Rockers Coherency combine love of music and hockey
Canada’s favourite pastime has officially struck a chord with Justin Mrazek and the band Coherency.
The Regina-based alternative rock group released a hockey-themed music video via Youtube on Wednesday following a collaboration with the WHL’S Regina Pats, who granted access to their facilities and highlight footage.
“We’re all big hockey fans and we all played hockey,” explained Mrazek, the group’s bassist.
“My favourite part about watching the NHL playoffs is those little playoff montage videos from CBC. I always kind of wanted to do a video like that. We had a song that I thought fit.”
That song is called Bleed, which was part of an album, Cognitive Dissonance, released this past summer.
They hope the video resonates with fans the way it did for the band, including Mrazek, a former goaltending prospect of the NHL’S Washington Capitals and the creative force behind the video.
“I like to be creative,” said Mrazek, 33. “I like music obviously so the creativity and the music go hand in hand. I kind of like doing little videos like that. That’s another hobby, and hockey was a huge part of my life. It still kind of is.”
Mrazek is the newest member of Coherency, which also includes Brenden Claypool (guitar/vocals), Eric Kristjansson (guitar) and Chris Sawcyn (drums).
Sawcyn and Claypool founded the band in 2005 and later brought Kristjansson on board (he and Sawcyn had been best friends since atom hockey).
After a lengthy hiatus, the group reunited last year with Mrazek joining the fold. They’re all among a group of friends who grew up playing hockey and still get together for pickup games on Sundays.
“We have a passion for hockey and we’re all from Regina,” Sawcyn explained. “We love the Pats and the whole mystique of it. I’ve always been a Pats fan. I had season tickets for years until I had kids. We still go to games regularly.
“It’s very surreal (to have them in the video). Even when we were filming they had our Coherency logo up on the big screen.
“That gave you a little goosebumps moment before we even started playing.”
The same goes for Mrazek — an eighth-round pick in the 2004 NHL draft — who played for the SJHL’S Estevan Bruins in 2003-04 before landing a scholarship at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y.
He studied engineering and played for the school’s NCAA hockey team for four seasons.
“I learned how to play the guitar in college,” Mrazek said. “I was more of a sports guy growing up and then I found music later on. It was kind of a nice stress outlet.”
The Bleed video was a labour of love that came together after the band sent emails to the Pats and Saskatchewan Roughriders. They received an immediate reply from Phil Andrews, the Pats’ director of communications and media relations, whose enthusiasm made it all happen rather quickly.
“We threw the idea out there really expecting nothing,” Mrazek added. “We’re all pretty excited about it. Hopefully people like it and hopefully Pats fans like it, too.”