Sloan’s 11th studio album, Commonwealth, was released this past September. Each side of the double LP consists of songs written by a different member of the band.
On the cover of Commonwealth, the band is depicted on playing cards, each the King of a different suit. This representation makes sense not only in terms of their contributions to the album, but to their catalogue as a whole: Jay Ferguson, King of Diamonds, writes sharp and shiny power pop hits; Chris Murphy, King of Hearts, writes songs that sound the way you feel; Patrick Pentland, King of Clubs (or Shamrocks), shreds for lucky crowds; Andrew Scott, King of Spades, digs further into darkness.
The Charlatan spoke with Andrew Scott, who primarily plays drums, about Sloan’s current activities and dog food.
The Charlatan: So you’re playing here in about two weeks—what has your relationship with Ottawa been like in the past?
Andrew Scott: Well, I lived in Ottawa until I was five. Band-wise, I can’t really say like, “Oh yeah remember that show in Ottawa? It was the fucking best show ever!” It’s just another gig kind of. No disrespect to Ottawa, it just gets eclipsed by the New Yorks, the Tokyos, the Londons of the world, you know?
TC: You played in New York recently, right?
AS: Yeah. We killed it. We destroyed New York.
TC: What’s the reception been like to the new material when you play it live?
AS: It’s certainly a different vibe in the States than it is in Canada for us. The people that come out to see us in the States are really paying attention, listening intently, and they know all the album tracks. There’s a good cross-section of Canadian crowds that are like that too, but there’s also the sort of knucklehead aspect, people who are like “just play Money City Maniacs, man!” They just wanna get drunk and hear that fuckin’ riff.
TC: What were you all listening to during the period when you were writing the new stuff?
AS: I can’t really speak for anyone else, but the most specific influence in my (18-minute) song is toward the end, there’s a big outro with a kind of Velvet Underground-ish part with kids singing. And when I was recording that, Lou Reed died. So I instantly thought, “Oh fuck, I’m definitely putting a tribute to him in this.” The very last line of my song is “There’s a tunnel I can’t see through,” like totally meaningless wordplay, “WWLRD.” What Would Lou Reed Do?
I went home that night and listened to the Velvet Underground in my garage and just totally shed tears. I’ve never been more bummed over a pop star expiring.
TC: Do you have any plans brewing for upcoming projects?
AS: I know that the next thing we’re starting to work on is another deluxe reissue of one of our older records, like what we did with Twice Removed.
TC: I hear you guys are selling toques at your merch table.
AS: Yeah we have a lot of stuff. I’m lobbying to get dog food.
TC: Dog food?
AS: Sloan dog food.
TC: …Why?
AS: Why not? A lot of people have dogs. Gotta feed ‘em.
TC: All the bits could be shaped like you guys.
AS: Yeah! Oh yeah. You’re hired.
TC: Is there anything you’d like to add or tell the young Ottawa punks about?
AS: They don’t wanna hear from me! I don’t have any advice for anybody, except just do what you wanna do and don’t listen to anybody else. Listen to your gut. Trust it and fuckin’ show up and get to work. Listen to records, make your own stuff.
Sloan is playing in Ottawa Nov. 28 at Maverick’s.
