Nickelback

By Gary Eskow

Oct 31 2000

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.