|
 If
anyone thought mainstream rock went out of style, apparently they failed
to hear Nickelback, the Canadian quartet that took the world by storm in
2002 with the omnipresent anthem, "How You Remind Me."
Although it may have seemed that Nickelback was an overnight success,
nothing could be further from the truth. The band, fronted by
singer/guitarist Chad Kroeger and his bass-playing brother, Mike,
started in the mid-'90s as a cover band in the small town of Hanna,
Alberta. By 1996, the band relocated to Vancouver and Kroeger had begun
writing his own songs. Once in the big city, the band—which also
includes drummer Ryan Vikedal and guitarist Ryan Peake—hit the recording
studio with a vengeance. In that year alone Nickelback churned out the
Hesher EP and its debut long-player, Curb. Nickelback Links
Following years of road
work, the band re-emerged in 2000 with The State, which garnered airplay
in their native Canada, partially due to Canadian content laws that
require broadcasters to play a certain amount of homegrown recordings.
With the band's star rising due to frequent touring and airplay seeping
into the U.S., The State was picked up for release in America, where it
proved to be a modest success.
The stage was set for Nickelback's big breakthrough and the band did not
fail deliver when Silver Side Up was released in the fall of 2001. The
album featured "How You Remind Me," which first hit rock stations,
topping both the Modern and Mainstream charts before crossing over to
Top 40, and ending up at the summit of the Hot 100. When all was said
and done, "How You Remind Me" was the most played song of 2002 across
all radio formats, according to Billboard's Airplay Monitor. Fueled by
the airplay, Silver Side Up went on to sell more than 9 million copies
worldwide.
Perhaps to prove his talent wasn't limited to Nickelback, Chad Kroeger
cut a duet with Saliva singer Josey Scott for the Spider-Man soundtrack.
The track, called "Hero," became another monster hit. He also turned up
on Santana's Shaman--although he prevented the guitarist's label from
releasing the track as a single—and produced Theory Of A Deadman, a
Vancouver-based outfit that signed to his 604 Records imprint.
By the fall of 2003, however, Chad Kroeger was back in the Nickelback
fold with the release of Long Road. |
