MEET THE PUCKHOGS
The Band
The Puckhogs gained national exposure when their song, “For the Love of the Game”, placed 2nd out of over 1000 entries in the national 2013 CBC Hockey Night in Canada Song Quest. They lost to Dave Gunning, which is more than respectable, and with song in hand and solid nation-wide support, managed to raise over $2000.00 to donate to the Human League of Sudbury to help underprivileged kids get into organized sports.
Yes, it looks like the hockey-themed name has stuck. No, there are no other hockey songs on their debut album.
With three singer-songwriters - Sean Barrette, Chris Leblanc, and Brent Wohlberg - who all bring their own ideas to the table and then work together to make the songs better, their sound varies stylistically. Overall, it's probably best described as Canadiana, or “music about your camp to listen to at camp” - the tunes are lively, authentic, sincere, and often humourous glimpses of what it means to live in the north. In any case, it's best not to overthink it - they sure didn't!
Sean Barrette
Sean Barrette mines his northern roots while deftly mixing country, bluegrass, rock, reggae, and pop influences that range from Steve Earle and Bob Marley, to John Prine and the Rolling Stones. His unique yet familiar acoustic-based sound garnered critical acclaim with his 2011 debut album, Live Through This, and 2013’s Signs.
He has attracted the attention of industry greats such as U.S. Producer/Songwriter Alan Glass (Aretha Franklin, the Temptations, Maxi Priest), with whom he achieved cross-Canada airplay with a radio remix of Cool Side of the Pillow.
Grammy Award-winning producer Malcolm Burn (Emmylou Harris, Junkhouse, Blue Rodeo, Bob Dylan, Chris Whitley) remixed Signs in 2014, and calls Barrette “one of Canada’s best songwriters.”
You can check out his music at www.seanbarrette.ca
Chris Leblanc
Chris is a singer / songwriter / multi instrumentalist from Sudbury, Ontario. He grew up in the town of Whitefish, Ontario, just outside of Sudbury and has shared the stage and supported some of this country's most talented recording artists including Terri Clark, Tim Hicks, Doc Walker, Jason McCoy, and Steven Page. He has written songs with Gil Grand, a multiple CCMA award winner, and of course with his bandmates in The Puckhogs.
Brent Wohlberg
Brent Wohlberg was born and raised in Levack, Ontario. His mother Evelyn, a choir director, injected music into his life from day one. Paradise By The Dashboard Light by Meatloaf is the song Brent remembers having his first WTF musical moment with.
Wohlberg also recalls renting his first 4-track cassette recorder (from Half Nelson in Sudbury), and learning how to record songs...and it was magical. This experience created a lifelong passion for recording and producing music that has spanned over thirty years. Brent has very eclectic musical tastes that include Rush and Cash, and everything in between.
Along with the Puckhogs project, Brent has released two CDs, one under the guise of The Blazing Elwoods, and also a little-known but much-revered indie-rock band called the easterdogs, all available on iTunes.
