By Steve Newton I interviewed Mr. Big guitarist Paul Gilbert back in March of 1992, when the band was in Detroit, touring behind its second album, Lean Into It. That's the one that spawned the #1 hit single "To Be With You", and went platinum in the States. Mr. Big was gonna be playing Vancouver … Continue reading That time 25-year-old Paul Gilbert told me how he wangled a ride from a Mr. Big fan to see Pat Travers near Vancouver
Category: guitar heroes
Jeff Healey jamming with Stevie Ray Vaughan is total blues-rock heaven
By Steve Newton I feel very blessed that my role as a music writer has allowed me to interview some of the most talented guitar players of all time. And the feeling gets more pronounced when I realize how lucky I was to chat to some of the ones that left us way too soon, … Continue reading Jeff Healey jamming with Stevie Ray Vaughan is total blues-rock heaven
That time I called guitar legend Rick Derringer up for an interview but he was taking his fiance out to celebrate her birthday
The Derringer I remember from high school By Steve Newton I had a ton of guitar heroes in the seventies, and Rick Derringer was certainly up there. His work with Johnny Winter And in the early '70s, his solo album All American Boy, his kickass band Derringer--I loved it all. So it was awesome to … Continue reading That time I called guitar legend Rick Derringer up for an interview but he was taking his fiance out to celebrate her birthday
Brit Floyd guitarist agrees with Roy Buchanan that Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour is just a bluesman at heart
Brit Floyd's Damian Darlington By Steve Newton Back in April of 1988 I did my second and final interview with American blues-guitar great Roy Buchanan, just four months before he was found dead in a jail cell in Fairfax County, Virginia. At one point in the conversation I asked Buchanan about his recent tour in … Continue reading Brit Floyd guitarist agrees with Roy Buchanan that Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour is just a bluesman at heart
A teenaged Jeff Healey rocks out with high-school buddies in lost film from 1983
By Steve Newton While searching YouTube for some videos to use with an old Yngwie Malmsteen interview of mine I came across an excerpt from an interview with Jeff Healey that took place in 1983, when he was still in high school. "You gotta keep trucking, I think, is the main thing," relates Healey before … Continue reading A teenaged Jeff Healey rocks out with high-school buddies in lost film from 1983
Yngwie Malmsteen takes the guitar world by storm at age 22
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 27, 1985 By Steve Newton Hendrix. Page. Beck. Clapton. Blackmore. Van Halen. Rhoads. Malmsteen. Malmsteen? That's right, Malmsteen. The name might not be as familiar, but rest assured that in years to come it will gain a place beside those of rock's biggest guitar heroes. At only 22 years of age, … Continue reading Yngwie Malmsteen takes the guitar world by storm at age 22
That time I got Jeff Beck to sign the world’s best photo of the world’s greatest rock guitarist
paul little photo By Steve Newton Way back in the spring of 1982, fresh out of UBC, I got hired part-time as a proofreader at the Georgia Straight, a weekly Vancouver newspaper. At the time the paper was a real shambles, barely hangin' on, but eventually I got hired full-time as a typesetter, listings editor, … Continue reading That time I got Jeff Beck to sign the world’s best photo of the world’s greatest rock guitarist
That time I asked 22-year-old Jeff Healey what Patrick Swayze was like to work with on Road House
By Steve Newton I was fortunate enough to have interviewed Canadian guitar wizard Jeff Healey three times. The first time was on June 25, 1988, when he was just 22, and still three months away from releasing his incredible debut album, See the Light. Healey--who, sadly, died from cancer in 2008 at age 41--had just … Continue reading That time I asked 22-year-old Jeff Healey what Patrick Swayze was like to work with on Road House
That time I made Albert King laugh by saying that I thought “King of the Blues” was B.B.’s title
By Steve Newton Yesterday I came across a tweet from the awesome bluesharp Twitter feed that included a couple of minutes of guitar legend Albert King tearing up it up on his Flying V in the company of Stevie Ray Vaughan. After I retweeted it, I got to thinking that maybe I should post another … Continue reading That time I made Albert King laugh by saying that I thought “King of the Blues” was B.B.’s title
That time I suggested to guitar great Steve Stevens that he might want to cover Deep Purple’s “Highway Star”
By Steve Newton Back in September of 1989 I interviewed American guitar great Steve Stevens, who was touring behind his debut solo album, Atomic Playboys. That LP included a cover of the 1975 Sweet song "Action", which Stevens said he thought was a Queen song at first. At one point in the conversation I asked … Continue reading That time I suggested to guitar great Steve Stevens that he might want to cover Deep Purple’s “Highway Star”
God bless Bernie Marsden’s guitar solo on Whitesnake’s “Fool For Your Lovin'”
By Steve Newton British guitar hero Bernie Marsden turned 72 today, so I figured now was as good a time as any to ask God to bless his solo on Whitesnake's "Fool For Your Lovin'". In previous blogs I've asked God to bless exquisite guitar solos by Scott Gorham on Thin Lizzy’s “Romeo and the Lonely Girl”, Donald … Continue reading God bless Bernie Marsden’s guitar solo on Whitesnake’s “Fool For Your Lovin'”
That time Steve Stevens told me that Van Halen producer Ted Templeman helped him keep his sanity on Atomic Playboys
By Steve Newton Ted Templeman is one of the most successful rock-music producers in America. You could say that he is to the United States what Bruce Fairbairn was to Canada. Templeman was at the controls for such stellar albums as Montrose's self-titled debut, the Doobie Brothers' The Captain and Me, Van Morrison's Tupelo Honey, … Continue reading That time Steve Stevens told me that Van Halen producer Ted Templeman helped him keep his sanity on Atomic Playboys
Gary Moore talks covering the Yardbirds and scoring with metal while opening for Rush
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MAY 18, 1984 By Steve Newton "I always liked the Yardbirds when I was a kid," says metal guitar-hero Gary Moore. "I was always into Jeff Beck and everything. And apart from the fact that I like the song and the guitar, the lyrics appealed to me as well because they fitted … Continue reading Gary Moore talks covering the Yardbirds and scoring with metal while opening for Rush