I've done hundreds of interviews with famous rockers since I started writing for the Georgia Straight back in 1982, most of them over the phone--in advance of a Vancouver tour date--some of them in person. It's always been the policy at the Straight to turn down offers of e-mail interviews--where you send in questions and … Continue reading My first ever e-mail interview, because it’s Billy freakin’ Gibbons, that’s why!
Splatter king Tom Savini brings “dead things” to life remaking Romero
By Steve Newton When Tom Savini's remake of George Romero's zombie classic The Night of the Living Dead came out in 1990 I did a phone interview with the gore-FX guru. That was cool. Blood and guts aren’t pretty. Neither is brain matter. But when it comes to the horror genre, those type of bodily components … Continue reading Splatter king Tom Savini brings “dead things” to life remaking Romero
Checking out Katie Holmes’ Disturbing Behavior in Burnaby
By Steve Newton Here's a story I did on the Vancouver-area filming of the 1998 Katie Holmes vehicle Disturbing Behaviour. It wasn't the worst horror flick I ever did a set-visit for. That would probably be Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan. The X-Files recently deserted Vancouver after five seasons of shooting here, but that … Continue reading Checking out Katie Holmes’ Disturbing Behavior in Burnaby
Childhood terrors spark the dark heart of Vancouver’s Michael Slade
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 16, 2003 By Steve Newton The first story I ever wrote for Fangoria was a profile of Vancouver criminal lawyer-turned-horror author Jay Clarke (aka Michael Slade), who'd won me over with his 1984 debut novel, Headhunter. Over the years we've become horror-lovin' buds, going to the odd scary … Continue reading Childhood terrors spark the dark heart of Vancouver’s Michael Slade
Vancouver’s indie filmmakers make horror on the cheap
Here's my piece that ran as the cover story in the Georgia Straight's Halloween 2003 issue. By Steve Newton Ten years ago, Robert Rodriguez caused a sizable stir in the movie world when he managed to bring in his first film, El Mariachi, for a purported cost of US$7,000. That was an unheard-of sum for … Continue reading Vancouver’s indie filmmakers make horror on the cheap
The gorehounds of Vancouver make horror special (FX)
Here's my piece that ran as the cover story in the Georgia Straight's Halloween 1999 issue. By Steve Newton The first time I meet TOBY LINDALA, he’s indulging in one of his favourite pastimes, but we’re not talking a round of golf or model-building here: he’s gently dabbing blood on the exposed brain of a … Continue reading The gorehounds of Vancouver make horror special (FX)
X-Files alumni plot Rube Goldberg-esque deaths for Final Destination debut
By Steve Newton Back in 2000 a Vancouver-shot horror flick called Final Destination was released which depicted young people, having escaped death in an exploding plane, being hunted down by a determined Grim Reaper and offed in various violent ways. The film made money, so it became a franchise, where the big D would go … Continue reading X-Files alumni plot Rube Goldberg-esque deaths for Final Destination debut
Vancouver bug wrangler Brad McDonald loves cockroaches, fears babies
photo by Alex Waterhouse-Hayward Here's my piece that ran as the cover story in the Georgia Straight's Halloween 2000 issue. By Steve Newton The first time I sat down for a meal in a New York City restaurant, a cockroach scurried across the table. One of the people I was with, the managing editor of North … Continue reading Vancouver bug wrangler Brad McDonald loves cockroaches, fears babies
Michael Myers unmasked on the Vancouver set of Halloween: Resurrection
By Steve Newton Not everyone has managed to see both Jason Vorhees and Michael Myers in bloodthirsty action--and lived to tell the tale. But as the Vancouver correspondent for the world's best known horror magazine, Fangoria, I did. I encountered Vorhees while covering the shooting of Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan in … Continue reading Michael Myers unmasked on the Vancouver set of Halloween: Resurrection
Ozzy Osbourne live in ’82: midgets, executioners, and maybe a dead bat
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 18, 1982 By Steve Newton As anyone at his June 10 Coliseum show could have figured out, subtlety is not Ozzy Osbourne's claim to fame. Whereas most acts open with the drawing of a curtain, Ozzy opens with the dropping of one. And while most performers stroll onstage accompanied by a … Continue reading Ozzy Osbourne live in ’82: midgets, executioners, and maybe a dead bat
The riff returns with first batch of deluxe Led Zeppelin box sets
By Steve Newton If you're a Led Zeppelin fan--and who isn't, apart from those indie geeks at Pitchfork--you should mark June 3 on your calendar and start putting away some spendin' money. That's when the mighty Zep will release super-deluxe boxed sets of its first three albums--1969's Led Zeppelin, 1969's Led Zeppelin II, and 1970's Led Zeppelin III. Each … Continue reading The riff returns with first batch of deluxe Led Zeppelin box sets
Paul Kossoff’s son Simon meets Paul Rodgers for the first time
photo by Lucy Piller Legendary blues-rocker Paul Rodgers finally got to meet the son of Paul Kossoff, the former guitarist in his old band Free. In a tweet last week Rodgers mentioned that he had his first-ever encounter with Simon Kossoff in London, and included a photo of the two of them together. "So much like his … Continue reading Paul Kossoff’s son Simon meets Paul Rodgers for the first time
Bottle Rockets reissue displays Brian Henneman’s observational eye
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, NOV. 19, 2013 By Steve Newton Nineteen-ninety-four might not have been the greatest year for fans of rootsy, meat 'n' potatoes guitar-rock. Hootie and the Blowfish released their diamond-selling (10-million copies plus) Cracked Rear View album. The Barenaked Ladies were going platinum. And Yanni unleashed Live at the Acropolis. But if you were lucky enough … Continue reading Bottle Rockets reissue displays Brian Henneman’s observational eye