Watch Nardwuar's Hour-Long Interview with Nickelback

Chad Kroeger and Ryan Peake talk metal, moshing and how all roads lead to Hanna, AB

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished May 5, 2023

What a way to Get Rollin' into the weekend: Nardwuar the Human Serviette has shared a marathon interview with members of the often imitated, never duplicated, Alberta-bred modern rock powerhouse Nickelback.

Joined by the band's Chad Kroeger and Ryan Peake at Vancouver's Neptoon Records, Nardwuar talks with the two about their Hanna, AB, upbringings, their deep love of metal and mosh pit experience, "shootin' stick," door-to-door seafood sales, memories of Vancouver metal icon THOR, looking "very '92," their individually-styled stage stances, the six-wheeled van on the cover of their latest and so much more.

Let us be clear: you will want to stick around for the full hour. If Kroeger and Peake aren't recalling the time the frontman was victimized by a rented talk box and the twisted minds of his bandmates, they're reminiscing about the times they covered Tracy Chapman and the Tragically Hip (a full set!) in their early days. Gifts for bandmates included a couple of crucial LPs for Kroeger's pool room, an original Jerry Lee Lewis 7-inch on Sun Records for Peake's jukebox, and the first-ever CFOX Vancouver Seeds LP.

In a year where Nickelback have been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, performed at the 2023 JUNO Awards, got their very own museum exhibition and won a copyright lawsuit, this lengthy standup with the beloved journalist is a highlight in an upper echelon of its own.

Kroeger and Peake clearly feel this way, too, with the former offering minutes in, "We've been watching you for... what, how long... late '90s for sure. You're a legend, dude!" About halfway through, the two phone up bandmate Mike Kroeger for some live fact-checking, and he doesn't hesitate to share, "I love Nardwuar!"

Next month, Nickelback take Get Rollin' on a North American tour. Nardwuar's recent interview subjects have included Alvvays, Steve Lacy and Lizzo

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