Sue Foley plays the Rio By Steve Newton The Dead Daisies: hard-rock band featuring former members of Whitesnake, Mötley Crüe, and Dio, with guests the Wild! and La Chinga. September 2 at the Hollywood Theatre. Bonnie Raitt: American blues-roots singer-songwriter and slide-guitar ace, with guest Roy Rodgers. September 3 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. The Chicks: country … Continue reading Newt’s top 10 (or 15) Vancouver concerts in September
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 19, 2001 By Steve Newton The members of AC/DC aren’t doing any interviews in advance of their two shows at the Pacific Coliseum on Sunday and Monday (April 22 and 23), but that’s okay, because if they were, they’d probably just want to talk about their latest album, Stiff Upper Lip. And quite frankly, … Continue reading AC/DC’s undying influence on Vancouver rockers, record-store owners, and radio personalities
By Steve Newton One of my favourite guitar-hero memories involves that time back in the early ’80s when I went backstage at Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum and met Stevie Ray Vaughan. I’ll never forget it because he signed my vinyl copy of Texas Flood, and when I shook his hand it felt like a freakin’ vice! … Continue reading 54-40 guitarist Dave Genn recalls his chance meeting with Stevie Ray Vaughan just weeks before his tragic death
Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets By Steve Newton MONDAY: the last night of Fright Nights: Resurrection, a Halloween-themed experience at Playland with seven haunted houses, over 15 rides, creepy décor, roaming monsters, and live performances. MONDAY: Halloween Horror Trivia Night at the Cinematheque includes a screening of director David Cronenberg’s The Fly, starring Jeff Goldblum. Wendell … Continue reading Newt’s top 10 things to do in Metro Vancouver this week, Oct. 31-Nov. 4
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JULY 16, 2009 By Steve Newton Back in 2006, power-pop stalwart Matthew Sweet and sometimes-Bangles singer Susanna Hoffs collaborated on Under the Covers Vol. 1, in which they performed versions of ’60s hits by groups like the Beatles, the Who, and the Beach Boys. On Under the Covers Vol. 2 the … Continue reading Album review: Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs, Under the Covers Vol. 2 (2009)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 4, 1999 By Steve Newton Matthew Sweet is best-known for stripped-down, three-and-a-half-minute pop-rock tunes that require no more than five people to perform. But on his new CD, In Reverse, the Nebraska native goes hog-wild in the personnel department, lining up as many as 17 musicians to play … Continue reading Matthew Sweet channels Phil Spector, goes session-player crazy on In Reverse
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 18, 1983 By Steve Newton Spandau Ballet are an immensely popular British band whose third album True is currently at the number 8 position on the Georgia Straight Top 50. Last week, before their Tuesday performance at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, I called drummer John Keeble in London … Continue reading Spandau Ballet shun rock ‘n’ roll, embrace soul to strike gold with new album True
By Steve Newton Don’t get me wrong: I’m a big fan of Stephen King. I’ve read a ton of his books, and some of the movies based on his works–like The Dead Zone, Misery, and Carrie–were outstanding. But as the in-house horror reviewer for a Vancouver newspaper from 1988 to 2018, I’ve suffered through my … Continue reading King-sized crap: the five worst horror flicks based on Stephen King stories
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 24, 1984 By Steve Newton Ultravox was scheduled to play Vancouver, their drummer Warren Cann’s hometown last month, but they never actually made it to this fair city. In fact, they never even made it to North America. It seems that when manager Chris Morrison visited the New York office of … Continue reading Ultravox’s Billy Currie says you get in a rock band to get yours rocks off, basically
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MAY 25, 1984 By Steve Newton The last time the Thompson Twins played Vancouver they were a support act for the Police. But since that visit the British trio have hit it big with their Into the Gap album–which debuted on the U.K. charts at #1–and are now full-fledged headliners in their … Continue reading Alannah Currie says that the Thompson Twins want to make music for the whole world
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 13, 1993 By Steve Newton Vancouverites may wonder what it is about this town that makes a big-time Yankee rock band like Aerosmith want to come all the way from Boston to make records here. It is the scenery? The night-life? The days when it doesn’t rain? When Joe Perry calls … Continue reading Joe Perry credits Bruce Fairbairn and Little Mountain Sound with aiding Aerosmith’s rebirth
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 15, 1994 By Steve Newton In 1983, Midnight Oil released an album called 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1, which included a song called “Tin Legs and Tin Mines”. Within that tune was the lyric “boxed in like candles”, which struck a chord with a young Seattle rocker by the name of Kevin Martin. He decided … Continue reading Midnight Oil’s inspiration helps Seattle’s Candlebox to ignite with chart-topping debut
By Steve Newton Yesterday I went searching around in my cherished stash of interview cassettes for something really ancient to digitize before the tape itself got so old it turned to dust. I came across an interview dated April 10, 1985, with an artist named Nik Kershaw. It was recorded on a cheapo, no-name-brand cassette, … Continue reading Holy ’80s flashback Batman! 16 minutes on the phone with new-wave hitmaker Nik Kershaw in 1985
