Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason delighted by his ‘sort of throwback’ band bound for Toronto

Nick Krewen Special to the Star April 12, 2019 Waiting for that Pink Floyd 55th anniversary reunion? Don’t hold your breath – founding drummer and percussionist Nick Mason isn’t. “There doesn’t seem to be any plan at the moment to put anything together,” Mason, 75, admits, referring to fellow Floyd members Roger Waters and David Gilmour. “Part of that is the reason for putting together the Saucerful of Secrets project. I…


PledgeMusic troubles hit Canadian musicians like Dayna Manning and Amanda Rheaume

Nick Krewen Special to the Star Thursday, March 28, 2019 After singing the PledgeMusic blues, independent recording artist Dayna Manning is breathing a sigh of relief. Like too many other artists — L7, Fastball and Jesus Jones, to name a few — Manning is owed money donated by fans via the nine-year-old U.K. crowdfunding platform, which has all but suspended operations due to financial woes. Delayed payments dating back to…


Woman stuck in refugee camp sees album she co-wrote score Juno nomination

Nick Krewen Special to the Star March 11, 2019 When it came to recording Naath, the 2019 JUNO Award World Music Album of the Year contender by  former Sudanese child soldier Emmanuel Jal and his sister Nyaruach that was crowdfunded by what Jal calls “invisible angels,” there was also a very visible one who donated to the cause. Peter Gabriel. “That was a shock,” says dreadlocked rapper Jal, 39, during…


What is it with music and clowns?

Puddles Pity Party and Mac Sabbath brought very different musical clown acts to Toronto, suggesting the modern fear of clowns might be exaggerated Nick Krewen NOW Magazine, Nov 20, 2018 PUDDLES PITY PARTY at Queen Elizabeth Theatre, November 8. Rating: NNNN MAC SABBATH at Lee’s Palace, Thursday, November 15. Rating: NNN Our music scene delivers new trends all the time, but over the past few weeks Toronto has played host to a…


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…