Tara Kamala Slone (born September 7, 1973) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

rock vocalist, actress and television personality.

Early life and education

Slone was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

, and raised in

Wolfville Wolfville is a Canadian town in the Annapolis Valley, Kings County, Nova Scotia, located about northwest of the provincial capital, Halifax. The town is home to Acadia University and Landmark East School. The town is a tourist destination du ...

and 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 En ...

. Her stepfather Dr. Tomacz Pietrzykowski was the Dean of the School of Computer Science at

Acadia University Acadia University is a public, predominantly undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, with some graduate programs at the master's level and one at the doctoral level. The enabling legislation consists of the Acadia ...

. She began pursuing classical voice training at the age of 12 with the goal of becoming an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

singer. Her first job was at a Second Cup in Halifax when she was in high school as a

barista A barista (; ; from the Italian/Spanish for "bartender") is a person, usually a coffeehouse employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks. Etymology and inflection The word ''barista'' comes from Italian where it means a male ...

for a few months before working at

Sam the Record Man Sam the Record Man was a Canadian record store chain that, at one time, was Canada's largest music recording retailer. In 1982, its ads proclaimed that it had "140 locations, coast to coast". Its iconic flagship store was located at 259 Yonge S ...

. She connected with music lovers and indie musicians, which she credits as influencing her taste in music. At the age of 18, she attended first

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus in Saint John, New Brunswick. Dalhousie offer ...

and then

Concordia University Concordia University (French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the th ...

to pursue a degree in music. While at Concordia, she switched her aspirations to acting and rock music, and subsequently moved to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

, Ontario.

Acting career

In the mid-1990s, Slone played Columbia in the theatre version of ''

The Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 Musical film, musical comedy horror film by 20th Century Fox, produced by Lou Adler and Michael White (producer), Michael White and directed by Jim Sharman. The screenplay was written by Sharman an ...

'' in front of sold-out crowds when it stopped at the Grand Theatre in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toront ...

. In 2016, Slone appeared on stage at the

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean Festival ...

in the play '' The Hypochondriac''. In 1998, Slone landed a recurring role in ''

La Femme Nikita La Femme Nikita may refer to: * ''La Femme Nikita'' (film), a 1990 French action film by Luc Besson, originally named "Nikita" * ''La Femme Nikita'' (TV series), a 1997–2001 TV series based on the film, also called "Nikita" * ''Nikita'' (TV se ...

''. She appeared in three episodes. In 2008, she appeared in an episode of the second season of '' The Border'', titled "Prescriptive Measures", as an American pop star who dies early on in the episode, which sparks the main plot of the episode.

Music career

In 1996, Slone became the lead singer of

Joydrop Joydrop is a Canadian alternative rock band active in the late 1990s and early 2000s from Toronto, Ontario. The band reunited in 2017. The band consists of vocalist Tara Slone, guitarist Thomas Payne, bassist Tom McKay, and drummer Tony Rabalao. ...

after discovering a wanted ad for a singer in the magazine '' Now''. By 1997, Joydrop had a record deal and released two albums. The band had chart hits in Canada with the singles " Beautiful" and "Sometimes Wanna Die," (which also reached #20 on the American ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Alternative chart) and was nominated for a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall o ...

. Since the breakup of Joydrop, Slone worked on a solo album with

Jordon Zadorozny Jordon Zadorozny (born c.1974 Pembroke, Ontario) is a Canadian rock musician and producer. He is the singer and songwriter for indie rock band Blinker the Star. He is best known for cowriting songs with Courtney Love in the late 1990s. Zadorozny ...

. Her latest album, ''Just Look Pretty and Sing'', was released on March 6, 2007, but was completed before appearing on the

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

Rock Star INXS ''Rock Star: INXS'' is the first season of the reality television show '' Rock Star'' where fifteen contestants competed to become the lead vocalist for the Australian rock band INXS. INXS enjoyed great popularity through the 1980s and early 199 ...

'' in 2005. Singles released include "My Little Secret", "We Were Stars" and "The Perfect Girl." Joydrop reunited on April 2, 2017, edition of Hometown Hockey in Guelph, Ontario with Slone performing "Beautiful". Slone competed on ''

'' in 2005, a reality show that sought to find a replacement lead singer for the band

INXS INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farris ...

. She was the sixth person eliminated from the competition. She previously resided in Toronto, sharing a house with fellow ''Rock Star INXS'' contestant

Suzie McNeil Susan Jane "Suzie" McNeil is a Canadian pop rock singer and songwriter. After garnering attention as a contestant on Rock Star: INXS in 2005, McNeil began pursuing a musical career and released her debut album, '' Broken & Beautiful'', on Apri ...

. The two appeared in an episode of ''

MTV Cribs ''MTV Cribs'' (also known as ''Cribs'') is an American documentary television show that originated on MTV and features tours of the private homes of celebrities. It originally aired from 2000 to 2010. In 2017, MTV produced short-form episodes o ...

'', giving viewers a tour of their house.

Broadcasting career

From August 9, 2010, to August 28, 2015, Slone served as the host of ''

Breakfast Television Breakfast television (Europe, Canada, and Australia) or morning show (United States) is a type of news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts live in the morning (typically scheduled between 5:00 and 10:00a.m., or if it is a l ...

'' on Citytv Calgary. Beginning in 2014, Slone joined

Sportsnet Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then was r ...

, acting as an on-site co-host for its new Sunday-night '' Rogers Hometown Hockey'' broadcasts alongside Ron MacLean. The show was cancelled in 2022 and Slone parted ways with Sportsnet. In 2020, Slone was named host of a new weekly Sportsnet

docuseries Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. *Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

called ''

Top of Her Game A spinning top, or simply a top, is a toy with a squat body and a sharp point at the bottom, designed to be spun on its vertical axis, balancing on the tip due to the gyroscopic effect. Once set in motion, a top will usually wobble for a few se ...

'', which focuses on

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countr ...

through interviews with female athletes, builders and executives. In the same year she was host of the summer concert series '' Budweiser Stage at Home'' for the

Citytv Citytv is a Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The licence of the original Citytv station, granted the callsign of CITY-TV by the CRTC on November 25, 1971 to Cable Television A ...

network, for which she received a

Canadian Screen Award The Canadian Screen Awards (french: link=no, Les prix Écrans canadiens) are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media (web series) ...

nomination for Best Host in a Talk Show or Entertainment News Series at the

9th Canadian Screen Awards The 9th annual Canadian Screen Awards were held in the week of May 17 to 20, 2021, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2020.Barry Hertz, "How one Canadian arts institution is rebuilding amid the p ...

. In 2022, she accepted a position with the NHL's

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertain ...

as a content contributor, and has also joined NBC Sports Bay Area on their Sharks broadcasts.

Personal life

She is separated and has a daughter. Slone now lives in California with former NHL defenceman Dan Boyle.

Filmography

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Slone, Tara 1973 births Living people Canadian alternative rock musicians Canadian women rock singers Canadian women television hosts Musicians from Halifax, Nova Scotia Musicians from Montreal Musicians from Toronto Participants in American reality television series 21st-century Canadian women singers