Producer

Mike Wanchic strums for Mellencamp

NICK KREWEN Hamilton Spectator Thursday, August 18, 1994 Dance Naked, John Mellencamp‘s latest album that contains his hit remake of Van Morrison‘s ‘Wild Night’, didn’t only surprise the public — it also shocked his co-producer. Mike Wanchic, guitarist and co-producer in the Indiana singer and composer’s band since 1978, said he was astonished he received a phone call from his boss to head back into the studio within months of…


Still exotic after all these years

Nick Krewen For The KW Record September 21, 1999   It’s an ode with an oud. The Tea Party has accumulated an interesting collection of exotic instruments over the years, but singer, songwriter and guitarist Jeff Martin admits that their latest addition came out of the blue. A four-stringed instrument called the oud makes its debut on “Samsara,” a cut from the Windsor trio’s latest album Triptych. According to Martin,…


Capturing The Sound of Silence

  Far from the madding crowds, sound hunters search the wilderness for an elusive ingredient for their recordings — absolute silence   Nick Krewen The Ottawa Citizen Sunday, July 25, 1999 It’s another long, sweltering day in the tropical rainforest, and Kevin O’ Leary is on safari. With an assistant who doubles as photographer at his side, and more than 30 kgs of gear each strapped to their backs, they…


Rush Future Uncertain

Nick Krewen The Kitchener-Waterloo Record December 24, 1998 On the eve of their 25th anniversary, the future of Rush is uncertain. A pair of personal tragedies suffered this year by drummer and lyricist Neil Peart, namely the double blow of losing his daughter and wife within a few months of each other, has placed a question mark on whether the enduring Canadian band will continue. “It’s difficult to discuss a…


Cracker

PUBLISHED IN THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR AUGUST 25, 1998     NICK KREWEN Hamilton Spectator August 25, 1998   TORONTO:   Seems American rock critics can’t quite get it right when it comes to defining and describing Cracker, the sardonic Richmond, Virginia-based rock group led by singers and songwriters David Lowery and Johnny Hickman. So the band made it easy for them on their new album Gentleman’s Blues. “I had to…