One of my all-time favourite rock bands, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, will play Vancouver this summer. Maybe they're one of your all-time faves too! I mean, who doesn't like "Refugee"? I think it's safe to say that if you don't like "Refugee" you're f***ed in the head! The show takes place August 14 at Rogers … Continue reading Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers bring Hypnotic Eye to Vancouver this summer
Tag: concert
Pride & Glory’s Zakk Wylde says he’ll always be Ozzy’s guitar player
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT. 20, 1994 By Steve Newton Rock guitarists have a few things to worry about during a live performance—such as blowing an amp, breaking a string, or dropping a pick during a crucial guitar freak-out. Personal injury isn’t usually one of the main onstage concerns for today’s rock artists, but—as Pride & … Continue reading Pride & Glory’s Zakk Wylde says he’ll always be Ozzy’s guitar player
Bob Rock gets the Payola$ back together for a Mick Ronson-inspired raveup in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT. 20, 1994 By Steve Newton Ya gotta like that Bob Rock guy. When he gets tired of producing platinum-plus CDs for bands like Metallica and Mötley Crüe, he forms his own group, Rockhead, and gets back to his ’70s-rock roots with melodic, radio-friendly sing-along tunes such as “Bed of Roses” and … Continue reading Bob Rock gets the Payola$ back together for a Mick Ronson-inspired raveup in Vancouver
Kim Mitchell and Pye Dubois have come a long way from the Sarnia high-school smoking section
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 29, 1994 By Steve Newton When the time comes to sit down with Kim Mitchell and his lyricist, Pye Dubois, at the Bulldog Cafe, I have a bone to pick with them—and it isn’t one of the Nelson Street eatery’s tasty chicken wings. I want to know why one of Canadian … Continue reading Kim Mitchell and Pye Dubois have come a long way from the Sarnia high-school smoking section
Tinsley Ellis’s new disc features Chuck Leavell and 14-year-old Derek Trucks
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 29, 1994 By Steve Newton Tinsley Ellis really gets around. According to the Atlanta bluesman’s Alligator Records bio, he plays upward of 250 nights a year—and that ain’t no house gig, either. When I reached the seasoned road warrior by phone last week, he was at a place … Continue reading Tinsley Ellis’s new disc features Chuck Leavell and 14-year-old Derek Trucks
Taj Mahal and Robert Cray deliver soulfully smokin’ blues to a sold-out Commodore crowd
If there’s one thing that’s a sure cure for the sad-eyed, rain-soaked January blahs, it’s a blues show at Vancouver's Commodore Ballroom.
Aussie guitar wizard Tommy Emmanuel on playing with Chet Atkins and looking after Lenny Breau
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MAY 5, 1994 By Steve Newton When I was in my early 20s, I made what for me was a major investment. I bought a near-new, shiny black Fender Stratocaster. The fact that I couldn't even play guitar at the time didn't matter; I figured anything that cool-looking had to sound good, … Continue reading Aussie guitar wizard Tommy Emmanuel on playing with Chet Atkins and looking after Lenny Breau
Bon Jovi brings New Jersey to Vancouver, Aerosmith and Mötley Crüe crash the party
kevin statham photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MAY 19, 1989 By Steve Newton The first time Bon Jovi played B.C. Place, in the summer of '87, the band drew 22,000 fans. Last Thursday (May 11) the New Jersey rockers could only pull in 18,000. Does that mean the masters of mainstream metal are on the way … Continue reading Bon Jovi brings New Jersey to Vancouver, Aerosmith and Mötley Crüe crash the party
Headstones debut with kick-ass Dylan cover while workin’ for MCA
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 20, 1994 By Steve Newton Some hard-rock bands just don’t do justice to the tunes they cover. Great White had a huge hit with its 1989 rendition of Ian Hunter’s classic “Once Bitten Twice Shy”, but the revamped version sucked, for lack of a better word. The mighty Megadeth tried but … Continue reading Headstones debut with kick-ass Dylan cover while workin’ for MCA
Terrible sadness over an abortion led to All’s regretful “Birthday I.O.U.”
“L.A. has gotten pretty weird lately,” explains All's Bill Stevenson. "There’s an awful lot of crime, and it’s really degenerating badly."
Down Under slide-guitarist Dave Hole sports an over-the-top style
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 18, 1993 By Steve Newton As a musically inclined teenager living in Perth, Australia, during the 1960s, Dave Hole didn’t get the opportunity to hear much music by the great American bluesmen of the time. One fateful day, however, a member of his teenaged cover band got his … Continue reading Down Under slide-guitarist Dave Hole sports an over-the-top style
Steve Vai takes Devin Townsend on in a fierce guitar duel but doesn’t let the home team win
kevin statham photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT. 7, 1993 By Steve Newton Vancouver vocalist Devin Townsend caused a minor uproar (and prompted a few letters to the editor) when I interviewed him a few weeks back. Some folks didn’t appreciate the 21-year-old’s caustic view of the music industry or his offhand remarks regarding the guitar … Continue reading Steve Vai takes Devin Townsend on in a fierce guitar duel but doesn’t let the home team win
The Newt takes a wrong turn on Granville and winds up at a freakin’ jazz show
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 30, 1993 I like guitars a lot. I really do. As a matter of fact, up until last Thursday (Sept. 23), I don’t think I’d ever attended a concert that didn’t feature at least one of those six-stringed glories. So when I sat down at the Vogue and … Continue reading The Newt takes a wrong turn on Granville and winds up at a freakin’ jazz show