That time blues legend John Mayall told me why he handles his own gear and never uses roadies

By Steve Newton I did the second of my three interviews with British blues great John Mayall back in May of 1990, when he was heading to Vancouver for a show with his band the Bluesbreakers. He was touring to promote his latest album, A Sense of Place, which featured slide-guitar ace Sonny Landreth on … Continue reading That time blues legend John Mayall told me why he handles his own gear and never uses roadies

That time back in 1985 when Roger Glover told me about the reunited Deep Purple’s first jam session

By Steve Newton I did my second interview with Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover back in March of 1985, when the band’s Mark II lineup–composed of him, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, singer Ian Gillan, keyboardist Jon Lord, and drummer Ian Paice–had reunited to record the Perfect Strangers album and embark on a sold-out world tour. At … Continue reading That time back in 1985 when Roger Glover told me about the reunited Deep Purple’s first jam session

That time David Lee Roth told me that Van Halen’s Fair Warning album had been crucified and buried

By Steve Newton Back in 1994 I did my first interview with David Lee Roth, when he was touring behind his Nile Rodgers-produced Your Dirty Little Mouth album. At one point in the conversation I asked Dave if he was happy with how his career was going, which led him to chat about the ups … Continue reading That time David Lee Roth told me that Van Halen’s Fair Warning album had been crucified and buried

That time Wang Chung’s Nick Feldman told me about recording the soundtrack for William Friedkin’s latest film, To Live and Die in L.A.

By Steve Newton I interviewed Nick Feldman of Wang Chung in March of 1987, the day after the British pop band played the 86 Street Music Hall in Vancouver. I mainly wanted to chat with him because I loved the soundtrack Wang Chung did for the 1985 William Friedkin thriller, To Live and Die in … Continue reading That time Wang Chung’s Nick Feldman told me about recording the soundtrack for William Friedkin’s latest film, To Live and Die in L.A.

Joe Perry credits Bruce Fairbairn and Little Mountain Sound with aiding Aerosmith’s rebirth

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 13, 1993 By Steve Newton Vancouverites may wonder what it is about this town that makes a big-time Yankee rock band like Aerosmith want to come all the way from Boston to make records here. It is the scenery? The night-life? The days when it doesn’t rain? When Joe Perry calls … Continue reading Joe Perry credits Bruce Fairbairn and Little Mountain Sound with aiding Aerosmith’s rebirth

That time Al Stewart told me that he adored Don Henley’s latest hit, “The Boys of Summer”

By Steve Newton I first got turned on to Scottish-born singer-songwriter Al Stewart when I heard his catchy 1976 hit single “Year of the Cat”, from the LP of the same name. I bought his next album, Time Passages, and I liked that one as well. Then I went back and checked out his earlier, … Continue reading That time Al Stewart told me that he adored Don Henley’s latest hit, “The Boys of Summer”

That time Kim Mitchell described guitar wanking by comparing Joe Satriani to Eddie Van Halen

By Steve Newton I did my fourth interview with Canadian rock-guitar great Kim Mitchell back in July of 1992, when he was touring behind his Aural Fixations album. He’d hired a new batch of musicians to accompany him–because Tom Cochrane had lured some of his regular band members away–and while he was describing how the … Continue reading That time Kim Mitchell described guitar wanking by comparing Joe Satriani to Eddie Van Halen

That time Rob Halford told me that Judas Priest’s new Defenders of the Faith LP was almost platinum in the States

By Steve Newton I did the first of my five interviews with Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford back in May of 1984. He called me up before a gig in Portland, Oregon, while the band was touring behind its ninth studio album, Defenders of the Faith. At one point in the conversation I mentioned that … Continue reading That time Rob Halford told me that Judas Priest’s new Defenders of the Faith LP was almost platinum in the States

The Chinese spy balloon gets me thinking about that time I asked Nena if her new “99 Red Balloons” was an anti-war song

By Steve Newton I interviewed one-named German pop singer Nena on the phone from Berlin back in May of 1984. That was one month after her band released its 99 Luftballoons compilation album, which featured both English- and German-language versions of the title track (“99 Red Balloons”), which had been a huge hit in Europe the … Continue reading The Chinese spy balloon gets me thinking about that time I asked Nena if her new “99 Red Balloons” was an anti-war song

That time I asked Geddy Lee if Rush had considered breaking up in 1994

By Steve Newton I did my first interview with Rush singer-bassist Geddy Lee back in April of 1997, when the trio was touring behind its Test for Echo album. At one point I brought up the topic of the almost two-year break the band members had taken from each other in 1994, following the release … Continue reading That time I asked Geddy Lee if Rush had considered breaking up in 1994

That time I asked Ed Roland if he was shocked by the massive popularity of Collective Soul’s current hit, “Shine”

By Steve Newton Back in June of 1994 Collective Soul frontman Ed Roland called me up from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. At the time his band was touring behind its debut album, Hints Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid, which opened with the riff-driven, five-minute guitar opus “Shine”. That song would claim the top spot on the … Continue reading That time I asked Ed Roland if he was shocked by the massive popularity of Collective Soul’s current hit, “Shine”

That time I asked Ronnie James Dio which singers he admired the most and he said Mike Reno had a lot of control and “great pipes”

By Steve Newton Back in December of 1985 I interviewed Ronnie James Dio when he was in the midst of his Sacred Heart Tour and headed to Vancouver for a show at the Pacific Coliseum–with Yngwie Malmsteen opening up! At one point in the conversation I asked Dio which singers he admired the most, but … Continue reading That time I asked Ronnie James Dio which singers he admired the most and he said Mike Reno had a lot of control and “great pipes”

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame finally pulls its heads out of its ass long enough to nominate Warren Zevon

By Steve Newton If you’ve been visiting this blog much in the past few years you may have noticed how often I go out of my way to call out the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Heck, I even created a special section just for slagging it. The three artists whose continuing absence from … Continue reading The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame finally pulls its heads out of its ass long enough to nominate Warren Zevon