ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MAY 30, 1991 By Steve Newton Marty Friedman is one happy camper. The Megadeth guitarist is soaking up the sunshine in El Paso, Texas, just hours away from the fifth show in the four-band Clash of the Titans tour of the Lone Star state, and he reports that things have been going … Continue reading Marty Friedman says Megadeth is kicking the most butt on the Clash of the Titans tour
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 13, 1991 By Steve Newton Only 4,000 fans showed up for the Doobie Brothers show last Friday, which is not a particularly impressive turnout for any Coliseum act, least of all one that’s sold as many albums as the Doobies. Maybe the general consensus is that the Doobies aren’t hip—or even … Continue reading Doobie Brothers deliver the goods but can’t pull a big crowd in Vancouver on the Brotherhood Tour
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 4, 1991 By Steve Newton I felt a tad nerdish, not having seen the legendary Replacements up until last Friday (June 28). I’d heard that these four guys from Minneapolis were capable of heart-stopping performances, tempering thrashy sonic onslaughts with a Beatlesque pop sensibility that couldn’t lose. So I may be … Continue reading The Replacements show Vancouver where the heart of rock ‘n’ roll really beats
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON FEB. 6, 1992 By Steve Newton What makes a rock writer desperate to score the reviewer’s assignment for a Red Hot Chili Peppers show? Could it be the group’s incendiary brand of primitive thrash-funk, or the fact that their live appearances are known far and wide for their unbridled energy and uncontrolled … Continue reading Call me a hick from Chilliwack, but I ain’t never seen no spiral haircut before
If there’s one thing that’s a sure cure for the sad-eyed, rain-soaked January blahs, it’s a blues show at Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom.
Once upon a time, there were four young men who played in a band called Dawn Patrol at a Vancouver bar called the Roxy.
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 17, 1991 By Steve Newton So what’s a devoted rock critic to do when one of the genre’s most potent acts hits town for two back-to-back, sold-out shows? Does he pick one night and hope to hell it’s the best one? Not likely. He checks ’em both out, of course. Talk … Continue reading In the hard-rock realm, it doesn’t get any better than AC/DC live
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 7, 1991 By Steve Newton There are rock heroes, and then there are rock heroes’ rock heroes. For virtuoso bassist Stuart Hamm, it was the cosmic abilities of the late Jaco Pastorius that made the most profound impression on him. He couldn’t sleep for two days after seeing the troubled fretmaster. … Continue reading Bass god Stu Hamm says that seeing Jaco Pastorius for the first time changed his life
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 30, 1995 By Steve Newton If you happened to see the Beatles Anthology series on the tube last week, you’re probably aware that the Fab Four quit touring in 1966 and became just a recording act. That move worked out alright for them—but it probably wouldn’t suit Hamilton, Ontario, rockers Junkhouse. … Continue reading Junkhouse’s Tom Wilson believes there’s a Birthday Boy in all of us
Some of my interviews, arranged alphabetically, from AC/DC to ZZ Top AC/DC Malcolm Young & Brian Johnson, 1983 AEROSMITH Joe Perry, Sept. 2010 AEROSMITH Steven Tyler, 1997 AEROSMITH Joe Perry, 1997 AEROSMITH Tom Hamilton, 1994 AEROSMITH Joe Perry, 1993 AEROSMITH Joe Perry, 1988 AEROSMITH Tom Hamilton, 1983 THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT Lenny Zakatek, 1983 THE ALARM … Continue reading interviews
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON FEB. 17, 1984 By Steve Newton On the strength of their third album, Hammer on a Drum, Vancouver’s Payola$ have been nominated in nine categories of 1984’s CARAS -sponsored Tribute to West Coast Music. As well as Group of the Year and Album of the Year, the group has two tunes in … Continue reading The Payola$’ Paul Hyde talks coproducer Mick Ronson and rock idols Ian Hunter and Alex Harvey
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 2, 1989 By Steve Newton Back in the late ’70s, one of this scribbler’s favourite pastimes was throwing Cheap Trick’s In Color album on the turntable and cranking ‘er up. The band’s thoroughly rockin’ power-pop was just the right brain lube between heavy bouts of exam cramming. At … Continue reading Cheap Trick hooks up with Mötley Crüe members to play AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 10, 1989 By Steve Newton It used to seem that nearly all the best rock ‘n’ roll bands came from either Britain or the U.S. Then came the Aussie invasion. Now, it’s Canada’s turn. WIth killer acts like Jeff Healey, Blue Rodeo, Colin James, Art Bergmann, the Pursuit of Happiness, the … Continue reading Tom Cochrane and Red Rider dangle a plastic shark over the Northern Pikes in Vancouver
