Rock

Where’s LaBeef? Sleepy LaBeef

PUBLISHED IN THE KITCHENER-WATERLOO RECORD APRIL 3, 1998   By Nick Krewen When you’ve been around as long as Sleepy LaBeef, the myths start piling on as frequently as the miles. Now celebrating his 40th year on the road, the legendary rockabilly, country, gospel and blues specialist was rumored to have entered the wrestling ring to supplement his early income as a musician. “No, I’ve never wrestled,” maintains LaBeef in…


KISS 1998

  NICK KREWEN Hamilton Spectator March 27, 1998       Not in this lifetime. If you’re a soldier of the KISS Army, loyally conscripted in the face-painted glam rock heydays when a fire-breathing, blood-spitting Gene Simmons and hip-swaying frontman Paul Stanley were thrilling crowds and filling auditoriums with axeman Ace Frehley and drummer Peter (The Cat) Criss on board, you probably never thought the day would come where all four…


Bryan Adams’ Life-Saving Valentine

PUBLISHED IN THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10 , 1998, ADVANCING ST. CATHARINES GENERAL HOSPITAL FOUNDATION BENEFIT CONCERT ON FEBRUARY 15       NICK KREWEN     TORONTO:   Bryan Adams has decided to unofficially extend Valentine’s Day by 24 hours. His generous gift to supermodel pal Linda Evangelista and the women of the Niagara Region is a benefit concert this Sunday at the Jack Gatecliff Memorial Arena in…


Tragically Hip – In Violent Light

PUBLISHED IN THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR Thursday, December 5, 1997 NEED TO KNOW: THE TRAGICALLY HIP with Rheostatics, Copps Coliseum, Wednesday, December 11. Sold Out.   BY NICK KREWEN   Suppose you gave a performance and nobody came? According to Rob Baker, guitarist for Canadian rock icons The Tragically Hip, a Hamilton strip-and-rock club was the host for just such an astonishing occasion, much to the band’s chagrin. The era was…


Pat Benatar: She Belongs

  Nick Krewen Kitchener-Waterloo Record October 21, 1997 A million website hits can’t be wrong. Nor can thousands of people who flocked to outdoor sheds the past couple of summers to see her share the stage with Styx and Steve Miller. So why isn’t radio playing the music of Pat Benetar, especially when she’s recorded an album as strong as her latest, Innamorata? “Radio? I’m frustrated,” says Benatar, 44, matter-of-factly…