Don Kerr is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where ...

and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

. He is the drummer, lead singer and front man of Toronto band,

Communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

. He plays in

Ron Sexsmith Ronald Eldon Sexsmith (born January 8, 1964) is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario. He was the songwriter of the year at the 2005 Juno Awards. He began releasing recordings of his own material in 1985 at age 21, and has ...

's band,"Don Kerr / Ron Sexsmith Destination Unknown"
''AllMusic'' review by Mark Deming and sometimes with

The Kelele Brothers Ronald Eldon Sexsmith (born January 8, 1964) is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario. He was the songwriter of the year at the 2005 Juno Awards. He began releasing recordings of his own material in 1985 at age 21, and has ...

and

Dan Mangan Daniel Mangan (born April 28, 1983) is a Canadian musician. He has won two Juno awards and has toured extensively throughout North America, Europe and Australia, having released 5 studio LPs and numerous EPs and singles. He has scored for feature ...

Early life

Kerr studied guitar as a child; he experimented with a number of instruments as a teenager, and later studied drumming with Jim Blackley.

Career

Kerr was a member of

Rheostatics Rheostatics are a Canadian indie rock band. They were formed in 1978, and actively performed from 1980 until disbanding in 2007. After a number of reunion performances at special events, Rheostatics reformed in late 2016, introducing new songs a ...

from 1995 to 2001; he recorded on several of their albums, and performed on a number of instruments, including cello and bass. He and Sexsmith released an album together, ''Destination Unknown'', in 2005; the album, which features their vocal harmonies, was produced by Kerr. He has also played with and mixed for

The Hidden Cameras The Hidden Cameras are a Canadian indie pop band. Fronted by singer-songwriter Joel Gibb, the band consists of a varying roster of musicians who play what Gibb once described as "gay church folk music". Their live performances have been elaborate ...

, Minotaurs, BidiniBand and

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

. Kerr also acted in the Canadian independent film,

Amy George Amy George is a 2011 Canadian microbudget film written, produced and directed by Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas. The film tells the story of the 13-year-old Jesse who wants to be an artist, but believes that his mundane middle class life has left h ...

(2011), alongside his wife,

Claudia Dey Claudia Dey (born 1972/1973) is a Canadian writer, based out of Toronto. Dey's debut novel, first novel, ''Stunt'', was published by Coach House Books. It was one of The Globe and Mail's "2008 Globe 100" and Quill and Quire's "Books of the Year ...

. Kerr was producer for Karyn Ellis' 2010 album ''Even Though The Sky Was Falling''. He set up a recording studio, "Rooster", in his home; In 2012 he produced the album ''Letters Home'' for Amy Campbell. In 2014, along with guitarist Paul Linklater and bassist Kevin Lacroix, Kerr founded the Toronto-based band

. Their debut album, ''Get Down Get Together'', was released in 2016. The band has performed at the

Hillside Festival The Hillside Festival is an annual three-day, five-stage (including one kids' stage) summer festival occurring in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, hosting musicians, spoken word artists, workshops and more. The Hillside Festival occurs in late July on Gue ...

Fuji Rock Festival is an annual rock festival held in Naeba Ski Resort, in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The three-day event, organized by Smash Japan, features more than 200 Japanese and international musicians, making it the largest outdoor music event in Japan. ...

Atlin Arts & Music Festival The Atlin Arts & Music Festival (AAMF) is an annual arts and music festival directed towards families located in Atlin, British Columbia. The festival has hosted acts such as Michelle Wright, Sloan, Delhi 2 Dublin, Iskwé, Rock Plaza Central, H ...

and Farms for Change Festival. In 2016 Kerr produced Toronto songwriter Charlotte Cornfield's second album, ''Future Snowbird'', and later Shawna Caspi's album ''Forest Fire''. In 2017 Kerr drummed for Tamara Lindeman's album ''The Weather Station''.

Personal

Kerr and Canadian writer

married in 2005. They live in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and have two children.

Discography

Bahamas

*''

Sad Hunk ''Sad Hunk'' is the fifth studio album by Canadian musician Bahamas, released October 9, 2020. The album's release was preceded by the preview single "Own Alone" in August, with "Trick to Happy" following in September. The album won the Juno Awar ...

'' (2020)

BidiniBand

*''The Land Is Wild'' (2009) *''In The Rock Hall'' (2012) *''The Motherland'' (2014)

Communism

*''Get Down Get Together'' (2016)

Minotaurs

*''The Thing'' (2010)

Rheostatics

*''

Music Inspired by the Group of Seven ''Music Inspired by the Group of Seven'' is a 1995 album by Rheostatics. The album was commissioned by the National Gallery of Canada to accompany its Group of Seven retrospective show. The album has twelve pieces, most of which are instrumental ...

'' (1995) *''

The Blue Hysteria ''The Blue Hysteria'' is a 1996 album by Rheostatics. "Bad Time to Be Poor", a protest song about life in Ontario during the government of Mike Harris, was the album's first single. The band also contributed this song to the compilation album ' ...

'' (1996) *'' Double Live'' (1997) *''

The Nightlines Sessions ''The Nightlines Sessions'' is a 1998 album by Rheostatics. The album was recorded as a live session for the final episode of CBC Stereo's late night music program ''Night Lines'', hosted by David Wisdom. It is a largely tossed-off and improvise ...

'' (1998) *''

The Story of Harmelodia ''The Story of Harmelodia'' is a 1999 album by Rheostatics."Rheostatics all live in a Yellow Submarine". ''The Globe and Mail'', December 8, 1999. Billed as a children's album, the album is a narrative detailing the adventures of Dot and Bug, two ...

'' (1999) *'' Night of the Shooting Stars'' (2001)

Sexsmith & Kerr

*'' Destination Unknown'' (2005)

The Hidden Cameras

*''

Mississauga Goddam ''Mississauga Goddam'' is a 2004 album by The Hidden Cameras. The title is an allusion to Nina Simone's civil rights anthem "Mississippi Goddam" (from the album '' Nina Simone in Concert''), suggesting suburbia (Mississauga is a suburb of Toro ...

'' (2004) *''

Awoo ''AWOO'' is the fourth studio album by The Hidden Cameras, released in 2006. The album was released on EvilEvil in Canada in August. It was released on September 4 on Rough Trade in the UK and was also released on Arts & Crafts in the Uni ...

'' (2006) *'' Origin:Orphan'' (2009)

Solo

*''The Sniffing Princess'' (1999) *''Carny'' Soundtrack (2008)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Don Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Canadian rock drummers Canadian male drummers Canadian pop drummers Canadian record producers Canadian indie rock musicians Musicians from Toronto Rheostatics members