Sandbox was a Canadian alternative rock band active in the 1990s. The band consisted of Paul Murray on lead vocals, Mike Smith and Jason Archibald on guitar, Scott MacFarlane on bass and Troy Shanks on drums."Sandbox playing up a storm; New Glasgow quintet attracting many fans with popular new songs". Kingston Whig-Standard, March 28, 1996.
Formation
Sandbox was formed by Mike Smith in New Glasgow in 1992, originally as a cover band named Sandbox Legacy."Sandbox sounds like Mellencamp on Prozac". Halifax Daily News, April 28, 1995. Lead singer Paul Murray is the nephew of singer Anne Murray."She'll be comin' round the mountain Murray will host Junos in Hamilton, thanks to real fans". Toronto Star, March 9, 1996.
The band debuted with the 1993 indie EP, Maskman."Hey kids! Sandbox in at X Club". Hamilton Spectator, May 18, 1995.
Canadian chart success
Their debut album Bionic was released in 1995."Sandbox debut shows promise". Ottawa Citizen, May 20, 1995. The album spawned their most well known singles, "Curious" and "Collide"."Sandbox brings best of Halifax to Ontario ears". Waterloo Region Record, June 17, 1995. "Curious" reached No. 34 on Canada's RPM Singles chart and No. 8 on Canada's Alternative chart, while "Collide" peaked at #57 in the RPM100."Top Singles - Volume 62, No. 22, January 15, 1996". RPM, January 15, 1996. Both songs received regular airplay on MuchMusic.
They were nominated for Best New Group at the Juno Awards of 1996."Female artists garner most nominations in annual Juno race". Vancouver Sun, February 1, 1996.
Their second album, A Murder in the Glee Club was released in 1997."Sandbox not ready for the big time". Halifax Daily News, October 24, 1997. Produced by Don Fleming, the album was a concept album about the aftermath of a murder."Sandbox builds a mystery Latest CD, Murder in the Glee Club, still has punchy innovative rock". Waterloo Region Record, January 25, 1998. The single "Carry" peaked at #38 in the RPM100 the week of January 19, 1998."Top Singles - Volume 66, No. 17, January 19, 1998". RPM, January 19, 1998. However, the band was at this time facing difficulties with their record label, who wanted them to pursue a more commercial alternative rock sound instead of their Haligonian power pop style, and they were dropped from the label after the album's release.
Breakup
Following the dissolution of the band, Smith went on to play Bubbles in the Canadian cult hit television series Trailer Park Boys."Bubbles is a musician". The Guardian, March 4, 2006. Bassist Scott MacFarlane played for Crush and Gordie Sampson. Jason Archibald graduated from Dalhousie University in 2001 with a degree in medicine.
Discography Studio albums 1995 - Bionic 1997 - A Murder in the Glee Club
Extended plays 1993 - Maskman
Singles Title Year Peak chart positions Album CANRPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada bac-lac.gc.ca CANRock "Curious" 1995 34 8 Bionic "Collide" 57 — "Here and There" 1996 — — "Carry" 1997 38 — A Murder in the Glee Club
References