by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Sloan - Follow the Leader (MP3)

Sloan are on tour and in town this week, playing Bowery Ballroom on Wednesday (6/29) and Knitting Factory on Thursday (6/30). It's a big year for the veteran Canadian group, their 20th Anniversary and their new album The Double Cross is their 10th studio album. Despite the nostalgia that goes along with an anniversary like this, Sloan have delivered another solid bunch of powerpop with The Double Cross, garnering a Polaris Music Prize nomination (their first) and an 8.1 from Pitchfork.

It's business as usual for Sloan, though, who have a remarkably consistent catalog despite having all four members write and sing their own material. (Though it is perhaps a key to their success.) One of them, guitarist Jay Ferguson, took time out before the first of two hometown Toronto shows for Sloan to talk about the new record, the Polaris nomination, the difference between American and Canadian audiences and record shopping while on tour.

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BrooklynVegan: So it's a hometown shows tonight and tomorrow.

Jay Ferguson: It's a little nerve-wrecking because you have family, friends, stuff like that have to be corralled and attended to. Then you're also like, "Do I really know how to play that song that I played a week ago?" There's a lot of that.

BV: But it must be nice to be able just to go back to your home instead of some hotel room.

JF: That's true. I live literally around the corner from the venue so it's easygoing for me. I mean it's always nice to play in Toronto for family and friends. Sometimes it's just stressful for some of the folks in the band who have large families coming down. You want to make sure everybody's comfortable and having a good time. But sometimes on tour it's a little easier, you can just space out and concentrate on the show. We've played The Mod Club many times before so it should be easy and fun -- fingers crossed.

BV: How long have you been touring the new record?

continued below...

Continue reading "an interview with Sloan (who are on tour now)"

The Mountain Goats @ Webster Hall (more by Faith-Ann Young)

"We are going to light out for the Territories in a van with two acoustic guitars, some notebooks, our soundman Brandon and a pouch full of charms against ill omen. We are going to get elemental. We are going to stomp our feet and hammer at the strings until we get what we want from them. We, a couple of guys named John, are going to tour, is what we're going to do. We're going to stand alone onstage and play our guitars and sing old songs & new, and then we'll probably play together. We are going to sit side by side with our acoustic guitars like two out of the five guys on the Five Man Acoustical Jam album, only with fewer Tesla songs. Because the whole point of playing an acoustic guitar is not to unplug. It's to get raw and draw blood."
[John Darnielle aka The Mountain Goats]

"We" = The Mountain Goats and John Vanderslice. Primitive = "a night of amplified acoustic guitar & voice".

The Primitive tour kicks off on March 18th in Asheville, NC, and the NYC show will take place at the Society For Ethical Culture on March 27th. It's part of the Wordless Music Series. Tickets are on sale. John and John each also have some other interesting shows lined up between now and then...

Ten years ago John Vanderslice founded the Tiny Telephone recording studio in San Francisco, CA. To celebrate the occasion, John will be performing a show at the Great American Music Hall on January 30 with The Magik*Magik Orchestra in a 30-piece configuration. "Together they will pull favorite tunes from his catalog, and introduce new songs from a forthcoming album currently being recorded at Tiny Telephone." Special guest DJ Aesop Rock will spin records before and after the performance. All proceeds from the event will benefit Magik*Magik, the house Orchestra of Tiny Telephone.

The Mountain Goats are keeping busy before March comes too. First of all there's Ships & Dip V...

Barenaked Ladies and Sixthman are up to some more shenanigans! It's the real McCoy - Introducing Ships and Dip V, sailing through the Caribbean February 1-6, 2009. We're bringing you the goods again, in what's sure to be the craziest, zaniest time at sea!

Join Barenaked Ladies, Great Big Sea, The New Odds, Boothby Graffoe, The Weakerthans, and more bands to be announced throughout the year, as we set sail on the Norwegian Jewel for 5 days of revelry, recreation and boatloads of musical fun! With NCL's Freestyle Cruising, you won't get the bum's rush for doing exactly what you want! You can get dolled up, or keep it casual. With 12 restaurants and 11 bars and lounges to choose from, a luxurious spa, a full service casino, and plenty of other features, there won't be any trouble making your cruise experience the cat's pajamas. We set sail from Miami to NCL's private island of Great Stirrup Cay and Cozumel, Mexico- two great places to get some sun on those gams!

When you're not jiving to the amazing artists, relaxing by the pool or dining in one of the many hot spots on board, you can be sure to find tons of other activities to keep you on your toes!

Also on the boat will be Sarah McLachlan, Luke Doucet, Sloan, AND The Mountain Goats. Then on February 24th & 25th, The Mountain Goats have two shows scheduled in San Francisco, one of which is part of Noise Pop. All dates below...

Continue reading "the Mountain Goats & John Vanderslice: Gone Primitive (2009 Tour Dates), Ships & Dip & Tiny Telephone too"