ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 5, 2001 By Steve Newton A silver Keith Richards–style skull ring catches the glare of the dressing-room lights as Todd Kerns wraps his fist around a can of Coke. The blue and red dragon etched on his right bicep, a ringer for Ozzy Osbourne’s chest tattoo, quivers slightly as he lifts the … Continue reading Static in Stereo sets the controls for the heart of the seventies
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 5, 1997 By Steve Newton Strolling over the Georgia Viaduct en route to GM Place last Sunday (June 1), I gazed down at the arena’s parking lot to see what kind of fancy tour buses ZZ Top is travelling in these days. I expected to see an outline … Continue reading ZZ Top snoozes through its Rhythmeen tour stop in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 15, 1990 By Steve Newton Despite the fact that this city is home to Annihilator—one of the most promising young bands in metal—Vancouver has yet to prove itself as a world-class heavy metal town. Aside from Annihilator, there hasn’t been a successful metal recording act out of this city since Kick … Continue reading Annihilator’s Jeff Waters is getting into the “old hard-rock stuff” again
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 22, 1999 By Steve Newton When most people hear the name Rick Derringer, they probably think of his ’70s hit “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo”, which typified the randy guitar-boogie of the free-love era. Others may remember him for “Hang On Sloopy”, the 1965 sing-along number Derringer did with his first … Continue reading Guitar legend Rick Derringer has soloed for everyone from Alice Cooper to Air Supply
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON FEB. 26, 1998 By Steve Newton Days of the New is different from most international recording acts in a couple of ways. First off, the average age of the Louisville, Kentucky–based quartet is 19. Then there’s the fact that it’s a full-on guitar band that doesn’t have much use for Les Pauls … Continue reading Teen tunesmiths unplug for dark but down-home Days of the New
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 23, 1998 By Steve Newton There are some bands I used to like in the ’70s that make me embarrassed by that fact in the ’90s. Back in high school, I figured Uriah Heep Live was the cat’s ass, but now, it’s like, “What was I thinking!” And I still recall … Continue reading An inspired Yes makes up for a flaccid Alan Parsons Project in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 25, 2014 By Steve Newton Yngwie Malmsteen likes to wear all black on-stage and play fast as hell on a Fender Strat through a wall of cranked Marshall amps, so you might think that Ritchie Blackmore is his hero. “Okay, let’s correct that,” says Malmsteen when I mention … Continue reading Yngwie Malmsteen puts Ritchie Blackmore rumours to rest, praises Nicolo Paganini and Uli Jon Roth
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 26, 1996 By Steve Newton What is it with Vancouver residents who can’t stand the sound of music emanating from an outdoor venue? I remember how the folks living in the Hastings-and-Renfrew area used to beef about the volume of daylong rock concerts at Empire Stadium in the mid-’70s, as if … Continue reading Whiney False Creek residents put a damper on the Long John Baldry-topped Granville Island Blues Fest
mike chernoff photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 18, 1999 By Steve Newton I’ve always been mightily impressed by the Tragically Hip’s live presentation. It didn’t matter which venue I’d see them in—whether it was the wee Railway Club or sprawling T-Bird Stadium, the classic Commodore or scenic Seabird Island—I always went away fully, completely satisfied. … Continue reading Gordon Downie thanks Bruce Allen for making the Tragically Hip famous in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 5, 1997 By Steve Newton The night before Ron Sexsmith calls from Norway, I’m giving the TV clicker a workout when some tabloid-style show appears, updating the lives of TV child actors who played roles such as the pointy-eared werewolf kid on The Munsters and the six-year-old twins on Family Affair. … Continue reading Ron Sexsmith’s conversational pop wins over Elvis Costello and Interscope
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 3, 1997 By Steve Newton The last time I tuned in to Bruce Allen’s Soundoff show on CFOX, I caught the loudmouthed rock mogul in one of his favourite on-air acts: slagging the Tragically Hip. The band had just released its live album, Live Between Us, and Allen was reveling in … Continue reading Bruce Allen’s anti-Hip rants can’t tarnish Canada’s best band
me ‘n ferg backstage with john ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 28, 1997 By Steve Newton Most of the folks attending John Fogerty’s first Vancouver concert in 12 years last Friday (August 22) must have been aware that he had returned to playing some of his old Creedence Clearwater Revival hits, but nobody knew for sure … Continue reading John Fogerty reveals the full meaning of the mystical phrase yee-haw! in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON FEB. 29, 1996 By Steve Newton If there were such a thing as a Webster’s Dictionary of Pop Music, you could probably look up the word bittersweet and find a picture of Arizona’s Gin Blossoms nearby. Like fellow southerner Matthew Sweet and local buddies the Odds—who will tour with the Gin Blossoms … Continue reading Bittersweet Gin Blossoms encounter UFOs and Alice Cooper in their Arizona ‘hood
