By Steve Newton An eight-disc George Harrison box set titled The Apple Years 1968-75 was released today, for all you post-Beatles Harrison freaks out there. I probably won't run out and buy it, since I don't have a spare hundred bucks kickin' around right now, but hearing about it made me recall the Year of Our Lord, 1973. That was … Continue reading George Harrison box set stirs ’70s memories and gets Conan on the case
Old Crow’s Ketch Secor likes listening to the Be Good Tanyas and whoever died last week
When I interview musicians I often ask what they've been listening to in their spare time, and sometimes it leads to an interesting response. When I called up Ketch Secor of the Old Crow Medicine Show last week to chat in advance of his band's appearance at the Orpheum Theatre this Sunday (September 28), the … Continue reading Old Crow’s Ketch Secor likes listening to the Be Good Tanyas and whoever died last week
Rush to issue box set with previously unreleased live footage (of John Rutsey!)
By Steve Newton If you're the type of diehard Rush freak who thinks who've seen everything the band's ever put to video, get ready for this. The Canuck prog-rock legends announced today that, on November 11, they'll be releasing R40, a 10-DVD/6-Blu-ray collector's boxed set which also includes all eight songs from a show in … Continue reading Rush to issue box set with previously unreleased live footage (of John Rutsey!)
Elton John not impressed by the Newt’s review of his Vancouver show
An outraged EJ scribbles "You don't know shit, Newt" on my treasured copy of Yellow Brick Road You'd think that pop legend Elton John would be beyond caring what the critics think by now, right? Well, apparently he still reads the reviews. Even before they get in the paper. I wrote a pretty damn glowing online … Continue reading Elton John not impressed by the Newt’s review of his Vancouver show
Todd Kerns, the most rockin’ Canadian bassist of the 21st century, appears on Howard Stern
Todd Kerns, recently declared to be "the Most Rockin’ Canadian Bassist of the 21st Century", performed with his band SMK&C (Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators) on the Howard Stern Show yesterday. That's a long way from his birthplace of Estevan, Saskatchewan. But anybody who's been following the lanky rocker's career with wicked Vancouver … Continue reading Todd Kerns, the most rockin’ Canadian bassist of the 21st century, appears on Howard Stern
Doobie Brothers box set suffers from some Michael McDonald-penned ditties
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 9, 1999 By Steve Newton Is a band that only put out two great albums in its 30-year career justified in releasing a four-CD, 78-track boxed set? You betcha. A lot of bands that don’t have any great albums put out boxed sets. So just the fact that … Continue reading Doobie Brothers box set suffers from some Michael McDonald-penned ditties
Teenage slide-guitar ace Derek Trucks says his goal is not to play like Duane Allman
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN EXPERIENCE HENDRIX MAGAZINE, MAY/JUNE 1998 By Steve Newton Teenage blues-rocker Kenny Wayne Shepherd has a great story about how he got inspired to take up guitar. It has something to do with him, as a little kid, watching Stevie Ray Vaughan perform from atop one of the Texas guitar legend’s amp cases. … Continue reading Teenage slide-guitar ace Derek Trucks says his goal is not to play like Duane Allman
Elton John and his giant jellyfish conquer Vancouver
photos by the newt By Steve Newton Elton John doesn't need no stinkin' band. Heck, I remember seeing him at GM Place back in '99 when it was just him and his piano, and he killed it. There was no elaborate staging or lights--not even a costume change--yet the magical combination of his music put … Continue reading Elton John and his giant jellyfish conquer Vancouver
Eric Carr claims he’s still a fox as Kiss recruits Mark St. John and unleashes Animalize
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 28, 1984 By Steve Newton It was a snowy and cold January afternoon in 1975 when several high school friends and I headed off to the second Vancouver appearance of an up-and-coming rock band named KISS. Almost all of us had our well-worn copy of the group's first album and tunes … Continue reading Eric Carr claims he’s still a fox as Kiss recruits Mark St. John and unleashes Animalize
Bass god Billy Sheehan pooh-poohs Mr. Big’s supergroup status
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 8, 1989 By Steve Newton Seeing a destined-to-be-huge band in a small venue can make for one of the most memorable nights in any rock fan's existence. Kiss at the Commodore, Jeff Healey at the Yale, Living Colour at the Town Pump, Metallica at the New York Theatre--those are just a … Continue reading Bass god Billy Sheehan pooh-poohs Mr. Big’s supergroup status
The Art of McCartney boasts ’70s rockers Heart, Steve Miller, Sammy Hagar, and the Coop
By Steve Newton Groundworks Marketing announced today that a new Paul McCartney tribute album will be released on November 17, and that it will feature some of my fave artists from the seventies, including Alice Cooper, Steve Miller, Heart, Bad Company's Paul Rodgers, Montrose's Sammy Hagar, the Who's Roger Daltrey, and Cheap Trick's Robin Zander and … Continue reading The Art of McCartney boasts ’70s rockers Heart, Steve Miller, Sammy Hagar, and the Coop
Drum great Kenny Aronoff was never afraid to go for it
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 25, 1999 By Steve Newton I’ve got a theory, and this theory, which is mine, is that everybody wants to be a rock ’n’ roll drummer. There’s just something irresistible about the idea of pounding away on a resonating circle until you’re sweaty and drained and then having people cheer you … Continue reading Drum great Kenny Aronoff was never afraid to go for it
ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons tells me “them low-down blues ain’t bad”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 1, 1994 By Steve Newton When famous rock guitarists reminisce about their first instruments, the talk tends toward dirt-cheap acoustics with heavy strings set so high off the fretboard that it hurts just to look at them. Not with Billy Gibbons, though. The incomparable guitarman for ZZ Top got an atypical … Continue reading ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons tells me “them low-down blues ain’t bad”