ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MAY 18, 1984 By Steve Newton “I always liked the Yardbirds when I was a kid,” says metal guitar-hero Gary Moore. “I was always into Jeff Beck and everything. And apart from the fact that I like the song and the guitar, the lyrics appealed to me as well because they fitted … Continue reading Gary Moore talks covering the Yardbirds and scoring with metal while opening for Rush
By Steve Newton Woke up today to find that German guitarist, session musician, composer, and teacher Frank Steffen Mueller had shared a link to my Facebook group, Newt’s Flaming Colossal Rockatorium. The link is for a YouTube video Mueller just posted of himself playing a ’69 Les Paul goldtop, performing an original song in the … Continue reading Frank Steffen Mueller releases original instrumental for Irish guitar legend Gary Moore
By Steve Newton Way back in May of 1984 I did my one and only interview with guitar legend Gary Moore, while he was on tour with Rush. That was five months after the release of his fourth album, Victims of the Future, which was still during his pre-blues, hard rock/heavy metal phase. At one … Continue reading That time I asked Gary Moore why he thought metal was so big in Britain
By Steve Newton Yesterday I came across a tweet from the awesome bluesharp Twitter feed that included a couple of minutes of guitar legend Albert King tearing up it up on his Flying V in the company of Stevie Ray Vaughan. After I retweeted it, I got to thinking that maybe I should post another … Continue reading That time I made Albert King laugh by saying that I thought “King of the Blues” was B.B.’s title
By Steve Newton Back in May of 1984 I did my one and only interview with Gary Moore, who’s one of my all-time favourite guitarists. Man that guy could play. I called him up in Reno, where he was touring with Rush. The previous summer he’d toured with Def Leppard after they released their breakthrough … Continue reading That time I asked Gary Moore why he thought Def Leppard got so huge so fast, unlike Thin Lizzy
By Steve Newton Today marks the anniversary of the passing of hard-rock drummer Cozy Powell, who slammed the skins for the likes of Jeff Beck, Gary Moore, Black Sabbath, and Rainbow before perishing in a high-speed wipeout at the age of 50. Powell–who had a fascination with fast cars and motorbikes–died on April 5 of 1998 … Continue reading Remembering Cozy Powell, one of the greatest hard-rock drummers of all time
By Steve Newton I did my one and only interview with Irish guitar legend Gary Moore on May 11, 1984. Five months earlier the Provisional wing of the Irish Republican Army had exploded a car bomb outside Harrods department store in central London, killing three police officers and three civilians, and injuring 90 people. (The … Continue reading That time I asked Gary Moore if he’d ever write a song about “the Troubles” in Northern Ireland
By Steve Newton I figure it’s time to post another audio excerpt from my one and only interview with Irish guitar legend Gary Moore, one of the finest players to ever pick up the instrument. It was May 11, 1984, and Moore was opening for Rush on their Grace Under Pressure Tour. He had a … Continue reading That time I told Gary Moore it was the shits that he wasn’t coming to Vancouver with Rush
By Steve Newton During my 40 years of writing about music, I’ve been extremely fortunate, especially when it comes to interviewing guitar players. I’ve been able to interview some of the world’s greatest guitarists several times over, including amazing players like Joe Satriani (eight times), Warren Haynes (six times), Buddy Guy (five times), and Dickey … Continue reading That time Albert King told me that Gary Moore could play guitar: “I guarantee it”
By Steve Newton As I mentioned yesterday, since the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has just announced its seven inductees for the Class of 2023, my own little institution located in the wilds of British Columbia–Newt’s Rock Hall–is gonna counter with seven different inductees of its own. And of course mine will be better. … Continue reading Newt’s Rock Hall inducts Dick Dale, Soundgarden, the Guess Who, the Replacements, Bad Company, Mahogany Rush, the Edgar Winter Group, and the Stray Cats
By Steve Newton Yesterday the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted 16 artists for its class of 2024, but none of them were named Johnny Winter or Rory Gallagher. Or even J.J. Cale, for that matter. The braindead twats at the Rock Hall seem to believe that acts like Cher, Kool & the Gang, … Continue reading Rock Hall inducts 16 artists, but none of them are named Johnny Winter, Rory Gallagher, or J.J. Cale
By Steve Newton It looks like Newt’s Rock Hall won’t be closing down any time soon. Three months ago I posted a blog in which I stated that, once the waaaaayyyy overdue inductions of Johnny Winter and Rory Gallagher into the official Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were announced, I’d be shuttering the underground … Continue reading Braindead Rock Hall nominates Mariah Carey and Cher, snubs Johnny and Rory yet again!
photo by the newt By Steve Newton It’s good to have hobbies. Several years ago I found a new hobby in which I’d spend a fair amount of time lobbying for the inclusion of Link Wray, Johnny Winter, and Rory Gallagher in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I was astonished and, frankly, disgusted … Continue reading One down, two to go: Newt’s Rock Hall will shutter once Johnny and Rory get inducted into the RRHOF
