The idea sprang from a previous collaboration. Local rock band Royal Tusk played at Rogers Place two years ago for the Edmonton Oilers’ home opener, as players stormed onto the ice amid the pre-game spectacle. But Royal Tusk’s music wasn’t limited to that performance. “Then they were using a few of our songs for some of the pump-up montage between the second and third period,” guitarist Quinn Cyrankiewicz recalled. “I think that was maybe for two or three seasons.” Earlier this year, the band and Oilers staff began discussing how to take the partnership further. The question, Cyrankiewicz said, was simple: What would it look like to create a song specifically for the Oilers’ goal song? “They asked if we were interested, and we were like, ‘Absolutely,’” he told CTV News Edmonton on Monday. “We’re all diehard Oilers fans. We’re all Edmonton-born and -raised, so it made a lot of sense.” That conversation led to “Striking Oil.” The goal song debuted last week during the Oilers’ season opener against the visiting Vancouver Canucks. Its arrival came as a surprise to the sold-out crowd, though not to the rock trio, who were in attendance waiting for Edmonton’s first goal and the moment fans would hear their specially crafted tune for the first time. “The Oilers wanted to do that; they wanted to spring this on people,” Cyrankiewicz said. “I think it’s important that people learn it so that they can get into it. The first reactions were, like, people were confused. They’re like, “What do I, what do I do?’ But as they learn the song and hear it online and stuff like that, they’re going to be able to get into it more. I think when people start to know that it’s made by a local band and they start to learn our band ... I think it’s going to help them connect with it more because it’s another connection with Edmonton and it kind of keeps the Edmonton pride going.” Creating the short, driving tune was also a team effort. Bassist Sandy MacKinnon said the band, which also includes lead singer Daniel Carriere, tapped into its “inner jock jams from growing up.” “You hear pump-up songs all the time when you’re at any kind of sports event,” he said. “You start thinking a little bit differently. We didn’t really approach it so much like writing a Royal Tusk song; it was more approached with, ‘Let’s write a banger.’” Oilers staff also played a key role in shaping the song. “To give the entertainment team at the Oilers credit, they had a lot of direction,” Cyrankiewicz said. “They had done a lot of research on other team songs and what they thought their fan base with the Oilers is going to love, and so they had a lot of ideas for us ... “We put together a bunch of ideas based on that and based on their suggestions, but also using our experience songwriting to bring them some ideas, and we landed on one that we both really loved and refined it from there.” The debut of “Striking Oil” comes as Royal Tusk prepares to hit the road across Western Canada and introduce new songs from an album set for release next year. The tour begins Nov. 20 at Double Dragon in downtown Edmonton. And yes, fans will hear a longer version of the Oilers’ goal song during the eight-date run with Protest the Hero and Kaonashi. “We’re going to make it three minutes,” Cyrankiewicz said. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nahreman Issa
