The last time the Georgia Straight chatted with Vince D'Amato, back in the fall of 2003, he was busy overseeing the gruesome torture of his fiancée at his mom’s house in Burnaby. D’Amato was directing an extremely low-budget ($3,000) horror flick called Human Nature, and his bride-to-be, Nicole Hancock, portrayed an unfortunate victim. That set visit turned into … Continue reading Canadian Horror Show in Vancouver features icky Michael Ironside
Tag: Georgia Straight
Limblifter’s Ryan Dahle gets his T. Rex on for Bellaclava
"You know when you feel like you’re gonna have, like, a nervous breakdown or something? Walking’s good for that. And it’s a long walk, too.”
Eric Carr claims he’s still a fox as Kiss recruits Mark St. John and unleashes Animalize
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 28, 1984 By Steve Newton It was a snowy and cold January afternoon in 1975 when several high school friends and I headed off to the second Vancouver appearance of an up-and-coming rock band named KISS. Almost all of us had our well-worn copy of the group's first album and tunes … Continue reading Eric Carr claims he’s still a fox as Kiss recruits Mark St. John and unleashes Animalize
Johnny Winter is white, hot, and blue in Vancouver
On September 1, 1989, Johnny Winter played the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver. The chance to witness the underrated Texas guitar legend in the confines of one of Vancouver's finest concert venues (for the second time) was not one I was about to pass up. Besides, at the time I was really grooving on his latest album, … Continue reading Johnny Winter is white, hot, and blue in Vancouver
Pluto met through a Straight ad but isn’t quite cover material yet
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 26, 1996 Ian Jones gets right to the point. The second question the Pluto singer-guitarist asks when calling from a roadside Saskatchewan pay phone—directly following “How are you?”—is “Is this for the cover?” I sheepishly explain that, since I’m not the editor, it’s not my call which story … Continue reading Pluto met through a Straight ad but isn’t quite cover material yet
The Doughboys’ John Kastner is sick of hearing about the Hip
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 19, 1996 When Doughboys singer-guitarist John Kastner rings up and informs me that he’s calling from Kingston, Ontario, I casually comment, “Oh, the home of the Tragically Hip.” I suppose I could have said, “Hey, nice penitentiary they’ve got there.” That might have gone over a little better. … Continue reading The Doughboys’ John Kastner is sick of hearing about the Hip
Doc Neeson calls Angel City’s comparisons to AC/DC “a bonus”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 22, 1985 By Steve Newton "We were driving around L.A. yesterday," relates Angel City vocalist Doc Neeson, "and we passed this fantastic crowd of about 20 or 30 black guys--a conga band. So I stopped. Then one of them grabbed a hold of our lead guitarist! "And to us, culturally, you're … Continue reading Doc Neeson calls Angel City’s comparisons to AC/DC “a bonus”
David Gilmour from Pink Floyd tells me “we don’t do drug songs”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 22, 1984 By Steve Newton "Well that's artistic licence," remarked guitarist/vocalist David Gilmour. Over the phone from Toronto, Gilmour expanded on the motive behind "Murder", a song from his new LP About Face which contains the line, "By your own admission, you raised up the knife." "If I'd left a gun … Continue reading David Gilmour from Pink Floyd tells me “we don’t do drug songs”
Lindsay Mitchell recalls the Summer of Love with the cocky Seeds of Time
photo by Roger Stomperud ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT ON APRIL 16, 1992 By Steve Newton “This ain’t the Garden of Eden There ain’t no angels above And things ain’t what they used to be And this ain’t the summer of love.” —Blue Oyster Cult There never will be another summer of love, at … Continue reading Lindsay Mitchell recalls the Summer of Love with the cocky Seeds of Time
My fifth and final interview with Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 7, 1996 By Steve Newton When word went out over the local airwaves one July morning last year that the Tragically Hip were playing a tiny Vancouver club that night to raise funds for the Vancouver Food Bank—and give 200 or so of their die-hard fans the thrill of a lifetime—pandemonium … Continue reading My fifth and final interview with Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip
Devin Townsend’s early days: Gray Skies, Steve Vai, Commodore highs
Vancouver's Devin Townsend is a master of extreme metal. I'm not saying that from personal experience, because I'm not into extreme metal. Old Iron Maiden's about as extreme as I get these days. But from what I've heard the fortyish singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist is quite the artistic genius when it comes to various … Continue reading Devin Townsend’s early days: Gray Skies, Steve Vai, Commodore highs
Horror review: The Exorcism of Emily Rose
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, SEPT. 15, 2005 All those shocking images in the TV trailer for The Exorcism of Emily Rose had me thinking: "Cool! Maybe someone's finally made a worthy demonic-possession flick to rival The Exorcist." Then I ran into veteran Georgia Straight movie guy Ian Caddell, and he pooped all over my party. "It's … Continue reading Horror review: The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Ex-Georgia Straight editor spearheads blues-rocking benefit for Mary Steinhauser bursary
PHOTO BY THE NEWT By Steve Newton Remember "Hurricane", that great Bob Dylan tune about the imprisonment of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter? Bob Mercer sure does. Dylan's 1975 protest song came out five months after a notorious hostage-taking incident at the B.C. Penitentiary that took the life of 32-year-old prison social-worker Mary Steinhauser. Three years later, … Continue reading Ex-Georgia Straight editor spearheads blues-rocking benefit for Mary Steinhauser bursary