John K. Samson, front-man for The Weakerthans (and former member of Propagandhi), has been discussed on our site before for mixing punk rock and hockey. However, the news today confirming the rumor that the Atlanta Thrashers are being sold and relocated to Winnipeg puts him back into the punk rock and hockey limelight.

Samson hails from Winnipeg, and grew up cheering on the Jets. With all of this talk about the NHL’s return to ‘Peg, I was often reminded of Samson (and The Weakerthans’ song “One Great City!“), and wondered what he might think of all of this.

Luckily I wasn’t the only one wondering about all of this, as Bruce Arthur reached out to Samson to get his thoughts for the National Post piece “The NHL needs Winnipeg more than Winnipeg needs the NHL”

From Arthur’s article, here’s what Samson had to say about Winnipeg’s new team:

“I’m more of the opinion that not only did Winnipeg not need the Jets, we actually needed them to leave,” he wrote. “Having said that, I was, from my earliest memories, a huge fan of the Jets. I am excited about the new team, I will go see games, I will learn about the players and coaches, discuss the wisdom of trades, worry over injuries, ponder statistics, become a fan.

“But I’ll always be wary of the idea that our identity should be founded on the whims of Gary Bettman and a couple millionaires. The NHL will never have any bearing on the fact that I’m proud of the community I’m from.”

Be sure to read Arthur’s full story.

It all comes down to this!

While the Stanley Cup Finals will pit the Vancouver Canucks against the Boston Bruins, weeks of your voting has forced a Punk Rock final matchup of Washington DC vs Chicago, two regions that have produced legendary punk bands, each region with it’s own unique blend of punk culture.

For more background, see our first post about it here (because I hate repeating myself). Round 1, 2, and 3 voting is all over, and you can find the 1st round Western Conference resuts here, the 1st round Eastern Conference results here, or the 2nd round (both conferences) here, or the 3rd round here.

The original post explains how we picked the cities, and why they don’t match the current NHL playoff brackets. I won’t explain that again, as I assume you have read the old post.

Once again, DO NOT vote based on your team loyalty, but vote based on what city/region you find has the more enjoyable music! We’ve provided some sample bands for each region (click on the links to listen to music), but don’t limit your perception of the region based on the samples. If you know other bands from that area, take them into consideration.

Vote now on who gets to take home the Up The Pucks!/HockeyPunx Punk Rock and Hockey championship.

Brandon and Peter recap their KrazY Fest weekend, the Thrashers to Winnipeg situation and discuss the NHL Conference Finals.

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Article source: http://www.upthepucks.com

This week as Brandon and Peter prep for their trip to Krazy Fest, they discuss the current state of ska, the conference finals and what exactly is skramz. Also Mr. Fancy drops by to share his views on parenting.

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Article source: http://www.upthepucks.com

UPDATE 5/31/2011: ROUND 3 VOTING IS OVER! SEE FINAL ROUND VOTING HERE

Round three (Conference Finals) have started!

As you know, while the NHL has been battling for the cup, we here at HockeyPunx and Up The Pucks! have put NHL regions against one another for high honor: “most punk.” For more background, see our first post about it here (because I hate repeating myself). Round 1 and 2 voting is all over, and you can find the 1st round Western Conference resuts here, the 1st round Eastern Conference results here, or the 2nd round (both conferences) here.

The original post explains how we picked the cities, and why they don’t match the current NHL playoff brackets. I won’t explain that again, as I assume you have red the old post.

Once again, DO NOT vote based on your team loyalty, but vote based on what city/region you find has the more enjoyable music! We’ve provided some sample bands for each region (click on the links to listen to music), but don’t limit your perception of the region based on the samples. If you know other bands from that area, take them into consideration.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Ty Anderson returns to the show as does Brandon. Topics discuss include the conference finals matchups, Henry Rollins’ views on downloading music, Sean Avery’s and the hockey world’s stance on gay marriage, along with a review of The Dissappeared’s newest album.

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 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Article source: http://www.upthepucks.com

Due to a lab incident, Brandon was unable to appear on this week’s show. This left Peter and Jer from HockeyPunx, two notorious haters, to their own devices. What ensues is a short, angry episode that is befitting of the topics discussed.

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Article source: http://www.upthepucks.com

At times it seems HockeyPunx is much heavier on the hockey than it is the punk, so today we’re going to do a little tipping of the scales.

As some of you may know, our good friend Peter from the Up The Pucks! podcast is in the Indianapolis-based punk band Iafrate. As you might also know, I myself run Anti-Creative Records. So Peter, his band, my label, and HockeyPunx have all teamed up to help distribute Iafrate’s first album absolutely free. It’s a two song EP and it won’t cost you a dime.

Go download the album for free by entering the download code:
ACRFree01iafrate
at the following website:  http://www.vinyldownloads.com

Because you are getting this release absolutely free, why not consider donating a couple bucks to charity in lieu of paying for the songs? The band recommends the charity Child’s Play.

Please also remember to check out the label by visiting http://www.anti-creative.com