18-year-old Kenny Wayne Shepherd recalls being seven and watching Stevie Ray Vaughan from Stevie’s amp case

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 28, 1995 By Steve Newton If a longhaired, bearded, beer-bellied guy in a teal Precidia pulls up next to you on a rain-soaked Vancouver street, there’s a good chance it’ll be me. And if the unmistakable strains of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s guitar are escaping the vehicle’s minute confines, you’ll know it’s … Continue reading 18-year-old Kenny Wayne Shepherd recalls being seven and watching Stevie Ray Vaughan from Stevie’s amp case

That time I asked Leslie West about the awesome cowbell on Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen”

By Steve Newton Check out this snapshot of five teenagers on summer vacation in the mid-’70s: That’s me and some buddies from Chilliwack Senior High School, class of 1975, one our way up to the annual piss-up-and-puke-off in the interior of British Columbia, Canada. (I’m the geeky one with the fingers in my face, if … Continue reading That time I asked Leslie West about the awesome cowbell on Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen”

That time Ronnie James Dio told me what he really thought of Ritchie Blackmore and Yngwie Malmsteen as guitarists

By Steve Newton Back in 1985 I did my only interview with Ronnie James Dio, who was headed to Vancouver on the Sacred Heart Tour, with Yngwie Malmsteen‘s Rising Force opening up. At one point in the conversation the legendary heavy-metal crooner compared the guitar-playing abilities of his former bandmate Ritchie Blackmore to those of … Continue reading That time Ronnie James Dio told me what he really thought of Ritchie Blackmore and Yngwie Malmsteen as guitarists

That time I asked Def Leppard guitarist Steve Clark what he liked so much about Gibsons

By Steve Newton My nephew Jeff has been letting me borrow his Gibson Les Paul Standard for a while now, and, holy crap, is that one killer instrument! You wouldn’t have gotten an argument about that from Def Leppard guitarist Steve Clark, who used Gibson guitars to craft some of the band’s finest riffs before … Continue reading That time I asked Def Leppard guitarist Steve Clark what he liked so much about Gibsons

The Rainmakers bring a Tornado of rockingly righteous sounds to Vancouver

chris cameron photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 29, 1988 By Steve Newton It didn’t have quite the flat-out crash ‘n’ burn effect of Aerosmith’s show five nights earlier, but the Rainmakers’ gig at the 86 Street Music Hall last Monday (January 25) did sport a fair amount of energy–most of it coming from the stage, and not the small … Continue reading The Rainmakers bring a Tornado of rockingly righteous sounds to Vancouver

That time Gary Moore told me how he scored Peter Green’s ’59 Les Paul

By Steve Newton Gary Moore has been one of my fave guitarists ever since I heard him with Thin Lizzy back in the seventies. I then closely followed his hard-rock/metal solo career in the ’80s, before he got the blues bigtime in 1990. I was fortunate enough to have interviewed the legendary picker once, back in … Continue reading That time Gary Moore told me how he scored Peter Green’s ’59 Les Paul

That time J. Geils told me that his first love was jazz and he wanted to be a white Miles Davis

By Steve Newton As a teenager in the seventies, I absolutely loved the J. Geils Band. I first got turned onto them through the “Live” Full House album of ’72, which was just a smokin’ concert disc. I was crazy about their versions of old R&B/blues numbers like “First I Look at the Purse” and “Homework”, … Continue reading That time J. Geils told me that his first love was jazz and he wanted to be a white Miles Davis

Nick Feldman on how Wang Chung gave William Friedkin’s To Live and Die in L.A. a deeper dimension

“[William Friedkin] approached us and said ‘Just read the script, go into the studio for a week, and be brilliant. Be spontaneous.'”

Billy Idol humps the stage and Steve Stevens’ guitars rage as the Whiplash Smile tour hits Vancouver

chris cameron photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MAY 22, 1987 By Steve Newton When Billy Idol kept stalling and stalling the release of his latest LP, Whiplash Smile, there was some real danger that the man’s popularity–which had reached great heights after the release of 1983’s Rebel Yell–was beginning to run its course. When a star with so … Continue reading Billy Idol humps the stage and Steve Stevens’ guitars rage as the Whiplash Smile tour hits Vancouver

That time Albert King tried telling me that he wrote “As the Years Go Passing By”

By Steve Newton As a blues fan I’ve been extremely lucky to have interviewed some of the genre’s greatest talents, including B.B. King, Albert Collins, Roy Buchanan, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Buddy Guy. But I was particularly thrilled when I got to chat with Albert King, back in 1990, two years before “The Velvet Bulldozer” … Continue reading That time Albert King tried telling me that he wrote “As the Years Go Passing By”

That time I asked Warren Zevon if it was more difficult to compose film scores than to make albums

By Steve Newton As I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, one of the coolest dudes I’ve ever interviewed was Warren Zevon. He was just so damn nice. And smart. And Warren freakin’ Zevon. I talked to him back in ’92 when he was touring with the Odds as his backup band, promoting a fine album called … Continue reading That time I asked Warren Zevon if it was more difficult to compose film scores than to make albums

That time Roy Buchanan told me that Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour was just a bluesman at heart

By Steve Newton I’ve been getting quite a few hits lately for a blog I posted about Danny Gatton, which included an audio excerpt from the interview I did with the underrated guitar genius back in 1993. So I figured maybe it was time to treat that particular group of Ear of Newt readers–the ones … Continue reading That time Roy Buchanan told me that Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour was just a bluesman at heart

That time Gord Downie told me his original lyrics for the Tragically Hip’s “Ahead By a Century”

By Steve Newton In October of 1996 I did my fifth and final interview with the Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie, which became a main source for my 2018 coffee-table book on him. At one point during the lengthy conversation I brought up “Ahead By a Century”, the band’s highest-charting single, off their ’96 Trouble … Continue reading That time Gord Downie told me his original lyrics for the Tragically Hip’s “Ahead By a Century”