Guts of The Ice - An Exploration of "Puck" Rock/Hockey-core #11: The Hanson Brothers' John "Johnny Hanson" Wright (Nomeansno/D.O.A.)
Not entirely unlike Wrestle/Wrassle Rap or Basketball Rap, there's, apparently, a whole sub-genre of hockey-themed Punk/Hardcore—oftentimes, referred to as "Puck" Rock or Hockey-core. Yes, I've been a die-hard fan of Punk/Hardcore for 15+ years and I, too, only first heard about Puck Rock within the last few weeks. Although, once I started diggin' around, I discovered about 10-15 bands at the forefront; this was, then, gradually narrowed down to 10 "front-line" bands, which will be chronicled here over the course of coming weeks. The "top-scoring" bands we selected include: Crippled Youth, SLAPSHOT, The Hanson Brothers/Nomeansno, Two Man Advantage, The Boils, D.O.A. THE ZAMBONIS, Pansy Division, The Hextalls, and THE RAMOMS' "Gritty Is A Punk" flexi-disc. We sent out a short 6-question interview form to all of the aforementioned bands, received some back, heard a few choice words, and still have yet to hear from a few more. We'll be running those interviews, as well as features, profiles, etc. in the coming weeks. EDITOR'S NOTE: be warned, while I'm a casual hockey fan, I DO NOT claim to be an "expert" on the sport, nor will I EVER claim to know "everything" about hockey-themed Punk/Hardcore. Now, let's just try to have some fun and learn more about the sub-genre together!
The Hanson Brothers (no, not THOSE Hanson Brothers!) were the first Hockey Punk/Puck Rock band we ever heard about, long before we fully understood what hockey-infused Punk/Hardcore was... widely known as a "one-off" project of Nomeansno, which ultimately pumped out three full-lengths, one live album, a 4-way split with Anti-Flag, The Automatics & J.F.A. and countless EP's and singles. Spearheaded by founding members and real-life brothers John & Rob Wright, or Johnny & Robbie Hanson, The Hanson Brothers featured a rotating cast of players from their main band, Nomeansno. The Hans took their name, and partly their personas, from cult favorite 1977 Hockey/Comedy film Slap Shot featuring a troupe of rink-rousing bullies known as The Hanson Brothers. Both Nomeansno & The Hanson Brothers "hung up their skates" and went into retirement in 2016. John Wright would go on to produce albums for D.O.A. Victims Family, and The Showbusiness Giants. Today, John Wright, along with Marcus Kolb, is part of the artist collective behind Berlin-based artist Frank Barnes' animatronic Robot Rock "band" COMPRESSORHEAD; Wright acts as the vocal coach for robot "player" and lead singer Mega-Wattson. The Wright Brothers opened up their own brewpub/bar, The Wildwood Public House, in Powell River, British Columbia, Canada in early 2019. We recently spoke to John Wright himself, via email, who admitted to us, he hasn't "watched hockey since The Canucks lost The Cup to Boston..." and hasn't had "TV, Internet, or even cell phone service for the last seven and a half years!" Read our Puck Rock-centric conversation down below the break!
Sincerely,
Matt "The Witzard" Horowitz
Puck Rock/Hardcore Purveyor
01. How did you first get into both hockey and Punk/Hardcore music?
John Wright: Well, I got into Punk Rock at the end of seventies in what was to become a very great West Coast music scene. D.O.A. were my first Punk Rock experience in Victoria [British Columbia, Canada] in '79. They, basically, invented "Hardcore," though, I would say it was The Neos from Victoria that really invented the version of "Hardcore Punk Rock" that became the signature sound and speed and intensity we associate with Hardcore music. So many great bands came out around here, at that time. I was hockey fan as a kid, as most Canadian kids were, of course; but, I guess, when Pat Quinn took over The Canucks, I really got back into it as an adult.
02. What made you decide to combine hockey and Punk/Hardcore stylings through music?
Wright: In the mid-eighties, as Nomeansno and avid Ramones fans, we took it upon ourselves to write some Ramones-style Punk Rock [songs] for fun and as they were fictitious "brothers," we thought we would do the same, Canadian-style. So, it had to be all about hockey, beer, and love gone wrong and when you combine that with the classic hockey movie Slap Shot; brothers and Hansons were synonymous! Then, it took on a life of its own.
03. For fans new to the "Puck" Rock/Hardcore sub-genre, which release(s) from throughout your discography would you recommend starting out with?
Wright: Without losing a sense of humour here, I am not too modest to say that we managed three full-length albums that perfectly captured the innocence and intensity of pure Punk Rock and old time hockey. Our second release, Sudden Death, originally on Virgin Canada, was remixed and released again about 10 years ago. It encompasses it all and with the improved mix, it was all the more bone-crunching. However, the first, Gross Misconduct, on [Alternative Tentacles] is the classic and [My] Game on Mint Records is the icing on the cake, the one with the accolades.
04. Aside from your own band's music, what other hockey-themed groups, releases, singles, etc. would you recommend, as well?
Wright: Well, we put out [Johnny Hanson Presents...] Puck Rock, Vol. 1-2 and they have a great line-up of bands. Not all hockey-themed, but all worth checking into.
05. If still active, what are the future plans for your band? If currently inactive, do you have any immediate plans for any special re-issues or a proper reunion/comeback?
Wright: We continue to have offers, but not sure we will lace 'em up again. We managed to play in four decades, but not sure we will match Gordie [Howe], who, of course, played professionally in five decades.
06. How did your relationship with D.O.A. & Joey "Sh*thead" Keithley initially start? I've noticed there are numerous Hansons/D.O.A. releases, including the Beat 'em, Bust 'em / Can't Hide The Heino 6-inch, "The Enemy" from Stomp 'em, and 1993's Loggerheads, which you played on and produced.
Wright: Apart from being a fan, as we grew up in The West Coast scene, eventually, our paths crossed professionally and in '86, Nomeansno played with D.O.A. for 10 shows in The States when our tours crossed paths and from that, we ended up playing quite a few shows with them, including a long American Tour in '87 and our first tour in Australia in '93. And, yes, I produced two D.O.A. records, 13 Flavours of Doom (1992) and Loggerheads (1993) and and performed on one other, The Black Spot (1995.) It was in '87, when I had to sub in [on] drums for three shows, that I was "officially" entered into the D.O.A. Family Tree ha! Keep your head up, COVID has a mean elbow...