Hockey fight iced the deal for musician
TORONTO As the son of a legendary NHL goalie, singer-songwriter Jonathan Roy knows his family name offers a distinct career advantage.
But his Hall of Fame father’s reputation looms over everything he does, including the release of Roy’s first major label album, Mr. Optimist Blues.
The sometimes-unearned attention has made the 27-year-old feel uncomfortable at times, especially at his earliest live shows.
“I didn’t necessarily have the maturity for it,” he says. “And I didn’t know anything about music.”
At small gigs where he expected maybe 20 people — and most involved in their own barroom chatter than him — he felt it was “all eyes on me.”
Even the tiniest flub plays a lot louder when you’re the son of a four-time Stanley Cup winner. Living up to his father — who led the Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche to championships — is something Roy has been forced to contend with since childhood.
While he was born into hockey, he also dabbled with music. His mother bought him a guitar, piano and drums when he was a teenager. But hockey always came first — and when he was focusing on hockey there was nothing else.
“I wanted to tell my dad: ‘Hey dad, I unfortunately don’t want to (follow) your footsteps. I don’t want to play hockey,’” he says. “But I didn’t want to disappoint anybody, you know what I mean?”
He finally had that conversation after making headlines in 2008, while playing as a goaltender for the junior hockey Quebec Remparts with his father as coach. A line brawl erupted during a game against the Chicoutimi Sagueneens and despite being held back by an official, Roy skated across the length of the ice and pummelled rival netminder Bobby Nadeau, who didn’t want to fight.
Roy was suspended and charged with assault, but received an absolute discharge after pleading guilty. He finally sat down with his father to discuss his future. It became abundantly clear that whatever he did, it probably wouldn’t be pro hockey.
He dipped his toe into the music industry with the 2009 album What I’ve Become, and followed it up a year later with Found My Way, and the French-language La Route in 2011. Mr. Optimist Blues is his first record with major-label backing.