Articles by Steve Newton.

Music Features

High-powered helps gives Matt Mays a boost on rocking Terminal Romance

By Steve Newton
When it came time for Matt Mays + El Torpedo to record Terminal Romance, the follow-up to their self-titled debut of 2005, the Nova Scotia–spawned quartet didn’t mess around. Chris Tsangarides (Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest) was hired to produce and engineer, Mike Fraser (Joe Satriani, AC/DC, Van Halen) to mix, and Bob Ludwig (most every rock band in the world) to master.
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Music Features

Drive-By Truckers capture a raw, backwoods vibe

By Steve Newton
Along with the kind of gritty, triple-guitar southern rock their fans adore, the Drive-By Truckers are known for delivering the goods in the album-art department. For the last seven years, their recordings have featured the southern-gothic work of Virginia-based Wes Freed, whose dark depictions of ghoulish skeleton-rockers, barren graveyards, and flaming muscle cars tearing up country roads at twilight help illustrate the brooding, intense tone of the music within.
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Recordings

The New Odds

By Steve Newton
Cheerleader (Pheromone Recordings/Universal)
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Music Features

Scott Lucas clams up about Local H’s latest

By Steve Newton
Twelve Angry Months, the new CD by long-running Chicago alt-rock duo Local H, is a 12-song concept album for the jilted, bitter, and brokenhearted. Inspired by the real-life end of a relationship that singer-guitarist Scott Lucas was involved in, each track corresponds to a month of the year, and focuses on the intense feelings that might befall someone during the 365 days after a bad breakup.
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Payback Time

Payback time

By Steve Newton
You invite Scott Lucas to the music section’s birthday bash for Steve Newton, and we reward you with a Payback Time T-shirt, two recently released major-label CDs, and two tickets to a Live Nation club show taking place in Vancouver within the next four weeks. Here’s this week’s winning whine.
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Music Features

Drowning Pool stays afloat despite personnel shifts

By Steve Newton
One of the main goals of any rock band is to stick together, but it doesn’t always work out that way. Drowning Pool is a case in point. The Texas metal act has released three albums so far, each one sporting a different singer. 2001’s platinum-selling Sinners had Dave Williams at the mike, but he was found dead of natural causes inside the band’s tour bus in the summer of 2002. Jason Jones was recruited for the 2004 disc, Desensitized, but exited a year later due to “irreconcilable differences”.
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Concert Reviews

Iron Maiden’s metal gets the masses moshing

By Steve Newton
Iron Maiden
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Concert Reviews

Rush defies age with vitality and verve

By Steve Newton
When you’ve been around as long as Rush has, you can pretty well do as you please. That includes playing whatever songs you want and cooking after-show snacks on stage, as the band did at Thursday night's show at G.M. Place.
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Recordings

New Guitar Summit

By Steve Newton
Shivers (Stony Plain)
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Pop Eye

Iron Maiden makes metal for your mind

By Steve Newton
The British headbangers still make music fast and loud as fuck without pandering to those who spent their high-school days making birdhouses and ashtrays in shop class.
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Movie Reviews

The Strangers

By Steve Newton
Starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman. Rated 14A. Opens Friday, May 30, at the Cinemark Tinseltown
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Music Features

Kathleen Edwards avoids politics on-stage, but not on record

By Steve Newton
When the Straight called Ottawa native Kathleen Edwards on her cellphone last week, she had just pulled in to Tucson, Arizona, for a gig at the historic Hotel Congress. The venue’s name—and the fact that she had landed smack-dab in the middle of John McCain territory—made the topic of American politics seem like a suitable starting point for our chat. But the liberal-minded roots-rocker made it clear that Republican-bashing isn’t part of her touring agenda.
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Music Features

Coheed and Cambria tells tale of vengeance

By Steve Newton
In its seven-year existence, Coheed and Cambria has seen changes in its lineup and sound, but the subject matter of its songs has remained constant. Over the course of four concept albums, the New York prog-rock outfit has followed an apocalyptic sci-fi story line about a messianic young man out to avenge his parents’ deaths, written by singer-guitarist Claudio Sanchez.
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Recordings

Steve Stevens

By Steve Newton
Memory Crash (Magna Carta)
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Music Features

Dream Theater won’t pander to rock radio

By Steve Newton
Progressive rock has sure taken its lumps over the years. Back in the ’70s, British prog bands like Yes, Genesis, and Jethro Tull were all the rage, selling mountains of vinyl, but punk put a major kibosh on popular music that favoured technical virtuosity and complex arrangements. There are a few survivors of the antichops purge, though. Canadian power-trio Rush has managed to thrive and continues to pack arenas worldwide, but it also enjoys the support of commercial radio.
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Music Features

Bluesy Jimmy Bowskill can’t believe his awesome luck

By Steve Newton
The blues-rock world lost one of its most unique stylists with the passing of Toronto guitar wizard Jeff Healey in March. Before he moved on to that big jam in the sky, the 41-year-old accomplished great things, including discovering a young guitarist from Peterborough named Jimmy Bowskill. Bowskill was just 11 years old when Healey heard him busking on the sidewalk outside a Toronto watering hole.
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Movie Reviews

Prom Night

By Steve Newton
Prom Night is an in-name-only remake of the Canadian slasher flick from 1980, in which Jamie Lee Curtis built on the scream-queen title she’d begun to establish two years earlier in Halloween.
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Music Features

Trews spread gun-control truth south of the border

By Steve Newton
Nobody ever expected a gang of rowdy rednecks from the South to score a radio hit advocating gun control. Thirty-three years ago Lynyrd Skynyrd did just that with “Saturday Night Special”, and now a quartet of boogie-minded rockers from the North has taken up the antigun torch. On their new CD, No Time for Later, Nova Scotia’s the Trews rally against the endless carnage wrought by Smith, Wesson, and the other dealers of death.
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Music Features

John Butler slides into poppier musical territory

By Steve Newton
When the Straight rings up John Butler on the east coast of Australia, he sounds extremely relaxed, so much so that it’s hard to tell if he’s really into talking or not. You can’t blame him for exuding the ultra-mellow vibe, though, since he’s hanging at the Byron Bay East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival, which is one seriously laid-back event.
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Movie Reviews

The Ruins

By Steve Newton
Starring Jonathan Tucker and Jena Malone. Rated 14A.
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Music Features

Ladyhawk flies the rock flag

By Steve Newton
Rock ’n’ roll is a dangerous game. It can be, anyway. Up-and-coming local indie rockers Ladyhawk learned the risks involved when they rolled their gear-filled van just outside of Kelowna last year. The vehicle was toast, but no one was injured. They were shaken up like a James Bond martini, though.
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Music Features

DIY-fixated Liam Finn flattered by Crowded House comparisons

By Steve Newton
On his debut CD, I’ll Be Lightning, 24-year-old Liam Finn is a real do-it-yourselfer.
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Music Features

Age doing little to derail the B-52s’ dance party

By Steve Newton
That Lux Interior sure knows a hit when he hears one. Back in the late ’70s, when the B-52s first journeyed from their native Athens, Georgia, to make the scene at underground Manhattan clubs like Max’s Kansas City and CBGB, the outrageous Cramps frontman heard them perform “Rock Lobster”. Blown away, he suggested they release it as a single, and in a career-defining moment, they took his advice.
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Movie Reviews

Shutter

By Steve Newton
Hollywood’s habit of churning out crappy remakes of Asian horror flicks continues unabated with Shutter, which attempts to do for cameras what The Ring did for videocassettes, what Pulse did for computers, and what The Grudge did for grudges.
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Recordings

Drive-By Truckers

By Steve Newton
Brighter Than Creation’s Dark (New West)
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Music Features

Classic rockers ruled Jason Collett’s formative years

By Steve Newton
Every year around this time, the music world gets all jiggy about what’s happening down in Austin, Texas. The annual South by Southwest festival is one of the primo events in rock ’n’ roll, and Toronto’s Jason Collett is an enthusiastic supporter. When the Straight rings him up, he’s already been at the festival for three days, performing daily showcases to support his new CD, Here’s to Being Here. But it’s not all about his own music.
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Movie Reviews

Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour

By Steve Newton
Starring Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers.
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Music Features

Allison Moorer learned from Mockingbird’s masters

By Steve Newton
Allison Moorer covers a lot of musical bases on her new album, Mockingbird. Apart from her original title track, it’s a collection of cover songs from such disparate female artists as Joni Mitchell (“Both Sides Now”), Patti Smith (“Dancing Barefoot”), Ma Rainey (“Daddy, Goodbye Blues”), and Cat Power (“Where Is My Love”). As Moorer explains on the line from Chicago before a show with hubby Steve Earle, it was a daunting task choosing material for the CD.
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Music Features

Former KISS man Ace Frehley still has a few tricks up his sleeve

By Steve Newton
When KISS played the Commodore Ballroom back in early 1975, the band had just released its second album, Hotter Than Hell, and was about to embark on a rocket ride to untold riches and fame. Thirty-three crazy years later and KISS guitarist Ace Frehley is heading back to the historic haunt to once again test the rafters with his spiralling Les Paul licks. “We’re doin’ that ballroom again,” he notes, on the line from a Toronto tour stop, although he doesn’t recall the details of his debut there.
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Music Features

Charlottetown’s Two Hours Traffic keeps things catchy with pop gems

By Steve Newton
The title of Catchiest Band in Canada has never really been wrested from the clutches of Vancouver’s Odds, but a group from the other end of the country appears to be making a serious grab for it. Charlottetown’s Two Hours Traffic has an awesome knack for conjuring melodious pop gems like “Stuck for the Summer”, the first single off its second full-length CD, Little Jabs.
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Music Features

Romancing the stoned with Daniel Wesley

By Steve Newton
You don’t have to be a pothead to dig Daniel Wesley’s good-time tunes, but it doesn’t hurt
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Music Features

Xavier Rudd downplays his activism

By Steve Newton
Saskatchewan in the middle of February isn’t a place where a fellow raised on the balmy beaches of Australia can feel too cozy. Just ask Xavier Rudd. The Aussie singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist isn’t coping well with the sub-zero bite of the Prairies; in fact, when the Straight rings him up for a scheduled interview, he’s sick in bed with the flu. His road manager says to call back in three hours, and by then Rudd is up and seeking medical attention.
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Music Features

Albertan Corb Lund has provincial pride

By Steve Newton
Corb Lund is a proud Albertan. You don’t even need to chat with him to discover that, because it’s right there on his voice mail: “Corb Lund: Alberta, Canada.” He’s got no qualms about declaring his prairie heritage to anyone within earshot. “I’m a proud Canadian, too,” he points out, returning a missed call from his Edmonton home, “but both sides of my family have been chasing cows here for 100 years, so I’m pretty attached to the place.”
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Movie Reviews

The Eye

By Steve Newton
Starring Jessica Alba, Alessandro Nivola, and Parker Posey. Rated 14A.
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Music Features

Jansen gave Dawson the reins for Remains

By Steve Newton
On his latest CD, Today’s Remains, Saskatchewan singer-songwriter Shuyler Jansen gets credited for vocals and acoustic guitar. Vancouver’s Steve Dawson, on the other hand, handles acoustic and electric guitars, slide guitar, Dobro, Weissenborn, baritone guitar, pedal steel, pump organ, Clavioline, looping and effects, and percussion.
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Movie Reviews

Untraceable

By Steve Newton
Starring Diane Lane, Joseph Cross, and Mary Beth Hurt. Rated 18A.
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Music Features

Criminal activities shaped Todd Snider’s Devil

By Steve Newton
When the Straight hooks up with alt-country singer-songwriter Todd Snider, he’s on a cellphone outside the Hyatt, the Hollywood hotel famous for hosting rowdy rock bands in the ’70s. “It’s not what it used to be,” he points out. “It’s for folksingers now.”
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Music Features

Nocturnals’ roots run deep

By Steve Newton
Partway through Gov’t Mule’s astonishing three-hour set at the Commodore last November, a stunning lady joined them for a killer version of “Honky Tonk Woman”. The spotlight-stealer on that occasion was Grace Potter, frontwoman for the night’s opening act, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. Turns out jamming with the mighty Mule is one of her favourite pastimes.
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Movie Reviews

Cloverfield

By Steve Newton
Starring Michael Stahl-David, Jessica Lucas, and Lizzy Caplan. Rated 14A.
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Music Features

Deep Dark Woods’ Boldt goes the traditional route

By Steve Newton
Saskatoon alt-country artists the Deep Dark Woods are no strangers to the hazards of the road. Just last month, the quartet drove from Toronto to Thunder Bay in the middle of a snowstorm.
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Movie Reviews

One Missed Call

By Steve Newton
Starring Shannyn Sossamon and Edward Burns. Rated 14A.
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Movies Features

The Orphanage's Juan Antonio Bayona drawn to the dark side

By Steve Newton
The first-time horror director Juan Antonio Bayona knew he wanted to make a film imbued with dread, and with Guillermo del Toro onboard, he could make his nightmares come true.
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Movie Reviews

The Orphanage

By Steve Newton
With its captivating acting and beautiful art direction, The Orphanage might just be the most haunting haunted-house movie ever made
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Concert Reviews

Van Halen: We waited 20 years for this?

By Steve Newton
What they were mainly shelling out for was the chance to see Roth back in the lineup for the first time in 20 years, replacing his replacement, Sammy Hagar. Despite the fact that Eddie couldn't stop grinning the whole time, it didn't seem as if there was any deep connection between the long-lost bandmates
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Recordings

Genesis: 1983-1998

By Steve Newton
For me, "Sussudio" was the last straw. Even though it was part of Phil Collins's solo career, that tune irritated me so much that it threw a pall over everything he'd done before...
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Recordings

The Heavy Metal Box

By Steve Newton
This is one of the coolest-looking boxed sets ever. It's designed to resemble the head of a Marshall amp, and even features a volume knob that goes all the way to 11... [read more]
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Movie Reviews

Awake

By Steve Newton
Performances by Jessica Alba, Terrence Howard, and Lena Olin are strong enough to save the silly premise of frozen-in-the-ER Awake
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Recordings

Band of Rebels by Joe Shithead Keithley

By Steve Newton
This isn't your typical D.O.A.–style Joe Keithley album
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Music Features

The hiply unhip Trans-Siberian Orchestra

By Steve Newton
The Trans-Siberian Orchestra's seasonal rock opera might not please hipsters, but the band is just doing what it loves.
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Movie Reviews

The Mist

By Steve Newton
There's monsters in Stephen King's The Mist, which is just as well because when the monsters are off-screan, it's boring
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