Rock

Ian Anderson: Life With and Without Jethro

  NICK KREWEN Hamilton Spectator May 25, 1996   For almost 26 years, Ian Anderson has sung loudly and carried a big flute as frontman for British progressive rock group Jethro Tull. A few years ago, however, the 47-year-old made a shocking discovery: after playing the wind instrument on 28 Jethro Tull albums, he’d been using the wrong technique. “I’d say 80 percent of my fingering was incorrect,” says the…


Cracker: Misunderstood?

PUBLISHED IN THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR ON THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 1996 to advance shows at Toronto’s Opera House (April 14) and Kitchener’s Volcano (April 15)   BY NICK KREWEN   Is David Lowery the most misunderstood writer in American pop? He thinks it’s possible. “I’ve developed a little bit of a reputation for being a very cynical, sarcastic person,” says the lead singer for Cracker, his deep baritone resonating over the…


The Burdens of Being Tracy Bonham

PUBLISHED IN THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR ON Thursday, March 28 1996 to promote a Tracy Bonham performance at Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern   THE BURDENS OF BEING TRACY BONHAM   NICK KREWEN The Hamilton Spectator March 28, 1996 Tracy Bonham is standing inside a phone booth somewhere in the Southwestern United States, talking about her first album, The Burdens Of Being Upright, and thankful that she didn’t opt for a career in…


Iggy Pop – Taming the bark of Naughty Little Doggie

NICK KREWEN Hamilton Spectator March 14, 1996     At one time, Iggy Pop was rock ‘n roll’s quintessential angry young man. It was a common sight at his concerts to watch Pop flail about on stage, throwing on-stage tantrums, lacerating himself with glass and lashing out at the audience. A punk prototype whose behavior later set the stage for the antics of The Sex Pistols and Richard Hell &…


Red Hot Chili Peppers Sporting a Jane Addiction

NICK KREWEN The Hamilton Spectator, Thursday, March 7, 1996       Dave Navarro considered it a lucky break. Not his joining up as guitarist with California’s The Red Hot Chili Peppers — arguably the hottest funk rock band on the planet, mind you — but drummer Chad Smith‘s snapped wrist that resulted in the postponement of the group’s mid-Autumn North American tour. “I tell you, when Chad broke his…