Rock ‘N Roll

On the second floor of a Shoppers Drug Mart, there’s a shrine to Yonge Street’s musical history

July 4, 2018 Nick Krewen Special to The Star It’s not often that you have the opportunity to shop for acne ointments and body lotion before stepping into a museum that spotlights a bygone era of Toronto’s fabled musical history. But there The Friar’s Music Museum sits – on the second floor of Shoppers Drug Mart’s brand-new Yonge and Dundas location opposite the Eaton Centre – offering a time capsule…

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Chuck Berry was the true king of rock ‘n’ roll

Berry’s songwriting, guitar playing and legendary dance moves inspired scores of celebrated musicians and music lovers alike. Nick Krewen Music, Sun., March 19, 2017 The true king of rock ’n’ roll has died. Post 1955, you can list any number of stratospheric acts that followed Chuck Berry — Elvis . . . the Beatles . . . the Rolling Stones . . . the Beach Boys — and as much…


Rockin’ the suburbs with Los Lobos

New venues help bring Grammy winners — and many others — to Southern Ontarians’ backyards. Just don’t get them started about Donald Trump. Nick Krewen Music, Tues., Jan 31, 2017 Suburbanites: now you don’t necessarily have to go to Toronto to see the big shows — more than ever, they’re coming to you. This week, for example, four-time Grammy winners Los Lobos perform at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre on…


Alice Cooper returns to Toronto for Fan Expo Canada

  Toronto was home of the Rock and Roll Revival Concert chicken incident and the Exhibition Stadium riot, but this time Cooper’s just here to sign autographs By: Nick Krewen Music, Published on Thu Aug 22 2013 Ol’ Black Eyes is back. The legendary Alice Cooper, who introduced the concepts of shock and horror into rock ’n’ roll, theatrics into live concert performance and eyeliner use to glam bands, is…


What About Now one of Bon Jovi’s weakest releases: album review

Singer Jon Bon Jovi seems to be trying awfully hard to sustain interest       ROCK Bon Jovi What About Now (Island/Universal) 1.5 stars   Bon Jovi may have been responsible for some of the most bombastic hairspray rock of the past two decades, but at least those albums registered a pulse. On What About Now, the immeasurably popular New Jersey rockers’ first album since 2009’s The Circle and…