Punk

Banjo, Bob Dylan, Canada, Events, Experimental, Festivals, Jazz, Metallica, Music Industry (Trade), Prince, Punk, Rock 'N Roll, Rolling Stones, Toronto November 30, 2024

He helped bring the Ramones, the Police and the B-52’s to Toronto for the first time. Nearly 50 years later, he’s being celebrated in a new book

Nearly 100 key players, including performers, scenesters and other promoters, were interviewed for “He Hijacked My Brain: Gary Topp’s Toronto.”  By Nick Krewen Special to the Star In a career that has lasted nearly five decades and involved thousands of concerts, eminent Toronto promoter Gary Topp has but a few regrets. One of his biggest involved an act he and partner Gary Cormier (known collectively as the Garys) tried to book…

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Adult Contemporary, Alberta, Canada, Canadian Country Music Hall Of Fame, Canadian Music Hall Of Fame, Country, Grammy, JUNO, k.d. lang, Leonard Cohen, LGBTQ, Nashville Sound, Pop, Producer, Punk, Songwriter, Voice August 30, 2024

As ‘90s icon k.d. lang enters the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, she reflects on her extraordinary career

The singer said she doesn’t miss the stage but still feels the creative impulse. By Nick Krewen Special to the Star In 1988, k.d. lang arrived at what she called “an emotional destination:” she recorded an album called Shadowland with the legendary Owen Bradley, who decades earlier had produced country icon Patsy Cline. At the time, the perennially lowercased lang was still something of an unknown quantity in the U.S….

Bass, Beatles, California, Drums, Fall Out Boy, Grammy, Guitar, Punk, Rock, Rock 'N Roll Hall Of Fame, United States February 5, 2020

Green Day’s drummer on the song that has changed the band and ‘opened the floodgates’

By Nick Krewen Special to the Star When California punk rock superstars Green Day finally reconvened to plan their first album since 2016’s Revolution Radio, only one decision plagued them. “Were we going to pick up where we left off or strip it all away and start from scratch?” drummer Tré Cool told the Star recently down the line from California, prior to the Monday release of Green Day’s 13th…

Alt. Rock, Canada, JUNO, Music Publishing, Producer, Punk, Rock, Songwriter, Toronto September 1, 2016

Billy Talent Soar to New Heights

Story by Nick Krewen | September 1, 2016 For SOCAN Words and Music.   Billy Talent was ready. The album had been written, the songs had been rehearsed and the veteran hard rock Toronto quartet – 23 years and four original studio albums deep into their career – was preparing to hit the studio to record what was to become long player No. 5, Afraid of Heights. Then tragedy stuck….

Alt. Rock, Concert reviews, Guitar, New Wave, Punk, Rock, Songwriter, United Kingdom, United States, Voice October 31, 2014

Chrissie Hynde turns back the clock: review

In concert at Massey Hall on Thursday, The Pretenders founder seemingly hasn’t aged a day since 1978. Nick Krewen Music, Published on Fri Oct 31 2014 Chrissie Hynde 3 stars At Massey Hall, Oct. 30   Dorian Gray, eat your heart out. Anyone attending the opening night of Chrissie Hynde’s Stockholm tour at Massey Hall on Thursday night could be forgiven for doing a double take and wondering where exactly…