• ANDREW SCOTT IMPERSONATOR RUNS RAMPANT ON SLOANNET

Someone has posted a message to the Sloan fan discussion groupSloannet posing as drummer Andrew Scott. On the eve of 4 Nights at the Palais Royale's release (you should have seen the lineup in front of Toronto's Tower Records store at 9:30 this morning!), a post appeared slamming certain Sloan fans. Over the past few weeks, there has been a lot of speculation about a possible film the band may be releasing, as well as some questions about Sloan's opening slot on a few tour dates with Alanis Morissette . The post was entitled "Enough Is Enough", and contained the following message (allegedly from Andrew):

"First of all, this movie...what are you people talking about? We aren't going to make a movie. Chris [Murphy] always says stupid stuff like that to get a laugh. Like at Eden Fest: "I hate feet". What's up with that? Let's organize a committee to banish people with bare feet. We aren't going to make a movie...end of story. Second of all this Alanis BS, I hate it. I don't want to open for anybody especially for some no talent "Canadian" like Alanis. This sucks it wasn't a unanimous decision...let's leave it at that. More to come...because I have had enough!"

"Anyone Who's Anyone", especially anyone who has met Andrew before, knows immediately that this is not his work. Andrew would never attack the band's fans, and would not express any negative comments about a fellow Canadian artist. He also doesn't speak the way this message reads, especially all the slang. The address the post was sent from is andrew_scott99@hotmail.com, which proves nothing since anyone can register a Hotmail address. Other subscribers to Sloannet seemed to figure out pretty quickly that Mr. Scott was not the author of that post...whoever is really behind that message deserves a slap, so why not take a minute and send them a nasty e-mail of your own? Just clog their inbox with so much spam they'll be forced to abandon the address! In the meantime, don't forget to pop over to ChartAttack's exclusive online Sloan feature...

• SNIPPETS 
That Andrew Scott impersonator on Sloannet is back at it again. Another post appeared from the culprit, which took a shot at Chris Murphy. It was posted in response to questions about the REAL Andrew's apparent fainting as captured on the TV commercial for 4 Nights at the Palais Royale. The message reads: "about this passing out thing, i was tired, exausted (sic) of playing and exausted (sic)of the "showboating". That's it there is no conspiracy...i just had enough for the night. What's up with this teeny revolution? I love all the fans and I thank them for their support, but why are all the new boppers praising Mr. Murphy like he is god. He is not the leader, we are a group, we all have equal say...most of the time." The regulars on Sloannet are up in arms over this, but it will blow over in time. Almost every band site like this goes through a period where some clown decides to post a message as one of the band's members... 

• Vinyl info for the live album
Here is a message that was posted on Sloannet this past week by Laura Q. 

Regarding the vinyl release of "4 Nights At The Palais Royale":

     "I saw Chris at the Edge last night and I asked him about the vinyl. He said that he didn't really know where or when it would be available. It seems that there is some delay because murderecords is trying to distribute the vinyl, but it has been a difficult process because they haven't finished relocating the head office to Toronto yet. In any event, Chris said that when it is available (and it shouldn't be too long!) it will indeed be in a limited quantity so keep your eyes pealed and grab a copy while you can."

Regarding the cd packaging:

     "...The packaging is magnificent (and quite costly according to Chris!) and it's interesting that all of the pictures in the liner are from Japan, the cover is from Halifax, and only the pictures of Andrew and Chris killing the Rhodes are from Toronto!" 

Regarding their next album:

     "According to Patrick and Chris on the edge yesterday they plan to have the next studio album completed by the end of June and ready for release by September."

• Sloan on Radiosonic

March 27: Dan Bern, Starling, Sloan 
Saturday March 27, 1999, 7:00PM - Midnight, ...in concert, we'll rock with our fists in the air to disc one of Sloan's new live album "Four Nights At The Palais Royale".

Sat Apr 3, 1999: Pluto in session, By Divine Right in the Listening Booth, Sloan in concert.
Saturday April 3,1999, 7:00PM - Midnight,...Radiosonic will be airing disc two of "4 Nights At The Palais Royale".

RadioSonic can be heard around the world on Real Audio by going to www.radio.cbc.ca. (When in Real Audio, our showtimes will be live to North American Eastern Standard Time). 
 

• Interview with Patrick on new live album!
Click here to read.
Sloan by Miss Tanya L Edwards
February 8 , 1999
"Having Words with Sloan Miss Tanya L. Edwards talks with guitarist Patrick Pentland about live recordings, running your own label, rabid fans, and why Canadians are bad drivers." 
 
 
 

"I have seen the live cd package and it is beautiful.  Gatefold, four great pictures on the outside, cool pics inside and a booklet full of more nice pics. It's all very harmonious, nothing jarring or out of place, nice colours.  Oh, and it sounds good too." Kris

"I just wanted to say that I found the live album about an hour ago in a small little record shop and I am 12 songs in and I am finding this to absolutly incredible.  The energy levels on the songs are crazy!  I feel
like I am being transported right back to those nights.  I can even pinpoint the nights that the chatter between songs came from. Apparently, Underwhelmed was recorded in Montreal, for those who were there.  The photos are amazing. I am just so overwhelmed right now. Life can't get any better." Lisa
 

"I was in Sam the Record Man here in Halifax today, and they had the new live CDs there, they played then in the store, and I got a good look at the cese, which is really good. There is a booklet full of pictures, and comments written about each song, from band members. The recordings weren't patched up in a studio, so it really sounds like a live preformance. The start of CD #1 has the intro for She Says What She Means, like the video.it's great. I can't wait until Tuesday." K

"each cd is exactly 60 minutes long"

• T.V. ad for the album
Apparantly Sloan have an ad on T.V. promoting their new album due out tomorrow. Here is a comment on the ad by someone who has seen it.
"It was Andrew doing his 'kick-ass drum solo', and you could see Patrick in the background.  It was only about
20 seconds.  They're showing it a lot.  Larry Walker (or Walter or something) their guitar tech helps him up."
Chelsea 

• Sloan on Live In Toronto today!
Sloan will be on Live in Toronto (102.1 The Edge) on today! Sloan will be coming in at 4:30-5 pm as well.
(Thanks to Karen)
    Live in Toronto is heard weeknights between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm on 102.1 the EDGE, and listeners are invited to be part of the studio audience. You can watch Live in Toronto by dropping into our street-level studio at 204 Yonge Street (west side of Yonge, north of Queen, a couple doors up from Tower Records).
Click here for more info.
Click here to go to 102.1 The Edge.
Click here to listen to Live in Toronto on the Internet via Virtually Canadian Online Entertainment.

• Two pictures of Sloan members at Radiosonic!
Click here to view.
1. Moe Berg (Pursuit Of Happiness), Grant Lawrence (RadioSonic/Smugglers), Chris Murphy (Sloan) lounging at the Universal Records party on the 50th floor of the Westin Castle!
2. Sloan's Jay Ferguson stopped by to spin some great records and even plunk out a couple of tunes for us!

"Jay was on the night before the Junos, spinning some of his favourite tracks, chatting with his mom, and playing the piano with the RadioSonic crew while they were in Toronto. A full 45 minutes of Jay entertainment. Not a bad song was played." Kari D.

• Sloan mentioned in Macleans
The current issue of Macleans magazine (March 22, 1999) features the topic of teen spending power. A chart describes pop culture from the 50's to the 90's with the categories:  music, television, movies, and style. The three
artists/bands listed under the 90s are Pearl Jam, Sloan, and Brandy. Other bands that were mentioned in previous decades include: Elvis Presley (50s), The Beatles & The Rolling Stones (60s), David Bowie (70s), and Duran Duran (80s). 
(Thanks to Kitty)

• Sloan Tidbits from Chart!
The following was posted on D.A.M.N. at Chart Online last Friday:
 
 

Chart Magazine's Music Editor Howard Druckman recently sat down for a chat with Sloan. They chatted at length about the new double-live album 4 Nights at the Palais Royale, which is only four nights away from being released. Parts of their conversation will appear in the April issue of Chart, and the other part is available right here on ChartAttack as of today! Just click HERE to read the exclusive interview, and to see some great new photos taken at Jay Ferguson's pad. Here's a few of the tidbits Howard coaxed out of the guys:

• Palais will be released on triple vinyl; it's so long, they would have needed to cut songs to fit it onto a double.

• Sloan are looking for a rehearsal space, their first since 1992. 

• The Universal/Polygram merger has had little effect on the band, since they release albums on their own murderecords imprint, which is merely distributed, marketed and publicized by the major. 

• Andrew Scott is preparing a gallery show of his paintings. 

• Patrick Pentland has changed his hairstyle once again. 

• They loved the enthusiastic but discerning audiences in Japan, and are looking forward to touring there again in November. 

• The latest Sloan promotional item - available only in Japan - is a black Volkswagen van with the Navy Blues "Sloan" logo on it. There's a phonograph needle on the bottom, and the item is being marketed, ironically enough, as a "Vinyl Killer." Fun toy; strange application...

• Sloan Interview at Chart!
An  interview with Sloan by Chart magazine (Sloan: Double Royale with cheese) is up on their website, their are five pages to it, with a picture on each page. Parts of their conversation will appear in the April issue of Chart, and the other part is available here at Chart Attack.

• L.A. show reviews

• Spin Online's L.A. Sloan Show Blurb
 
 

      Cult Canuck power poppers Sloan, whose Four Nights Live at the Palais is due out later this month, sure know how to attract the in crowd. Spotted in attendance at their sold-out show at West Hollywoods Troubadour nightclub:
Sophia Coppola, Matt Dillon, former Kid in the Hall Dave Foley, Jason Schwartzman (he of Rushmore fame), Ione Skye, former Monkee Mickey Dolenz, former That Dog member Anna Waronker, and fellow power-pop icons Jeff and
Steve McDonald of Redd Kross. The band and the famous folk repaired to fellow Canuck Foley's house for some beer and chili. If you can guess how many times we used the word "fellow" in this Soundbyte, write it on a piece of paper, send it to SPIN at 205 Lexington Ave. 3rd Floor, NYC 10016 (care of SPINonline's "How Many Times Can That Hoser Who Writes the News Say 'Fellow'" Contest and we'll send one lucky winner a beer and a can of chili (must be 21 or over for eligibility).

• from JAM TV -- 3/16/99
"Canadian superstars Sloan were in California for their last live dates before heading into the studio to record their next album, due this fall, and the stars and hockey metaphors were impossible to avoid. The Los Angeles mob scene included Matt Dillon, Dave Foley, Hole's Melissa auf der Maur (wearing illegally tight pants), Redd Kross and Jason Faulkner. An uncharacteristically animated crowd witnessed and sang along to a riveting set that drew from the quartet's four albums. On March 23 Sloan will release a two-CD live album called Four Nights at the Palais Royale. "Listen kindly, though," bassist/jump-kicker Chris Murphy warns, "This record is completely live, straight from the (sound) board" . . . "
(Thanks to Peggy)

• Murderecords Article
The was following was taken from Velocity magazine:

Farewell, Murder: 
Check Out Time Aaron Petrie
March 1999 

Murderecords, the independent label founded by Sloan seven years ago for the release of their debut Peppermint e.p., has closed up shop in Halifax and moved to Toronto. Long since home for Sloan’s four band members, Patrick Pentland having been the last to move last year, Toronto has been a base of support for the Halifax quartet from their humble beginnings to recent slots on stadium size festival tours and multiple gold records. The label was started on the advice of local entertainment lawyer and music scene associate Chip Sutherland upon the band’s receipt of a sizable advance from DGC, Sloan’s first label. Meant as both an avenue for Sloan to sharpen their business acumen by releasing the work of artists they enjoyed as well as an insurance policy against the possibility of being dropped by the major label, Murder had, by indie standards, become acclaimed and prosperous.

Murder is now fully owned by the members of Sloan who bought managing director Colin Mackenzie’s share of the company in the summer of ’98. This fact hastened their decision to move the label's offices to Toronto, where full time tour manager Mike Nelson will act as Murder’s managing director when the band are not on the road. In the interim, Mackenzie will continue his role as managing director. The label’s relationship with Universal will remain intact. It is this vehicle through which Sloan’s releases are given major label promotion and distribution, Murder full lengths are given help with manufacturing, and members of Sloan facilitate the release of cottage industry singles and EP’s. However, for the next "year to eighteen months" according to Mackenzie, Murder will concentrate on the release of Sloan material. As well, the label will attempt to build upon Sloan’s success to gain a presence in foreign markets.

Sloan’s long awaited live album is slated for release at the end of March, and the band plans to record in May for an album set to be released in September. Having left the label on good terms, Mackenzie plans to concentrate the next year on his management interests (Thrush Hermit, Neko Case, and Matt Murphy) as well as applying for funding to complete a feature length version of his award-winning film, The Granellian Experience.
 

• Interview With Chris!
Consumable Online's John Davidson interviewed Sloan's Chris Murphy at The Point in Atlanta, GA on February 4, 1999. 
Click here to read.
(Thanks to Daver)
 

Here is what The Ottawa Citizen had to say:
"If there was a rock-the-house award, it should have gone to Sloan, who had audience members on their feet, including Heritage Minister Sheila Copps."

• San Fransisco Info!
Sat, Mar 13, 1999  - 9:00 PM - Sloan / Orange Peels / MK Ultra / Chris Mills 
San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill
1233 17th Street (17th @ Texas)
phone: 415.621.4455
e-mail: bhillsf1@sirius.com
21 AND OVER SHOW, $8.00.
Buy Online

If you have a burning desire to follow all the action at this year's Juno Awards but don't have a ticket to the Copps Coliseum shindig, you can tune in to the fourth annual online broadcast hosted by former ChartAttack editor Karen Pace! Karen will be camped out backstage at the Junos, interviewing the winners, performers and nominees in attendance. As well, the Junos web site www.juno-awards.ca exclusively broadcasts the Pre-Awards show which is not shown on television, so anyone wishing to find out who wins the off-air awards before the Junos start can tune in to find out as it's happening. The Junos web site also has an exhaustive archive of every musician every to win a Juno, including all the Hall of Fame inductees.

A history of the Junos and its 1999 nominees kicks things off this Sunday, March 7, 1999 at 6:00pm EST, and the off-air awards broadcast begins at 6:30pm. Everything can be heard in RealAudio, while pictures are posted regularly throughout the five-hour broadcast. The 1999 Juno winners are posted as they win, and interviews with attendees take place during the whole show (along with a constant flow of backstage commentary).

Listeners can click on Junos 1999 for this year's netcast, or listen to any one of over 50 archived interview clips from the past four years, including an interesting conversation with last year's Best Rap Group winners, The Rascalz, who made headlines when they declined to accept their award. Just to prove how much can change in a calendar year, The Rascalz are among the performers on this year's CBC telecast.

• Opening band in Hollywood!
This was taken from D.A.M.N. at Chart yesterday:
All Systems Go, the power-punk quartet featuring members of The Doughboys and Big Drill Car, have been lining up some serious distribution and tour plans. Manager James MacLean dropped by the CMW booth to fill DAMN in on all the details. The band are currently on a sold-out U.S. tour with Lagwagon and the Bouncing Souls, and are scheduled to play Los Angeles next Friday (March 12) with fellow Canucks Sloan. 
 

Date - City/ State - Venue 
March 12, 1999 - West Hollywood CA - Troubadour 
March 13, 1999 - San Francisco CA - Bottom Of The Hill 

• Live Album Tracklisting!
I hadn't seen this before. It is an article at D.A.M.N. that appeared at Chart Online on Monday regarding tracklisting and the new album. It verifies the tracklisting I posted yesterday. Here it is:

There are plans to feature both "Marcus Said" (originally from the Peppermint EP) and "Snowsuit Sound" (Twice Removed) as 'emphasis tracks', a fancy way to refer to songs that will be serviced to radio. There are no video plans at this point, as the guys are going to focus on recording their new album.

DISC 1
1.  She Says What She Means 
2.  The Good In Everyone 
3.  Coax Me 
4.  The Lines You Amend 
5.  Marcus Said 
6.  Seems So Heavy 
7.  Sinking Ships 
8.  Everything You've Done Wrong 
9.  Keep On Thinkin' 
10. Snowsuit Sound 
11. Suppose They Close The Door 
12. Iggy & Angus 
13. Bells On 
14. Anyone Who's Anyone

DISC 2
1.  People Of The Sky 
2.  400 Metres 
3.  On The Horizon 
4.  I Wanna Thank You 
5.  G Turns To D 
6.  Penpals 
7.  Money City Maniacs 
8.  Deeper Than Beauty 
9.  I Am The Cancer 
10. I Can Feel It 
11. Torn 
12. Nothing Left To Make Me Want To Stay 
13. Before I Do 
14. Underwhelmed
 

Saturday: RadioSonic live at Canadian Music Week 

Sunday: RadioSonic celebrates the Junos

This weekend, join your hosts Leora Kornfeld and David Wisdom on CBC Radio Two, Saturday March 6, 1999, live from the CBC Broadcast Centre in Toronto for Canadian Music Week! We'll also be hanging in to celebrate the Juno Awards in Hamilton, Sunday March 7, 1999!

On Saturday March 6, 7:00PM - Midnight*, we'll provide five hours of non-stop highlights, special guests and great music from many of the artists at Canadian Music Week 99. Joining us in studio to spin records will be Sloan's Jay Ferguson, and taking us on a tour of a Toronto shopping landmark will be the one and only Honest Ed Mirvish. Big Rude Jake will show us the sights, and mailman Grant Lawrence will be on hand in the Big Smoke for a special Torontonian mailbag!

• West Coast Tour!
The following appeared at D.A.M.N. at Chart Online, during the week of February 22 - 26, 1999.

Sloan's forthcoming double live album Four Nights At The Palais Royale is set to hit American stores on the same day as its Canadian release (March 23). After wrapping up their next album (they hit the studio after the Juno
Awards), Sloan will tour the west coast of America, which they haven't done since the Geffen days.

• Live Album Tracklisting!
This may be a better tracklisting for the upcoming Sloan live album "Four Nights At The Palais Royale". It was posted by Wyatt on the Official Sloan Site's Message Board. The reason it is better than the one posted yesterday is that it contains 28 songs, which is how many songs in total there will be. The six songs missed by Karen were:  Seems So Heavy, Keep On Thinkin', Money City Maniacs, Deeper Than Beauty, I Can Feel It, and Before I Do. He also noted that "Marcus Said" and "Snowsuit Sound" are looking to be the singles (ie the songs released to radio)." 

DISC 1
1.  She Says What She Means 
2.  The Good In Everyone 
3.  Coax Me 
4.  The Lines You Amend 
5.  Marcus Said 
6.  Seems So Heavy 
7.  Sinking Ships 
8.  Everything You've Done Wrong 
9.  Keep On Thinkin' 
10. Snowsuit Sound 
11. Suppose They Close The Door 
12. Iggy & Angus 
13. Bells On 
14. Anyone Who's Anyone

DISC 2
1.  People Of The Sky 
2.  400 Metres 
3.  On The Horizon 
4.  I Wanna Thank You 
5.  G Turns To D 
6.  Penpals 
7.  Money City Maniacs 
8.  Deeper Than Beauty 
9.  I Am The Cancer 
10. I Can Feel It 
11. Torn 
12. Nothing Left To Make Me Want To Stay 
13. Before I Do 
14. Underwhelmed

• How the Live Album represents past albums
If the above tracklisting is true then I have summed up where each song comes from in relation to previously released albums. Note that some songs have appeared on more than one album. Here it is:

Peppermint e.p.          Smeared                  Twice Removed
Marcus Said                 Marcus Said               Coax Me 
Torn                             I Am The Cancer         Snowsuit Sound
Underwhelmed              Underwhelmed            Bell's On
                                                                     People Of The Sky
                                                                     Penpals
                                                                     Deeper Than Beauty
                                                                     I Can Feel It
                                                                     Before I Do

One Chord To Another                      Navy Blues
The Good In Everyone                                 She Says What She Means
The Lines You Amend                                 Seems So Heavy
Everything You've Done Wrong                     Sinking Ships
Anyone Who's Anyone                                Keep On Thinkin'
400 Metres                                                 Suppose They Close The Door
G Turns To D                                              Iggy & Angus
Nothing Left To Make Me Want To Stay        On The Horizon
                                                                 I Wanna Thank You
                                                                 Money City Maniacs

Here are the results: 
Peppermint e.p.  -  3 songs  -  50% of tracks on original release  -  11% of tracks on live album
Smeared  -  3 songs  -  25% of tracks on original release -  11% of tracks on live album
Twice Removed  -  8 songs  -  67% of tracks on original release  -  29% of tracks on live album
One Chord To Another  -  7 songs  -  58% of tracks on original release  -  25% of tracks on live album
Navy Blues  -  9 songs  -  69% of tracks on original release  -  32% of tracks on live album
 

• Live Album Tracklisting!
The following message was posted by Karen on Sloannet. 
NOTE: Their should be 28 tracks (she missed 6). According to a press release, a couple of the songs she missed were probably Money City Maniacs and Before I Do.
     "I just heard Brother Bill on 102.1 (The Edge, a radio station in Toronto) go through the tracklisting for the
live album and managed to scribble down most of them:

Disc 1
1.  She Says What She Means
2.  Coax Me
3.  The Lines You Amend
4.  Everything You've Done Wrong
5.  The Good In Everyone
6.  Marcus Said
7.  Sinking Ships
8.  Snowsuit Sound
9.  Suppose They Close The Door
10. Iggy And Angus
11. Bells On
12. Anyone Who's Anyone

Disc 2
1.  People Of The Sky
2.  400 Metres
3.  On The Horizon
4.  I Wanna Thank You
5.  Penpals
6.  G Turns To D
7.  I Am The Cancer
8.  Torn
9.  Nothing Left To Make Me Want To Stay
10. Underwhelmed
Sorry, I missed a few!"
 

Here is some info I gathered from the official Juno site (http://www.juno-awards.ca/):

Sloan is nominated for:

BEST ROCK ALBUM (voted on by fans) 
Since When, 54.40 (Columbia) 
Underdogs, Matthew good Band (Darktown/A&M) 
Navy Blues, Sloan (Murderecords/Universal) 
Phantom Power, The Tragically Hip (Universal) 
Silent Radar, The Watchmen (EMI) 

JUNO AWARDS (1975-1999):
Sloan has won 1 Juno Award: 
1997 - Best Alternative Album - "One Chord to Another"

JUNO NOMINATIONS (1975-1999):
Sloan has been nominated for 4 Juno Awards.

1999 - Best Rock Album - "Navy Blues"
1997 - Best Alternative Album - "One Chord to Another"
1995 - Best Alternative Album - "Twice Removed"
1994 - Best New Group
 

• Sloan to open for Alanis!
Sloan will open 3 west coast tour dates for Alanis Morissette in May. They are:

May 2, 1999  -  Vancouver, B.C.  -  GM Place  - with Veda Hille
May 4, 1999  -  Calgary, Alberta  -  Canadian Airlines Saddledome  -  with Kinnie Starr
May 5, 1999  -  Edmonton, Alberta  -  Skyreach Centre  -  with Limblifter

To read more about this tour visit articles at the following sites: The Ottawa Citizen, Chart, or visit her official site.

• New Jersey review
Click here to read a review by Chart of Sloan's show February 9th in Hoboken, New Jersey.

• Live Pictures!
Click here to view pictures from Sloan's performance at Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey, on Feb. 9, 1999.
Click here to view pictures from Sloan's performance at Bowery Ballroom in New York, New York on Feb. 13, 1999.

• Easy Rider!
Here is a pretty good site with Easy Rider info and pictures.
 

Sloan are nominated in the following categories, also listed are their competitors.

Group: Johnny Favorite Swing Orchestra, Kilt, Rawlins Cross, Sloan, The Rankins.

SOCAN Songwriter: Bruce Guthro, Falling; Melanie Doane and Rick Neigher, Adam's Rib; Dave Panting, You Will Always Have My Love; Ferguson, Murphy, Pentland and Scott, Money City Maniacs; Jimmy Rankin, Movin On.

Video: Lukey, Great Big Sea; Money City Maniacs, Sloan; Movin On, The Rankins; Rootbeer and Licorice, Johnny Favorite Swing Orchestra; Walk This Road, Bruce Guthro; Diamond, Julian Austin.
 

• On The Arts Interview
Yesterday (Feb. 11, 1999) on "On The Arts With Laurie Brown" Sloan's Chris Murphy and Jay Ferguson were featured in an interview with Laurie Brown. On The Arts is a television show on CBC Newsworld. They spoke about the type of people each member of the band is, and other things. It should be airing again sometime over the weekend.
Here is what the On The Arts site at CBC has to say:

THE TRAGICALLY HIP/SLOAN/DAVE BIDINI/CONTEST 
Feb 11, 1999 

We've got a revealing talk with the best front man in the business, Gord Downie in Saint John, New Brunswick - the start of The Tragically Hip's new tour.

We have our way with Halifax's perfect popsters "Sloan": talented guys who also manage to have plenty of fun.

And music and hockey with the Rheostatics' Dave Bidini. We go for a last skate at one of the hallowed venues of rock and hockey: Maple Leaf Gardens.

Don't forget to enter our give-away contest for some Rheostatic memorabilia.

• Live Album packaging & release
According to dimmer, who talked to Chris Murphy after the D.C. show, Chris said, about the upcoming live album,  that "the packaging will be in the digi-pak format with a 20 page booklet and lots of great pics. "The bad news is that the record WILL NOT be released in the States and that they are planning a limited run (5000 copies) for export to the States." 

Also the Universal site gives the following release info:
Release Date: March 23, 1999 
Artist:Sloan 
Title:T.B.A. (live) 
Catalogue # :  MURD2 39 
Label: Murderecords

NOTE: The 2 in the catalogue # signifies that it is a double release, with 2 cd's.