The Lowest of the Low 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 ...
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
group formed in 1991 from
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 ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada.
[Michael Barclay, Ian A.D. Jack and Jason Schneider, '' Have Not Been the Same: The Can-Rock Renaissance 1985-1995''. ]ECW Press
ECW Press is a Canadian book publisher located in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded by Jack David and Robert Lecker in 1974 as a Canadian literary magazine named ''Essays on Canadian Writing''. They started publishing trade and scholarly book ...
. . They were one of the most influential bands on the Canadian alternative music scene in the early 1990s, garnering widespread critical acclaim and radio play. Their most successful album, ''
Shakespeare My Butt
''Shakespeare My Butt...'' is an album by Canadian band The Lowest of the Low, released in 1991.
Lead singer Ron Hawkins, guitarist Stephen Stanley and drummer David Alexander were previously in the band Popular Front, but when they formed The L ...
'', was later named one of the ten greatest albums in Canadian music history in three successive reader polls by the music magazine ''
Chart
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...
'',
["Top 100 Canadian Albums of All Time"]
''Chart
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...
'', October 12, 1999. as well as being ranked as the 84th greatest Canadian album of all time in
Bob Mersereau
Bob Ellis Mersereau is a Canadian arts journalist.Rockingham, Graham â€"Randy Bachman: lord of the song"''The Spec''
He is a music columnist and longtime arts reporter for CBC Television in New Brunswick.[The Top 100 Canadian Albums
''The Top 100 Canadian Albums'' is a book by journalist Bob Mersereau, published in 2007 by Goose Lane Editions.
Mersereau surveyed 600 music journalists, retailers, musicians and disc jockeys of all ages, from all parts of Canada, who each submi ...]
''.
History
The band was formed by
Ron Hawkins
Ronald James Hawkins (born 1964) is a musician from Toronto who is best known as a member of the band The Lowest of the Low."Low man known for artistic highs; Album No. 15 confirms his staying power". ''Ottawa Citizen'', April 7, 2016. He has als ...
, Stephen Stanley and David Alexander, all members of the band Popular Front, as a side project at a time when their other band was going through internal tensions that eventually led to its breakup.
["Lowest of the Low comes up in the world". '']Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'', December 20, 1991. While performing as a trio in folk clubs, they met John Arnott, who became the band's fourth member.
[ The band's punk-inspired ]jangle pop
Jangle pop is a subgenre of pop rock or college rock that emphasizes jangly guitars and 1960s-style pop melodies. The term originated from Bob Dylan's song " Mr. Tambourine Man", whose 1965 rendition by the Byrds became considered one of the g ...
quickly became a popular draw on the Queen Street West
Queen Street is a major east-west thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Roncesvalles Avenue and King Street in the west to Victoria Park Avenue in the east. Queen Street was the cartographic baseline for the original east ...
club circuit 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 ...
. They submitted the songs "Gamble" and "Motel 30", produced by Bob Wiseman
Robert Neil "Bob" Wiseman (born 1962) is a film composer, songwriter, author and music teacher. Wiseman discovered or produced many artists including Ron Sexsmith, The Lowest of the Low, Bruce McCulloch of Kids in the Hall, Anhai, and former ...
, to the $100,000 CFNY
CFNY-FM (''102.1 the Edge'') is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 102.1 MHz in the Greater Toronto Area, licensed to the suburb of Brampton. CFNY plays an alternative rock format. Owned by Corus Entertainment, its studios are in Downtown ...
Discovery to Disc contest in 1991.
In 1991, they released their debut album, ''Shakespeare My Butt
''Shakespeare My Butt...'' is an album by Canadian band The Lowest of the Low, released in 1991.
Lead singer Ron Hawkins, guitarist Stephen Stanley and drummer David Alexander were previously in the band Popular Front, but when they formed The L ...
'', on Page Publications. The album featured songs they had already performed and toured for several years as Popular Front. Hawkins's songs were filled with lyrics about Marxism
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
and the Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
, but also contained many references to Toronto landmarks like the Don River
The Don ( rus, Дон, p=don) is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire.
Its ...
, Bathurst Street, and his local pub, "The Only" on Danforth Avenue
Danforth Avenue (informally also known as the Danforth) and Danforth Road are two historically-related arterial streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Danforth ''Avenue'' is an east-west street that begins in Old Toronto at the Prince Edward ...
. The album became one of the best-selling independent releases in Canadian history, selling just short of gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
status, and was later named one of the ten greatest albums in Canadian music history by the music magazine ''Chart
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...
''.[
However, the band also resisted some of the compromises and demands of the music industry; most notably, they played an early industry A&R show wearing T-shirts that read "Don't suck corporate cock" and "Corporate rock still sucks".]
In 1993, the band signed a distribution deal with A&M Records, and released ''Hallucigenia
''Hallucigenia'' is a genus of Cambrian animal resembling worms, known from articulated fossils in Burgess Shale-type deposits in Canada and China, and from isolated spines around the world. The generic name reflects the type species' unusual ...
'' in 1994. They toured to support the album and had begun early preparations for their follow-up album, but creative and business tensions resulted in the band breaking up later the same year. Hawkins released a solo album, ''The Secret of My Excess
Ronald James Hawkins (born 1964) is a musician from Toronto who is best known as a member of the band The Lowest of the Low."Low man known for artistic highs; Album No. 15 confirms his staying power". ''Ottawa Citizen'', April 7, 2016. He has als ...
'', in 1996 before forming Ron Hawkins and the Rusty Nails
Ronald James Hawkins (born 1964) is a musician from Toronto who is best known as a member of the band The Lowest of the Low."Low man known for artistic highs; Album No. 15 confirms his staying power". ''Ottawa Citizen'', April 7, 2016. He has als ...
.
Reunions
In 2000, The Lowest of the Low reunited for a five-show tour, playing to sold-out venues in Toronto and Buffalo. In January 2002, the live album '' Nothing Short of a Bullet'' was released. The album also featured a second disc with three new studio songs, including a cover of the Bad Religion
Bad Religion is an American punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilitie ...
song "Kerosene".
In 2002, bassist John Arnott left the band and was replaced by Dylan Parker. In 2004, the band signed with MapleMusic Recordings
Cadence Recordings, formerly MapleMusic, is a Canadian independent record label founded by Andy Maize, Jeff Maize, Mike Alkier, Evan Hu, Lorique Mindel and Grant Dexter in 1999 and based in Toronto, Ontario. Other investors include Gary Slaight ...
. The same year, the band released ''Sordid Fiction
''Sordid Fiction'' is an album by Canadian band The Lowest of the Low. For this record, and all future releases the band switched to Lowest of the Low, dropping "The" from their name. Apart from three studio songs on the band's 2002 live album '' ...
'', their first new studio album since 1994. Following the tour for that record, the band went on extended hiatus again.
In November 2007 the band announced that they were breaking up for good. They played two final shows, one on December 4, 2007, at the Horseshoe Tavern
The Horseshoe Tavern (known as ''The Horseshoe'', ''The 'Shoe'', The 'Toronto Tavern' and The 'Triple T' to Toronto locals) is a concert venue at 370 Queen Street West (northeast corner of Queen at Spadina) in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and ...
in Toronto and another on December 8, 2007, at Club Infinity in Williamsville, New York
Williamsville is a village in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 5,423 at the 2020 census. The village is named after Jonas Williams, an early settler. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical ...
. This concert was released by fans of the band as a DVD, incorporating several camcorder recordings of the show and a soundboard audio patch. The fan released DVD was entitled ''Into the Black'', and can be downloaded on Ron Hawkins' web site.
In December 2010, the band reunited again for a Massey Hall sold-out show plus two nights at Lee's Palace
Lee's Palace is a rock concert hall located on the south side of Bloor Street West east of Lippincott Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The two-floor facility in The Annex neighbourhood has a long history prior to being adapted in September 198 ...
in Toronto to celebrate the release of a new remastered edition of ''Shakespeare My Butt'' on Pheromone Recordings
Cadence Music Group, formerly MapleCore Ltd., is a music company founded in 1999 and located in Toronto, Canada. Cadence Music Group has multiple divisions, five record labels Cadence Recordings, Open Road Recordings, Pheromone Recordings, Physi ...
. They also announced plans for a tour in 2011 to mark the 20th anniversary of the album.
On December 6, 2011, the band performed a surprise set at the 30th anniversary party for The Only, the pub that inspired the song "Just About 'The Only' Blues" on their first album.
The Lowest of the Low made plans to record their fourth album in the fall of 2013, although the departure of founding member Stephen Stanley halted these plans.
In November 2015, they released two new songs, "The Kids Are All Wrong" and "In the Blink of an Eye", with new guitarist Brian Macmillan replacing Stanley. In 2017, they released ''Do the Right Now'', their first album of new material since 2004's ''Sordid Fiction''.
In 2018, the band released a career-spanning vinyl LP box set called ''Shakespeare...My Box''. It re-released their 4 studio albums, as well as including a new collection of B-sides, live tracks, and remixes, called ''Thrifty, Thrifty, Thrifty''.
Their most recent studio album, ''Agitpop'', was released in 2019. In 2021 they followed up with ''Taverns and Palaces'', a live album collecting recorded performances from Lee's Palace and the Horseshoe Tavern.[Jason Schneider]
"Essentials… with Lowest Of The Low’s Ron Hawkins"
''FYI Music News'', December 9, 2021.
Influence
The Lowest of the Low have been cited as a major influence by The Weakerthans
The Weakerthans are an award-winning and Juno-nominated Canadian indie rock band from Winnipeg. The band, led by John K. Samson, has released four studio albums and is currently inactive.
History
The band was formed in 1997 in Winnipeg, Manit ...
, whose leader John K. Samson was previously a member of Propagandhi
Propagandhi is a Canadian punk rock band formed in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba in 1986 by guitarist Chris Hannah and drummer Jord Samolesky. The band is currently located in Winnipeg, Manitoba and completed by bassist Todd Kowalski and guitari ...
when the latter covered TLotL's song "Gamble". The Lowest of the Low have actually repaid the favour to The Weakerthans by singing about attending one of their concerts in the song "A Casual Overdose". Covers of Lowest of the Low songs by other artists include "Rosy and Grey" by Weddings Parties Anything
Weddings, Parties, Anything. was an Australian folk rock band formed in 1984 in Melbourne and continuing until 1999. Their name came from The Clash song "Revolution Rock". Musicologist Billy Pinnell described their first album as the best Austr ...
and "Bleed a Little While Tonight" by Jeremy Fisher
Jeremy Fisher (born Jeremy Binns; December 15, 1976) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Fisher is based in Ottawa, Ontario, and was previously based on Vancouver Island, B.C., Montreal, Quebec, and in Seattle, Washington, US. Fisher's work is hea ...
.
Members
*Ron Hawkins
Ronald James Hawkins (born 1964) is a musician from Toronto who is best known as a member of the band The Lowest of the Low."Low man known for artistic highs; Album No. 15 confirms his staying power". ''Ottawa Citizen'', April 7, 2016. He has als ...
(vocals, guitar)
*Lawrence Nichols (keyboards, harmonica, vocals)
*David Alexander (drums)
* Greg Smith (bass)
*Michael McKenzie (guitar)
Past members
*John Arnott (bass)
*Stephen Stanley (guitar, vocals)
*Dylan Parker (bass)
*Brian MacMillan (guitar)
Discography
Albums
* ''Shakespeare My Butt
''Shakespeare My Butt...'' is an album by Canadian band The Lowest of the Low, released in 1991.
Lead singer Ron Hawkins, guitarist Stephen Stanley and drummer David Alexander were previously in the band Popular Front, but when they formed The L ...
'' (1991)
* ''Hallucigenia
''Hallucigenia'' is a genus of Cambrian animal resembling worms, known from articulated fossils in Burgess Shale-type deposits in Canada and China, and from isolated spines around the world. The generic name reflects the type species' unusual ...
'' (1994)
* '' Nothing Short of a Bullet'' (2002)
* ''Sordid Fiction
''Sordid Fiction'' is an album by Canadian band The Lowest of the Low. For this record, and all future releases the band switched to Lowest of the Low, dropping "The" from their name. Apart from three studio songs on the band's 2002 live album '' ...
'' (2004)
* '' Do the Right Now'' (2017)
* ''Agitpop
Agitpop is an art punk band from Poughkeepsie, New York. The band was formed in 1981 and began touring widely in 1983. They released four records on the Comm3, Twintone, and Rough Trade labels. Its members include Mark LaFalce, John deVries, a ...
'' (2019)
* ''Taverns and Palaces'' (2021)
Collections
* Shakespeare My Box (Box Set) (2018)
Singles
* "Eternal Fatalist" (1993)
* "Salesmen, Cheats and Liars" (1993)
* "City Full of Cowards" b/w "Crying Like a Postcard", "Bit" (1993)
* "Gamble" b/w "Night of the Living Assholes" (1994)
* "Motel 30" b/w "The Unbearable Lightness of Jean", "Motel 30 (Live)" (1994)
* "(These are) The Lives and Times" (2001)
* "Kinda the Lonely One" ive(2001)
* "New Westminster Taxi Squad" (2002)
* "The Kids Are All Wrong" b/w "In The Blink of An Eye" (2015)
* "Powerlines" (digital only) (2017)
See also
*Music of Canada
The music of Canada reflects the diverse influences that have shaped the country. Indigenous Peoples, the Irish, British, and the French have all made unique contributions to the musical heritage of Canada. The music has also subsequently been ...
*Canadian rock
Rock music of Canada is a wide and diverse part of the general music of Canada, beginning with American and British style rock and roll in the mid-20th century. Since then Canada has had a considerable impact on the development of the modern po ...
*List of Canadian musicians
This is a list of Canadian musicians. Only notable individuals appear here; bands are listed at List of bands from Canada.
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*347aidan - rapper
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* Lee Aaron – jazz and rock singer-songwriter, also known as "Metal Queen"
*Abdominal – hi ...
*List of bands from Canada
This is a list of bands from Canada. Only bands appear here; individual musicians are listed at list of Canadian musicians.
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See also
...
* :Canadian musical groups
References
External links
The Lowest of the Low
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowest Of The Low, The
Musical groups established in 1991
Musical groups disestablished in 1993
Musical groups reestablished in 2000
Musical groups disestablished in 2007
Canadian alternative rock groups
Musical groups from Toronto
1991 establishments in Ontario
1993 disestablishments in Ontario
2000 establishments in Ontario
2007 disestablishments in Ontario
Canadian folk rock groups