One of the most lauded independent Canadian bands of all time, Lowest of the Low can be traced back to 1983, when principal songwriter/singer/guitarist Ron Hawkins and drummer David Alexander played together as teenagers in a heavily politicized, straight-edge band called Social Insecurity. In the late 80s, Ron and David were joined by guitarist Stephen Stanley in their second band Popular Front, which later evolved into Lowest of the Low. While the music was a little slicker than their punk days and contained Afro-Caribbean flourishes, the focus on socially conscious lyrical content remained.
After a few years of gigging, the trio felt restless with both their sound and scene. They began jamming at acoustic open-mic nights with a clutch of new songs that were stripped down yet infectious. The romantic-but-realistic lyrics, assembled from character sketches and journal entries in Ron’s ever-present notebook as he wandered the streets of Toronto, were always front and centre. LOTL built a faithful following and a very full dance card on the strength of their joyous live shows, where they perfected their mix of clever wordplay, razor-sharp hooks and airtight harmonies. In 1996, 2000 and again in 2005, Chart Magazine honoured LOTL’s 1991 landmark debut album, Shakespeare My Butt, with spots in the top 10 of the Top 100 Canadian Albums of All Time. The debut became the best-selling independent release in Canadian history at the time. In 2008, Lowest of the Low was inducted into the Canadian Indie Rock Hall of Fame and earned Gold certification for Shakespeare My Butt. The current iteration of Lowest of the Low features: Ron Hawkins, Lawrence Nichols, Michael McKenzie, Greg Smith, and David Alexander.
