Getting into hockey seemed to be just a natural progression – however it wasn’t until the Edmonton Oilers started I became interested. See I was raised by a single parent – my mom and there was little father influence early on so hockey wasn’t even on the radar until Edmonton had an NHL team and was on TV 3 nights a week.

I was a late starter as it wasn’t until grade 7 I started playing hockey. All the other kids had been playing for years and could skate circles around me. But that didn’t matter I wanted to be like the Oilers – I loved the game. I worked my ass of – I took speed skating twice a week, I would practice anytime I could, I read about hockey, I watched hockey on TV, I practiced, lived and breathed hockey. I was surprised that none of the other kids were in speed skating – in fact I was ridiculed by the other kids that I was spending time skating circles on one foot backwards while holding my stick up behind my back.

I wasn’t the star on the team – I wasn’t even close – I think I had a couple of assists all year. But it didn’t matter – I was playing the game I loved and it took up every spare minute I had. I was passionate.

The first year I was awarded ‘Most Improved Player’ – which is really a pat on the head, “good job” just enough to motivate the young player to come back again next year despite sucking all season.

Off season – more speed skating, playing street hockey all day, shooting a tennis ball against the garage door until night and coming in only because I couldn’t see  - sorry mom! the garage door had so many dents in it by end of summer.

The next year I cam back more prepared. More speed skating. I had switched positions to goalie and once again was awarded ‘Most Improved Player’ at the end of the year for starting off as a shitty goalie and ending up as a goalie that could win games.

Thew third year was a different story – I finally knew what I was doing and had a good year. At the end I was awarded ‘Most Valuable Player’.

I truly loved the game. Practicing outside in -20 weather (it’s Canada so that’s celsius) freezing, tired, hurt, sick… didn’t matter, I was going to play and no one could stop me.

It took three years to get any kind of respect from my team mates but that’s ok, I had to earn it. Nothing is given for free.

It is part of nature – you have people who sports comes naturally to without having to do much extra work (Ernie Schroeder – hockey, baseball, football – he played them all and excelled), and there those of us who have to work step by step to just be on the same playing field.

Music isn’t much different.

When I switched from playing hockey to playing guitar I was starting from square one and years had gone by so I was once again starting late in comparison to others around me.

That meant lessons every week, lots off practicing before and after school, weekends – I was a teenager that didn’t go out, I stayed in and played guitar. My mom actually came to me one weekend and asked, “aren’t you going out? All the other kids go out?” – She was either weirded out by a teenager who didn’t sneak out and get wasted all the time or she was trying to get me out of the house. Regardless, my passion was now music and playing guitar.

The whole reason I started either was passion.

I lived it and pushed hard to be the best.

It kills me when I watch bands today and they look like they just showed up after shop class, there is no aspect of a ‘show’ in their performance and they come off stage saying how they are best band in town.

Really?

For some reason bands have gotten into an attitude where everything is owed to them. They feel they should have a manager, a booking agent, and for christ’s sake why the hell they aren’t signed to a multi-million dollar deal doesn’t make any sense to them.

Bands have to earn the respect from managers, bookers, labels – they have to work hard, in fact BE THE BEST to even attract any sort of attention from the industry.

First question to any band.

“When was your last tour?”

Oddly enough most bands, I’m guessing 90%… no wait 95% of bands will say they haven’t toured. And a tour involves more than the three day weekend, it’s more like at least 30 days on the road.

Common answers include “We won;t go out until it makes sense” – meaning someone who doesn’t know you from an ass hole in the wall is going to take their hard earned cash and just give it to you so that it makes sense to you to drive to a city you have no fans in so you can play to an empty room. It only makes sense to the band.

So here is the root of the problem – bands by nature are often selfish and have a huge ego (that’s ok if you are the kid who everything comes naturally to but unfortunately there’s not too many Gretzky’s around).

Bands have to be willing to sacrifice, do everything it takes, practice, work, live , breath music – day in day out. It may take a few years to get it down and to earn the respect of your peers. It may take more than 5 years. But if you as a band are not – going on tours that help you in improving your skills, growing your audience, selling tickets, selling merch – you will not get the respect of others easily.

We hear about the bad managers, bad record deals, bad booking agents – rarely do we hear that the truth of the story is lazy band never went on the road but managed to get a manager and he didn’t have much to work with, booking agent picks up a band because he likes the music and there’s something to work with but the band is hard to work with and aren’t willing to take the bookings offered.

It all has to come down to why are you even doing this. Forget money, forget working with managers, bookers, labels – passion. Remember the passion and hold onto it and go full steam ahead. Don’t even approach other people to help you – just be the best band and people will naturally come to you.

In hockey they call it scouting – people who are paid to go find the stars. Do you think Gretzky was thinking about what NHL team he was going to be on when he was ten years old playing for the Brantford Nadrofsky Steelers and scored 378 goals and 139 assists - media paying attention since then. If you are a hockey fan we have all seen the home video of young Gretzky skating around on the home made rink his father, Walter Gretzky had made.

Passion will take you far – forget about everyone else, they will come to you if you are good. To get good you need to practice your craft and for bands that means more than rehearsing – get out on the road and practice performing, grow your audience and get known. Every time you play, play your hardest.

IF – however you find your self pushing it and it seems like work and you don’t taking the time…. maybe music isn’t for you.