ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 18, 2003 By Steve Newton In 1987, blues-rockers ZZ Top released a three-disc compilation of their early work titled The ZZ Top Sixpack, which included such stellar mid-’70s albums as Tres Hombres, Fandango, and Tejas. If you own that collection, you’ve already acquired most of the trio’s best … Continue reading ZZ Top goes heavy on the ’70s with Chrome, Smoke & BBQ box
Tag: 2003
Bob Rock on the Payola$ reunion and the influence of Mick Ronson as a producer
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 27, 2003 By Steve Newton At one point during the exceptional Blackie & the Rodeo Kings show at Sonar a couple of weeks back, guitarist-vocalist and former Junkhouse member Tom Wilson casually leaned into the mike and said: “Roll out red carpet, here come China boys.” His group … Continue reading Bob Rock on the Payola$ reunion and the influence of Mick Ronson as a producer
Anders Osborne says that, when it comes to songwriting, “there’s not much to it”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 27, 2003 By Steve Newton Anders Osborne is not the type of singer-songwriter who’s easily categorized. The Sweden-raised, Louisiana-based bard is described in the liner notes for his 1999 Living Room CD as “a guitar wizard whose multifaceted grooves and soulful vocals evolve the link between second-line funk, … Continue reading Anders Osborne says that, when it comes to songwriting, “there’s not much to it”
B-movies and true tragedies inspire Canadian guitar wizard Don Ross
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 13, 2003 By Steve Newton Acoustic-guitar wizard Don Ross isn’t much of a Lennon/McCartney kinda guy. As a Beatles-crazed youngster growing up in Ontario, Ross originally wanted to be Ringo Starr—if only because he always drummed on things. But when his sister brought home a guitar from boarding … Continue reading B-movies and true tragedies inspire Canadian guitar wizard Don Ross
Bay Area guitar great Will Bernard says Carlos Santana and Joe Satriani are tough to beat
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 23, 2003 By Steve Newton Will Bernard may be one of the best guitarists you’ve never heard of, but they sure know about him down in San Francisco. He was nominated for outstanding guitarist at the California Music Awards the past two years running, and the competition was … Continue reading Bay Area guitar great Will Bernard says Carlos Santana and Joe Satriani are tough to beat
Danny Michel sticks with the DIY route on Tales From the Invisible Man
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 16, 2003 By Steve Newton Danny Michel is a DIY kinda guy. For the most part, the Ontario tunesmith wrote, produced, recorded, engineered, edited, programmed, and mixed his new CD, Tales From the Invisible Man. He did it at his home studio and played guitar, bass, drums, and … Continue reading Danny Michel sticks with the DIY route on Tales From the Invisible Man
B’z guitarist Tak Matsumoto speaks little English, lets his signature Les Paul to the talkin’
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 16, 2003 By Steve Newton Up until a few weeks ago, my knowledge of popular music in Japan was pretty slim. About all I knew for sure was that Cheap Trick used to cause a big stir over there in the ’70s when they played a place called … Continue reading B’z guitarist Tak Matsumoto speaks little English, lets his signature Les Paul to the talkin’
Sloan goes to town, ’70s guitar-rock style, on Action Pact
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 16, 2003 By Steve Newton When Sloan headed into an L.A. studio with producer Tom Rothrock earlier this year, diehard fans of the Halifax-bred power-pop quartet might have had cause for concern. The last two projects Rothrock had helmed at that point were Badly Drawn Boy’s Have You … Continue reading Sloan goes to town, ’70s guitar-rock style, on Action Pact
Steve Vai on cocky G3 tourmate Yngwie Malmsteen and tormented “genius” Devin Townsend
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 9, 2003 By Steve Newton I was a tad taken aback when the press release came in announcing the lineup for Joe Satriani’s 2003 G3 Tour. It wasn’t a surprise to see long-time G3er (and former Satch student) Steve Vai’s name on the bill. But I didn’t expect … Continue reading Steve Vai on cocky G3 tourmate Yngwie Malmsteen and tormented “genius” Devin Townsend
Interviewing Nathan Followill of Kings of Leon just before they took the throne
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 25, 2003 By Steve Newton There’s a real buzz happening right now about Kings of Leon, a scruffy Tennessee quartet consisting of three brothers and a cousin who are winning praise for their garage-y brand of Southern-flavoured guitar rock. England’s prestigious NME put the band on the cover of its July … Continue reading Interviewing Nathan Followill of Kings of Leon just before they took the throne
Koko Taylor, Queen of the Blues, says Willie Dixon was her right arm
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 25, 2003 By Steve Newton When Koko Taylor was a youngster, living with her poverty-stricken family on a sharecropper’s farm in Tennessee, she used to find joy in her meagre existence through the music B.B. King liked to play. It wasn’t King’s own soulful blues that caught her ear, though; it … Continue reading Koko Taylor, Queen of the Blues, says Willie Dixon was her right arm
Jonny Lang has always wanted to be a singer, and his dream came true a long time ago
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT. 23, 2003 By Steve Newton In the bio that came with Jonny Lang’s new CD, Long Time Coming, the singer-guitarist describes the album as “a journal of my life for the past two years”. Since one of the song titles is “Happiness and Misery”, you might assume that most of his … Continue reading Jonny Lang has always wanted to be a singer, and his dream came true a long time ago
Coco Montoya was transformed by the sheer soul of Alberts Collins and King
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 18, 2003 By Steve Newton Many guitarists can pinpoint a moment in their youth when they knew they were destined for a life in music. For blues-rocker Coco Montoya it happened in 1969, at the Shrine Auditorium in L.A. He’d gone there to see Creedence Clearwater Revival and … Continue reading Coco Montoya was transformed by the sheer soul of Alberts Collins and King