ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 9, 1982 By Steve Newton Talk about ugly. These guys make the New York Dolls look like the kids on Leave It To Beaver! Well, maybe they aren’t that bad. Anyway, their music sure isn’t ugly. It’s beautiful, in fact. That is, if you’re into energetic, hook-filled boogie. Music for the … Continue reading Album review: Mötley Crüe: Too Fast For Love (1982)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 4, 1982 By Steve Newton The cover art of Scorpions‘ new album Blackout is really quite shocking. Created by Austrian painter Gottfried Helnwein, it shows a mustachioed young man with his head completely bandaged and two steel forks protruding from the white cloth at his temples, curling menacingly into his eyes. The … Continue reading Album review: Scorpions, Blackout (1982)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 29, 1988 By Steve Newton Prior to Aerosmith‘s local appearance last week, I’d seen the Boston band in concert three times, including a show on the massive Rocks tour that saw them headlining over Jeff Beck at the Kingdome in Seattle. Each time before, they had performed more raggedly than singer Steven … Continue reading Aerosmith is reborn as a killer live act on the Permanent Vacation tour
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 18, 1999 By Steve Newton Vince Converse is one of those up-and-coming guitar slingers you read about in guitar magazines, a simmering talent just waiting to explode onto the music scene. He’s also the kind of player Fender likes to have as an endorsee. I guess that means … Continue reading Stratman Vince Converse just likes to hang out in bars and play blues for women
kirk west photo By Steve Newton As I’ve said before on my other posts about Dickey Betts, I just like hearing the dude’s voice. If you do too, here’s another audio excerpt from my interview with the guitar legend from July of 1992, which–for those who struggle with the math–was over a quarter-century ago. At … Continue reading That time I asked Dickey Betts why the Allmans weren’t playing “Ramblin’ Man” live in ’92
By Steve Newton Interviewing amazing guitar players is one of my favourite things to do, and Yes guitarist Steve Howe has always been one of the best in my books. I’ve chatted with him three times, in 1998, 2001, and then 2017, before the latest version of Yes played Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Steve’s always … Continue reading Yes guitarist Steve Howe says that the respect he has for classical musicians is above all others
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 14, 1991 By Steve Newton First it was Johnny Cougar, then John Cougar, then John Cougar Mellencamp, and now John Mellencamp. On his next album he’ll probably just be John. But that’s okay, ’cause names aren’t important when your music’s as brilliant as it is on Whenever … Continue reading Album review: John Mellencamp, Whenever We Wanted (1991)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 11, 1987 By Steve Newton Remember that neat movie from 1970, The Magic Christian, which starred Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr and was a cutting farce on the lengths people would go to to get money? And remember that film’s nifty theme song, “Come and Get It”, which sounded like the Beatles but … Continue reading Badfinger’s Joey Molland on working with the Beatles and dealing with the fallout of suicide
By Steve Newton I interviewed guitar legend Steve Howe for the third time in 2017, in advance of a Yes show at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver. Near the end of the conversation I asked the 70-year-old fretmaster who he’d been listening to in his spare time, which led to him naming some of his … Continue reading Steve Howe lists his favourite guitarists, calls Steve Morse “phenomenal!”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 23, 1990 By Steve Newton When Swedish guitar whiz Yngwie Malmsteen burst onto the hard-rock scene in ’84 with the Rising Force album, he took a lot of people by surprise—and it wasn’t just his funny name (pronounced “Ing-vay”) that did it. Malmsteen was a classically influenced speed-demon, … Continue reading Album review: Yngwie Malmsteen, Eclipse (1990)
kirk west photo By Steve Newton Warren Haynes is one of my alltime favourite guitarists, singers, and songwriters, so any chance I get to interview him I take. I’ve chatted with him five times for stories on Gov’t Mule, and once–back in 1994–when he was speaking as a member of the fabled Allman Brothers Band. … Continue reading Warren Haynes says he’s open to playing with former Allman Brothers bandmate Dickey Betts again
By Steve Newton Allman Brothers Band fans (and guitar freaks in general) seem to really enjoy the audio excerpts I’ve been posting from my four interviews with Dickey Betts over the years, so here’s another one. Back in July of ’92 I did my third interview with Dickey, after the band had released its live album … Continue reading That time Dickey Betts told me that the Allman Brothers transcend generations
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 18, 1987 By Steve Newton Seeing Pink Floyd live is a luxury that every rock fan should allow him or herself at least once. Yours truly took advantage of the opportunity to do just that last Thursday (December 10), along with about 44,000 other lucky dogs at B.C. Place. It was my first Floydian experience, and … Continue reading David Gilmour shines like crazy as Pink Floyd blows Vancouver away on its A Momentary Lapse of Reason tour
