Nickelback's Chad Kroeger reveals people have been saying his name wrong
He's been too polite to correct us
Last updated 20th Sep 2022
Chad Kroeger has revealed that many people have been saying his name wrong since Nickelback arrived on the rock scene almost three decades ago.
The 47-year-old singer and guitarist recently sat down for a chat with Loudwire, and he explained that his name is pronounced 'Kroo-ger' - like Freddy Krueger in The Nightmare On Elm Street movies.
Clarifying that it’s definitely not pronounced ‘Krow-ger’, the Canadian musician said: “It’s Kroo-ger… don’t trust the internet.”
The ever-polite musician said he never corrects anyone in interviews as he doesn’t want to come across as rude.
“I never get time (to correct them) because it goes ‘hey, here we are with Chad Krow-ger. So, how are things going?’
“It’s so far in before I get to say something that if I just stop and go, ‘Actually, it’s Kroo-ger,’ I’m gonna look like such a d---. So, I’m just like ‘whatever, I don’t care.’”
Kroeger went on to regale a story about Alice In Chains’ Jerry Cantrell getting offended on his behalf in an interview 18 years ago.
“I was doing an interview (in 2004) and Jerry (Cantrell) from Alice in Chains was on tour with us. We were doing an interview at a radio station and the guy said Chad ‘Krow-ger’ and Jerry just stops the whole interview and goes 'It's Kroo-ger.'
“I sort of looked over at Jerry, and he goes, ‘It’s your name, dude. That is your last name. Tell that dude across there how to say it properly so that he stops saying it wrong into that microphone and misinforming people. That is your last name, brother!”
“I was like, ‘Wow you really care about this s---!’”
He added: “We could clarify it all day long and people are still gonna say ‘Krow-ger’ because you guys have the big grocery chain (Kroger) in America.”
Featuring the Planet Rock playlisted anthem ‘San Quentin’, Nickelback release their new studio album 'Get Rollin' on Friday 18th November via BMG.
“We’ve spent the last few years making a record at a pace that gave us the freedom to create and we can’t wait for everyone to hear the new music,” Nickelback said of the new material.
“We’ve missed the fans and look forward to bringing the new songs to life on stage, so let’s Get Rollin’!”
The 12 worst original names of famous bands, including Nickelback:
Naked Toddler (Creed)
The jaw-droppingly atrocious band name was suggested by Mark Tremonti in the mid-nineties after he read a story in the press about an abducted child. Naively adopting it for their first gig at a club called Yanni's, Scott Stapp revealed in his 2012 autobiography that it quickly bombed: "The name didn't go over well. Girls hated it and said it made them think of paedophilia. They had a point." Quite.
Pen Cap Chew (Nirvana)
Having already been a member of Fecal Matter – aka Brown Towel – Kurt Cobain already had a history of hilariously bad band names before starting his new outfit with Krist Novoselic. After trialling a few dodgy names including Skid Row, Ted Ed Fred and, most notably, Pen Cap Chew, they had a eureka moment and settled on Nirvana. Kurt told Rolling Stone in 1992: "I wanted a name that was kind of beautiful or nice and pretty instead of a mean, raunchy punk name like the Angry Samoans." Good choice!
Mookie Blaylock (Pearl Jam)
Huge fans of the New York Jets basketball player Mookie Blaylock, the rockers decided to name their band in his honour. After playing a series of shows as Mookie Blaylock, they renamed themselves Pearl Jam in October '90 after signing to Epic Records. The origins of the name are somewhat cloudy, related either to Eddie Vedder's great grandmother Pearl / seeing Neil Young "jam" live / a naughty euphemism, depending on who you talk to... Mookie himself is said to be a big fan of Pearl Jam's music.
Feedback/The Hype (U2)
After the titular drummer posted a notice looking for band members at Mount Temple Comprehensive School, the resulting group were called The Larry Mullen Band "for about ten minutes" before Bono swept aside the idea. They opted for Feedback, after the screeching sound that came out of their amps, only to switch it for the decidedly pop band-esque The Hype in 1977. Eventually they settled on U2 for its "ambiguity and open-ended interpretations."
Rat Salad (Van Halen)
Originally called Genesis until they found out a certain British progressive rock band was using it, the band redubbed themselves Mammoth – only to discover that was being used too. Still predominately a covers band, the Van Halen brothers toyed with Rat Salad (after the Black Sabbath song) but Dave Lee Roth countered with their surname. Originally worried about it sounding self-absorbed, they were eventually persuaded to adopt it.
Polka Tulk Blues Band (Black Sabbath)
Imagine hearing Tony Iommi's opening riffs on Black Sabbath's debut album and finding out it was by the Polka Tulk Blues Band. Fortunately they abandoned the name in the late 60s with a scathing Iommi telling Ozzy: "Every time I hear it, all I can picture is you, with your trousers around your ankles, taking a f***ing dump. It's crap." Black Sabbath was partially inspired by the Boris Karloff film of the same name, a vision Geezer Butler had, and the work of occult novelist Dennis Wheatley.
Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Formed at Fairfax High School in 1983, Anthony Kiedis, Hillel Slovak, Flea and Jack Irons gave themselves the gloriously ridiculous name Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem. According to Kiedis, the name was intended to reflect the "majestic and chaotic" nature of the band. After two shows as Tony Flow… in November of '83 the group opted for the comparatively normal moniker Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Village Idiots (Nickelback)
Then a covers band that pilfered from Metallica and Megadeth's back catalogue, in the mid-1990s Chad Kroeger, Ryan Peake, Mike Kroeger and Brandon Kroeger called themselves the Village Idiots. Realising it would make them cannon fodder on the bigger stage; they later changed it to Nickelback in reference to the nickel in change Mike often gave his customers while working at Starbucks – "Here's your nickel back."
The Golliwogs (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
Originally named The Blue Velvets, when the band recorded some tracks for Fantasy Records in 1964, label co-owner Max Reiss decided to change it to The Golliwogs after the controversial minstrel doll of the same name. Late rhythm guitarist Tom Fogarty said: "I think, at least to Max anyway, 'Golliwogs' sounded sort of British. We always hated the name but Max owned the label and we were new and wanted very much to make records, so we went along with things." Three years later the name was thankfully dropped.
Screaming Abdabs (Pink Floyd)
The music legends are formed from the ashes of a band that had a series of bizarre transitory names. First called Sigma 6 (there were six members including Roger Waters, Richard Wright and Nick Mason), in 1964 they adopted a series of short-lived but gloriously ridiculous names including Leonard's Lodgers, the Meggadeaths and the Screaming Abdabs. A year later Syd Barratt coined Pink Floyd after finding inspiration from the Piedmont blues musicians Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.
Wicked Lester (KISS)
Ditching their Rainbow moniker when they discovered there was already another band with the name, in 1971 the group renamed themselves Wicked Lester. During their brief existence the folk/pop/rock group played in public just twice before Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley decided to delve into rock and roll and recruit new members. With Ace Frehley on board by Christmas '72 they changed their name to KISS and played their first live show a month later. Find out more about Wicked Lester in our A-Z of KISS.
Rocket Baby Dolls (Muse)
When Matt Bellamy and Dominic Howard's former band Gothic Plague (surprisingly not a death metal group) split following a series of rifts, they enlisted new bassist Chris Wolstenholme and changed their name to Rocket Baby Dolls. Soon realising it was turgid, after just one gig – their triumphant battle of bands performance at Broadmeadow Sports Centre in Teignmouth in 1994 – they switched it for Muse.