The Slip formed when bassist Marc Friedman and brothers Andrew Barr and Brad Barr (Drums and Guitar/Vox, respectively) moved to Boston together after graduating from high school, where they had met and first began playing music as a group.
In 1996 the trio of recent Berklee dropouts put out their first studio album and began establishing a dedicated fan-base through relentless touring in and around the northeast. A late-nineties blend of extended roots pop compositions and experimental rhythmic approaches, the band developed and found their sound through an extremely supportive local scene of artists, musicians, and actors, coupled with a rigorous, and – soon – national, tour schedule. An eclectic new brand of exploratory roots psych-rock emerged; Van Morrison meets Keith Jarrett meets Talking Heads.
By 2001, the band’s tour schedule had brought them to sold-out headlining shows at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom, successful tours in Japan, and a record deal with Rykodisc.
While the band’s line-up remained consistent throughout the next few years on the road, their sound developed considerably and the instrumentation expanded radically. The Slip grew from young, earthy avant-gardes to strong, mature contemporary-rock composers, creating a new sonic landscape that drew equally from CAN, U2, and new interests like Built to Spill and Postal Service.
By 2003, the trio’s non-stop touring produced Alivelectric and Aliveacoustic, a companion live set that also represented the inaugural release of their own independent record label, 216 records.
Aliveacoustic presented a rustic and intimate, voyeuristic snapshot of the band unplugged, on a rainy night at the intimate Club Helsinki in the Berkshire Mountains. Equal parts Wilco, My Morning Jacket, and 12 Golden Country Hits – era Ween, the album contains a tender honesty that carries through from tent-revival stomps to humble and dusty lyrical psalms.
Alivelectric, on the other hand, is almost exclusively instrumental, with a deep resonance and a wide breadth of analog and digital effects. Culled from an equally wide array of performances throughout the U.S. during the fall of 2002 and the summer and spring of 2003, Alivelectric gave 216 a chance to showcase the band at its grander, more expansive and ethereal live moments. The album presents an articulated side of The Slip much closer to Do Make Say Think, Tortoise, electric Bill Frisell and Squarepusher albums than the dusty americana present on it’s companion release.
These two records represent the most coherent articulation of the bands’ distinct sides to date, and have sold a combined 14,000 copies so far. The band has sold a total of over 50,000 albums independently.
In the five years following their last studio release, the band has also spent more and more of their time off the road in their home studios, gradually honing a new and innovative approach to recording and distilling an overall songwriting vision. So pervasive a transformation has occurred that The Slip have even recently been accused - perhaps appropriately - of ‘changing everything short of their name’.
Coming out of this, their heaviest state of growth and development in years, the band entered Q-Division Studios in March 2005 and began six months of utterly focused work with co-producer Mathew Ellard. The result is their 4th studio album, Eisenhower which stands as the most cohesive and evocative work the band has put together thus far.
Showcasing the raw analog passion of Broken Social Scene, the accessible melodic songcraft of Mojave 3, and the lush soundscapes and wash-like textures of Mogwai, the album’s dynamics also range from Iron and Wine–style intimate vocal immediacy to the thunderous big-beat anthem-sincerity of the Flaming Lips, with enough room in between for haunting vocal melodies evocative of Antonio Carlos Jobim or Sigur Ros laid over with sparce, raw, Notwist-style live percussion. It is the band’s finest work to date
Already proving itself be a very good indication of a brilliant upcoming album, the first single that has been released - “Even Rats” – that has been released (on most digital services) has already been featured in the extremely successful Playstation2 game Guitar Hero and was also chosen to be one of only ten songs preloaded on the new SanDisk mp3 player - 4.5 million of which are set to ship in mid-march 2006.
The album also contains a revamped version of “Children of December,” the demo version of which was awarded the 2004 Heineken USA/ASCAP Foundation Grant for Best Pop/Rock Song in Boston.
The spring of 2005 also saw the band spin through the northeast, accompanied by Nathan Moore on vocals and guitar, as collective avant-folk band Surprise Me Mr. Davis; a modern alt-country super-group combining the raw and intimate vocals of a Tom Waits or a Nebraska-era Bruce Springsteen with the bluesy grit of the Black Keys, The Band or Two Gallants, all layered with the lush 3-and-4-part harmonies and dirty instrumentation of TV on the Radio. Selections from a late summer Montreal recording session formed a well-received EP entitled Only in Montreal.
2005 of course also saw The Slip playing a considerable amount of shows as themselves - throughout the U.S., Japan, Canada, and Mexico - and closed out with a memorable northeast New Year’s run supported by friends Apollo Sunshine.
Starting in late 2007, the trio took an unannounced hiatus from regular touring and have since only played occasional gigs as The Slip. They have not released any albums since 2006.
The future of The Slip seems to be on hold as the founding members, Andrew Barr and Brad Barr, have been focusing their work into The Barr Brothers.
Life in Disguise
The Slip Lyrics
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And I'm just a man
With a sound caught in his throat
And a pick in his hand
But when the song comes tumbling out you understand
There's no great demand
Well it's there under your breath, behind your eyes
That everything somehow in someway eventually dies
It's life in disguise
It's your room and your board and your fireside
It's a shell that's been washed by a million tides
And if you're there you can see just how bright it shines
When there's nobody left in your heart, left in your head
When the whole world has packed up in shadows and left you for dead
When you can't fake a smile and you just can't get out of your bed
When the people you led turn to you looking so hungry and bare
And you were the one that had brought them there
And all you can do is just stare at your hands and whisper my name
Elenore Cecil Robert and Molly
Coco Rudy Maxwell wherever you are
Elenore Cecil Robert and Molly
Coco Rudy Maxwell wherever you are
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These lyrics are a reflection on the fragility of life and the struggle to find meaning and purpose. The world is likened to a stage, suggesting that life is a performance that we all participate in, but ultimately it is fleeting and temporary. The singer is just a man with a sound caught in his throat and a pick in his hand, but when he sings, the listener is able to relate to his struggles and realize that there is no great demand for perfection or success.
The second verse suggests that everything in life eventually dies, including our hopes and dreams. Life can be tough and it's easy to get lost in the chaos, but there is still beauty to be found in the small things - our room, board, and fireside. The singer describes life as a shell that has been washed by a million tides, suggesting that it's been shaped and molded by the forces of nature and time. If we're willing to look, we can see how bright it shines.
The third and final verse is a cry for help from someone who feels lost and alone. When everything else in life has failed, the only thing left is to reach out to someone for comfort and reassurance. The names Elenore, Cecil, Robert, Molly, Coco, Rudy, and Maxwell are used to represent people who have touched the singer's life in some way. By repeating their names, the singer is acknowledging their importance and expressing gratitude for their presence, even if they are no longer around.
Line by Line Meaning
Well the world is only a stage
Life is a performance where we all have different roles to play
And I'm just a man
I am but a human being like everyone else
With a sound caught in his throat
I have a song within me that I am struggling to sing
And a pick in his hand
But I am armed with the tools to make my music heard
But when the song comes tumbling out you understand
When I finally find the courage to express myself, others can relate and connect with my message
There's no great demand
I am not seeking fame or fortune, just hoping to share my art with others
Well it's there under your breath, behind your eyes
Life's struggles and pains are often hidden deep within us
And you don't have to say nothing cause I realize
Even without speaking, I can sense the pain that others carry with them
That everything somehow in someway eventually dies
All things in life are temporary and will eventually come to an end
It's life in disguise
Life can often be disguised or hidden from us, but we must learn to embrace it as it is
It's your room and your board and your fireside
The comforts of home and hearth can provide a sense of security and stability in life
It's a shell that's been washed by a million tides
We are all shaped by the experiences we've had in life, both good and bad
And if you're there you can see just how bright it shines
But even through hardship and adversity, we can still find beauty and light in life
When there's nobody left in your heart, left in your head
During times of great loneliness and despair, it can feel like there is no one in the world who cares about us
When the whole world has packed up in shadows and left you for dead
The world can be a cruel and unforgiving place, where it feels like everyone has abandoned us
When you can't fake a smile and you just can't get out of your bed
Depression can be a debilitating illness that robs us of the ability to find joy in life
When the people you led turn to you looking so hungry and bare
Being responsible for the well-being of others can be a heavy burden to bear
And you were the one that had brought them there
Sometimes we are thrust into positions of leadership without ever asking for it
And all you can do is just stare at your hands and whisper my name
During times of great uncertainty and hardship, it can feel like the only comfort we have is that of a higher power
Elenore Cecil Robert and Molly Coco Rudy Maxwell wherever you are
Names of people who may have influenced or impacted the author in some way
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Encouragement for the listener to share love and kindness with those around them
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Emphasis on the importance of sharing moments and memories with others
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Encouragement to share the joys of life with others
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Encouragement to share your own story with others who may be struggling
Contributed by Aaliyah K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.