When Smithers-based singer-songwriter Mark Perry heard about the fatal Humboldt Broncos bus crash in Saskatchewan last April, he felt numb.
The former up-and-coming hockey player and rural hockey coach went to his shed to deal. He wrote a song called Cold Road.
鈥淟ike so many Canadians, I was heartbroken. Years ago I played hockey with guys from the Moosejaw Warriors, Saskatoon Blades and Humboldt Broncos, among others,鈥� said Perry. 鈥淚 played as a kid along with my four brothers. My son played hockey. I coached a lot of teens 鈥� Everything felt really close to home.鈥�
The Northwest is similar to much of Canada鈥檚 sparsely-populated landscape where sports teams need to travel far and wide, back and forth along icy highways, to get to their games.
Cold Road will be released Monday, March 18 when it gets premiered on national online magazine Roots Music Canada at . Online viewers will be able to listen in and feel a little bit of what hockey means to Canadians.
鈥淚 have played Cold Road live in Calgary, Toronto and Montreal this year and the response has been a little emotional.
鈥淗ockey is so much a part of our fabric here in Canada. People relate to really going for it 鈥� following that dream of making it to the NHL.鈥�
Perry was encouraged to record the song, called up producer Jordy Walker from the Yukon and musical comrades Tobin Frank of Spirit of the West, Mark Thibeault, Ian Olmstead, and Mip to record the track this winter.
Perry is not new to the recording and performing world; he has 12 albums out, performs frequently in his northwest Canadian region, and has begun to broaden his reach.
His songs are getting a new rush of international airtime and favourable review in places like New Zealand, the UK, and across North America since he made his debut this winter at an International Music Conference in Montreal.
Perry鈥檚 manager Sandra Smith is a new addition to Perry鈥檚 鈥渕ostly solo鈥� team, and is pleased to see his music finally leak out.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very cool to watch the rest of the world begin to discover him,鈥� she said.
In the past two months he鈥檚 been played on radio stations from Alabama to Alaska, New York to New Zealand, and England to El Paso, Texas.
鈥淲hen it comes to Canadian singer-songwriters, he鈥檚 one of our best but, until now, he鈥檚 been a well-kept secret, quietly doing his thing fairly close to home.鈥�
Perry is known for his storytelling style and often makes legends out of local characters and events in his rural northwest region.
Smith refers to music reviewer Frank Peebles who she says 鈥渘ailed it鈥� recently when he wrote, 鈥淣ew Jersey has Springsteen. New York has Billy Joel. Northern B.C. has Mark Perry. These are the storytellers of their time and place.鈥�
- Submitted Story
