ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT. 11, 1990 By Steve Newton Steve Earle’s got a headache—a real doozie. The whirlwind promotional tour that brought him to Vancouver’s Georgian Court Hotel has taken its toll, and while this scribbler waits in the lobby, Earle’s up in his room, downing aspirins to ease the pain brought on by countless … Continue reading Steve Earle on cops, bikers, jail, Ted Bundy, and The Hard Way
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JULY 25, 2013 By Steve Newton When a veteran rocker calls in the midst of doing a major North American tour, it’s pretty common for him to use terms like amazing and awesome in response to the journalist’s tried-and-true icebreaker: “So, how’s the tour going?” But when Jason Newsted rings in … Continue reading Ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted says that, with his new band, you work twice as hard for half as much
bev davies photo By Steve Newton On January 21, 1984, B.B. King was in the midst of a two-week stand at the Plazazz Showroom in North Vancouver, and I got the thrill of my blues-loving life when I sat down with him in his hotel room and asked him a bunch of questions. Some of … Continue reading B.B. King plays Vancouver in 1984, Newt gets the scoop (and a photo)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 11, 1983 By Steve Newton Eddie Van Halen calls him “fantastic”. Gary Moore says “he’s frightening. He’s definitely dangerous and getting better all the time.” Carlos Santana gives him “more credit than anyone for just pure expression in soloing.” Journey’s Neil Schon says: “If you play guitar and ever think you’re … Continue reading Guitar phenom Allan Holdsworth says he’s not impressed by flash
Oh yeah, me ‘n’ Keef. We go way back. He insisted that we touch skull rings for this photo. Okay, maybe it was my idea. When you go backstage to meet your idol JOHN FOGERTY and your buddy Ferg hogs the photo Meeting with the Alien: hangin’ with JOE SATRIANI backstage in Vancouver Backstage at … Continue reading every picture tells a story
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 20, 2006 By Steve Newton What an awesome heavy-metal band Queen used to be. What, you didn’t know Queen used to be an awesome heavy-metal band? Maybe it’s not common knowledge. It guess it helps if you were a hard rock-crazed, Circus-reading teen back in ’73 when the British quartet’s self-titled … Continue reading Headbangers and pop idols alike get blown way by Queen and Paul Rodgers in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, MARCH 28, 2007 By Steve Newton A few days before attending last Friday’s (March 23) Eric Clapton/Robert Cray show, I came across a timely TV broadcast of Taylor Hackford’s 1986 concert documentary, Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock ‘N’ Roll. Both Clapton and Cray are featured in it, the former performing the … Continue reading Eric Clapton gets shown up by Doyle Bramhall II in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, NOV. 18, 2004 By Steve Newton Has the Tragically Hip finally lost its standing as Canada’s top rock band? There’s little doubt that Kingston, Ontario’s favourite sons have been on a downward slide, popularity-wise, for the last few years. Back in ’96, the group came close to selling out the Pacific … Continue reading There’s not a band in the land that can touch the Hip in concert
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, MARCH 14, 2007 By Steve Newton When Black Sabbath came to town last Sunday (March 11)—calling itself Heaven and Hell, I guess, to make sure no one expected Ozzy Osbourne to dodder onto the stage—it was the quartet’s first public performance in 14 years. More importantly, it was the group’s first … Continue reading Megadeth blows Black Sabbath (“Heaven and Hell”) off the stage with its unbridled energy
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 28, 2005 By Steve Newton Most rock bands from the ’70s aren’t making waves on the sales charts these days, but not every musician who thrived 30 years ago has been barred from Billboard in recent years. Edgar Winter had the chorus from his 1971 song “Dying to Live” used in … Continue reading Edgar Winter strives to break down senseless musical barriers
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, DEC. 14, 2011 By Steve Newton When blues-guitar great Hubert Sumlin passed away on December 4 at the age of 80, it didn’t take long for the condolences and accolades to hit cyberspace. Within hours, ace picker Joe Bonamassa had tweeted his heartfelt sentiments, saying what a huge effect the “extraordinary” … Continue reading That time Joe Bonamassa told me to give Jann Wenner a good bashing
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON FEB. 27, 2013 By Steve Newton In the annals of underappreciated pop-rock singer-songwriters, Marshall Crenshaw is probably at the top of the chart. Some may vaguely recall him hitting the top 40 back in 1982 with the single “Someday, Someway”, but it’s quite likely that even more remember rockabilly crooner Robert Gordon’s … Continue reading Underrated Marshall Crenshaw flies under the pop radar
By Steve Newton On January 19, 1984, Black Sabbath was scheduled to play the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. The British metal legends were touring behind their new album Born Again, their first and last one to feature Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan. Also in the lineup–though not on the album–was former Electric Light Orchestra drummer Bev Bevan. The show … Continue reading Black Sabbath cancels Born Again show in Vancouver, Tony Iommi says “If I go deaf I go deaf”
