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Serena Ryder on touring, living hard and the mistakes that aren’t mistakes

By Nick Krewen Special To The Star        Serena Ryder knows all too well about the art of falling apart.        As a recording artist who used to tour relentlessly, the six-time Juno Award winner found the incessant grind of the road personally damaging, as she relied on a steady diet of drink, drugs and cigarettes to cope and carry on. “Being a touring musician can be one of the most draining…

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David Lowery, the singer who made Spotify pay, calls settlement a ‘good first step’

Lowery’s band Cracker is hitting Danforth Music Hall on Tuesday in wake of conclusion of vocalist’s class action. Nick Krewen Music, Tues., July 18, 2017   Meet the man who made Spotify blink and scored a major victory for songwriters in the process. On May 26, David Lowery, the chief singer and songwriter of California rockers Cracker, appearing at the Danforth Music Hall on Tuesday with Soul Asylum, claimed victory…


Entrepreneurs: MapleMusic Strikes A New Beat With Cadence

Story by Nick Krewen | March 30, 2016 For SOCAN Words and Music.   After 15 years and a business that in 2012 enjoyed $20 million in revenues, multi-faceted MapleMusic has entered a new phase of evolution. At a lavish bash held at Toronto’s Velvet Underground on March 1, 2016, MapleMusic was re-christened the Cadence Music Group and a promising future was set in motion. “It’s a re-focus,” says Iain…


Bob Dylan and The Band’s complete Basement Tapes resurface at last

Toronto duo largely responsible for lifting the veil off “the most sought after and mysterious recordings from the post-nuclear, pre-digital era.” Nick Krewen Music, Published on Wed Nov 05 2014   Sitting at Johnny Rockets, a ’50s-style burger joint in Yonge-Dundas Square, my dining companion pulls out a cardboard envelope and hands it over. “Open it up and have a look. Have a little whiff,” he insists. Inside is a…


The Drake Effect

Story by Nick Krewen | July 24, 2014 For SOCAN Words and Music.   “Started from the bottom, now the whole team here.” So says Drake in “Started From the Bottom,” and that’s exactly how his big-bang explosion on the worldwide hip-hop scene has affected the fortunes of his whole team – more than 60 Canadian, Toronto-based songwriters, beat-makers, producers and other collaborators. Drake has almost single-handedly created an entire…