Sloan still feeling creative
TORONTO Sloan may be 27 years into a power pop career, but guitarist Jay Ferguson says making new records never gets old. It’s what keeps him on his toes. “I like adding to the war chest that is our body of work,” the Halifax native said as Sloan released its 12th album on Friday.
Surviving so long together requires a certain level of diplomacy, and on Sloan 12 the band takes that practice to another level.
The 12 songs were divided evenly between Sloan’s four members, giving Ferguson and bandmates Patrick Pentland, Chris Murphy and Andrew Scott equal opportunity to lean into their songwriting skills.
Ferguson wrote Right to Roam, Essential Services and The Lion’s Share, which he says were inspired by songs of the Velvet Underground and mid-’70s Diana Ross he was listening to while writing them.
The band’s North American tour is underway, with upcoming stops in various cities across Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia.
In an interview with
The Canadian Press, Ferguson reflected on why Sloan continues to doggedly produce new music and recalls a miserable brush with a rebel rock star moment — accidentally trashing his hotel room.
Q You’ve amassed a loyal fan base and enough familiar songs that you don’t need to keep churning them out. What drives you guys to keep producing ?
A Maybe we could still maintain the same level of success ... but I don’t know if that’s a fact, so
I’d rather just keep doing what we do, which is make new music and still play our older songs. We played a show in Sudbury, Ont., ... and I talked to some fans afterward who were like, “It’s so great that you’re making new music because so many bands of your era have either broken up or they don’t make records and they just sort of tour on old stuff.”
Q But you’re also open to playing the nostalgia angle with massive boxed sets — 1994’s Twice Removed and 1996’s One Chord to Another — that came out in recent years. How do you strike a balance?
A The idea right now is playing hopscotch — do a new album, campaign (with publicity and a concert tour), then do a reissue album, campaign behind that, and then do another new album. It’s a fun, creative process on both levels.
Q What’s the worst thing Sloan has done on the road?
A On the very first tour I remember I was lying on a bed, we were ... giddy being on tour.
And I had my knees tucked up and Chris jumped on me and I pushed him off ... and Chris went through the wall of the hotel room, left a massive hole in it.
That’s about the most rock ‘n’ roll thing I’ve done, and that was 27 years ago.