By Steve Newton Back in June of 1981 Blue Öyster Cult released it's eight studio album, Fire of Unknown Origin, and I immediately snapped it up, just like I'd done with their previous nine discs (including the two live albums). I'd been absolutely crazy about B.O.C. ever since I'd bought Tyranny and Mutation because of … Continue reading God bless Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser’s guitar solo on Blue Öyster Cult’s “Burnin’ For You”
Tag: 1981
That time Circus Magazine’s editorial department sent me a rejection letter :(
By Steve Newton Thirty-six years ago today somebody at Circus Magazine sent me a rejection letter. They could have at least signed it. Back in the seventies I devoured Circus. It was a total fanzine, but it really covered the bands I was interested in. On any given issue you'd see capitalized band names like MOTT, … Continue reading That time Circus Magazine’s editorial department sent me a rejection letter 🙁
Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 9: Thunderhead are “heavy metal all the way”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE CHILLIWACK PROGRESS, JUNE 17, 1981 By Steve Newton (In the final story of a series on local bands that has profiled Joker, The Lakers, The Vacationers, Loose Change, Citizen's Band, The Postcards, Midnight Smoke and Homegrown, The Progress presents a look at Thunderhead.) Heavily metallic rock music has come a long way … Continue reading Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 9: Thunderhead are “heavy metal all the way”
Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 8: Homegrown just plans on “having a good time”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE CHILLIWACK PROGRESS, MAY 20, 1981 By Steve Newton (In the eighth of a series of stories on local bands, The Progress presents a profile of the group Homegrown. Next: Thunderhead.) Homegrown, probably the best-known dance band in the Chilliwack area, is a prime example of local musical talent that has been … Continue reading Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 8: Homegrown just plans on “having a good time”
Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 7: Midnight Smoke says Chilliwack is a “gold mine” for a versatile band
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE CHILLIWACK PROGRESS, MAY 6, 1981 By Steve Newton (In the seventh of a series of stories on local bands, The Progress presents a profile on Midnight Smoke. Next: Homegrown) Midnight Smoke is a longtime Chilliwack band that is currently composed of Peter Priebe on bass and lead vocals, Ed Porter on … Continue reading Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 7: Midnight Smoke says Chilliwack is a “gold mine” for a versatile band
Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 6: The Postcards say “school gets in the way of jamming”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE CHILLIWACK PROGRESS, APRIL 29, 1981 By Steve Newton (In the sixth of a series of stories on local bands The Progress presents a profile of The Postcards. Next: Midnight Smoke.) The Postcards is a young rock and roll band made up of students from the Chilliwack and Sardis areas. Members of … Continue reading Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 6: The Postcards say “school gets in the way of jamming”
Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 5: Citizen’s Band are “too old” for stardom
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE CHILLIWACK PROGRESS, APRIL 22, 1981 By Steve Newton (In the fifth of a series of stories on local bands, The Progress presents a profile of The Citizen's Band. Next: The Postcards) The Citizen's Band is a Chilliwack group composed of Brian Loewen on guitar and vocals, Phil Derksen on bass and … Continue reading Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 5: Citizen’s Band are “too old” for stardom
Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 4: Loose Change “breaks in” new singer Lori Paul
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE CHILLIWACK PROGRESS, APRIL 15, 1981 By Steve Newton (In the fourth of a series of stories on local bands The Progress presents a profile of the group Loose Change. Next: Midnight Smoke.) Loose Change, described by bass player Richard Todd as "an uptempo blues-rock" band, is a Chilliwack group composed of … Continue reading Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 4: Loose Change “breaks in” new singer Lori Paul
Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 3: The Vacationers enjoy “doing a couple of Jeff Beck tunes”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE CHILLIWACK PROGRESS, APRIL 8, 1981 By Steve Newton (In the third of a series of stories on local bands, The Progress presents a profile of The Vacationers. Next: Loose Change.) The Vacationers, specialists in hard driving rock and roll, are a Chilliwack group composed of Mike Evans on lead guitar and … Continue reading Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 3: The Vacationers enjoy “doing a couple of Jeff Beck tunes”
Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 2: The Lakers say “booking agents are parasites”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE CHILLIWACK PROGRESS, APRIL 1, 1981 By Steve Newton (In the second of a series of stories on local bands The Progress presents a profile on The Lakers. Next Week: The New Vacationers.) The Lakers are a rhythm and blues-based band composed of Ernie Britton on keyboards and vocals, John Moran on … Continue reading Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 2: The Lakers say “booking agents are parasites”
Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 1: Joker, featuring my old buddy Scott Vye
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE CHILLIWACK PROGRESS, MARCH 18, 1981 By Steve Newton (In the first of a series of stories on local bands The Progress presents a profile on the group, Joker. Next week: The Lakers. ) Joker is a Chilliwack-based performing band composed of leader and MC Gary McNab on rhythm guitar, wife Gail … Continue reading Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 1: Joker, featuring my old buddy Scott Vye
Stray Cats Live at Rockpalast finds the rockabilly revivalists at their ballsy best
By Steve Newton Maybe, like me, you were lucky enough to catch the Stray Cats when they played the Commodore back in '82. Or perhaps you saw them when they were on that bill at GM Place in 2007 with the Pretenders and ZZ Top. But if you're one of those sad sacks who've never seen the Stray … Continue reading Stray Cats Live at Rockpalast finds the rockabilly revivalists at their ballsy best
The Stones & Muddy Waters make blues magic on Chicago’s south side
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JULY 31, 2012 By Steve Newton Eagle Rock Entertainment recently released the DVD Muddy Waters/The Rolling Stones/Checkerboard Lounge/Live Chicago 1981, and, man, is it a sweet treat for fans of electric blues. The coolest part of the concert comes when the Stones arrive while Muddy's a minute-and-a-half into "Baby Please Don't Go" … Continue reading The Stones & Muddy Waters make blues magic on Chicago’s south side