nickelBack
The road leading to the
top of the hill is long. It winds, and it grinds and spits out many would be
rock & roll kings. Nickelback, whose name comes from the change that bassist
Mike Kroeger would dispense countless times a day when he worked at a Starbucks
that sold coffee for a buck ninety five, believes they've got the grit to reach
the summit. Why not? They've already scraped their way out of the tiny Canadian
town where they honed their progressive rock skills. Stardom is just another
stop on the highway.
The hard-hitting
alternative band consists of Kroeger, his younger brother Chad, who handles lead
vocals and is the band's main writer, drummer Ryan Vikedal and guitarist Ryan
Peake. Growing up in Hanna, a desolate farming community in the province of
Alberta, the four found trouble and then discovered that a good groove could
power them out of town. "There wasn't much else to do in Hanna except play
music or get into trouble," says Chad Kroeger. "I did plenty of both."
Eventually, the four band
members would pool their cash and book time in a recording studio, hoping to
strike gold. Their first album, The State, came out of these sessions, yielding
the Top Ten single "Leader of Men." Nickelback was marching on when
Roadrunner Records picked up their album.
Concerts, long weeks on
the road (fed by dreams and party fantasies come true) and promotion now consume
Nickelback. Their new lifestyle is also fueling the band's writing. They've
amassed enough material for a second album and plan to begin recording it in the
near future.