Cape Breton musician shows promise as figure skating commentator
Members of the alt-rock band The Town Heroes might have what it takes to become sports commentators.
The Halifax-based band, featuring musicians from Cape Breton, posted a video on social media Tuesday offering up a unique narration of a recent Olympic performance by Canadian figure skating duo Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.
The video, which can be seen at https://www.facebook.com/thetownheroes/ videos/10155720963472561/, describes some of the pair’s moves as “magnetic action” and “givin’ er Baddeck.”
“All right, we got Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir ready to giv’er hell out there,” lead singer Mike Ryan of Inverness says as the clip begins. “Looks like they’re going to start things off with a little staring contest — eying each other up.
“You’ve got Scott puffing out his chest like he’s at a pig n’ whistle in Port Hood, ready to drop some haymakers.”
Drummer Bruce Gillis, a native of Mabou, said he and Ryan are known for making goofy, lastminute videos with not much planning behind them.
“In this case, he wrote me the other night on Facebook about doing one at that very moment. I was crawling in my bunk and said ‘Sorry, I’m actually just hitting the hay.’”
Ryan later responded with ‘No worries, I’ll take care of er.’
Gillis said he first saw the video, which has since garnered close to 400,000 views on Facebook, after it was posted online.
“I was watching Tessa and Scott skate the other day, and, as a passionate Canadian, found myself yelling at the TV cheering for them,” said Ryan, when contacted by email. “I realized the juxtaposition to what regular commentary on figure skating is and thought of the video.”
Virtue and Moir’s sultry Moulin Rouge-inspired routine would later help Canada to win gold in the team event.
The Town Heroes, which includes Aaron Green (guitar, vocals) and Tori Cameron (bass, vocals) are nominated for this year’s East Coast Music Awards in the category of fans’ choice Video of the Year. The awards will be hosted May 2-6 in Halifax.