ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 17, 1993 By Steve Newton When I first heard the title of the debut Bash & Pop release, Friday Night Is Killing Me, I figured it was something I could relate to a bit, since I’d had a few rough Friday nights in my own lifetime—not to mention Saturday mornings. But … Continue reading Bash & Pop’s Tommy Stinson stole plenty from Paul Westerberg
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 23, 1992 By Steve Newton When he was a headline-making member of the infamous Sex Pistols, John Lydon went to extremes to make sure people either loved or hated his grating, nihilistic Johnny Rotten persona. And, according to Blind Melon vocalist Shannon Hoon, Lydon hasn’t given up his Rotten ways. “One … Continue reading Blind Melon’s Shannon Hoon defines success as making it last
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 28, 1984 By Steve Newton It was a snowy and cold January afternoon in 1975 when several high school friends and I headed off to the second Vancouver appearance of an up-and-coming rock band named KISS. Almost all of us had our well-worn copy of the group’s first album and tunes … Continue reading Eric Carr claims he’s still a fox as Kiss recruits Mark St. John and unleashes Animalize
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN EXPERIENCE HENDRIX MAGAZINE, MAY/JUNE 1998 By Steve Newton Teenage blues-rocker Kenny Wayne Shepherd has a great story about how he got inspired to take up guitar. It has something to do with him, as a little kid, watching Stevie Ray Vaughan perform from atop one of the Texas guitar legend’s amp cases. … Continue reading Teenage slide-guitar ace Derek Trucks says his goal is not to play like Duane Allman
kevin statham photos ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 1, 2000 By Steve Newton Nobody rocks like Flea. As soon as the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ hyperkinetic bassist stepped on the GM Place stage last Sunday (May 28), he started churning out monstrous hard-funk licks, and he didn’t slow down until the gig was over. And when … Continue reading Chili Peppers bring heat to Vancouver with pogoing Flea after Dave Grohl gets his nipple pinched
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 23, 1999 By Steve Newton Apart from an arena show with Rod Stewart in the ’80s, it had been nearly 25 years since fans of Jeff Beck last saw him play here, so the anticipatory vibe that surged through the Queen E around 9 p.m. last Saturday (September 18) was understandable. … Continue reading Jeff Beck’s astonishing Vancouver show crushes the myth that Clapton is God
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 10, 1989 By Steve Newton In what was surely the biggest Vancouver concert event of the ’80s, the Rolling Stones hit Vancouver for two nights last week amid a flurry of hype and much groveling for tickets. Now that Jagger and the boys have gathered up their money-bags (they play the … Continue reading The Rolling Stones deliver like legends as the Steel Wheels Tour hits Vancouver
Today is the big day for AC/DC fans, when the Aussie blues-metal legends release their new album Rock or Bust. The band has been making a lot of headlines in the past few months, though not the positive kind you’d expect from a group that has, for over 40 years, been giving the world some of … Continue reading AC/DC studio ace Mike Fraser is happy Phil Rudd doesn’t tickle the drums
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 8, 1989 By Steve Newton Seeing a destined-to-be-huge band in a small venue can make for one of the most memorable nights in any rock fan’s existence. Kiss at the Commodore, Jeff Healey at the Yale, Living Colour at the Town Pump, Metallica at the New York Theatre–those are just a … Continue reading Bass god Billy Sheehan pooh-poohs Mr. Big’s supergroup status
By Steve Newton The anticipation surrounding the impending release of the new AC/DC album, Rock or Bust, has been building for months. The fact that it’s the legendary Aussie hard-rockers’ first release without original rhythm-guitarist and co-songwriter Malcolm Young has been making headlines, and this Tuesday (December 2) the physical product will hit stores. With or … Continue reading Ear of Newt exclusive: Mike Fraser says AC/DC was all business on Rock or Bust: “We were there to get it done.”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON FEBRUARY 11, 1994 By Steve Newton Guns N’ Roses may well be the most popular hard-rock band in the world. It’s certainly one of the most controversial, having made headlines recently with the much-publicized inclusion of an uncredited Charles Manson song on its latest recording, “The Spaghetti Incident?” There’s also singer Axl … Continue reading Slash says that the original Guns N’ Roses lineup “just stopped rocking”
The catchy “All Star”, which had already been a huge hit off the group’s 1999 Astro Lounge CD, was written by guitarist Greg Camp.
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MAY 20, 1999 By Steve Newton I like John Mellencamp, but my sister Julie and cousin Cory are crazy about him, so I did some serious scroungin’ and wangled three backstage passes to meet the Indiana rocker before he went on stage at GM Place last Saturday (May 15). Now, for those … Continue reading Perfecting the lost art of the backstage meet ‘n’ greet at John Mellencamp in Vancouver
