nickelback

Nickelback is a post-grunge rock band formed in Hanna, Alberta, Canada in 1995. The name derived from the nickel in change Mike Kroeger's brother frequently had to give customers back in his job at a Starbucks coffee shop in which he would say, "Here's your nickel back".

The band has sold over 14 million albums in the United States and over 1.5 million albums in Canada, their worldwide albums sales counted near to 20 million.

Nickelback's latest release, All the Right Reasons has already sold more than 3.6 million albums in the United States and over 5.1 million albums worldwide.

History

The core of the band hails from Hanna, Alberta. They are now based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Nickelback was helped early on by Cancon, the Canadian law requiring a certain percentage of music played on Canadian radio to be from Canadian musical artists. Their second full length album, The State, propelled them to the mainstream with two Top 10 hits (one being "Leader of Men") and the follow up album Silver Side Up, with 2002's most-played single "How You Remind Me", gave them superstar status, scoring multi-format smashes on every album since.

The band was playing their second song at the Ilha do Ermal festival in Portugal on August 19, 2002, when singer Chad Kroeger was suddenly sprayed with a full bottle of water, hurled from somewhere within the audience. Kroeger immediately tore off his guitar and confronted the crowd, and as he turned around, he was pelted in the back of the head with what looked like a large rock. "See ya," he replied with a wave. With that, the entire band followed him off the stage. Both Kroeger and drummer Ryan Vikedal gave the audience the finger as they strode off. Kroeger was unharmed by the rock.[1]

Silver Side Up was released on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. On that morning, they were on their tour bus traveling across Pennsylvania less than 10 miles from where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed.

They have received 6 Juno Awards and were nominated for 5 more in 2006. Their single "Photograph" was nominated for best single. Nickelback with their latest album, topped the nominees with 3 the nominations including Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group, Favorite Pop/Rock Album (All the Right Reasons) and Favorite Alternative Artist, for the 34th American Music Awards which are going to be held on Tuesday, November 21, 2006.

Style

Nickelback's style can be described as hard rock with a melodic undertone, modern arena rock sound; many claim there are also a small amount of heavy metal and country influences, while detractors of the band label them as a 'jock-rock' sound. The frontman Chad Kroeger is the dominant element; his vocals sustain the songs through verse and hook.

As with many bands, Nickelback's lyrics primarily deal with intimacy. Earlier albums included songs discussing problems such as parental desertion and domestic abuse. They seldom if ever speak metaphorically.

Their fifth album, All the Right Reasons (2005), sees a change in their subject matter. Kroeger deals with nostalgia, friendships and the passage of time in one of the 2005 singles, "Photograph". "Rockstar" has the band reflecting on the consequences of their new status as recognized musicians and is a typical grunge style attack on commercialisation and manufactured artists. The album, however, has received negative reviews. All Music Guide called Nickelback "unspeakably awful" in the album's critical review. [2]

Nickelback was the main support act for Bon Jovi on the European & American legs of the latter's "Have a Nice Day Tour" in 2006.

Issues

In 2003, an internet meme pokes fun at the similarities between the song How You Remind Me and Someday, referred to as "How You Remind Me of Someday". Chad Kroeger, on the official Nickelback website said of the album The Long Road, "We've pushed things further in every way possible. Fans of real rock music are in for a surprise."

A student from Vancouver, Canada, however, synchronised the two songs together, showing that both songs appear to be of nearly identical length (indeed, both songs last 3 minutes with just a few seconds difference between them). As well, the rhythms match almost perfectly in syncopation. A British website put these two songs together in a similar fashion in a flash file^[1], where one song is played through the left speaker and one through the right.

In a press conference, bassist Mike Kroeger said to the Cleveland Free Times, "I think that's remarkable for someone to notice that there is a hit quality. If all hits sound the same, then sorry. When you are a band that has a distinct style such as us or AC/DC, that happens. When you have a distinct style, you run the risk of sounding similar."^[2].

Members

Current

• Chad Kroeger - Lead Vocals and Guitars
• Ryan Peake - Guitar and Backing Vocals
• Mike Kroeger - Bass Guitar
• Daniel Adair - Drums and Backing Vocals

Former

• Brandon Kroeger - Drums (Album: Curb)
• Ryan Vikedal - Drums (Albums: The State, Silver Side Up & The Long Road)

Discography

Albums

DVDs

• Nickelback - Live At Home (October 29, 2002)
• Nickelback - The Videos (September 23, 2003)
• Nickelback - Photo Album (October 4, 2005)
• Nickelback - Pictures (September 12, 2006)

Original songs appear on

• The Scorpion King (March 26, 2002) Yanking Out My Heart *
• Spider-Man (May 3, 2002) Hero, feat. Josey Scott of Saliva (A very short sound clip is contained in the movie. The song received heavy video airplay and is featured on the DVD)
• Live At Home (DVD above) (October 29, 2002) It Ain't Like That (Alice in Chains cover, feat. Jerry Cantrell)
• Live At Home (DVD above) (October 29, 2002) Mistake
• Daredevil (February 4, 2003) Learn the Hard Way *
• Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (June 24, 2003) Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting) (Elton John cover, feat. Kid Rock) *
• The Punisher (March 23, 2004) Slow Motion

"Someday" appears in the movie - Torque

* also available as bonus tracks on The Long Road import versions

Singles

*: current position.

Awards

Grammy Awards

Nickelback Grammy Awards History

Chad Kroeger's Grammy Awards History

American Music Awards

See also

• Music of Vancouver
• List of bands from British Columbia
• List of bands from Canada
• Von Dutch Kustom Cycles - Custom Von Dutch Chopper made for Mike Kroeger (Bass player, founder, and brother of lead singer Chad) of Nickelback.

External links

• Official Website

References