John Patrick Thomas Pentland (born 20 September 1969) is an Irish-born rock guitarist and a member of the Canadian rock band Sloan. All four members of Sloan write, produce, and sing their own songs, but Pentland primarily plays lead guitar for most songs. He occasionally plays rhythm guitar, bass, keyboards in the studio, and occasionally plays drums live. Pentland is one of the band's two main singers, as he sings lead on at least a third of the band's songs, including many of their singles on their third to fifth albums, plus back-up/harmony vocals on most of their other songs.
In high school, Pentland became serious about playing music, guitar in particular. His father had played in show bands in Northern Ireland throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. This influenced Pentland to follow in his father's footsteps. He had learned recorder in grade school, and played saxophone in his junior high school band, but he eventually settled on guitar as his main instrument.
Pentland's first group was a hard rock band, Prosecutor, which came together in the fall of 1984. They covered Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, plus a few originals influenced by those bands. The intended band name was actually Persecutor. Prosecutor played two shows, both in the spring of 1985—one in the local recreation centre that they rehearsed in, and the second on the lawn outside a local music store. By this time, however, Pentland had moved away from the hard rock sound of the band, becoming more interested in harder metal, having discovered bands like Motorhead, Venom, and the first two Metallica records.
Through this music, he became exposed to punk rock, especially American hardcore. Several trips back to Northern Ireland had also exposed him to The Sex Pistols and post-punk bands like The Cure, early Cult, and The Jesus and Mary Chain. By 1986, Pentland had formed a hardcore band with Cliff Gibb (later of Weasel Faced Judge, Thrush Hermit, Cool Blue Halo, Doug Mason), John Johnson (later of The Donner Party Reunion), and Scott Hiltz, called The Ripping Convulsions. The name was shortened to the Convulsions by their first gigs—several house parties in the suburbs of Halifax. The group recorded two tapes featuring songs written primarily by Pentland and Johnson, and performed a handful of shows in the Halifax punk scene, before disbanding in the summer of 1987. Pentland, Gibb, and Johnson formed a noisecore outfit in the fall of 1987, recording one song under the name Toxic Waste.
Reflecting their growing interest in American alternative guitar bands such as Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., and Pixies, Pentland and Gibb formed Happy Co. with Melanie Rusinak (later of Tag (JALE), Chaz Rules, Cool Blue Halo, Black Pool) in late 1987. Rusinak's father had taught Pentland saxophone in junior high school. Happy Co. marked the first time that Pentland took on lead vocals, as well as becoming the main songwriter. Again, Happy Co. played a handful of gigs in the Halifax scene, which by then included Kearney Lake Road, composed of future Sloan members Chris Murphy and Jay Ferguson. Happy Co. continued on into 1990, adding Brad Baxter (formerly of Dread Scott, which included Ben Ross—who would go on to replace Gibb in Thrush Hermit) on second guitar, but eventually ended when the members decided to devote more time to finishing their various post-secondary pursuits.
In January 1991, Pentland was approached by Chris Murphy to join a new band he had started with Jay Ferguson called Sloan. The new band, rounded out by drummer Andrew Scott, quickly compiled a setlist of original songs, and played their first show at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, two weeks after Pentland joined.
Pentland has written for several music publications and dabbled in blogging, with revealing entries about the band's performances and tours. He has also contributed a song to the children's show Role Play, and performed music for several television commercials.
In 2005, Pentland began releasing electronic/ambient music online under the name Destroy Tomorrow 666. He has been a resident DJ in several prominent Toronto clubs. He said that he was asked to join the Doughboys (Canadian band) in the mid-1990's, but passed on the opportunity.[1]
Pentland attended Sackville High and Millwood High. After graduating, he attended The University of King's College, entering the school's journalism program. Pentland left the program in his second year, and eventually graduated with a BA in history, of which he claims to have retained very little knowledge.
Sloan is a Canadian rock band based in Toronto and originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Sloan have released thirteen full-length albums and have received nine Juno Award nominations, winning one. Between 1996 and 2016, Sloan was among the top 75 best-selling Canadian artists in Canada and among the top 25 best-selling Canadian bands in Canada. The band is known for their sharing of songwriting and lead vocals from each member of the group and their unaltered line-up throughout their career.
Peppermint EP is the debut EP released by Canadian rock band Sloan. It was released on their own label, Murderecords, in 1992.
Chris Murphy is a Canadian musician and a member of the rock band Sloan.
Rob Benvie is a Canadian musician and writer who has performed with alternative rock acts Thrush Hermit, Bankruptcy, Camouflage Nights, and The Dears. He also records and occasionally performs live as Tigre Benvie.
In the province of Nova Scotia in Canada, Celtic music has played a significant role, both in its traditional forms and fused with other musical styles. Nova Scotia's folk music features traditional tunes brought over from the Scottish Highlands in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, as well as localized forms such as Cape Breton fiddle music. In recent years, a wide variety of other musical genres have emerged in Nova Scotia, which has produced several country music stars such as Hank Snow, Wilf Carter, Anne Murray, and Rita MacNeil.
The Super Friendz are a Canadian indie rock band from Halifax, Nova Scotia. They were initially active between 1994 and 1997, before reforming in 2002, with sporadic activity since then.
Jay Ferguson is a Canadian musician and a member of the rock band Sloan.
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Thrush Hermit was a Canadian alternative rock band active in the 1990s, known for their "highly energetic, humorous, and unpredictable performances," as quoted by Vice News.
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The Halifax Pop Explosion (HPX) was a music festival and conference that occurred every fall, typically two weeks after Thanksgiving, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The term "Halifax Pop Explosion" also came to be adopted in the 1990s as the name of the Halifax alternative rock music scene as a whole, which at that time was dominated by power pop acts such as Sloan, Jale, The Super Friendz, and Thrush Hermit.
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Clayton Park is the second full-length album by Canadian rock band Thrush Hermit. It was released on Sonic Unyon in 1999, and is the last album they released as a band. The album produced two singles and videos for the songs "From the Back of the Film" and "The Day We Hit the Coast".
Millwood High School is a public secondary school in Middle Sackville, Nova Scotia that offers a post-secondary preparation program for students in grades nine through twelve. It is a part of the Halifax Regional School Board, and one of 17 high schools in the Halifax Regional Municipality. The current principal is Stephen Corkum.
Cinnamon Toast Records was a record label from Halifax, Nova Scotia. It was inspired by the American label Simple Machines and was run by Walter Forsyth, Lee Ann Gillan, Shawn Duggan, Colin MacKenzie, Robert Jeans and Miroslav Wiesner. Born out of an influx of local alternative music being created in Halifax during the early 1990s, Cinnamon Toast Records released a number of limited 7-inch singles, each in a different colour. Cinnamon Toast Records' first single was a 7-inch pressing of the Halifax band Bubaiskull in 1992. Other notable releases are the first Jale single and a split pressing of Sloan and Eric's Trip in 1993, a Rebecca West CD in 1995, as well as a number of full length Plumtree CDs.
Sweet Homewrecker is the first full-length album by Canadian rock band Thrush Hermit. It was released on Elektra Records in 1997.
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The Stanfields are a Canadian rock music group, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Described by some sources as "the bastard children of AC/DC and Stan Rogers", the band blends a hard rock style with elements of traditional Atlantic Canadian folk music. The Stanfields are known for their powerful live show, and they have toured mostly in Canada and Germany.
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