Instruments

Bruce Cockburn: Fencing Fancies

PUBLISHED IN THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR ON AUGUST 7, 1997 TO ADVANCE CONCERT AT THE FESTIVAL OF FRIENDS, GAGE PARK,   BRUCE COCKBURN : FENCING FANCIES   By Nick Krewen     Songwriter Bruce Cockburn has rattled a lot of sabres over the years with his politically-driven music. So it should come as no surprise when he reveals that his most recent Hamilton visits involved a favorite pastime: fencing. “For a…


Tony Bennett: Cruisin’ and Croonin’

NICK KREWEN Hamilton Spectator Tuesday, May 27, 1997   Maybe Tony Bennett should think twice the next time he cancels out on Hamilton Place. The popular Italian crooner, riding a wave of popularity that continues to crest since he received an Album Of The Year Grammy for 1994’s Tony Bennett – MTV Unplugged, staged a last-minute pull-out of his scheduled November 6 concert because newly re-elected U.S. president Bill Clinton…


Rasputina Under the Cello Tree

Nick Krewen Hamilton Spectator May 1, 1997     You wouldn’t think that playing the cello for a living could be too dangerous. Then again, you haven’t opened for Marilyn Manson. Rasputina‘s Melora Creager has endured her share of war wounds. “I had a lump on my forehead from something that was thrown at the stage, and I got hit in the eye with a penny,” states the 30-year-old singer,…


Mike Oldfield talks Songs of Distant Earth

NICK KREWEN Mike Oldfield, the British composer of Tubular Bells, the chart-topping 1973 instrumental album that revolutionized rock music and represented progressive rock at its most indulgent, sees future music entertainment as “a Salvadore Dali painting you can walk into.” Limited copies of his new album, Songs Of Distant Earth, contain a multi-media CD-ROM that he assembled midway through recording sessions, and Oldfield says he’s excited by new computer technology. “I…


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…