Blue Blvd. At one point in the conversation I … Continue reading That time Dave Alvin told me what it was like being in the Pleasure Barons with Country Dick Montana and Mojo Nixon
By Steve Newton I realize millions of Zep fans might complain about “Stairway to Heaven” not being Number One, but they’ll get over it. 20. “Ten Years Gone” (Physical Graffiti, 1975) 19. “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” (Led Zeppelin, 1969) 18. “Celebration Day” (Led Zeppelin III, 1970) 17. “Achilles Last Stand” (Presence, 1976) 16. “In … Continue reading Led Zeppelin’s 20 best songs, from wicked to freakin’ awesome
By Steve Newton Last night on Crave I watched the Ronnie James Dio documentary Dio: Dreamers Never Die, which I thought did a fine job of detailing the heavy-metal singer’s career in music. I especially enjoyed hearing the commentary from metal musicians like Deep Purple’s Roger Glover, Quiet Riot’s Rudy Sarzo, Judas Priest’s Rob Halford, … Continue reading 10 minutes on the phone with Ronnie James Dio during the Sacred Heart Tour of 1985
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 26, 2012 By Steve Newton It must be pretty sweet being Joss Stone these days. When I hook up with the 25-year-old millionaire soul-pop superstar she’s on her cell at a café in Brussels, Belgium, where she’s doing some TV shows and concerts. The next day, Stone will be popping over … Continue reading Joss Stone says that she wants to open doors with soul and spread the music far and wide
