Vancouver rock 'n' roll legend Rich Hope plays the Rickshaw Theatre on February 20, with guests Janky Bungag and Runner.
Phantom Planet frontman Alex Greenwald has been getting back into metal lately
"I used to listen to metal as a teenager, and I felt like revisiting it, in particular Slayer. That first Slayer record is really good."
The Forty-Fives’ Adam Renshaw has been rockin’ out to Creedence on a portable 8-track player
When I call Adam Renshaw up the drummer for the Forty-Fives is cruising through Sacramento in his band's van, enjoying a game of Scrabble.
Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst embodied all that is great about old-school Aussie rock ‘n’ rollers
Back in the summer of 1986 I traveled to Australia and happened to see Midnight Oil kicking butt at a Melbourne-area pub called Fosters.
Metallica documentarian Joe Berlinger was fascinated by the dynamic between James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich
Directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky spent the better part of three years working on the documentary Metallica: Some Kind of Monster.
That time Steve Vai told me that he thought Devin Townsend was an extremely talented, visionary genius
I interviewed Steve Vai back in September of 2003, when he was about to start a G3 Tour with Joe Satriani and Yngwie Malmsteen.
That time guitar great Robben Ford told me that Long John Baldry was born to perform
I did my third interview with American blues, jazz, and rock guitarist Robben Ford back in January of 2003.
I inherited three concert t-shirts from a dear friend that tell a tale about us rockin’ out in Vancouver
Last August I lost a longtime friend, Scott Vye, who I'd spent decades going to concerts with in the Metro Vancouver area.
That time I asked James Hetfield if anger was the motivating force for Metallica’s St. Anger
I did my second interview with James Hetfield on March 11, 2004, when Metallica was touring behind its much-maligned St. Anger album.
Exclusive concert audio: Bachman-Turner Overdrive takin’ care of New Year’s Eve in Vancouver, 1990
Thirty-five years ago today Canadian rock legends Bachman-Turner Overdrive played a New Year's Eve gig at Vancouver's 86 Street Music Hall.
Newt’s top 10 Vancouver concerts for 2026 (so far)
From the looks of things, 2026 is gonna be a pretty rockin' year, whether in Vancouver's clubs, soft-seaters, or the big ol stadium.
Los Straitjackets guitarist Eddie Angel is surprised he can still make a living playing instro-rock
Die-hard instro-rock fans—the type who worship at the altars of Duane Eddy and the Ventures—have it pretty rough these days.
Ear of Newt’s top 10 most-read posts of 2025: Rory Gallagher, John Sykes, and all the best guitar players
If you've been following this blog of mine for any length of time you've probably figured out that its main focus is on guitar.