Canadian Music and Musicians

What You Need to Know About Canadian Music and Musicians
By Kenny Auyoung

Sadly, most of us here in the U.S. are blissfully unaware of performers that don’t hail from one of the 50 states. Ask the average Joe on the street if they know of any Canadian musicians, and if you get any response, you’ll hear Celine Dion or Shania Twain, maybe even Bryan Adams or Neil Young. While these are certainly talented musicians in their own right, they certainly do not represent the breadth and depth of the Canadian music scene. Some of the ignorance is due to the cultural similarities between ourselves and our neighbors to the North. Pop/punk sensation Avril Lavigne is so popular with the tweener set here in the U.S. precisely because she looks and sounds like she could have stepped off of any high school campus in middle America. But aside from such superstars as Alanis Morrisette and Rush who have transcended any national boundaries and become truly international, Canadian musicians have plenty to offer the world in terms of exciting and fresh music. I would like to offer a few suggestions in various categories, and perhaps with a casual listen, you’ll discover like I did that the Great White North has more to offer than a few tasty brews.

Rock/Pop/Hip-Hop

Where would any serious discussion of contemporary Canadian rock be without including Nickelback, originally out of Hanna, Alberta, but now based in Vancouver. With smash hits like “Photograph” and “How You Remind Me”, it’s hard to come up with a more successful Canadian group over the last few years. Ontario based Shaker is an up-and-coming act that is beginning to show great promise. Their first full-length release, “Throw Your Good Side On”, is scheduled to be released this year (2006). Shaker reminds me of a less-bluesy version of “The Black Crows”, however, the inflection of vocalist Daniel Brooks is like nothing so much as a latter day version of fellow Canadian vocalist Tom Cochrane.