The Brothers Creeggan was a Canadian

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

band composed of

Jim Creeggan James Raymond Creeggan (born February 12, 1970) is the bassist for Canadian alternative rock band Barenaked Ladies. Early life Creeggan was born in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario. His mother taught piano lessons to neighbourhood chi ...

(upright bass, guitar, bass guitar, vocals),

Andy Creeggan Andrew Burnett Creeggan (born July 4, 1971) is a Canadian musician, known for being a former member of the alternative rock band Barenaked Ladies. He was also a member of the trio The Brothers Creeggan, and a solo artist having released three a ...

(guitar, piano, accordion, percussion, vocals) and Ian McLauchlan (drums). The group has released four albums: ''The Brothers Creeggan'' (1993), ''The Brothers Creeggan II'' (1997), ''Trunks'' (2000) and ''Sleepyhead'' (2002).

Biography

Growing up in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, brothers Jim and Andy Creeggan started in music by recording

cover songs In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song released ...

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

and

George Thorogood George Lawrence Thorogood (born February 24, 1950) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. His "high-energy boogie-blues" sound became a staple of 1980s US rock radio, with hits like his original songs "Bad to the Bone" and "I Drink Al ...

on a rented 4-track. As teenagers, the pair performed in several groups, including the Synthetics, an

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

quartet that won a 1987 Canadian talent contest in which

Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, she became a cultural phenomenon during the mid 199 ...

was runner-up. The brothers went on to become founding members of

Barenaked Ladies Barenaked Ladies (BNL) is a Canadian Rock music, rock band which was formed in 1988 in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario. The band developed a following in Canada, with their Barenaked Ladies (EP), self-titled 1991 cassette becoming th ...

. Andy left Barenaked Ladies in 1995 to pursue a musical composition degree at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, while Jim continued as the band's bassist. The Brothers Creeggan released their self-titled debut album in 1993. The song "Places" features backing vocals by Alanis Morissette. The album "was almost a demo thing," according to Andy. "We finished it up and sent it to some friends." A second album, ''The Brothers Creeggan II'', followed in 1997. Three years later, the duo added a third member, drummer Ian McLauchlan, and released their third album, ''Trunks''. Andy said the album was "definitely a natural evolution from the first two albums," as the songs on ''Trunks'' "were more accessible and more continuous to each other." Jane Stevenson of

Jam! Jam! was a Canadian website which covered entertainment news. It was part of the Canoe.com online portal, formerly owned and operated by Quebecor through its Sun Media division, and now owned by Postmedia Network. Jam! was the only media outl ...

called the album "a delicate and sweet-sounding effort that combines the best of folk and jazz with gentle lead vocals from both Jim and Andy."

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Theresa E. LaVeck described it as "an extended evening lullaby: soft, sweet, and sleepy (think

Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo comprising the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number-one sing ...

lite)." The group's fourth album, ''Sleepyhead'', was released on

Nettwerk Nettwerk Music Group is an independent record label founded in 1984. The Vancouver-based company was created by principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record label to distribute recordings by the band Moev, but the label expanded in Ca ...

in 2002. Barenaked Ladies member

Ed Robertson Lloyd Edward Elwyn Robertson (born October 25, 1970) is a Canadian musician, best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter of the band Barenaked Ladies. He, along with former member Steven Page, founded the group in 1988. As of Page' ...

and singer-songwriter Sarah Harmer guest on album track "Anna on the Moon". Tom Semioli of

said that with the album, "the Brothers Creeggan have slipped a contemplative masterpiece into our midst." The band went on hiatus in 2003. Jim stayed with the Barenaked Ladies; Andy went on to a solo career. On 13 July 2009, drummer Ian McLauchlan died of complications following heart surgery.

Discography

References

External links

CanadianBands.com entry

NPR story by Bellamy Pailthorp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brothers Creeggan, The Musical groups established in 1992 Musical groups from Toronto Canadian alternative rock groups Canadian jazz ensembles Barenaked Ladies 1992 establishments in Ontario Sibling musical groups