By Steve Newton Back in 1990 I did my first interview with J.J. Cale, who you may recall is one of the wickedest damn songwriters and guitar players that the United States of America has ever produced. A couple of years earlier there was a TV commercial for Michelob beer in heavy rotation, featuring Cale’s … Continue reading That time I asked J.J. Cale if he’d bought anything nice with his Clapton money
By Steve Newton Back in the seventies, Rick Derringer was one of my top rock heroes. I mean, come on, the guy wrote “Still Alive and Well”. He played on 1971’s Johnny Winter And Live. He produced the Edgar Winter Group’s They Only Come Out at Night (my intro to Ronnie Montrose) in ’72. He played … Continue reading That time Rick Derringer told me that one of the favourite solos he ever played was for Air Supply
By Steve Newton Google “100 greatest guitarists” these days and what shows up at the top is a total joke. It’s the high ‘n’ mighty Rolling Stone‘s list of the so-called finest, posted from 2015. And man does it suck. But what do you expect from the same bozos who oversee the Rock and Roll … Continue reading Rolling Stone can piss right off: here’s the 100 Greatest Guitarists (that I’ve interviewed) and 50 that I haven’t (yet)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT. 3, 1991 By Steve Newton If you were ever a big fan of the Blues Brothers, chances are you appreciate a few chuckles tossed in with your listening. Blues Traveler singer/harmonica player John Popper certainly does. In fact, it was his love of comedy that first got him started on the … Continue reading Blues Traveler’s John Popper went from the Blues Brothers to Paul Butterfield to Elmore James to Hendrix
By Steve Newton “Livin’ on Tulsa time Livin’ on Tulsa time Well, you know I’ve been through it When I set my watch back to it Livin’ on Tulsa time” Eric Clapton recorded the Don Williams song “Tulsa Time” on his 1978 Backless album, and liked it so much he recorded a live version for his Just … Continue reading That time I asked J.J. Cale what it was like growing up in Tulsa
david bastedo photo By Steve Newton Here’s an audio excerpt from the last of the five interviews I did with Tragically Hip singer Gord Downie, back in October of 1996. At the time the Hip was touring behind its fifth full-length album, Trouble at the Henhouse, and were by far the biggest band in Canada. … Continue reading That time Gord Downie got all “cunty” when I picked his scab about the Hip’s perplexing lack of success in the States
By Steve Newton When I interviewed Allman Brothers guitarist Dickey Betts back in July of 1991, the band had just released its Shades of Two Worlds album, its second to feature the amazing Warren Haynes as a fully-fledged member. As on the previous year’s Seven Turns album, Betts and Haynes had written or cowritten the vast majority … Continue reading That time Dickey Betts told me about Gregg Allman’s writer’s block
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 31, 1989 By Steve Newton Southern rock. The raw bite of the blues tempered by a free-wheelin’, down-home country feel. Gruff, unencumbered vocals and soaring, twin lead guitars. Songs about ramblin’ men, poison whiskey, and Saturday night specials. You have no choice: ya gotta like it. Unfortunately, in … Continue reading Dickey Betts ponders an Allman Brothers reunion and wonders what Duane would think of the music scene in 1989
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 26, 1987 By Steve Newton Talk about moving up in the world! It was a little more than a year ago that New Jersey rockers Bon Jovi played the now-defunct Embassy on Davie. They were in town recording their Slippery When Wet album, and they wanted to see … Continue reading Jon Bon Jovi talks strippers, scenery, and hype as Slippery When Wet tops the charts
By Steve Newton As we enter a new year I find myself thinking: “Man, there aren’t many singer-songwriters like Warren Zevon around anymore.” That dude was one of a kind, that’s for sure. In my 35-plus years of interviewing musicians, chatting with him has gotta be in my Top 10. Too bad I only got … Continue reading That time Warren Zevon told me that “Werewolves of London” wasn’t as big a hit as people think
By Steve Newton I was a big Emerson, Lake & Palmer fan back in the day. Actually, I was mostly a big Brain Salad Surgery fan back in the day, that day being sometime back in 1973. I didn’t own a lot of other ELP albums, mainly because I was too busy buying albums with … Continue reading That time Greg Lake told me that what attracted diehard Emerson, Lake & Palmer fans to the band was “music”
By Steve Newton Back in 1986 I interviewed Metallica’s James Hetfield in his messy Vancouver hotel room. The band had just hired Jason Newsted, who had beaten out a barrage of hopefuls for the prized role of bassist, taking over from the deceased Cliff Burton. At one point Hetfield explained how Metallica had found Newsted, how … Continue reading That time 23-year-old James Hetfield told me that Metallica’s new bassist was “fairly goofy”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 25, 1993 By Steve Newton Ever since Wayne’s World came out, I’ve been considering legal action against writer/star Mike Myers. You know that scene where Wayne and Garth are driving around with their buddies in a purple Pinto, singing along and banging their heads to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”? Well, I think … Continue reading Queen guitarist Brian May doesn’t have much interest in doing “virtuoso stuff”
