Two local music groups have submitted their songs into a cross-Canada contest to find the next great hockey song. Both the Bison Brothers, featuring Tim Ross from Wycliffe, and The Pursuits, featuring the Armstong family from Kimberley, put in entries for the CBC Music and Hockey Night in Canada contest.
Ross said he received a note the other day saying his entry, If Yer Playin' Hockey, was a couple hundred votes out of the top 50, out of the thousand songs submitted. He said even being in the top group is an honour.
"The neatest thing is, even if I don't make this fairly high cut, it's been really an honour how many people have let me know they listened to the song and voted for me."
Ross plays old timers hockey and said the guys there have been really supportive, as well as people in the music community.
"If nothing else that's a real honour," he said.
Ross said he had the song from years ago. It's about a day in the life of an old timer or B-league hockey player going to play the game.
“Really it’s a song about all of us,” he said.
He thought what if Stomping Tom got together with Bob Dylan and a “beer league hacker like myself” and wrote a hockey song.
The song features Neil Gorrie from Cranbrook on drums, Ferdy Belland from Cranbrook on bass, Ross on guitar and lead vocal, and Fraser Armstrong from Kimberley sang harmony.
The song was produced by Ray Gareau from Kimberley and Ross.
“I would like to thank everybody that voted for us,” Ross said.
The Pursuits is made up of the Armstrong family out of Kimberley, and Frazer Armstrong is also featured in Ross’s band, as well as playing on the same hockey club.
Armstrong said that he and Ross have a lighthearted rivalry going on.
“I told him his song sucks but it has one positive — the backup vocals,” Armstrong joked.
The Pursuits song is called All Directions and Armstrong even made an accompanying video available for viewing on Youtube.
The contest ends Wednesday, Dec. 11 at midnight. You can vote daily right up until that time. The website also counts the number of times the song is played.
To vote go to music.cbc.ca/#/Hockey-Night-in-Canada-Song-Quest.