Fastway’s “Fast” Eddie Clarke on his days with Motörhead and not wanting to be a guitar hero

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 8, 1983 By Steve Newton Fastway, the new band put together by former Motörhead guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke and featuring original Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley, opened last Wednesday's Iron Maiden concert at the Pacific Coliseum. I spoke to "Fast" Eddie that afternoon and caught a few glimpses into life with … Continue reading Fastway’s “Fast” Eddie Clarke on his days with Motörhead and not wanting to be a guitar hero

Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” chosen as the top heavy-metal song of all time

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 4, 2003 By Steve Newton Toronto-based music writer Martin Popoff is Canada’s top expert on heavy metal. Senior editor of metal mag Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles and author of The Collector’s Guide to Heavy Metal, the Trail, B.C.–raised Popoff certainly knows his stuff when it comes to … Continue reading Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” chosen as the top heavy-metal song of all time

Patterson Hood on the Drive-By Truckers’ Southern Rock Opera and the true meaning of Skynyrd

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 30, 2003 By Steve Newton It doesn’t seem likely in today’s musical climate that any band would record a 90-minute concept album about 1970s rock and southern U.S. culture, focusing on the legend of doomed Dixie rock act Lynyrd Skynyrd. It’s even more unlikely that such a CD would get critical … Continue reading Patterson Hood on the Drive-By Truckers’ Southern Rock Opera and the true meaning of Skynyrd

Leslie West recalls Woodstock and his band Mountain’s old warmup act, Black Sabbath

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 1, 2002 By Steve Newton Seventies hard-rockers Mountain didn’t waste any time in getting famous. The band—best known for the lineup of guitarist and vocalist Leslie West, drummer Corky Laing, keyboardist Steve Knight, and bassist-vocalist Felix Pappalardi (who was shot dead by his wife in ’83)—played its first gig at L.A.’s … Continue reading Leslie West recalls Woodstock and his band Mountain’s old warmup act, Black Sabbath

From Black Oak to Thin Lizzy, Tommy Aldridge has been a monster on the kit

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT. 25, 2001 By Steve Newton Tommy Aldridge is one of the most recognizable hard-rock drummers in the world. His name may not be a household word along the lines of Moon or Bonham, but anyone who’s followed the careers of Pat Travers, Whitesnake, Ozzy Osbourne, Ted Nugent, and latter-day Thin Lizzy … Continue reading From Black Oak to Thin Lizzy, Tommy Aldridge has been a monster on the kit

Ozzy Osbourne suffers “asthma attack” onstage in Vancouver, stops show during third song

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 13, 1996 By Steve Newton Heavy-metal maven Ozzy Osbourne has overcome plenty of adversity during his more than 25 years in the hard-rock biz—from life-threatening bouts with booze and drugs to the airplane-crash death of guitarist Randy Rhoads—but he wasn’t able to prevail over the "asthma attack" that forced him to … Continue reading Ozzy Osbourne suffers “asthma attack” onstage in Vancouver, stops show during third song

Aerosmith shows love for cancer kid and Tojo’s sushi in Vancouver

kevin statham photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT. 27, 1994 By Steve Newton The most memorable moment of Aerosmith’s latest Vancouver concert didn’t occur when Steven Tyler came tearing out in multicoloured rags to kick-start the show with a screech at the beginning of “Eat the Rich”. Nor was it when bare-chested guitar god Joe Perry … Continue reading Aerosmith shows love for cancer kid and Tojo’s sushi in Vancouver

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

Badlands’ Jake E. Lee says that hearing Eddie Van Halen got him back into playing hard rock again

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 16, 1992 By Steve Newton Few guitarists have had to deal with the kind of expectations put on Jake E. Lee when he took over Randy Rhoads’ guitar spot in the Ozzy Osbourne band. Rhoads’ tragic death in a 1982 plane crash stunned the rock world and didn’t make things easy … Continue reading Badlands’ Jake E. Lee says that hearing Eddie Van Halen got him back into playing hard rock again

Ozzy Osbourne box the perfect primer for his post-Sabbath period

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, DEC. 8, 2005 By Steve Newton Ozzy Osbourne could easily have gotten away with compiling a bunch of album tracks, tossing in a live concert DVD, and calling it the Prince of Darkness box set. But the pioneering bat-biter evidently wanted to give his hordes of fans something special. His idea … Continue reading Ozzy Osbourne box the perfect primer for his post-Sabbath period

Consider yourself warned about Sabbath’s Black Box

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, DEC. 9, 2004 By Steve Newton Now here's the ultimate stocking stuffer for that die-hard metal freak on your Christmas list. It's gonna cost you a fair chunk of cash--I just saw the Black Box going for $124 at A&B Sound--but little Timmy will be gaining invaluable insights into the roots of heavy … Continue reading Consider yourself warned about Sabbath’s Black Box

Ozzy Osbourne promises no bat-biting on the Bark at the Moon tour, “just a rock and roll show”

By Steve Newton On March 23, 1984, Ozzy Osbourne played Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum on a bill with guests Motley Crue and Waysted. The Ozzman was touring behind his third solo album, Bark at the Moon, which introduced primo guitarist Jake E. Lee to the hard-rock world. Looking back, that week in March of '84 was … Continue reading Ozzy Osbourne promises no bat-biting on the Bark at the Moon tour, “just a rock and roll show”