It all started when Mike, was working at a local Starbucks, and constantly said, "here's your nickel, back."
Nickelback is a quartet "blue-collar rock" band, as said by Ryan Peake, straight out of Canada's own, Alberta. Brother's Chad and Mike Kroeger grew up in the small town of Hanna (Alberta) and Ryan Peake, and Nik (Ryan Vikedal) grew up in Brooks (Alberta). After knowing that they had musical talent Chad, Mike and Ryan (Peake) headed west to Vancouver, British Columbia. There, after releasing their first EP, Hesher and subsquently in the same year, Curb the headed straight in the right direction towards musical fame. Two years later, in 1998 Ryan "Nik" Vikedal was brought into the band after the past drummer took his seperate ways.
First time listening to Nickelback? Found this site in a search engine? Don't worry, stay and keep reading. Nickelback's music connects with the average Joe, because they're not trying to fool anybody and they're not going for a certain niche. They're straight-down-the-middle rock. They're also not extremely hard to listen to, but they certainly try to make it interesting. When they go onstage they essentially say, "Hey, we're Nickelback. These are our songs, this is what we do, and we hope you enjoy it."
Nickelback could also be compared to spaghetti. Throughout their musical process, they don't want to be tasting all the ingredients, they want to be tasting it as a whole. Whilst onstage, Chad Kroeger admits, "I'd do anything. I'd damn near set myself on fire to get their attention. I've climbed lighting rigs, I've jumped on top of speaker stacks, I've laid down my guitar and leapt into the mosh pit.." I don't know what you'd call it; dedication, or insanity. But, these guy's aren't fooling. In 1999 Nickelback jump into the music scene after the release of the hit single, "Leader Of Men," with the State.
Selling only about 10, 000 copies in it's first week, the State was the breakthrough album for Nickelback in the States. Also coming from the album were the singles, "Worthy To Say," "Old Enough," and "Breathe."
It was a good place to start. Just a few years ago while recording their first demo, Chad Kroeger says "We slept on the engineer's floor for two months. In that situation, you eat a lot of Kraft Dinner's and try to stay alive. You work any job you can, try not to sell drugs, and just make a go of it."
Two years later, Nickelback have released the hit single that topped radio stations worldwide, "How You Remind Me," from their most recent CD, Silver Side Up. Also coming from this album are the singles, "Too Bad," "Never Again," and the most recent, "Woke Up This Morning."
Individual Biographies: Click on a member for their bio.
