Chris Murphy (born November 7, 1968) is a member of the Canadian rock band Sloan.

Early life

Murphy was born in

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

. His family later moved to

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Cha ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, where his father obtained a Ph.D. from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. He later moved to Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, where he attended

Halifax West High School Halifax West High School is a Canadian public high school located in the Clayton Park neighbourhood in the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. Encompassing grades 10 through 12, Halifax West High School offers a variety of courses in b ...

and the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.

Musical career

Murphy originally formed Sloan with Jay Ferguson. Murphy is the band's primary bassist, occasionally switching to drums or guitar, and is one of the band's two main singers; he sings lead on about 40 percent of the band's songs and backup harmony vocals on most of the others. Murphy has written several Sloan songs that have been released as singles, including "

Underwhelmed "Underwhelmed" is the debut single by Canadian alternative rock band Sloan. The song was originally released on the DTK Records compilation ''Hear and Now '92: The Best Of The East Coast's Independent'' in 1992 and was later included on the band' ...

" (from the album ''

Smeared ''Smeared'' is the debut studio album by Canadian rock band Sloan. It was released in Canada on October 1, 1992, and in the United States in January, 1993, on Geffen Records. The album was recorded at a low cost of $1,200. The album is ranked ...

''), "

Coax Me "Coax Me" is a song by Canadian rock band Sloan. It was released as the lead single of their second album ''Twice Removed''. The song peaked at #30 on the Canadian '' RPM'' Singles Chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a ...

" (from ''

Twice Removed ''Twice Removed'' is the second album by Canadian rock band Sloan, released on Geffen Records in 1994. The album took seven weeks and cost $120,000 to record. More melodic than their previous album, ''Smeared'', Geffen gave the record little p ...

''), "G Turns to D" (from '' One Chord to Another''), "She Says What She Means" (from '' Navy Blues''), " The Other Man" (from ''

Pretty Together ''Pretty Together'' is the sixth studio album by the Canadian rock group Sloan. While the album still has the 1960s and 1970s influences of Sloan's previous albums, it is more melancholy with fewer of the upbeat songs found on previous albums. " ...

''), and " The Rest of My Life" (from '' Action Pact''). In 1995, while Sloan was on a hiatus, Murphy toured and recorded as the drummer for

The Super Friendz The Super Friendz are a Canadian indie rock band from Halifax, Nova Scotia. They were initially active between 1994 and 1997, before reforming in 2003. Contemporaries of Sloan, their early work was on Sloan's Murderecords label. Career The Su ...

. In December 2005, Murphy began hosting a show on

CBC Radio 3 CBC Radio 3 is a Canadian digital radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which plays a relatively freeform mix of indie rock, indie pop, alternative hip hop, folk, country and electronic music. The service, which lanuc ...

with Sloan bandmate Jay Ferguson. Their show was broadcast Saturdays and Sundays on

Sirius Satellite Radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Holdings. Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, Sirius ...

station (channel 94). The show has been on hiatus since November 2006. In 2010, Murphy served as a music performance supervisor for the film '' Scott Pilgrim vs. The World'', tasked with making sure the actors knew how to play their own instruments for the camera. One character, Young Neil, is seen wearing a Sloan t-shirt during one scene; another character, Todd Ingram, plays a red

Fender Mustang Bass The Fender Mustang Bass is an electric bass guitar model produced by Fender. Two variants, the Musicmaster Bass and the Bronco Bass, have also been produced from time to time using the same body and neck shape. Design Mustang basses utilize ...

with white racing stripe, similar to Murphy's.Edgar Wright, Michael Cera, and Jason Schwartzman On Set Interview SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD
/ref> In 2013, Murderecords released a

7-inch single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...

by The Certain Someones, a supergroup featuring Chris Murphy, Matt Murphy of The Super Friendz, and Jale's Jennifer Pierce. In 2015, Murphy formed the supergroup Tuns with Matt Murphy and Mike O'Neill of

The Inbreds The Inbreds were a Canadian alternative rock band formed in 1992. Originally from Kingston, Ontario,"Kingston's Inbreds don't need guitars". ''Toronto Star'', July 8, 1993. the band relocated to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1996 and remained based ther ...

."Sloan / Super Friendz / Inbreds Supergroup TUNS Announce Debut Album"
''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'', May 20, 2016. In 2016, Murphy, along with

Steven Page Steven Jay Page (born June 22, 1970) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was a founding member, lead singer, guitarist, and a primary songwriter of the music group Barenaked Ladies. Page left the band in Februar ...

(

Barenaked Ladies Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian rock band formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario. The band developed a following in Canada, with their self-titled 1991 cassette becoming the first independent release to be certified gold in Canada. They reach ...

Moe Berg Morris Berg (March 2, 1902 – May 29, 1972) was an American catcher and coach in Major League Baseball, who later served as a spy for the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. Although he played 15 seasons in the major leagues, ...

( The Pursuit of Happiness), and

Craig Northey Craig Northey (born February 9, 1962) is a Canadian musician and film and TV composer. He is one of the founding members of the band Odds, which released four albums between 1991 and 1996. They were best known for the radio singles " It Falls Apa ...

(

Odds Odds provide a measure of the likelihood of a particular outcome. They are calculated as the ratio of the number of events that produce that outcome to the number that do not. Odds are commonly used in gambling and statistics. Odds also have ...

), formed the group The Trans-Canada Highwaymen; they performed their first show in Niagara in July that year, and toured across Canada in 2017. Their live set consisted of cover songs by member's bands (Sloan, Odds, Pursuit of Happiness, Barenaked Ladies). In 2018, Murphy and his bandmates from Sloan set out on a 30-date tour in support of their twelfth album together. In August 2019, it was announced that Murphy had formed a supergroup called

Anyway Gang Anyway Gang is a Canadian supergroup, consisting of Sam Roberts, Chris Murphy (from Sloan), Menno Versteeg (from Hollerado), and Dave Monks (from Tokyo Police Club). The group formed in the summer of 2018 and released their debut single, "Big ...

with Sam Roberts and members of

Hollerado Hollerado was a Canadian indie rock band from Ottawa, Ontario. Formed in 2007, the band consisted of Menno Versteeg (lead vocals, guitar), Nixon Boyd (lead guitar, backing vocals), Dean Baxter (bass, backing vocals) and Jake Boyd (drums, backing vo ...

and

Tokyo Police Club Tokyo Police Club is an indie rock band from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 2005, it consists of vocalist and bassist Dave Monks, keyboardist Graham Wright, guitarist Josh Hook, and drummer Greg Alsop. The band found early success with the ...

. Murphy and

Joel Plaskett William Joel MacDonald Plaskett (born April 18, 1975) is a Canadian rock musician and songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was a member of Halifax alternative rock band Thrush Hermit in the 1990s. Plaskett performs in a number of genres ...

collaborated on the production of ''Prize for Writing'', a posthumous album by singer-songwriter

Matthew Grimson Matthew George Grimson (March 9, 1968 – June 19, 2018) was a Canadian musician from Halifax, Nova Scotia.Brad Wheeler"Joel Plaskett and Sloan singer-bassist Chris Murphy bring songs of late Halifax musician Matthew Grimson back to life" ''The Gl ...

, which was recorded in 1995 but not commercially released until 2020.Brad Wheeler
"Joel Plaskett and Sloan singer-bassist Chris Murphy bring songs of late Halifax musician Matthew Grimson back to life"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', August 5, 2020.

Personal life

Murphy and his girlfriend, Rebecca Mendoza, have two sons, Francisco and Santiago. In July 2009, Murphy was hit by a car in a hit and run collision while riding his bicycle in Toronto, breaking his collarbone. The incident lent its name to Sloan's subsequent release, the '' Hit & Run'' EP. On January 27, 2021, Murphy announced on Instagram that he was diagnosed with

Bell's palsy Bell's palsy is a type of facial paralysis that results in a temporary inability to control the facial muscles on the affected side of the face. In most cases, the weakness is temporary and significantly improves over weeks. Symptoms can vary fr ...

earlier that month. He was optimistic that he would fully recover in the months ahead.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Chris 1968 births Living people Dalhousie University alumni Canadian rock bass guitarists Canadian rock singers Canadian indie rock musicians Canadian alternative rock musicians Musicians from Charlottetown Musicians from Halifax, Nova Scotia Murderecords Alternative rock bass guitarists Alternative rock singers Sloan (band) members 20th-century Canadian bass guitarists 21st-century Canadian bass guitarists 20th-century Canadian guitarists 21st-century Canadian guitarists 20th-century Canadian male singers 20th-century Canadian drummers 21st-century Canadian drummers 20th-century Canadian pianists 21st-century Canadian pianists 20th-century Canadian multi-instrumentalists 21st-century Canadian multi-instrumentalists Canadian male pianists Male bass guitarists 21st-century Canadian male singers