by Autumn Fox
It’s impossible to forget your first concert – not the Black Eyed Peas show at the Saddledome you dragged your parents to when you were nine, but your first real concert. Your first rock show, your first unchaperoned taste of teenage freedom.
For many small town teens, that first sweet taste of independence was near the front of a stage, crushed by a surging, sweaty crowd, eagerly waiting for Sloan to play that opening chord. It was a Canadian rite of passage akin to taking your first sip of Crown Royal, or surviving your first black ice induced spin-out after getting your driver’s licence.
Calgarians will have a chance to re-live that feeling soon, as Sloan embarks on their One Chord to Another 20th Anniversary Tour, playing Marquee Beer Market and Stage on April 16.
Chris Murphy, Sloan’s bassist and vocalist, acknowledges the generational relevance of their music.
“In 1996, we were adamant about playing all-ages shows in small towns, and I think for some people that was really a big deal.
“There’s a funny quote by Weird Al, somebody said, ‘What’s the best Weird Al record?’ And he says, ‘The one that came out when you were 12 years old.’”
While the old guard of Canadian music, bands like Trooper or Kenny Shields and Streetheart might do the Canadian circuit every few years – the musical equivalent to an old-timer’s hockey game – Sloan’s shows never feel like a novelty.
Murphy accredits this to the fact that the band has never stopped making music or touring together.
“We’re still in fighting form, and we’ve played the whole time,” he said. “We’re definitely taking advantage of nostalgia to do a tour like this, and hope to tap into some people who perhaps haven’t followed along. But we’re not just a nostalgia act, we’re not re-forming, we’re still at it.”
While many bands play their hits with an almost audible eye roll for the millionth time, or scrap the songs from their liveshows altogether, Sloan tries their best to acknowledge that some of their audience may only be there because of that one song.
“Music becomes powerful. It resonates so much because it’s attached to the time. So no matter what I do now, however great I think I am, and whether I think I’ve still got it, you can’t compete with that,” said Murphy. “It’s not just what song is better, it’s ‘I love this song, and I fell in love with someone that I still think about when this song comes on’ – it’s hard to compete.”
Murphy describes the band as a “democracy,” with each member contributing equally to each album and each set. For the tour, they will play One Chord to Another in its entirety for the first set, while each band member gets three songs each for the second set.
“With us, no one is the boss, so yeah we have that push-pull all the time. Andrew (Scott), I find, wants us to be artists.
“Patrick (Pentland) is coming from the point of being an entertainer, you know, so ‘Get out there and fucking entertain these people. If they want to hear “Money City Maniacs” then just fucking suck it up and do your job.’”
Murphy said he’s happy playing any of their songs, but for any good musician who wants to evolve creatively, it can be stifling.
“Sometimes I’m like, ‘I’m not playing any of those songs. We’re good; these new songs are good.’ But then, do The Rolling Stones do that? Because if they do, they’re kidding themselves. Guys! You’ve gotta play “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” I’m sorry!”
As to whether Sloan’s audience is evolving with them, Murphy said that there are differences, especially between the American and Canadian crowds. Unlike in Canada, where Sloan has consistently been a presence on the radio and MuchMusic, in the States, aside from a brief push for One Chord to Another, the band has never had a song in heavy rotation there.
“In the States, it’s mostly old people, it’s mostly people from the ’90s, who are 40 or 50 years old, and a lot of them had kept up. But we’re a real cult act there, where it’s like, ‘Oh, you know who Sloan is?’ – that’s shorthand for like, a secret club.
“Whereas in Canada, it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, they’re like Our Lady Peace, and I Mother Earth, and The Tea Party and all those other terrible bands.’ Whereas I always thought we were cooler than all those other bands. Nothing against them, but we’re cooler, let’s face it.”
Murphy said that while Sloan may not have elicited the commercial success they deserve, there’s no plan for the band to call it quits just yet. If they did, “it wouldn’t be because we have so much money that we don’t know what to do.”
Besides, said Murphy, the band has cult success, “which is the success I prefer, and it lasts longer.”
Sloan will be touring right into the fall, and hitting up the summer festival scene along the way.
“Big festivals are more lucrative usually, and it’s fun to play with other bands, if it’s like a festival where, say, St. Vincent or someone is playing, and it’s like, ‘Maybe I’ll get to meet that person!’ But guess what? You don’t.”
Murphy said that he feels most at home in a more intimate venue.
“My adage is, the lower the ceiling, the more rockin’ the show. I just think it’s basically more punk. I know that we’re not really a punk band, but we come from that world.
“I think that we’re more effective honestly, playing packed, sweaty, rock clubs. I think it’s more rock n’ roll.”
--taken from: The Weal
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