Nickelback
Nickelback | |
|---|---|
| File:Nickelback 063004 big.jpg | |
| Background information | |
| Years active | 1995 – present |
| Members | Chad Kroeger Ryan Peake Mike Kroeger Daniel Adair |
Nickelback is a post grunge rock band founded in western Canada in 1995. The name derived from the nickel in change Mike Kroeger frequently had to give customers back in his job at a Starbucks coffee shop.
The core of the band hails from Hanna, Alberta. They are now based in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Nickelback's climb to mainstream was helped by "Cancon", the Canadian law that requires a certain percentage of music played on Canadian radio to be from Canadian bands. Their second album, The State, propelled them to mainstream status even before Silver Side Up.
Nickelback has achieved major success on rock radio, scoring 10 Top 10 hits since 1999. They have also crossed over to mainstream radio, scoring multi-format smashes on their last two albums. Synonymous with the release of the first Spiderman film's soundtrack was the single "Hero," sung by band leader Chad Kroeger and Saliva singer Josey Scott.
Nickelback released their Silver Side Up album on Tuesday, September 11th, 2001. On that morning, they were on their tour bus traveling across Pennsylvania less than 10 miles from where Flight 93 crashed. To some, the first single, "How You Remind Me", became an anthem of sorts in memory of the fallen Americans on 9/11 and became the most played song in the U.S in 2001 and much of 2002.
Criticisms
Critics have often pointed out that "How You Remind Me", a Nickelback song that received extensive airplay in 2001, and "Someday", a popular song in 2003, are almost perfectly identical except for lyrical content.
Nickelback is also heavily criticized as sellouts by grunge fans because of their radio-friendly sound.
Post-departure of Ryan Vikedal
In February of 2005, the band announced that drummer Ryan Vikedal had left for unknown reasons. That was the official reasoning, but in a later interview, Vikedal stated that he felt he had been cast out of what he thought was a close family for not being "the type of drummer" the band was looking for. This confused Vikedal and many fans since this decision would come after the extraordinary success of the band's previous albums with Vikedal in the lineup. In March, they announced that 3 Doors Down drummer Daniel Adair was taking his place and recording their new album, which is a follow-up to The Long Road. The group's new album was released on October 4th, 2005, titled All the Right Reasons. The first single will be called "Photograph", not to be confused with Def Leppard's 1983 biggest hit. Billboard.com wrote about it:
"Photograph" is a mid-tempo homage to the good ol' days, when singer Chad Kroeger remembers wasting time in "the old arcade" and his first kiss, "She had a couple of kids since then/I haven't seen her since God knows when." The album is also following a tour.
Line-up
- Chad Kroeger - Lead Vocals and Guitars
- Ryan Peake - Guitar and Backing Vocals
- Mike Kroeger - Bass
- Daniel Adair - Drums
Previous band members
- Brandon Kroeger - Drums
- Mitch Guindon - Drums
- Ryan Vikedal - Drums
Discography
Albums
- Hesher (EP) (1996)
- Curb (1996), re-released (2002)
- The State (2000) #130 US
- Silver Side Up (2001) #2 US, #1 UK (6x Platinum), Can Sales: 800,000 (8x platnium)
- The Long Road (2003) #6 US, #5 UK; US Sales: 2.7 million (3x Platinum), Can Sales:400,000 (4X platinum)
- All the Right Reasons (October 4, 2005)
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||
| US Hot 100 | US Modern Rock | US Mainstream Rock | UK Singles Chart | |||
| 2000 | "Leader of Men" | - | #21 | #8 | - | The State |
| 2000 | "Breathe" | - | #21 | #10 | - | The State |
| 2000 | "Old Enough" | - | - | #24 | - | The State |
| 2001 | "How You Remind Me" | #1 (4 weeks) | #1 | #1 | #4 | Silver Side Up |
| 2002 | "Too Bad" | #42 | #6 | #1 | #9 | Silver Side Up |
| 2002 | "Never Again" | - | #24 | #1 | #30 | Silver Side Up |
| 2003 | "Someday" | #7 | #4 | #2 | #6 | The Long Road |
| 2004 | "Figured You Out" | #64 | #4 | #1 | - | The Long Road |
| 2004 | "Feelin' Way Too Damn Good" | #49 | #23 | #3 | #39 | The Long Road |
| 2004 | "Because of You" | - | - | #7 | - | The Long Road |
| 2005 | "Photograph" | #3 | #13 | #1 (2 weeks) | #29 | All the Right Reasons |