Country Rock

Cracker

PUBLISHED IN THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR AUGUST 25, 1998     NICK KREWEN Hamilton Spectator August 25, 1998   TORONTO:   Seems American rock critics can’t quite get it right when it comes to defining and describing Cracker, the sardonic Richmond, Virginia-based rock group led by singers and songwriters David Lowery and Johnny Hickman. So the band made it easy for them on their new album Gentleman’s Blues. “I had to…


Shania Tours!

AS PUBLISHED IN KNIX MAGAZINE, PHOENIX, ARIZONA,  MARCH 1998   By Nick Krewen   The lights dim. The crowd erupts in screams and whistles. And from somewhere within the bowels of a small, sweltering hockey arena in Northern Ontario, concealed by the twilight of promise, hope and anticipation, a sweetly familiar voice asks a big sultry question: “Are you ready for me, Sudbury?” The crowd is confused at first, as…


The Mavericks Bring Out the Horns for Trampoline

  NICK KREWEN The Hamilton Spectator February 6, 1998   The Mavericks are expanding, and Hamilton concertgoers will be among the first to notice the difference when the Grammy-winning Miami band hits Copps Tuesday, sandwiched between Tim McGraw and Charlie Major. “We have a four-piece horn section traveling with us, and we have a friend of mine by the name of Jamie Hanna singing harmony and playing rhythm guitar and…


Tim McGraw is on the draw

PUBLISHED IN COUNTRY WEEKLY, FEBRUARY 1997   By Nick Krewen Like the song on his multi-platinum album Everywhere, Tim McGraw knows “Where The Green Grass Grows.” “Yeah — as soon as we build our house,” jokes Tim, who is nominated with his wife Faith Hill for Best Country Collaboration With Vocals at this year’s Grammies. “As far as my family life goes, I’ve got it made. I’m the luckiest guy…


Garth Brooks: The Next Bill Clinton?

Versions of this article appeared in The Hamilton Spectator and Country Weekly. but this particular feature was written for Toronto on-line magazine Magnet in 1995, which lasted only one issue.       by Nick Krewen   Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the future President of the United States Of America….Garth Brooks. Okay, I’m joking. Garth Brooks hasn’t declared his candidacy, nor did he mention any political aspirations whatsoever…