Story by Marla Cranston, photos by Richard Beland

With the release of Between The Bridges, Sloan's fifth studio album, the boys have taken a reflective look back into their past. More specifically, they‚re looking back to the days and nights in Halifax long before "Underwhelmed" broke the band and long, long before they all moved to Toronto to become rock stars. ChartAttack’s Marla Cranston caught up with Chris Murphy and Patrick Pentland at the popular Economy Shoe Shop pub on Argyle Street where they proceeded to reminisce about the good ol’ days.

STILL THE SAME ... AFTER ALL THESE YEARS

I can tell from the cover of Between The Bridges that you guys are the same people we all used to know and love in Halifax. Success hasn't changed you too much. At least you still dress the same as you ever did.

Chris Murphy: Yeah, we really like to exploit the fact that we've been the same people the whole time. Our top priority is to show that we are a band, in a band's band and it's democratic. But a big part of that is putting our faces on the cover. I just know what it's like to be a fan. That's what I wanted to see on record covers, just what the band looked like at the time. Then if you put all the records side by side you can see the evolution.

So many musicians keep reinventing themselves through the years, changing their look and their image. Why haven't you succumbed to that pressure to keep feeding the public's appetite for novelty?

Chris: Well, Patrick isn't here to defend himself, but he constantly changes his look. Only if Patrick is in the picture would you know what year it is, like '"That could be '94," or "That could only be '99." He's had the long hair, the short blond hair, the transition hair. I've been back and forth but I guess I've always got some sort of variation on the mullet. I just go long and short usually but always dirty.

Chris, are you surprised at the sex symbol status you've cultivated in the last few years?

Chris: I would contest that. I don't know, I think you should do your research because I don't know where you got that from.

From watching audiences and seeing girls lust for you, including some of my own friends. They're totally hot for you, man.

Chris: I don't think that's lust. I think that in the post-Spinal Tap rock world, that kind of fanfare is always with a little bit of tongue-in-cheek. You do a rock move and everybody screams. You know that half the people probably just don't know what to do because they're too young, and half the people are just in on the joke. A lot of people have said that we — especially on our last record where we had hard rock songs — they thought that the whole thing was a joke. I don't think it's any more a joke than it was for AC/DC when they did it the first time. I think that they had a sense of humour but I don't think they necessarily went home and listened to Chopin or something. I like rock music for real. I know Patrick does, and then Andrew and Jay, probably in that order all love hard rock music and all of the trappings that go with it... But I think there was an awkward period for me, or maybe it's all awkward but there was definitely a period when it was embarrassing to say "Everybody clap your hands." But now I don't care. If you're not into it, just go home. People want to come and have fun. I think we're strictly a party rock band. I like to think we have depth, but we definitely like to have some laughs because without that, then your sensitive side doesn't have as much weight.

Why did Sloan decide now was the time to explore the theme of Halifax from a distance?

Chris: I'll answer that straight up by saying because it's basically the first record where we've all officially lived out of town. But for me, I wrote my why-should-I-leave-Halifax [songs] and now I'm in my why-did-I-leave-Halifax stage. On the first record there was "I Am The Cancer," which was all about staying versus leaving. "Nothing Left To Make Me Want To Stay" was on the third record. I'm sure there's songs on every record. I wish I had a little checklist; I don't.

Patrick Pentland finally shows up for the interview.

NEXT: SLOAN SELLS OUT?