What was Ed Sloan of Crossfade studying at the University of South Carolina?

Ed Sloan of Crossfade was studying computer science at the University of South Carolina. Sloan attended the university while developing the local rock project that eventually became Crossfade.

Sloan grew up in Columbia, South Carolina, where he began piano lessons at age eight and later became interested in grunge and heavy metal. He joined his first band, Darkchilde, in eighth grade. At the University of South Carolina, his academic work in computer science overlapped with his search for musicians and collaborators.

The group initially performed under the name The Nothing, with Sloan alongside bassist Mitch James and drummer Brian Geiger. It later used the name Sugardaddy Superstar before becoming Crossfade in 2002. Sloan’s home studio, known as Sugarstar Studio, played an important role in the band’s early recordings.

Crossfade’s self-titled debut album arrived in 2004 and included the successful single "Cold." Sloan remained the band’s lead vocalist, guitarist, principal songwriter, and producer on later projects. The computer-science detail is easy to miss because his public career became closely associated with post-grunge and alternative rock.