ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 7, 2002 By Steve Newton Throughout the classic 1960 blues album Muddy Waters at Newport—which fans of the late legend should note was recently released on CD in remastered form, with bonus studio tracks—a young James Cotton can be heard blowing some serious harp at the Newport Jazz Festival. At one … Continue reading James Cotton on blowing harp for Muddy Waters at Newport Jazz Festival
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 18, 2003 By Steve Newton A lot of bands that were big in the ’80s are now having trouble getting booked into bowling alleys, but Def Leppard’s not one of them. The British melodic-rock quintet—which hit its commercial peak in 1987 with Hysteria, which has sold 16 million units worldwide—is still … Continue reading “Our hair was no bigger than Zeppelin or Sabbath,” declares Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 6, 2001 By Steve Newton A lot of musicians catch the music bug early on in life, though usually not as early as 18-year-old blues guitarist Jordan Cook. After he was born, the first thing Cook heard on a regular basis was the sound of his dad taking blues-guitar lessons. “It … Continue reading My interview with 18-year-old Jordan Cook, long before he ruled as Reignwolf
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 5, 2002 By Steve Newton Rush’s latest CD, Vapor Trails, may be its best recording ever, and since the Canuck prog-rock trio now has 17 studio releases to its credit, that’s saying something. But the album would never have been made if drummer-lyricist Neil Peart hadn’t had the inner strength to … Continue reading Geddy Lee on Neil Peart’s personal struggles, shaping his lyrics, and loving Rush
By Steve Newton On March 17, 1990, Aerosmith played the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. At the time the band was still putting out pretty decent albums; six months earlier it had released Pump, which boasted rockin’ numbers like “Monkey on My Back”, “Young Lust”, and “The Other Side”. This was before it sold out for … Continue reading Steven Tyler screeches like a budgie from hell as Aerosmith rocks Vancouver on the Pump tour
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 14, 2002 By Steve Newton Charlie Musselwhite was just 13 years old when he started playing harmonica, the instrument that he’d wield so well while staking out his place in the blues world. He was living in Memphis at the time, which was a good location to be for any youngster … Continue reading Charlie Musselwhite knew that playing the blues in Chicago was better than doing factory work
kevin statham photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 5, 1990 By Steve Newton When it comes to combining the finer elements of horror and hard rock, Alice Cooper rules. For more than 20 years the King of Nasty Rock has been sating his lust for the macabre and love of heavy music while wreaking havoc on … Continue reading Alice Cooper tours with Trash, talks songwriting, horror, and ’70s rock
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 30, 2001 By Steve Newton On the cover of his latest CD, former Allman Brothers guitarist Dickey Betts is pictured standing in the entranceway of his Florida home, surrounded by his six bandmates, a small dog leaning against his denim-clad leg. The 57-year-old southern-rock hero looks contented in his snakeskin boots … Continue reading Dickey Betts says “a dirty little business deal” got him kicked out of the Allmans
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MAY 17, 2001 By Steve Newton Hordes of rock guitarists have been influenced by Jimi Hendrix, but only a few would claim that he was influenced by them. According to Guitar Shorty’s latest bio, in the ’60s Hendrix would go AWOL from the U.S. Army in order to catch … Continue reading Guitar Shorty says Jimi Hendrix used to go AWOL to catch his gigs
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 7, 1995 By Steve Newton Sometimes it seems as if there are two kinds of people in the world: David Lee Roth folks and Sammy Hagar folks. Dave folks are kind of a wild bunch—they prefer their music with a raw edge, full of primitive, howling vocals and finger-numbing guitar solos. … Continue reading Alex Van Halen on Hagar and Roth, the magic of Eddie, and finding Balance with Bruce Fairbairn
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 26, 2001 By Steve Newton There are three things that are inevitable in this world: death, taxes, and a ringing in your ears after seeing AC/DC. As I write this review, it’s been two hours since the Aussie rockers left the Coliseum stage in a flurry of golden confetti, and the … Continue reading Malcolm Young calls Powerage his favourite AC/DC album backstage in Vancouver
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 JULY 19, 2001 By Steve Newton Rock stars don’t always call on time. Sometimes they don’t even call at all. And it’s a rare occasion when they actually call early. So when Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen rings up from Phoenix a good 10 minutes before our scheduled interview time, I’m caught … Continue reading Rick Nielsen calls early to talk Cheap Trick and Vancouver’s “cannabis people”
