Hockey & Music
One thing that always surprises me is how much being in a band and playing ice hockey are similar. Growing up, I believed you were either an arty kid or a jock, but never both. I disliked any kind of physical activity intensely, especially when my experience of team sports was being forced to stand on a baking sheet of Saskatchewan prairie at the age of 11, waiting to catch a ball that was never going to come to me, and I’d never catch even if it did. The only trophy I ever came home with was sunstroke. As a result, most of my friends knew me as having a distinct dislike of all things athletic, so much so that when I once mentioned going bowling to Matt, he almost fell over in disbelief. “You don’t play sports!” he exclaimed.
With a Dad who was the team doctor for the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders (he took me to many, many games until I was about 13 or so, old enough to say I didn’t want to go anymore) and 5 older brothers who all had stints playing in leagues, it was inevitable that it would catch up with me sooner or later. Out of all my hockey playing siblings I’m the only one left still playing the game, and part of the appeal is how much it is like being in a band. There’s a group of you working together to make something happen. There are some nights when you are universally horrible, others when half of you are spot on, and those rare, magical times when every single one of you plays with heart, and everything just works. Its all about teamwork.
There’s the peculiarity of choosing the position of drummer or goalie – you want to hit things/have someone hurl a hard rubber disk at your head? The forwards are the lead guitar players in terms of glory, so the fact that I play defense makes me wonder if I’m playing the wrong instrument in the band. Mistakes are more noticeable as a bassist but with defense you can get away with it as long as it doesn’t result in a goal. At the start of every gig/game, there’s nerves and hoping it will all go well – I’m seriously hoping I can get through both without ANY mistakes, something I’ve still yet to achieve but keep aiming for. I think I’ve got a better chance at the gig. The two are most similar in the feelings I get – the hopes of doing the best possible job, and that great feeling that comes from having more fun than you ever thought possible with people you just love hanging out with.
Yesterday my team played its first game in a different league, where a lack of teams forced them to put us all in one big division. We got creamed 6 – 1 by a team that plays 3 divisions higher in our regular league, but it was still a good game because its been awhile since we’ve been challenged like that. I had one rush where I actually managed to get past some of them, and that one small moment made the whole game worthwhile for me. Even in moments where hockey and music diverge (I’ve never felt this physically battered, or wound up with a bruise the size of a grapefruit on my leg after a gig), one can always remind me of what’s important in the other – it’s all about those small, pure moments of accomplishment and fun.
Written by: annie
