NICK KREWEN The Hamilton Spectator April 6, 1995 Being ignored at home was the best thing that ever happened to England’s Radiohead. Unlike other Johnny-come-latelys of the British pop scene, the five members of Radiohead weren’t former plastic surgeons who got bored with their professions, nor are they the byproduct of some horrible laboratory accident. They’re simply a handful of normal school friends from Oxford who practiced…
Sparks talks Gratuitous Sax and Senseless Violins NICK KREWEN Hamilton Spectator March 30, 1995 Credited as the inspiration for British electronic dance pop combos Depeche Mode, Erasure and Pet Shop Boys, Sparks is a modern music anomaly: a California duo that is revered in Europe, but ignored in their own backyard. With the release tomorrow of their 16 th album, Gratuitous Sax And Senseless Violins, Sparks linchpins Ron and…
PUBLISHED IN THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR ON Thursday, February 9, 1995 Only in Canada could being so famous be so ordinary NICK KREWEN TORONTO — Anonymity has its rewards. Gord Sinclair and Paul Langlois — respectively bassist and guitarist for Canada’s coolest band of the moment, The Tragically Hip, are crossing a busy strip of Toronto’s Queen Street West en route to a Mexican restaurant. There are no glass-shattering screams of instant…
BY NICK KREWEN Hamilton Spectator January 26, 1995 First there was Izzy Stradlin’s Ju Ju Hounds. Then Duff McKagan released his punk ‘n’ roll album, Believe In Me, followed by Gilby Clarke‘s Pawnshop Guitars. Now, add guitarist Saul Hudson — better known to the world as Slash — and drummer Matt Sorum to the list of Guns N’ Roses members past and present who have taken time to pursue…
Where Robbie Robertson Learned To Play At The Feet Of His Mohawk Cousin NICK KREWEN Hamilton Spectator October 6, 1994 TORONTO: As a kid growing up in Toronto, Jamie Robbie Robertson had little interest and awareness in music. That all changed at the age of 11, when Robertson, who would later co-found The Band, started spending his summer vacations visiting relatives at the Six Nations Reserve just…
