Roadie-biker Bean recalls the bottle-in-the-nuts craziness of an early “Guns N’ Fucking Roses” gig
By Steve Newton Last week I posted a blog about the Iron Maiden/Guns N’ Roses gig I went to in Vancouver 30 years ago, on May 30, 1988. That was […]
Search Results for: guns n roses
Backstage with Slash and Bruce Dickinson as Guns N’ Roses open for Maiden in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 3, 1988 By Steve Newton The politics of rockin’ can be tough on new bands just getting used to the tour circuit. Take […]
Album review: Guns N’ Roses, The Spaghetti Incident (1993)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 25, 1993 By Steve Newton As Guns N’ Roses would likely proclaim themselves, The Spaghetti Incident KICKS F***IN’ ASS! It’s the band’s […]
Album review: Guns N’ Roses, Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II (1991)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 19, 1991 By Steve Newton It’s hard to believe that just three years ago Guns N’ Roses couldn’t get a rise out of […]
Guns N’ Roses hit the mark in Vancouver by playing covers better than their own
photo by the Newt By Steve Newton I wasn’t that excited about going to see Guns N’ Roses at BC Place last night, mainly because I wasn’t sure if they […]
Brian May says there’s a spiritual connection between Guns N’ Roses and Queen
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 25, 1993 By Steve Newton Ever since Wayne’s World came out, I’ve been considering legal action against writer/star Mike Myers. You know that […]
Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan needn’t fear a Tonya Harding from Slash bassist Todd Kerns
By Steve Newton I was interviewing Todd Kerns a couple weeks ago in advance of the Age of Electric show at the Commodore tonight (April 30), and had an evil thought. Since […]
Newt’s hopes of a second shot at Slash’s JD stash fade with Guns N’ Roses tour news
By Steve Newton “Rock and roll’s a loser’s game,” Ian Hunter once sang, and today I get what he was talkin’ about in that line from “The Ballad of Mott […]
That time Vince Neil said “Fuck you!” to me when we were talkin’ Guns N’ Roses and Axl Rose
By Steve Newton Ha! Here’s a good one. Today I was listening to an old interview I did with Vince Neil back in October of 1991 when Motley Crue was […]
Slash’s Vancouver gig tonight promises plenty of Guns N’ Roses–and the return of Todd “Dammit” Kerns
If the setlist from Slash‘s show in San Francisco two nights ago is any indication, his Vancouver fans are in for a whole lotta GN’R action tonight. During his show at […]
Axl keeps his cool and Slash burns red hot as Guns N’ Roses slay Vancouver
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, APRIL 1, 1993 By Steve Newton The first time I saw Guns N’ Roses perform, the band was opening for Iron Maiden at the […]
Now that he’s in Guns N’ Roses Dizzy Reed can buy drinks for all his freennz
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 13, 1992 By Steve Newton Some hard-rock bands like to boast about not using keyboards; they take pride in sticking with the trusty […]
Slash says that the original Guns N’ Roses lineup “just stopped rocking”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, FEBRUARY 11, 1994 By Steve Newton Guns N’ Roses may well be the most popular hard-rock band in the world. It’s certainly one of […]
That time I turned down a swig of Slash’s JD at a Guns N’ Roses gig
By Steve Newton Guns N’ Roses were probably the biggest rock band in the world–or was fighting it out with U2 for that title–when this telling photo was snapped backstage […]
CKY’s Chad I Ginsburg recalls the 2002 Guns N’ Roses riot in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, AUG. 11, 2005 By Steve Newton The last time Philadelphia hard-rockers CKY were set to play Vancouver, they were just minutes from warming up for Guns […]
Album review: Rock City Angels, Young Man’s Blues (1988)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JAN. 6, 1989 By Steve Newton Fans of Guns N’ Roses should seriously consider checking out this double-disc debut because it sports the same […]
AC/DC-in-Vancouver news-breaker talks recording rumours, the Warehouse connection, and the magic of Malcolm Young
By Steve Newton I’ve interviewed hundreds of rock musicians over the past 35 years, but I’ve only been interviewed myself a few times–most of those discussions taking place earlier this […]
AC/DC in Vancouver: Mike Fraser spotted with Brian Johnson and Phil Rudd, maybe calling Cliff Williams on his phone?
photo courtesy Glenn Slavens and Crystal Lambert (cgrocker18@gmail.com) By Steve Newton Hardcore AC/DC fans and photographic rumour-spreaders Glenn Slavens and Crystal Lambert are at it again. The dynamic Vancouver duo–he […]
AC/DC blockbuster news: Newt’s rumour proven true; Phil Rudd is in Vancouver–and Brian Johnson too!
photo courtesy Glenn Slavens & Crystal Lambert: cgrocker18@gmail.com By Steve Newton For all those AC/DC fans who’ve been hoping and praying that Brian Johnson would get back in the band–and […]
Tesla frontman Jeff Keith just sang along to the radio like everybody else
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 17, 1988 By Steve Newton Everybody sings along in the car radio. Whether you can carry a tune or not, it’s pretty hard […]
Album review: Slash’s Snakepit, It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere (1995)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, FEB. 16, 1995 By Steve Newton Those Guns N’ Roses guys sure know how to have their cake and gobble it too. When […]
Album Reviews
Aerosmith: Honkin’ on Bobo (2004) Eric Clapton: Me and Mr. Johnson (2004) Jimi Hendrix: Axis Outtakes (2003) ZZ Top: Mescalero (2003) Nickelback: The Long Road (2003) Joe Jackson Band: Volume […]
Newt’s Top 10 albums of 1991
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 1991 By Steve Newton Rap and dance music made strong inroads in 1991, but the year wasn’t a total write-off. The sacred power […]
Newt’s Top 10 albums of 1990
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 1990 By Steve Newton A good portion of my album picks for the year turned out to be from ageing rock veterans. Maybe […]
Rolling Stone can piss right off: here’s the 100 Greatest Guitarists (that I’ve interviewed) and 50 that I haven’t (yet)
By Steve Newton Google “100 greatest guitarists” these days and what shows up at the top is a total joke. It’s the high ‘n’ mighty Rolling Stone‘s list of the […]
29 minutes of shootin’ the shit with Age of Electric’s Todd Kerns, the most rockin’ Canadian bass player of the 21st century
By Steve Newton One of my alltime fave Canadian bands, the Age of Electric, is playing Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom tomorrow (March 24). They played the Commodore 11 months ago as […]
Paul Rodgers on the creation of “All Right Now”, the mystique of Paul Kossoff, and the awesomeness of Jimi Hendrix
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN EXPERIENCE HENDRIX MAGAZINE, WINTER 2000 By Steve Newton If you polled all the music fans in the world and asked them to name their fave party tune […]
Todd Kerns feels like the Age of Electric are on a mission from god
By Steve Newton Some rock bands from decades past really push it when it comes to authenticity. Often you’ll see a group that’s touring under its old moniker with only […]
Slash bassist Todd Kerns thinks it’s “surreal” that Axl Rose is in AC/DC
By Steve Newton I was interviewing Todd Kerns a few days ago in advance of his gig with the Age of Electric in Vancouver next weekend, and naturally–since he’s the […]
AC/DC fans unimpressed with Axl Rose hiring suggest Angry Anderson, Marc Storace, and the guy from Airbourne
By Steve Newton Yesterday I posted a blog claiming that AC/DC had “f***ed up” by making Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose their singer instead of Aussie rock legend (and […]
AC/DC f***ed up: they shoulda hired Jimmy Barnes instead of Axl Rose
By Steve Newton By now the rock world is fully abuzz with the official announcement from AC/DC that Axl Rose from Guns N’ Roses will be the new singer for […]
Queen box set out today captures the legendary rockers live in ’75
By Steve Newton Queen freaks who couldn’t quite afford the massive Queen Studio Collection that was released a couple of months ago should know that the legendary British rockers are issuing another […]
Rudy Sarzo on Randy Rhoads, life after Ozzy, and the return of Quiet Riot
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 5, 1983 By Steve Newton Formed in 1975 by Kevin DuBrow and the late Randy Rhoads (who died in a plane crash last […]
B’z guitarist Tak Matsumoto speaks little English, lets his signature Les Paul to the talkin’
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 16, 2003 By Steve Newton Up until a few weeks ago, my knowledge of popular music in Japan was pretty slim. About all […]
Steve Vai on cocky G3 tourmate Yngwie Malmsteen and tormented “genius” Devin Townsend
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 9, 2003 By Steve Newton I was a tad taken aback when the press release came in announcing the lineup for Joe Satriani’s […]
The Hangmen’s Bryan Small is done pawning guitars for drugs
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 4, 2003 Here’s a happy little comeback story for ya. Back in 1989, singer-guitarist Bryan Small led a rowdy, punk-inspired L.A. rock act […]
Maroon 5’s Adam Levine in 2003: loves spicy plum sauce, not the White Stripes
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MAY 29, 2003 By Steve Newton L.A. soul-rock quintet Maroon 5 named its debut CD Songs About Jane because that’s exactly what the album […]
Alice Cooper tours with Trash, talks songwriting, horror, and ’70s rock
me and the Coop. I’ve still got that ’80s leather jacket if anybody wants to buy it. the arms come off so it turns into a funky vest. kevin statham […]
Ear of Newt’s top five Vancouver concerts of 2014
DBT photo by the Newt For me, it’s always a good year for concerts when the Drive-By Truckers can be included in the year-end wrap-up, and their performance at […]
The Georgia Satellites’ Rick Richards prefers three chords and a clouda dust
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 20, 2001 By Steve Newton Sometimes I feel like I’m the only guy around who still goes nuts for southern-fried guitar boogie, the […]
Mike Fraser helps AC/DC get back on top, sets his sights on Sabbath
The first time he ever saw AC/DC, Mike Fraser had no idea what band he was seeing. He’d gone to an Aerosmith show at the Pacific Coliseum back in ’78 […]
The Hoodoo Gurus’ Brad Shepherd talks Aussie rock and Magnum Cum Louder
By Steve Newton Twenty-five years ago today–on November 5, 1989–the Hoodoo Gurus played the first of two shows at Vancouver’s 86 Street Music Hall. I’d been a fan of the […]
Todd Kerns, the most rockin’ Canadian bassist of the 21st century, appears on Howard Stern
Todd Kerns, recently declared to be “the Most Rockin’ Canadian Bassist of the 21st Century“, performed with his band SMK&C (Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators) on the Howard […]
Slash, Myles Kennedy, and the Conspirators deliver the concert of a lifetime in Vancouver
photos by Jet Sutherland By Steve Newton As I write this it’s been over 12 hours since Slash left the stage at Hard Rock Casino Vancouver, and my ears are still […]
Hole’s Eric Erlandson gets pissy if you mistake Billy Corgan’s guitar for his
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, FEB. 25, 1999 By Steve Newton When Eric Erlandson cofounded Hole with Courtney Love in L.A. 10 years ago, the two rockers had one […]
The Life of Riley shows B.B. King’s talent flowing from a huge heart
There’s a ton of incredible musicians who make appearances in B.B. King: The Life of Riley, a documentary about the Mississippi blues legend released on DVD and Blu-ray today (July […]
Queen guitarist Brian May blows the Newt away in Vancouver
photos by “Jet” Sutherland ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JUNE 26, 2014 By Steve Newton Freddie Mercury is a hard act to follow, there’s no doubt about that. The Queen frontman […]
Guitar god Yngwie Malmsteen puts Ritchie Blackmore rumours to rest
By Steve Newton Yngwie Malmsteen likes to wear all black on-stage and play fast as hell on a Fender Strat through a wall of cranked Marshall amps, so you might […]
Zakk Wylde draws from Shannon Hoon’s O.D. for his heavy Book of Shadows
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 5, 1996 By Steve Newton Most hard-rock fans know Zakk Wylde as the young musician who helped rejuvenate metal veteran Ozzy Osbourne’s career […]
Cult guitarist Billy Duffy says it all boils down to the Les Paul
By Steve Newton On May 31, 1989, the Cult opened for Metallica at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. A month earlier the band had released its fourth album, Sonic Temple, […]
