ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 18, 2003 By Steve Newton Many guitarists can pinpoint a moment in their youth when they knew they were destined for a life in music. For blues-rocker Coco Montoya it happened in 1969, at the Shrine Auditorium in L.A. He’d gone there to see Creedence Clearwater Revival and Iron Butterfly, but … Continue reading Coco Montoya was transformed by the sheer soul of Alberts Collins and King
Last year Concrete Blonde released a CD that reunited the original lineup of Johnette Napolitano, James Mankey, and Harry Rushakoff.
There’s [Ritchie’s] famous reputation for sacking Rainbow’s musicians, but no one ever got sacked for doing a good job, you know what I mean?
The Ramones have come a long way since their ear-bustin’ brand of music first helped kick-start the late-’70s punk-rock craze.
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 1, 2002 By Steve Newton Seventies hard-rockers Mountain didn’t waste any time in getting famous. The band—best known for the lineup of guitarist and vocalist Leslie West, drummer Corky Laing, keyboardist Steve Knight, and bassist-vocalist Felix Pappalardi (who was shot dead by his wife in ’83)—played its first gig at L.A.’s … Continue reading Leslie West recalls Woodstock and his band Mountain’s old warmup act, Black Sabbath
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 3, 2003 By Steve Newton When the Yardbirds were recording their new Birdland CD for the guitar-oriented Favored Nations label, they made sure to feature company prez Steve Vai on the remake of their 1966 hit, “Shapes of Things”. The quintet also encouraged such six-string stalwarts as Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, Steve … Continue reading Guitar heroes help the Yardbirds fly again with Birdland
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 21, 2003 By Steve Newton If you liked catchy, hook-infested pop-rock back in 1979, there’s a good chance you tapped a toe or two to Joe Jackson’s debut album, Look Sharp!. From the cynical hit single “Is She Really Going Out With Him?” to the postpunk rave-up “Got the Time”, the … Continue reading Joe Jackson thinks about 10 percent of music is really good stuff
photo by Markus Hagner ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 16, 2015 By Steve Newton Savoy Brown was one of the top British blues-rock acts of the early seventies, making a mark with such albums as Raw Sienna (1970), Looking In (’70), Street Corner Talking (’71), and Hellbound Train (’72). For some reason the band was off my … Continue reading Savoy Brown guitarist Kim Simmonds always comes back to the Les Paul
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 25, 2003 By Steve Newton There’s a real buzz happening right now about Kings of Leon, a scruffy Tennessee quartet consisting of three brothers and a cousin who are winning praise for their garage-y brand of Southern-flavoured guitar rock. England’s prestigious NME put the band on the cover of its July … Continue reading Interviewing Nathan Followill of Kings of Leon just before they took the throne
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 15, 1985 By Steve Newton Metallica are the type of band that puts the “heavy” in heavy metal. Actually, drummer Lars Ulrich–who called me from L.A. last week–prefers to call his band’s music “speed metal” or “thrash metal”. Their sound crew are known as “The Sonic Decapitation Team”, and local metal … Continue reading My first Metallica interview, back when they were too heavy for me
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 26, 2001 By Steve Newton When Yes guitarist Steve Howe calls from Reno, Nevada, it’s not to brag about how well he’s been doing at the blackjack tables. Although he and his bandmates—vocalist Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, and drummer Alan White—have been holed up in the gambling mecca for two … Continue reading Yes guitarist Steve Howe says Chet Atkins was–and is–his number one
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT. 31, 2002 By Steve Newton Trying to reach blues legend B.B. King at his Arkansas hotel takes some doing. Even when you have the phone number of the hotel, the room he’s in, and a predetermined time to call, you can’t argue with a busy signal. After 30 minutes of trying, … Continue reading B.B. King says that Eric Clapton was like his girlfriend on Riding With the King
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 20, 2000 By Steve Newton Since barging onto the North American music scene in 1986 with the double-platinum Strong Persuader album, Robert Cray has proven himself a formidable purveyor of guitar-drenched blues and soul. And with five Grammy Awards to his credit—including one for his latest CD, Take Your Shoes Off—the … Continue reading Robert Cray on playing with Albert Collins, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, and Stevie Ray at his final gig
