ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, MARCH 28, 2007 By Steve Newton A few days before attending last Friday’s (March 23) Eric Clapton/Robert Cray show, I came across a timely TV broadcast of Taylor Hackford’s 1986 concert documentary, Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock ‘N’ Roll. Both Clapton and Cray are featured in it, the former performing the … Continue reading Eric Clapton gets shown up by Doyle Bramhall II in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, OCT. 28, 2004 By Steve Newton Much has been made of the Sam & Dave controversy in regard to American hard-rock legends Van Halen. There are those who scoff at the idea of the band existing without original vocalist David Lee Roth, while others feel that his replacement, Sammy Hagar, has … Continue reading Van Halen still brings the dynamite in both hands
By Steve Newton I’ve interviewed a lot of incredible bluesmen over the years, including Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert King, Albert Collins, and Roy Buchanan. But far and away the nicest was B.B. King. Famed Vancouver punk-rock photographer Bev Davies snapped this shot of me ‘n’ B.B. in his hotel room at the Plazazz Showroom in … Continue reading B.B. King: The nicest bluesman I ever met
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 25, 2013 By Steve Newton When a veteran rocker calls in the midst of doing a major North American tour, it’s pretty common for him to use terms like amazing and awesome in response to the journalist’s tried-and-true icebreaker: “So, how’s the tour going?” But when Jason Newsted rings in from … Continue reading Ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted says that, with his new band, you work twice as hard for half as much
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 11, 1983 By Steve Newton Eddie Van Halen calls him “fantastic”. Gary Moore says “he’s frightening. He’s definitely dangerous and getting better all the time.” Carlos Santana gives him “more credit than anyone for just pure expression in soloing.” Journey’s Neil Schon says: “If you play guitar and ever think you’re … Continue reading Guitar phenom Allan Holdsworth says he’s not impressed by flash
bev davies photo By Steve Newton On January 21, 1984, B.B. King was in the midst of a two-week stand at the Plazazz Showroom in North Vancouver, and I got the thrill of my blues-loving life when I sat down with him in his hotel room and asked him a bunch of questions. Some of … Continue reading B.B. King plays Vancouver in 1984, Newt gets the scoop (and a photo)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 5, 2008 By Steve Newton It’s been 17 years since the grunge revolution blasted full-throttle out of Seattle, but Chris Cornell remembers it well. As the frontman for Soundgarden, Cornell was a chief architect of the genre, which formed as a backlash to the stagnating commercial rock of the day. “At … Continue reading Chris Cornell on the rise of grunge and the job of the rock icon
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 26, 2004 By Steve Newton Hugh Dillon turned a few heads when he laid his popular guitar-rock band, the Headstones, to rest last year. The Toronto-based outfit had been making well-received music for a decade, but that didn’t stop the singer, songwriter, and guitarist–also noted for his acting work in films … Continue reading Hugh Dillon lays Headstones to rest and puts his faith in the Redemption Choir
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 5, 1993 By Steve Newton Whatever happened to Steve Hackett? Good question. Considering how visible all four of his former bandmates in Genesis have been, Hackett has been conspicuously absent from the music scene. Or at least it seems that way here in North America. But in actual fact, the 43-year-old … Continue reading Steve Hackett says that everyone he’s ever played with in Genesis has managed to write at least one incredible song
When I hook up with former Drive-By Truckers guitarist-vocalist Jason Isbell, he and his band are trying to escape from Manhattan.
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, MARCH 14, 2007 By Steve Newton When Black Sabbath came to town last Sunday (March 11)—calling itself Heaven and Hell, I guess, to make sure no one expected Ozzy Osbourne to dodder onto the stage—it was the quartet’s first public performance in 14 years. More importantly, it was the group’s first … Continue reading Megadeth blows Black Sabbath (“Heaven and Hell”) off the stage with its unbridled energy
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 7, 2007 By Steve Newton It’s somewhat ironic that Black Sabbath‘s 1978 album was titled Never Say Die, because that disc actually signaled the end of the group’s original lineup. After eight albums with Ozzy Osbourne on vocals, the metal pioneers gave him the boot, replacing him with Ronnie James Dio. … Continue reading Tony Iommi on Heaven and Hell and how Frank Zappa always loved his “Supernaut” riff
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 29, 2006 By Steve Newton As the story goes, Jerry Garcia had only been experimenting on pedal-steel guitar for two weeks when he played it on Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s 1970 hit “Teach Your Children”. Garcia’s licks resulted in the most widely heard pedal-steel performance ever, but that doesn’t mean … Continue reading Buddy Cage says it was easy filling Jerry Garcia’s shoes on pedal-steel in New Riders of the Purple Sage
