Hanson Brothers Turn Punk Rock

Hanson Brothers Turn Punk Rock
By Jim Iovino, Ace Reporter

Hey there hockey fans, do ya like to rock and roll? Or maybe you're just sick of listening to the country twang of "I want to drive the Zamboni" during every intermission at the local rink?
If so, then a punk rock band from Cold Lake, Alberta has just the thing for you.
The group called Hanson Brothers, which is actually the band NoMeansNo in disguise, have compiled an entire album dedicated to hockey called Sudden Death. The album is due out in stores today, Oct. 15th.
Unlike the real Hanson Brothers, the nice boys who played for the Charlestown Chiefs in the cult movie Slapshot, these Hanson Brothers can't skate, but, like many of us, they share the same burning desire to watch hockey players beat the hell out of each other. The punk band loves old time hockey so much they decided to put their music to good use by teaming up with the real Hanson Brothers for several projects in the hockey community.
The new album includes 15 songs, most of which deal with hockey. If you like beer--drinking punk songs, then you'll like Sudden Death. If you like Jon Secada, well, you might not like this all-out guitar and drum driven album.
Sudden Death opens with a true punk rendition of Tom Connors' "The Hockey Song." After that gets the blood boiling, the Hansons come back hard again with "Stick Boy." At first glance, one might think this is a song about Ziggy Palffy, the Fishstick Boy, but in actuality it's a song about a stick boy. Despite the disappointment of finding out the song is not about Ziggy, you really just can't go wrong with a song called "Stick Boy."
The Hansons, who list The Ramones as a musical influence, break away from the hockey theme for a few songs to sing about women and beer. But soon hockey is back on their minds with a tribute to the enforcers in the NHL called "Third Man In." Here's a little taste of the lyrical wonderment found in this song: "Two's company, three's a crowd/ Helpin' out your buddy, well it ain't allowed/ Now I'm up in the press box, sawin' a log/ I gotta room with the coach's dog."
Other hockey related songs on the album include "Danielle (She Don't Care About Hockey)," "Rink Rat," "He Looked A lot Like Tiger Williams" and the grand finale "Sudden Death," an instrumental track.
Besides the new album, the punk Hansons are teaming up with the hockey Hansons on a few other projects. First, the two are combining on a 60-minute video entitled Hanson Brothers Hockey Havoc which will use the punk Hansons' music as background while the hockey Hansons roll some of their favorite "old time hockey" action.
The Hansons are also joining in an effort to get Dave "Tiger" Williams into the Hockey Hall of Fame. As unbelievable as it may seem, Williams, the NHL all-time leader in penalty minutes, has yet to see his day at the Hall. Williams played for five teams during his 14-year career in the NHL, scoring 513 points (241 goals) to go along with his record 3,966 penalty minutes in 962 career games.
Williams seems to epitomize "old time hockey" for both groups of Hansons. The two say Williams deserves to be in the Hall of Fame more than "some of these fancy, schmancy no-hitting prima donna scoring aces."
If you can't find a ballot to send in, no problem. Just E-mail the punk Hansons at poe@conspiracy.com with the subject: Let Tiger In! Or visit their web site at http://www.conspiracy.com/essential_noise/