I was, and still am, a huge Lowest of the Low fan. If you're not familiar with them, they were part of a first wave of indie music in Canada. The Low, along with artists such as Barenaked Ladies and Moxy Fruvous sold huge numbers of their tapes, and later CDs, at shows. Record stores began to have indie music sections. My old band's tape was one of them. More history of the band can be found at their wikipedia page.
Lowest of the Low wrote some of my favourite songs. Some of my favourite concert memories are from seeing Lowest of the Low at venues like The Horseshoe and Lee's Palace. The New Year's Eve show I saw at The Horseshoe probably goes down in the books as my favourite concert ever. They are the only band that I really wish was still gigging and recording together regularly. I'll certainly feature an "Origins" article on Lowest of the Low in future.
Even though Lowest of the Low is gone, Ron Hawkins, the band's principal singer and songwriter, is quite prolific and has been putting out great music in between Lowest of the Low breakups. He performs as a solo artist and as Ron Hawkins and the Rusty Nails.
The other day, my in-box was graced with an email from Ron:
Hey Folks,Tickets for the show can be purchased from the online store at Ron's site.
This will seem like Christmas eve... or the day you found out John Lennon was killed, depending on whether or not you like my new disc.
But anyhow... they're here!
And to send them off with a bang I've got a series of shows lined up at Graffiti's in Kensington Market, Toronto.
Two shows are scheduled for Friday August 7th - a matinee (all ages) at 6pm and an evening show at 10pm.
And one show on Saturday August 8th at 10pm.
Come on out, get a copy of 10 Kinds of Lonely and see openers Too Many Sisters and the Benvereens.
The disc will be available through VictimlessCapitalism as of Monday August 10th as well.
Hope to see you out.
Cheers,
RJH
For your listening pleasure, here are a bunch of Lowest of the Low, Ron Hawkins and the Rusty Nails, and Ron Hawkins tunes. If you like their music, CDs can be purchased from Ron's website and digital Lowest of the Low music is available on emusic.
"Bite Down Hard" from the Ron Hawkins and the Rusty Nails album Crackstatic
"Small Victories" from Ron Hawkin's most recent solo release, Chemical Sounds
"Last Recidivist" from Lowest of the Low's last album Sordid Fiction
A classic from Lowest of the Low's first CD, Shakespeare My Butt called "Salesmen, Cheats and Liars"
See you at the show!
Photo from ronhawkins.com