Drums

Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason delighted by his ‘sort of throwback’ band bound for Toronto

Nick Krewen Special to the Star April 12, 2019 Waiting for that Pink Floyd 55th anniversary reunion? Don’t hold your breath – founding drummer and percussionist Nick Mason isn’t. “There doesn’t seem to be any plan at the moment to put anything together,” Mason, 75, admits, referring to fellow Floyd members Roger Waters and David Gilmour. “Part of that is the reason for putting together the Saucerful of Secrets project. I…


On the second floor of a Shoppers Drug Mart, there’s a shrine to Yonge Street’s musical history

July 4, 2018 Nick Krewen Special to The Star It’s not often that you have the opportunity to shop for acne ointments and body lotion before stepping into a museum that spotlights a bygone era of Toronto’s fabled musical history. But there The Friar’s Music Museum sits – on the second floor of Shoppers Drug Mart’s brand-new Yonge and Dundas location opposite the Eaton Centre – offering a time capsule…


Commentary: Rock of Ages…

We’re barely six weeks into 2018 and this year is already shaping up to be a cold, hard truth for music lovers: mortality is rearing its ugly head. The ailment avalanche, affecting some of our greatest pop and rock performers, began in mid-January and seemingly hasn’t let up since. The first shocking admission occurred during a Globe and Mail interview published on January 16 with Rush guitarist extraordinaire Alex Lifeson,…


Hometown superstars Rush put on a show for the ages

If this really is Toronto superstar trio Rush’s last hurrah, then Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart are going out on the right note Nick Krewen Music, June 18, 2015 What a legacy. If this indeed is hometown superstar rock trio Rush’s last hurrah in terms of big, extravagant world tours — as its members have hinted in numerous interviews — then this was the note to go out…


KISS and Def Leppard a blazing double bill: review

Both bands repeatedly thrilled the sold-out Amphitheatre crowd of 16,000.  Nick Krewen Music, Published on Wed Aug 13 2014 KISS and Def Leppard 3.5 stars At the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre, Aug. 12. Does Gene Simmons’ fire-breathing swordplay, bloodied mouth shtick and ever-undulating serpentine tongue ever get old? Not if you’re a member of the KISS Army. The larger-than-life, cartoon-costumed, makeup-sporting hard rockers have entrenched the routines so heavily into their…