ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 27, 1987 By Steve Newton It’s a long way, in musical terms, from the commercial rock of Journey to the improvisational jazz of Vital Information. But for drummer Steve Smith, who appears at the Town Pump Friday (March 27) with Vital Information, it was a route that had to be taken. … Continue reading Drummer Steve Smith gave up Journey’s arena rock to gain Vital Information
@shotbykevin By Steve Newton I graduated from high school in 1975, and, holy crap, was that ever a great year for rock music! Lizzy‘s Fighting, Floyd‘s Wish You Were Here, Zep’s Physical Graffiti, Neil‘s Zuma, Beck‘s Blow By Blow, Seger‘s Beautiful Loser–the list of killer albums went on and on. But none of them thrilled me … Continue reading That time I asked Mick Ronson what he thought of Great White’s version of “Once Bitten, Twice Shy”
I’m pretty sure these are the smaller Stonehenge props Iommi mentions at the very end of the excerpt. By Steve Newton Previously I’ve offered up audio excerpts from my 1984 interview with Tony Iommi in which the Black Sabbath guitarist talked about blowing up singer Ian Gillan’s boat during recording sessions for Born Again, and … Continue reading That time Tony Iommi told me about that Spinal Tap moment with Stonehenge props on Black Sabbath’s Born Again tour
By Steve Newton When slide-guitar master Derek Trucks was only 18 I called him up at his place in Jacksonville, Florida, and we chatted for a while. This was five months after the release of the Derek Trucks Band’s self-titled debut album, and already his playing style was being compared a lot to that of … Continue reading That time I asked 18-year-old Derek Trucks if he got tired of the Duane Allman comparisons
me ‘n Jeff By Steve Newton In my 35 years of writing about rock musicians I’ve never been as psyched as I was back in January 2001 when I got the chance to interview Jeff Beck. He was heading to Vancouver for a rare club appearance at the historic Commodore Ballroom, and I contacted him in … Continue reading That time Jeff Beck told me that John McLaughlin was “the greatest player around”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 26, 1986 By Steve Newton “Beware the Merciless Onslaught” were the words that came to me when Metallica vocalist James Hetfield opened the door of his Hyatt Regency hotel room. That message was emblazoned in orange across Hetfield’s black t-shirt. Straggly blonde hair hung across his rough face and thick sideburns, … Continue reading Three months after Cliff Burton’s death Metallica’s James Hetfield told me “You can’t give up”
By Steve Newton I’ve interviewed Ozzy Osbourne a couple of times, but it’s been over 30 years. The first time was in 1982–not long after the tragic death of guitar legend Randy Rhoads–and the second was in ’84, when he was touring with Rhoads’ replacement, Jake E. Lee, on the Bark at the Moon Tour. … Continue reading That time Ozzy Osbourne told me that he wasn’t “a f***ing warlock” trying to turn people into satanists
By Steve Newton When I interviewed Jeck Beck back in January of 2001, just before the release of his You Had It Coming album, I asked the world’s greatest living rock guitarist if the 2000 Grammy nomination for a track from his previous album, Who Else!, meant anything to him. In typically modest Beck style he … Continue reading That time Jeff Beck told me that Grammys mean nothing to him–especially when he loses to Santana
By Steve Newton Back in 2016 I interviewed bass-guitar superstar Tal Wilkenfeld on the phone before going to see her gig at the Biltmore Cabaret in Vancouver–which was wicked, by the way. What a band she’s got! At one point in the conversation I asked Tal–realizing that she’d already accomplished a helluva lot for someone … Continue reading That time I asked bass goddess Tal Wilkenfeld what her career highlight was and she thought about it really…really…hard
By Steve Newton This is probly the last audio excerpt I’ll post from my 2007 interview with legendary Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi. Maybe one day I’ll just post the whole damn conversation–and the one from 1984 as well. You’ll have to keep checking back to find out, I suppose. Anyway, this excerpt I thought was … Continue reading That time Tony Iommi told me about the “loon” who wanted to stab him onstage at a Black Sabbath show
By Steve Newton I’ve been on a bit of an Allman Brothers bender of late. It started a while back when Gregg had to cancel some shows due to a “serious illness”. He’s feeling much better now, I’ve heard, but I still wanted to send good thoughts while continuously cranking out the four-CD Dreams box … Continue reading Duane Allman and Berry Oakley’s motorcycle deaths couldn’t keep the Midnight Rider off his bike
By Steve Newton Ritchie Blackmore is one of my favourite guitarists of all time. As a 15-year-old when Machine Head was released in 1972, I could barely comprehend how great his guitar solo on “Highway Star” made me feel. Over and over again. Two years later he did it again with the lead break on “Burn”. … Continue reading That time Graham Bonnet told me that Ritchie Blackmore isn’t moody at all, just a nice, shy guy
By Steve Newton Bass players don’t get much more special than Donald “Duck” Dunn. As a session musician for Stax Records, Dunn brought the bottom end on scores of legendary tracks, including gems like Otis Redding’s “Respect”, Sam & Dave’s “Hold On, I’m Comin’”, and Albert King’s “Born Under a Bad Sign”. He was also the bassist … Continue reading That time Duck Dunn told me that Clapton was the best all-around guitarist he ever worked with
