How the St. Louis Blues reclaimed the old arena organ

Doing some prep for my Algonquin College Sports Business Management class this week, where we're talking about the role of music in sports. Found this interesting article about how the St. Louis Blues re-acaquired the original stadium organ.  This article appeared on CBSSports.com in January, 2013.

For a franchise with an identity so closely tied to music, the St. Louis Blues organization must have been overjoyed when it reclaimed an important piece of its musical heritage.

Chris Kerber, the radio voice of the Blues, tweeted Tuesday that the team had reacquired the organ that used to fill old St. Louis Arena with its upbeat melodies and St. Louis staple When The Saints Go Marching In.

 According to team COO Bruce Affleck, he had received a message from an old family neighbor who was in possession of the same organ that long-time organist Ernie Hayes used to play at Blues home games.

"His dad ended up with the organ, not sure how," Affleck explained in an email to CBSSports.com.

"The message said, 'Bruce, this is Bob Dienstbach and I just wanted you to know we are putting this organ Ernie Hays used to play at the old Arena on Craigslist.' "

Seeing an opportunity to reclaim this important piece of team history, Affleck jumped into action. "I called right away and left him a message and said we would buy it sight unseen, which we did," Affleck said. He did not disclose the amount paid.

According to a Jan. 3 report from KPLR in St. Louis, Dienstbach listed the organ online for $1,000.

 The organ was delivered to the Blues on Tuesday.

 Also according to the KPLR story, Dienstbach and reporter Patrick Clark inadvertently uncovered a floppy disk and hand-written notes in the organ's seat. The disk included original music they believed to be recorded by Hayes, which is playable from the organ.

 According to Affleck, the team's current organist, Jeremy Boyer, was a protégé of Hayes'. The former organist was a St. Louis institution, playing for both the Blues and Cardinals for many years. Hayes passed away last October at the age of 77.

 UPDATE: According to team spokesman Rich Jankowski, Hayes' old organ will not be replacing the one currently in Scottrade Center, but the plan is to "use it at some point." Now that the instrument that helped make Hayes a local legend is back in the rotation, fans can think back to the days when the in-game entertainment consisted of the hockey on the ice and the organ music in the air.
 

Baseball organist Nancy Faust is now available in bobblehead format

This is pretty cool. It's a bobblehead honouring Nancy Faust, former organist for the Chicago White Sox.  She plays the organ occasionally for the Kane County Cougars (Chicago Cubs affiliate), who are giving these bobbleheads on Sunday, August 11.

See also: Detroit Red Wings PA Announcer Budd Lynch Bobblehead

What the organ (and organist) looks like at Centre Bell in Montreal

From Ottawa CBC reporter Stu Mills' Twitter feed in the playoffs:

Diane Bibaud's Farfisa...which also moved over from The Montreal Forum. #cbcott pic.twitter.com/FRDsTUUdx0
— Stu Mills (@StuMillsCBC) May 2, 2013

Canadiens organist since '87, a very warm and friendly Diane Bibaud in her office. pic.twitter.com/4N759i0TXS
— Stu Mills (@StuMillsCBC) May 2, 2013

Vancouver Canucks ask fans to help them choose a new entrance song

I'm not a fan of some of the songs they've shortlisted (can we please move on from Welcome to the Jungle?!), but the execution here is good: "Project NU2".

• The House that Heaven Built – Japandroids
• We Are – Static in the Stars
• Burn it to the Ground – Nickelback
• Welcome to the Jungle – Guns & Roses
• A Warrior’s Call – Volbeat
• Stockholm – DJ MEG

"A few weeks ago we launched Project NU2, the official Vancouver Canucks hunt for a new entrance song. We laid out criteria for what the team is looking for in a fresh tune and then opened the floor to you, our beloved fans. 

We received 2,853 submissions and the range of music was phenomenal; from The Who, Sam Roberts, April Wine and Toby Mac to Queen, The Hives, The Wallflowers and the Cobra Skulls, there was something for everyone – and yet the debate rages on. 

After carefully sifting through the results (well, not me personally, I’d play Foo Fighters every game as the intro, goal song and between periods!) we’ve gathered the top six songs, as determined by you, and we’re putting it to another vote."

(Thanks CC for the pointer.) 

Over 100 Absolutely True Facts About Christmas Carols

For the past week I've been publishing Christmas carol trivia on Twitter: @xmascarolfacts

Here are all the facts in one big list.  Merry Christmas.

1. The French lyrics to "Twelve Days of Christmas" include eight chewing cows, three wooden branches and seven windmills. 
2. Paul McCartney played every instrument and sang on his song "Simply Having A Wonderful Christmastime." 
3. "Silent Night" has"intangible cultural heritage" according to UNESCO. 
4. "The Huron Carol" (or "Jesous Ahatonhia") is considered to be the first Canadian Christmas carol, written by Jean de Brebeuf around 1642. 
5. The original lyric for "Silver Bells" was actually "Tinkle Bells", inspired by a tiny bell on the desk of composers Livingston and Evans. 
6. According to this web site, 12 of 25 most popular Christmas songs were written by Jewish composers.
7. "12 Days of Christmas": In Britain, the lyrics are "my true love SENT to me". In the United States, the lyrics are "my true love GAVE to me". 
8. "The Christmas Song" (aka "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire") was written by Mel Torme and Bob Wells on a blistering hot summer day. 
9. Meredith Willson, the composer of "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas", was once a member of John Philip Sousa's band. 
10. Charles Dickens references "God Rest You Merry Gentlemen" in his classic "A Christmas Carol". 
11. Gemini 7 astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell asked to have "I'll Be Home For Christmas" played for them while they were in orbit in 1965. 
12. Thurl Ravenscroft sang "You're A Mean One Mister Grinch". He was also the voice for Tony The Tiger of Frosted Flakes fame. 
13. "O Tannenbaum" was originally a tragic love song. During the 19th century it evolved into a Christmas song. 
14. "Carol of the Bells" is based on a Ukranian folk song called "Shchedryk", which originally celebrated the coming of spring. 
15. Chuck Berry's "Run Run Rudolph" was co-written by Johnny Marks, who wrote the original "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" song.
16. The "Currier & Ives" mentioned in "Sleigh Ride" was a 19th century printmaking firm. 
17. The park across from the Grand Hotel in Yarmouth (referenced in "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas") is called "Frost Park".
18. "Must Be Santa" is based on a German drinking song.
19. In "Up on the Housetop", Santa brings one of the kids a hammer and tacks. Another child gets a whip. 
20. "Merry Christmas Baby" dates back to 1947. Recorded by Johnny Moore's Three Blazers, a west coast blues group. 
21. The first year royalties from Wham's "Last Christmas" were donated to charity after an out-of-court settlement of a copyright dispute. 
22. "Feliz Navidad, próspero año y felicidad" translates to "Merry Christmas, a prosperous year and happiness". 
23. Music publishers at first rejected "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" because they thought it was too childish and wouldn't sell. 
24. The German lyrics to "O Christmas Tree" ("O Tannenbaum") aren't about a Christmas tree specifically.  They're about a fir tree.
25. "Little Drummer Boy" was originally published as "Carol of the Drum", and was based on a Czech Christmas carol.
26. Felix Mendelssohn composted the tune to "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" as a tribute to printer/inventor Johann Gutenberg. 
27. Gene Autry got the idea for "Here Comes Santa Claus" after riding his horse in a parade in Los Angeles in 1946. 
28. Fascinating history of the making of The Pogues' "Fairytale of New York".
29. TV Guide named the Crosby-Bowie "Little Drummer Boy" duet as as one of the 25 most memorable musical moments of 20th-century tv. 
30. "O Holy Night" was the second piece of music to ever be broadcast on radio, in 1906. 
31. "Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella" is a 16th century French carol, originally used as dance music by French nobles. 
32. There's no mention of Christmas in the lyrics of "Let It Snow". It was written in Hollywood, California. 
33. The Grand Hotel from "It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas" is believed to be in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. 
34. Paul McCartney used an Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 synth on "Simply Having A Wonderful Christmastime". 
35. "White Christmas" actually has a first verse about a New Yorker stranded in Los Angeles for Christmas. 
36. Lyricist Richard Smith was inspired to write "Winter Wonderland" after seeing a park in Honesdale, Pennsylvania covered in snow. 
37. The music for John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" is based on a folk song called "Stewball". 
38. Richard Smith, the lyricist for "Winter Wonderland", was a newspaper editor before his career in music. 
39. The "Holly and the Ivy" are Pagan fertility symbols. They've also been used as Christmas church decorations since at least the 15th century. 
40. "O Christmas Tree" (aka O Tannenbaum) music is based on a 16th century Silesian folk song.
41. Some historians believe "O Come All Ye Faithful" is actually an ode to the birth of Bonnie Prince Charlie, aka Charles III, born in 1720. 
42. Chuck Berry's "Run Run Rudolph" was co-written by Johnny Marks, who wrote the original "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" song.
43. As far as I can tell, Lady Gaga is the only performer to release a Christmas song about oral sex.
44. One industry insider estimates Paul McCartney earns about $500k annually in royalties from "Wonderful Christmastime"
45. Jingle Bells was originally composed for Thanksgiving.
46. Mariah Carey wrote "All I Want For Christmas Is You" as a tribute to her then-husband, Tommy Mottola. 
47. Chris Rea's "Driving Home for Christmas" was inspired by a road trip. He was stuck in traffic in an Austin Mini.
48. "We Three Kings" was written by Reverend John Henry Hopkins, Jr. In 1857 for an annual Christmas pageant. 
49. The five golden rings in "12 Days of Christmas" probably refers to a bird, not jewelry.
50. There's a statue of Good King Wenceslas at Wenceslaus Square in Prague. 
51. It's "The First Noël", not "The First Nowell". Noël is the French word for Christmas. 
52. Dick Smith wrote the words for "Winter Wonderland" while recovering from tuberculosis in Scranton, Pennsylvania. 
53. Australians have their own version of "Twelve Days of Christmas" where all of the animals are replaced by wildlife from down under. 
54. "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" was once used by Jamaica in a tourism commercial. 
55. Irving Berlin, composer of "White Christmas", once claimed it is "the best song anybody's ever written". 
56. "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" dates back to the 16th century, when carolers would sing in exchange for food or gifts. Trick or treat?
57. During the Christmas Truce in 1914 during WWI, soldiers from Germany, France and Britain ceased fire and sang "Silent Night" together. 
58. "Although Fairytale of New York" mentions the NYPD choir, New York's police department does not in fact have a choir. 
59. Bing Crosby's last television appearance was in 1977 when he performed "Little Drummer Boy" with David Bowie. 
60. "Silent Night" has been translated into at least 140 languages. 
61. "Winter Wonderland" is frequently used by soccer fans in Britain. They make up new lyrics to taunt opposing fans. 
62. Randy Bachman recorded a Christmas version of "Takin' Care of Business" called "Takin' Care of Christmas".
63. "Jingle Bell Rock" was featured in the opening of the movie Lethal Weapon. 
64. Charles Brown, the pianist on the original 1947 version of "Merry Christmas Baby", also performed the song with Bonnie Raitt in 1992. 
65. In the Johnny Marks' "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" (1949) it's Donner but in the "A Visit From Santa Claus" poem (1823) it's Dunder. 
66. U2's Adam Clayton played bass on "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and Phil Collins played drums. 
67. "Mele Kalikimaka" was written by Hawaiian businessman R. Alex Anderson, who wrote songs as a hobby. 
68. The lyrics to "Sleigh Ride" never specifically mention Christmas, but do include mention of a birthday party at the home of Farmer Gray. 
69. Brenda Lee was 13 when she recorded "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree". 
70. "Good King Wenceslas" may have been murdered by his own brother back in 935. (That's not part of the song.) 
71. In 1964, after performing "Little Saint Nick" on television, Brian Wilson had a nervous breakdown. 
72. "Do You Hear What I Hear" was written by Noël Regney and Gloria Shayne. It was inspired by the Cuban Missile Crisis. 
73. Most Christmas songs are written in a major key, but "God Rest You Merry Gentlemen" is in a minor key. It also contains the word "Satan". 
74. "Christmas in Hollis" by Run-D.M.C. samples Clarence Carter's "Back Door Santa". 
75. There's a version of "Twelve Days of Christmas" sung in Sussex, England where the calling birds are replaced by canaries. 
76. "Little St. Nick by the Beach Boys" is remarkably similar to "Little Deuce Coupe" by The Beach Boys.
77. Bing Crosby's real name is Harry Lillis Crosby. He was born on May 3, 1903 and died October 14, 1977 at age 74. 
78. The actual lyric is "Deck the Hall", not "Deck the Halls". (Hall is singular, not plural.) 
79. In 1977, Canada Post issued a series of three stamps commemorating "The Huron Carol".
80. Bryan Adams' "Christmas Time" was recorded in Vancouver, British Columbia and was originally issued on green vinyl. 
81. You can sing the words of "House of the Rising Sun" to the melody of "O Little Town of Bethlehem". (And vice versa.) 
82. If you bought everything in "The 12 Days of Christmas", it would cost you $107,300.
83. There's a traditional french carol called "Quelle est cette odeur agréable?". Translation: "What is that pleasant smell?"
84. Darlene Love also recorded a non-holiday version of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" called "Johnny (Baby Please Come Home)". 
85. "Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues has been in the top 20 in the UK every December since 2005. 
86. Reveren John Henry Hopkins, Jr., who wrote "We Three Kings", was also a stained glass artist and book illustrator. 
87. Wizzard recorded "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" in August, and wore coats and scarves in the studio for inspiration. 
88. "O Tannenbaum" is German for "O Fir Tree". 
89. Boney M's hit Christmas album was produced by Frank Farian, who later went on to create and produce for Milli Vanilli. 
90. On the fourth day of Christmas, the original lyric was "four colly birds", also known as blackbirds. 
91. The first five singers on "Do They Know It's Christmas" are Paul Young, Boy George, George Michael, Simon Le Bon, and Bono. 
92. Back in 1990, everything in "The 12 Days of Christmas" cost $12,231.70.
93. Elvis recorded "White Christmas" in 1957. Composer Irving Berlin tried to get it banned from the radio. He didn't like rock and roll music.
94. Mitchell Parish, the lyricist for "Sleigh Ride", also wrote the words for "Stardust" and "Moonlight Serenade". 
95. In 1983, the Carribean Island of St. Kitts issued a postage stamp honouring the song "Mary's Boy Child". 
96. Darlene Love's recording of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" was featured in the opening titles of Gremlins. 
97. José Feliciano, the composer of "Feliz Navidad", also wrote a song called "So Long Paul" about Paul McCartney's rumoured death. 
98. The helmet and armour of Good King Wenceslas are on display inside the Prague Castle. 
99. "Silent Night" was composed by Frank Gruber to be accompanied by a guitar. That's because mice ate through the bellows of the church organ. 
100. Johnny Marks, composer of "Rudolph" (and many others),  is the great-uncle of Freakonomics co-author Steven Levitt. 
101. "Jingle Bells" was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822-1893). He was the uncle of American financier J.P. Morgan. 
102. Bing Crosby's version of "White Christmas" is one of the best-selling singles of all time, with over 50 million copies sold around the world. 
103. Lewis Redner was a real state broker, but also played the church organ and composed the music to "O Little Town of Bethlehem" in 1868. 
104. Meredith Willson, the composer of "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas", also wrote the University of Iowa's fight song. 
105. During his life time, Good King Wenceslas was a duke. Holy Roman Emperor Otto posthumously gave him his royal title. 
106. "Winter Wonderland" first became a hit after it was recorded by Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians in 1934. 
107. Corey Hart's version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was recorded live at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa in August, 1985.

What's your favourite Christmas song?  What's your favourite piece of Christmas trivia?

VIDEO: Ohio University marching band plays Fun's "Some Nights"

Music composed using data from goals scored during the 2012 NHL playoffs

Animated ambient data visualization of all goals and penalties of the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs.

"There's one instrument sound for Western Conference teams, and another for Eastern Conference teams. Higher-seeded teams are assigned a higher pitch. This means you can actually hear whether higher- or lower-seeded teams are scoring more, and if Western or Eastern Conference teams are producing more goals. A melodic loop of lap steel guitar plays in the background, tying the sounds together into some kind of pseudo-ambient, pseudo-listenable music." More info here.
Stanley Cup Summed Up from Bard Edlund on Vimeo.

"Animatronic Siamese Accordion Players Perform Katie Perry's California Girls"

The Flaming Lips write a song for the Oklahoma City Thunder

Not bad, as far as "songs written for sports teams by rock bands" goes. (via Eric Alper)

Great moments in Bobblehead giveaways: Alice Cooper

Well done Phoenix Coyotes, well done. Here's more info via Puckdaddy.

30 True Grammy Facts, Compiled

I've been researching all day to come up with these little-known Grammy facts and pop music trivia.

1. Grammy Fact: LMFAO's new single is actually a remake of an old Irving Berlin showtune, "Please Accept My Apologies For Party Rockin'" 
2. Grammy Fact: The term "Grammy" is a nod to the proliferation of cocaine in the music industry. 
3. Grammy Fact: Original Lyrics to Adele's hit song: "There's a fire / burning in my yard." 
4. Grammy Fact: "Moves Like Jagger" by Maroon 5 only has one chord. 
5. Grammy Fact: Forget Adele's return from throat surgery. Music insiders are eagerly anticipating Tony Bennett's return from laser eye surgery 
6. Grammy Fact: Tonight's Coldplay performance deliberately scheduled at end of broadcast so that they don't put everybody to sleep. Thank you. 
7. Grammy Fact: I'm not familiar with Deadmau5 but I did find one in my basement once. 
8. Grammy Fact: An old tradition is that whoever wins "Best New Artist" has to buy all the other artists a round. 
9. Grammy Fact: The award for "Best New Artist" has been handed out since 1959. Christina Aguilera has won it three times. 
10. Grammy Fact: Diana Krall, the only Canadian performing at this year's awards, was invited by accident. 
11. Grammy Fact: To reduce the length of the broadcast, all musical performances have been cut from the show this year.
12. Grammy Fact: It took me more time to write all these facts than it did for Bruno Mars to write his entire album.
13. Grammy Fact: Maroon 5 set to introduce their follow-up single, "Sits Kind Of Awkwardly At Piano Like Tori Amos".
14. Grammy Fact: LL Cool J and Dexy's Midnight Runners set to perform "Knock Out Eileen" at tonight's awards: http://t.co/shixezqN
15. Grammy Fact: Carlos Santana still refuses to do a duet with Taylor Swift.
16. Grammy Fact: The Grammy Awards have been held every year since 1959, except for 2010 during the Bird Flu epidemic.
17. Grammy Fact: Legend has it that after Alanis won in 1996, she threw her award into the Rideau Canal.
18. Grammy Fact: My kids have listened to Katy Perry's "Fireworks" about 850 times in the past year, iTunes reports.
19. Grammy Fact: Hootie and the Blowfish won Best New Artist in 1996.
20. Grammy Fact: In 1998, I was nominated (but did not win) for "Best Hockey Organist". (The category has since been dropped.)
21. Grammy Fact: Prince and Adele to perform "Some 1 Like U" on tonight's broadcast. 
22. Grammy Fact: Janet Jackson is the only artist to receive a "Best Album" award posthumously.
23. Grammy Fact: Robert Goulet, who won Best New Artist in 1963, went on to a 14-year career with the Chicago Blackhawks and Quebec Nordiques. 
24. Grammy Fact: As if Walter Ostanek has not been nominated this year. Seriously Grammys, WTF. http://bit.ly/5a85N4
25. Grammy Fact: The broadcast has had a 10-second delay ever since Raffi's explitive-filled tirade about endangered whales in 1985. 
26. Grammy Fact: The Recording Academy blamed the 1989 snub of Technotronic on a rounding error, and fired their accounting firm. 
27. Grammy Fact: DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince was originally a prank to get nominated in the "Best Contemporary Jazz Artist" category. 
28. Grammy Fact: Due to changing demographics, the Academy has added a "Best Old Artist" category this year. Nominees: Usher, Green Day. 
29. Grammy Fact: The Grammy Awards are usually held in Los Angeles, except for in 1989 when they were held in Neil Young's barn.
30. Grammy Fact: Unlike the MTV Music Awards, performers on the Grammy telecast are encouraged to play instruments.

Actually only two of these are true. Which ones?

Post Script: Incredibly, Grammy Fact #25 made it back to Raffi, who denied it via Twitter: "in a word, no. def not my style"

VIDEO: Capcity (The Sens Mix) and the story behind it

Back in November, Ottawa musician The Joynt released a great video called Capcity.  In the video, Peter Joynt is wearing a Sens t-shirt .  I called him up and asked if he was a Sens fan, and if he'd like to write a verse about the Sens that we could use at the arena.  Peter said yes, wrote the verse, and then asked if he could shoot a video too.   Here's the end result. I think it's great:

VIDEO: Ohio University Marching Band plays LMFAO's Party Rock during a halftime show

Yes, we did play that "Friday" song at the Sens game last night

Which NHL team has the loudest fans in Canada?

Here's an article from Allen Panzeri in yesterday's Ottawa Citizen, measuring how loud fans are at the six NHL arenas in Canada.  In a nutshell, Montreal is the loudest, the rest are all about the same. A good read -- even though to get accurate numbers you'd have to correct for a lot of factors, such as:

• arena acoustics
• placement of speakers vis-a-vis press box
• day of the week
• opponent
• performance of team on ice (winning the game?  good or bad season?)

Nice to see the old myth about Ottawa being a quiet arena being debunked.  Like I say in the article: when our team's playing well and the fans are excited, our building is as loud as any in the league.  (Case in point: Saturday night vs. Tampa Bay during the 3rd period and overtime.)

Here's the article:

The complaint is often heard about Scotiabank Place: It is as quiet as a morgue, filled with lifeless, unexcitable fans. Rather than serving to lift the spirits of their team, they sit on hands as if they were not watching a hockey game but browsing in a library.

That may be stretching it just a bit, but anyone who has attended a game against, say, the New Jersey Devils, knows there is some truth in it. Scotiabank Place can be deathly quiet.

But is it as quiet as it is made out to be? And how does it fare against its five Canadian rivals?
The Citizen decided to find out. We bought a hand-held decibel meter and, over the course of a long road trip, measured the sound levels in each of the six Canadian buildings: Rogers Arena in Vancouver, the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Rexall Place in Edmonton, the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, the Bell Centre in Montreal, and Scotiabank Place.

At stake was bragging rights as the loudest and proudest Canadian arena.

And who won? No surprise, really: the Bell Centre. It has the reputation of not only being the loudest arena in Canada, but as the loudest in the National Hockey League.

It was followed by the other rinks, all roughly the same. No rink was notably louder or quieter than the other, not even the much-maligned Scotiabank Place.

To the person who is responsible for game entertainment at Ottawa games, Glen Gower, that wasn't exactly a surprise.

"I've heard it often that Ottawa is the quietest," he said. "But my response is that when the team's playing well and the fans are excited, this building is as loud as any in the league.
The players agree. Defenceman Chris Phillips loves playing in Montreal. It's so loud for the players, he says, it gives them goose bumps.

"They're cheering for Montreal when things are going well, they're booing when things aren't going well, and it doesn't seem to matter: they're just loud for the entire game," he says.

"It's always a great atmosphere."

But Ottawa has had its moments, too.

Phillips doesn't even have think to pick his loudest memory. It came on May 2, 1998, when Igor Kravchuk scored the insurance goal to clinch a 3-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils and win Ottawa's first playoff series.

"That was, I think, by far the loudest I've ever heard it," Phillips says.

Nick Foligno's loudest memory came on April 14, 2008, in the third game of Ottawa's playoff series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

It was Ottawa's first playoff game at home after the 2007 run that took them to the Stanley Cup final.

"I just remember the crowd going crazy," says Foligno.

"I was like, 'Wow, that's loud.' I had never experienced anything like that before."

While there are any number of entertainment tricks, including cheerleaders, Gower could use to pump up the crowd, that's not the team's style.

"Our focus has always been that hockey is No. 1," he says."We have a long tradition of hockey in this city, going back more than 100 years with the Senators, and with institutions like the 67's. So we always want to be respectful of the game."

In Calgary, the Flames have ice girls as part of the entertainment, but hockey also always comes first, says Geordie Macleod, who is in charge of engaging the crowd.

"Our fans wouldn't have it any other way," says Macleod.

But it is still a delicate dance to keep them happy.

"The loudness level is extremely subjective," he says.

"I know what I like, but I have to respect the fans who would like it to be quieter."

The sound volume of music and other entertainment is also adjusted for the day of the week and the intensity of the game, he says. A game in the middle of the week, which is when the Senators played the Flames, would be dialed down more than, say, a Saturday night game against conference-rival Vancouver.

To do this study, starting roughly one hour before each game, we began taking measurements, including what turned out to be a set of common measurements we could use as comparisons from rink-to-rink.

They included the sound level at the home team's arrival for the pregame skate, of the music used for the pre-game skate, of the national anthem, of the music between whistles, of the cheering for a goal by the home team, and so on.

In our measurements, the Bell Centre always seemed to be a little louder than the other rinks.
We took our measurements from the press box in each building to be consistent. That means they're not as loud as they would be if taken in the lower bowl, but Gower and Macleod said the figures are a fair representation of the sound levels in their buildings.

We also took a number of random measurements, such as the cheering of a fight, of a goal by the visitors, or a good scoring chance.

My favourite was the 83.2 reading hit at the Air Canada Centre when it was announced that Daniel Alfredsson, a hated figure among Toronto fans, wouldn't be in the Ottawa lineup.

That's just about the sound level you'd expect from a group of screaming kids, which, when you think of it, is a nice metaphor for an ACC crowd.

According to NHL guidelines, teams shouldn't exceed 95 decibels for typical game entertainment, with exceptions for big goals and plays. Occupational health and safety standards typically site 85 decibels as the safe limit of an eight-hour exposure, with a reduction by half for each three-point increase.

"You want to try to keep it at a level to create some energy and not hurt people's ears," Gower says.

That was put to a test in 2006 when William Hodgetts, a professor of speech pathology and audiology at the University of Alberta, and partner Dr. Richard Liu, an otolaryngologist, measured the sound levels during games three, four, and six of the Stanley Cup final series between the Oilers and the Carolina Hurricanes.

Liu wore a noise dosimeter near his ear for every second of each game. The average turned out to be the equivalent of sitting next to a chainsaw, with the occasional blast of a jet engine.
While Liu and his wife suffered a temporary hearing loss, they recovered the next day. But it's like any loud sound, says Hodgetts: if you're exposed to it for a long time, it's going to cause problems.

"What really matters is the cumulative exposure over time," he says.

"A level of 105 could be potentially dangerous if you're exposed to it for 10 or 15 minutes, but if it's only 10 to 15 seconds, probably not."

For example, when the Habs took the ice to start the game, the level peaked at 105.2. That compared to 103.3 in Calgary, 102.6 in Toronto, 99.5 in Ottawa, 99.1 in Vancouver and 92.1 in Edmonton.

This was also reflected in the cheering at the end of the national anthem, when the buildup to the game is at a peak: 99.6 in Montreal, 93.8 in Ottawa, 91.9 in Toronto, 91.7 in Vancouver, 91.3 in Edmonton, 88.1 in Calgary.

However, what, exactly, makes the Bell Centre the loudest arena in Canada is a question that can only be partially answered. For starters, the Habs attract a young audience, with the proximity of McGill and Concordia universities and Dawson College. That means stronger lungs.

Second, it's loud because Montreal is, well, Montreal.

"Part of it is the great hockey culture they have in Montreal," says Gower.

"Every team gets as loud as Montreal when their team is playing well or when they're in the playoffs. But in Montreal every game seems to have a playoff atmosphere."

Beyond that, though, the technical side of the production must remain a mystery because the Canadiens won't reveal their trade secrets.

While every team in the league uses microphones hung from the ceiling to amplify the sounds of the game, the Canadiens, through a spokesman, said they won't discuss the way they set up their microphones and speakers.

That invariably leads to speculation of a Milli Vanilli effect -that the crowd noise is being given an artificial boost.

Or that there's a special microphone in the general manager's office and Pierre Gauthier spends the game clapping and cheering into it.

Who knows?

But even if there is a Milli Vanilli effect, so what?, asks Phillips.

"That's allowed, isn't it?" he says. "If it gets their fans excited and creates a great atmosphere for the game, why not? It makes it a great place to play."

Full article, plus stats and comparison of decibel readings from the six teams...

Steve Perry & 43,000 fans sing Don't Stop Believing at a Giants Game

I know this is old news, but we're going to talk about this in our Sports Management class on Wednesday. Going way back to the 2010 World Series, Game 2, when San Francisco Giants fans sang along with Journey's Steve Perry to Don't Stop Believing.

Here's what music industry blogger Bob Lefsetz had to say about it:

This is why we do it. This is why we write and perform music. This is why a musician’s life is richer than that of any Wall Street banker, any politician, any sports figure. 

They say that money is king, that it changes everything. But you haven’t experienced true power until you hear 40,000 people singing your song, with no bouncing ball, no coaching, but by heart. That’s how much you mean to people... 

This clip is not as good as the one of "Don’t Stop Believin’", the audio is low and the camera person is far from the man himself, and yes, I know now that the Giants made sure Steve Perry was there, but about 1:20 in you hear the assembled multitude sing "Lights" and you’re overwhelmed, they know it, it’s in their DNA...

This is why everybody wants to be a rock star. To feel this power. To bask in the effect of your creation.

I don’t want to hear that this financial wizard is a rock star, or this politician, that’s missing the point. A true rock star can touch and move people in a way that no one else can. That’s the power. 

And Steve Perry and those ancient Journey songs from last century have the power to not only ignite a whole city, but an entire nation.

Was the World Series the peak of the zeitgeist for the song?  It's been all over sports for the past couple of years.  And I think Steve Perry's appearance was inspired by Ashkon's cover.  Detroit teams have been using it for years - I've heard it many times during broadcasts of  Red Wings playoff games. Then there's Annakin Slayd's sampling of the song in his tribute to the Montreal Canadiens.  And how about this guy, who's started a tradition at Dodgers games.

Where else have you seen/heard Don't Stop Believin'?

6-year-old dances to Dynamite at a Sens game (video)

About the use of the organ at Wrigley Field for Chicago Cubs games

Really interesting article from the Chicago Tribune about the use (and non-use) of the organ at Wrigley Field for Cubs games.  Excerpted here, bold parts are my emphasis:

They were the last team to install lights, and one of the last to install rotating advertising boards behind home plate. The installation of the car sign in left field caused a stir last summer, and talk about bringing a Jumbotron to Wrigley has been debated for years.

The Cubs made one small change to tradition in 2010 to make their players happy, while aggravating a segment of their fan base. With no fanfare last June, they suddenly replaced Gary Pressy's organ music with snippets of taped music for hitters' intro songs.

Asked by a fan at the Cubs Convention why they were spoiling the "Wrigley Field experience," Chairman Tom Ricketts recalled a conversation with an unnamed player who wanted the taped music to help the team out of its early-season slump.

"We weren't getting the clutch hits, we weren't scoring runs," Ricketts told the fans. "And a player came up and made that request. "I was like, 'Geez, we have traditions.' "

Ricketts and the marketing department debated it, and ultimately decided to make the change.

"I said 'Look, I know that it won't be popular with everybody, but if it shows the players that we're going to give them some support and try to shake things up and help things a little bit, then I'll give it a shot,' " he told fans.

Marlon Byrd confirmed he was the player Ricketts cited and that he was trying to boost the team's morale.

"We were the only team not coming out to music," Byrd said. "I thought it'd be a good twist, with it being 'Year One' with the Ricketts. I understand you have to keep tradition, have to keep the organ. But change it up just a little bit."

Byrd's intro song was "Work" by Gang Starr, which included the lyrics: "I've been laying, waiting for your next mistake/I put in work, and watch my status escalate." He said he enjoyed seeing fans "bobbing their heads in the stands" when they heard his song, even if the sound system is so antiquated it barely could be heard.

The reaction was split between the traditionalists and progressives. Ricketts admitted to fans they received "a lot of feedback from fans who preferred" organ music to taped songs, and said they're considering whether or not to return to the old-school ways.

Infielder Jeff Baker, who came out to various Beastie Boys songs, said he hopes the Rickettses keep the status quo.

"It creates a personality and an identity for each player, showing what you bring, and making your own stamp," Baker said. "I'm all for it. I know the majority of the players like it. I know it's a tough line for (the Rickettses) because they're trying to balance the traditions of Wrigley with what the players like and want.

"It's a tough call, but I hope they don't can it. It's not like you're replacing the organ music completely. You're just adding to it. I don't think it has ruined the fundamental history of Wrigley."

Catcher Koyie Hill, who preferred striding to home plate to Led Zeppelin, said a new sound system would make the recorded music more palatable.

"If they're going to (play) music on that speaker system they have now, I don't know what the point is." Hill said. "But if guys in the room like it and that's their thing, I'm all for it. When you're up at the plate, or on the mound, it's your turn. So take your turn. If you want music, you get music. I'm a big traditional guy, but I'm also not ignorant to the modern stuff. I like a good mix."

If the Ricketts family decides to go back to organ music, Byrd said the team can live with it. It's not a big deal, but one of those little "Chicago things" Chicagoans like to debate.

"I'm not part of the marketing department. So I'm not sure what kind of feedback they got," Byrd said. "If the fans didn't like it, we don't need to have it. They do need a new sound system. We need a lot of things. But I think the Ricketts are going to take care of that, and if we did have one, it'd be pretty cool.

"I know, just looking in the stands, that a lot of people enjoyed it. It's all just fun, trying to keep it loose. It's too serious sometimes in Chicago. We need to have fun."

The top ten songs played at U.S. sporting events last season

Saw this on Yahoo! Sports -- a list of the top ten songs heard at U.S. major league sports events in the 09-10 season, as reported by BMI. I'd suspect MLB baseball is over-represented in this sample of songs, since they play the most games per season.  (And NFL football would be the least represented.)

I'm surprised at #10: Machinehead.  It's a good sports song, but there are so many other hard rock songs of the same genre.  Also surprised that some arena staples like Sweet Caroline, or anything by AC/DC, or Crazy Train didn't make the list.

And the folks at Yahoo! were wondering why Car Wash made the list.  That's easy: because of the clapping part at the start.

Puck Daddy ranks the NHL's goal celebrations

Excellent research and reporting from Puck Daddy on the in-arena goal celebrations for each of the 30 NHL teams.

In the East, Carolina was ranked the best: "Starts with a deep, drowning goal horn playing over Blur's "Song 2," and then things get freaky. There goes Ric Flair, saying 'that's a Ca-ro-lina Hurricanes' goal! Woo! Wooooo!' There's a 'Yabba Dabba Doo!' and a Homer Simpson 'd'oh!' and a Dice Clay 'oh!' And is that Chewbacca we hear?"

In the West, Columbus gets the nod: "The cannon isn't for everyone. And by 'everyone' we mean there are those out there who don't appreciate an AC/DC classic like "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)" being enhanced by heavy artillery. We call these fellow citizens 'lame-ohs.'"