The Zambonis

100% Hockey… and Other Stuff (Dot Dot Dash)
by Nik Rainey

In the admittedly limited realm of indie sports-rock, a few notables stand out. Part-Time Christians’ Rock and Roll Is Disco, with its whole side of songs about bowling, is one. As is the tape some friend of a friend’s acquaintance made a few years back, redoing The Wall as a conceptual paean to his varsity softball team (improved on the original, I’d say). Now, admit one more to the pantheon – The Zambonis. Fifteen songs about hockey and… uh, hockey.

Makes sense, really – hockey is the hardcore punk of sports. Lotsa violent action for no good reason, and there’s usually some kind of skating involved. For some reason, few have picked up on the obvious similarities between the two (does SlapShot count? Only to four, I’ll bet). Yet in spite of what you may think, the Sport of Toothless Kings is not so limited a subject to hang a whole CD upon. Every conceivable human emotion is covered: love (“The Referee’s Daughter”), longing (“Away Game”), envy (“Davey Hatrick”), avarice (“I Wanna Drive The Zamboni”)… the list goes on and on. And the Z’s know how to keep the stylistic variations comin’ as well. “Shot… Score!” is organ-draped ‘core that makes me wish they’d give up playing “Lady of Spain” at Bruins games in favor of, say, “TV Party.” “I Wanna Drive…” brings to mind classic Camper Van Beethoven. And if you wanna cross the blue line into the Sun Ravian cosmos, they can lay on the sonic mantra (“The Goalie Is Drunk,” “Fox Hockey”) or evoke The Rink Beyond (“Zamboni Race In Outer Space,” “Hockey On The Moon”). 100% Hockey… sets my mind wandering and gives me ideas. How about a penalty box at all-ages matinees for moshing infractions? Bleacher-diving at the Fleet Center? Ah, such sweet icy dreams. All hail puck rock!