Source:
http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/magazine/article/1413230
Photo: Postmedia News Service
Craig Northey is a busy man these days, and he's fielding more media calls than he ever has as leader of Vancouver power-pop band the Odds
Members of the Odds sport their Canucks gear prior to last week's opening Stanley Cup game. Shown are Murray Atkinson, left, Pat Steward, drums, Doug Elliottt, bass, and lead man Craig Northey.
By now, most hockey-loving Canadians should know the Odds, Rogers Arena's scraggly house band that has been playing during the opening moments of the Canucks games during the team's playoff run.
Over the past two months or so, the Odds have become a bit of a sensation - more so, Northey would argue, than the band ever was in its heyday in the '90s. During the playoffs, the Vancouver four-piece has been sharing the stage and the screen on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada with high-profile guests such as Elvis Costello, Colin James, The Tragically Hip's Rob Baker and, of course, Don Cherry.
As the run for the cup progresses, The Vancouver Sun called Northey to talk about the Canucks, The Odds, hockey superstitions and, ultimately, what it all really means for the Canucks' house band.
Q: What has been the craziest moment so far?
A: It's fairly surreal just being in the crowd and playing these songs because we're separated as a band. I think the most interesting moments have been when you realize you've done the whole game and then you meet up with the band and you haven't seen them the whole time. You've performed these songs but you can't communicate with visual cues or talk to each other until it's all over.
Q: So you don't play in that little room together the whole game?
A: Well, we start there - by ourselves or with a guest - and that's what you see on television. We play in one of the suites and then the camera pans out from us over to the ice for the puck drop. And then we man the battle stations and pick up our little amplifiers and run with the drums and bass and the two guitars to different areas of the rink - Murray Atkinson and I will pop out on the 300 level and Doug Elliott, the bass player, will be behind the net, and Pat Steward? will be on the 400 level with his drums - and we play these snippets of classic rock battle anthems throughout the game.
Q: Would you say it's the most exposure the Odds have ever had?
A: Every band has its salad days, but this is the most ridiculous extent of exposure we've had. Hockey Night in Canada reaches people you wouldn't reach if you're just a power-pop band that managed to thread the needle in the '90s and get on the radio. The rest of the time we continue to produce music that we like and that doesn't necessarily appeal to everyone. But Hockey Night in Canada does appeal to everyone: All ages, all cultures, everyone is tuned in. Only a certain percentage make any kind of connection to our past or the songs we've had on the radio. They just see the crazy men with their beards and their jerseys on playing their instruments.
Q: You've been rocking that playoff beard for a while now. How is the beard doing?
A: Well, the beard is a very valuable beard. We're in the NHLPA Beard-a-thon and I'm in sixth place. We're trying to raise money for the Heart and Stroke Foundation and you can pledge money for our beards (beardathon.ca).
Q: Do you have any superstitions in getting ready for the games?
A: I've filled such a huge matrix of superstitions that I can't pinpoint one. (Laughs.) They're all tied together like a web. There are a million standard genuflections of hockey superstitions happening in this household.
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