By Steve Newton I figure it’s time to post another audio excerpt from my one and only interview with Irish guitar legend Gary Moore, one of the finest players to ever pick up the instrument. It was May 11, 1984, and Moore was opening for Rush on their Grace Under Pressure Tour. He had a … Continue reading That time I told Gary Moore it was the shits that he wasn’t coming to Vancouver with Rush
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 16, 1983 By Steve Newton America, the masters of mellow, have just released their 13th album. Produced by Russ Ballard, Your Move continues the collaboration between Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley that began in 1970 when–along with Dan Peek–they had a huge hit in their first single, “A … Continue reading America’s Dewey Bunnell says “A Horse with No Name” is all about the feeling of the desert
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MAY 27, 1983 By Steve Newton INXS (pronounced ‘in excess’) are a six-piece modern rock band from Sydney, Australia. The group’s third album, Shabooh Shoobah, was released last year and hit Top Five in Australia, becoming the group’s third gold album Down Under. The members of INXS are vocalist Michael Hutchence, brothers … Continue reading Michael Hutchence says INXS hopes to fill up the space between Men at Work and the Birthday Party
By Steve Newton Since the news hit yesterday about the death of beloved guitar legend Leslie West, accolades have been pouring in from some of the world’s finest pickers. “Leslie’s playing and sound was just superb,” said Tony Iommi, whose band Black Sabbath used to open for West’s group Mountain. “One of the GOAT,” declared … Continue reading Leslie West’s absence from the Rock Hall is as shocking as the exclusion of Rory, Johnny, and Link
By Steve Newton Since the Tragically Hip just put out several unreleased tracks from its 1990 Road Apples sessions, I figured I’d celebrate the occasion in my own little way. So for all the hardcore Hip fans out there who still hold the original Road Apples album dear, here’s an unedited excerpt from my 2018 … Continue reading Recalling the release of the Tragically Hip’s Road Apples in the wake of the new Saskadelphia
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 22, 1983 By Steve Newton The last time the Spinners were in Vancouver was way back in the sixties, when they came through here with the Marvin Gaye Revue. But lovers of the group’s unmistakable brand of funky R&B still have a chance to catch the spirit of the near-legendary vocal … Continue reading Henry Fambrough says he could never think about being without the Spinners
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JAN. 18, 1985 By Steve Newton Dan Hartman likes to pull people’s legs. That’s why, for the video of his big 1984 hit “I Can Dream About You”, he had four black guys doing the song, singing and dancing and sliding around. The first impression is that one of … Continue reading Dan Hartman flying high 12 years after taking his “Free Ride” with the Edgar Winter Group
By Steve Newton I interviewed Irish guitar hero Vivian Campbell in September of 1992, three weeks after his 30th birthday. Five months earlier he’d joined Def Leppard, one of the world’s most popular rock bands, apparently being chosen over the likes of John Sykes, Gary Hoey, and Adrian Smith from Iron Maiden. So no wonder … Continue reading That time Def Leppard’s Vivian Campbell told me that he got paid less than the road crew in Dio
By Steve Newton It’s not too often you take home a free souvenir from an AC/DC concert. Most likely you’ll be dropping $40 for a t-shirt, $25 for a tour program, and maybe seven or eight bucks for a “Have a Drink on Me” shotglass or a “Highway to Hell” keychain. Mind you, if you’re … Continue reading AC/DC dropped fake American dollar bills on its fans during the 1990-’91 Razors Edge world tour, and I’ve still got mine
By Steve Newton I was a huge Foghat fan in the seventies. I couldn’t get enough of their hard-driving boogie-blues on albums like Energized and Rock and Roll Outlaws. When I learned that most of their original members had come from a band called Savoy Brown I went and checked them out as well, and … Continue reading That time Kim Simmonds told me that Eric Clapton was the greatest white blues guitar player he’d ever seen
By Steve Newton You know how you’re always getting those unsolicited credit-card applications in the mail? The ones that say “Dear [insert your name here]. You’ve been approved for a shitload of money, so just sign up here.” Well, Joe Satriani got one of those once, and it turned out to be exactly what he … Continue reading That time Joe Satriani told me how an unsolicited Mastercard application got Not of This Earth off the ground
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN EXPERIENCE HENDRIX MAGAZINE, NOV.-DEC. ISSUE, 1998 By Steve Newton At first glance, Steve Morse might not seem like the ideal guy to take over Ritchie Blackmore’s guitarist spot in Deep Purple. He is undoubtedly a fantastic player, but he’s more noted for technically awesome country-fusion inflections than chunky power chords. But as … Continue reading Steve Morse says that his biggest challenge in life was playing Hendrix’s “Are You Experienced?” live, with the backwards guitar solo
By Steve Newton When New York’s Sterling Publishing first contacted me about writing a book about Gord Downie, I was obviously thrilled. I had interviewed Downie five times, and was a huge fan of his band, the Tragically Hip. But as writing progressed, I realized the finished product wasn’t going to be exactly what I … Continue reading Gord Downie in the raw: an unedited, unpublished chunk of my book about the Tragically Hip’s beloved frontman
