There are a lot of ways to bring a football team together and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are surfing atop the most reliable one right now: a big fat winning streak.
Since gaining access to Tim Hortons Field, the Cats' increasing unity has been obvious to even the non-involved: in practice and during recent games that have gone their way, not prior history's way.
But there are positive unity-builders evolving behind the scenes, too, including one for which there is as yet no name. Or, more correctly, for which there are three potential names.
It's the Team Band.
Centre Mike Filer and receivers Cary Koch and Luke Tasker are practising, usually three times a week, at team headquarters on Jarvis Street and are planning to hit an open mic session somewhere in the city, some night this week.
They will eventually add other Ticats — guard Tim O'Neill plays acoustic bass and will almost certainly join soon; defensive line coach Dennis McPhee sits in for 20 minutes a day — to the lineup as they gain traction, but a number of teammates are already casually involved.
"We do it after we get back from practice," Koch explains. "At least one of us is probably getting treatment in the trainer's room, so we just go there and play around the treatment.
"We do it because it's fun. We're just expressing ourselves a different way. More guys are getting involved and sticking around in the training rooms, and adding to it."
Filer has a long relationship with music. His father was in a barbershop quartet, he was playing bass in a Brantford band by age 12, he drummed seriously for five or six more years, played tuba in the high school band and always, always worked away at the guitar. He recently took quarterback Zach Collaros to Mountain Music for his first acoustic guitar.
Filer has seven guitars, two electrics and five acoustic, of which the famous Martin D15 holds pride of place. He lent Koch one of his guitars to "mess around on a few tunes" a few weeks ago.
"One day we heard Tasker humming along and said, 'Why don't you come sing with us?'" Filer says. "The way he and Cary harmonize is unbelievable. A couple of the guys heard us and said, 'You guys sound pretty good.'
"A lot of guys on the team have a big passion for music. We have a few who like to sit around and strum or sing so we said why not have fun with it. Some guys want to chime in, some might just want to watch.
"As much as we're together on the field, it's something we can do together off the field."
The sound is acoustic, in what Filer — whose first love is the blues — describes "as kind of folk music." But they hope to add drums (Tasker grew up playing them) and morph toward a Mumford & Sons sound. At the moment, they're working on some Led Zeppelin and Elton John's Tiny Dancer, which the higher-voiced Tasker sings.
"He has kind of a little more soul, raspy voice," Koch said. "He definitely sings as a tenor. Luke and I actually play well off each other in the harmonies."
With his flowing blond locks and '70s rock star good looks, Koch is a natural to front the band. Because he and Filer rarely snip their tresses, the original duo was going to be called Split Ends, but since Tasker has joined, the candidates are Dirty Mike and the Boys; Rough Around the Edges and Rough Cuts.
Tasker and Koch are both devout Christians. Koch, who sang in high school and church choirs and in dinner theatre, says that "most of the songs don't conflict with our beliefs."
Filer says: "A lot of people have musical ties. I think music is a stress relief.
"And it brings some of the guys together."
smilton@thespec.com
905-526-3268 | @miltonatthespec
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