Winnipeg’s The Watchmen were announced May 10 as the headliners for the 2019 Nickel Days social in Thompson June 22.
Formed in Winnipeg in 1988 by singer Daniel Greaves, guitarist Joey Serlin, bassist Pete Loewen and drummer Sammy Kohn, the band was named after the DC comic of the same name by their comic book fan guitarist.
Their first album, McLaren Furnace Room, was released in 1992 and refers to the furnace room at Winnipeg’s McLaren Hotel, which was one of their rehearsal spaces.
Loewen was replaced by Ken Tizzard from Newfoundland in 1993 and The Watchmen released their second album, In the Trees, the following year, which achieved platinum status in Canada after selling more than 100,000 copies. Their third album Brand New Day was released in 1996 and earned them a Juno Nomination for rock album of the year.
The 1998 album Silent Radar was the last album recorded before Kohn left the band and they used electronic drums for the 2001 Slomotion album, though drummer Ryan Ahoff joined them as an auxiliary member on their subsequent tour.
McLaren Furnace Room, Silent Radar and Slomotion all achieved gold record status. Their highest-charting single was “All Uncovered” from In the Trees, which reached 23rd spot on RPM’s Canadian song chart. Their song “Any Day Now” from Silent Radar was featured in a Hockey Night in Canada montage during the Winnipeg Jets’ first home game after their return to the NHL in 2011.
The Watchmen’s members went their separate ways in 2003 but Greaves, Serlin, Kohn and Tizzard reunited for a short tour in 2008 before releasing two songs on their website the following year and they have played several shows a year in Canada since then.
The Watchmen have opened for The Tragically Hip and co-headlined a tour with Big Wreck.
