Guts of The Ice - An Exploration of "Puck" Rock/Hockey-core #18: Mouthpiece's Tim McMahon Unearths SLAPSHOT Mask Origins (Revelation Records Speak Up)
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!
It's long been suspected the original source for SLAPSHOT's iconic "goalie mask" logo (first seen on 1988's Same Mistake / Might Makes Right) was an old TV Guide ad. Although, no one in years past has ever been able to find said supposed advertisement for Friday The 13th. Additionally, avid fans of both Punk/Hardcore and Horror movies will quickly notice the mask displayed across SLAPSHOT's Same Mistake 7-inch looks eerily different than Jason Voorhees' infamous mask. Plus, it appears as though Jason didn't even start wearing a hockey mask on-film until 1982's Friday The 13th Part III. We recently stumbled upon a post on Instagram by @xxxfanzine, which began with "The origin of the @slapshotboston mask spelt out by @doublecrossxx, which can now be found at the @revhq site..." xXx Fanzine are, of course, referring to Face The Enemy, Hands Tied, Mouthpiece, Search & Triple Threat frontman Tim McMahon's recurring Double Cross column as part of Revelation Records' newly-launched Speak Up on RevHQ. McMahon, his cousin, Bob O'Rourke, and SLAPSHOT's ex-drummer/founding member Mark McKay have finally unearthed the origins of said SLAPSHOT/Friday The 13th mask. Below, you will find Tim McMahon's recent SLAPSHOT Mask Origins feature as part of Revelation Records & Double Cross' collaborative Speak Up column. Shout-out to xXx Fanzine for the initial tip!
Sincerely,
Matt "The Witzard" Horowitz
Puck Rock/Hardcore Purveyor
"Years ago, when we were doing daily entries on Double Cross, I was in touch with original SLAPSHOT drummer, Mark McKay, and we talked about the origins of the legendary SLAPSHOT goalie mask used on the cover of the Same Mistake / Might Makes Right [1998] 7-inch. Mark was pretty sure he had found the image in an old copy of TV Guide that was advertising for Friday The 13th running on TV. Mark & I went back-and-forth quite a few times on the subject; he was having a hard time finding the original cut-out ad and I was having a hard time finding any trace of the ad on The Internet.
Fast-forward all these years later and I get my Horror fanatic cousin, Bob, on the case. I figured, if anyone was going to dig this ad up online somewhere, it would be him. As I hoped, within an hour or two, Bob produced this ad. The ad was, actually, never in a copy of TV Guide, but an October 26, 1986 issue of The Boston Globe, instead. I shot the ad over to Mark McKay to confirm and, indeed, he assured me that was it. So, here it is in all it's glory, the original Friday The 13th ad for TV38 WSBK. Thanks to Bob for finding it and finally settling this mystery and thanks to Mark for bringing the idea up in the first place."
- Tim "DCXX" McMahon (@doublecrossxx)
