By Steve Newton One of the biggest concert thrills of my life was seeing an on-fire Gary Moore playing guitar with Thin Lizzy when they warmed up for Styx in Vancouver on October 12, 1978. After Lizzy’s astounding set I encountered Scott Gorham hanging out in front of a concession, having a smoke, listening to … Continue reading That time I asked Gary Moore why he’d been in and out of Thin Lizzy so many times
By Steve Newton Led Zeppelin freaks may recall the first time John Bonham’s son Jason performed with his dad’s old band, back in 1988 as part of the Atlantic Records 40th anniversary concert. But that was only young Jason’s first “official” performance with Zeppelin. When I did my first interview with 23-year-old Jason a year later he … Continue reading That time Jason Bonham told me about taking Bonzo’s spot to jam with Led Zeppelin as a teen
By Steve Newton When I interviewed Joan Jett back in 1992 I told her that one of her new songs, “The Only Good Thing (You Ever Said Was Goodbye)”, reminded me, message-wise, of her hit tune from 1988, “I Hate Myself For Loving You”. Then I asked her if those kind of tunes were inspired … Continue reading That time Joan Jett told me that her songs come from real life, and that misery loves company
By Steve Newton As most dedicated Deep Purple fans know, Joe Satriani was once a member of that legendary band. The Bay Area guitar wizard joined in December of 1993 after the volatile Ritchie Blackmore quit and left the group high-and-dry in the middle of a tour. Satch only stayed in the lineup for a … Continue reading That time I asked Ian Gillan if he ever wished Joe Satriani had become a permanent member of Deep Purple
By Steve Newton Man, was 1975 the best year for guitar-based rock or what? That’s the year I graduated high school, and spent countless hours cramming my head with riffs from LPs like Thin Lizzy‘s Fighting, Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti, Bad Company‘s Straight Shooter, Heart‘s Dreamboat Annie, and the self-titled debuts by Ian Hunter, the … Continue reading That time Joe Satriani told me that Jeff Beck’s Blow By Blow was just the kind of music his generation wanted to hear
By Steve Newton We’ve all heard the old joke before: “What do you call somebody who hangs around with musicians? A drummer.” I think it’s fair to say that drummers don’t always get the credit they deserve. I haven’t interviewed that many over the years–for the simple fact that I prefer talking to guitarists–but some … Continue reading That time Alex Van Halen told me how early on he and Eddie discovered the fascinating power of live music
By Steve Newton It’s amazing what a person can find when they listen to old interviews they recorded on cassette back in 1984. Like that time I was chatting with Golden Earring vocalist and cosongwriter Barry Hay and asked him about touring with Lynyrd Skynyrd back in the seventies. Have a listen: To hear my … Continue reading That time Golden Earring frontman Barry Hay told me about touring with Lynyrd Skynyrd and getting beaten up with Ronnie Van Zandt
By Steve Newton I’ve interviewed scads of incredible guitarists over the years, but I can’t think of any more amazing than Gary Moore. Everything about his playing just blew me away. So I was mighty psyched when I did my one and only interview with him way back on May 11, 1984. At the time … Continue reading That time I made Gary Moore laugh by asking what drives him
By Steve Newton One of the biggest regrets of my career in rock journalism–and there aren’t that many, believe it or not–was never getting the opportunity to interview Eddie Van Halen. I did get to chat with his big brother Alex once, and he gave me a really great interview, but it just wasn’t the … Continue reading Eddie Van Halen: what Steve Vai, Allan Holdsworth, Jake E. Lee, Leslie West, and brother Alex told me about “the king”
By Steve Newton When I did my first interview with Joe Satriani in January of 1990 his Flying in a Blue Dream album had been out for only two months, and word had gotten around about what an ambitious project it was, clocking in at nearly 65 minutes. (His previous full-length disc, Surfing With the … Continue reading That time Joe Satriani told me that he wanted Flying in a Blue Dream to be something heavy and deep
By Steve Newton I wasn’t a close follower of soul crooner Joss Stone when I hooked up with her by phone in Brussels, Belgium, in September of 2012. But I knew that she had a great voice, and that she’d sung lead on two tracks on Jeff Beck’s latest album, Emotion & Commotion. Speaking of … Continue reading That time Joss Stone told me that the music kinda just falls out of Ernie Isley’s fingers
By Steve Newton I did the second of my three interviews with American blues-rock guitar virtuoso Joe Bonamassa in December of 2011, when he was touring behind his Dust Bowl album. Shortly before our chat Rolling Stone had published its 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time list, so we spent some time ridiculing that, and … Continue reading That time Joe Bonamassa complained to me about Rolling Stone’s ranking of Robert Johnson on its 100 Greatest Guitarists list
By Steve Newton I’ve interviewed Joe Satriani eight times because, hey, nobody plays guitar like Satch. He’s one of a kind. The last time I interviewed him was in 2018, and the first time was way the funk back in January of 1990, when he was touring behind his stunning Flying in a Blue Dream album. … Continue reading That time I asked Joe Satriani why he chose Ibanez guitars instead of Strats and Les Pauls
