ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 18, 1997 By Steve Newton There were a lot of things that sucked the biggie in the world of music this year. From a local angle, the major disappointment was the continued vacancy of the once-fabulous Commodore Ballroom. Nationally, the lack of a new studio album from the … Continue reading Newt’s Top 10 albums of 1997
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 12, 2002 By Steve Newton My fave recorded music this year, as listed below, ranges from garage-y, instrumental prog-metal to fingerstyle acoustic-guitar wizardry, from improvisatory jam bands to North Mississippi hill-country blues. Everything involves guitars; I still haven’t come to grips with how a turntable can be anything … Continue reading Newt’s Top 10 albums of 2002
By Steve Newton In a few hours I’m heading out to see Louisiana slide-guitar ace Sonny Landreth play a gig in Vancouver. If you’re a fan of Sonny, you may know that his latest album, Bound By the Blues, features a tribute to one of his musical heroes, Johnny Winter, called “Firebird Blues”. You may also … Continue reading Sonny Landreth says he’s sure Johnny Winter will make it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame one day
By Steve Newton Finally got around to watching the 2014 documentary Super Duper Alice Cooper for the first time the other night, and it was awesome: except for the part where they refused to even mention the name “Michael Bruce”. For the uninitiated, Bruce was the rhythm guitarist for the Alice Cooper Band during its first … Continue reading Michael Bruce’s deletion from Super Duper Alice Cooper is a bloody travesty
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 15, 2016 By Steve Newton When Sonny Landreth connects his glass slide to the strings of his Strat, there’s always a good chance a blues-drenched tone will emerge—perhaps blended with zydeco strains befitting the guitarist’s home state of Louisiana. A blues freak since day one, Landreth composed a love letter to … Continue reading Sonny Landreth on first hearing Johnny Winter: “Holy shit, man, this is awesome!”
Will Bernard may be one of the best guitarists you’ve never heard of, but they sure know about him down in San Francisco.
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 3, 1986 By Steve Newton Heavy metal veteran Ronnie James Dio played his own game of Dungeons & Dragons at the Pacific Coliseum last Saturday (December 28)–and 5,000 or so of his young fans came out winners. The show started when curtains surrounding the stage were pulled to reveal a 60-by-40-foot … Continue reading Dio brings medieval fantasy and better-than-Ozzy vocals to Vancouver, Yngwie just shows off
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 15, 1983 By Steve Newton Next Wednesday (July 20) at the Pacific Coliseum original Heepsters Mick Box and Lee Kerslake on guitar and drums will be joined by bassist Trevor Bolder, keyboardist John Sinclair, and singer Peter Goalby to give us Uriah Heep ’80s-style. Performing material from their new album Head … Continue reading Even the kids in Def Leppard can’t make Uriah Heep feel old
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 21, 1987 By Steve Newton Old rockers never die, they just play guitar for David Bowie. At least, that’s what Peter Frampton was doing at B.C. Place last Saturday. But Frampton and Bowie actually go back a long way–all the way back to the art school they used to attend in … Continue reading David Bowie’s Glass Spider tour helps Frampton come alive again
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 6, 1985 By Steve Newton Charlie Daniels once wrote a tune called “Long Haired Country Boy” in which he sang: “If you don’t like the way I’m livin’, you just leave this long haired country boy alone.” That line pretty well sums up the attitude of Maritime rocker Matt Minglewood–over the … Continue reading Matt Minglewood on baring his soul to MacLean and MacLean and going country on Me and the Boys
mila geran photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 20, 1985 By Steve Newton Shortly before his death, somebody asked Jimi Hendrix if he knew of any up-and-coming guitarists to watch out for. One of the players Hendrix mentioned was Billy Gibbons. Sixteen years later, Gibbons is living up to Jimi’s expectations. At the moment, his guitar … Continue reading Billy Gibbons gets rude ‘n’ bluesy in Vancouver on ZZ Top’s Afterburner Tour
kirk west photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 27, 1985 By Steve Newton Musician Magazine calls him “the most powerful blues guitarist in the world.” He has won awards from the Montreaux Jazz Festival, the French Academie du Jazz, and the Memphis Blues Foundation, and received three Grammy nominations. He is known as “The Icepicker”, “The … Continue reading My one and only interview with blues legend Albert Collins, who wanted to meet Clapton real bad
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 21, 2002 By Steve Newton Joe Satriani named his latest CD Strange Beautiful Music, although the music on it isn’t much stranger or more beautiful than what the Bay Area guitar wizard has been conjuring over the past few years. The story behind the title has more to do with another … Continue reading Joe Satriani’s Strange Beautiful Music grew from a cathartic Hendrix experience
