By Steve Newton Lynyrd Skynyrd was one of my fave bands in the seventies, but I never got to see them live with Ronnie, to my infinite regret. I did get to see them for the first time in Vancouver back in ’97 on the Legends Tour, and that was cool because the lineup at … Continue reading That time I asked Rickey Medlocke about rejoining Lynyrd Skynyrd–and why he’d left in the first place
By Steve Newton Way back in December of 1983 I did an interview with Mike Rutherford, who at the time was the guitarist-bassist in Genesis, joined by singer-drummer Phil Collins and keyboardist Tony Banks. Two months earlier the band had released a self-titled album that was a huge success, spawning the hits “Mama”, “That’s All”, … Continue reading That time I asked Mike Rutherford about the biggest highlights of Genesis’ career
By Steve Newton Buddy Guy is one of my favourite old-school blues guitarists, right up there with Albert King, B.B. King, and Albert Collins. I’ve been fortunate enough to have interviewed him five times, and seen him perform live many more times than that. I did my first interview with Buddy in August of ’91, … Continue reading That time Buddy Guy told me how badly he wanted Stevie Ray Vaughan’s photo on his album cover
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 18, 1987 By Steve Newton “If you grew up in the ’70s you liked Aerosmith.” That’s what Peter Buck of R.E.M. wrote in the liner notes to his band’s version of Aerosmith’s “Toys in the Attic,” and Buck knows of which he speaks. With albums like Get Your … Continue reading Album review: Aerosmith, Permanent Vacation (1987)
By Steve Newton Way the hell back in 1989 I did an interview with Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach. That was less than a month after the release of the band’s self-titled debut album, which would go on to sell five-million copies and spawn the hits “Youth Gone Wild”, “18 and Life”, and “I Remember You”. … Continue reading That time 20-year-old Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach sang me a line from his Schooner beer commercial
If you look up “badass female guitarist” in the dictionary, you might see a picture of Poison Ivy from the Cramps.
By Steve Newton Way the hell back in November of 1985 I interviewed Mick Mars at his Vancouver hotel before a show on Mötley Crüe‘s Theatre of Pain tour. I was quite the little metalhead back then, and I liked my tunes with a bit of bite, so at one point in the conversation I … Continue reading That time I asked Mick Mars if Mötley Crüe were softening on Theatre of Pain, then told him that I liked their debut album best
By Steve Newton As far as seeing concerts goes, I’ve been very lucky to have been situated in Vancouver since the early ’80s. It’s a major stopping point for bands touring North America–just a quick scoot across the border from Seattle–and being a music writer meant most of the shows were free. Only a few … Continue reading That time Tommy Aldridge told me that he “wasn’t a fan” of Brian Downey’s drum parts with Thin Lizzy
By Steve Newton There were a lot of rumours circulating back in 2018–some started by yours truly–about AC/DC making a new album in Vancouver with Mike Fraser. And those rumours were proven true with the release in November 2020 of Power Up. The band’s previous album, 2014’s Rock or Bust, was the first one not … Continue reading That time Mike Fraser told me what it was like recording AC/DC without Malcolm Young
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 1, 1989 By Steve Newton You’ve gotta like a band like the Georgia Satellites–they know what they do best, and the just keep doin’ it. On their first two albums they made pulverizing boogie-blues their one-and-only forte, and on their excellent third album they’ve not only kept the faith–they’ve become better … Continue reading Album review: Georgia Satellites, In the Land of Salvation and Sin (1989)
By Steve Newton I was just listening to an old interview I did with Lemmy Kilmister back in 2002 and came upon a bit where he talks about being a roadie for Jimi Hendrix back in the day. Having never seen Hendrix in concert myself, I had to ask Lemmy if he was really as … Continue reading That time Lemmy from Motörhead told me that Jimi Hendrix was “the best you’ll ever have”
Robert Johnson was tight with “Honeyboy” Edwards By Steve Newton I’m pretty sure that David “Honeyboy” Edwards was the oldest musician I’ve ever interviewed. He was 87 in March of 2003 when I called him up in Chicago to get the scoop on his early days with Mississippi Delta blues legends like Big Joe Williams, … Continue reading That time I asked “Honeyboy” Edwards if he thought that his friend Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads
By Steve Newton Here’s an interesting tidbit from the first interview I did with Buddy Guy, back in 1991. At one point in the conversation I asked Buddy about this story in his record-company bio about the time he was starving in Chicago and Muddy Waters “force-fed him salami sandwiches”. Have a listen: To hear … Continue reading That time Buddy Guy told me about Muddy Waters bringing him sandwiches when he was hungry
