The Residents play the Hollywood Theatre By Steve Newton FRIDAY: late-night screening at the Rio Theatre of the 1993 horror flick Leprechaun, starring Warwick Davis and Jennifer Aniston in her feature-film debut. FRIDAY: Canadian indie-pop quintet Alvvays plays the Commodore Ballroom, with guests Big Rig. SOLD OUT. FRIDAY AND SATURDAY: Punkstravaganza VII at the Rickshaw … Continue reading Newt’s top 10 things to do in Metro Vancouver this weekend, March 17 to 19
Tag: Duke Robillard
Album review: Jimmy Thackery, Guitar (2003)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 20, 2003 By Steve Newton Last year American blues-rock guitar ace Jimmy Thackery released a wonderfully overdue tribute to relatively unknown music great Eddie Hinton. Now he tips the hat to a few other six-string stalwarts with Guitar, collecting nine instrumental tracks from his own Blind Pig back … Continue reading Album review: Jimmy Thackery, Guitar (2003)
That time J. Geils told me that his first love was jazz and he wanted to be a white Miles Davis
By Steve Newton As a teenager in the seventies, I absolutely loved the J. Geils Band. I first got turned onto them through the "Live" Full House album of '72, which was just a smokin' concert disc. I was crazy about their versions of old R&B/blues numbers like "First I Look at the Purse" and "Homework", … Continue reading That time J. Geils told me that his first love was jazz and he wanted to be a white Miles Davis
Big Dave McLean got pointers from John Hammond as a teen
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 7, 2003 By Steve Newton When he was just a teen, Dave McLean attended the Mariposa Folk Festival in Orillia, Ontario, and got pointers from John Hammond on how to play some basic blues progressions. A couple of weeks ago the now 51-year-old Big Dave performed with Hammond … Continue reading Big Dave McLean got pointers from John Hammond as a teen
Jack De Keyzer grew to like Howlin’ Wolf more than the Stones
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 19, 2002 By Steve Newton Toronto blues-rocker Jack De Keyzer spent the first decade of his life in England, when the biggest thing in pop music was Cliff Richard and the Shadows. Just before he moved to Ontario, though, the Beatles came along, and it was through the … Continue reading Jack De Keyzer grew to like Howlin’ Wolf more than the Stones
Eddy Clearwater took Magic lessons on Chicago’s West Side
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 24, 1999 By Steve Newton Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater chose a good guy to hang with when he moved to Chicago’s West Side in 1950. As a budding, 15-year-old bluesman, Clearwater became close friends with Magic Sam, the legendary West Side guitarist who died of a heart attack at the age … Continue reading Eddy Clearwater took Magic lessons on Chicago’s West Side
Duke Robillard finds a sense of balance with Temptation
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 2, 1995 By Steve Newton Some music-crazy kids will do anything to get their youthful paws on their first electric guitar. They’ll beg, borrow, or steal. Or, if they’re like Duke Robillard, they’ll pull a fast one. As a 14-year-old in Providence, Rhode Island, he came up with a highly original … Continue reading Duke Robillard finds a sense of balance with Temptation
Doobie Brothers deliver the goods but can’t pull a big crowd in Vancouver on the Brotherhood Tour
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 13, 1991 By Steve Newton Only 4,000 fans showed up for the Doobie Brothers show last Friday, which is not a particularly impressive turnout for any Coliseum act, least of all one that’s sold as many albums as the Doobies. Maybe the general consensus is that the Doobies aren’t hip—or even … Continue reading Doobie Brothers deliver the goods but can’t pull a big crowd in Vancouver on the Brotherhood Tour