ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 28, 1999 By Steve Newton When I phoned David Gogo two years ago to chat about his then-new live album, Dine Under the Stars, he answered the call with “Davey Wayne Gogo here,” a slight swipe at Kenny Wayne Shepherd, the Stevie Ray Vaughan–inspired upstart of the day. This time around, … Continue reading David Gogo preps for the Big 3-O with acoustic and electric discs
Tag: 1999
Galactic Cowboys meld melodicism and raunch on At the End of the Day
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JAN. 21, 1999 By Steve Newton Few bands straddle the line between pop and metal as skillfully as the Galactic Cowboys. On the Texas quartet’s latest CD, At the End of the Day, they meld melodicism and raunch so winningly that it’s hard to tell if these Cowboys are … Continue reading Galactic Cowboys meld melodicism and raunch on At the End of the Day
Texas Strat-strangler Kenny Wayne Shepherd goes all Stevie Ray on Vancouver’s ass
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 14, 1999 By Steve Newton Guitar legend Stevie Ray Vaughan had a profound effect on a lot of people, and 21-year-old blues-rock whiz kid Kenny Wayne Shepherd is one of them. As the story goes, Shepherd developed his Stevie Ray obsession at the age of seven when the Texas Strat-strangler sat … Continue reading Texas Strat-strangler Kenny Wayne Shepherd goes all Stevie Ray on Vancouver’s ass
Hackneyed script and hokey special-effects make House on Haunted Hill another sorry remake
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 4, 1999 By Steve Newton As if this year’s bogus remake of The Haunting wasn’t discouraging enough for horror fans, now Hollywood has unleashed another sorry remake of a haunted-house flick, this time seeking inspiration from the silly but fun Vincent Price vehicle House on Haunted Hill. The new version has … Continue reading Hackneyed script and hokey special-effects make House on Haunted Hill another sorry remake
Horror review: The Haunting
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JULY 29, 1999 I remember seeing the original Haunting when I was a kid, and it scared the stuffing out of me, mostly because of what director Robert Wise didn’t show in his 1963 haunted-house study. The scene I recall most vividly is that of a terrified Julie Harris … Continue reading Horror review: The Haunting
Horror review: Lake Placid
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JULY 22, 1999 As the Vancouver correspondent for Fangoria, the world’s best-known horror magazine, I usually have access to the sets of whatever scary flicks are being filmed around town. Most horror filmmakers jump at the chance to have their work previewed in the blood-red pages of that esteemed … Continue reading Horror review: Lake Placid
Horror review: The Thirteenth Floor
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 3, 1999 Craig Bierko must have seen a few too many Mel Gibson movies, because with every squint and facial tic, the star of The Thirteenth Floor seems to shout “I’m the next Mel!” Fortunately for the makers of this adaptation of Daniel Galouye’s sci-fi novel Simulacron-3, Bierko’s … Continue reading Horror review: The Thirteenth Floor
Teen-horror travesty Idle Hands is an inane chunk o’ junk
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MAY 6, 1999 By Steve Newton The teen-horror genre hits a new low with this inane chunk o’ junk from Rodman Flender, the illustrious director of Leprechaun 2. Actually, Flender is not the real culprit here; it’s the numbingly bad screenwriting team of Terri Hughes and Ron Milbauer. Idle Hands is their … Continue reading Teen-horror travesty Idle Hands is an inane chunk o’ junk
Horror review: The Rage–Carrie 2
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 18, 1999 Carrie was one of my favourite horror flicks of the ’70s. I was just out of Grade 12 when that high-school tale of telekinetic vengeance came to my hometown, so I could relate somewhat to the actions and motivations of its teenage characters. And director Brian … Continue reading Horror review: The Rage–Carrie 2
Horror review: Virus
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JAN. 21, 1999 By Steve Newton There’s a scene near the beginning of Virus in which oceangoing-tug engineer Steve Baker (William Baldwin) and his supposedly hip Cuban sidekick, Squeaky (Julio Oscar Mechoso), have just boarded an evidently abandoned Russian research ship. The salvage tug they’ve transferred from has just … Continue reading Horror review: Virus
Meeting the world’s greatest living rock guitarist
Oh man was I stoked when I headed backstage at the Queen Eiizabeth Theatre on Saturday, September 19, 1999. I was getting to meet the legendary Jeff Beck, who I believe is the world's greatest living rock guitarist. The guy on the right is Ferg, who was the best man at my wedding. Never mind … Continue reading Meeting the world’s greatest living rock guitarist