ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT. 25, 2001 By Steve Newton Tommy Aldridge is one of the most recognizable hard-rock drummers in the world. His name may not be a household word along the lines of Moon or Bonham, but anyone who’s followed the careers of Pat Travers, Whitesnake, Ozzy Osbourne, Ted Nugent, and latter-day Thin Lizzy … Continue reading From Black Oak to Thin Lizzy, Tommy Aldridge has been a monster on the kit
By Steve Newton On December 19, 1989, Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson played the 86 Street Music Hall in Vancouver. For me, it didn’t get any better than that. I’d been a huge fan of Hunter ever since I first heard his old band, Mott the Hoople, and Ronson…well, if you liked David Bowie in … Continue reading Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson tour behind YUI Orta, so the Newt talks to Ronno
Charlie Musselwhite was just 13 when he started playing the instrument that he’d use so well while staking out his place in the blues world.
kevin statham photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 2, 2000 By Steve Newton Carlos Santana has been blowing folks away with his fiery, straight-from-the-soul fret work for more than 30 years now, but at GM Place on October 26, he never let his status as a guitar god override his main goal for the night. Santana … Continue reading Carlos Santana chides firecracker-blasting moron in Vancouver, says “This isn’t a heavy-metal concert!”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 29, 2001 By Steve Newton Guitar gods—I can’t get enough of ’em. There’ve always been lots of slots in my CD stacks reserved for fret masters who balance boggling technique with high degrees of feel. Because I’m mostly a rock and blues fan, the vast majority of guitarists I’ve worshipped have … Continue reading Fretmaster Don Ross exposes the Newt to the wonders of acoustic-guitar wizardry
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 26, 2001 By Steve Newton There are three things that are inevitable in this world: death, taxes, and a ringing in your ears after seeing AC/DC. As I write this review, it’s been two hours since the Aussie rockers left the Coliseum stage in a flurry of golden confetti, and the … Continue reading Malcolm Young calls Powerage his favourite AC/DC album backstage in Vancouver
Stevens is the innovative guitarist who was largely responsible for the success of one blond British bombshell by the name of Billy Idol.
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 3, 2000 By Steve Newton When North Mississippi Allstars guitarist-vocalist Luther Dickinson calls from the band’s tour bus in Chicago, he’s all apologetic about missing a scheduled phone interview the day before. Seems that Luther, his drummer brother Cody, and bassist Chris Chew had performed on Late Night With Conan O’Brien … Continue reading The North Mississippi Allstars debut with that crazy hill-country sound
kevin statham photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON FEB. 22, 2001 By Steve Newton Jeff Beck is my favourite rock guitarist of all time, so I didn’t think twice about doing the necessary groveling to secure a couple of backstage passes for his sold-out show at the Commodore. Because my Beck-loving buddy Bones was celebrating a birthday … Continue reading Jeff Beck, the world’s greatest living rock guitarist, proves omnipotent in Vancouver
Two months ago Universal Music announced that Rob Zombie’s popular group White Zombie had “collectively decided to disband”.
All in all, 1971 wasn’t one of the greatest years for rock in the seventies. But it was a pretty great one for Alice Cooper, Rory Gallagher, and Yes, who each had two albums on my Top 30. As before, I’ve listed the LPs alphabetically by title, and included three choice tracks from each disc … Continue reading Ear of Newt’s Top 30 Rock Albums of 1971
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, SEPT. 28, 2010 By Steve Newton Alice Cooper released a string of amazing albums in the early ’70s—including Love It to the Death, School’s Out, Killer, and Billion Dollar Babies—but the brainiacs at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame waited until today to nominate the shock-rock king for inclusion in their fancy pants institution. … Continue reading Alice Cooper finally gets nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
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
