Remembering the glory days of Halifax’s live rock scene
Catherine Stockhausen
BY KATIE INGRAM
SLOAN, NSCAD PHOTO STUDIO, 1996
A
Catherine Stockhausen
Catherine Stockhausen
HOME GROWN
THE BACKSTORY
10
THE SUPER FRIENDZ, GOTTINGEN STREET, HALIFAX, 1995
UNRAVEL
JULY / AUGUST 2022
bout 30 years ago, the stars aligned to put Halifax on the music map. “We just wanted to be part of what was going on and … it seemed fun, and we were creative,” says former Jale guitarist Eve Hartling. Jale, a rock band based out of Halifax from 1992 to 1997, was one of many local groups to gain national recognition and popularity in the era. Others include Sloan, Thrush Hermit, the Super Friendz, Carson Downey Band, and Hip Club Groove. For some, this time included major record releases, like Sloan on Geffen Records and Jale on Sub Pop, while others released music on local labels like Murderecords and Cinnamon Toast Records. Many matches lit the fuse. Part of it, Hartling says, was schools like NSCAD churning out students of an artistic bent, who tended to remain in the more affordable and accessible downtown, creating a neighbourhood where music thrived. “The city was different, and it (also) probably has something to do with why it happened,” she says. “It hadn’t gone through what’s happening now downtown, which is urban growth everywhere.” There also seemed to be more of a collaborative environment, which brought people together. For example, Jale’s Jennifer Pierce sang backing vocals on an early Sloan album, while The Super Friendz had a few drummers including Sloan’s Chris Murphy and Cliff Grubb of Thrush Hermit. “The guys helped us out quite a bit, lending us gear and stuff like that,” says Hartling. “It was a very strong community here.” For some bands, their sound wasn’t what executives and others in the music industry were looking for. Mostly, they wanted grunge and alternative rock. “In Halifax there was a big movement towards that,” says Sean McKenna, former drummer for rock band Jack Butler, adding that many newly formed bands were playing shows after only being together for a few months. “(That) genre exploded and kind of pushed out a lot of the bands that actually had been together for a lot longer.” McKenna likens his band’s sound to Aerosmith.
