That time Steve Vai told me that he only got offered demonic roles in movies after Crossroads

By Steve Newton Way back in May of 1990 I did my first interview with guitar virtuoso Steve Vai, who was 29 at the time. Four years earlier Vai had portrayed Jack Butler, the devil’s guitar player, in the blues movie Crossroads, which was inspired by the legend of Robert Johnson. The climax of the … Continue reading That time Steve Vai told me that he only got offered demonic roles in movies after Crossroads

That time Jakob Dylan told me that his dad wasn’t a lightweight

By Steve Newton I interviewed 23-year-old Jakob Dylan back in February of 1993, five months after the release of the Wallflowers‘ self-titled debut album. That was three years before his band struck it rich with the quadruple-platinum Bringing Down the Horse CD and number-one hit “One Headlight”. At one point in the conversation I said … Continue reading That time Jakob Dylan told me that his dad wasn’t a lightweight

That time Dave Brock told me that Hawkwind wasn’t influenced by anybody

By Steve Newton Back in December of 1990 I interviewed Hawkwind guitarist and founding member Dave Brock. I called him up in Cleveland, where his space-rock band was touring behind its latest album, Space Bandits. At one point in the conversation I asked Brock if Hawkwind was influenced by prog groups like Pink Floyd and … Continue reading That time Dave Brock told me that Hawkwind wasn’t influenced by anybody

Northern Pikes pack prairie punch on new Secrets of the Alibi

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

That time Colin Hay told me that he thought Men at Work were a success story when they were playing Melbourne pubs

By Steve Newton I interviewed Men at Work frontman Colin Hay back in October of 1983, when the Aussie group was touring behind its second album, Cargo, the followup to its hugely successful debut, Business as Usual (the one with “Down Under” and “Who Can It Be Now?”). (Strangely enough, when the band got to … Continue reading That time Colin Hay told me that he thought Men at Work were a success story when they were playing Melbourne pubs

That time I asked Mark Kelly if it bothered him when people compared Marillion to Genesis

Marillion’s Fish and Genesis’ Tony Banks get the joke By Steve Newton As a prog-rock fan who was crazy about bands like Yes and Genesis in the seventies, it made sense that I liked Marillion in the ’80s. I interviewed Marillion keyboardist Mark Kelly back in March of 1986, when the band was touring behind … Continue reading That time I asked Mark Kelly if it bothered him when people compared Marillion to Genesis

Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre on the legacy of Aqualung

By Steve Newton Legendary rock guitarist Martin Barre of Jethro Tull fame was touring B.C. in July with a crack band, performing the Aqualung album in its entirety. He called me from a friend’s house near Nanaimo and filled me in on the tour. SN: First off I wanted to ask a little bit about Aqualung, … Continue reading Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre on the legacy of Aqualung

Album review: Ozzy Osbourne, Bark at the Moon (1984)

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 16, 1984 By Steve Newton It looks like Ozzy’ll be laughing all the way to the bank when the royalty cheques for his new album Bark at the Moon come rolling in. The raunched-out guitars, pounding drums and madman vocals that made his first two albums, Blizzard of … Continue reading Album review: Ozzy Osbourne, Bark at the Moon (1984)

That time I took my nephew backstage for autographs on Mötley Crüe’s Theatre of Pain tour and naughty Nikki scribbled “do drugs”

bev davies photo By Steve Newton Way back in November of 1985 I took my nephew Jeff to see Mötley Crüe at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. It was the second big concert of his 15-year life, the first being Iron Maiden the previous year. I took him to that one too, thinking the more … Continue reading That time I took my nephew backstage for autographs on Mötley Crüe’s Theatre of Pain tour and naughty Nikki scribbled “do drugs”

Collective Soul’s Ed Roland is still shocked by the success of “Shine”

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 17, 1994 By Steve Newton In today’s high-tech, high-finance music world–where flavour-of-the-month recording “artists” of questionable talent can essentially buy fame with expensive corporate-funded video clips–it’s nice to know that devoted, honest folks with simple, strong tunes can still get a shot at the big time. Such is the case with … Continue reading Collective Soul’s Ed Roland is still shocked by the success of “Shine”

That time I asked Dewey Bunnell why his band named itself America

By Steve Newton If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you might have figured out that I’m not the world’s biggest soft-rock fan. But when it’s time to take a break from the Blue Oyster Cult and Thin Lizzy I’ve got nothing against throwing on America’s Greatest Hits and mellowing out with easygoing … Continue reading That time I asked Dewey Bunnell why his band named itself America

That time Luther Allison told me that he didn’t get the same break in Chicago as Magic Sam, Otis Rush, Freddie King, and Buddy Guy

By Steve Newton Luther Allison was one of those amazing blues artists who never quite got the fame they deserved; a powerful vocalist and a smokin’ guitarist as well. I did my one and only interview with Allison in September of 1995, before he played his first-ever concert in Vancouver, and at one point in … Continue reading That time Luther Allison told me that he didn’t get the same break in Chicago as Magic Sam, Otis Rush, Freddie King, and Buddy Guy

That time I called up Steve Clark and asked him how Def Leppard’s Hysteria tour was going

By Steve Newton Back on June 6 of 1988 I called up Def Leppard guitarist Steve Clark at his hotel room in Moncton, New Brunswick. It was the first date of the Canadian leg of the band’s hugely successful Hysteria World Tour, and they were as popular as they would ever get. A month later … Continue reading That time I called up Steve Clark and asked him how Def Leppard’s Hysteria tour was going