Why Sloan's bassist is touring Europe with an R.E.M. tribute band fronted by a Hollywood actor
Chris Murphy, bassist for the band Sloan, is joining an R.E.M. tribute tour featuring actor Michael Shannon. The tour requires Murphy to learn a significant catalog of music on short notice for performances across Europe.
Why it matters
The story highlights the collaborative nature of the music industry and the crossover between acting and professional musicianship.
"I haven't been to the U.K. professionally in a while and I've never been to Ireland, so this goes to Ireland and I'm a Murphy, so I should be going to Ireland at some point," he said.
While Murphy has spent most of his career playing original songs with Sloan such as Money City Maniacs and The Rest of My Life that are a part of Canadiana, this gig requires learning around two hours of note-for-note music by an American rock institution — and there will be just one rehearsal ahead of the tour.
"I'm a little bit nervous about it, but I think it's going to be really fun," said Murphy.
And although Murphy has toured in groups such as Trans-Canada Highwaymen playing Canadian classics from the 1960s and 1970s, the level of preparation for this job is not the same.
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