ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MAY 9, 2000 By Steve Newton One listen to the new Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets CD, Change in My Pocket, and you can tell the guitarist is from the less-is-more school; his tasty, laid-back approach would put him in the same homeroom as Jimmie Vaughan. Both pickers are … Continue reading Anson Funderburgh says Sam Myers talks about making moonshine with Elmore James
Tag: Buddy Guy
That time Stevie Ray Vaughan told me about his love of sixties blues
By Steve Newton Stevie Ray Vaughan wrote (and co-wrote) some damn fine songs, but he didn't mind covering somebody else's tunes either. When I did my second interview with him in 1990 his latest album was In Step, which included covers of sixties blues tunes by Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy, and Willie Dixon. When I … Continue reading That time Stevie Ray Vaughan told me about his love of sixties blues
Album review: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, In Step (1989)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 4, 1989 By Steve Newton It's been four years since Stevie Ray Vaughan's last studio album, but with In Step he's made the long wait worthwhile. The Texas blues-rocker covers a lot of musical bases on this latest effort, and comes through with flying colours. The album kicks … Continue reading Album review: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, In Step (1989)
Newt’s Top 10 Albums of 2018
By Steve Newton This year I picked some instrumental rock, some hard rock, some southern rock, and some Beatles, but the underlying thread running through most of this stuff is the blues. You just can't beat the blues. Joe Satriani What Happens Next Bay Area guitar wizard hooks up once again with Langley producer Mike Fraser … Continue reading Newt’s Top 10 Albums of 2018
Chillin’ with blues legend Buddy Guy backstage at the Commodore
By Steve Newton Here's me hangin' with one of my fave all-time bluesmen, Mr. Buddy Guy. It was backstage at the Commodore Ballroom, one of the top concert venues in Vancouver. I remember this meeting well, because the former proprietor of the Commodore, local legend Drew Burns, also showed up to say hi to Buddy. … Continue reading Chillin’ with blues legend Buddy Guy backstage at the Commodore
Album review: Lonnie Mack, Strike Like Lightning (1985)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MAY 24, 1985 By Steve Newton Strike Like Lightning--the newest release from blues innovator Lonnie Mack--packs a sizzling guitar-drenched punch. Produced by Mack and six-string hero Stevie Ray Vaughan, the album features Vaughan's nifty fretwork on five tracks, including the go-for-broke instrumental "Double Whammy" and the acoustic, back-porch jam of … Continue reading Album review: Lonnie Mack, Strike Like Lightning (1985)
Album review: Various Artists, Big Bad Love Soundtrack (2002)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JULY 25, 2002 By Steve Newton This is my favourite soundtrack album of the year, so far; I must have played it 20 times already. It’s essentially a showcase for the rough-hewn backwoods boogie of North Mississippi hill-country blues artists Robert Belfour, T-Model Ford, Junior Kimbrough, and R. … Continue reading Album review: Various Artists, Big Bad Love Soundtrack (2002)
Album review: Various Artists, A Tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan (1996)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 29, 1996 By Steve Newton The folks behind this latest tribute to blues-rock guitar legend Stevie Ray Vaughan could hardly lose when they got Vaughan’s older brother (and biggest influence) Jimmie to organize and host a one-off concert featuring Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, … Continue reading Album review: Various Artists, A Tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan (1996)
Album review: Buddy Guy, Slippin’ In (1994)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 15, 1994 By Steve Newton I always felt that Buddy Guy’s two Grammy award–winning ’90s releases—Damn Right I’ve Got the Blues and Feels Like Rain—were fine examples of the legendary guitarist’s crossover blues, but when I wanted to hear him at his raw, sweaty, string-strangling best I … Continue reading Album review: Buddy Guy, Slippin’ In (1994)
Album review: John Mayall, Wake Up Call (1993)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 3, 1993 By Steve Newton Blues legend Mayall lays down 12 bare-bones blues-rock tunes on Wake Up Call, his third good album in a row after Chicago Line and A Sense of Place. Fans of wailing harp and biting guitar won’t be disappointed by the sounds coming … Continue reading Album review: John Mayall, Wake Up Call (1993)
That time blues legend Otis Rush told me that he was always tryin’
By Steve Newton I've interviewed a lot of legendary blues guitarists over the years. B.B. King, Albert King, Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, Stevie Ray Vaughan--they don't get much more famous than that. But I've also managed to score time with lesser-known blues artists who--though not as familiar to the average music fan--have been very influential … Continue reading That time blues legend Otis Rush told me that he was always tryin’
David Gogo drinks “anything that’s liquid” and uses the empty glass for a slide in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 19, 1991 By Steve Newton Does 22-year-old David Gogo have what it takes to become Canada’s next blues-rock guitar hero? Can his name be mentioned along with the likes of Jeff Healey, Colin James, and Tony “Wild T” Springer? That question could be on a few minds these … Continue reading David Gogo drinks “anything that’s liquid” and uses the empty glass for a slide in Vancouver
That time I asked 18-year-old guitar star Derek Trucks who he’d most like to jam with
his wish to jam with B.B. came true By Steve Newton The first time I interviewed Derek Trucks--back in March of 1998, when he was just 18--I mentioned that he'd already played with famous folks like Bob Dylan and Buddy Guy, but wondered who else he'd most like to jam with. He mentioned a couple … Continue reading That time I asked 18-year-old guitar star Derek Trucks who he’d most like to jam with