tracy anne hart photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 16, 1992 By Steve Newton Anyone fortunate enough to have seen the late Stevie Ray Vaughan play knows the gifted Texas blues-rocker had that special something of which guitar legends are made. But good as he was, Vaughan would never have been able to soar to the … Continue reading Doyle Bramhall II’s dad wants his Lightnin’ Hopkins guitar back
Spinal Tap crashes the Great Canadian Party to teach “Bitch School”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 9, 1992 By Steve Newton Any idea how many rock-hungry holidayers you can squeeze into UBC’s Thunderbird Stadium? Well, probably not one single body more than the 30,000 who packed the venue for last Wednesday’s (July 1) Great Canadian Party. There were massive line-ups for food and drink, and painfully long … Continue reading Spinal Tap crashes the Great Canadian Party to teach “Bitch School”
Robert Gordon saves his Vancouver show after Chris Spedding nearly wrecks it
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 5, 1992 By Steve Newton It’s a good thing Robert Gordon has plenty of charisma—enough, in fact, to make up for Chris Spedding’s total lack of charm. For their show at the Town Pump on Saturday (May 30), Gordon was the picture of suave coolness, while guitarist Spedding—who … Continue reading Robert Gordon saves his Vancouver show after Chris Spedding nearly wrecks it
Metallica delivers on Lars Ulrich’s promise to “kick f***in’ ass” while touring behind The Black Album
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MAY 28, 1992 By Steve Newton You don’t have to be a big fan of Metallica’s furiously thrashy—albeit recently refined—sound to give the band credit for blazing a formidable trail since its inception in ’81. The group has always gone against the grain and done things its own way, riding the precarious … Continue reading Metallica delivers on Lars Ulrich’s promise to “kick f***in’ ass” while touring behind The Black Album
Marc Bonilla inspired by the intensity and melodies of Ronnie Montrose
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 30, 1992 By Steve Newton Kids wanna rock for all kinds of reasons. Seeing the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show is a common driving force; hearing Hendrix for the first time another. Then there are the old adages about getting into music “to get chicks” or because sports make you … Continue reading Marc Bonilla inspired by the intensity and melodies of Ronnie Montrose
Lindsay Mitchell recalls the Summer of Love with the cocky Seeds of Time
photo by Roger Stomperud ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT ON APRIL 16, 1992 By Steve Newton “This ain’t the Garden of Eden There ain’t no angels above And things ain’t what they used to be And this ain’t the summer of love.” —Blue Oyster Cult There never will be another summer of love, at … Continue reading Lindsay Mitchell recalls the Summer of Love with the cocky Seeds of Time
Stateside guitar frenzy: Pat Travers, Jeff Beck, Slash, Jake E. Lee & Yngwie-fucking-Malmsteen!
For some reason a lotta old-school rock-guitar heroes don't play in Vancouver. They head on up for gigs in Washington State, but then turn around and cruise back down to keep on feeding those riff-starved Americans. Are the border guards at Canada Customs really that daunting? Take Pat Travers, for instance. He's half Canadian, but … Continue reading Stateside guitar frenzy: Pat Travers, Jeff Beck, Slash, Jake E. Lee & Yngwie-fucking-Malmsteen!
Badlands’ Jake E. Lee says that hearing Eddie Van Halen got him back into playing hard rock again
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 16, 1992 By Steve Newton Few guitarists have had to deal with the kind of expectations put on Jake E. Lee when he took over Randy Rhoads’ guitar spot in the Ozzy Osbourne band. Rhoads’ tragic death in a 1982 plane crash stunned the rock world and didn’t make things easy … Continue reading Badlands’ Jake E. Lee says that hearing Eddie Van Halen got him back into playing hard rock again
Widespread Panic finds a home on Phil Walden’s resurrected Capricorn label
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 2, 1992 By Steve Newton If you were a fan of southern rock back in the days of vinyl, chances are you owned a couple of discs with the Capricorn label on them. With an early ’70s roster that included the Allman Brothers, the Marshall Tucker Band, Wet Willie, Elvin Bishop, … Continue reading Widespread Panic finds a home on Phil Walden’s resurrected Capricorn label
Dire Straits rips off its own tunes in Vancouver, but makes good with “Brothers in Arms”
kevin statham photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 2, 1992 By Steve Newton I don’t know which is worse, a rock band copying another artist, or a rock band copying itself. Dire Straits has always been somewhat guilty of the first offence, but the sizeable debt it owes to J.J. Cale has never really bothered me. … Continue reading Dire Straits rips off its own tunes in Vancouver, but makes good with “Brothers in Arms”
B.B. King’s busted guitar string becomes treasure for Tinsley Ellis
When one of your biggest idols gives you a souvenir that thing automatically becomes priceless, as Tinsley Ellis can easily attest.
Mr. Big guitarist Paul Gilbert can deal with a number-one single at 25
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 19, 1992 By Steve Newton Some recording artists come off as self-absorbed types whose only musical interest involves what they’re doing. They claim not to listen to anybody else’s tunes, lest their precious art be influenced away from its predestined place in history. But sometimes you come across an open-minded recording … Continue reading Mr. Big guitarist Paul Gilbert can deal with a number-one single at 25
Guitar hero Michael Schenker goes acoustic and his fans are fine with it
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 12, 1992 By Steve Newton When Michael Schenker was only 15, he met up with Scorpions singer Klaus Meine. Just a year later, he was laying down the white-hot guitar licks for the Scorpions’ debut album, Lonesome Crow. But Schenker’s early musical accomplishments were not without their price, as the teen … Continue reading Guitar hero Michael Schenker goes acoustic and his fans are fine with it