Uncategorized

Elton John talks about the magic of collaboration and his new album The Lockdown Sessions

By Nick Krewen Special to the Star Sometimes no plans are the best plans.  According to British pop superstar Sir Elton John, his star-studded, upcoming 32nd studio album, The Lockdown Sessions,  out October 22, wouldn’t have happened without an invitation from Charlie Puth, the L.A.-based singer and songwriter of the hits “Marvin Gaye,” “Attention” and “How Long,” to write in his studio.  “I had no plans to make any music at all,…


Toronto’s Monowhales started out as “the misfit children of Humber College”

By Nick Krewen Special to the Star Published March 4, 2021 Toronto’s Monowhales’ story of triumph, is, in a weird way, a story of Triumph. The local alt-rock trio’s singer, Sally Shaar, took songwriting lessons from Triumph guitarist and singer Rik Emmett at Humber College, no doubt a contributing factor to the mesmerizing melodies put forth on the new seven-song Monowhales effort Daytona Bleach that’s out Friday. “It was fantastic,”…


He’s a Juno winner, an album cover designer and a concert promoter, but he’s often physically barred from the music he loves

NICK KREWEN Special to the Star December 20, 2019 Michael Wrycraft is in a conundrum. As a music aficionado, the Juno Award-winning graphic design artist who has designed album covers for everyone ranging from Bruce Cockburn to Blackie & the Rodeo Kings, loves to attend concerts. However, Wrycraft lost his legs in 2017 due to diabetes and now uses a wheelchair. Most of the venues that host the shows he wants…


Nick Cave mesmerizes the faithful in Scotiabank Arena show

Oct 29, 2018 Nick Krewen Special To The Star Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds At Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena, Oct. 28 Four stars. Eons ago, when this concert was announced and the venue was still known as the Air Canada Centre, there was speculation that Nick Cave and his Bad Seeds might have overreached by booking an arena show. After all, despite being around since the early 1980s and releasing…


Q&A: Milck Empowers #MeToo and Answers How Men Can Help

Originally published Jan 26, 2018 Nick Krewen Milck, the 30-year-old Los Angeles-based Atlantic Records signing born Connie Lim, calls the #MeToo movement that’s gone global — and called out many high profile men for their inappropriate and often criminal conduct — “a very carnal way of us manifesting our resistance,” she tells Samaritanmag. She bravely sang about her own experience of sexual abuse and harassment in the ballad “Quiet,” which…