Braindead Rock Hall nominates Mariah Carey and Cher, snubs Johnny and Rory yet again!

By Steve Newton It looks like Newt’s Rock Hall won’t be closing down any time soon. Three months ago I posted a blog in which I stated that, once the waaaaayyyy overdue inductions of Johnny Winter and Rory Gallagher into the official Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were announced, I’d be shuttering the underground … Continue reading Braindead Rock Hall nominates Mariah Carey and Cher, snubs Johnny and Rory yet again!

Holy ’80s flashback Batman! 16 minutes on the phone with new-wave hitmaker Nik Kershaw in 1985

By Steve Newton Yesterday I went searching around in my cherished stash of interview cassettes for something really ancient to digitize before the tape itself got so old it turned to dust. I came across an interview dated April 10, 1985, with an artist named Nik Kershaw. It was recorded on a cheapo, no-name-brand cassette, … Continue reading Holy ’80s flashback Batman! 16 minutes on the phone with new-wave hitmaker Nik Kershaw in 1985

That time I asked Ozzy Osbourne if “Crazy Train” was an autobiographical song

By Steve Newton I did my first interview with Ozzy Osbourne back in June of 1982, when he was touring behind his Diary of a Madman LP. Just a few months earlier he’d lost his guitar player, the legendary Randy Rhoads, in a bizarre plane crash. At one point in the conversation I asked Ozzy … Continue reading That time I asked Ozzy Osbourne if “Crazy Train” was an autobiographical song

That time David Lee Roth told me that Van Halen’s Fair Warning album had been crucified and buried

By Steve Newton Back in 1994 I did my first interview with David Lee Roth, when he was touring behind his Nile Rodgers-produced Your Dirty Little Mouth album. At one point in the conversation I asked Dave if he was happy with how his career was going, which led him to chat about the ups … Continue reading That time David Lee Roth told me that Van Halen’s Fair Warning album had been crucified and buried

Annihilator tones down the thrash on new CD but still cranks up the heat on stage

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 6, 1993 By Steve Newton Last Saturday night (July 31) wasn’t Vancouver’s warmest evening on record, but the heat inside the Lunatic Fringe sure made you wonder. The club’s air-conditioning had broken down two nights before, so management lugged out a couple of huge fans to keep the temperature down, but … Continue reading Annihilator tones down the thrash on new CD but still cranks up the heat on stage

That time John Fogerty told me that dobro player Jerry Douglas was his favourite musician in all the world

By Steve Newton Back in August of 1997 I did my first interview with John Fogerty, and boy was I psyched about talking to that guy. He’s the ultimate triple-threat musician, if you ask me, because I don’t think there’s anyone who can sing, play guitar, and write songs quite as well as John Fogerty … Continue reading That time John Fogerty told me that dobro player Jerry Douglas was his favourite musician in all the world

That time Blue Murder’s John Sykes told me that Phil Lynott took him under his wing in Thin Lizzy

By Steve Newton I interviewed John Sykes back in May of 1989, one month after the release of the self-titled debut album by Blue Murder, the power trio he put together with bassist Tony Franklin and drummer Carmine Appice. At one point in the conversation I asked the former Tygers of Pan Tang and Whitesnake … Continue reading That time Blue Murder’s John Sykes told me that Phil Lynott took him under his wing in Thin Lizzy

That time Wang Chung’s Nick Feldman told me about recording the soundtrack for William Friedkin’s latest film, To Live and Die in L.A.

By Steve Newton I interviewed Nick Feldman of Wang Chung in March of 1987, the day after the British pop band played the 86 Street Music Hall in Vancouver. I mainly wanted to chat with him because I loved the soundtrack Wang Chung did for the 1985 William Friedkin thriller, To Live and Die in … Continue reading That time Wang Chung’s Nick Feldman told me about recording the soundtrack for William Friedkin’s latest film, To Live and Die in L.A.

That time I asked Steve Earle if he thought the United States would ever live down the invasion of Iraq

By Steve Newton I’ve interviewed Steve Earle six times between 1987 and 2012, because I think he’s one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all time. The last time I chatted with him he was touring behind his 14th studio album, I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive, which included the song “Little Emperor”, a … Continue reading That time I asked Steve Earle if he thought the United States would ever live down the invasion of Iraq

That time I asked Lars Ulrich about backstage passes for Metallica and, unlike Ronnie James Dio, he kinda blew me off

By Steve Newton Back in May of 1989 I did the second of my four interviews with Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. At the time he was in Nagoya, Japan, on the band’s Damaged Justice Tour, which was due to hit Vancouver in a couple of weeks. Three years earlier I’d taken my 16-year-old nephew Jeff … Continue reading That time I asked Lars Ulrich about backstage passes for Metallica and, unlike Ronnie James Dio, he kinda blew me off

That time Kim Mitchell described guitar wanking by comparing Joe Satriani to Eddie Van Halen

By Steve Newton I did my fourth interview with Canadian rock-guitar great Kim Mitchell back in July of 1992, when he was touring behind his Aural Fixations album. He’d hired a new batch of musicians to accompany him–because Tom Cochrane had lured some of his regular band members away–and while he was describing how the … Continue reading That time Kim Mitchell described guitar wanking by comparing Joe Satriani to Eddie Van Halen

That time Rob Halford told me that Judas Priest’s new Defenders of the Faith LP was almost platinum in the States

By Steve Newton I did the first of my five interviews with Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford back in May of 1984. He called me up before a gig in Portland, Oregon, while the band was touring behind its ninth studio album, Defenders of the Faith. At one point in the conversation I mentioned that … Continue reading That time Rob Halford told me that Judas Priest’s new Defenders of the Faith LP was almost platinum in the States

That time I got Jeff Beck to sign the world’s best photo of the world’s greatest rock guitarist

paul little photo By Steve Newton Way back in the spring of 1982, fresh out of UBC, I got hired part-time as a proofreader at the Georgia Straight, a weekly Vancouver newspaper. At the time the paper was a real shambles, barely hangin’ on, but eventually I got hired full-time as a typesetter, listings editor, … Continue reading That time I got Jeff Beck to sign the world’s best photo of the world’s greatest rock guitarist