By Steve Newton I was crazy about Kiss when their first album dropped back in the Year of Our Lord, 1974. I was 16 at the time, which is all you need to know. I think it’s their best album–love “Strutter”, “Deuce”, “Black Diamond”–so when the opportunity came to interview Ace Frehley back in 2008 … Continue reading That time I told Ace Frehley that I thought the first Kiss album was the best Kiss album
By Steve Newton The first time I interviewed Slash was two months after the release of “The Spaghetti Incident?”, Guns N’ Roses’ collection of punk and hard-rock cover tunes by bands like the New York Dolls, T-Rex, the Runaways, and Nazareth. At one point in the conversation I mentioned that I was happy they’d recorded … Continue reading That time Slash told me how Guns N’ Roses chose the cover tunes for “The Spaghetti Incident”
By Steve Newton Back in December of 1991 I wrote a Georgia Straight cover story on Vancouver producer Bob Rock, best known for his work with Metallica, and one of the Big Three of Vancouver hard-rock producers (along with fellow Little Mountain Sound-men Bruce Fairbairn and Mike Fraser). While putting the story together I gave … Continue reading That time I asked famed producer Bruce Fairbairn what he thought of famed producer Bob Rock
By Steve Newton I’ve been lobbying for years to get the three most deserving rockers I can think of–Rory Gallagher, Link Wray, and Johnny Winter–inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I keep hoping that one day Jann Wenner and his braindead RRHOF cohorts will pull their heads out of their asses long … Continue reading Braindead twats at the Rock Hall nominate Whitney Houston, spurn Rory, Link, and Johnny
By Steve Newton Back in November of 1985 I interviewed Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars the same day his band played Vancouver on its Theatre of Pain tour. At one point in the conversation we were talking fave guitar players–his (and mine) being Jeff Beck–and I asked him how he felt about the new superstars … Continue reading That time Mick Mars told me that Yngwie Malmsteen could be the world’s best guitarist if he’d just change his attitude
By Steve Newton Way the hell back in 1989 I did an interview with Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach. That was less than a month after the release of the band’s self-titled debut album, which would go on to sell five-million copies and spawn the hits “Youth Gone Wild”, “18 and Life”, and “I Remember You”. … Continue reading That time 20-year-old Sebastian Bach sang me a line from his Schooner beer commercial
By Steve Newton I’ve interviewed Rob Halford five times over the years, the first being way the funk back in 1984, when Judas Priest was headed to Vancouver on the Defenders of the Faith tour. At one point in the conversation I asked Rob which tune on the new album was his personal favourite, and … Continue reading That time I told Rob Halford that “Freewheel Burning” was my fave tune on Judas Priest’s new album
By Steve Newton I did my first interview with Steve Vai when he was touring with Whitesnake in May of 1990, but I was more interested in talking about his brand-new solo album, Passion and Warfare. I was particularly blown away by the track “For the Love of God”, which still stands up as one … Continue reading That time 29-year-old Steve Vai told me that he suffered making “For the Love of God”, but that blowjobs also do the trick
By Steve Newton Drum legend Tommy Aldridge has played with some of the greatest rock guitarists of all time: Gary Moore, Steve Vai, Randy Rhoads, Pat Travers, Tony MacAlpine, Scott Gorham, John Sykes. Heck, even his first band of note, Black Oak Arkansas, featured some pretty heavy-duty pickers. When I interviewed Aldridge back in 2001 … Continue reading That time Tommy Aldridge told me that Randy Rhoads was the most talented guitarist he ever played with
By Steve Newton Way back in July of 1993 I did my first interview with Dick Dale, the pioneering surf-rock guitarist who passed away two nights ago. I chatted with the 56-year-old Californian in advance of a show at the Commodore Ballroom, one of the top live venues in Vancouver. After the gig I hung … Continue reading Dick Dale signed the Ear of Newt guitar
By Steve Newton Way back in December of 1983 I did an interview with Mike Rutherford, who at the time was the guitarist-bassist in Genesis, joined by singer-drummer Phil Collins and keyboardist Tony Banks. Two months earlier the band had released a self-titled album that was a huge success, spawning the hits “Mama”, “That’s All”, … Continue reading That time I asked Mike Rutherford about the biggest highlights of Genesis’ career
By Steve Newton Yesterday I went and dug up the old cassette with my first Buddy Guy interview on it, the one from 1991, because I wanted to digitize it for my Patreon page. Cool thing was, I noticed that the interview before it on the tape was the one I did the previous month … Continue reading That time Dickey Betts asked me to mention all the guys in the Allmans, including the “piece of dynamite”
By Steve Newton By now you’ve no doubt heard the awful news: that Rush drummer-lyricist Neil Peart has died from brain cancer. The man who inspired a million drummers is now up there jammin’ with Allan Holdsworth and Jaco Pastorius or equally brilliant and pioneering players like that. So Rush is no more. There will … Continue reading That time I asked Alex Lifeson what he thought the attraction was to Rush for so many diehard fans
