ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 31, 1991 By Steve Newton I’ve been a fan of Tom Cochrane’s since Red Rider’s debut album, but his new tune, “Life Is a Highway”, threw me for a loop. Its bouncy sound wasn’t what I expected from the steely hero of Canadian heartland rock, and at first … Continue reading Tom Cochrane talks Mad Mad World just before “Highway” hits it huge
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 23, 1997 By Steve Newton It’s hard for me to pick one all-time favourite rock band or rock album, but when it comes to my all-time fave song, that’s easy: Blue Öyster Cult’s “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”. I suppose it helps that, when that propulsive ode to the afterlife was released … Continue reading Blue Öyster Cult’s Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser on the origins of “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 23, 1999 By Steve Newton Apart from an arena show with Rod Stewart in the ’80s, it had been nearly 25 years since fans of Jeff Beck last saw him play here, so the anticipatory vibe that surged through the Queen E around 9 p.m. last Saturday (September … Continue reading Jeff Beck’s astonishing Vancouver show crushes the myth that Clapton is God
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 23, 1995 By Steve Newton Ever wonder what happened to the Aussie Invasion? Back in the early- to mid-’80s it seemed as if a band wasn’t on top unless it was from Down Under. Two-hit wonders Men at Work kick-started the worldwide interest in the music of koala country in ’82 … Continue reading Aussie songwriting great Paul Kelly hits 40 and treads into Deeper Water
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 26, 1996 By Steve Newton What is it with Vancouver residents who can’t stand the sound of music emanating from an outdoor venue? I remember how the folks living in the Hastings-and-Renfrew area used to beef about the volume of daylong rock concerts at Empire Stadium in the mid-’70s, as if … Continue reading Whiney False Creek residents put a damper on the Long John Baldry-topped Granville Island Blues Fest
mike chernoff photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 18, 1999 By Steve Newton I’ve always been mightily impressed by the Tragically Hip’s live presentation. It didn’t matter which venue I’d see them in—whether it was the wee Railway Club or sprawling T-Bird Stadium, the classic Commodore or scenic Seabird Island—I always went away … Continue reading Gordon Downie thanks Bruce Allen for making the Tragically Hip famous in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 9, 1999 By Steve Newton I’ve seen Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers perform in Vancouver four times now. The first time—one of the most memorable concert experiences of my life—was at the Commodore Ballroom in ’78, just after the release of the band’s sophomore album, You’re Gonna Get It. The second … Continue reading Mike Campbell’s instro-rock medley steals the show from Tom Petty in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN EXPERIENCE HENDRIX MAGAZINE, MAY/JUNE 1998 By Steve Newton Teenage blues-rocker Kenny Wayne Shepherd has a great story about how he got inspired to take up guitar. It has something to do with him, as a little kid, watching Stevie Ray Vaughan perform from atop one of the Texas guitar legend’s amp cases. … Continue reading Teenage slide-guitar ace Derek Trucks says his goal is not to play like Duane Allman
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 28, 1984 By Steve Newton It was a snowy and cold January afternoon in 1975 when several high school friends and I headed off to the second Vancouver appearance of an up-and-coming rock band named KISS. Almost all of us had our well-worn copy of the group’s first album and tunes … Continue reading Eric Carr claims he’s still a fox as Kiss recruits Mark St. John and unleashes Animalize
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MAY 2, 1996 By Steve Newton There are all kinds of stories about bands being threatened by lawsuits over their names, but you can add another one to the list with the case of Minneapolis power-pop trio Semisonic. They were touring Midwest clubs as Pleasure last year when, out of the blue, … Continue reading Dan Wilson’s journey from Trip Shakespeare to Pleasure to Semisonic led to a Great Divide
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON FEB. 29, 1996 By Steve Newton If there were such a thing as a Webster’s Dictionary of Pop Music, you could probably look up the word bittersweet and find a picture of Arizona’s Gin Blossoms nearby. Like fellow southerner Matthew Sweet and local buddies the Odds—who will tour with the Gin Blossoms … Continue reading Bittersweet Gin Blossoms encounter UFOs and Alice Cooper in their ‘hood
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 21, 1989 By Steve Newton All the acts at last Sunday’s (July 16) rock ‘n’ roll bash at B.C. Place had played Vancouver last year—Rod Stewart at the Coliseum, Tom Cochrane at the Orpheum, and Jeff Healey at the Commodore. But that didn’t stop 21,000 rock fans from shelling out big bucks to … Continue reading Rod Stewart plays Vancouver with guests Tom Cochrane and Jeff Healey, no encores allowed
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, NOV. 19, 2013 By Steve Newton Nineteen-ninety-four might not have been the greatest year for fans of rootsy, meat ‘n’ potatoes guitar-rock. Hootie and the Blowfish released their diamond-selling (10-million copies plus) Cracked Rear View album. The Barenaked Ladies were going platinum. And Yanni unleashed Live at the Acropolis. But if you were lucky enough … Continue reading Bottle Rockets reissue displays Brian Henneman’s observational eye
