ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 3, 1993 By Steve Newton On the way home from the Coliseum after last Sunday’s Bon Jovi show, I flicked on CFOX to hear Bruce Allen‘s talk show, Sound Off. Now, I don’t know if Allen is currently trying to wangle the job of managing the New Jersey … Continue reading Richie Sambora steals the show from Jon as Bon Jovi hits Vancouver
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”
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 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
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 5, 1993 By Steve Newton Big Country? You mean those guys from Scotland who had the guitars that sounded like bagpipes? Didn’t they have a hit song back in ’83 called “In a Big Country”? Yeah, I remember the chorus: “In a big country dreams stay with you, like a lover’s … Continue reading Big Country’s Stuart Adamson plays just what he feels
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)
By Steve Newton I’ve interviewed a lot of incredible bluesmen over the years, including Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert King, Albert Collins, and Roy Buchanan. But far and away the nicest was B.B. King. Famed Vancouver punk-rock photographer Bev Davies snapped this shot of me ‘n’ B.B. in his hotel room at the Plazazz Showroom in … Continue reading B.B. King: The nicest bluesman I ever met
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 28, 1995 By Steve Newton On the cover of Ian Moore’s 1993 self-titled debut, he is pictured hugging his worn Stratocaster, perched on a beat-up Fender amp, a drum kit and large speaker cabinet looming in the background. That simple shot of the longhaired, cowboy-booted dude set the impression of Moore … Continue reading Ian Moore’s social commentary stings like his Strat on Modernday Folklore
By Steve Newton On January 21, 1983, Canadian rock-guitar hero Pat Travers played Vancouver, opening for a Joe Perry-less Aerosmith at the Pacific Coliseum. Ear of Newt was there, of course. There was no way I was gonna miss two of my fave acts from the ’70s. Besides, it was a Friday night. I don’t remember … Continue reading Pat Travers in 1983: “I’m a good enough guitarist. We don’t need another one.”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 5, 2008 By Steve Newton It’s been 17 years since the grunge revolution blasted full-throttle out of Seattle, but Chris Cornell remembers it well. As the frontman for Soundgarden, Cornell was a chief architect of the genre, which formed as a backlash to the stagnating commercial rock of the day. “At … Continue reading Chris Cornell on the rise of grunge and the job of the rock icon
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 12, 2008 By Steve Newton When Kiss played the Commodore Ballroom back in early 1975, the band had just released its second album, Hotter Than Hell, and was about to embark on a rocket ride to untold riches and fame. Thirty-three crazy years later and KISS guitarist Ace Frehley is heading … Continue reading Ace Frehley talks smokin’ guitars, Kiss money, sex videos, and “teddy bear” Gene Simmons
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
