That time Bob Rock told me that “the dreaded David Foster album” was the nail in the coffin for the Payola$

By Steve Newton Back in 1991 I interviewed famed Vancouver producer Bob Rock, who at the time was flying high, coming off the production work on Metallica‘s multiplatinum Black Album. At one point in the conversation I mentioned Blue Murder, whose self-titled debut album Rock had produced two years earlier, but which was not a … Continue reading That time Bob Rock told me that “the dreaded David Foster album” was the nail in the coffin for the Payola$

That time I asked Sonny Landreth what first got him into slide guitar

By Steve Newton I’ve interviewed Louisiana slide-guitar master Sonny Landreth four times between 1995 and 2016. This is the first time, when I called him up in Sacramento, California, where he was touring as the opening act for Chicago blues great Buddy Guy. Landreth was promoting his fourth studio album, South of I-10, which features a photo on … Continue reading That time I asked Sonny Landreth what first got him into slide guitar

That time Sonny Landreth told me about Mark Knopfler and Chet Atkins taking him to breakfast at a Cracker Barrel in Nashville

By Steve Newton I’ve interviewed Louisiana slide-guitar master Sonny Landreth four times, because he’s just awesome. This is the first time, when I called him up in Sacramento, California, where he was touring as the opening act for Chicago blues great Buddy Guy. Landreth was promoting his fourth studio album, South of I-10, which featured … Continue reading That time Sonny Landreth told me about Mark Knopfler and Chet Atkins taking him to breakfast at a Cracker Barrel in Nashville

That time I asked Gary Louris of the Jayhawks how their tour was goin’ opening for Tom Petty

By Steve Newton I interviewed Jayhawks singer-guitarist and co-songwriter Gary Louris back in April of 1995, when his band was promoting its fourth studio album, Tomorrow the Green Grass. At the time the group was opening for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on the Dogs With Wings Tour, so of course I had to ask … Continue reading That time I asked Gary Louris of the Jayhawks how their tour was goin’ opening for Tom Petty

10 minutes on the phone with Aerosmith’s Joe Perry in 1988

By Steve Newton Aerosmith released their first five albums while I was teenager, so I freakin’ loved Aerosmith. I played a lotta air guitar to Joe Perry‘s licks back in the day, so it was a kick to interview him for the first time in January of 1988, after the Permanent Vacation LP came out. … Continue reading 10 minutes on the phone with Aerosmith’s Joe Perry in 1988

10 minutes on the phone with 21-year-old Devin Townsend in 1993

By Steve Newton I interviewed Devin Townsend for the second time in September of 1993, shortly after he’d hooked up with Steve Vai and they’d recorded Vai’s Sex & Religion album. He was 21 at the time, and has since gone on to become one of the most acclaimed and prolific metal musicians in the … Continue reading 10 minutes on the phone with 21-year-old Devin Townsend in 1993

Jeff Golub follows in the footsteps of Jeff Beck and Ronnie Wood playing guitar with Rod Stewart

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 28, 1989 By Steve Newton I didn’t get it as first. When Alfie from Penta Records told me to call the Four Seasons Hotel and ask for Stanley Tools, the joke name went right past me. And I also couldn’t figure out why Jeff Golub–solo artist and current Rod Stewart guitarist–needed … Continue reading Jeff Golub follows in the footsteps of Jeff Beck and Ronnie Wood playing guitar with Rod Stewart

10 minutes on the phone with Steve Hackett from Genesis in 1993

By Steve Newton I did my first interview with Steve Hackett in October of 1993, when he called me from upstate New York while touring behind his tenth solo album, Guitar Noir. I’d always loved his work with Genesis in the seventies, especially on albums like Selling England By the Pound. Early on in the … Continue reading 10 minutes on the phone with Steve Hackett from Genesis in 1993

That time John Cougar told me that the high he gets from writing good songs is better than sex–and heroin

By Steve Newton I interviewed John Mellencamp for the first time back in May of 1983, when he was still called John Cougar. He was touring behind his latest album, American Fool, but for some reason the Vancouver show got cancelled and the interview I did with him in advance never ran. At one point … Continue reading That time John Cougar told me that the high he gets from writing good songs is better than sex–and heroin

10 minutes in a hotel room with AC/DC in 1983

By Steve Newton One fine October day in 1983 I went to a fancy Vancouver hotel and hung out with Malcolm Young and Brian Johnson of AC/DC, who were kicking off a tour to support the new Flick of the Switch album. New drummer Simon Wright was there too, but he didn’t say much. Note: … Continue reading 10 minutes in a hotel room with AC/DC in 1983

Eddie Van Halen’s favourite AC/DC album was Powerage

By Steve Newton I’ve long held the opinion that AC/DC’s Powerage is their best album. Keith Richards agrees, and he knows a thing or two about rockin’. And more importantly, Malcolm Young himself has named Powerage as Number One. When I met Young backstage after an AC/DC show in Vancouver back in 2001 I mentioned that … Continue reading Eddie Van Halen’s favourite AC/DC album was Powerage

10 minutes in a studio with producer Bob Rock in 1991

By Steve Newton I did my first interview with hugely successful hard-rock producer Bob Rock in December of 1991. I went to meet him at Vancouver Studios, where he was working on albums by the London Choirboys and his own band, Rockhead. Four months earlier the massively popular album Rock made with Metallica, The Black … Continue reading 10 minutes in a studio with producer Bob Rock in 1991

That time I asked Tommy Stinson if there was anything he’d change about his time with the Replacements

By Steve Newton I interviewed Minneapolis rocker Tommy Stinson back in June of 1993, when his band Bash and Pop was heading to Vancouver for a show at the Town Pump. Stinson is best known for his work with his previous group, the Replacements. He was only 14 when the Replacements released their first album … Continue reading That time I asked Tommy Stinson if there was anything he’d change about his time with the Replacements