THEIR PRIVATE EYES ARE ON THE PRIZE
Hall & Oates hit is Habs winning groove in the locker-room after each victory
Fans of 1980s pop music will certainly remember the Hall & Oates hit song Private Eyes.
For those who don’t remember it, the chorus goes like this: Private eyes
They’re watching you They see your every move Private eyes
They’re watching you Private eyes
They’re watching you watching You watching you watching you You might be surprised to learn that Canadiens players absolutely love that song — even though Andrei Markov is the only one who was born in 1981. It has become the team’s victory song, played loudly in the locker-room after each win.
Apparently, it started back when Brian Gionta was captain.
When Jordie Benn arrived in Montreal after being traded by the Dallas Stars on Feb. 27, he had to learn the Canadiens’ postgame ritual after each victory that involves some singing and hand clapping to Private Eyes.
“When I first came here, they put it on and I didn’t really know what was going on,” Benn said after Wednesday’s morning skate in Brossard before Game 1 of the first-round playoff series against the New York Rangers at the Bell Centre. “And then the boys started clapping when that one part comes on in the song. It’s kind of cool, so it’s worked out.
“Obviously, it’s been working all year, so you might as well keep it going,” Benn added. “It’s awesome. We love it.”
When it comes to music in the Canadiens’ locker-room, Mike McCarron is the main man, even though he’s a rookie and was a healthy scratch for Game 1 against the Rangers. The 6-foot-6, 231-pounder is in charge of picking the tunes whether it be before or after games and practices.
“I don’t know how I got the job,” the 22-year-old McCarron said. “I played (the music) one day and the guys liked my music and I just continued to keep playing it.”
As for Private Eyes, McCarron said: “I don’t know where that came from … I didn’t play that one. The guys like that song, so we’ve been playing it.”
McCarron said techno music is the most popular in the lockerroom, along with country. He added the Russian players really like techno and rap.
“We get it all … we like the hightechno house music, that gets us going,” McCarron said. “Sometimes we mix in some rock and a little bit of rap sometimes, too.
“(Carey) Price likes country … a lot of guys like country. Patch (Max Pacioretty) doesn’t like country too much. But we get it in there every once in a while. For morning skates, that’s what we listen to.”
Country star Keith Urban, who will be playing at the Bell Centre on Aug. 12, recently visited the Canadiens’ Brossard practice facility and gave Andrew Shaw some guitar lessons.
McCarron doesn’t have a favourite band or type of music, saying he likes all kinds.
“I like everybody,” he said, adding the best concert he saw was by country star Eric Church. “I’ve got a wide mix … I think that’s why I keep playing the music because you can’t listen to the same stuff all the time.”
Benn, who is a heavy metal rock fan, has been impressed by McCarron’s music choices and said the rookie would make an excellent disc jockey.
“It’s everything ... it’s rap, hip hop, techno music … I don’t even know what it is,” Benn said. “He just plays a bunch of songs.”
When Benn, a Victoria native, was asked what his favourite band is, the bearded man with the sleeve tattoo on his arm responded: “Obviously, I’ve got to say Nickelback … they’re from Vancouver, so I’ve got to throw that out there. But I’m a big Disturbed fan. I like hard rock and roll ... Disturbed, Three Days Grace, Metallica, all those kind of things.”
There’s a huge difference between Hall & Oates and Metallica, but Benn is hoping to hear Private Eyes play 16 more times.
That would make the Canadiens Stanley Cup champions.
When I first came here, they put it on and I didn’t really know what was going on. And then the boys started clapping when that one part comes on.