Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1991. Jay Ferguson and Chris Murphy had been playing in a local group call Kearney Lake Rd when Chris, a student at the Nova Scotia School of Art and Design, met a fellow student by the name of Andrew Scott, who was also a local musician. Sloan was more or less born when Chris, Jay, Andrew, and Patrick Pentland (also a local musician who had played in various groups) began playing together.

Sloan, the name itself, was derived from a nickname of a friend, who had been dubbed �The Slow One� at work.

The group played their first public show in Spring of �91, and by midsummer they were a local hit. They recorded the Peppermint EP during �91on their own label, Murderecords, and �Underwhelmed� became the first single. They were also featured in the 1991 Hear and Now compilation album which showcased local Nova Scotia bands.

During the East Coast Music Conference, Sloan began attracting the attention of major labels. They went on to tour Canada, and in the Spring they were signed to the David Geffin Company. They recorded their first full-length album, Smeared, and released it October �92 in Canada (January �93 in the States). A livelier version of �Underwhelmed� was released as the single, and the album got very positive reviews by critics in Canada and the US alike.

During �93, Sloan toured Canada, the States, and Europe, and by the end of �93 the group had won a CASBY award and were voted �Best New Band� at the Juno Awards.

Making a departure from the sound of their first album, and much to the annoyance of DGC, the groups second album was much more acoustic oriented and poppy, think old Rolling Stones with a smattering of the Beatles. Twice Removed, 1994, which many believe is Sloan�s best, got rave reviews in Canada, but for some reason was mostly unnoticed in the States, possibly because of the popular �Grunge� movement. So much so, in fact, that Spin magazine named Twice Removed one of the �Ten Best Albums You Didn�t Hear�.

Later, Charts Magazine would name Twice Removed �The Best Canadian Album of All Time�

During the year that Smeared was certified Gold in Canada, 1995, Sloan apparently had split up and the members decided to move on to other personal projects.

In December of �95 however, One Chord to Another was recorded �on a whim�. The band had written some songs that they had liked individually and decided to once again combine efforts and record another album �fast and cheap�. During this recording, however, Andrew was living in Toronto, where he recorded his drum beats and mailed them to the rest of the band recording in Nova Scotia. Despite this, the group says that the recording of One Chord was supposedly one of the most enjoyable recording sessions they had. One Chord was released in Canada �96 on the band�s own label, Murderecords, since they were no longer working with DGC. The album wasn�t released until March of �97 in the States by a small label called The Enclave. Once again, Sloan was met with great reviews in both Canada and the US.

After touring and resting up, the group released their most current album to date, Navy Blues in �98. A little more rock and roll than the last album, which to most ears sounded heavily Beatles influenced, Navy Blues is once again wowing the critics and fans alike. Mixxine named Sloan �The best band on the planet today�, and �Money City Maniacs�, the first single, hit the top ten charts.

Still on Murderecords, Sloan is disproving the old myth of large labels being the only way to success.