Sloan's Bassist Tours Europe with R.E.M. Tribute Band

Chris Murphy says he is a little nervous but thinks it will be fun.

Chris Murphy was asked to tour the UK and Ireland with an R.E.M. tribute band. He liked the idea. The band is led by actor Michael Shannon. Murphy thought it would be fun.

Murphy hasn't been to the UK for work in a while. He's never been to Ireland. He thinks he should visit Ireland because his last name is Murphy.

Murphy usually plays his own songs with Sloan. But for this tour, he has to learn two hours of R.E.M. music. They will have only one rehearsal before the tour.

Murphy is a little nervous but thinks it will be fun.

Murphy has toured with other groups, but this one is different. He has to prepare more for this job.

Murphy mostly plays drums in the Trans-Canada Highwaymen. He lives in Toronto now.

Murphy can play drums without much practice.

The R.E.M. tribute shows are called Michael Shannon & Jason Narducy And Friends. The regular bassist can't make it because he's touring with Wilco.

Murphy got the job because he's friends with the band's drummer and guitarist. He thinks they're similar to him.

Murphy likes the people he's working with. They're cool and play music with different people.

The tour will play R.E.M.'s album Lifes Rich Pageant and other songs.

Michael Shannon is an actor who has been nominated for awards. He has been playing music with Jason Narducy for over 10 years.

Shannon and Narducy played a show in Chicago last year. It was to celebrate R.E.M.'s album Murmur. R.E.M.'s Mike Mills joined them on stage.

Last year, the members of R.E.M. joined Shannon and Narducy on stage.

Murphy thinks R.E.M. likes Shannon's tribute band. He feels lucky to be a part of it.

R.E.M. is a band that Murphy looks up to. They split their money equally among members, which is something Sloan does too.

It's funny that Murphy is playing R.E.M. music. His bandmate Jay is a big R.E.M. fan.

Jay is jokingly upset that Murphy got to play with the R.E.M. tribute band. Murphy jokes that Jay will start a U2 cover band.

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