Hockey and Indie Rock? At 19, Adam Sturgeon Lives in Two Seemingly Disparate Worlds

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Hockey and Indie Rock?
At 19, Adam Sturgeon Lives in Two Seemingly Disparate Worlds

By Kiley Mallard

Adam Sturgeon

Ask someone what he or she was doing when they were 19, and you'll likely hear the words "keg party" a few times. But if you ask a certain defender on the Saginaw Spirit what he's been doing during his nineteenth year, you'll get a very different answer.

Adam Sturgeon (#22) is a promising young hockey player and burgeoning music producer. Though these two interests seem unlikely to mesh, when talking to Adam about his passions they seem the most natural pair in the world.

Growing up in Erin, a small town in Ontario, Canada, Adam says, "playing hockey was just something I did for fun." It was having a pro hockey player for a father that helped this hobby flourish into a career. (Sturgeon's father played in the National Hockey League, and though he suffered a career ending injury the year Sturgeon was born, he continued coaching for the Junior Hockey League and helped to train his son).

Now in his second year with the Saginaw Spirit, Sturgeon's hockey career
began in 2000 when the Sudbury Wolves drafted him. He then moved on to the
Belleville Bulls and the Mississauga Ice Dogs before joining the Spirit.
His value to the team becomes apparent when you note that he's Assistant
Captain. Though he says his dreams for his hockey career are "like those of
any player" (to play in the NHL, win the Stanley Cup), he says that, "no
matter what happens, whether I'm injured or just never advance, I will
always be involved in hockey."

While Sturgeon is studying English at Davenport University, he only goes to
classes one day a week, which allows his main focus to stay on hockey. But
his freetime, whether on the road or in the offseason, is devoted to his
other passion - music.

In eighth grade, partially inspired by older kids with bands, Sturgeon and
a couple of his friends decided to start a band of their own. One of them,
Clayton Dyon, got a drum sent. Another, Blake Stevenson, got a bass. Adam
got a guitar, and Familiar Hell was born.

"We are all pretty much self-taught. We'd hear something on the radio that
we liked and would try to copy it. When one of u worked it out we'd share
it with each other. Eventually, we'd learned enough to start writing our
own music,"

Their first album from the windowless room, was recorded and released when
the bandmates were just 16-years old. When asked about recording the album,
Sturgeon talks as though it was just something they did on a whim.

"We went to a studio in town and recorded the songs," then sold the discs
themselves on their website and at concerts. The album generated a lot of
buzz in their small town. They played parties and 'band nights' in Erin,
but thanks to the extra exposure, they also booked bigger shows at larger
venues, often opening for the very bands that influenced them.

Those influences are not what you may expect. While Sturgeon admits to
liking mainstream groups like Nirvana and Rage Against the Machine, as well

as classic rock bands such as The Doors and The Beatles, much of his
inspiration comes form indie rock bands most of us in the U.S. have never
heard of. These bands, with names like Elevator, Wintersleep and Monoplaza
all appear on Sturgeon's newest project, Snowsuit On, Heading North.

The disc I a compilation album of Canadian indie rock bands. The music
varies from Wintersleep's ballad-like Home to hard-rocking tracks like
Rolling Back the Clouds by Kitchens & Bathrooms and pop songs such as
Hollywood Sound by Blue Pocket. With regard to the selection of music on
the album, Sturgeon has said, "I wanted to show the diversity of what
independent music is all about, so we have country, soft music, loud, pop,
rock, psychedelic, as diverse as I think is possible - which may or may not
be a selling point."

Sturgeon produced the album under his own record label, Out of Sound
Records, which he established in 2000 with his friend and bandmate Blake
Stevenson. The first bands to contribute to the CD were those around
Sturgeon's hometown. However, Sturgeon soon decided to inquire whether more
well known better-established bands wanted to be a part of the project. To
his surprise, many did.

Adam Sturgeon

"Most of the bands were receptive to the idea," says Sturgeon. "It sort of
took on this snowball effect, starting small and getting bigger and
bigger." Slowly the album started coming together, with many bands adding
tracks that had never been released. The only thing missing was how to get
the compilation out to the public. For help, Sturgeon turned to the
Director of Public Relations for the Saginaw Spirit, former radio announcer
Cameron Knowles. Together they created a press kit and sent it out to
Ontario radio stations along with copies of the CD.

As of now, the disc is being distributed by Sturgeon and Stevenson on their
website at www.outofsoundrecords.cjb.com. Though Out Of Sound has a sizable
grant to pay back, if the label receives any profits from the ale of the
album, Sturgeon hopes to be able to donate at least a portion to children's
charities.

"I want to be able to help sick kids. Give back a little." For now, Out of
Sound focuses mainly on having a good relationship with their clients.

"We try to find unique bands and help them to get their music heard." A
second compilation disc is also in the works for release in 2004.

Though Sturgeon says his Spirit teammates are supportive of his musical
endeavors (a few have even bought copies of the CD), music remains
something he does in his free time.

"My main focus is on hockey right now, but I have high hopes for Out of
Sound. We'll keep releasing and getting the music out there. Who knows
where it could go?"

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