ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 23, 1992 By Steve Newton When he was a headline-making member of the infamous Sex Pistols, John Lydon went to extremes to make sure people either loved or hated his grating, nihilistic Johnny Rotten persona. And, according to Blind Melon vocalist Shannon Hoon, Lydon hasn’t given up his … Continue reading Blind Melon’s Shannon Hoon defines success as making it last
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 25, 1997 By Steve Newton On the cover of his Grammy-nominated Alien Love Secrets CD, Steve Vai strikes a pose while covered in metallic-blue body paint. He’s got his hands over his face and is peering out from between fingers that are so long, you’d think one of those multilimbed creatures … Continue reading Steve Vai on his long fingers, long feet, long arms, and…“you know”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON FEB. 26, 1998 By Steve Newton When the conference-call operator connects me with Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, I’m expecting to be hooked up with the guy in America’s centre of loud music, Los Angeles. But it turns out the snarling metal man has settled down with his family—which includes a three-week-old daughter … Continue reading Dave Mustaine calls out today’s trendy jackasses on Megadeth’s Cryptic Writings
@shotbykevin ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 22, 1996 By Steve Newton Last July a band calling itself Red Rider—but without Tom Cochrane in the lineup—played the Commodore. Not surprisingly, the turnout was small, and not surprisingly, I wasn’t there. I’ve been a Red Rider fan since day one, but the notion of seeing … Continue reading Tom Cochrane gets his Canuck on at the Commodore in Vancouver on the Ragged Ass Road tour
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 11, 1997 By Steve Newton My reviewer’s copy of the long-overdue AC/DC box set was labelled with a warning that it was not for sale and “must be returned on demand of recording company”. Yeah, right—I’d like to see Warner Brothers just try to get this prized package back. They’d have … Continue reading Bonfire box a godsend for fans of AC/DC’s ear-bustin’ boogie blues
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 10, 1997 By Steve Newton When I heard that legendary instro-rock guitarist Link Wray was performing a few tunes and signing autographs at the Virgin Megastore last Friday afternoon (July 4), I snuck off from work early and headed down to Robson Street clutching my trusty Plexiglas-body Raven guitar and one … Continue reading Freaky ponytail action and ’60s rave-ups set the tone at Link Wray’s Vancouver riff-o-rama
1972 was a year when I got introduced to a number of bands that would become all-time faves, including Blue Oyster Cult, Mott the Hoople, and Steely Dan. And as far as live albums went, the Allman Brothers, Jimi Hendrix, the J. Geils Band, and Rory Gallagher were well represented. I wouldn’t say ’72 was … Continue reading Ear of Newt’s Top 30 Rock Albums of 1972
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 5, 1997 By Steve Newton Strolling over the Georgia Viaduct en route to GM Place last Sunday (June 1), I gazed down at the arena’s parking lot to see what kind of fancy tour buses ZZ Top is travelling in these days. I expected to see an outline … Continue reading ZZ Top snoozes through its Rhythmeen tour stop in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 20, 1984 By Steve Newton Former Max Webster guitarist/vocalist Kim Mitchell will be “going for his sodas” this Monday and Tuesday (July 23-24) at Club Soda on Homer Street. The Ontario-born rocker has just released his second solo album, Akimbo Alogo, on the newly-formed Alert Records label. He’ll be performing with the same musicians … Continue reading Kim Mitchell defends Max Webster, pledges allegiance to Pye Dubois, and storms the charts with “Go For Soda”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 10, 1992 By Steve Newton The PNE isn’t normally the type of place you’d go to save money, but Vancouver blues-rock fans who paid just $7.50 (plus fair admission) to see guitar heroes Robert Cray, Jeff Healey, and Colin James last Thursday (September 3) got themselves a heckuva good deal. They … Continue reading Guitar superstar Jeff Healey steals the six-string spotlight from Robert Cray and Colin James in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 25, 2014 By Steve Newton Yngwie Malmsteen likes to wear all black on-stage and play fast as hell on a Fender Strat through a wall of cranked Marshall amps, so you might think that Ritchie Blackmore is his hero. “Okay, let’s correct that,” says Malmsteen when I mention … Continue reading Yngwie Malmsteen puts Ritchie Blackmore rumours to rest, praises Nicolo Paganini and Uli Jon Roth
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 16, 1989 By Steve Newton By now, most every rock fan in Vancouver must be aware that many of North America’s best-selling bands–Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, and the Cult to name a few–have been making their latest chart-topping records right here in town. Little Mountain Sound on West 7th has been the … Continue reading Ex-Thin Lizzy guitarist John Sykes on Blue Murder, Bob Rock, and the Little Mountain sound
bev davies photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MAY 6, 1999 By Steve Newton I’ve seen some funny things at rock concerts over the years, but one of the funniest goes way back to 1981, when the original Motörhead opened for Ozzy Osbourne at the acoustically absurd Kerrisdale Arena. Lemmy Kilmister and the boys were in full … Continue reading Motörhead’s Lemmy Kilmister says his secret to staying alive is not dyin’
