Tag: 2006

Horror review: When a Stranger Calls

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, FEB. 9, 2006 The original When a Stranger Calls from 1979 is best remembered for the scene where terrified babysitter Jill Johnson (Carol Kane), tormented by a string of ominous crank calls ("Have you checked the children?"), is warned by police that the calls have been traced and that they're coming … Continue reading Horror review: When a Stranger Calls

Horror review: Hostel

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JAN. 5, 2006 By Steve Newton The horror scene seems to be in the grip of a hardcore revolution these days. It's as if a cabal of serious fright-film fanatics got together and organized a bitter backlash against hokey Hollywood body-count flicks with cookie-cutter plots and predictable outcomes. In the last … Continue reading Horror review: Hostel

J.D. Fortune went from living in a car to fronting INXS

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 12, 2006 By Steve Newton This time last year, few people knew the name of Canadian rock vocalist J.D. Fortune. A lot of them were familiar with INXS, but at that stage in the group's career--eight years after the death by apparent suicide of its enigmatic frontman Michael Hutchence--they wouldn't have … Continue reading J.D. Fortune went from living in a car to fronting INXS

Hyperactive hard-rocker Danko Jones doesn’t even know what sleep is

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 19, 2006 By Steve Newton Danko Jones has no time to snooze. In fact, his current bio claims that he hasn't had a nap since kindergarten. Any time spent in dreamland would just cut into his opportunities to rock your fucking ass off! "I'm firin' on speed right now," claims the … Continue reading Hyperactive hard-rocker Danko Jones doesn’t even know what sleep is

Stephen King calls Marah America’s best unknown rock band

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, FEB. 2, 2006 By Steve Newton Not only is Stephen King among the world's most popular writers, he also has good taste in music. He's long been known as a devotee of AC/DC and the Ramones, and when it came time to choose a pseudonym to put on the covers of … Continue reading Stephen King calls Marah America’s best unknown rock band

Rez guitarist Scotty Hall got neck-tapping tips from Harvey Mandel

scotty hall (left) and phil robertson ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 16, 2006 By Steve Newton Although Rez may be the finest guitar-based instrumental-rock CD ever to come out of Vancouver, the original meeting of the duo behind it was rather inauspicious. Guitarist Scotty Hall and drummer-keyboardist Phil Robertson hooked up when Hall attended a rehearsal … Continue reading Rez guitarist Scotty Hall got neck-tapping tips from Harvey Mandel

Roger Taylor says Queen hooked up with Paul Rodgers by accident

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 6, 2006 By Steve Newton Chilliwack was the perfect place for a rock-crazed teenager to grow up during the '70s. Not only could you crank "Free Bird" at full blast without fear of recrimination, but the big-city destination of Vancouver's Hastings & Renfrew was only an hour away. Whether it was … Continue reading Roger Taylor says Queen hooked up with Paul Rodgers by accident

Rob Zombie says the Allman Brothers are his favourite band

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 3, 2006 By Steve Newton Five years ago I covered the local shoot of Halloween: Resurrection for British horror mag Shivers. I spent several hours on set, and it was lotsa fun--especially when veteran makeup-FX artist Gary Tunnicliffe showed me how he could make giant animatronic rats squirm around in their … Continue reading Rob Zombie says the Allman Brothers are his favourite band

Johnny Knoxville checked his brain at the door when thinking up the stunts for Jackass: Number Two

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 21, 2006 By Steve Newton HOLLYWOOD--Who's the better movie star: Humphrey Bogart because he embodied macho cool in Casablanca or Johnny Knoxville because he put on a red shirt and a blindfold and offered himself to a charging bull in Jackass: Number Two? Bogie may have been more deserving of an … Continue reading Johnny Knoxville checked his brain at the door when thinking up the stunts for Jackass: Number Two

Jason “Wee Man” Acuña gets naked to promote Jackass: Number Two

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 14, 2006 By Steve Newton HOLLYWOOD--It's a poolside reception for Jackass: Number Two at the Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard. Various cast members--including Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Preston Lacy, and Jason “Wee Man” Acuña--are sitting around, getting quietly sloshed. Maybe a little too quietly for Knoxville's liking. The renowned shit … Continue reading Jason “Wee Man” Acuña gets naked to promote Jackass: Number Two

Warren Haynes is proud that Gov’t Mule’s new CD draws comparisons to Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT. 12, 2006 By Steve Newton Warren Haynes spends a large part of his time with a guitar in his hands; for more than a decade he's been doing double duty with southern-rock legends the Allman Brothers and blues-rock kings Gov't Mule. So it's no surprise that the musician is pictured playing … Continue reading Warren Haynes is proud that Gov’t Mule’s new CD draws comparisons to Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy

James Blunt may be the long lost love child of Al Stewart

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, NOV. 9, 2006 NOT MANY RECORDING artists get to headline a venue the size of GM Place with just one album under their belt, but only seven months after nearly selling out the 2,800-seat Orpheum Theatre, James Blunt packed several thousand more bodies into the Canucks’ home rink. Apparently, people can’t get … Continue reading James Blunt may be the long lost love child of Al Stewart