Sloan (band)

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Image:Sloanlogo.gif
Sloan performing at Olympic Island in Toronto, Ontario, 2004
Sloan performing at Olympic Island in Toronto, Ontario, 2004
Background information
Origin Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Genre(s) Rock, Alternative rock, power pop
Years active 1991–present
Label(s) Yep Roc, Murderecords, Sony BMG, Geffen
Website www.sloanmusic.com
Members
Chris Murphy
Patrick Pentland
Jay Ferguson
Andrew Scott

Sloan is a Toronto-based power pop quartet from Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Early years

The band was formed in 1991 when Chris Murphy and Andrew Scott met at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD) in Halifax; Patrick Pentland and Jay Ferguson joined soon after. In 1992 the band created their own record label, Murderecords, for themselves and other Halifax area bands, and released the Peppermint EP.

[edit] Name

According to Sloan's official website[1], the band's name refers to a friend's nickname. Their friend Jason Larsen was called Slow One by his French-speaking boss, which with the French accent sounded more like Sloan. The original agreement was that they could name the band after their friend's nickname as long as he was on the cover of their first album. As a result, it is Larsen who appears on the cover of the Peppermint EP.

[edit] Geffen

Later in 1992 Sloan released their full-length album Smeared on Geffen Records. In 1994 Geffen did not promote their second album, Twice Removed, due to artistic disputes,[2] although it sold well in Canada. Spin named it one of the "Best Albums You Didn't Hear" in 1994. A 1996 reader poll by Canadian music magazine Chart! ranked it as the best Canadian album of all time, only two years after its release.[3] The same poll in 2000 ranked the album third, behind Joni Mitchell's Blue and Neil Young's Harvest.[4] However, the 2005 poll once again ranked the album first.[2]

[edit] Murderecords

After being dropped from the Geffen roster, the band went on hiatus and were rumoured to have broken up, but in 1996 they released the widely praised One Chord to Another on their own Murderecords label. Following 1998's Navy Blues album, Sloan released their first live album 4 Nights at the Palais Royale in 1999. Those albums were followed by Between the Bridges in 1999, and Pretty Together in 2001.

[edit] Seeking US success

Sloan made a concerted effort to break into the US market on their 2003 release Action Pact. Songs were recorded in L.A. with Tom Rothrock producing. The glossier, radio-ready sound failed to raise Sloan's profile in the US, though they continued to be highly popular in Canada.[5]

Sloan's first compilation album A Sides Win: Singles 1992-2005, included two new songs, "All Used Up" and "Try to Make It". The Japanese release included two additional new tracks.

[edit] Never Hear the End of It

Now signed to Yep Roc Records for their US releases, they put out their eighth disc, Never Hear the End of It in 2006. The double album contained 30 tracks with all the members of the band contributing new songs on this album. The album met with widespread critical acclaim and became the highest charting Sloan album in the US up to that point.

In 2008, Sloan followed up their longest album with their shortest and most recent release Parallel Play.

[edit] Songwriting

Sloan performing at the Sudbury Summerfest 2007 in Sudbury, Ontario.

All four members of Sloan write their own songs, and when they play live they switch instruments accordingly. Usually the band performs as follows: Murphy is on lead vocals and plays bass, Pentland is also on lead vocals and plays lead guitar, Ferguson plays rhythm guitar, and Scott plays drums.

While Murphy has written an overall majority of the band's songs, Pentland is nonetheless responsible for having written many of Sloan's most recognizable hits. Perhaps more noteworthy, however, is the fact that every member of the group has contributed at least two songs per album, with only the following exceptions: On 1992's debut LP, Smeared, Scott and Pentland are credited with just one song each, while on 2003's Action Pact, Scott has no songs, for according to Eye Weekly, that album's producer, Tom Rothrock, essentially randomly selected tracks out of the band's submissions in the interest of creating a more streamlined sound. Scott's songwriting output at that time may also have been somewhat diminished because he had recently become a father.[6]

[edit] Discography

Sloan performing at the Sudbury Summerfest 2007 in Sudbury, Ontario

[edit] Studio albums

[edit] Live albums

[edit] Compilations

[edit] Guest appearances

(features a cover of Dion's "Little Diane" with Sloan playing their usual instruments and Cuomo on vocals)

[edit] Honours and awards

Twice Removed was named the best Canadian album ever recorded in a 1996 reader poll by Chart! magazine.[3] In the 2000 poll, the album was voted third,[4] but in the 2005 poll it once again ranked first.[2]

[edit] Juno Awards

[edit] East Coast Music Awards

  • 1993: Nominated – Album of the Year (Smeared), Entertainer of the Year, Pop Rock Recording of the Year, Song of the Year ("Underwhelmed"), Video of the Year ("Underwhelmed")
  • 1996: Won – Alternative Recording of the Year
    • Nominated – Pop Rock Recording of the Year, Video of the Year ("People of the Sky")
  • 1997: Won – Alternative Recording of the Year, Group of the Year
    • Nominated – Pop Rock Recording of the Year
  • 1998: Nominated – Single of the Year ("Everything You've Done Wrong"), Video of the Year ("Everything You've Done Wrong")
  • 1999: Nominated – Group of the Year, Video of the Year ("Money City Maniacs")
  • 2001: Nominated – Group of the Year
  • 2002: Won – Video of the Year ("If It Feels Good Do It")
    • Nominated – Album of the Year (Pretty Together), Entertainer of the Year, Group of the Year, Rock Recording of the Year, Songwriter of the Year ("If It Feels Good Do It")
  • 2003: Nominated – Entertainer of the Year, Single of the Year ("The Other Man"), Video of the Year ("The Other Man")
  • 2004: Won – Video of the Year ("The Rest of My Life")
    • Nominated – Album of the Year (Action Pact), Group of the Year, Rock Recording of the Year (Action Pact), Single of the Year ("The Rest of My Life"), Songwriter of the Year ("The Rest of My Life")
  • 2006 Nominated – Single of the Year ("All Used Up")
  • 2007 Won – Rock Recording of the Year (Never Hear the End of It)
    • Nominated: Album of the Year (Never Hear the End of It), Group of the Year

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Fan F.A.Q. - Top 10 Questions (Aug 2000)". http://www.sloanmusic.com/a/about/faq/fanfaqtop10#name. Retrieved on 2006-07-28. 
  2. ^ a b c "Sloan's Twice Removed Named Top Canadian Album Of All Time". Chart (magazine). 2005-03-01. http://www.chartattack.com/news/38133/sloans-twice-removed-named-top-canadian-album-of-all-time. Retrieved on 2008-11-09. 
  3. ^ a b "Top 100 Canadian albums of all time". Chart (magazine). Archived from the original on 2008-01-25. http://web.archive.org/web/20080125124355/http://www.chartattack.com/top50/all100.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-09. 
  4. ^ a b "Top 50 Canadian Albums Of All Time (10 To 1)". Chart (magazine). 2000-06-30. http://www.chartattack.com/features/1350/top-50-canadian-albums-of-all-time-10-to-1. Retrieved on 2008-11-09. 
  5. ^ "Ladies and gentleman...Sloan (2006)". http://www.iheartmusic.net/serendipity/index.php?/archives/421-Ladies-and-gentleman...Sloan.html. Retrieved on 2008-06-20. 
  6. ^ "Sloan finds focus with new producer". Eye Weekly. http://www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_08.14.03/music/sloan.html. Retrieved on 2006-07-28. 

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Sloan
Jay Ferguson · Chris Murphy · Patrick Pentland · Andrew Scott
EPs
Studio Albums
Live Albums
Compilations
Singles
Videography
Label(s)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloan_(band)"
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