By Steve Newton Hey all you diehard Susan Tedeschi fans: here’s another audio excerpt from my 1998 interview with her, when she had just released her second album, Just Won’t Burn, and was on the verge of stardom. As the “phoner” wound down, I asked her what she hoped to accomplish in her career, and … Continue reading That time I asked 28-year-old Susan Tedeschi what she hoped to accomplish in her career
By Steve Newton Here’s another audio excerpt from my 1998 interview with Susan Tedeschi, for those who think she’s awesome, like me. At one point in the interview I asked her about attending Berklee College of Music, which she graduated from in 1991. That’s the Boston institution where such stellar musicians as Steely Dan‘s Donald … Continue reading That time I asked 28-year-old Susan Tedeschi what she got from attending Berklee College of Music
By Steve Newton I love listening to Susan Tedeschi sing and play guitar. I mean, who doesn’t? I love interviewing her too, because she’s not just a wicked musician, but a total sweetie as well. The first time I chatted with her was back in 1998, when she was just 28, and touring behind her … Continue reading That time I asked 28-year-old Susan Tedeschi if she had a favourite tune on Just Won’t Burn
By Steve Newton When I did my first interview with Susan Tedeschi, back in 1998, she was touring behind her Just Won’t Burn album, which included a cover of John Prine’s “Angel from Montgomery”. When I asked her how she came to record that tune we got to talking about Bonnie Raitt, so I inquired … Continue reading That time I asked 28-year-old Susan Tedeschi if she idolized Bonnie Raitt
By Steve Newton I did my first interview with Susan Tedeschi in November of 1998, just eight months before she met husband-to-be Derek Trucks while opening for the Allman Brothers and they started the relationship that would result in two beautiful kids and the formation of the equally stunning Tedeschi Trucks Band. At the time … Continue reading That time I called Susan Tedeschi to talk about Just Won’t Burn and her mom said she was in the tub
By Steve Newton When I interviewed Susan Tedeschi recently, in advance of the Tedeschi Trucks show in Vancouver this month, I asked her what she’d been listening to in her spare time. She replied that her and hubby Derek Trucks had been really enjoying the latest Wood Brothers album Paradise–which they played on one track … Continue reading Susan Tedeschi thinks Derek Trucks is “a little burnt out” from the Allman Brothers Band
By Steve Newton The day before Susan Tedeschi called me to chat about the Tedeschi Trucks Band, her husband and bandmate Derek Trucks celebrated his 37th birthday. Since Trucks is revered as one of the world’s top slide-guitarists, I ask Tedeschi if she bought him a new six-string to mark the occasion. Her answer isn’t … Continue reading Susan Tedeschi bought Derek Trucks binoculars for his birthday ’cause he already has too many guitars
By Steve Newton Susan Tedeschi called me up from her home in Florida last week in advance of the Tedeschi Trucks Band show in Vancouver this month. We go way back, as I first interviewed her in 1998 when she was a solo artist with a new debut album. While we were chatting about her … Continue reading Susan Tedeschi can’t wait to get Doyle Bramhall II’s new album
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 3, 1998 By Steve Newton When Susan Tedeschi’s cell phone rings in an L.A. hotel room, a female voice answers, but it isn’t the one I’m looking for. It’s actually Tedeschi’s mom, who, in a very motherly way, explains that her daughter’s in the bathtub. Sounding concerned that … Continue reading Susan Tedeschi just enjoys being a musician, pretty much
By Steve Newton I don’t get out to that many concerts anymore. With the Big Six-O on the horizon, I’ve become a real picky bastard when it comes to live shows. But there are a few select bands I never want to miss when they play Vancouver: the Drive-By Truckers and Gov’t Mule are tied at … Continue reading The Full Susan: Tedeschi talks Derek Trucks, Doyle Bramhall II, David Bowie, and Warren Haynes
There was a whole lotta soul rolling off of the Vogue Theatre stage last night. That’s what happens when you’ve got a hugely talented 11-piece band joyfully letting go with bluesy, heartfelt, and sometimes funky-as-hell rock music. That’s also what happens whenever bottleneck-guitar master Derek Trucks’ glass slide grazes the strings of his trusty red … Continue reading Tedeschi Trucks Band lays the soul on heavy in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, NOV. 5, 2013 By Steve Newton You might think that the pressure of travelling around the world with an 11-piece band that includes your soul mate might be a tad hard to take at times. But guitarist Derek Trucks—coleader of the Tedeschi Trucks Band with his wife, singer-guitarist Susan Tedeschi—says not … Continue reading Tedeschi Trucks enlists Clapton collaborator Doyle Bramhall II
By Steve Newton It’s not too often you take home a free souvenir from an AC/DC concert. Most likely you’ll be dropping $40 for a t-shirt, $25 for a tour program, and maybe seven or eight bucks for a “Have a Drink on Me” shotglass or a “Highway to Hell” keychain. Mind you, if you’re … Continue reading AC/DC dropped fake American dollar bills on its fans during the 1990-’91 Razors Edge world tour, and I’ve still got mine
By Steve Newton I interviewed Kings of Leon drummer Nathan Followill on September 19, 2003, exactly one month after the release of the band’s debut album, Youth and Young Manhood. Exactly five years after that–on September 19, 2008–the band released its fourth album, Only by the Night, which spawned the hit single “Sex on Fire” … Continue reading That time Nathan Followill told me that the Kings of Leon didn’t know a right way or a wrong way to play rock ‘n’ roll when they started
By Steve Newton Most of the music news regarding the passing last month of guitar legend Leslie West has focused on his work with Mountain, and justifiably so, since that band recorded timeless tracks like “Mississippi Queen” and “Nantucket Sleighride” and “Theme for an Imaginary Western”. But after Mountain produced those gems West and Mountain … Continue reading That time I asked Leslie West if he was excited to hook up with Jack Bruce in West, Bruce & Laing
By Steve Newton I’ve interviewed Todd Kerns a few times, because he’s one of my favourite Canadian rockers. A few years ago I actually dubbed him “The Rockingest Canadian Bass Player of the 21st Century,” partly because of his unwavering enthusiasm on stage. The title didn’t really catch on in the media, but I stand … Continue reading That time Todd Kerns told me that AC/DC replacing Brian Johnson with Axl Rose was the most surreal thing he’d heard in a long time
By Steve Newton I did my first interview with Ozzy Osbourne in early June of 1982, ten weeks after his beloved guitarist, Randy Rhoads, perished in a fiery plane crash at the age of 25. No wonder he sounded bummed out. Rhoads’ place on the Diary of a Madman Tour had been taken first by … Continue reading Ten weeks after Randy Rhoads’ death Ozzy told me that the fallen guitar hero could do anything
By Steve Newton If you liked Black Sabbath in the seventies, you probably liked Mountain as well. Both bands were well versed in the art of the killer riff. Sabbath’s Tony Iommi and Mountain’s Leslie West were good buddies, as West told me during an interview in 2002. He also said that Ozzy Osbourne once … Continue reading That time Leslie West told me that Ozzy Osbourne said Mountain really turned him on to American rock
By Steve Newton Just finished watching the documentary Little Feats: The Life & Times of Lowell George on Amazon Prime and that got me thinking about that time back in August of 2002 when I interviewed Little Feat keyboardist Bill Payne. Payne had cofounded the band with singer-guitarist and main songwriter Lowell George back in … Continue reading That time I asked Bill Payne if Little Feat had any thoughts of calling it quits when Lowell George died
By Steve Newton Few award presentations in the history of rock music have caused as much controversy as the one that took place at the Grammys back on February 6, 1989. That was when Jethro Tull’s Crest of a Knave album won the Grammy for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance, shockingly beating out the odds-on favourite, … Continue reading That time Ratt’s Robbin Crosby told me that Jethro Tull winning the metal Grammy in ’89 was “bullshit’
By Steve Newton Since the news hit yesterday about the death of beloved guitar legend Leslie West, accolades have been pouring in from some of the world’s finest pickers. “Leslie’s playing and sound was just superb,” said Tony Iommi, whose band Black Sabbath used to open for West’s group Mountain. “One of the GOAT,” declared … Continue reading Leslie West’s absence from the Rock Hall is as shocking as the exclusion of Rory, Johnny, and Link
By Steve Newton I did the first of my eight interviews with Joe Satriani back in January of 1990, when he was touring behind his awesome Flying in a Blue Dream album. As the conversation wound down I asked him if it was tricky controlling the acoustics at some venues, playing at the volume that … Continue reading That time Joe Satriani told me that he strove for a live sound worthy of Yes, Pink Floyd, and the Grateful Dead
By Steve Newton I was never a huge fan of the Bee Gees. But that didn’t stop me from interviewing one of its members, Robin Gibb, back in August of 1984. At the time he was promoting a solo album called Secret Agent, which featured nine songs cowritten with his twin brother Maurice Gibb. Their … Continue reading That time the Bee Gees’ Robin Gibb told me that he thought the Saturday Night Fever movie was “awful”
By Steve Newton Tommy Shannon is perhaps best known as the bassist for Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, but dedicated blues-guitar freaks will also know him as the guy who brought the bottom end on Johnny Winter’s first three albums. I interviewed Shannon back in 1998 when he was in the band Storyville, and … Continue reading That time bass legend Tommy Shannon told me who his favourite musician of all time was
By Steve Newton A couple days ago Alejandro Escovedo posted a fun little blog I’d written in 2015 on his Facebook page. It was about “the greatest guitar solo of all time”, which I attributed to Mick Ronson for his solo on Ian Hunter’s “Once Bitten Twice Shy”. Alejandro must be a big Ronson fan … Continue reading That time Alejandro Escovedo told me that the Modernettes’ “Rebel Kind” was a great song
By Steve Newton On August 18, 1990, I did my one and only interview with blues legend Albert King. I was very fortunate to have scored that interview, because a little over two years later he was gone. I called Albert up when he was on the road in Poughkeepsie, New York, and asked him … Continue reading That time I called up Albert King and asked how life was treatin’ him these days and he said “shit”
By Steve Newton I interviewed Kiss drummer Eric Carr in August of 1984, shortly before the band released its Animalize LP. You may recall that album for the hit single “Heaven’s on Fire”. I doubt you’ll recall it for much more. Anyway, at one point in the conversation I asked Carr about the band’s new guitarist, … Continue reading That time Eric Carr told me that new Kiss guitarist Mark St. John was “absolutely astounding”
