By Steve Newton Tom Petty is one of my favourite rockers, and I’m really bummed that I never got to interview him. But I did get to do the next best thing, which was chat with his forever guitarist, Mike Campbell. I interviewed Campbell in August of 1999, before Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers played … Continue reading That time Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell told me how he got into Tom Petty’s band
mudcrutch photo by red slater By Steve Newton When I interviewed Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell back in the summer of 1999 we got to talking about his early days playing with Petty in the Gainesville, Florida band Mudcrutch. At one point Campbell told me about how that band would sometimes … Continue reading That time Tom Petty guitarist Mike Campbell told me that Lynyrd Skynyrd’s success gave him hope
By Steve Newton Tom Petty was one helluva songwriter, as we all know, but every once in a while he’d get help composing a tune from his guitarist and mainman Mike Campbell. Like on “Refugee”, the second single from 1980’s Damn the Torpedoes. I love that tune, so when I interviewed Campbell in the summer … Continue reading That time I asked Mike Campbell if he thought “Refugee” was a hit as soon as he wrote the music for it
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!
Geez, even Jimi knew Johnny ruled. By Steve Newton Back in September of 2010 Gibson.com posted what it felt were the 50 greatest guitar solos of all time, and boy did they ever blow it. Most conspicuous by his absence is Texas blues-rock legend Johnny Winter. I for one am getting sick and tired of … Continue reading Gibson picked the top 50 guitar solos of all time, and boy did they ever blow it
By Steve Newton I was channel surfing last night and came across a King of the Hill episode from 2006 that perked me up and made me yearn for the halcyon days of ’70s arena rock. At the end of the Season 10 episode titled “Hank Fixes Everything”, the recurring character Lucky–voiced by Tom Petty–buys tickets to … Continue reading Tom Petty’s King of the Hill character buys Brownsville Station tix for primo view of Mike Lutz’s guitar solo
By Steve Newton Over the past 40 years or so I’ve seen hella concerts in the Vancouver area, either at clubs, soft-seat theatres, arenas, or stadiums. But I’ve also enjoyed the odd memorable gig outside Metro Vancouver. Back in the mid-’80s I was fortunate enough to see both Midnight Oil and Angel City play club … Continue reading That time I told Jeff Beck that the first time I ever saw him was with Aerosmith on the Rocks Tour in ’76
By Steve Newton I interviewed Chris Whitley for the first time back in October of 1991, three months after the release of his debut album, Living With the Law. He called me up from Nashville, where he was opening for Tom Petty on Petty’s Into the Great Wide Open Tour. At one point in the … Continue reading That time Chris Whitley told me that he thought Johnny Winter’s debut album was the best blues-rock record ever made
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT. 16, 2021 By Steve Newton Roy Forbes is celebrating 50 years in the music business right now, because back in 1971–18 years old and fresh out of Dawson Creek–he showed up in Vancouver to launch his career as a singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer. Back then, though, he was better known as … Continue reading Roy Forbes looks back on half a century in the music biz
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 15, 2005 By Steve Newton Both young upstarts and grizzled old-timers made my Top 10 this year, proving yet again that good rock ‘n’ roll transcends generational boundaries. And needs lots of guitars. Audioslave Out of Exile With the help of producer Rick Rubin and mixer Brendan O’Brien, former … Continue reading Newt’s Top 10 albums of 2005
The Fins frontman Dave Chisholm opening for Johnny Winter. Photo by Bruce Law. By Steve Newton The Commodore Ballroom is one of the best places in Vancouver to see a concert. Back in the seventies, before I started working as a music writer for the Georgia Straight, I would make the one-hour trek from my … Continue reading Vancouver blues-rocker Dave Chisholm recalls his band the Fins opening for Johnny Winter
By Steve Newton I really, really enjoy guitar solos sometimes. When a geetar player hits just the right notes with just the right feel, it’s almost like a religious experience for me. That’s why I’ve asked God to bless exquisite guitar solos by Scott Gorham on Thin Lizzy’s “Romeo and the Lonely Girl”, Donald “Buck … Continue reading God bless Hughie Thomasson’s guitar solo on the Outlaws’ “Hurry Sundown”
By Steve Newton Back in April of 1997 I did my first interview with Rush bassist-vocalist Geddy Lee. At the time the group was touring behind its Test for Echo album, and that tour marked the first time Rush had taken the “An Evening With” approach, where there is no opening act and it’s just … Continue reading That time Geddy Lee told me that Rush had 4,000 albums
