ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 26, 1994 By Steve Newton After hearing that Canuck guitar-rock great Kim Mitchell had reunited with longtime lyricist Pye Dubois–and then recorded their new tunes with ace producer Joe Hardy (ZZ Top, Colin James, the Tragically Hip)–I had high hopes for the resulting CD, Itch. Those hopes were … Continue reading Album review: Kim Mitchell, Itch (1994)
By Steve Newton I did the third of my three interviews with Jon Bon Jovi in June of 1987, when his band was touring behind its massively successful third album, Slippery When Wet, which went on to sell over 12-million copies in the U.S. alone. A year earlier the group had barely caused a stir … Continue reading That time Jon Bon Jovi told me that his band’s new Slippery When Wet album was just meant to be a fun summertime album
By Steve Newton I’m a little show on the uptake sometimes. For example, just yesterday I was typing up my old interview from 1987 with Rick Richards of the Georgia Satellites, giving the article new life on the internet after being trapped on yellowing newspaper and stashed in a banker’s box for decades. In the … Continue reading 36 years later I finally got turned on to the rockin’ glory of Warren Zevon’s “Even a Dog Can Shake Hands”
By Steve Newton I’ve interviewed American singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Alvin, a founding member of the Blasters, four times over the years, ’cause he’s just plain great. This is the first time, back in November of 1991, when he was touring behind his second solo album, Blue Blvd. At one point in the conversation I … Continue reading That time Dave Alvin told me what it was like being in the Pleasure Barons with Country Dick Montana and Mojo Nixon
liam regan photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT. 7, 1988 By Steve Newton Things are going well for Vancouver’s Barney Bentall these days. The 28-year-old rocker and his band, the Legendary Hearts, have a hit on their hands, a self-titled debut album on Epic Records that has sold 45,000 copies in Canada in three months. The … Continue reading Barney Bentall finds something to live for after years of working the Vancouver club scene
By Steve Newton Last night on Crave I watched the Ronnie James Dio documentary Dio: Dreamers Never Die, which I thought did a fine job of detailing the heavy-metal singer’s career in music. I especially enjoyed hearing the commentary from metal musicians like Deep Purple’s Roger Glover, Quiet Riot’s Rudy Sarzo, Judas Priest’s Rob Halford, … Continue reading 10 minutes on the phone with Ronnie James Dio during the Sacred Heart Tour of 1985
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 18, 1988 By Steve Newton The percentage of rock ‘n’ roll bands that make it big–or even to the point of just being able to put records out and tour–has never been high enough to make a career in rock a likely one. And if you’re from some place like Saskatoon, … Continue reading Northern Pikes pack prairie punch on new Secrets of the Alibi
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 26, 2012 By Steve Newton It must be pretty sweet being Joss Stone these days. When I hook up with the 25-year-old millionaire soul-pop superstar she’s on her cell at a café in Brussels, Belgium, where she’s doing some TV shows and concerts. The next day, Stone will be popping over … Continue reading Joss Stone says that she wants to open doors with soul and spread the music far and wide
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 14, 1991 By Steve Newton His name might not be particularly well-known to the common Canadian music fan, but Toronto rocker Jack de Keyzer has been a fixture on this country’s recording and performing scene for most of his 35 years. While still in his teens, de Keyzer joined Canuck harp … Continue reading Toronto rocker Jack de Keyzer gets to do what he wants every day
By Steve Newton Back in 1991 I interviewed famed Vancouver producer Bob Rock, who at the time was flying high, coming off the production work on Metallica‘s multiplatinum Black Album. At one point in the conversation I mentioned Blue Murder, whose self-titled debut album Rock had produced two years earlier, but which was not a … Continue reading That time Bob Rock told me that “the dreaded David Foster album” was the nail in the coffin for the Payola$
By Steve Newton I’ve interviewed Louisiana slide-guitar master Sonny Landreth four times between 1995 and 2016. This is the first time, when I called him up in Sacramento, California, where he was touring as the opening act for Chicago blues great Buddy Guy. Landreth was promoting his fourth studio album, South of I-10, which features a photo on … Continue reading That time I asked Sonny Landreth what first got him into slide guitar
By Steve Newton I’ve interviewed Louisiana slide-guitar master Sonny Landreth four times, because he’s just awesome. This is the first time, when I called him up in Sacramento, California, where he was touring as the opening act for Chicago blues great Buddy Guy. Landreth was promoting his fourth studio album, South of I-10, which featured … Continue reading That time Sonny Landreth told me about Mark Knopfler and Chet Atkins taking him to breakfast at a Cracker Barrel in Nashville
By Steve Newton I interviewed Jayhawks singer-guitarist and co-songwriter Gary Louris back in April of 1995, when his band was promoting its fourth studio album, Tomorrow the Green Grass. At the time the group was opening for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on the Dogs With Wings Tour, so of course I had to ask … Continue reading That time I asked Gary Louris of the Jayhawks how their tour was goin’ opening for Tom Petty
