ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 5, 1994 By Steve Newton It comes as somewhat of a surprise that Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde is a dyed-in-the-swamp southern-rock maniac, but the New Jersey native is at the forefront of the current trend toward repopularizing the style epitomized by the Allman Brothers Band. On its … Continue reading Album review: Pride & Glory, Pride & Glory (1994)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 14, 2007 By Steve Newton If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s an Ozzy Osbourne ballad. Let’s face it, Ozzy’s not a slow-burn kinda guy, he’s a “let’s go fuckin’ crazy!” kinda guy. I don’t buy it when, on the new ballad “Lay Your World on Me”, … Continue reading Album review: Ozzy Osbourne, Black Rain (2007)
By Steve Newton If Randy Rhoads hadn’t died in that tragic plane crash in 1982, do you think he’d still be playing with Ozzy Osbourne? I kinda doubt it. He was so fiercely talented that I bet he would have left heavy-metal in the dust and moved on to creating adventurous, technically mind-boggling instrumental music … Continue reading That time Zakk Wylde told me that he’d always be Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist
By Steve Newton The first time I interviewed Zakk Wylde, back in 1994, he was still a member of the southern-rock band Pride & Glory, which was previously known as Lynyrd Skynhead. So knowing he was a huge Skynyrd fan, I asked him how he felt about the surviving band members getting back together seven years … Continue reading That time Zakk Wylde and I agreed that Lynyrd Skynyrd were right to return with Johnny Van Zant
By Steve Newton Zakk Wylde may be best known as the guitarist and songwriter who took over from Jake E. Lee to help Ozzy Osbourne stay on the charts with tunes like “No More Tears” and “Perry Mason”, but southern-rock fans also know him as the frontman in the power trio Pride & Glory, which was … Continue reading That time Zakk Wylde told me about jamming with Skynyrd and covering for Dickey Betts in the Allmans
By Steve Newton Whether you think Ozzy Osbourne is a genius or not, ya gotta admit that he’s a mastermind when it comes to finding killer guitarists. Tony Iommi, Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee, Zakk Wylde–those are some pretty smokin’ pickers. When I interviewed 27-year-old Wylde back in 1994 I asked him what he thought … Continue reading That time Zakk Wylde told me what he really thought of Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee, and Tony Iommi
By Steve Newton I did my first interview with Ozzy Osbourne back in June of 1982, when he was touring behind his Diary of a Madman LP. Just a few months earlier he’d lost his guitar player, the legendary Randy Rhoads, in a bizarre plane crash. At one point in the conversation I asked Ozzy … Continue reading That time I asked Ozzy Osbourne if “Crazy Train” was an autobiographical song
By Steve Newton I’ve long held the opinion that AC/DC’s Powerage is their best album. Keith Richards agrees, and he knows a thing or two about rockin’. And more importantly, Malcolm Young himself has named Powerage as Number One. When I met Young backstage after an AC/DC show in Vancouver back in 2001 I mentioned that … Continue reading Eddie Van Halen’s favourite AC/DC album was Powerage
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
bev davies photo By Steve Newton I did my first interview with Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford back in May of 1984, when Judas Priest was touring behind its Defenders of the Faith album. At one point in the conversation I mentioned how one of Priest’s songs from two years earlier, “You’ve Got Another Thing … Continue reading That time back in ’84 when Judas Priest’s Rob Halford told me that metal was a young musical force
By Steve Newton I’ve interviewed Mick Mars a couple of times. The first time was way back in 1985 when Mötley Crüe was touring behind its Theatre of Pain album. The following excerpt is from my second interview with Mars, which happened in March of 1999, when the original lineup had reunited after recording one … Continue reading That time Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars told me that the music he loves most is blues-based stuff like Edgar and Johnny Winter
By Steve Newton I did my first interview with Crowded House frontman Neil Finn back in August of 1998, when he was touring behind his debut solo album, Try Whistling This. I’d been a fan of Crowded House since the 1986 release of its first album, which featured one of the most beautiful pop songs … Continue reading That time I asked Neil Finn what inspired him to write one of my all-time favourite tunes, Crowded House’s “Don’t Dream It’s Over”
By Steve Newton Way back in June of 1983 I did my second Iron Maiden interview, following up the previous year’s chat with the soon-to-be-replaced drummer Clive Burr with a conversation featuring 24-year-old frontman Bruce Dickinson. At one point in the interview I asked Dickinson about the backwards message that could be heard between the … Continue reading That time I asked Bruce Dickinson what the backwards message was on Maiden’s new Piece of Mind LP
