ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 15, 1989 By Steve Newton Joe Satriani is the ultimate hero for air guitarists. When he burst on to the mainstream recording scene with the all-instrumental Surfing With the Alien last year, his high-voltage attack had people everywhere going, “What the hell is that?” Not since Eddie Van Halen’s appearance had … Continue reading Album review: Joe Satriani, Flying in a Blue Dream (1989)
By Steve Newton Buddy Guy is one of the most influential guitar players of all time, having been a major inspiration for the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, and Jeff Beck. When I did my first interview with Guy, back in August of 1991, he had just released his album Damn … Continue reading That time I asked Buddy Guy why he was such a huge influence on Clapton and Beck
By Steve Newton Where were you when you first heard Stevie Ray Vaughan‘s killer guitar playing on David Bowie’s 1983 hit single, “Let’s Dance”? It was definitely the type of thing that caught your ear, because you sure as shit didn’t hear much Albert King-style soloing on commercial radio up until that point. According to … Continue reading Eric Clapton stopped the car when he heard Stevie Ray Vaughan’s guitar solo on “Let’s Dance”
kirk west photo By Steve Newton The spirit of southern rock was alive and well when I was a music-crazed teenager in the seventies. Skynyrd, Hatchet, Blackfoot, Outlaws, Allmans: I ate it up. Then the eighties came along and the sound of the south took a nosedive, popularity-wise. But back in the early ’90s the … Continue reading That time I asked Warren Haynes if the spirit of southern rock was alive and well in 1994
By Steve Newton Back in December of 1991 I wrote a lengthy article on Vancouver producer Bob Rock, best known for his work with Metallica, and one of the Big Three of Vancouver hard-rock producers (along with fellow Little Mountain Sound-men Bruce Fairbairn and Mike Fraser). While putting the story together I gave Fairbairn a … Continue reading That time I asked famed producer Bruce Fairbairn what he thought of famed producer Bob Rock
By Steve Newton Yesterday I went and dug up the old cassette with my first Buddy Guy interview on it, the one from 1991, because I wanted to digitize it for my Patreon page. Cool thing was, I noticed that the interview before it on the tape was the one I did the previous month … Continue reading That time Dickey Betts asked me to mention all the guys in the Allmans, including the “piece of dynamite”
By Steve Newton Way the funk back in 1985 I did my one and only interview with Doc Neeson, frontman for Angel City, who were known as the Angels in their native Australia. I thought Angel City were an awesome band. They put out an album called Face to Face that–with killer tracks like “Take … Continue reading That time I asked Doc Neeson if the Angels/Angel City were inspired by their longtime friends AC/DC
Back in August of ’87 I interviewed Peter Frampton, who at the time was playing guitar with David Bowie on the Glass Spider tour.
By Steve Newton Back in June of 1981 Blue Öyster Cult released it’s eight studio album, Fire of Unknown Origin, and I immediately snapped it up, just like I’d done with their previous nine discs (including the two live albums). I’d been absolutely crazy about B.O.C. ever since I’d bought Tyranny and Mutation because of … Continue reading God bless Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser’s guitar solo on Blue Öyster Cult’s “Burnin’ For You”
By Steve Newton I wouldn’t say that the Allman Brothers were as great, back in 1994, as they were when Duane was in the band, but holy crap were they still a smokin’ hot band! A lot of that smoke was conjured up by Warren Haynes, who Dickey Betts brought with him when the band … Continue reading That time I asked Warren Haynes how long he thought the Allman Brothers might stay together
By Steve Newton There some tunes that just grab you by the heart with their simple beauty and honesty and, if you’re lucky, maybe a wailing Les Paul guitar. “Soulshine” is one of ’em. When I interviewed Allman Brothers guitarist Warren Haynes for the first time, a quarter-century ago, the band was touring behind its … Continue reading That time Warren Haynes told me that his Allman Brothers song “Soulshine” was inspired by his dad
By Steve Newton I did my one and only interview with Danny Gatton, “the world’s greatest unknown guitarist”, back in 1993, just before the release of his Cruisin’ Deuces album. Tragically, he took his own life the following year. A close friend said he thought Gatton had suffered from depression for over two decades. He … Continue reading That time I asked Telecaster master Danny Gatton if he liked playing slide with beer bottles
By Steve Newton Machine Head still rules. 20. “And the Address” (Shades of Deep Purple, 1968) 19. “Flight of the Rat” (Deep Purple in Rock, 1970) 18. “Lay Down, Stay Down” (Burn, 1974) 17. “Gypsy” (Stormbringer, 1974) 16. “Wring that Neck” (The Book of Taliesyn, 1968) 15. “Hush” (Shades of Deep Purple, 1968) 14. “Soldier … Continue reading Deep Purple’s 20 best songs, from wicked to freakin’ awesome
