By Steve Newton The first time I ever saw Jeff Beck in concert, Jan Hammer was all over the place. It was at the Seattle Kingdome on Aerosmith‘s Rocks tour in 1976, and Beck was one of the warmup acts–the other being the highly underrated New Jersey hard-rock band Starz. Four months earlier Beck had released … Continue reading That time Jeff Beck told me that Jan Hammer was “too good to sit around”
By Steve Newton Sometimes when I listen to a musician perform I wonder to myself, “How did they get so goddamn good?” And sometimes–if I meet said musician in my capacity as a music writer–I’ll just flat out ask them how they got so goddamn good. I did it with guitarist Guthrie Govan in 2015, and … Continue reading That time I asked bass goddess Tal Wilkenfeld how she got so goddamn good
By Steve Newton So the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame did it again. Today the poorly-named musical dumping ground in Cleveland inducted six acts into its fold, including folkie Joan Baez and rapper Tupac Shakur. Sure, they’re both great at what they do, but are they rock ‘n’ roll? Kinda doubt it. The other … Continue reading Newt’s Rock Hall inducts Warren Zevon, Rick Derringer, Albert Collins, Ronnie Montrose, Gary Moore, and Jethro Tull
By Steve Newton Legendary drummer Mick Fleetwood called me up a couple days ago to plug his upcoming gig at the Hard Rock Casino Vancouver, and I made sure to ask him all about his long-ago bandmate Peter Green. Fleetwood’s current outfit, the Mick Fleetwood Blues Band, is performing several Green-penned songs from the early … Continue reading That time Mick Fleetwood told me that Peter Green shunned the guitar-hero status of Clapton, Beck, and Page
By Steve Newton J.J. Cale is the coolest musician I’ve ever interviewed, and I’ve interviewed quite a few. Talk about laid back and down to earth. And what a wicked guitar player, as if being one of the world’s finest songwriters weren’t enough. I did my first interview with him in 1990, and my second … Continue reading That time J.J. Cale told me that Eric Clapton had paid his rent for the last 30 years
By Steve Newton Back in 1984 I interviewed British hard-rock vocalist Graham Bonnet, who at the time was fronting a band called Alcatrazz, which boasted a hot-shot (but barely known) guitarist by the name of Yngwie Malmsteen. Two years earlier Bonnet had gotten kicked out of the Michael Schenker Group, who he recorded the 1982 … Continue reading Graham Bonnet on that infamous MSG gig of ’82: “If your pants had split down the front and your cock fell out, what would you do?”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT. 31, 1986 By Steve Newton Things started off pretty bad at Van Halen‘s B.C. Place concert last Thursday (October 23). But they got progressively better as the night wore on. And by the end of the show there were no complaints at all. The reason for the poor start was the reincarnation of Vancouver’s … Continue reading Van Halen kicks Vancouver’s ass before new singer Sammy Hagar channels Hugh Hefner backstage
By Steve Newton The Allman Brothers’ At Fillmore East is widely recognized as one of the greatest live albums in rock history. And you won’t get any arguments about that from me. The band was at its peak, guitarists Duane Allman and Dickey Betts trading the type of inspired licks that would make future ABB … Continue reading Ever wonder why the Allman Brothers look so damn happy on the cover of At Fillmore East?
By Steve Newton Back in the ’80s one of my jobs at a weekly newspaper in Vancouver was to cover the hard-rock/heavy metal beat. Soon after getting hired as a proofreader/typesetter in ’82 I was doing articles on Priest, Scorps, Maiden, and Ozzy, which–to my utter delight–often ended up as the cover story. Metal was … Continue reading That time Graham Bonnet told me about unknown Alcatrazz guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen: “He’s one day gonna be a star”
By Steve Newton When I interviewed Graham Bonnet back in 1984 he was fronting a hard-rock/metal band called Alcatrazz that featured an unknown guitarist named Yngwie Malmsteen, who would not stay unknown for long. Two years earlier Bonnet had been a member of the Michael Schenker Group, which also boasted an amazing guitar player, a guy … Continue reading Graham Bonnet was bandmates with Ritchie Blackmore, Michael Schenker, and Yngwie Malmsteen, but called Gary Moore his hero
By Steve Newton When I interviewed some of the guys from AC/DC back in ’83, on the eve of the Flick of the Switch tour, I asked them which groups they liked listening to in their spare time. Both Brian Johnson and Malcolm Young mentioned ZZ Top. “I just like their attitude and all ya … Continue reading That time I asked AC/DC’s Malcolm Young and Brian Johnson what they liked listening to in their spare time
By Steve Newton On March 25, 1995, the Tragically Hip played Saturday Night Live, when one of my fave actors, John Goodman (“Mark it zero!”), was hosting. Fellow Kingstonite Dan Aykroyd introduced the band, which surprised the hell out of peeps by not opening with a certified crowd-pleasing rocker like “New Orleans is Sinking” or … Continue reading That time Gord Downie told me about the Tragically Hip’s Saturday Night Live gig
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 29, 1986 By Steve Newton It was East meets West at Expo Theatre on Monday (August 25) when two bands from the other end of the country came to visit. Kim Mitchell from Ontario and Haywire from Prince Edward Island played to a packed house on a hot summer night that … Continue reading Kim Mitchell turns on the patio lanterns and goes for lager and ale in Vancouver
