Friday, September 3, 2010

Tony Kanal

Tony Ashwin Kanal the bassist for ska-pop crossover band No Doubt.  His musical work outside of the band includes producing and songwriting with artists such as reggae singer Elan Atias and fellow No Doubt bandmate Gwen Stefani, among others.  Kanal was born in Kingsbury, a suburb of London. His father, Gulab Kanal, originally from Sukkur, Sindh , and his mother, Lajwanti, from Mumbai, were living in Britain but moved to the US in 1981.
Gulab Kanal started a shop called Kanal's Gift and Fashion, in Anaheim (near Disneyland)., and unlike the stereotypical Indian father, openly encouraged his son to express his creative urges. By age 15, young Tony was playing saxophone in his high school's jazz ensemble, but found his punk and underground rock leanings at odds with the jazz band's scrubbed, wholesome school-approved persona.

When he first saw No Doubt play at a punk club in 1987, the band announced that their bass player was leaving the band. Intrigued, he showed up to audition and was immediately accepted as No Doubt's bassist despite the fact that he'd never played in a rock band before.   Kanal eventually dated the attractive singer Gwen Stefnai. (She looks great in a bindi)  Many of the songs on the album "Tragic Kingdom" were written by Stefani about their subsequent breakup, most notably the hit "Don't Speak". Many years later, Stefani co-wrote her hit song "Cool" about their relationship as friends for her 2004 debut solo album.

Source: Wikipedia, The Times of India

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