The Lowest of the Low

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The Lowest of the Low
Pheromone Recordings
2019-2021 Warner Music Canada
2022 Sonic Envy
MembersRon Hawkins
David Alexander
Lawrence Nichols
Greg Smith
Brian MacMillan
Past membersStephen Stanley
John Arnott
Dylan Parker
Websitelowestofthelow.com

The Lowest of the Low is a

Chart,[3] as well as being ranked as the 84th greatest Canadian album of all time in Bob Mersereau's book The Top 100 Canadian Albums.[4]

History

The band was formed by

Queen Street West club circuit in Toronto.[2] They submitted the songs "Gamble" and "Motel 30", produced by Bob Wiseman, to the $100,000 CFNY
Discovery to Disc contest in 1991.

In 1991, they released their debut album,

Chart.[3]

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".[2]

In 1993, the band signed a distribution deal with A&M Records,

Ron Hawkins and the Rusty Nails
.

Reunions

In 2000, The Lowest of the Low reunited for a five-show tour, playing to sold-out venues in Toronto[7] 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 song "Kerosene".

In 2002, bassist John Arnott left the band and was replaced by Dylan Parker. In 2004, the band signed with MapleMusic Recordings.[8] The same year, the band released Sordid Fiction, 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 in Toronto and another on December 8, 2007, at Club Infinity in Williamsville, New York.[2] 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

Pheromone Recordings
. 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.[9]

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.[10]

Their most recent studio album, Agitpop, was released in 2019.[11] In 2021 they followed up with Taverns and Palaces, a live album collecting recorded performances from Lee's Palace and the Horseshoe Tavern.[12]

In 2023 they released Welcome to the Plunderdome, which was their first album in their entire career to be collectively self-produced by the band.[13]

Influence

The Lowest of the Low have been cited as a major influence by The Weakerthans, whose leader John K. Samson was previously a member of Propagandhi 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 and "Bleed a Little While Tonight" by Jeremy Fisher.

Members

  • Ron Hawkins (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

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" [live] (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

References

  1. ^ "The Lowest Of The Low @ The Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto December 5th, 2015". Spill. December 5, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-1-55022-992-9
    .
  3. ^
    Chart
    , October 12, 1999.
  4. ^ "Dark horses keep album list from being predictable; Bob Mersereau's new book salutes the work of Young, Mitchell and ... Simply Saucer?" Edmonton Journal, October 23, 2007.
  5. ^ a b "Lowest of the Low comes up in the world". Toronto Star, December 20, 1991.
  6. ^ "Lowest of the Low opts for major label". Ottawa Citizen, March 24, 1994.
  7. ^ "LIVE: The Lowest Of The Low November 10, 2000 Lee's Palace Toronto, ON"[usurped]. Chart Attack, Review By: Brian Pascual
  8. ^ "Lowest Of The Low Sign With MapleMusic". Chart Attack. Archived from the original on June 30, 2004. Retrieved February 7, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ^ "After more than a decade, Lowest of the Low returns with a new album". Global News, September 5, 2017.
  10. ^ "Lowest of the Low: Shakespeare...My Box". Exclaim!, November 16, 2018.
  11. ^ "Lowest of the Low Return with New Album 'Agitpop'". Exclaim!, May 1, 2019.
  12. ^ Jason Schneider, "Essentials… with Lowest Of The Low’s Ron Hawkins". FYI Music News, December 9, 2021.
  13. ^ Calum Slingerland, "Lowest of the Low Return with New Album 'Welcome to the Plunderdome,' Share Fall Tour Dates". Exclaim!, September 15, 2023.

External links

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