Jay Ferguson of chameleonic Canadian power pop survivors Sloan takes us behind the scenes of the band’s thirteenth studio LP… and more
Although having been introduced a little late to Canada’s Sloan in the early-2000s, through the pages and covermount CDs of Comes with a Smile – a publication that this writer once contributed to – after somehow missing their formalised Geffen-sponsored arrival around a decade earlier, it still took picking up a discounted vinyl copy of 2008’s Parallel Play LP to be properly convinced.
This belated conversion can be significantly credited to the lead vocal and songwriting spots on said album from guitarist Jay Ferguson; specifically the triumvirate of “Cheap Champagne”, “Witch’s Wand” and “If I Could Change Your Mind”. Choice cuts which come close to pop perfection whilst drinking from a distinctive ensemble elixir.
Most people who eventually fall under the Sloan spell, will have had their own rites of passage moments to cite from the group’s thirty or so years of existence. Moreover, for those outside the Canadian musical world – where Sloan are a verifiable institution of sorts – it almost feels like joining a secret society. Not one of clandestine dark networking or furtive rituals but one where agile creativity goes hand-in-glove with a cast of four compelling characters, who really should be better known globally.
Hence, on top of the already discussed ever-genial Ferguson, there are three other strong personalities who all share singing and songcrafting duties as well as swap or self-layer-up instrumental roles in the studio – namely loquacious bassist Chris Murphy, indomitable guitarist Patrick Pentland and enigmatic drummer Andrew Scott. Almost every fan will have a favourite Sloan member, whilst still embracing the whole gang.
Across now thirteen studio albums (two of them being doubles), a handful of EPs and other side releases, Sloan have zig-zagged through hardcore punk, shoegaze-noise, chiming college rock, glam-boogies, 70s-era Stones strutting, baroque balladry, intimate acoustic reflections, chugging Dylanesque rambles, Brydsian jangles, symphonic pop explorations, psychedelic wanderings, heavy-riffing anthemics, Beatles-meets-Beach Boys mash-ups… and plenty else in-between.
In the process, the foursome have forged an expansive catalogue that is strong enough to mean that early long-playing gems such as 1994’s Twice Removed, 1996’s One Chord to Another and 1999’s Between the Bridges are just as worthy of acquisition and attention as post-millennium platters like 2003’s Action Pact, 2006’s Never Hear the End of It, the aforementioned Parallel Play, 2011’s The Double Cross, 2014’s Commonwealth and 2018’s 12.
Though it’s a shame that Sloan can no longer easily tour too far away from home turf or put out new records a tad more frequently, an ongoing series of archival releases and the delivery of a solid studio LP set every three or four years keeps the familial flame firmly alive. And with their latest full-length for Yep Roc – the aptly-anointed Steady – appears another dozen sturdy pieces which sustain a remarkable career run that still combines consistency with diversity, belying the quartet’s collective age and outside commitments.
Caught between other pre-launch obligations for Steady, this scribe’s ‘chosen Sloan’ Jay Ferguson kindly allowed us to pick up the baton of a potentially exclusive interview with a UK-based operation…
Given all that has happened over the past four years since the last Sloan LP on personal, business and global levels, was it a challenge getting everyone back into the studio for Steady?
To be honest, the way we record was almost suited to the pandemic. That’s not completely true, there were obstacles, but we rarely, if ever, are all in the studio at once. It’s usually teams of two or maybe three working on a song written by one of us. We used to have a recording studio set-up at our rehearsal space in Toronto which made it easy to begin recordings, but there were challenges there with noise, etc. So, our engineer Ryan Haslett relocated the recording equipment to his smaller home basement studio. We recorded the drums ourselves on a four-track cassette machine in our rehearsal room and then brought those tapes to Ryan’s where we built on them. It’s much smaller quarters there so we had really no choice but to be there singularly or in pairs, especially during the more restrictive times of the pandemic.
Did the sessions differ to any significant extent from those of previous albums? Was it pieced together over an extended period or the result of concentrated bursts of recordings?
I believe we recorded the drums in August/September of 2020 and the mixing didn’t finish until early 2022 so it was definitely the result of a stop/start mode overall. Generally due to the ups and downs of the pandemic. Yet, recording in pairs or working alone in the studio is definitely nothing new to our recording mode. Our songs are not the type that are ‘jammed’ from the floor up and sculpted into something. They’re usually written by one person, maybe with some collaboration from another, and then that person is sort of the chief of their own song regarding production or the final say. Often on Andrew’s songs, he’ll even just play every instrument himself. There’s no rules.
Given that you record things in different configurations of the group and swap instrument roles, how do you ensure that your records result in a cohesive end listening product?
There’s no way to ensure that! I guess that because it’s all under the Sloan umbrella on the same record, maybe it just works because we say it works. Actually, I do think that the cohesion is a result of the vocal harmonies. When Chris sings on Patrick songs or my songs, and Patrick sings harmonies on Chris songs, or Gregory [our keyboard player] sings on both and Andrew songs… it’s all these combinations and more I feel, that help build a cohesive bond on our records that can often sound a bit musically diverse.
Was there a sub-four-minute rule set for this album or has the ‘less is more’ approach evolved naturally within the band? Is it a coincidence that it clocks in at 36 mins – the perfect length for a single vinyl album?
It is a perfect length! There was definitely no rule. It just worked out that way. We’ve been pretty economic before on older LPs too.
You’ve acknowledged that your own “Dream It All Over Again” originated during the sessions for 12, do many songs in the Sloan canon get carried over between epochs and albums before a settled version is reached?
Yes, that has happened a number of times. It becomes clear via the outtakes LPs from the [album reissue] box sets we’ve released. An outtake from the 1997/98 Navy Blues sessions called “Mother’s Day” went on to form part of the song “Golden Eyes” that appeared eight years later on Never Hear the End of It. There’s another song of Patrick’s called “The Day Will Be Mine” from the LP 12 that originally began as “Just One Shot” demoed back in 1997… so yeah there’s definitely examples of a song just not making it initially for one reason or another.
What inspired you to take on the subject of a ghost writer in “She Put Up with What She Put Down”?
The theme was inspired by a music critic/writer from the late 1970s whose writing was so funny, outrageous and scathing that it made me think – fictitiously – that she should be a proper writer or author and not just confined to reviewing music. It’s basically a fictional song about someone who is not getting recognition or the opportunities equivalent to her talents and that she was supporting / reviewing / ghost writing for talents lesser than hers.
The Chris and piano-led “Human Nature” cranks up the ensemble vocal arrangements to the max. How challenging is this aspect of group constructions?
Chris wrote the song and arrangement on his own. As far as the vocal arrangement is concerned, he probably had a bunch of parts mapped out or had some help and advice from our keyboardist Gregory Macdonald, who is very adept with thoughtful harmony patterns and parts. Patrick might be in there as well, but I bet Gregory chimed in with some good ideas.
Patrick has described his “Simply Leaving” as “the saddest song ever written”, how did you collectively respond in helping to arrange what it is fairly atypical song for him?
Again, the arrangement is Patrick’s alone. Chris would have played the drums to Patrick’s instruction – although I think he had a different beat at first and then made Chris redo the drums to adjust to the Phil Spector / Jesus & Mary Chain pattern. It’s mostly Patrick aside from that and I’m not sure if Chris played the bass, but you can hear Chris’s harmonies for sure. Maybe it would have sounded different if we had all played it together before recording, but even then it would still be down to the choices of the songwriter, in this case being Patrick.
As with the divvying-up of The Double Cross, was Andrew content with handing Chris one of his ‘slots’ on the album? Is it ever an issue that one member is more prolific than another?
I don’t think it’s ever caused any fuss. As long as we are represented in some portion… although Action Pact being a bit of an anomaly. I think we had aimed at just having twelve songs on this album, and Chris had more than enough ready to record. Andrew finished his music towards the end and I don’t believe he had a fully formed third track ready to go. It just made sense to use one more of Chris’s songs at the time so we can move forward and complete the album. I don’t believe Andrew minded.
Andrew’s two pieces – “Panic on Runnymede” and “Close Encounters” successfully re-mine his psych-rock seams, with the latter adding in some 70s Beach Boys flavours to boot. Do his songs often bring up the most surprising lateral things for the other three of you to react to?
Sometimes they are surprising, and sometimes they echo a style that people expect. For me, his most surprising and exciting songs were the short tracks that appeared on Never Hear the End of It that juxtaposed with his longer tracks. Often he plays all the instruments on his songs and we may not all hear what he’s going to come up with until it’s done. Therefore, there’s nothing to react to musically for us.
I heard the demos that Andrew had prepped for the two songs on Steady, but I don’t think it caused me to purposefully react and adjust my own songs personally. Maybe if something was terribly similar in feel I would consider it… but that wasn’t the case. Chris often says he feels in the middle and will work on his songs that react to what is already being worked on or considered by the other members in Sloan – i.e. if Patrick is contributing three rockers, perhaps he’ll work on his non-rocker tracks…
Do the four of you vote democratically on tracks for inclusion? If so, at what stage of the process does this most regularly occur?
For me, I send my demos to Chris and I’m interested in hearing his and the others. I’ll happily encourage songs that I like personally, and I respond to Chris’s enthusiasm if he likes a particular song of mine. In the end, people can choose to follow the enthusiasm or pursue what pleases themselves the most. It’s like everyone has a territory on the album and they can use it as they please. Chris responded positively to “Dream It All Over Again” so I was encouraged to finish it for inclusion…
At time of writing these interview questions, it’s Patrick’s “Spend the Day” and “Scratch the Surface” that have been chosen as the advance digital singles. Are such choices also subject to significant team debate?
It’s mostly the suggestion of the labels – Universal in Canada and Yep Roc in the USA and elsewhere – as to what they would like to lead with and use songs that they feel will get the most traction at outlets and radio stations. We usually follow their advice as we don’t want to handcuff them to anything they would find more challenging to promote.
The video for “Scratch the Surface” affectionately nods to your reputation as the biggest record collector in Sloan. Is that a mantle you would accept?
I accept! I imagine I’m the only record purchaser/collector in the band. It’s never been the realm of Patrick or Chris… Andrew started buying them a bit regularly on tour a few years back, but I think that was just for a period of time. New records are certainly expensive these days. Our touring merch person, Jay Coyle, enjoys a good trip to local record stores, so he’d be the one person I would venture out with for a look around the shops while on tour.
Do you have a substantial collection?
My collection is fairly substantial! It’s ebbed and flowed over the years, but I’ve been collecting records since I was about twelve. I had records before then, but mostly just current favourites of the time – KISS, Wings, Abba, etc. I still enjoy it very much, and it’s a bit of a nostalgic activity for me as well. It can be a relaxing way to spend an afternoon on tour and I enjoy returning to favourite spots around North America. I miss touring in the UK to visit record shops abroad… especially stuff you could find there inexpensively in the early 1990s… man oh man!
In a fairly rare sequencing occurrence, your upbeat “Keep Your Name Alive” closes out the album. Was it the suitably ‘valedictory’ feel that made it an appropriate sign-off?
Chris sequenced the new album, so that was his choice. I’m happy with it. There was some debate about the first song on the LP and some alternate ideas were bandied about, but we ended up with his original sequence. I thought that “Keep Your Name Alive” might have fit earlier in the record before seeing his sequence, but I think it makes a good upbeat ending for sure. I like where it sits on the record. I recorded it hoping that it would be considered useful as a single somewhere or for promoting the album in one way or another.
Was there much in the way of outtakes or discarded demos for Steady? If so, are any scheduled for imminent release on compilations, as regional bonus tracks or elsewhere?
I definitely had a few more demos, and I bet Chris and Patrick did as well. There’s no plans for those songs as such. I’ll likely hold mine for a future Sloan record.
Since the release of 12, two Sloan-related podcasts have popped up – your own Murderecords series and the fan-made Sloancast. Have they been good for contextualising and exploring the band’s ongoing story?
Yes, I think so, and I think they’ve been good at expanding on the cast of characters involved in Sloan’s story over the years and giving them an opportunity to add their perspective. The initial idea behind the Murderecords podcast was a platform for a deeper dive into our limited edition releases, Sloan related or not. Basically, the story of releases from our own perspective.
The Sloancast episodes have been super and offer a knowledgeable fan’s insight into Sloan. We’ve known host Robbie Butcher for many years, and Ken to a lesser degree. It’s great what they’ve built up and I think it’s an excellent cache of conversations that they’ve captured for posterity and for archive purposes. They’ll be fun to listen to again in thirty years’ time! I’m grateful they’ve pursued this project.
There is also a third Sloan-related podcast called the Sloan Selection podcast where two of our songs are pitted against each other. This one is less consistent, but I’m happy that people find our catalogue is worth dissecting and debating.
Also, in the intervening years, Chris has put out a new record with Tuns, Patrick has released some solo tracks digitally under his Fuzzed Out alias and Andrew has continued his painting, whilst you’ve seemed busy as the de facto lead on the Sloan archival projects, like the B-sides compilations. Have you secretly been stockpiling songs for the Jay Ferguson solo album that some of us have been willing to happen for years?
Ha! I don’t think so! For the Sloan archival projects, I’d say it’s a co-lead with Chris on those. We talk about what would make interesting future releases and ways to reveal unreleased or rare material and what tracks should go where. Because I’m a fan of archive releases by bands that I love, I like to think that I can offer a good perspective on what a Sloan fan might enjoy when sifting through archives…all the while trying to keep things interesting and of good overall fan value.
Do you have other creative outlets that we might not be aware of?
From time to time, I host online radio shows over at KPISS.FM. I had a radio show for a few years at CKDU Campus station in Halifax, NS during the mid to late 1980s, and I miss it from time to time. So being allowed by Sheri and the folks at KPISS to do a show every once and a while is a fun outlet to organize a bunch of music (new or old) into a one or two hour show. Sloan fans who’ve reached out seem to enjoy it.
Even the Sloan archive projects are good creative outlets. Looking through books or old graphic magazines for ideas on how to present box sets or limited-edition LPs is something that takes time for Chris and me, but it’s a fun and creative process. It also then gets done the way you want it instead of relying on someone else. I’m always working on songs as well so that for the next round of recording I’ll feel – relatively! – prepared.
On the topic of archive releases, are you able to reveal or at least hint at what’s in the pipeline?
Hmm… we’d been chatting recently about what the next box set would be. It could be Between the Bridges or Smeared, but I feel we’re farther along to do a Smeared box set. We’ll see. I feel like I know what the audio would be for that set, whereas Between the Bridges is less clear. Smeared will be good. Chris has a great archive of photos and we have lots of nice ephemera to fill a book. There will eventually be a B Sides Win Vol. 3 collection, and we’ve considered re-releasing vinyl of some albums that might not get the box set treatment anytime soon.
How easy it is to keep track of obscure Sloan-featuring wares – such as soundtrack or compilation appearances – and have the archive box sets thrown up any curation headaches despite your efforts to hold on to everything?
Not really as of yet. For the majority of our compilation contributions, we likely own the rights. There might be one or two we don’t immediately have the rights to, but we’ve not found a place for those as of yet anyhow. I thought a radio sessions two or three LP collection would be a nice release eventually. We’ve recorded many at different spots over the years… but that kind of release might require a bit of negotiating. I think fans might dig a collection like that though.
Do you envisage playing live in Europe or further afield again?
It would be wonderful to go back to Europe. It’s really just a matter of costs. We don’t have a strong following over there and it’s hard to make financial sense of an expensive trip. We probably should have built up a proper circuit for ourselves in the early days when Geffen was footing the bill for tour support. Perhaps then we’d have gone back more regularly with more success.
Which songs that you’ve penned for Sloan – from whatever era – are you most proud to have contributed to the catalogue?
It’s hard to say. I’m happy with many, and of course there are things I’d like to alter or make better. However, I was most probably most satisfied with my five-song side of Commonwealth. I like all the songs individually, and happy that they flowed together but were not terribly similar and represented a bit of variety. I think I like “Three Sisters” the most.
I was also happy with a song “The Lion’s Share” that was on 12. I don’t think it gets namechecked very much. Ha! It’s essentially the same four chords over and over with a variety of melodies over them. I’m quite happy with the lyrics too. However, I pitched it too high and it should be a key or two lower! Oops.
As this year marks your thirtieth anniversary as a band, will you be marking the occasion in any formal ways, beside the new record?
It’s true that 2022 marks the thirtieth anniversary of our first record, but the band’s thirtieth was actually in 2021 as we formed in February 1991. Since we were still in the thick of another wave of the pandemic over here during 2021, there wasn’t really a way to properly celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of our band. So, the closest thing we have this year is our new album falling pretty close to the thirtieth anniversary of Smeared, our first album. We’ll do something proper for the 35th!!
Main feature photo credit: Calm Elliot-Armstrong
Thanks to Yep Roc as well as editors past and present for making this feature happen.
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