ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 23, 1990 By Steve Newton When Swedish guitar whiz Yngwie Malmsteen burst onto the hard-rock scene in ’84 with the Rising Force album, he took a lot of people by surprise—and it wasn’t just his funny name (pronounced “Ing-vay”) that did it. Malmsteen was a classically influenced speed-demon, … Continue reading Album review: Yngwie Malmsteen, Eclipse (1990)
kirk west photo By Steve Newton If you’re a dedicated fan of the Allman Brothers Band, you no doubt own a copy of their historic 1971 live album, At Fillmore East. Of course, that double disc was highlighted by the amazing slide-guitar talents of Duane Allman, who died in a motorcycle crash three months after its … Continue reading That time I asked Dickey Betts if it was tough picking tunes for the Allman Brothers’ live album of ’92
By Steve Newton I’ve seen Iron Maiden in concert most every time they’ve played Vancouver since 1982, the year I interviewed original drummer Clive Burr, who sadly succumbed to multiple sclerosis in 2013 at the age of 56. In ’83 I did another Maiden interview, this time with singer Bruce Dickinson, before the band played Vancouver … Continue reading That time I asked 24-year-old Bruce Dickinson why Maiden had replaced Clive Burr with new drummer Nicko McBrain
shoulda got Roy’s autograph when I had the chance ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON FEB. 14, 1986 By Steve Newton There were some people who felt that Roy Buchanan played way too loud and not nearly enough at the Town Pump last Monday (February 10). Then there were others–like myself–who could care less about such things as … Continue reading Roy Buchanan lets his soul scream in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 6, 1986 By Steve Newton What do you get when you combine the guitarist from Streetheart, the bassist from Headpins, the keyboardist from Sharp Edges, the drummer from the Bryan Adams band, and the lead singer from Cold Chisel? Well, with a little time, you get a pretty … Continue reading Jimmy Barnes goes solo with Canadian connection after Cold Chisel hits its peak
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 31, 2017 By Steve Newton The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is notorious for taking forever to induct bands that almost everyone but the institution’s voting members thinks are overdue for entry. There was much frustration among rock fans—especially of the Canuck persuasion—when the mighty Rush kept getting shunned, … Continue reading Yes guitarist Steve Howe on playing at 70 and the tragedy of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, APRIL 25, 1986 By Steve Newton He calls himself Little Bastard on his album productions credits, and after meeting John Cougar Mellencamp backstage before last week’s (April 16) Coliseum show, I half-understood why. He’s not a bastard. On the contrary he seemed like a very nice fellow, all smiles … Continue reading John Cougar Mellencamp may be little but he’s no bastard on the Scarecrow Tour in Vancouver
By Steve Newton Since 1982 I’ve been chatting with famous rock stars and collecting the interviews on cheap cassette tapes. Even now I refuse to use a digital recording device, as most of my more intrepid colleagues do. Like Joe Walsh, I’m an analog man, I guess. Lucky for me, most of those ancient cassettes … Continue reading That time Stevie Ray Vaughan sang me a couple of lines from one of Jimi Hendrix’s fave tunes
By Steve Newton When Uli Jon Roth called me up in 2016 to promote his Ultimate Guitar Experience show in Vancouver, we ended up chatting about some of the other guitar tours he’s been on, like the G3 European Tour back in 1998, when he shared the stage with Joe Satriani and Michael Schenker, who … Continue reading That time Uli Jon Roth told me that Yngwie Malmsteen was “one of the alltime greats”, but that he wasn’t impressed by speed
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 2, 1984 By Steve Newton Sitting on a park bench, eyeing little girls with bad intent Snot running down his nose, greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes Hey Aqualung Longtime fans of Jethro Tull will recall the above lyrics from the unsavoury tale of a corrupt degenerate named Aqualung. That tune, with … Continue reading Ian Anderson goes solo while keeping Jethro Tull intact
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 21, 1987 By Steve Newton Old rockers never die, they just play guitar for David Bowie. At least, that’s what Peter Frampton was doing at B.C. Place last Saturday. But Frampton and Bowie actually go back a long way–all the way back to the art school they used to attend in … Continue reading David Bowie’s Glass Spider tour helps Frampton come alive again
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 7, 1991 By Steve Newton “Where do you get your ideas from?” Horror director Wes Craven must have heard that question a thousand times. It seems that everybody wants to know how he came up with the character of Freddy Kreuger, or how he was able to withstand … Continue reading Terror titan Wes Craven on the horrors of family and being cast in the role of the scary guy
By Steve Newton It’s a sunny Saturday afternoon and I’m not quite up to mowing the lawn yet, so I figure I’ll just post another audio excerpt from my one-and-only conversation with American guitar legend Link Wray. It’s from just over 20 years ago–June 21, 1997, to be precise–when Link was in Dallas, on a … Continue reading That time I asked Link Wray if he’d sign the Ear of Newt guitar
