The overall feedback was very good. One regular listener wrote "This was a great chat. Not sure anybody is able to penetrate the collective psyche of this legendary band like TM".
Another wrote "What a fun interview. Some great awkward silences. Loved it."
You can hear this episode of Toronto Mike'd with Chris Murphy and Jay Ferguson in the TMDS basement here:
Toronto Mike
On reddit, in a Sloan subreddit, a couple of Sloan fanatics were less positive about the episode. Here's one comment:
To be honest, I didn’t like this interview. No fault of Chris and Jay. The Geffen issues are old news; how many times do the guys need to discuss it? Then to bombard them with clips of Patrick and Andrew airing their grievances about past/present band issues — and Mike’s actually surprised the interview then soured. Um, yeah. What’d you expect?
Sloan is the best Canadian band of all time. That’s not hyperbole. And they just released their 14th stellar album after being together for 35 years! That should’ve been the focus.
Is the focus of a Toronto Mike'd episode supposed to be pure celebration of a band's longevity and excellence? That sounds like PR rubbish, and nothing I'm interested in hearing. Of course, as a Sloan fan for 34 years, I had many, many positive things to say about one of my favourite bands of all-time. I was literally wearing a Sloan tee while chatting with Chris Murphy and Jay Ferguson. But Toronto Mike'd is not a PR exercise. I'm interested in far more nourishing fare.
In 2025, I've been lucky enough to have all four members of Sloan in the basement for long-form conversations. This is no small feat, as a couple of members are notoriously media-shy. But during these conversations I've learned a great deal about each member, their role in the band, the band's dynamic and what makes them tick in 2025.
So yes, I was going to play a couple of clips from my recent chats with Patrick and Andrew to get Chris and Jay's reaction. I purposely didn't bring up anything that was told to me "off the record" and stuck to things stated by members of the band on the public record on my microphones. I don't know how to speak with Chris and Jay without doing this.
But of course, along the way, we're going to make sure listeners know there's a new Sloan album and an upcoming Canadian tour. I was also clear that I like the new album and am glad their original lineup is intact after 34 years, which is no small feat!
But if the diehards are looking for motherhood and apple pie, they can stick to the press release and hear the guys making 3-7 minute hits on other programs. Listening to Toronto Mike'd remains optional.
There's a longer conversation to be had here about balancing ones journalistic instinct with an urge to print the legend, but I think I'll save those thoughts for next week's FOTMCast.
