That time I asked Gregg Allman how it was different touring solo than with the Allman Brothers

By Steve Newton I did my only interview with Gregg Allman on February 5, 1998. The legendary Allman Brothers Band singer, keyboardist, and occasional guitarist was 50 years old, and was touring behind his sixth solo album, Searching for Simplicity. At one point in the conversation I asked him how it was different touring as … Continue reading That time I asked Gregg Allman how it was different touring solo than with the Allman Brothers

God bless Chuck Leavell’s piano solo on the Allman Brothers’ “Southbound”

By Steve Newton As most readers of Ear of Newt have probly figured out by now, I’m something of a guitar freak. I just love the sound of a guitar, especially when it’s in the hands of someone really, really good. (I also spell the word probably as “probly” because that’s how it sounds to me, … Continue reading God bless Chuck Leavell’s piano solo on the Allman Brothers’ “Southbound”

That time I asked Allman Brothers guitarist Warren Haynes about working with legendary producer Tom Dowd

By Steve Newton that’s Dowd on the far left, hangin’ with Warren and the Brothers By Steve Newton Legendary producer Tom Dowd has worked with some of the biggest names in the music biz, including–as Warren Haynes points out in this audio excerpt from 1994–Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and John Coltrane. But it was Dowd’s … Continue reading That time I asked Allman Brothers guitarist Warren Haynes about working with legendary producer Tom Dowd

That time Warren Haynes told me about playing with Dickey Betts and becoming an Allman Brother

By Steve Newton One of my favourite things about being a rock writer is getting to chat with musicians like Warren Haynes. He’s one helluva singer and songwriter, in my book, and of course his guitar playing just freakin’ rules. I’ve been lucky enough to have interviewed Haynes six times so far, the first being … Continue reading That time Warren Haynes told me about playing with Dickey Betts and becoming an Allman Brother

That time Warren Haynes told me about leaving the Allman Brothers to ride Gov’t Mule full time

By Steve Newton I did my first interview with Warren Haynes in 1994, when he was a member of the Allman Brothers Band, and I did my second interview with him in 1998, the year after he and bassist Allen Woody had left them. Haynes and Woody had quit the Allmans to put all their … Continue reading That time Warren Haynes told me about leaving the Allman Brothers to ride Gov’t Mule full time

That time Zakk Wylde told me about jamming with Skynyrd and covering for Dickey Betts in the Allmans

By Steve Newton Zakk Wylde may be best known as the guitarist and songwriter who took over from Jake E. Lee to help Ozzy Osbourne stay on the charts with tunes like “No More Tears” and “Perry Mason”, but southern-rock fans also know him as the frontman in the power trio Pride & Glory, which was … Continue reading That time Zakk Wylde told me about jamming with Skynyrd and covering for Dickey Betts in the Allmans

That time Dickey Betts told me why he got kicked out of the Allman Brothers Band

By Steve Newton I did my fourth interview with guitar legend Dickey Betts in August of 2001, when he was touring with the Dickey Betts Band in support of their new album Let’s Get Together. A little over a year earlier he’d been fired by fax by the Allman Brothers, who he’d cofounded back in … Continue reading That time Dickey Betts told me why he got kicked out of the Allman Brothers Band

Newt’s top 10 (or 11) Metro Vancouver concerts in August

Steve Vai plays the Rickshaw By Steve Newton AVENGED SEVENFOLD: hard-rock/metal band from Huntingdon Beach, California, with guests Alexisonfire and Kim Dracula. August 7 at Rogers Arena. ROCK MAPLE RIDGE: three-day classic-rock festival features headlining performances by Tom Cochrane, Kim Mitchell, and Trooper. August 11 to 13 at Albion Fairgrounds. Canuck rock rules. Jeff Goldblum … Continue reading Newt’s top 10 (or 11) Metro Vancouver concerts in August

Newt’s top 10 things to do in Vancouver this week, August 28 to September 1

Midnight Cowboy screens at VIFF Centre By Steve Newton MONDAY: Vancouver blues-rock band Terminal Station, composed of singer-guitarist Scott Smith, keyboardist Darryl Havers, bassist Jeremy Holmes, and drummer Liam MacDonald, plays Guilt and Co. Check out their Allman Brothers vibe. MONDAY TO THURSDAY: screenings at the VIFF Centre of director Laura Moss’s new psychological horror film Birth/Rebirth, which … Continue reading Newt’s top 10 things to do in Vancouver this week, August 28 to September 1

That time AC/DC’s Malcolm Young told me that drummer Phil Rudd had “grown out” of the band

By Steve Newton Back in October of 1983 I had the distinct pleasure of sitting down (on a Vancouver hotel-room floor) with three members of AC/DC. It was the day before the band kicked off its Flick of the Switch Tour, and the local promo rep at the record label (WEA Canada) had set up … Continue reading That time AC/DC’s Malcolm Young told me that drummer Phil Rudd had “grown out” of the band

From the ‘hood: 10 of my fave albums by 10 of my fave Vancouver bands

By Steve Newton When you’ve covered the Vancouver music scene for as long as I have, you realize there’s a lot more to it than Loverboy and Bryan freakin’ Adams. Art Bergmann Sexual Roulette (1990) The hero of Vancouver’s alternative music scene really hit his stride on his second full-length album, telling insightful and thoroughly … Continue reading From the ‘hood: 10 of my fave albums by 10 of my fave Vancouver bands

That time I asked Warren Haynes if he was daunted by the prospect of taking over Duane Allman’s spot opposite Dickey Betts

By Steve Newton The first time I ever saw Warren Haynes perform live was back in 1989, when he was a member of the Dickey Betts Band. The group played Vancouver’s 86 Street Music Hall, touring behind its debut album Pattern Disruptive, and holy crap was Haynes a killer on the slide guitar. Five years … Continue reading That time I asked Warren Haynes if he was daunted by the prospect of taking over Duane Allman’s spot opposite Dickey Betts

That time Slash told me how Guns N’ Roses chose the cover tunes for “The Spaghetti Incident”

By Steve Newton The first time I interviewed Slash was two months after the release of “The Spaghetti Incident?”, Guns N’ Roses’ collection of punk and hard-rock cover tunes by bands like the New York Dolls, T-Rex, the Runaways, and Nazareth. At one point in the conversation I mentioned that I was happy they’d recorded … Continue reading That time Slash told me how Guns N’ Roses chose the cover tunes for “The Spaghetti Incident”