By Tammi Sotnikow
So, the big question on the minds of Sloan fans: Is there going to be a break-up?
“No, not at this point,” says lead singer and bassist Chris Murphy. For those who are just tuning in…A lot of rumours have been going around about Sloan’s tentative breakup. One of them is that Halifax-based Sloan’s record label, Geffen, isn’t paying enough attention to the band. Another rumour suggests there are bad feelings between band members, and yet another says that drummer Andrew Scott’s living in Toronto is the cause. But it turns out none of these are true.
“The media is looking for a ‘who hates whom’ story…a dissension in the ranks. There’s none of that,” Murphy assures. “Andrew is living in Toronto, and that’s a drag, but he moved 2 years ago so it’s nothing new.” As far as Geffen goes, there are also no bad feelings there either.
However, even though the band isn’t going to dissolve right now, it doesn’t mean everything is going perfectly. Murphy says that one of the main reasons for problems right now is just “geography.” Geffen has offices in New York and L.A., and Sloan is in Halifax—it’s a case of out of sight, out of mind. Murphy says that he can empathize with Geffen, because he had similar problems working at their record label Murderecords, and the band in question lived only a half-hour away. Being based in Halifax also makes it difficult for Sloan to tour the Sates.
“Even if you have a major hit song, you have to do the touring,” says Murphy. Sloan just doesn’t have the funds for that right now.
Murphy feels that Sloan signed a major record deal with Geffen too quickly. He explains that Sloan was “lifted to a new plateau without doing the groundwork first.”
“When we were signed, we just hadn’t developed a big enough fan base. I don’t know if we’ll be able to catch up with Geffen…What Sloan does is too low key for such a major label.” Chris also understands that it must be difficult for Geffen to promote their new album Twice Removed, when there’s no linear progression between it and their last album Smeared. Chris also says that unfortunately for Sloan, “Geffen has priority bands to deal with now, like Weezer and Hole.” Basically, he says that Sloan knew they were going to have to make it on their own, and he finds that idea daunting.
Wow. All this bad news. It doesn’t sound too promising, but don’t fret. Fortunately, there is some good news. There are actually a few neat things that Sloan fans can look forward to right now. The band is going to release a single probably some time in March. They were hoping to have it ready for their February tour, but Murphy wasn’t happy with it, so it was redone.
There’s also the sold-out show Feb. 24 at the Warehouse, a vast change from the tiny clubs they’re accustomed to. Murphy seems to be excited about it.
“It’s probably the biggest show we’ve done.”
Between the excitement the band feels about the show and the anticipation building among Sloan fans, this show should be extra good.
Probably the most bizarre thing Sloan did recently was a taping for the “Rita and Friends” show, a CBC program starring Rita MacNeil and a host of Canadian musical guests. It should be fun to see—Chris says they dressed up for the show in some 13th century costumes they found in the CBC building.
“Patrick (Pentland) looked like a Russian soldier…and I just looked like a goof.”
Well, despite all their problems, at least Sloan’s still having fun.
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