The Watchmen

The Watchmen

The Watchmen are a Canadian alternative rock band from Manitoba, formed in Winnipeg in 1988. The original line-up consists of vocalist Daniel Greaves, guitarist Joey Serlin, bassist Pete Loewen and drummer Sammy Kohn. Serlin names the group after the DC comic The Watchmen.

Career

The band becomes one of the more commercially successful Canadian alternative rock acts of the early 1990s. Its debut album, McLaren Furnace Room, arrives in 1992 and is named after one of the band’s rehearsal spaces, the furnace room of the McLaren Hotel in Winnipeg. The single “Cracked” receives significant airplay on rock stations, but “Run and Hide” later becomes the breakthrough hit.

After bassist Pete Loewen leaves, Ken Tizzard joins the band. In the Trees follows in 1994 and includes the hit singles “Boneyard Tree”, “All Uncovered” and “Lusitana”. In 1996, Brand New Day receives a less positive response than the earlier records, although “Zoom”, “Incarnate” and “Shut Up” achieve moderate success.

Silent Radar appears in 1998 and returns the band to stronger commercial performance, with the singles “Stereo”, “Any Day Now” and “Brighter Hell”. The 2001 album Slomotion sees Sammy Kohn leave the group and the remaining members work with more industrial textures. The album is issued with a second greatest-hits disc, but it is poorly received, with only “Absolutely Anytime” gaining radio play. The band then breaks up.

Afterwards and reunion

After the split, Greaves forms Doctor with Rob Higgins, Tizzard joins Thornley, and Serlin appears on Ryan Malcolm’s debut album before starting Redline. The Watchmen reform in 2009 and tour again.