A double thumbs up and a pumped-fist salute today to Marc Little and the Watermen with their efforts to become part of the fabric of our national culture with their submission of a new "Hockey Night in Canada" theme. The reason for the accolades has little to do with their video entry(which by the way, I find brilliant and at least deserving of some serious consideration). Instead, I find myself admiring the level of perserverance that forms 90% of what is underneath the tip of the iceberg you will watch and listen to on-screen.
I can recall the first time I saw Marc Little belt out a scorching version of the Eagles "Desperado" back in the late 80's when he was an up-and-comer, starting to get serious about the music business. I have watched with interest how his career has unfolded and no matter what turns it has taken, Marc has steadily built up a fan base of people who admire the heart and soul he brings to his music. With his latest project, "The Watermen", Marc has strategically added branding elements which are slowly starting to make waves in the market place with professional visuals and a growing web prescence. (http://www.watermen.ca/)
Along with fellow "Watermen" Tom Thompson, Paul Boudreau, Denis Mongrain and Gilles Savoie, the band produced a self-titled, debut album which has been released by Magada Distribution out of Montreal. The decades of hard work may be about to pay off in a big way but no matter what comes of this HNIC project, one can't deny the sincerity of the effort that Marc has demonstrated in following his passion for music and nurturing his skills as an artist along the way.
