Every Thursday on CBC Radio 2 Drive, Rich Terfry gives you a chance to win a great prize if you can separate the facts from the fiction about a famous artist. Rich will give you three clues, and one of them is true. Listen at 5:15 p.m. and send your answer on Twitter, Facebook or Email: R2Drive@cbc.ca Today: Sloan.
Over the last two and a half decades, Sloan have been a fixture of Canadian Rock.
With roots in Ottawa, P.E.I and Nova Scotia, the group formed in Halifax in the early '90s while attending University. With influences diverse as The Beatles, punk rock and AC/DC, the young band was signed within months of their creation. They can boast massive Canadiana hits like "Money City Maniacs", "Coax Me" and "Beverly Terrace",,and they just released their coming of age album, Twice Removed.
But how much do you really know about Sloan?
Here are 10 facts about the band you may not know.
1. Sloan's name came from a friend. Their pal Jason Larson was called 'The Slow One' by his French-speaking boss. Spoken with his particular cadence, the nickname came out as "Sloan." Larson appears on the band's first album Peppermint.
2. In 1992, Sloan put out Smeared on Geffen Records. Their follow up was called Twice Removed. It became a classic in Canada, but was never promoted in the United States.
3. Sloan was signed to Geffen Records after playing only eleven shows in their native Halifax.
4. Chris Murphy worked as a messenger/porter at a Halifax hospital. He hated the job and that pushed him to work hard at his band.
5. In 2009, Chris Murphy was hit by a drunk driver. His collar bone was broken, but he still performed during their summer shows.
6. All four members of Sloan write their own songs, bringing in two or three tracks to record on every album. When it comes time to perform, the band will switch instruments with relative ease to give the song its appropriate sound.
7. Gregory Macdonald is the unofficial fifth Sloan member. He handles the band's keyboard duties on stage.
8. Halifax was the home of a hardcore punk scene in the 1980s. The members of Sloan were part of that scene before they began their band.
9. Drummer Andrew Scott, was once the holder of several provincial track and field records. He abandoned his athletic aspirations to become a visual artist.
10. Patrick Pentland wrote the band’s rock and roll crasher, “Money City Maniacs”. He calls it his homage to AC/DC.
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