By Steve Newton June 18, 1987 was kind of an interesting day as far as my endless adventures in rock journalism go. That was the day I interviewed Little Steven--who was promoting his highly political Freedom--No Compromise album--just minutes after interviewing Jon Bon Jovi--who was promoting his highly non-political Slippery When Wet album. They're both … Continue reading That time I said hello to Little Steven from Jon Bon Jovi and then things got political
That time J.J. Cale told me that, like Eric Clapton, Lynyrd Skynyrd also helped his bank account
By Steve Newton Lynyrd Skynyrd's Second Helping was released the day after my 17th birthday, so the timing was right for it to become one of the major soundtracks to my rock-loving '70s existence. I didn't mind its smash-hit lead-off single, "Sweet Home Alabama", but I liked its rollicking closing track, "Call Me the Breeze", … Continue reading That time J.J. Cale told me that, like Eric Clapton, Lynyrd Skynyrd also helped his bank account
That time I asked Steve Vai how it was different playing with David Coverdale than David Lee Roth
By Steve Newton When I did my first interview with Steve Vai in 1990 he had just released his solo album Passion and Warfare, but at the time was also a member of David Coverdale's hugely popular Whitesnake. A year earlier Vai had left David Lee Roth's equally successful band, so when I called him up I … Continue reading That time I asked Steve Vai how it was different playing with David Coverdale than David Lee Roth
That time 26-year-old Stevie Salas told me about opening for Joe Satriani on the Blue Dream tour
By Steve Newton Way the funk back in June of 1990 I interviewed singer-songwriter and kick-ass guitarist Stevie Salas, who at the time was promoting his Stevie Salas Colorcode album, which I liked enough to put on my Top 10 list that year. "Hendrix meets Funkadelic in the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ practice space," was … Continue reading That time 26-year-old Stevie Salas told me about opening for Joe Satriani on the Blue Dream tour
God bless Snowy White’s guitar licks on his live version of Peter Green’s “Slabo Day”
By Steve Newton I first heard Snowy White when he became the coguitarist in one of my favourite all-time bands, Thin Lizzy. He shared the six-string duties with Scott Gorham on the early-'80s albums Chinatown and Renegade, which weren't my fave Lizzy discs. And I'd actually preferred the guitar-work of previous Lizzy pickers Gary Moore, … Continue reading God bless Snowy White’s guitar licks on his live version of Peter Green’s “Slabo Day”
That time Jake E. Lee of Badlands told me that hearing Van Halen got him back into hard rock
By Steve Newton Millions of rock fans around the world were mesmerized by Van Halen's sheer rockingness when it blasted onto the music scene in the late seventies. And Jake E. Lee was mightily impressed as well. When I interviewed Lee back in 1992 before a Badlands show in Vancouver we got to talking about … Continue reading That time Jake E. Lee of Badlands told me that hearing Van Halen got him back into hard rock
That time Stevie Ray Vaughan told me about his love of sixties blues
By Steve Newton Stevie Ray Vaughan wrote (and co-wrote) some damn fine songs, but he didn't mind covering somebody else's tunes either. When I did my second interview with him in 1990 his latest album was In Step, which included covers of sixties blues tunes by Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy, and Willie Dixon. When I … Continue reading That time Stevie Ray Vaughan told me about his love of sixties blues
That time Alex Van Halen told me that Sammy Hagar was almost Van Halen’s first singer
By Steve Newton Everybody knows that David Lee Roth was Van Halen's first singer. But not everybody knows that he almost wasn't Van Halen's first singer. At least that's the "little dirt" that Alex Van Halen dished up for me when I interviewed him back in 1995. Have a listen: To hear my full 21-minute … Continue reading That time Alex Van Halen told me that Sammy Hagar was almost Van Halen’s first singer
That time Joe Bonamassa complained to me about Rolling Stone’s ranking of Robert Johnson on its 100 Greatest Guitarists list
By Steve Newton I did the second of my three interviews with American blues-rock guitar virtuoso Joe Bonamassa in December of 2011, when he was touring behind his Dust Bowl album. Shortly before our chat Rolling Stone had published its 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time list, so we spent some time ridiculing that, and … Continue reading That time Joe Bonamassa complained to me about Rolling Stone’s ranking of Robert Johnson on its 100 Greatest Guitarists list
That time Tommy Emmanuel told me about first meeting Chet Atkins, and looking after Lenny Breau
By Steve Newton Tommy Emmanuel is a stunning guitarist; maybe the most amazing acoustic player I've ever seen live. I interviewed the Aussie picker back in May of 1994 when he was headed to Vancouver for gigs at the big Music West festival. His latest album at the time was The Journey, which featured a performance … Continue reading That time Tommy Emmanuel told me about first meeting Chet Atkins, and looking after Lenny Breau
That time Rob Baker told me that when Paul Langlois joined the Hip he only knew four or five chords
By Steve Newton I did my last Tragically Hip interview in June of 1997, a month after the band had released its concert album Live Between Us. Lead guitarist Rob Baker (I still called him Bobby back then) rang me up from his home in Kingston, and we talked about the live disc and the … Continue reading That time Rob Baker told me that when Paul Langlois joined the Hip he only knew four or five chords
That time John Petrucci told me that the members of Dream Theater grew up idolizing Iron Maiden
By Steve Newton When I interviewed Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci back in June of 2010 his group was opening for Iron Maiden on its Final Frontier World Tour. So when I hooked up with Petrucci before a gig near Denver, Colorado I had a lot of questions related to the connections between his band … Continue reading That time John Petrucci told me that the members of Dream Theater grew up idolizing Iron Maiden
That time Steve Vai told me that there never will be another musician like Frank Zappa
By Steve Newton I'm embarrassed to say that I don't know much about Frank Zappa's music. One day I need to sit down and absorb some of that guy's massive body of work, I reckon. What I do know is that many of the finest musicians I've interviewed over the past 40 years or so … Continue reading That time Steve Vai told me that there never will be another musician like Frank Zappa