Hot Tuna brings its deathless blues to Seattle this winter
Jack (left) and Jorma still chuckle about the mellow good times they had at Altamont back in ’69. Good news for ’70s-rock fans who might feel like taking a quick […]
Search Results for: hot tuna
Bon Jovi’s “lame tunes and hot licks” in Vancouver
By Steve Newton Twenty years ago tomorrow–on Sunday, November 28, 1993–Bon Jovi played the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. Now, I’m not the biggest fan of the Jersey band, but I […]
Irish guitar hero Gary Moore found dead in a Spanish hotel room
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, FEB. 6, 2011 The guitar world is in mourning today as the news of Gary Moore’s death travels around the globe. The Irish musician—best known for […]
Blind Willie Johnson’s blues genius lauded in upcoming tribute album
By Steve Newton Blues legends don’t get much more legendary than Blind Willie Johnson, whose recordings in the 1920s of songs like “John the Revelator”, “It’s Nobody’s Fault But Mine”, […]
The Newt’s 300 Best Rock Albums of the 1970s
By Steve Newton You had to be there. Abraxas: Santana (“Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen”, “Oye Coma Va”, “Samba Pa Ti”) 1970 A Day at the Races: Queen (“Tie Your Mother Down”, “Somebody […]
Ear of Newt’s Top 30 Rock Albums of 1976
The spirit of ’76 will never falter because that’s the year Thin Lizzy put out two LPs instead of just one. Albums listed in alphabetical order according to title, otherwise Jailbreak would be […]
Ear of Newt’s Top 30 Rock Albums of 1975
Ah, 1975. The year I graduated high school. Talk about dazed and confused. Albums listed alphabetically by title, including three choice tracks from each one to help you remember how […]
Ear of Newt’s Top 30 Rock Albums of 1972
1972 was a year when I got introduced to a number of bands that would become all-time faves, including Blue Oyster Cult, Mott the Hoople, and Steely Dan. And as […]
Ear of Newt’s Top 30 Rock Albums of 1971
All in all, 1971 wasn’t one of the greatest years for rock in the seventies. But it was a pretty great one for Alice Cooper, Rory Gallagher, and Yes, who […]
Ear of Newt’s Top 30 Rock Albums of 1970
Last year I decided to turn the clock back four decades and put together a list of my 30 fave albums of 1973, because, for one thing, that was the […]
Buddy Cage says it was easy filling Gerry Garcia’s shoes on pedal-steel
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, NOV. 29, 2006 By Steve Newton As the story goes, Jerry Garcia had only been experimenting on pedal-steel guitar for two weeks when he played it […]
Blues guitar great Hubert Sumlin passes away at age 80
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, DEC. 4, 2011 By Steve Newton I just learned via a tweet from Hot Tuna guitarist Jorma Kaukonen that blues guitar great Hubert Sumlin passed away […]
Remembering Kiss before the reunion tour got Gene Simmons back in diapers
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 29, 1996 By Steve Newton If you were a rock-loving teenager in the ’70s, you probably have some kind of Kiss story to […]
Terror titan Wes Craven on the horrors of family and being cast in the role of the scary guy
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 7, 1991 By Steve Newton “Where do you get your ideas from?” Horror director Wes Craven must have heard that question a thousand […]
That time I asked J.J. Cale why it took him seven years to get an album out
By Steve Newton I feel extremely fortunate to have interviewed J.J. Cale a couple of times during the legendary songwriter’s lifetime. The first time was back in 1990, when he […]
Huey Lewis & the News can’t cut it as arena rockers in Vancouver
chris cameron photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 26, 1986 By Steve Newton Huey Lewis has a great rock and roll voice, he writes fairly catchy tunes, and his […]
Funked-up Newt gets down with Lionel Richie, gets back up again
chris cameron photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 19, 1986 By Steve Newton There are two kinds of songs that Lionel Richie can perform as well, if not […]
My one and only interview with guitar legend Tommy Tedesco
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MAY 9, 1986 By Steve Newton When word gets around in the recording industry that so-and-so is a hot session player, the demand for […]
Tim Curry talks Pennywise on the set of Stephen King’s It: an Ear of Newt audio exclusive
By Steve Newton Tim Curry’s performance as Pennywise, the evil clown in Stephen King’s It, has long been hailed as a major achievement in the realm of horror. Curry nailed […]
Booker T. Jones mistook his son Ted for Joe Bonamassa on YouTube
By Steve Newton When Booker T. Jones answers the phone at his Lake Tahoe home he sounds cool, calm, and collected. Mostly cool. That’s no surprise, as Jones has been […]
Kate Bush on David Gilmour, Pink Floyd, and the new Hounds of Love
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 6, 1985 By Steve Newton When Kate Bush was 15 years old, she thought it would be nice if she could get some […]
The Hoodoo Gurus’ Dave Faulkner on junk culture, Aussie rockers, and Mars Needs Guitars!
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 29, 1985 By Steve Newton One of the wildest rock and roll sounds to come up from Down Under recently is that of […]
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse earns a single merit badge for gore
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, OCT. 30, 2015 By Steve Newton These days you can barely swing a chainsaw without hitting a zombie-based movie or TV show, but Scouts Guide to the […]
On the Vancouver set of Peter Benchley’s Creature with a shark that can walk
By Steve Newton Back in 1997 I did a set-visit piece for Fangoria on the local filming of Peter Benchley’s Creature, a TV-movie based on theJaws author’s 1994 novel, White Shark. The sea-beast in question […]
40 years ago today: Lou Reed releases Metal Machine Music, and my dumbass buddy buys it
By Steve Newton 1975 was a very good year for rock n roll. Maybe even the best. That’s the year of Aerosmiith‘s Toys in the Attic, Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti, and […]
Hangin’ out with Billy Zane on the Vancouver set of Dean Koontz’s Sole Survivor
By Steve Newton Back in 2000 I got assigned by Fangoria magazine to cover the Vancouver filming of Sole Survivor, a TV-movie based on a Dean Koontz novel. After covering awful […]
Analyzing psycho-killer Edgler Vess’s spider-eating ways on the B.C. set of Dean Koontz’s Intensity
By Steve Newton Back in ’97 I got assigned by Fangoria magazine to cover the filming of a FOX-TV miniseries called Intensity. Normally I wouldn’t give a rat’s ass about a FOX-TV miniseries, […]
Squeeze carries on undeterred after Jools Holland opts for his “Mr. Showbiz caper”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MAY 25, 1990 By Steve Newton The liner notes to Squeeze’s new live album, A Round and a Bout, contain a precise itinerary of […]
Unfriended leaves viewers in pixelated purgatory
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, APRIL 18, 2015 By Steve Newton You’ve gotta give Blumhouse Productions credit: they sure know how to make big bucks off cheaply made horror flicks. The […]
Lynyrd Skynyrd blows the motherf***ing roof off the Hard Rock with a southern-fried riff-fest for the ages
photo by Kevin Statham. All other less-impressive photos by the Newt By Steve Newton Four of the seven Lynyrd Skynyrd members pictured on the cover of the band’s phenomenal first […]
The Intruders is about as scary as iCarly
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, MARCH 18, 2015 By Steve Newton Horror movies featuring actors who are also pop stars are often nothing to scream about. J.Lo in Anaconda and the mostly naked […]
Savoy Brown guitarist Kim Simmonds always comes back to the Les Paul
photo by Markus Hagner Savoy Brown was one of the top British blues-rock acts of the early seventies, making a mark with such albums as Raw Sienna (1970), Looking In (’70), […]
Life’s highway carries Tom Cochrane back to Red Rider
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, APRIL 3, 2003 Tom Cochrane had his biggest hit, “Life Is a Highway”, two years after splitting up with long-time guitarist Kenny Greer and […]
Steve Earle asks the hardest of questions in the darkest of times
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JAN. 23, 2003 By Steve Newton Steve Earle garnered a lot of attention last year for “John Walker’s Blues”, a song that put the […]
Buddy Guy brings me down in Vancouver when he forgets to just be Buddy
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 3, 2002 By Steve Newton Buddy Guy spent a good portion of his concert at the Commodore last Friday (September 27) paying tribute […]
Sonny Rhodes went hell-bent for leather on the lap-steel guitar
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 20, 2001 The first musician I interviewed after terrorists committed those atrocious acts in the U.S. last week was American blues veteran Sonny […]
Bob Dylan lyrics and Vancouver acid inspired the Guess Who’s “Undun”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 2, 2001 By Steve Newton Most red-blooded Canuck-rock fans over 40 have memories of their favourite Guess Who tune. Some prefer the riff-driven […]
David Gogo gets tongue-tied around Jeff Beck, “the best guitarist in the world”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, APRIL 26, 2001 One of the best perks of being a Media Slut From Hell—I mean, music journalist—is getting backstage to pose for photos […]
Debbie Davies holds her own with the big boys of blues
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, APRIL 5, 2001 When I hear the name Jay Geils nowadays, I remember how I used to whip over to an old Chilliwack High […]
Bordello of Blood sets up shop on Vancouver’s old Expo 86 site
By Steve Newton So I was looking through my collection of old Fangoria magazines last night, searching for a story I wrote to post for Halloween, and came across a […]
Chili Peppers rile up Vancouver after Dave Grohl gets his nipple pinched
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 1, 2000 Nobody rocks like Flea. As soon as the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ hyperkinetic bassist stepped on the GM Place stage last […]
A killer album is the best revenge for the Headstones’ Hugh Dillon
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, APRIL 20, 2000 By Steve Newton Technical difficulties have been gnawing away at me lately. First, the automatic garage door at our house doesn’t […]
Will the new AC/DC album rock, or will it be a bust without Malcolm Young?
Blues-metal legends AC/DC announced today that they will release a new album, titled Rock or Bust, on December 2. The 11-track disc was recorded right here in Vancouver last spring, with […]
Martin Bryant’s rampage inspired Jeff Lang’s gun-control plea on Cedar Grove
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, FEB. 25, 1999 Two years ago I was offered a free trip to Toronto to interview Aerosmith, who were tirelessly promoting their then-new CD […]
Tab Benoit says there’s only one Stevie Ray Vaughan, and he’s gone
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 3, 1998 The biggest obstacle to conducting a phone interview with a touring musician is pinpointing precisely where the artist will be at […]
Patty Griffin learns how to live on Flaming Red
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JULY 16, 1998 By Steve Newton For her first album, 1996’s Living With Ghosts, Patty Griffin appeared alone, accompanied only by her acoustic guitar. […]
The Purge: Anarchy isn’t worth the numbing ride
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JULY 18, 2014 Last year The Purge introduced viewers to the absurd concept of an annual, government-sanctioned bloodbath in which Americans are encouraged–for the economic good of the country–to […]
25 Years Ago: Rod Stewart plays Vancouver at the height of his ’80s popularity
Twenty-five years ago today—on July 16, 1989—Rod Stewart played to a crowd of 21,000 at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver, with backup from Tom Cochrane and Jeff Healey. Rod the […]
Teen tunesmiths unplug for dark but down-home Days of the New
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, FEB. 26, 1998 Days of the New is different from most international recording acts in a couple of ways. First off, the average age […]
David Lee Roth says he doesn’t regret leaving Van Halen
By Steve Newton Twenty years ago today–on July 10, 1994–David Lee Roth played the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, Canada. I interviewed him on the phone before the show because–hey, who […]
