ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 4, 1988 By Steve Newton If you've been seeing ads about an Australian band that's coming to town called V. Spy V. Spy, but you've been hearing about a band called "Spy Versus Spy"--don't worry. You've not crazy. It's just that these top-notch rockers from Sydney have had a tricky time … Continue reading Aussie rockers V. Spy V. Spy aren’t trying to change the world or anything
Tag: Midnight Oil
Pseudo Echo rock and rolls all night and turns Vancouver into Funkytown
chris cameron photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 18, 1987 By Steve Newton Like most Aussie rock 'n' roll bands, Pseudo Echo shuns the fancy costume/big hairdo approach on which many British and American acts rely. Like their countrymen AC/DC, Angel City, and Midnight Oil, Pseudo Echo lets its own particular brand of music do the … Continue reading Pseudo Echo rock and rolls all night and turns Vancouver into Funkytown
Newt’s Top 10 albums of 1990
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 1990 By Steve Newton A good portion of my album picks for the year turned out to be from ageing rock veterans. Maybe 1990 wasn’t a great year for new artists—or maybe I just missed ’em—but the tunes that really got me going were by artists I’ve followed … Continue reading Newt’s Top 10 albums of 1990
That time Robert Plant told me he wasn’t “a dumb cluck who wears tight jeans and sings fast songs about women’s parts”
By Steve Newton I often wish I could have started my journalism career 10 years earlier than I did--like in 1972 instead of '82. Then maybe I would have had the chance to pull a Cameron Crowe and interview Led Zeppelin on its 1973 North American tour or some crazy-ass shit like that. But whoa … Continue reading That time Robert Plant told me he wasn’t “a dumb cluck who wears tight jeans and sings fast songs about women’s parts”
WPA’s Mick Thomas recalls seeing AC/DC, Cold Chisel, and Midnight Oil play a pub in Geelong
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 21, 1990 By Steve Newton Halifax, Nova Scotia: Could those three words possibly conjure up images of a city full of alluring possibilities and untold enchantment? Well, when Mick Thomas of Australia’s Weddings Parties Anything first heard them, his imagination was piqued, and he couldn’t wait to see what the city … Continue reading WPA’s Mick Thomas recalls seeing AC/DC, Cold Chisel, and Midnight Oil play a pub in Geelong
The John Butler Trio just said no to American record labels
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MAY 23, 2002 BY STEVE NEWTON It doesn’t take long to figure out that Australian singer-songwriter and slide-guitar ace John Butler is an issue-oriented kinda guy. In the CD booklet that accompanies his trio’s latest disc, Three, one page is loaded with facts detailing the ongoing destruction of his … Continue reading The John Butler Trio just said no to American record labels
Midnight Oil won’t forgo antinationalist songs in wake of 9/11
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 15, 2001 By Steve Newton Midnight Oil is one of the most politically motivated and socially conscious guitar-rock bands in the world. Although best known for embracing Aboriginal land-rights issues in its native Australia via the 1988 hit “Beds Are Burning”, the quintet has always kept an eye … Continue reading Midnight Oil won’t forgo antinationalist songs in wake of 9/11
Two years after saying goodbye to Crowded House, Neil Finn returns with solo debut
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 9, 1998 By Steve Newton After making the agonizing decision in 1996 to break up his world-famous Kiwi pop combo Crowded House, Neil Finn wasn’t exactly sure what to do next. An Aussie artist-musician friend of his suggested Finn try painting, so he spent two weeks at a beachside location doing … Continue reading Two years after saying goodbye to Crowded House, Neil Finn returns with solo debut
Counting Crows guitarist downplays the band’s Van Morrison vibe
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 27, 1997 Sometimes musicians on the lookout for a creative partner will just bump into the right person while browsing in music stores or hanging out in nightclubs. Other times they’ll follow the proven route of taking out want ads in papers like the one you’re holding. And … Continue reading Counting Crows guitarist downplays the band’s Van Morrison vibe
The Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie finds humour in “The Inevitability of Death”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, FEB. 16, 1995 By Steve Newton The Tragically Hip don’t always do things the way other rock groups do, and maybe that’s why folks love ’em so much. For starters, the band got its road manager, of all people, to write its official MCA Records bio. Instead of the … Continue reading The Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie finds humour in “The Inevitability of Death”
Midnight Oil’s “tree-hugging a**hole” kicks ass for Clayoquot Sound at the Tragically Hip’s Another Roadside Attraction
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 22, 1993 By Steve Newton It didn’t take long for Midnight Oil singer/environmental activist Peter Garrett to bring up the contentious issue of logging in Clayoquot Sound during Saturday’s (July 17) Another Roadside Attraction rock festival at Seabird Island in Agassiz. Right after the band’s introductory tune, the Greenpeace director began … Continue reading Midnight Oil’s “tree-hugging a**hole” kicks ass for Clayoquot Sound at the Tragically Hip’s Another Roadside Attraction
John Butler Trio relishes its musical independence
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, MAY 26, 2010 BY STEVE NEWTON History shows that the major record labels have done all right for themselves while bringing Australian music to the masses. Atlantic signed AC/DC to an international distribution deal in 1976, and for years afterward its stockholders reaped the benefits of monumental blues-metal. During the ’80s … Continue reading John Butler Trio relishes its musical independence