JUNO DECADES SERIES with CHRIS MURPHY, DINOSAUR BONES, GRAND ANALOG, members of 13 ENGINES, CHANGE OF HEART, TRISTAN PSIONIC and more at the Horseshoe (370 Queen West), Saturday (February 5). $20-$25. HS, RT, SS, TM.
GREAT CANADIAN MUSIC OF THE 90S with MURPHY, GREIG NORI and LU as part of NOW TALKS at the NOW Lounge (189 Church), tonight (Thursday, February 3), 7 pm. $5. nowtoronto.com/nowtalks.
Sloan are easily Canadian rock legends, so it’s amusing how self-deprecating Chris Murphy is when talking about his band’s legacy and the music scene in which he grew up.
“The 90s are just the right amount of time away from now to seem like the worst music ever produced,” Murphy says.
“To be honest, when Nirvana went down, I was kind of left wondering what to do. There were already so many imposters by that point. We were signed to Geffen when the world was looking for another Nirvana, and I’m sure Cobain was rolling his eyes, maybe even at us.”
So does that mean he’s not quite ready to hit the casino circuit and cash in on 90s nostalgia?
“Apparently those casino shows pay, and while they might be humiliating, we’ve done a fair number of humiliating things over our career. It’s fine as long as we can keep our records from being embarrassing.”
Sloan have snagged just one Juno in their 20-year career, but they’ve been nominated an impressive 10 times. Still, Murphy feels they missed their chance at awards.
“When we were young and cool, it was all about Anne Murray, and now that we’re old, it’s Feist and Broken Social Scene and people who are too cool for us.”
benjaminb@nowtoronto.com
