By Steve Newton Back in June of 2000 the Vancouver newspaper I'm still working at (god willing), the Georgia Straight, introduced a new column called Payback Time, where ticked-off readers could write in and vociferously complain about the music critics' opinions, before the scribe under attack was allowed to defend himself with a potentially witty … Continue reading That time some chick called me “a Skynyrd-loving moron” so I hummed a few bars of “Free Bird”
Tag: Lynyrd Skynyrd
That time Golden Earring frontman Barry Hay told me about touring with Lynyrd Skynyrd and getting beaten up with Ronnie Van Zandt
By Steve Newton It's amazing what a person can find when they listen to old interviews they recorded on cassette back in 1984. Like that time I was chatting with Golden Earring vocalist and cosongwriter Barry Hay and asked him about touring with Lynyrd Skynyrd back in the seventies. Have a listen: To hear my … Continue reading That time Golden Earring frontman Barry Hay told me about touring with Lynyrd Skynyrd and getting beaten up with Ronnie Van Zandt
That time I asked J.J. Cale which covers of his songs he liked best and Clapton’s didn’t even come up
By Steve Newton When you think about the J.J. Cale songs that other artists have covered and made famous, Eric Clapton's versions of "After Midnight" and "Cocaine" usually make the cut. (Lynyrd Skynyrd's take on "Call Me the Breeze" and Santana's rendition of "The Sensitive Kind" also come to mind.) But when I did my … Continue reading That time I asked J.J. Cale which covers of his songs he liked best and Clapton’s didn’t even come up
That time Tom Petty guitarist Mike Campbell told me that Lynyrd Skynyrd’s success gave him hope
mudcrutch photo by red slater By Steve Newton When I interviewed Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell back in the summer of 1999 we got to talking about his early days playing with Petty in the Gainesville, Florida band Mudcrutch. At one point Campbell told me about how that band would sometimes … Continue reading That time Tom Petty guitarist Mike Campbell told me that Lynyrd Skynyrd’s success gave him hope
That time J.J. Cale told me that, like Eric Clapton, Lynyrd Skynyrd also helped his bank account
By Steve Newton Lynyrd Skynyrd's Second Helping was released the day after my 17th birthday, so the timing was right for it to become one of the major soundtracks to my rock-loving '70s existence. I didn't mind its smash-hit lead-off single, "Sweet Home Alabama", but I liked its rollicking closing track, "Call Me the Breeze", … Continue reading That time J.J. Cale told me that, like Eric Clapton, Lynyrd Skynyrd also helped his bank account
Album Review: The Radiators, Zigzagging Through Ghostland (1989)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 18, 1989 By Steve Newton It's a real shame that the Radiators had to cancel a scheduled show at 86 Street a while back, because the New Orleans-based band is a real cooker, as Zigzagging Through Ghostland attests. The Radiators' funky southern soul is reminiscent of Little Feat, … Continue reading Album Review: The Radiators, Zigzagging Through Ghostland (1989)
That time Gary Rossington told me that Lynyrd Skynyrd would still be together, if not for the crash
By Steve Newton Back in 1986 I interviewed southern-rock legend Gary Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd fame. At the time he had his own band called Rossington, which featured his wife Dale Krantz-Rossington on vocals. That group wasn't nearly as great as Skynyrd--or the Rossington Collins Band, for that matter--but it was still a real hoot … Continue reading That time Gary Rossington told me that Lynyrd Skynyrd would still be together, if not for the crash
That time I asked Gary Rossington about first meeting Dale Krantz and he let her answer that one
By Steve Newton I've been a huge Lynyrd Skynyrd fan ever since I first heard Pronounced, so it was a real kick to get to interview Gary Rossington back in 1986. (As dedicated Skynyrd fans know, that was also the year a drunk Allen Collins crashed his new Ford Thunderbird, paralyzing himself from the waist … Continue reading That time I asked Gary Rossington about first meeting Dale Krantz and he let her answer that one
Burt Reynolds’ death two weeks after Ed King’s gets me raving about “Saturday Night Special”
By Steve Newton I never thought Lynyrd Skynyrd's third album, 1975's Nuthin' Fancy, was anywhere near as fine as its first two albums, but holy fvck did I love the opening track, "Saturday Night Special". It boasted a killer main riff by guitarist Ed King, and some seriously kick-ass, southern-fried solos by Gary Rossington. … Continue reading Burt Reynolds’ death two weeks after Ed King’s gets me raving about “Saturday Night Special”
Album review: Molly Hatchet, No Guts…No Glory (1983)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 4, 1983 By Steve Newton Easily the best hard-rock album I've heard yet this year, Molly Hatchet's No Guts...No Glory even outdoes their earlier blockbusters Flirtin' With Disaster and Beatin' the Odds. Growling vocalist Danny Joe Brown is back in the Hatchet lineup after fronting his own band for … Continue reading Album review: Molly Hatchet, No Guts…No Glory (1983)
Album review: .38 Special, Special Forces (1982)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 4, 1982 By Steve Newton Last year's Wild Eyed Southern Boys was a tough act to follow, but southern rockers .38 Special have come back strong with another album chock-full of heavy boogie numbers. Special Forces contains only two songs that aren't dominated by the slick, bluesy guitar … Continue reading Album review: .38 Special, Special Forces (1982)
Album review: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Endangered Species (1994)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 13, 1994 By Steve Newton It’ll be 17 years this month since Lynyrd Skynyrd’s chartered plane went down in the Mississippi woods, killing—among others—vocalist Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines. Ten years after the crash, the group’s survivors decided to honour the music of the lost rockers … Continue reading Album review: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Endangered Species (1994)
That time I asked Dickey Betts if the Allman Brothers were the originators of “southern rock”
By Steve Newton I've been a big fan of "southern rock" since I first heard the Allman Brothers Band's version of "One Way Out" on the Eat a Peach album back in high school. Some of my other fave bands in the seventies were Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Outlaws, Molly Hatchet, and Blackfoot. So when I … Continue reading That time I asked Dickey Betts if the Allman Brothers were the originators of “southern rock”