The Lowest of the Low
Encyclopedia
The Lowest of the Low is a Canadian
alternative rock
group formed in 1991 from Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
. 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. Shakespeare My Butt
ranked tenth in the greatest albums in Canadian music history by the music magazine Chart
.
, Stephen Stanley
and David Alexander, the band was originally known as Popular Front. The band's punk-inspired jangle pop
quickly became a popular draw on the Queen Street West
club circuit in Toronto
.
In 1991 they released their debut album, Shakespeare My Butt
, featuring songs they had already performed and toured for several years as Popular Front. Hawkins's songs were filled with lyrics about Marxism
and the Spanish Civil War
, but also contained many references to Toronto landmarks like the Don River
, Bathurst Street, and his local pub, "The Only" on Danforth Avenue
. The album was actively supported by Toronto radio station CFNY
, and quickly made the band a popular name across southern Ontario
and western New York
. The album became the best-selling independent release in Canadian history (although it would be eclipsed later the same year by Barenaked Ladies
' Yellow Tape). Shakespeare My Butt
was later named one of the ten greatest albums in Canadian music history by the music magazine Chart
.
In 1993, the band signed a distribution deal with A&M Records, and released Hallucigenia
in 1994. Unfortunately, the band was riven with tensions, and broke up later the same year. Two reunions have subsequently followed.
Hawkins released a solo album, The Secret of My Excess, in 1996 before forming Ron Hawkins and the Rusty Nails
. His latest 2009 release is entitled 10 Kinds of Lonely. Hawkins recently toured Canada with British rock legend Billy Bragg
. His next tour brings him to China and Australia in March 2010.
. In 2001, 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
song "Kerosene".
Sordid Fiction
, the band's first new studio album since 1994, was released in 2004. 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
in Toronto and another on December 8, 2007 at Club Infinity in Williamsville, New York
. 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 two shows at Lee's Palace
in Toronto to celebrate the release of a new remastered edition of Shakespeare My Butt
on Pheromone Recordings
. They also announced plans for a tour in 2011 to mark the 20th anniversary of the album.
. Covers of Lowest of the Low songs by other artists include "Rosy and Grey" by Weddings Parties Anything
and "Gamble
" by Propagandhi
(with a bass track recorded by Weakerthans leader John K. Samson while he was a member).
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
group formed in 1991 from Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. 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. Shakespeare My Butt
Shakespeare My Butt
Shakespeare My Butt... is a 1991 album by The Lowest of the Low.At the time of its release, the album briefly became the best-selling independent release in Canadian history, although it was eclipsed later the same year by Barenaked Ladies' The Yellow Tape. However, its melodic, jangly folk-punk...
ranked tenth in the greatest albums in Canadian music history by the music magazine Chart
Chart (magazine)
ChartAttack is a Canadian online music publication. Formerly a monthly print magazine called Chart, which was published from 1991 to 2009, the web version continues operation....
.
History
Formed by Ron HawkinsRon Hawkins
Ron Hawkins is a musician from Toronto who is best known as a member of the band The Lowest of the Low, in which he is the frontman, primary songwriter, lead vocalist, and one of two guitarists...
, Stephen Stanley
Stephen Stanley
Stephen Stanley is a Canadian singer-songwriter associated with the band The Lowest of the Low. Stanley also performs as a solo artist, sometimes in collaboration with violinist Carla MacNeil....
and David Alexander, the band was originally known as Popular Front. The band's punk-inspired jangle pop
Jangle pop
Jangle pop is a genre of alternative rock from the mid-1980s that "marked a return to the chiming or jangly guitars and pop melodies of the '60s" bands such as The Byrds, with their electric twelve-string guitars and power pop song structures. Mid-1980s jangle pop was a non-mainstream "pop-based...
quickly became a popular draw on the Queen Street West
Queen Street West
Queen Street West describes both the western branch of Queen Street, a major east-west thoroughfare, and a series of neighbourhoods or commercial districts, situated west of Yonge Street in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Queen Street begins in the west at the intersection of King Street, The...
club circuit in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
.
In 1991 they released their debut album, Shakespeare My Butt
Shakespeare My Butt
Shakespeare My Butt... is a 1991 album by The Lowest of the Low.At the time of its release, the album briefly became the best-selling independent release in Canadian history, although it was eclipsed later the same year by Barenaked Ladies' The Yellow Tape. However, its melodic, jangly folk-punk...
, featuring songs they had already performed and toured for several years as Popular Front. Hawkins's songs were filled with lyrics about Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
and the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, but also contained many references to Toronto landmarks like the Don River
Don River (Toronto)
The Don River is one of two rivers bounding the original settled area of Toronto, Ontario along the shore of Lake Ontario, the other being the Humber River to the west. The Don is formed from two rivers, the East and West Branches, that meet about north of Lake Ontario while flowing southward into...
, Bathurst Street, and his local pub, "The Only" on Danforth Avenue
Danforth Avenue
Danforth Avenue is an east-west arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its western end begins in Old Toronto from the Prince Edward Viaduct as a continuation of Bloor Street and continues through East York until intersecting with Kingston Road in Scarborough...
. The album was actively supported by Toronto radio station CFNY
CFNY-FM
CFNY-FM, promoted under the branding 102.1 The Edge, is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 102.1 FM. The station rose to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s due to its freestyle DJing format and unique choice to play alternative music...
, and quickly made the band a popular name across southern Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and western New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The album became the best-selling independent release in Canadian history (although it would be eclipsed later the same year by Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian alternative rock band. The band is currently composed of Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart. Barenaked Ladies formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario, then a suburban municipality outside the City of Toronto...
' Yellow Tape). Shakespeare My Butt
Shakespeare My Butt
Shakespeare My Butt... is a 1991 album by The Lowest of the Low.At the time of its release, the album briefly became the best-selling independent release in Canadian history, although it was eclipsed later the same year by Barenaked Ladies' The Yellow Tape. However, its melodic, jangly folk-punk...
was later named one of the ten greatest albums in Canadian music history by the music magazine Chart
Chart (magazine)
ChartAttack is a Canadian online music publication. Formerly a monthly print magazine called Chart, which was published from 1991 to 2009, the web version continues operation....
.
In 1993, the band signed a distribution deal with A&M Records, and released Hallucigenia
Hallucigenia (album)
Hallucigenia is a 1994 album by The Lowest of the Low. It was the band's first and only release on a major record label. The album also reveals the source of the band's name, opening with a clip of former President of the United States George H. W. Bush stating "We do not want to be the lowest of...
in 1994. Unfortunately, the band was riven with tensions, and broke up later the same year. Two reunions have subsequently followed.
Hawkins released a solo album, The Secret of My Excess, in 1996 before forming Ron Hawkins and the Rusty Nails
Ron Hawkins and the Rusty Nails
Ron Hawkins and the Rusty Nails were a Canadian indie rock band in the late 1990s.The band was formed by musician Ron Hawkins out of the sessions for his 1996 solo album The Secret of My Excess, following the breakup of The Lowest of the Low...
. His latest 2009 release is entitled 10 Kinds of Lonely. Hawkins recently toured Canada with British rock legend Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
. His next tour brings him to China and Australia in March 2010.
Reunions
In 2000, The Lowest of the Low set aside their differences for a five-show reunion tour, which saw the band playing to sold-out venues in Toronto and BuffaloBuffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. In 2001, the live album Nothing Short of a Bullet
Nothing Short of a Bullet
Nothing Short of a Bullet is a 2001 live album by The Lowest of the Low. The album documents the band's 2000 reunion tour. The title comes from a line in the band's song "For the Hand of Magdalena", Nothing short of a bullet could have broken your will....
was released. The album also featured a second disc with three new studio songs, including a cover of the Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz , Jay Bentley , Greg Hetson , Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman . Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the...
song "Kerosene".
Sordid Fiction
Sordid Fiction
Sordid Fiction is a 2004 album by The Lowest of the Low. Apart from three studio songs on the band's 2001 live album Nothing Short of a Bullet, it is the band's first album of new material since 1994's Hallucigenia....
, the band's first new studio album since 1994, was released in 2004. 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
Horseshoe Tavern
The Horseshoe Tavern is a concert venue located at 370 Queen Street West in downtown Toronto, and has been in operation since 1947. Owned by "JC", Ken Sprackman, Craig Laskey and Naomi Montpetit, the venue is a significant part of Canadian musical lore...
in Toronto and another on December 8, 2007 at Club Infinity in Williamsville, New York
Williamsville, New York
Williamsville is a village in Erie County, New York in the United States. The population was 5,573 at the 2000 census. The village is named after Jonas Williams, an early settler...
. 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 two shows at Lee's Palace
Lee's Palace
Lee's Palace is a concert hall located on the south side of Bloor Street West east of Lippincott Avenue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The facility consists of a converted motion picture theatre and can accommodate several hundred guests.- Founding :...
in Toronto to celebrate the release of a new remastered edition of Shakespeare My Butt
Shakespeare My Butt
Shakespeare My Butt... is a 1991 album by The Lowest of the Low.At the time of its release, the album briefly became the best-selling independent release in Canadian history, although it was eclipsed later the same year by Barenaked Ladies' The Yellow Tape. However, its melodic, jangly folk-punk...
on Pheromone Recordings
Pheromone Recordings
Pheromone Recordings is a Canadian independent record label, launched by Kim Cooke in 2008.In addition to artists releasing new music, the label has also issued a greatest hits compilation by Skydiggers and a 20th anniversary edition of The Lowest of the Low's classic 1991 album Shakespeare My...
. They also announced plans for a tour in 2011 to mark the 20th anniversary of the album.
Influence
The band has been cited as a major influence by The WeakerthansThe Weakerthans
The Weakerthans are a four-piece Canadian indie rock band.-History:The band was formed in 1997 in Winnipeg, Manitoba by John K. Samson, after he left the punk band Propagandhi to start a publishing company. Samson joined forces with bassist John P...
. Covers of Lowest of the Low songs by other artists include "Rosy and Grey" by Weddings Parties Anything
Weddings Parties Anything
Weddings Parties Anything were an Australian folk rock band formed in 1984 in Melbourne and continuing until 1998. Their name came from The Clash song and musicologist Billy Pinnell described their first album as the best Australian rock debut since Skyhooks' Living in the '70s.-Formation and...
and "Gamble
The Recovered EP
The Recovered EP is a digital EP released by Propagandhi on April 6, 2010. It comprises three previously unreleased tracks from the How To Clean Everything and Less Talk, More Rock sessions, remixed by lead singer and guitarist Chris Hannah. The EP was released to benefit Partners in Health, to...
" by Propagandhi
Propagandhi
Propagandhi is a Canadian punk band formed in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba in 1986 by Chris Hannah and Jord Samolesky. The band is currently located in Winnipeg, Manitoba....
(with a bass track recorded by Weakerthans leader John K. Samson while he was a member).
Members
- Ron HawkinsRon HawkinsRon Hawkins is a musician from Toronto who is best known as a member of the band The Lowest of the Low, in which he is the frontman, primary songwriter, lead vocalist, and one of two guitarists...
(vocals, guitar) - Stephen Stanley (guitar, vocals)
- David Alexander (drums)
- Lawrence Nichols (keyboards, harmonica, vocals)
- Dylan Parker (bass)
Albums
- Shakespeare My ButtShakespeare My ButtShakespeare My Butt... is a 1991 album by The Lowest of the Low.At the time of its release, the album briefly became the best-selling independent release in Canadian history, although it was eclipsed later the same year by Barenaked Ladies' The Yellow Tape. However, its melodic, jangly folk-punk...
(1991) - HallucigeniaHallucigenia (album)Hallucigenia is a 1994 album by The Lowest of the Low. It was the band's first and only release on a major record label. The album also reveals the source of the band's name, opening with a clip of former President of the United States George H. W. Bush stating "We do not want to be the lowest of...
(1994) - Nothing Short of a BulletNothing Short of a BulletNothing Short of a Bullet is a 2001 live album by The Lowest of the Low. The album documents the band's 2000 reunion tour. The title comes from a line in the band's song "For the Hand of Magdalena", Nothing short of a bullet could have broken your will....
(2001) - Sordid FictionSordid FictionSordid Fiction is a 2004 album by The Lowest of the Low. Apart from three studio songs on the band's 2001 live album Nothing Short of a Bullet, it is the band's first album of new material since 1994's Hallucigenia....
(2004)
Singles
- "City Full of Cowards" b/w "Crying Like a Postcard", "Bit" (1992)
- "Gamble" b/w "Night of the Living Assholes" (1994)
- "Motel 30" b/w "The Unbearable Lightness of Jean" (1994)
- "Kinda the Lonely One" [live] (2001)
See also
- Music of CanadaMusic of CanadaThe music of Canada has influences that have shaped the country. Aboriginals, the British, and the French have all made unique contributions to the musical heritage of Canada. The music has subsequently been heavily influenced by American culture because of its proximity and migration between...
- Canadian rockCanadian rockCanadian rock describes a wide and diverse variety of music produced by Canadians, beginning with American style rock 'n' roll in the mid-20th century. Since then Canada has had a considerable impact on the development of the modern popular music called rock...
- List of Canadian musicians
- List of bands from Canada
- :Category:Canadian musical groups