photo by Markus Hagner ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 16, 2015 By Steve Newton Savoy Brown was one of the top British blues-rock acts of the early seventies, making a mark with such albums as Raw Sienna (1970), Looking In (’70), Street Corner Talking (’71), and Hellbound Train (’72). For some reason the band was off my … Continue reading Savoy Brown guitarist Kim Simmonds always comes back to the Les Paul
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 4, 2003 By Steve Newton Toronto-based music writer Martin Popoff is Canada’s top expert on heavy metal. Senior editor of metal mag Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles and author of The Collector’s Guide to Heavy Metal, the Trail, B.C.–raised Popoff certainly knows his stuff when it comes to … Continue reading Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” chosen as the top heavy-metal song of all time
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 18, 2003 By Steve Newton A lot of bands that were big in the ’80s are now having trouble getting booked into bowling alleys, but Def Leppard’s not one of them. The British melodic-rock quintet—which hit its commercial peak in 1987 with Hysteria, which has sold 16 million units worldwide—is still … Continue reading Joe Elliott says that Def Leppard were never a “big-hair” band, just longhairs like Sabbath and Zeppelin
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 16, 1982 By Steve Newton It’s a hard road, and often a long one, that leads to success in the world of heavy metal. With the exception of a few bands that luck out on their debut recordings because radio is good to them, most hard rockers fight an uphill battle … Continue reading Scorpions inflict deadliest sting yet as lead guitarist Matthias Jabs helps cause a devastating Blackout
Last year Concrete Blonde released a CD that reunited the original lineup of Johnette Napolitano, James Mankey, and Harry Rushakoff.
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.
There’s [Ritchie’s] famous reputation for sacking Rainbow’s musicians, but no one ever got sacked for doing a good job, you know what I mean?
photo courtesy the newt ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 11, 1990 By Steve Newton You know how some recording artists make you think of old times, and help you crystallize visions from the past? Well, when I think of Robin Trower, I picture a mid-’70s high-schooler cruising the main drag of Chilliwack in a wood-grained Monaco … Continue reading Robin Trower talks Procol Harum, Hendrix, and blues, says “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 26, 2001 By Steve Newton When Yes guitarist Steve Howe calls from Reno, Nevada, it’s not to brag about how well he’s been doing at the blackjack tables. Although he and his bandmates—vocalist Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, and drummer Alan White—have been holed up in the gambling mecca for two … Continue reading Yes guitarist Steve Howe says Chet Atkins was–and is–his number one
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 29, 2001 By Steve Newton Guitar gods—I can’t get enough of ’em. There’ve always been lots of slots in my CD stacks reserved for fret masters who balance boggling technique with high degrees of feel. Because I’m mostly a rock and blues fan, the vast majority of guitarists I’ve worshipped have … Continue reading Fretmaster Don Ross exposes the Newt to the wonders of acoustic-guitar wizardry
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 1, 2002 By Steve Newton Seventies hard-rockers Mountain didn’t waste any time in getting famous. The band—best known for the lineup of guitarist and vocalist Leslie West, drummer Corky Laing, keyboardist Steve Knight, and bassist-vocalist Felix Pappalardi (who was shot dead by his wife in ’83)—played its first gig at L.A.’s … Continue reading Leslie West recalls Woodstock and his band Mountain’s old warmup act, Black Sabbath
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 8, 2002 By Steve Newton A while back I made one of my regular visits to Zulu Records and noticed that they were giving stuff away. Not great stuff—there were no limited-edition Hellecasters CDs or Jeff Beck bootlegs—but in the box of vinyl castoffs and local cassettes was Win This Record, … Continue reading David Lindley says its serious time for the oud
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 3, 2002 By Steve Newton Buddy Guy spent a good portion of his concert at the Commodore last Friday (September 27) paying tribute to the legends of the blues, performing in the various styles of John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. It was … Continue reading Buddy Guy brings me down when he forgets to just be Buddy
