Daniel Adair, Mike Kroeger, Chad Kroeger and Ryan Peake of Nickelback in Toronto in September 2023.Photo:Michael Loccisano/Getty
Michael Loccisano/Getty
Canadian rock groupNickelbackis known for smash hits like“How You Remind Me,”“Rockstar” and “Photograph.”
Its members are also known for the intense backlash they’ve received from comedians and Internet trolls, who’ve made them the butt of jokes through the years.
Director Leigh Brooks’s new documentary,Nickelback: Hate to Love, which debuted in theaters this week, explores the band’s rise from humble beginnings in Alberta, Canada, to Grammy-nominated superstars who had to grapple with that vitriol.
After becoming wildly famous in the mid-2000s, the group — which now consists ofChad Kroeger,Mike Kroeger, Ryan Peake and Daniel Adair, who joined as a drummer in 2005 after Ryan Vikedal departed — became a target, and dissing them became something of a sport.
Ryan Peake, Chad Kroeger, Daniel Adair, Mike Kroeger of Nickelback perform in June 2017.Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
In the documentary, Brooks shows memes that labeled the rockers “Nickelhack” and clips of comics making fun of the band. In one, Brian Posehn said during an appearance on Comedy Central, “No one talks about the studies which show that bad music makes people violent. Like, Nickelback makes me wanna kill Nickelback.”
“These guys paved the way for us all to get abused online,” Brooks told PEOPLE last September at the film’sToronto International Film Festivalworld premiere.
“It’s a rite of passage for any influencer, they have to go through that passage now. Whereas this was the beginning of that journey, and the internet grew up with these guys as well,” continued Brooks.
“And that’s different. You can say somebody’s music, they don’t like it, or the band is whatever, overplayed or too ubiquitous or whatever you want to call it. But when you’re going after somebody personally, I think that’s not OK,” he continued.
Daniel Adair, Ryan Peake, Chad Kroeger and Mike Kroeger of Nickelback.KMazur/WireImage
KMazur/WireImage
Mike ultimately thinks the hate resulted from what’s known as tall poppy syndrome. “When the tall poppy gets too tall, somebody’s got to cut it down to size and everybody’s willing to jump in, especially when they can be anonymous cowards,” he said.
At first, Chad was averse to opening up about that part of the band’s history in the movie, but bandmate Ryan Peake convinced him otherwise.
“We get to take the narrative,” explained Peake. “We get to actually tell our version — it’s like you turn the cheek for as much as you can, and then at some point it’s like, here’s our take on it.”
For his part, Chad said he hopes the movie will end any of the discussions regarding the topic moving forward, telling PEOPLE he’s “over it.”
Asked if they’re hoping to win anyone over with the movie, Mike said no. “I think winning people over is something that you don’t do, just like changing people’s minds. It doesn’t work that way. You don’t change people’s minds, they change their own minds. But what we can do is we can tell the untold part of the story. That’s what we’re doing.”
“We play for our fans, we play our music for our people,” he added. “They come to our rock shows, they consume our music, and they enjoy it and they like us, and that’s who we work for.”
Nickelback: Hate to Loveis now in theaters.
source: people.com
