ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JULY 8, 1988 By Steve Newton You don’t hear a lot from Leslie West these days. The under-rated guitarist has sort of faded into the distance since his two ’70s bands–Mountain and West, Bruce & Laing–called it quits. But for those who’d like to catch up on what the … Continue reading Album review: Leslie West, Theme (1988)
By Steve Newton What do you get when you gather the lead singers from Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and Free on stage at the same time? A pretty rockin’ version of the ’50s chestnut “Money (That’s What I Want)”, it appears. Robert Plant, Brian Johnson, and Paul Rodgers got together at one of Rodgers’ shows in … Continue reading Singers from Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and Free connect for a rock-god vocal summit in Oxford
By Steve Newton I did my eighth interview with Joe Satriani a couple years ago, and finally got to ask him about something that his former G3 tourmate Yngwie Malmsteen once said to me. Back in 2014 I had interviewed Yngwie in advance of his Guitar Gods show in Vancouver, and that was when he … Continue reading Joe Satriani responds to Yngwie Malmsteen’s claim that Ibanez guitars are “a bad copy” of the Strat
By Steve Newton I’ve got a lotta guitar heroes, and as a rock journalist for 35 years now, I’ve managed to interview quite a few. One of my all-time faves has to be Mick Ronson. I’ve been crazy about him since I heard my first David Bowie album, Aladdin Sane, back in April of ’73. … Continue reading That time I called up Mick Ronson and asked what he’d been doin’ the last few years
By Steve Newton Gov’t Mule is one of my favourite bands, and not just because their original music is so damn fine. Once in a while they’ll do a cover of an old blues tune that inspires me to search out previous versions, with wonderful results. Like back in 1998 when they recorded “John the … Continue reading Warren Haynes calls Blind Willie Johnson’s “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground” one of the most haunting recordings ever
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 29, 1988 By Steve Newton If you were in a rockin’, blues-based guitar band and wanted to cover a song from the Beatles’ White Album, you’d probably pick one of the heavier Lennon/McCartney tunes like “Yer Blues” or “Savoy Truffle” or “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey”, … Continue reading Georgia Satellites’ Rick Richards on covering the Beatles, meeting the Faces, and thanking Jack Daniels
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 29, 1990 By Steve Newton Playing the rock critic game can be tough, especially when you have to give the thumbs-down to bands that you’ve loved ever since you were a kid. The recent AC/DC album wasn’t up to snuff, and now another band I used to kill … Continue reading Album review: ZZ Top, Recycler (1990)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MAY 30, 2018 By Steve Newton When Joe Satriani phones from his home in the San Francisco Bay Area, he apologizes right away for being a few minutes late with the scheduled call. He explains that he was playing his guitar, composing a song, and lost track of time. That’s when it’s … Continue reading Joe Satriani on the intricacies of amplification and producer Mike Fraser’s “perfect set of ears”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 3, 1988 By Steve Newton I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I heard that Edgar Winter and Leon Russell were going to share the same stage, but I did know that I should definitely be there. I was aware that Winter was something of a wildman–prone to leaping about … Continue reading Edgar Winter and Leon Russell knock ’em down and drag ’em out in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 1, 1988 By Steve Newton Patrick Swayze may be one of the sexiest movie stars around today, but he can’t play mean blues guitar. Jeff Healey might not be your typical matinee idol, but he can play mean blues guitar–as anyone at the Town Pump will discover this weekend (July 1 … Continue reading Jeff Healey on playing a bar-band guitarist in Roadhouse and “marvellous” star Patrick Swayze
By Steve Newton If you’ve been checking out Ear of Newt much in the last couple years, you likely noticed that I really enjoy posting audio excerpts from my four interviews with Dickey Betts. As I’ve been saying all along, he’s one of my fave guitarists, but I like hearing his down-home southern drawl almost as … Continue reading That time Dickey Betts told me that he liked the Allman Brothers’ opening act, Blues Traveler, “a whole lot”
kevin statham photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 7, 1988 By Steve Newton Being a rock critic is not all fun and games. “Sure, Steve,” you’re probably saying, “all those free concerts and backstage brewskies must be real tough.” Okay, so there are worse occupations, but like anything else it can get boring. You become pretty … Continue reading Def Leppard makes a triumphant in-the-round return to Vancouver on the Hysteria tour
By Steve Newton When it comes to unheralded guitar geniuses, Danny Gatton is right up there. He’s never achieved the fame of a Clapton, Beck, or Page, but in-the-know guitar freaks realize that he’s worthy of comparison, talent-wise. I only got to interview Gatton once, back in April of 1993, before he came to Vancouver … Continue reading That time I called up Danny Gatton while he was sorting through his Roy Buchanan tapes
