ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 10, 1989 By Steve Newton In what was surely the biggest Vancouver concert event of the ’80s, the Rolling Stones hit Vancouver for two nights last week amid a flurry of hype and much groveling for tickets. Now that Jagger and the boys have gathered up their money-bags (they play the … Continue reading The Rolling Stones deliver like legends as the Steel Wheels Tour hits Vancouver
By Steve Newton On December 9, 1984, Iron Maiden played the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver–with Twisted Sister opening up! Not only that, but the paper put my interview with the British metal legends on the front page, featuring a totally rockin’ live photo by famed Vancouver photographer Bev Davies. Maiden was touring behind its Powerslave album—the one … Continue reading Iron Maiden plays Vancouver on the Powerslave tour, Dave Murray talks to the Newt
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 25, 2002 By Steve Newton What could possibly cause any sane person to willingly abandon the balmy paradise of Hawaii for the frigid climes of Vancouver in January? Well, if you’re record producer Bob Rock, your last name is reason enough. Good old riff-riddled rock is what draws the tanned music … Continue reading Bob Rock says Metallica “never have and never will sell out”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE CALGARY STRAIGHT, DEC. 6, 2001 By Steve Newton If you want to know how well Nickelback lead vocalist, guitarist, and lyricist Chad Kroeger’s musical career is going, you only need look as far as the 27-year-old rocker’s Langley home. He just put in a hot tub. And had the pool enlarged. … Continue reading Even Ted Nugent wants to get backstage to meet Nickelback as Silver Side Up storms the charts
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 27, 2000 By Steve Newton Powerman 5000’s current record-company bio opens with a quote from vocalist Spider One, in which he explains that “being in a band is as close as I could get to being a superhero.” Now, I’ve seen a lot of bands, but never any that were capable—U2’s … Continue reading Rob Zombie’s kid brother Spider One is Powerman 5000’s superhero
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 3, 1989 By Steve Newton The day afer the San Francisco earthquake, Hoodoo Gurus guitarist Brad Shepherd called me from Oxford, Mississippi. His band was scheduled to play the city by the bay in two weeks, and he wasn’t even sure if the venue they were booked into was still standing. Although … Continue reading The Hoodoo Gurus’ Brad Shepherd talks Aussie rock and Magnum Cum Louder
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MAY 25, 2000 By Steve Newton Last February, Edmonton guitar-rockers the smalls found a unique way to celebrate their 10 years together: they kicked off a month-long European tour with a few dates in that popular wintertime destination, Bosnia-Herzegovina. When bassist-songwriter Corby Lund calls from outside of Winnipeg with the claim that … Continue reading After scary times in Bosnia the smalls set their sights on Texas
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON FEB. 8, 2001 By Steve Newton True to its name, Southern Culture on the Skids has always endeavoured to promote the stereotypical lifestyles of the culturally challenged dwellers in the former Confederate states. On previous CDs like Dirt Track Date and Plastic Seat Sweat, the North Carolina roots-rockers told tales of backwoods … Continue reading Southern Culture on the Skids’ Rick Miller loves Link Wray and Danelectros
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 15, 1991 By Steve Newton 13 Engines once played a gig in Memphis to a total of two people, which is less of a crowd than most bands get at rehearsals. But the Toronto foursome did a heckuva lot better than that at the Town Pump last week (August 7), pulling … Continue reading 13 Engines are runaway locomotives at the Town Pump in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT. 12, 1984 By Steve Newton “It’s good fun coming up into Canada,” says Fixx vocalist Cy Curnin, who called from Ottawa last week. “You notice a difference moving from America to Canada, in that the audiences are really refreshing up here. They seem to listen a lot more, and at the … Continue reading The Fixx’s Cy Curnin talks Rupert Hine, Tina Turner, and fear-driven censorship in 1984
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 2, 2000 By Steve Newton If, like me, you’re a Kim Mitchell fan from way back, you may have been wondering just where the hell he’s been lately. I mean, he hasn’t played Vancouver in nine years, whereas in the ’80s he’d show up regularly to be a wild party and … Continue reading Kim Mitchell on the re-rise and re-fall of Max Webster
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 6, 2000 By Steve Newton It’s a bit weird coming from a small town that has the same name as a popular ’70s rock band. When you admit to having been born and bred in Chilliwack, there’s always some joker who’ll wonder aloud, “Hey, isn’t that where that ‘Crazy Talk’ band … Continue reading Bill Henderson says Chilliwack ripped off its name for the First Nations vibe
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 26, 1990 By Steve Newton As far as arena spectacles go, Sunday’s (July 22) Stevie Ray Vaughan/Joe Cocker double-bill was pretty lame. No huge banks of lights, fancy lasers, or explosions. But there didn’t need to be. Those who laid down bucks for the Coliseum show got their money back in … Continue reading Stevie Ray Vaughan says “it’s good to be alive with you” at his final Vancouver show, five weeks before the crash
