Tony Kanal (born
Tony Ashwin Kanal; August 27, 1970) is a
British-born
American musician,
record producer and
songwriter. Kanal is the
bassist for the American
rock 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's father Gulab and his mother Lajju are from India.[1][2] His parents relocated from India to London, England, where Kanal was born. While most of his early years were spent in London, Kanal and his family also spent brief periods living in Toronto, Canada and Indiana before eventually returning to London. At age eleven, he and his family moved again to the United States and settled in Anaheim, California.[1] There, his parents opened a store named "Kanal's Gifts and Fashion".[3]
Kanal's father suggested that Kanal learn to play the saxophone since it was the former's favorite instrument, so he bought one for Kanal.[2] Kanal later learned how to play the bass guitar from his schoolmate Dave Carpenter.[1] After seeing one of third wave ska band No Doubt's early shows, he joined the band as its bassist.[4] Kanal stated that his parents were ultimately supportive of his decision to pursue a career in music; however, they had wanted him "to go into a safe profession" and often reprimanded him for devoting so much time to music, sometimes at the expense of school.[5]
Kanal enrolled at California State University, Fullerton to major in psychology.[1] In October 1991, No Doubt hit the studio with help of producer Dito Godwin. When Interscope Records began turning songs down, No Doubt did it on their own. Over two years they recorded ten songs and released it independently.
