Originally featuring three Kroeger brothers — singer-guitarist Chad, bassist Mike and drummer Brandon — as well as second guitarist Ryan Peake, Nickelback formed in the small town of Hanna, Alberta, though they have since relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia.
Bass player Mike Kroeger spent time working in a coffee shop. “Here’s your nickel back,” Kroeger would tell his customers when dispensing change for cups of coffee – and thus the name Nickelback was born.
After self-releasing a pair of albums (the second of which, Curb, was later rereleased) in 1996, they signed to Roadrunner in 1999 and put out The State, which did moderately well. Two years later, however, was a different story. Silver Side Up was a huge hit, thanks in large part to the hit “How You Remind Me”. “Too Bad” became a minor hit as well, hitting Number 42 in 2002.
Kroeger contributed “Hero”, a collaboration with Josey Scott, to the soundtrack of the movie Spider-Man. The Long Road followed, with the hit “Someday”, a song whose similarities to “How You Remind Me” were so profound that someone made a comparison track with each song on a different stereo channel (they synched up almost exactly). All the Right Reasons offered more of the same, to the tune of further multiplatinum sales and Modern Rock hits such as “Photograph”, “Savin’ Me”, “Far Away” and “Rockstar”. The “Rockstar” video was notable for featuring a plethora of unlikely stars mouthing along to the song’s lyrics, including Kid Rock, Gene Simmons, Ted Nugent, John Rich, Nelly Furtado and Lupe Fiasco.
