In Memoriam

Nash The Slash, Toronto rock violinist, dead at 66

Born Jeff Plewman, Nash the Slash’s stage wardrobe consisted of wrapping his face in bandages adorned by sunglasses and wearing a top hat. By: Nick Krewen Music, Published on Mon May 12 2014 Pioneering electronic musician, composer and performance artist Nash the Slash has died. The eccentric Toronto electric violinist, whose mummified stage wardrobe consisted of wrapping his face in bandages adorned by sunglasses and a top hat, was found…


Brian Chater helped build Canadian music industry

Chater, dead at 73, also helped Bryan Adams get his start Canadian music industry executive Brian Chater, who died Sept. 5 at the age of 73.   By: Nick Krewen Music, Published on Tue Sep 10 2013 The man whose early belief in Bryan Adams helped the Kingston, Ont., native become one of the world’s biggest superstars has died at 73 after a long illness. Brian Chater, who died Thursday,…


Sing Me The Songs: Celebrating the works of Kate McGarrigle: album review

Rufus and Martha Wainwright lead heart-rending tribute to their mother Sing Me The Songs: Celebrating the works of Kate McGarrigle. Published on Tue Jun 25 2013 Folk Various Artists Sing Me The Songs: Celebrating the works of Kate McGarrigle (Nonesuch/Warner) 3.5 stars Culled from three benefit concerts in New York, Toronto and London, Sing Me The Songs is 34-tune love-in by the McGarrigle clan and some of their closest friends…


Remembering Shel

  Nick Krewen GRAMMY.com Nov/Dec 2005 Legacy Recordings’ reputation for mining its vaults and producing superb compilations received another boost this past summer with the release of such acclaimed packages as Johnny Cash‘s 4-CD box set The Legend, Miles Davis‘ quintuple-disc The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions and Bob Dylan‘s Martin Scorsese-driven No Direction Home. One watershed anthology, however, got lost in the shuffle: the best of Shel Silverstein – his…


Loreena McKennitt sets up Water Safety charity

  Nick Krewen For The Record May 19, 1999   TORONTO: Lorenna McKennitt learned about the importance of water safety the hard way. McKennitt, the world renown Stratford based singer and songwriter, was mixing her live album last July at Peter Gabriel‘s Real World Studios in Bath, England when she received word that her fiancé, his brother and a friend were missing after a boating accident in Nottawasaga Bay, near…