By Ian A.D. JackIn early 1991, four middle-class, self-trained musicians with a love for noise rock, punk, hard rock and the Creation Records roster drew an international spotlight on Halifax, Nova Scotia when they helped initiate a buzz around the city's growing music scene. Their success, their early deal with the David Geffen Company and the support they provided their friends in other bands in the city (jale, Thrush Hermit, the Super Friendz) and other East coast provinces (Eric's Trip, Hardship Post) drew an oft-cited Canadian parallel with Nirvana and the Seattle scene, which had just become a game changer in the music industry. Sloan followed up their well-publicized first act with a sonic facelift that nearly jeopardized their career. With Twice Removed, they took their cues from the timeless qualities of their record collections and created one of the most beloved Canadian albums of all time. Through each successive release, Sloan has maintained a band democracy allowing all four members a songwriting and singing voice ― no matter how disparate those voices may be. "Anytime somebody tries to pass themselves off as a band, I call bullshit," Chris Murphy noted in 2010 without a hint of modesty. "Broken Social Scene are a collective? It's fucking two guys and some contributors. We are actually the one and only real collective." Their legacy extends to one of the most celebrated independent labels of the '90s, murderecords. The label not only provided a home for Sloan releases in the post-Geffen era, but for some of the revered releases of the '90s indie rock scene. Throughout their 20-year career, they have consistently provided far more hits than misses, and arguably set out the blueprint of artistic and commercial success that at least partially informed the careers of the next wave of indie rockers: Broken Social Scene, the Dears, and Joel Plaskett. This past February marked 20 years since Sloan's first gig at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. As Sloan release their tenth studio album, The Double Cross, this month, we look back on their long and storied career.
1967 to 1980
Andrew Walter Gibson Scott is born in Ottawa on November 15, 1967 to Walter and Diane Scott. His Scottish migrant father, who is a naval architect and engineer, will relocate the family when Andrew is six to Dartmouth, NS. Walter Scott is also an accomplished artist who is often hired by war veterans to paint ships and planes, and plays the drums in a jazz band called the Dixi Tech Seven. His father's background as well as his older sister Kristine's musical tastes will have an indelible influence on Andrew's creative path through adulthood.
John [Jay] Howard Ferguson III is born in Halifax, NS on October 14, 1968 to Howard and Phyllis Ferguson. His parents separate, and he lives with his mother in downtown Halifax. Ferguson will not only be the only member of Sloan to actually hail from Halifax, but he will be the only member to attend a private school, Halifax Grammar School, for his entire education. This is notable for the specific musical culture that exists at the school ― providing him with a lot of exposure to British punk rock and new wave, and an absence of heavy metal.
Christopher M. Murphy is born on November 7, 1968 to Dr. H. Joseph Murphy and Patricia Murphy in Charlottetown, PEI. His father's pursuit of a doctorate leads his family to Virginia, and then Scarborough, ON. Murphy is comfortable in front of the camera at an early age as a young Sears catalogue model and stars in a Schneiders' bacon television commercial. In 1976, Murphy sees Kiss for the first time on the Paul Lynde Hallowe'en Special and is immediately turned on to rock music. By the time Murphy is almost 11, his father lands a job in Halifax, NS. His father will become a professor at Dalhousie University and his mother later finds employment as a psychiatric nurse. Murphy, like all of the future members of Sloan, will have some brief music education, but most of their skills will be developed through self-driven efforts.
John Patrick Thomas Pentland is born to Richard and Patricia Pentland in Newtownards, Northern Ireland on September 20, 1969. In 1975, Richard Pentland's career as a civil engineer moves his family from Ireland to Sackville, NS, where the family will remain until 1991with the exception of an 18-month relocation to Montego Bay, Jamaica in 1976. Like Scott, his father will be a huge musical influence on Pentland. Unlike Scott, Pentland's father loves rock'n'roll.
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Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-04-29 13:53:27You're a fucking liar.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-05-03 12:29:28Seems a shame such an excellent article has one sole comment. Thanks for writing this - a fine piece indeed on an excellent band. Well done. To the other commentor/troll - really though, specifics...
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-05-04 00:00:26Great timeline - thanks Exclaim. I wrote a post a few years back that tried to sum up just how important Sloan and Sloan's music have been in my life:
http://benjaminhunting.co...-decades-of-sloan-draws-near/ - just a short tribute to one of my favourite bands.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-05-04 03:14:22I used to see these guys in a Halifax bar called the Birdland - around the time of their Twice Removed / One Chord to another days. I'm so happy these guys kept on going... big love to them for keeping to their musical vision and all their work with murderecords promoting other great Canadian Groups... Their cover of Stove by Eric Trip is a personal favorite.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-05-07 16:32:27Nameless Poseur, I know you!
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-05-09 10:37:23Great article that does justice to one of Canada's finest bands. Sloooannn!
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-05-11 23:47:18Awesome article on an awesome band! Way to go ck!
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-08-16 01:16:16sloan gives me 24 hour erections when i listen to them
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