ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 14, 2011 By Steve Newton Former Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler called from L.A. to promote his upcoming gig at Vancouver’s Venue on August 25, and once he started talking, he didn’t want to stop. He chatted about everything from the tuna salad sandwich he’d just had for lunch in the … Continue reading Former Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler is a real chatterbox
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 17 2011 By Steve Newton In 1987, when he was 22 years old, Steven Adler had the world by the balls. He was the drummer in Guns N’ Roses, the most popular rock band at the time, whose album of that year, Appetite for Destruction, has sold more than 28 million … Continue reading Steven Adler still yearns to be part of a Guns N’ Roses reunion
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 5, 1994 By Steve Newton Sometimes I wonder if guitarists join Guns N’ Roses just so they can get in the position to release their own solo recordings of punk-inspired garage-rock and blues-based boogie. (I doubt if they do it so they can bask in the positive vibes … Continue reading Album review: Gilby Clarke, Pawnshop Guitars (1994)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 27, 2008 By Steve Newton On a recent episode of The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert lectured Axl Rose for stealing his thunder by releasing Chinese Democracy, the first Guns N’ Roses album in 17 years, the very same day as Colbert’s Christmas special. “What’s the matter, Axl,” whined the … Continue reading Album review: Guns N’ Roses, Chinese Democracy (2008)
By Steve Newton I interviewed original Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler back in August of 2011, the same year he appeared in Season 5 of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. At the time he was heading to Vancouver for a club show with his own band, Adler’s Appetite, performing originals and the tunes he … Continue reading That time Steven Adler told me that he wished he’d checked out Iron Maiden when Guns N’ Roses opened for them in the ’80s
By Steve Newton When I interviewed American guitar hero Slash in April of 1995 he was playing with his own band, Slash’s Snakepit, which originally included two of his Guns N’ Roses bandmates—drummer Matt Sorum and guitarist Gilby Clarke—as well as Alice in Chains bassist Mike Inez and former Jellyfish member Eric Dover on lead … Continue reading That time I asked Slash if he was having more fun with Slash’s Snakepit than he was with GN’R
Nita Strauss plays the Rickshaw By Steve Newton There were some darn fine concerts to see in Vancouver during the first half of 2023–including gigs by Jason Isbell, Larkin Poe, John Mellencamp, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Now here’s my top 10 picks for the second half of the year. Rock on, people! Nita … Continue reading Newt’s top 10 Vancouver concerts to see in the second half of 2023
By Steve Newton I interviewed Guns N’ Roses keyboardist Dizzy Reed on August 5, 1992, while his band was in the midst of a coheadlining stadium tour with Metallica. The tour was scheduled to hit Vancouver’s BC Place Stadium on August 17–with openers Faith No More–but three days after this chat James Hetfield got badly … Continue reading That time I asked Guns N’ Roses keyboardist Dizzy Reed if Metallica ever blew his band off the stage
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 24, 2004 By Steve Newton Every time I see that oft-shown video from last year’s Guns N’ Roses riot of a Vancouver cop smashing an innocent guy’s teeth out, I can’t believe it. It’s not that I can’t picture our boys in blue pulling those types of stunts … Continue reading Album review: Velvet Revolver, Contraband (2004)
Guns N’ Roses play BC Place By Steve Newton MONDAY: American East Coast hip-hop acts Wu-Tang Clan and Nas perform at Rogers Arena as part of the N.Y. State of Mind Tour 2023, with guests De La Soul. There will be weed. MONDAY: New York experimental jazz-funk trio Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog–featuring guitarist Ribot, bassist-keyboardist … Continue reading Newt’s top 10 (or 15) things to do in Metro Vancouver this week, October 16 to 20
The DDs in Montreal last Wednesday By Steve Newton Any Vancouverites up for a rowdy evening of ’80-style hard-rock tonight? The Dead Daisies, a guitar-rock collective originally formed in 2012 by Australian businessman-turned-rocker David Lowy, plays the Hollywood Theatre in Kits tonight (Saturday, September 2). In previous incarnations the group has included such old-school rock … Continue reading The Dead Daisies–featuring ex-members of Whitesnake, Mötley Crüe, Dio, and Pride & Glory–play Vancouver tonight
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 9, 1994 By Steve Newton According to Stuttering John’s bio, lead vocalist John Melendez is “known to millions in North America as the fearless interviewer on Howard Stern’s mega-popular radio show.” I’d never heard of the guy myself, but supposedly his go-for-the-throat interviews have resulted in him being … Continue reading Album review: Stuttering John, Stuttering John (1994)
By Steve Newton I interviewed Devin Townsend for the second time in September of 1993, shortly after he’d hooked up with Steve Vai and they’d recorded Vai’s Sex & Religion album. He was 21 at the time, and has since gone on to become one of the most acclaimed and prolific metal musicians in the … Continue reading 10 minutes on the phone with 21-year-old Devin Townsend in 1993
