ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 2, 1993 By Steve Newton The metal world got quite a shock when it was announced last year that original Anthrax vocalist Joey Belladonna was leaving the band after 11 successful years. It got even more of a jolt when former Armored Saint vocalist John Bush jumped in to take Belladonna’s … Continue reading Anthrax singer John Bush looks back on Armored Saint with no regrets
Guitar star Wild ‘T’ displays the spirit of a true blues-rock showman
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 2, 1993 By Steve Newton David Bowie has a pretty good eye for guitarists. Whether it’s Mick Ronson, Earl Slick, Robert Fripp, Peter Frampton, or Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bowie tends to pick players whose talent and style put them a healthy cut above the rest. When Bowie saw the video for … Continue reading Guitar star Wild ‘T’ displays the spirit of a true blues-rock showman
Galactic Cowboys create melodic prog-metal with a Beatlesque vibe
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 26, 1993 By Steve Newton I heard someone say once that they do things differently down in Texas, and after chatting with Galactic Cowboys vocalist Ben Huggins, I believe it. Take, for example, the photos that accompany the Houston-based band’s latest release, Space in Your Face. While more … Continue reading Galactic Cowboys create melodic prog-metal with a Beatlesque vibe
3-D cover art enhances Voivod’s otherwordly themes on The Outer Limits
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 26, 1993 By Steve Newton I remember, back in the mid-’70s, picking up a secondhand copy of Grand Funk’s Shinin’ On. It wasn’t a very good album—I think it included the band’s hit remake of “Locomotion”, which I still can’t stand—but it had a 3-D cover, and when you viewed it … Continue reading 3-D cover art enhances Voivod’s otherwordly themes on The Outer Limits
Carlos Santana cleans Bob Dylan’s clock in the clash of the Yankee rock titans
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 26, 1993 By Steve Newton It was the clash of the American rock titans last Sunday (August 22) at the Coliseum, and after Big Bad Bobby D. took on Carlos “The Fret Strangler” Santana in a four-hour, 15-man battle royal, only one man remained standing as a certified rock champ of … Continue reading Carlos Santana cleans Bob Dylan’s clock in the clash of the Yankee rock titans
That time I pissed George Thorogood right off. “Is that funny?”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 19, 1993 By Steve Newton George Thorogood’s latest single, “Get a Haircut”, doesn’t sound like a song you would travel 10,000 miles to discover in an Australian pub. It’s a typical 12-bar blues, with unsophisticated, anti-establishment lyrics most songwriters could come up with in their sleep. Thorogood couldn’t … Continue reading That time I pissed George Thorogood right off. “Is that funny?”
Urge Overkill are nuts about Neil Diamond and All My Children
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 19, 1993 By Steve Newton Urge Overkill and my mom have quite a lot in common. My mom doesn’t travel around the country wearing cool outfits and wigging out to hook-laden rock tunes. But I’ll tell ya one thing—she sure loves watching All My Children on the tube. … Continue reading Urge Overkill are nuts about Neil Diamond and All My Children
Aerosmith kicks major butt in Vancouver on the Get a Trip Tour
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 19, 1993 By Steve Newton When I interviewed Aerosmith's Joe Perry last week, the former doper explained that music was his drug of choice now, that it was capable of giving him an instant attitude change whenever he needed it. Well, last Saturday (August 14) Perry and his mates showed yours … Continue reading Aerosmith kicks major butt in Vancouver on the Get a Trip Tour
Midnight Oil’s “tree-hugging a**hole” kicks ass for Clayoquot Sound at the Tragically Hip’s Another Roadside Attraction
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 22, 1993 By Steve Newton It didn’t take long for Midnight Oil singer/environmental activist Peter Garrett to bring up the contentious issue of logging in Clayoquot Sound during Saturday’s (July 17) Another Roadside Attraction rock festival at Seabird Island in Agassiz. Right after the band’s introductory tune, the Greenpeace director began … Continue reading Midnight Oil’s “tree-hugging a**hole” kicks ass for Clayoquot Sound at the Tragically Hip’s Another Roadside Attraction
Surf-guitar legend Dick Dale mimics the screams of his lions and tigers
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 15, 1993 By Steve Newton For more than 30 years he’s been known as the King of Surf Guitar—he invented the “surf sound” in 1956—but nowadays Dick Dale tends to downplay that title. The 56-year-old guitar legend has just released his first album of new music in 18 years, Tribal Thunder, … Continue reading Surf-guitar legend Dick Dale mimics the screams of his lions and tigers
Guitar ace Lance Reegan-Diehl gives thanks to Vancouver’s great musicians
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JULY 8, 1993 A few months back, a home-made tape by a local musician named Lance Reegan-Diehl found its way onto my desk. I’d never heard of the guy before, but from the photo on the tape’s cover—of a smiling longhair in a studded leather jacket, dangling a custom-made … Continue reading Guitar ace Lance Reegan-Diehl gives thanks to Vancouver’s great musicians
Foxfest ends on a weak note with a Leppard past its prime
@shotbykevin ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JULY 8, 1993 By Steve Newton Seabird Island isn’t really an island, and that’s a good thing, because judging by the massive line-ups of cars on the highway heading to the Agassiz site, the wait for ferries would have been brutal. Seabird is actually a great big grassy … Continue reading Foxfest ends on a weak note with a Leppard past its prime
Hey guitar freaks: Yngwie-fucking-Malmsteen is coming to Vancouver after all! Slash too!
Last month I did a blog about how a lot of amazing rock guitarists—Pat Travers, Jake E. Lee, Yngwie Malmsteen, Slash, et cetera—were playing Stateside gigs this year but weren't crossing the border to bring us Canucks a taste of their wild licks. Well, over the weekend Travers played a whiskey-snortin' gig at some place in … Continue reading Hey guitar freaks: Yngwie-fucking-Malmsteen is coming to Vancouver after all! Slash too!