ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JULY 14, 2008 Stevie Wonder is one of the most influential singer-songwriters of our time. He’s been covered by everyone from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Boney M., from Jeff Beck to Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Grey-haired grannies groove to the advertising-jingle vibe of “I Just Called to … Continue reading Stevie Wonder lays the love on thick
Rob Halford says it’s incredible to be a metalhead in 2008
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JULY 16, 2008 By Steve Newton On his 1974 album, Past, Present and Future, British folk-pop troubadour Al Stewart recorded “Nostradamus”, a nine-minute opus detailing the predictions of the 16th-century prophet. It told of the visions in which Nostradamus reputedly foresaw such world events as the rise of Hitler and Great Fire … Continue reading Rob Halford says it’s incredible to be a metalhead in 2008
Tinsley Ellis shed blood en route to blues mastery
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JULY 16, 2008 By Steve Newton Like many of today’s top blues-rock guitarists, Tinsley Ellis was hugely influenced by the six-string action of the early Rolling Stones. He recalls being particularly entranced by the fretwork of Brian Jones on the Stones’ 1965 cover of Willie Dixon’s “Little Red Rooster”. “I heard … Continue reading Tinsley Ellis shed blood en route to blues mastery
Unplugged sounds are Tom Taylor’s first love
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, AUG. 13, 2008 TOM TAYLOR LOVES acoustic guitars. That’s why, when he shows up at the Georgia Straight building to chat about his new CD, Running Late, he’s sporting a baseball cap that reads Santa Cruz Guitar Co. Taylor didn’t use any of those instruments on his latest album, though, choosing instead … Continue reading Unplugged sounds are Tom Taylor’s first love
Joe Bonamassa has 200 guitars, says he’s “okay for guitars”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 27, 2008 By Steve Newton In their recent autobiographies, famed British rockers Ronnie Wood and Eric Clapton hazily recall how one of their main pastimes while on tour—apart from getting wasted and rattling groupies—was cruising pawnshops and secondhand stores for cool guitars. When blues-rock virtuoso Joe Bonamassa calls from a tour … Continue reading Joe Bonamassa has 200 guitars, says he’s “okay for guitars”
New Odds mix lightness and darkness
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, SEPT. 3, 2008 THERE ONCE WAS a Vancouver band called the Odds, which rose up from its night job as a cover band at the Roxy Nightclub to win over the hearts and minds of pop-rock fans far and wide. Between 1991 and ’96 the group released four major-label discs that spawned … Continue reading New Odds mix lightness and darkness
Carlos Santana still stunning the masses
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT STRAIGHT.COM, SEPT. 8, 2008 The last time Carlos Santana played here, a few years back at GM Place, one reader used my rave review of the show as an excuse to slag the guitarist for selling out with his multiplatinum album of 1999, Supernatural. This Payback Timer didn’t like the fact that … Continue reading Carlos Santana still stunning the masses
Alice Cooper slays Vancouver with old-school theatrical glam-rock
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, SEPT. 19, 2008 Shock-rock icon Alice Cooper put on a wicked show at the Centre in Vancouver last night (September 18). Focusing on material from his classic '70s albums Love It to Death, Killer, School's Out, Billion Dollar Babies, and Welcome to My Nightmare, the Coop delivered the guitar-rock gems "Under My … Continue reading Alice Cooper slays Vancouver with old-school theatrical glam-rock
Sheryl Crow keeps it classy in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, OCT. 5, 2008 Sheryl Crow doesn’t suffer fools—or dickheads like Karl Rove— gladly. That’s why, after getting involved in a heated exchange on global warming with George W. Bush’s former deputy chief of staff at a White House dinner last year, she became hell-bent on using her art to strike back … Continue reading Sheryl Crow keeps it classy in Vancouver
Chris Cornell on the rise of grunge and the job of the rock icon
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 5, 2008 By Steve Newton It's been 17 years since the grunge revolution blasted full-throttle out of Seattle, but Chris Cornell remembers it well. As the frontman for Soundgarden, Cornell was a chief architect of the genre, which formed as a backlash to the stagnating commercial rock of the day. "At … Continue reading Chris Cornell on the rise of grunge and the job of the rock icon
John Hiatt lights up the Commodore
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, NOV. 19, 2008 During his show at the Commodore last night (November 18), legendary American singer-songwriter John Hiatt's wry sense of humour kicked in on "Old Days", a track off his latest CD, Same Old Man. That mid-tempo rocker invokes comical memories of him touring with the likes of bluesmen Sonny Terry … Continue reading John Hiatt lights up the Commodore
AC/DC gives Vancouver a brain-numbing ride
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, NOV. 29, 2008 Three seconds after I picked up my AC/DC tickets at GM Place on Friday (November 28), some dude waving a huge wad of cash offered me $400 apiece for them, then quickly upped the price to $450 when he saw where the primo seats were. Since they were … Continue reading AC/DC gives Vancouver a brain-numbing ride
Sam Roberts tackles gun violence on Love at the End of the World
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JAN. 7, 2009 By Steve Newton When it’s time to make a new album, Sam Roberts likes to get outta town, as he did when he recorded his 2006 CD, Chemical City, in an old church in Byron Bay, Australia. For his latest disc, Love at the End of the World, the Montreal … Continue reading Sam Roberts tackles gun violence on Love at the End of the World