Jack De Keyzer grew to like Howlin’ Wolf more than the Stones

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 19, 2002 By Steve Newton Toronto blues-rocker Jack De Keyzer spent the first decade of his life in England, when the biggest thing in pop music was Cliff Richard and the Shadows. Just before he moved to Ontario, though, the Beatles came along, and it was through the impending British Invasion … Continue reading Jack De Keyzer grew to like Howlin’ Wolf more than the Stones

Hangin’ with Alien writer Dan O’Bannon on the Vancouver set of his 1992 Lovecraft flick

By Steve Newton Most of the Vancouver-shot movies I covered during my time as a freelancer for Fangoria magazine actually made it into theatres. One that didn't was The Resurrected, which was based on the H.P. Lovecraft novella, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. The movie--aka Shatterbrain--went directly to video, but that's okay with me. The main reason I wanted … Continue reading Hangin’ with Alien writer Dan O’Bannon on the Vancouver set of his 1992 Lovecraft flick

Geddy Lee on Neil Peart’s personal struggles, shaping his lyrics, and loving Rush

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 5, 2002 By Steve Newton Rush’s latest CD, Vapor Trails, may be its best recording ever, and since the Canuck prog-rock trio now has 17 studio releases to its credit, that’s saying something. But the album would never have been made if drummer-lyricist Neil Peart hadn’t had the inner strength to … Continue reading Geddy Lee on Neil Peart’s personal struggles, shaping his lyrics, and loving Rush

Sue Foley teams with Colin Linden to kick ass on Where the Action Is

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 29, 2002 By Steve Newton Ottawa-based blueswoman Sue Foley recorded her Juno Award–winning 2000 CD, the Colin Linden–produced Love Comin’ Down, in Kingston, Ontario, but travelled down to New Orleans to mix it. On her new album, Where the Action Is, she went full-on with the southern treatment, both recording and … Continue reading Sue Foley teams with Colin Linden to kick ass on Where the Action Is

The Cherry Valence guitarist Cheetie Kumar is big on Thin Lizzy

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 29, 2002 By Steve Newton The Cherry Valence guitarist Cheetie Kumar is napping in the band’s van when I catch up with her. The riff-based guitar-rock quintet is en route to a show in Brooklyn; the night before, it played the first date of a North American tour in Washington, D.C. … Continue reading The Cherry Valence guitarist Cheetie Kumar is big on Thin Lizzy

Bill Payne says that Little Feat is playing beautifully and still comes up with twists and turns

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 15, 2002 By Steve Newton Bill Payne has been singing and playing keyboards in Little Feat since the band’s inception in 1969, but he’s still learning new things about the music biz—like how to do the business yourself. Recently the group launched its own label out of North Carolina, Hot Tomato … Continue reading Bill Payne says that Little Feat is playing beautifully and still comes up with twists and turns

Leftover Salmon’s The Nashville Sessions should have won a Grammy

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 15, 2002 By Steve Newton I’d never actually heard Leftover Salmon until two weeks ago, when a copy of The Nashville Sessions came across my desk. That’s when I knew I’d really been missing something. On that 1999 disc, the self-styled “polyrhythmic Cajun slamgrass” group from Colorado is … Continue reading Leftover Salmon’s The Nashville Sessions should have won a Grammy

David Lindley says its serious time for the oud

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 8, 2002 By Steve Newton A while back I made one of my regular visits to Zulu Records and noticed that they were giving stuff away. Not great stuff—there were no limited-edition Hellecasters CDs or Jeff Beck bootlegs—but in the box of vinyl castoffs and local cassettes was Win This Record, … Continue reading David Lindley says its serious time for the oud

Leslie West recalls Woodstock and his band Mountain’s old warmup act, Black Sabbath

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 1, 2002 By Steve Newton Seventies hard-rockers Mountain didn’t waste any time in getting famous. The band—best known for the lineup of guitarist and vocalist Leslie West, drummer Corky Laing, keyboardist Steve Knight, and bassist-vocalist Felix Pappalardi (who was shot dead by his wife in ’83)—played its first gig at L.A.’s … Continue reading Leslie West recalls Woodstock and his band Mountain’s old warmup act, Black Sabbath

The Boy Next Door is no Boys Next Door

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JAN. 24, 2015 By Steve Newton The Boys Next Door is an awesome movie. Maxwell Caulfield and Charlie Sheen were perfect as angst-ridden teens on a murderous rampage in Penelope Spheeris’s jarring study of the underside of the American… …what's that? This is supposed to be a review of The Boy Next Door? Singular? … Continue reading The Boy Next Door is no Boys Next Door

Fuzz-pedal ripoff leads Fu Manchu to stack guitar tones on California Crossing

On their latest CD, California Crossing, SoCal guitar-rockers Fu Manchu took a slightly different musical approach than they had before.