By Steve Newton In October of 1996 I did my fifth and final interview with the Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie, which became a main source for my 2018 coffee-table book on him. At one point during the lengthy conversation I brought up "Ahead By a Century", the band's highest-charting single, off their '96 Trouble … Continue reading That time Gord Downie told me his original lyrics for the Tragically Hip’s “Ahead By a Century”
That time I called Link Wray up in Texas and he raved about his “fantastic gig” the night before
By Steve Newton Few guitar players in history are more deserving of recognition than Link Wray, the inventor of the raunchy riff, but you wouldn't know it from the actions of those dingbats down at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Even though they nominated him back in 2013, he still hasn't been inducted. … Continue reading That time I called Link Wray up in Texas and he raved about his “fantastic gig” the night before
That time 25-year-old Jon Bon Jovi asked me to say hi to his idol Little Steven, so I did
By Steve Newton Ever since I decided that's life's too short not to spend countless hours poring over ancient tapes of interviews I did with famous rock stars, I've uncovered some pretty interesting excerpts. Interesting to me, anyway. Like that time back on June 18, 1987, when I did a phone interview with Jon Bon … Continue reading That time 25-year-old Jon Bon Jovi asked me to say hi to his idol Little Steven, so I did
The Moody Blues’ Justin Hayward on writing “Nights in White Satin”, working with Tony Visconti, and loving Buddy Holly
Two decades ago the Moody Blues recorded "Nights in White Satin", which would become known as a pop masterpiece in the years to come.
That time I asked Steve Clark if he’d thought Def Leppard could carry on after Rick Allen’s accident
By Steve Newton I became a fan of Def Leppard back in 1980, as soon as I scored their debut album, On Through the Night, at a Chilliwack record store. I bought it because I liked the sound of the band name and because the album-cover art depicted a huge Les Paul being hauled by … Continue reading That time I asked Steve Clark if he’d thought Def Leppard could carry on after Rick Allen’s accident
Rings makes hairball-horror history
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON FEB. 3, 2017 By Steve Newton Rings is the first horror flick I've seen since Cheeto Mussolini and his treacherous gang of fear-mongering scuzzballs got access to the nuclear codes, so, relatively speaking, how fucking scary could it be? Not very. You may recall director Gore Verbinski's original The Ring of 2002--which … Continue reading Rings makes hairball-horror history
That time Albert King tried telling me that he wrote “As the Years Go Passing By”
By Steve Newton As a blues fan I've been extremely lucky to have interviewed some of the genre's greatest talents, including B.B. King, Albert Collins, Roy Buchanan, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Buddy Guy. But I was particularly thrilled when I got to chat with Albert King, back in 1990, two years before "The Velvet Bulldozer" … Continue reading That time Albert King tried telling me that he wrote “As the Years Go Passing By”
NRBQ tars-and-feathers Vancouver, leaves the Cabbage Patch Kids alone
john scully photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON FEB. 6, 1987 By Steve Newton Not a lot of people showed up for NRBQ's Commodore Ballroom date last Thursday (January 29), but of the 500 or so who did, few went home disappointed. In fact, it's fair to say that you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who's ever … Continue reading NRBQ tars-and-feathers Vancouver, leaves the Cabbage Patch Kids alone
That time Dickey Betts told me the secret of the Allman Brothers’ longevity
By Steve Newton It's been a sad week for fans of the Allman Brothers Band, following the news of original drummer Butch Trucks' death at the age of 69. I never got the opportunity to interview Trucks--although I have chatted with his nephew, Derek, and fellow ABB founding members Gregg Allman and Dickey Betts. During … Continue reading That time Dickey Betts told me the secret of the Allman Brothers’ longevity
That time Ronnie Montrose told me that singer-songwriters with a real passion are hard to find
By Steve Newton Today the world's top hard-rock/heavy-metal expert, Canada's own Martin Popoff, sent me an autographed copy of his new book, Rock the Nation: Montrose, Gamma and Ronnie Redefined. That got me thinking that maybe I should post another audio excerpt from my one and only interview with Ronnie Montrose, which occured in 1994 when he … Continue reading That time Ronnie Montrose told me that singer-songwriters with a real passion are hard to find
That time Ozzy Osbourne told me that he wasn’t “a f***ing warlock” trying to turn people into Satanists
Back in the eighties Ozzy was at the peak of his "heavy-metal madman" stage, infamously biting the head off a bat and pissing on the Alamo.
That time I asked Buddy Miles how Carlos Santana rated compared to Jimi Hendrix
By Steve Newton Everybody knows that it's dumb to try and compare guitar players, and figure out who's "best". But that didn't stop me from asking Buddy Miles, when I interviewed him back in 2001, how he thought Carlos Santana rated compared to Jimi Hendrix. He'd recorded albums with both guitar legends in the seventies, … Continue reading That time I asked Buddy Miles how Carlos Santana rated compared to Jimi Hendrix
The Doors announce 50th anniversary deluxe edition of killer debut album
By Steve Newton I was only nine when the first Doors album came out in January of 1967, so I didn't run out and buy it. But I sure remember them playing the hell out of "Light My Fire" on the radio when it was released as a single four months later. Damn I loved … Continue reading The Doors announce 50th anniversary deluxe edition of killer debut album