Parallel Playing with Sloan

Chris Murphy, Andrew Scott, Jay Ferguson and Patrick Pentland formed Sloan in 1991, and after 10 studio albums (and an EP) and nearly 20 years, the boys are still going strong. I caught up with Chris on the phone this afternoon and we chatted for a while about life, the universe, and all things Sloan.

“It’s hard to keep things sexy after 17 years”, he said while discussing their current project. “I mean, Madonna has managed to do it, but have we? I think we were hot shit from about 92-97, but we’ve been mostly a studio band since then. Maybe we’ve lost our edge.”

Their loyal fan base would probably argue otherwise. From coast to coast in this country, there are likely few people who haven’t heard of Sloan (or couldn’t at least recognize some of their hits) and the band has left its mark on countless freshly forming bands and music fans alike over the years. Their trademark sound has ensured that their songs will remain firmly etched into the collective Canadian heart.

As the band has matured so too has their song writing. When he was in his early twenties, Chris, he drew a lot of his lyrics from the angst-riddled journals he kept, and the melodies themselves were very simple. Time and musical education have certainly made his playing style more sophisticated so the songs themselves have become more intricate, and lyrics of his that he described as being “contrived”, now, could just as easily be described as being more meaningful than those in the past. The same could very easily be said of the other members of the band; as life experience deepens, so does creative expression.

Chris speaks very highly of his bandmates, citing their respective strengths and how well they all work together. “We’re all fairly multi-talented in terms of being able to play different instruments, but I know I’m not the strongest drummer, for example. I do like to put in my two cents whenever possible when it comes to lyric writing, though.”

One can certainly see why Chris has been referred to as the “witty one” in the band.

The obvious sense of humour present within Sloan as a whole is not only self-evident if anyone pays attention to thier lyrics, but was also apparent during our entire conversation-- he had this writer laughing aloud through most of our chat. Coupled with their onstage antics, it can be safely assumed that these guys have a hell of a lot of fun working together.

Still, a lot of effort goes into keeping a band working well for any length of time, and like any other relationship, communication and compromise are vital for longevity and success. “When we perform live, we try to choose songs that will piss off the other band members the least,” he said, laughing. “I love to play “Underwhelmed”, but that’s not a favourite for some of the others, so we choose the stuff we can all agree on.”

On what his favourite songs to play live were, Chris confessed it’s generally the most recent work that’s the most fun to play because it’s the “freshest”. The songs he enjoys playing the most are those that have been formed with the greatest amount of collaboration with all band members, since everyone has had a chance to contribute equally, and it’s not one person’s song any more than it is anyone else’s. He mentioned that enthusiasm and enjoyment of playing the song is so much higher when it’s something that they all have created together, rather than one or two people enjoying it with the others playing along miserably. “I have this romantic notion that co-writing is what being in a band is all about,” he said. “That we’ve created this stuff together, you know?”

These guys certainly have extensive experience with togetherness in their touring escapades over the last couple of decades. Chris laughed at any notion of a hierachy existing regarding tour bus bunk assignment. “Any issues we had with that were sorted out back in the early 90’s,” he said. “We just keep the same real estate on the bus now that we had back then… it’s all good.” One has to wonder what the duels for bunk space might have involved with this crew, but it’s probably prudent not to ask.

In any case, they’ll have new opportunity for quality time together during the tour for their new album Parallel Play, released on June 10th. “The title of the album is a bit of a playful commentary on the band itself,” Chris explained chuckling. “‘Parallel play’ is a term in child psychology that refers to children who will sit and play near each other, without actually playing together… kinda like us.”

The big kids of Sloan will be playing the Mod Club on Thursday June 12^th at 8pm as part of the NXNE lineup. Sample tracks from Parallel Play can be heard on their MySpace page at www.myspace.com/sloan.

- Lana Winter

Erin Lang: Electromantic Troubadour in Toronto

Erin Lang is a busy young lady these days. Sometime between postering and practicing, she found time to meet with The Spill on a sticky Saturday afternoon in Kensington to discuss her past passions for the trumpet, tango music, and gurgling fish on early recordings; pesky acting teachers, raising your voice, writing songs about other people; Ebay collecting, traveling minstrels; glam rock, electromanticism and Bavarian bratwurst. Oh, and her three upcoming shows at NXNE next week, too, of course.

While Lang calls more than one place home at this point—London, England, Toronto, Bavaria, Montreal—she is happy to be back and playing in this city. With three shows at NXNE, Lang can be found all around town in various settings playing her sweet, subtle songs on the guitar, the ukulele, and her beloved accordion. That Lang is playing one show at Pearson International, one show in the park in the afternoon and yet another Saturday night at the Savannah room is apt. Her musical sense, similarly, is an ever-inquisitive exploration of different instruments, styles, and sounds. Having run through a range of instruments since childhood— Lang has retained that excitement in her musical explorations. The result is music that feels like foraging through the forest; every step a new sound, a new discovery, another story to be told. Despite her insistence that she tends to write music about other people and not about herself, listening to Lang perform is indelibly like entering into a wondrous world of her own creating.

“It was really nice to start again in Toronto,” said Lang who, after eight years developing her own sound in London, has recently returned to her hometown. Last time she lived and performed here, she was a bass player in several local bands and—it’s hard to believe—apparently detested her own singing voice. “I never really wanted to be ‘Erin Lang,’ as a kind of solo project,” she joked. “I’ve been lucky with the musicians I’ve worked with,” she continued, “that it does become kind of a team effort.”

#1 in that team is her musical collaborator and life partner Roger O’Donnell, formerly of The Cure. Yeah, that Cure. Her debut album You Are Found was co-written by O’Donnell, who has, as of late, taken to producing, with a particular interest in electronic music. Though the two work separately on their solo projects, their paths are undeniably linked in both life and music. When they set about searching for a third party to produce Erin’s album, that person ended up being the same German gentleman—Mario Thaler—who had just finished producing O’Donnell’s latest—and first—solo effort. With O’Donnell serving as musical co-ordinator instead producer, the duo traveled “from the middle of nowhere England to the middle of nowhere Germany,” Lang lamented, “we could have just stayed home and had bratwurst!” Joking aside, the experience of recording with Thaler seems to have had a lasting impression. “The detail with which he hears things is really incredible,” she gushed, “there is nothing there for no reason.”

Nonetheless, Lang enjoys the developments incurred in performance just as much as those which organically arise when recording with like-minded musicians. “It’s never really the same [in performance]” she explained, confessing that she still dreams of playing like a traveling troubadour. Perhaps this unrealised dream is what has spurned her slightly unusual instrument collection. “I don’t even remember what tipped me off exactly except that I get a little crazy on Ebay,” joked Lang, now a full-fledged accordion collector. As for the ukulele, she similarly shrugged in wonder. “I had never even played the ukulele before but I always loved the kind of sunny island sound of it.” With an almost preternatural sense of instrumentation—in what seems like typical Lang fashion, too—she even had a song written well before her discovery of the instrument that she had always imagined would suit it perfectly. Calling cities all over the world home, picking up and mastering various bizarre gypsy-like instruments, playing in airports, parks, clubs, baking cupcakes and making lemonade to dole out free at her performances…perhaps the wondering minstrel status is not too far off for Erin Lang after all…

With O’Donnell on keys, Lang’s NXNE band rounds out into a four-piece with Jeff Buckley (no, not that Jeff Buckley) on guitar and Andrew Pachero on standup bass. She will play solo at Pearson on Friday afternoon, and at 11 p.m. on Saturday at The Savannah Room with her band. Lang is most excited about the show in the park however, set to take place Thursday June 12^th at 12:55 at Metro Square Park, just next to Roy Thompson Hall. Though it’s hard to stick a genre label on her sound, let’s just say it’s electro-backed, acoustic not-folk rock love songs with a ukulele/accordion twist. Check it out—enough said.

- Aurora Prelevic

Bonde do Rolê : Sugar Rush

Thank God for bands like Bonde do Rolê (pronounced /bahnjee doo ho-lay/).

Admittedly, this band is not an across the board crowd pleaser, and reaction to BDR runs the gamut from either puppy-love adoration, to annoyance and disgust. They are in short, aural junk food.

Plucked from the land of Tropicália by sonic conquistador DJ Diplo of Mad Decent, BDR’s ascent into frequent airplay on college radio and darling status of the Domino label came as quickly as the sugar high of a hastily ingested Snicker’s bar. Through a hailstorm of raunchy lyrics largely based on colloquialisms of Rio drag queens, they have been reverse colonizing North America one venue at a time.

Pedro D’eyrot and new addition to the band, Ana Bernadino, spoke to The Spill before their show in Chapel Hill.

Being the new kid on the block Ana is understandably excited about her new role in the band. “It’s been great. Really great,” she said.“Everything is new right now. When they called my house to let me know I had gotten into the band everybody screamed! Before this I had never sung before, so I think this experience is incredible,” she said graciously.

It has been a strange road to her present position as supposedly one of the stops along the way to her winning the MTV-sponsored contest that got her a place in the band involved eating meat from her genitals.

Although they sing in Portugeuse BDR are popular despite a large part of their fan base not being able to understand a damn thing they’re singing about. Pedro, has no problem understanding their cross-lingual appeal.

“Well, let me give you give an example,” he said. “There is something called the Efeito Iaurua in Portuguese (The We are the World Effect). People in Brazil sing songs in English from the time they are kids and they don’t understand what they are saying. So I don’t think that is so important to understand the lyrics of songs in order to have an effect on people.” he said matter-of-factly.

Though they have enjoyed heavy rotation on college airwaves, BDR’s popularity may owe as much to the Internet. “They don’t play us on the radio in Brazil, because you have to pay,” he said while rubbing his index and middle finger against his thumb. “They do play us on the radio in Portugal,” he then quipped.

One major roadblock for radio airplay, are the sexual charged lyrics of the band, something Pedro has no apologies for. “Well, I just think it’s a portrait of the Brazilian reality. There is no other place in the world you can turn on the TV at 6 o’clock in the morning and see a lady’s bum,” he said.

The future looks bright for BDR, and the band feels energized by their new member and the direction their music is taking. “We have Laura now who is half New Zealander and Ana who has a really strong voice so on our new record we will be singing more songs in English.” Pedro said enthusiastically. “I think the atmosphere [with two more band members] is more animated, more carnival-like. We are able to have more fun.”

Amy Loeffler

Great Lake Swimmers
An interview with Tony Dekker
By Aurora Prelevic

Tony Dekker is excited about the airport. For a musician pre-occupied with finding acoustically interesting spaces in which to play, NXNE’s invitation to play at Pearson International was a given. “I’m trying to imagine what it’s going to be like. I’m very excited to see what will come of it,” he concluded in wonder.

Playing under the name Great Lake Swimmers, what started as Dekker’s solo project has morphed into a full-band affair. “It feels more like a band,” he says, “even though it’s still like a singer-songwriter project.” The NXNE set will feature a four piece band including banjo, upright bass, drums, guitar, and, of course, Dekker’s signature voice.

Oft-called haunting, Dekker’s exceptional vocal sound and his exploration of acoustic affect are what truly sets the band apart in the world of “singer-songwriters”. Their latest album, Ongiara, was recorded in the Aeolian Hall in London, Ontario, whilst former albums have been recorded in a church (2005’s “Bodies and Minds”) and in a grain silo (2003’s self-titled debut). Listening to the site-specific album recordings it is clear that Dekker has a major musical interest in exploring natural reverb.

As much as Dekker loves playing venues with character and echoes abound—thus his excitement over playing the airport—the irony of Friday night’s show being played at the Reverb was lost on him. “Yeah, it’s just like a rock club setting,” he adds instead, still on the note of the acoustic properties of different spaces. No matter, he says, “We try to get some kind of feeling across, to get a similar message across even though we’re in a different space.”

Returning to Toronto for the festival seems to be a welcome stop for Tony and the band. “I’m glad that we’re actually home right now—not on the road—and that we’re able to do interviews and play NXNE,” he interjected. Though the band members are from all around Ontario, Toronto has been their home base for many years now. Slow and steady, once more, Dekker replies “It feels good to be a part of a festival which is sort of a big deal for music in this city and I’m really happy to be participating in it this year.”

But in response to the question of whether the ‘music sounds better at home’ Dekker remains as simple, as true, as genuine, really, as his music. “We try to play our best wherever we are but there’s certainly a certain comfort playing in your own town and playing to the home town crowd.”

Perhaps there’s another dimension to Dekker’s intrigue regarding Pearson then. When you think on it a moment, with the Pearson stint, it’s like NXNE is throwing well-known local artists such as the Swimmers into an almost-anonymous busker kind of setting. “I’m kind of expecting more of a crowd that’s kind of like passing through so I have no idea what to expect,” Dekker says, in anticipation.

For a folk musician—if he can be pigeon holed thusly—Dekker is decidedly into innovation, that much is clear. This is undeniably one of the reasons so many people fall so hard in love with Dekker’s voice, with the stories he tells, with the group’s sound, and that feeling that arises when these pieces join together to create a sound so ethereal yet so grounded it seems impossible—but he’s done it.

There is some decidedly old and familiar feeling about Great Lake Swimmers. “I always seem to keep going back; I kind of like to look back as much as I like to look around to the present,” Dekker says, and continues, “there’s definitely a respect for traditional kinds of folk on our part and that is a concern and an interest for the band. At the same time we’re sort of using those old tools and also at the same time we’re using the tools we have around us as well.”

It is that ability to forge forward into new uncharted paths whilst keeping pace with the old that destroys the old pigeon hole dilemma for Great Lake Swimmers. I think it’s safe to say, folks: great things are to come

Swervedriver Returns To The Grind

After almost ten years on hiatus, Swervedriver are back on the road.
The British alternative rock quartet are currently on a world tour, but despite the lengthy layoff since their last gigs, getting back together again wasn’t a problem, said vocalist/guitarist Adam Franklin. “I was in the U.S. but was planning to return to the U.K. to renew my visa so we met up in September but didn't actually get together to play until February, just before I headed off to Australia for some solo shows,” Franklin said. “The first rehearsal was very raw, no pedals; Just studio amps and a drumkit; we immediately fell back into it.”

The band’s lineup consists of Franklin, guitarist Jimmy Hartridge, drummer Jex Hindmarsh and bassist Steve George. Franklin and Hartridge are the two remaining members from Swervedriver’s original lineup, who started the group in 1990. Following a series of EPs, the band released their first album, Raise, in 1991. Mezcal Head (1993) and Ejector Seat Reservation (1995) followed as interest in the band increased and they signed with major label Geffen Records in 1996. However, corporate downsizing saw the band’s contract terminated and the band’s fourth album, 99th Dream, saw only a limited release in 1998. Swervedriver’s final release was the 1999 EP The Wrong Treats before the band announced their hiatus. The members kept busy with solo albums and side projects but it wouldn’t be until late 2007 that Swervedriver announced they were getting back together to tour in 2008. As for why the reunion happened, Franklin said it was just spontaneous. “Jimmy had been doing some stuff with Jez and the idea came up,” Franklin said. “Jez called Steve to see what he thought, Jim called me, and before we knew it we were in a pub in London hatching plans to play some live dates. That's really as far as we've taken the whole notion however - just to play it by ear.”

Once Swervedriver was back together, remembering all their tunes and hashing up a setlist wasn’t much of a problem either. Fans can expect to hear a wide variety of the band’s material.

“Any songs we liked and a few that we either hadn't played for 15 years or in fact only ever played once in the studio and never live,” Franklin said. “So that keeps it kinda fresh, if it wasn't pretty fresh already.”

At the moment, the band is ocused on their world tour but it wouldn’t be a surprise if Swervedriver ended up in a record studio afterwards.

“[We’re] just focused on live shows although three of us have just got back from recording some stuff at the Dandy Warhols' studio in Portland,” Franklin said. “We put electric and acoustic guitars onto a track that was started by the Bravery's rhythm section!”

For now, Swervedriver is looking forward to touring together once again and hypnotizing audiences with their trademark sound of swirling guitar distortion and feedback.

“New York City will be a blast and Toronto too of course,” Franklin said. “Both cities have been a kind of home from home for me personally over the last few years.”

–Jon Brazeau