ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 6, 1992 By Steve Newton Used to be that whenever you saw Kim Mitchell’s name on an album’s liner notes the name of his lyricist, Pye Dubois, would be right there beside it. But Dubois’ moniker is nowhere to be found on Mitchell’s latest release, Aural Fixations. Seems the long-time songwriting … Continue reading Kim Mitchell hits 40 and just keeps getting wet with life
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 23, 1992 By Steve Newton Every long-time Allman Brothers fan has a favourite tune by the influential Southern rock band. Some folks tend towards the bluesy slide-guitar riff of “One Way Out”, some go hog-wild when they hear the cascading guitar intro to the band’s biggest hit, “Ramblin’ Man”, and still … Continue reading Dickey Betts figures the Allman Brothers transcend generations
I’ve been reminiscing a lot lately about rock stuff that happened 30 years ago. I recently posted interviews originally published back in ’83 with such still-active artists as British guitar phenomenon Allan Holdsworth and legendary Aussie earbusters AC/DC. Then I started thinking about maybe doing a list of my fave rock albums from 30 years back, … Continue reading Ear of Newt’s Top 30 Rock Albums of 1973
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 30, 1995 By Steve Newton If you happened to see the Beatles Anthology series on the tube last week, you’re probably aware that the Fab Four quit touring in 1966 and became just a recording act. That move worked out alright for them—but it probably wouldn’t suit Hamilton, Ontario, rockers Junkhouse. … Continue reading Junkhouse’s Tom Wilson believes there’s a Birthday Boy in all of us
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 2, 1992 By Steve Newton If you were a fan of southern rock back in the days of vinyl, chances are you owned a couple of discs with the Capricorn label on them. With an early ’70s roster that included the Allman Brothers, the Marshall Tucker Band, Wet Willie, Elvin Bishop, … Continue reading Widespread Panic finds a home on Phil Walden’s resurrected Capricorn label
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 16, 1992 By Steve Newton Few guitarists have had to deal with the kind of expectations put on Jake E. Lee when he took over Randy Rhoads’ guitar spot in the Ozzy Osbourne band. Rhoads’ tragic death in a 1982 plane crash stunned the rock world and didn’t make things easy … Continue reading Badlands’ Jake E. Lee says that hearing Eddie Van Halen got him back into playing hard rock again
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 31, 1995 By Steve Newton Some guys have it tough, and then there’s Colin James. When it came time to record his fourth album, the local blues-rocker didn’t hole up in any ice-encased northern studio. James ended up down in the Bahamas, poor guy. But it wasn’t like he went there … Continue reading Colin James took some funky pills for his new Bad Habits
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON FEB. 6, 1992 By Steve Newton When I mentioned I was going to be interviewing Joan Jett, one of my well-informed fellow workers said, “Well, be sure to ask her about the sect in California that worships her as a god.” So, when J.J. called from Minneapolis—in advance of her Saturday (February … Continue reading Worshipped as a god, Joan Jett just likes seeing fans smile
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 17, 1993 By Steve Newton When I first heard the title of the debut Bash & Pop release, Friday Night Is Killing Me, I figured it was something I could relate to a bit, since I’d had a few rough Friday nights in my own lifetime—not to mention Saturday mornings. But … Continue reading Bash & Pop’s Tommy Stinson stole plenty from Paul Westerberg
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 22, 1993 By Steve Newton Guitar World magazine called him “the world’s greatest unknown guitarist”. Guitar Player ran his photo on the cover with his face behind a mask, while inside they asked: “What famous guitarist could outplay him?” So how come virtuoso guitarman Danny Gatton is so underexposed? “Well, there’s … Continue reading Guitar god Danny Gatton says Lenny Breau is the biggest humbler of all time
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 17, 1991 By Steve Newton So what’s a devoted rock critic to do when one of the genre’s most potent acts hits town for two back-to-back, sold-out shows? Does he pick one night and hope to hell it’s the best one? Not likely. He checks ’em both out, of course. Talk … Continue reading In the metal realm, it doesn’t get any better than AC/DC live
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 1, 1993 By Steve Newton A lot of bands know how to play to a crowd, but not many bands know how to be played by a crowd. Vermont’s Phish is one of the latter. Band members came up with the idea of throwing beach balls out into the audience—each one … Continue reading Mike Gordon says Phish is happy with the current situation
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 2, 1989 By Steve Newton Back in the late ’70s, one of this scribbler’s favourite pastimes was throwing Cheap Trick’s In Color album on the turntable and cranking ‘er up. The band’s thoroughly rockin’ power-pop was just the right brain lube between heavy bouts of exam cramming. At … Continue reading Cheap Trick hooks up with Mötley Crüe members to play AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” in Vancouver
