ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 17, 2015 By Steve Newton Fifty years is a long time. It sounds even longer when you call it half a century. But that’s how long Kim Simmonds has been carrying on the Savoy Brown name. It’s not like he’s been keeping close track, though. “I know it’s been a while,” … Continue reading Savoy Brown’s Kim Simmonds was meant to play guitar
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 11, 1997 By Steve Newton This four-disc package of Doors material, spanning the years 1965 to ’71, favours previously unreleased live tracks and demo recordings over studio-polished hits, and documents the band in all its eccentric, unrefined, and—with tunes that pass the 18-minute mark—excessive glory. Its mix of … Continue reading The Doors box set documents the band in all its unrefined glory
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 2, 1982 By Steve Newton .38 Special’s July 5 gig at the Kerrisdale Arena has been cancelled due to poor ticket sales, and according to lead singer Donnie Van Zant “it’s a real shame”. The show would have been the band’s second Vancouver appearance. Their latest album, Special Forces, is #27 … Continue reading .38 Special’s Donnie Van Zant on the origins of southern rock and the drive of Jacksonville bands
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 25, 2003 By Steve Newton There’s a real buzz happening right now about Kings of Leon, a scruffy Tennessee quartet consisting of three brothers and a cousin who are winning praise for their garage-y brand of Southern-flavoured guitar rock. England’s prestigious NME put the band on the cover of its July … Continue reading Interviewing Nathan Followill of Kings of Leon just before they took the throne
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 20, 1990 By Steve Newton It’s a sunny Friday afternoon on Granville Island. Art Bergmann and I are negotiating our way through armies of cars—parked and mobile—in search of a suitable spot to have a chat. “I don’t have any money,” confides Bergmann as we head over to the Island from … Continue reading Art Bergmann plays Sexual Roulette on behalf of downtrodden rockers everywhere
There’s [Ritchie’s] famous reputation for sacking Rainbow’s musicians, but no one ever got sacked for doing a good job, you know what I mean?
Last year Concrete Blonde released a CD that reunited the original lineup of Johnette Napolitano, James Mankey, and Harry Rushakoff.
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 3, 2003 By Steve Newton When the Yardbirds were recording their new Birdland CD for the guitar-oriented Favored Nations label, they made sure to feature company prez Steve Vai on the remake of their 1966 hit, “Shapes of Things”. The quintet also encouraged such six-string stalwarts as Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, Steve … Continue reading Guitar heroes help the Yardbirds fly again with Birdland
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 7, 2003 By Steve Newton Two years ago the Drive-By Truckers took the music world by surprise with Southern Rock Opera, a sprawling, two-CD concept album about ’70s rock and southern U.S. culture that focused on the legend of doomed Dixie rock act Lynyrd Skynyrd. The independent release garnered the group … Continue reading Drive-By Truckers tone down the Skynyrdisms on Decoration Day
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 6, 2003 By Steve Newton Unless you’re really up on your rock guitarists, Walter Trout may be the biggest guitar hero you’ve never heard of. In a 1993 BBC Radio 1 poll of the top 20 players of all time, Trout came in sixth, ahead of such six-string legends as Stevie … Continue reading Walter Trout has a spiritual bond with his Strat of 30 years
photo by Markus Hagner ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 16, 2015 By Steve Newton Savoy Brown was one of the top British blues-rock acts of the early seventies, making a mark with such albums as Raw Sienna (1970), Looking In (’70), Street Corner Talking (’71), and Hellbound Train (’72). For some reason the band was off my … Continue reading Savoy Brown guitarist Kim Simmonds always comes back to the Les Paul
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MAY 17, 2001 By Steve Newton Hordes of rock guitarists have been influenced by Jimi Hendrix, but only a few would claim that he was influenced by them. According to Guitar Shorty’s latest bio, in the ’60s Hendrix would go AWOL from the U.S. Army in order to catch Shorty’s gigs at … Continue reading Guitar Shorty says Jimi Hendrix used to go AWOL to catch his gigs
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 21, 2003 By Steve Newton If you liked catchy, hook-infested pop-rock back in 1979, there’s a good chance you tapped a toe or two to Joe Jackson’s debut album, Look Sharp!. From the cynical hit single “Is She Really Going Out With Him?” to the postpunk rave-up “Got the Time”, the … Continue reading Joe Jackson thinks about 10 percent of music is really good stuff
