By Steve Newton On this day in 1986 I saw John Mellencamp, when he was still part Cougar, in concert on the Scarecrow tour. Kenny Aronoff was kicking ass on drums, so that made me think about digitizing that interview I did with the American drum great back in 1999 and posting it on my … Continue reading That time I asked Kenny Aronoff who his favourite drummer was and who he’d most like to drum with
Tag: The Who
The 70 greatest opening tracks of the ’70s
By Steve Newton Remember how you'd set the needle down on the opening track of a new rock album and the first tune would just blow you the funk away? Me too. "(Ain't Nothin' But a) House Party" (Bloodshot, J. Geils Band, 1973) "All the Way From Memphis" (Mott, Mott the Hoople, 1973) "Already Gone" … Continue reading The 70 greatest opening tracks of the ’70s
Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 6: The Postcards say “school gets in the way of jamming”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE CHILLIWACK PROGRESS, APRIL 29, 1981 By Steve Newton (In the sixth of a series of stories on local bands The Progress presents a profile of The Postcards. Next: Midnight Smoke.) The Postcards is a young rock and roll band made up of students from the Chilliwack and Sardis areas. Members of … Continue reading Back in the ‘Wack Vol. 6: The Postcards say “school gets in the way of jamming”
Lynyrd Skynyrd freaks invade Riverside Studios on a Blair Witch-style scavenger hunt
Just came across this video from 1999 of a gaggle of diehard Lynyrd Skynyrd fans going nuts when they get inside the old abandoned Riverside Studios in Jacksonville, Florida, where the southern-rock legends used to rehearse and record, along with .38 Special. They all get pretty psyched when they come across a drawing on the … Continue reading Lynyrd Skynyrd freaks invade Riverside Studios on a Blair Witch-style scavenger hunt
Drum great Kenny Aronoff was never afraid to go for it
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 25, 1999 By Steve Newton I’ve got a theory, and this theory, which is mine, is that everybody wants to be a rock ’n’ roll drummer. There’s just something irresistible about the idea of pounding away on a resonating circle until you’re sweaty and drained and then having people cheer you … Continue reading Drum great Kenny Aronoff was never afraid to go for it
Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson talks ’70s concept albums but can’t comment on Quadrophenia
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 23, 1997 By Steve Newton Although I have no documented proof that I’m related to either Beavis or Butthead, I do harbour a couple of hazy teenage memories that keep me pondering that possibility. The one that has me most worried goes back to Chilliwack Senior Secondary School, … Continue reading Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson talks ’70s concept albums but can’t comment on Quadrophenia
“Hi, this is Matthew Good, and you’re listening to…what are those call letters again?”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 23, 1997 Inside the False Creek offices of A&M Records, a scrawny young guy is struggling to record a promotional sound bite over the phone for a Prince George radio station. “Hi, this is Matthew Good, and you’re listening to…what are those call letters again?” After a couple … Continue reading “Hi, this is Matthew Good, and you’re listening to…what are those call letters again?”
Matthew Good, 25, walks home in the cold after opening for the Who
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 26, 1996 By Steve Newton Christmas came early for Matthew Good this year. On the same day that I interviewed the up-and-coming local rocker, he received a present from his publisher at EMI: an autographed picture of American astronaut Buzz Aldrin walking on the Moon. The souvenir is in keeping with … Continue reading Matthew Good, 25, walks home in the cold after opening for the Who
Ocean Colour Scene gives shout-out to southern soul with Moseley Shoals
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 28, 1996 Chatting with hungover rock musicians isn’t always a ton o’ fun, but sometimes you can’t blame them for knocking back a few cocktails the night before an interview. When Ocean Colour Scene guitarist Steve Cradock calls from New York one early afternoon, he’s still feeling the … Continue reading Ocean Colour Scene gives shout-out to southern soul with Moseley Shoals
The Who brings Quadrophenia, the world’s greatest rock album, to Vancouver
@shotbykevin ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 24, 1996 By Steve Newton If I had to choose one “desert island disc”—the all-time–favourite rock album to live out my days to while munching coconuts on some uncharted tropical atoll—it would have to be The Who’s Quadrophenia. Although its 1971 predecessor, Who’s Next, is generally regarded … Continue reading The Who brings Quadrophenia, the world’s greatest rock album, to Vancouver
Quadrophenia: Live in London gets primo packaging in a collector’s edition
By Steve Newton I've long posited that the Who's Quadrophenia is the greatest rock album of all time. The 1973 double-disc captured the British rock quartet at its creative peak, firing on all cylinders, and—thanks to Pete Townsend's songwriting skills—told a thoroughly engrossing tale of a young man's struggle for identity amid the Mods vs. Rockers turmoil … Continue reading Quadrophenia: Live in London gets primo packaging in a collector’s edition
Golden Earring’s Barry Hay on touring with the Who and getting beaten up with Ronnie Van Zant
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 20, 1984 By Steve Newton Help I'm steppin' into the twilight zone/The place is a madhouse, feels like being cloned/My beacon's been moved under moon and star/Where am I to go now that I've gone too far/Soon you will come to know, when the bullet hits the bone Anyone who's … Continue reading Golden Earring’s Barry Hay on touring with the Who and getting beaten up with Ronnie Van Zant
Quadrophenia, the world’s greatest rock album, released as box set today
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, NOV. 15, 2011 By Steve Newton I recently learned that a good way to get peeps' attention is to call someone or something "the world's greatest". Like, when I reviewed Jeff Beck's Vancouver concert last month and proclaimed him "the world's greatest rock guitarist", it caused quite a commotion in the comments section. … Continue reading Quadrophenia, the world’s greatest rock album, released as box set today