ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 15, 1988 By Steve Newton "If you grew up in the '70s you liked Aerosmith." That's what R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck wrote in the liner notes to his group's version of Aerosmith's "Toys in the Attic" on the Dead Letter Office album. And he knew what he was talking about. Along with … Continue reading Joe Perry says that Aerosmith is playing “wicked tight” after its Permanent Vacation
Tag: Bruce Fairbairn
Album review: Van Halen, Balance (1995)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, FEB. 2, 1995 By Steve Newton Eddie Van Halen is surely one of the best guitarists in rock, but I’m getting sick of only being able to hear him within the confining and predictable framework of his current band’s (mostly) run-of-the-mill tunes. The band’s last few albums have contained … Continue reading Album review: Van Halen, Balance (1995)
Album review: Aerosmith, Get a Grip (1993)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MAY 6, 1993 By Steve Newton When I first heard Aerosmith’s “comeback” releases—1987’s Permanent Vacation and 1989’s Pump—I thought they were mighty fine. In the intervening years, however, I found myself playing those discs less and less, tending instead to dig around in my vinyl collection for earlier … Continue reading Album review: Aerosmith, Get a Grip (1993)
Album review: AC/DC, The Razors Edge (1990)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT. 11, 1990 By Steve Newton Has AC/DC ever put out a bad record? I doubt it. But their efforts haven’t all been great, either. The band’s latest, the Vancouver-made (and grammatically incorrect) The Razors Edge falls somewhere between the band’s strongest (Powerage, Back in Black) and weakest (Flick of the … Continue reading Album review: AC/DC, The Razors Edge (1990)
Jon Bon Jovi talks strippers, scenery, and hype as Slippery When Wet tops the charts
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 26, 1987 By Steve Newton Talk about moving up in the world! It was a little more than a year ago that New Jersey rockers Bon Jovi played the now-defunct Embassy on Davie. They were in town recording their Slippery When Wet album, and they wanted to see how the new … Continue reading Jon Bon Jovi talks strippers, scenery, and hype as Slippery When Wet tops the charts
That time 25-year-old Jon Bon Jovi asked me to say hi to his idol Little Steven, so I did
By Steve Newton Ever since I decided that's life's too short not to spend countless hours poring over ancient tapes of interviews I did with famous rock stars, I've uncovered some pretty interesting excerpts. Interesting to me, anyway. Like that time back on June 18, 1987, when I did a phone interview with Jon Bon … Continue reading That time 25-year-old Jon Bon Jovi asked me to say hi to his idol Little Steven, so I did
Jon Bon Jovi in 1986: “As long as there’s a plug, we’ll plug it in.”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 11, 1986 By Steve Newton When New York rockers Bon Jovi flew into Vancouver to record their third album, it didn't take long for them to become attached to the place. "The first night we got there we were into the Embassy and the Metro," says singer Jon Bon Jovi. "And … Continue reading Jon Bon Jovi in 1986: “As long as there’s a plug, we’ll plug it in.”
AC/DC fans unimpressed with Axl Rose hiring suggest Angry Anderson, Marc Storace, and the guy from Airbourne
By Steve Newton Yesterday I posted a blog claiming that AC/DC had "f***ed up" by making Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose their singer instead of Aussie rock legend (and legendary screamer) Jimmy Barnes, of Cold Chisel fame. My blog got a lot of comments. Some folks thought I was right on, and that Barnes … Continue reading AC/DC fans unimpressed with Axl Rose hiring suggest Angry Anderson, Marc Storace, and the guy from Airbourne
Steven Tyler screeches like a budgie from hell as Aerosmith rocks Vancouver on the Pump tour
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 23, 1990 By Steve Newton Boy, the nerve of those Aerosmith guys! They stay in our city for months on end, tie up our world-class studios, use our best producers and engineers, hog all the seats in our strip bars, and then deny the city's top entertainment rag a crummy phone … Continue reading Steven Tyler screeches like a budgie from hell as Aerosmith rocks Vancouver on the Pump tour
Blue Öyster Cult’s Buck Dharma likes making people strain to hear
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 24, 2002 By Steve Newton As a metal-crazed teen in the ’70s, I was obsessed with Long Island hard-rockers Blue Öyster Cult. I used to blow all my lawn-mowing money on their albums and play them at ear-busting volume for hours on end, even though I had trouble making out the … Continue reading Blue Öyster Cult’s Buck Dharma likes making people strain to hear
Ian Lloyd, the “Brother Louie” guy, says he’s proud of his claim to fame
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT. 26, 1984 By Steve Newton Ten years ago a New York band called Stories hit it big on North American singles charts with "Brother Louie". The song—a cover of Hot Chocolate's UK hit—made it to No. 1 on Billboard, but despite some fine pop-oriented music on albums like About Us and Travelling Underground, the band … Continue reading Ian Lloyd, the “Brother Louie” guy, says he’s proud of his claim to fame
Monster Magnet’s Dave Wyndorf says “clever Weezer-type music” caused him to rock out on Powertrip
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 12, 1998 By Steve Newton Dave Wyndorf likes the company of Zombies. As the songwriter-vocalist-guitarist for New Jersey hard-rockers Monster Magnet, he spent many nights on tour with White Zombie; now that that group has split up, he’s spending many nights on tour with Rob Zombie. But a Zombie’s a Zombie, … Continue reading Monster Magnet’s Dave Wyndorf says “clever Weezer-type music” caused him to rock out on Powertrip
Gordie Johnson draws inspiration from Eddie Kramer and kudos from Bruce Fairbairn for Big Sugar’s Heated
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 12, 1998 By Steve Newton During a recent interview with famed local rock producer Bruce Fairbairn, I asked him if he’d heard any current albums that had blown him away, production-wise. It only took him a couple of seconds to come up with Heated, the latest CD from Toronto blues-rockers Big … Continue reading Gordie Johnson draws inspiration from Eddie Kramer and kudos from Bruce Fairbairn for Big Sugar’s Heated