By Steve Newton I’ve been getting quite a few hits lately for a blog I posted about Danny Gatton, which included an audio excerpt from the interview I did with the underrated guitar genius back in 1993. So I figured maybe it was time to treat that particular group of Ear of Newt readers–the ones … Continue reading That time Roy Buchanan told me that Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour was just a bluesman at heart
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)
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
his wish to jam with B.B. came true By Steve Newton The first time I interviewed Derek Trucks–back in March of 1998, when he was just 18–I mentioned that he’d already played with famous folks like Bob Dylan and Buddy Guy, but wondered who else he’d most like to jam with. He mentioned a couple … Continue reading That time I asked 18-year-old guitar star Derek Trucks who he’d most like to jam with
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”
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
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 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 Back in 1986 I met James Hetfield in his hotel room in Vancouver, and we talked for a bit about heavy metal, the death of Cliff Burton, new bassist Jason Newsted, and Metallica’s latest album, Master of Puppets. I’m not sure which day in ’86 the interview happened, but it was sometime … Continue reading That time I asked Metallica’s 23-year-old James Hetfield who his fave metal bands were
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 IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, APRIL 24, 1987 By Steve Newton England’s Iron Maiden is different than most other heavy metal bands in a lot of ways. For one thing, they can all play their instruments, and very well. Their songs are quite complex, and the lyrics aren’t simple-minded: there are no likes like … Continue reading Iron Maiden’s Dave Murray, age 30, says “it’s good to know we’ve got a few years to go yet”
By Steve Newton Back in 1984 I interviewed British hard-rock vocalist Graham Bonnet, who at the time was fronting a band called Alcatrazz, which boasted a hot-shot (but barely known) guitarist by the name of Yngwie Malmsteen. Two years earlier Bonnet had gotten kicked out of the Michael Schenker Group, who he recorded the 1982 … Continue reading Graham Bonnet on that infamous MSG gig of ’82: “If your pants had split down the front and your cock fell out, what would you do?”
