One of Canada’s most popular and influential indie rock bands, the Lowest of the Low play melodic, folk-leaning rock music with the passion and commitment of punk rock. The band was formed in Toronto in 1991 by singer and guitarist Ron Hawkins, guitarist Steven Stanley, and drummer David Alexander; the three were members of a group called Popular Front, and when that band broke up, the Lowest of the Lowwent from an acoustic side project to their main band. With John Arnott on bass, the group began playing folk clubs in Toronto, and soon graduated to some of the city’s best respected rock venues as they added more electric guitar firepower to their sound. The band recorded a set of demos, and circulated the tapes to a number of record labels. None showed serious interest, so the band self-released them as an album under the title Shakespeare My Butt. While they initially planned to primarily sell the disc at their shows, the album started to move faster than expected, and Page Publications picked up the album for nationwide distribution. Shakespeare My Butt would go on to become the best-selling indie album in Canadian history, though it held the honor for only a few months before Barenaked Ladies‘ Yellow Tape surpassed it
