Tag: Starfish Room

That time my buddy Stick of Mad Duck ticked off Metallica’s Lars Ulrich by asking him to jam

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MAY 22, 1997 By Steve Newton Back when the Starfish Room was still a headbanger’s haven known as Club Soda, a rock-crazed pal of mine named Stick bumped into Lars Ulrich there. The Metallica drummer was hangin’ out with his entourage after one of the band’s intense Vancouver gigs when Stick—whose band … Continue reading That time my buddy Stick of Mad Duck ticked off Metallica’s Lars Ulrich by asking him to jam

The Refreshments chickened out from calling themselves Pop Enema

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JUNE 27, 1996 By Steve Newton When Arizona rockers the Refreshments were starting out, they would do most anything to get a crowd interested. They used to play gigs in shower caps, water wings, and senior’s sunglasses, and give away candies and chocolate milk to first dancers. Hey, you gotta go that … Continue reading The Refreshments chickened out from calling themselves Pop Enema

I Mother Earth guitarist Jagori Tanna pays tribute to Santana on new Scenery and Fish CD

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MAY 23, 1996 By Steve Newton If you happened to walk into a house party while the last song on the new I Mother Earth CD was playing, you could be excused for taking a big swig of your beer, raising it in a toast, and proclaiming: “Man, that Carlos Santana can … Continue reading I Mother Earth guitarist Jagori Tanna pays tribute to Santana on new Scenery and Fish CD

Everclear’s Art Alexakis channels Angus Young in Vancouver, plays AC/DC’s “Sin City” flat on his back

During a cover of AC/DC’s awesome “Sin City” Alexakis paid homage to Angus Young by playing flat on his back.

Aussie songwriting great Paul Kelly hits 40 and treads into Deeper Water

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 23, 1995 By Steve Newton Ever wonder what happened to the Aussie Invasion? Back in the early- to mid-’80s it seemed as if a band wasn’t on top unless it was from Down Under. Two-hit wonders Men at Work kick-started the worldwide interest in the music of koala country in ’82 … Continue reading Aussie songwriting great Paul Kelly hits 40 and treads into Deeper Water

Southern Culture on the Skids: the finest in high-cholesterol, toe-sucking geek rock since 1985

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 16, 1995 By Steve Newton “High-cholesterol, toe-sucking geek rock.” That’s how singer-guitarist Rick Miller describes the œuvre of his band, Southern Culture on the Skids. And he’s mighty proud of it, too. Miller’s been striving to produce the finest in high-cholesterol, toe-sucking geek rock ever since forming the band back in … Continue reading Southern Culture on the Skids: the finest in high-cholesterol, toe-sucking geek rock since 1985

The Smalls sound nice and chunky on Waste & Tragedy

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 9, 1995 By Steve Newton Some rock bands dream about being popular enough to play large venues but whine about getting booked in the little, out-of-the-way places on the way up. Not the Smalls, though. You won’t get any complaints out of them when they see locations like Kamloops and Fort … Continue reading The Smalls sound nice and chunky on Waste & Tragedy

Santo & Johnny put the instrumental bug in Friends of Dean Martinez

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT. 5, 1995 By Steve Newton You could foresee that by calling your band the Friends of Frank Sinatra, you’d be leaving yourself open for a spot of legal trouble—or worse—should Ol’ Blue Eyes catch wind of the misleading moniker. But could you forgive an instrumental quintet from Arizona for not concerning … Continue reading Santo & Johnny put the instrumental bug in Friends of Dean Martinez