Bio

• The Zambonis form in 1991 when defenseman/guitarist/singer Dave Schneider ask brothers Tarquin and Peter Katis if they want to start a group that played nothing but songs about hockey.

• After writing new songs especially “The Referee’s Daughter,” the band realizes hockey songs can be about hockey, life, love and hockey. Not just hockey.

• Release first 7-inch single features “Away Game” and rips off logos from The New York Rangers and The NHL. (We would learn our lesson eventually.)

• Debut CD 100% Hockey…and other stuff cracks the Top 25 on both the CMJ and Gavin charts, spends 13 weeks on the CMJ Top 200 and works its way onto NHL, NCAA and minor league hockey arena playlists nationwide.

• Single “Avalanche!” becomes a good-luck anthem for the Colorado Avalanche’s Stanley Cup playoff run.

• Playoff Fever EP receives incessant Denver radio airplay and leads to an Avalanche pre-playoff game performance at Denver’s Pepsi Center.

• After two years of dueling lawyers, The Zamboni^® Company and The Zambonis reach a licensing agreement. The band makes history when it becomes the first US rock band to become an official licensee of an existing brand.
• The Zamboni^® Company and The Zambonis leave the lawyers in the office and meet in person. What was initially a cease-and-desist, year-long, off-ice battle, was simply resolved with a hand written letter asking The Company to please not make us change our names to “The Motorized Ice Resurfacing Machines”. The two work out a licensing agreement. The band makes history when it becomes the first US rock band to become an official licensee of an existing brand.

• Viacom produces a video for Zambonis song “Hockey Monkey”. It makes its debut on the popular Nickelodeon program Kablam!

• Second full-length CD, More Songs About Hockey…and buildings and food takes the ice, leading to a feature story in The New York Times and a “Random Notes” photo in Rolling Stone.

• Maxim awards us “Best Band You Never Heard Of,” topping the Go-Betweens and At The Drive-In.

• Commissioned by the Boston Bruins, “To Bleed Black and Gold” becomes the title song to a highly rated NESN documentary.
• Soon after, the Bruins invite the band to perform at Ray Bourque Night at The Fleet Center.
• Band releases new record To Bleed Black And Gold. Commissioned by New England Sports Network (NESN) on behalf of The Boston Bruins. “To Bleed Black and Gold” becomes the title song to a highly rated NESN documentary.
• Soon after, the Bruins invite the band to perform at Ray Bourque Night at The Fleet Center.

• A career moment, the band perform at the 2002 NHL All-Star Game at The Staples Center in Los Angeles—alongside such acts as Jewel and Five For Fighting.
• Four Zambonis songs appear on the video game NHL Hitz 2003, along with tracks by Rob Zombie, Moby and Incubus.

• Entertainment Weekly names The Zambonis one of the “Must-Haves For The Holidays.” They exclaim: “Finally: a hockey-themed band we can all love!”

• The Wall Street Journal features us in a front-page story about the growing sports-rock connection.
• ESPN’s SportsCenter features us in a special report investigating the relationship between athletes and musicians.
• During the NHL lockout, we perform in Riga, Latvia (you read that correctly), performing on a national television program, a popular radio station, a shopping mall—and a punk club (with the odd name of “Saxophones”)

• Two-page article in The Hockey News features a byline article featuring keen hockey and rock insights from band leader Dave Schneider and drummer/enforcer Mat Orefice.

• Sign a Canada-only deal with Nettwerk Records & release The Zambonis Greatest Hits.
• “Hockey Monkey” becomes the theme of the FOX Television sitcom The Loop, a sleeper comedy show that debuted on DVD in 2008.

• Release Chippy Sessions record to more critical acclaim.

• The NHL Network’s national television campaign features our song, “Boom Boom Boom.”
• We make our third appearance at the NCAA Division III Hockey Championships in Lake Placid, NY
• Release a split 7-inch single w/ fellow theme-band Harry and the Potters.
• The NHL invites The Zambonis to headline the 2008 NHL Face-Off event on NYC’s 46^th Band leader Dave Schneider doubles as MC, interviewing NHL legends as Dave “The Hammer” Schultz, Terry O’Reilly and many others.
• The band appears on NHL Live (Sirius/XM Radio) and on the NHL Network

• Featured in a front-page story in The New York Times, about The Zamboni ice-resurfacing machine and its cultural impact.

• Appear in a pair of stories in Sports Illustrated and ESPN.com.
• Dave Schneider appears in the documentary, Last Days of the Coliseum, a historical look at the rise and (literal) fall of the New Haven Coliseum. A pair of Zambonis songs are also featured in the soundtrack.

• Sharing a bill with Three Doors Down, The Zambonis appear before thousands of hockey fans at the 2011 NHL All-Star Game in Raleigh, North Carolina.

• Release new record entitled Five Minute Major (in D Minor) to rave reviews.
• 2 videos produced for  songs “I’m A Puck” and “Captain”.

• The band is picked by co-founders of The Talking Heads Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth to join them and perform The Heads classic “This Must Be The Place”.

• Play to thousands at the NCAA Division 1 Hockey Championships in Philadelphia.

• NPR celebrates the 20^th Anniversary of legendary sports show “Only A Game” with a live broadcast in front of 1000 fans in Boston with guest Robert Kraft (Patriots owner), Bill Lee, Female hockey legends Digit Murphy, Meghan Duggan. The Zambonis were the house band with our friend & Red Sox organist Josh Kantor sitting in.

• Release brand new song & video titled “Don’t Pick A Fight With Chara”.

• The band writes, records & releases a song in 3 hours that gets played on NBC sports within 24 hours of release
• NEW SONGS RELEASED  Pittsburgh Penguins & Gordie Howe Tribute songs and a song “Great Scott (All Star Game)” about enforcer John Scott’s amazing journey to being the MVP of the 2016 NHL ALL STAR GAME.

• November – Stray from hockey songs for 1 second & by request from a cool indie label in Nashville, release themed 7 inch record about the sport of Curling (sorry).

• Write/record 3 more original songs for NHL on NBC Sports for the Stanley Cup race. Like 2016 (see above) written and recorded in 24 hours/on the air 24 to 36 hours later.

• NEW SONGS RELEASED “Gritty Xmas (And A Hockey New Year) a song about the greatest Mascot since the San Diego Chicken.

• NBC SPORTS releases a 6 episode Docu-series “Puckland” and uses 5 Zambonis songs for the project.

• Play some dreamy shows opening up for the legendary VENTURES!

• Also play some shows with GUSTER, Rhett Miller (Old 97’s) and Steven Page (Barenaked Ladies)

• New songs released “E.B.U.G.” Emergency Back Up Goalie about David Ayres fantatstic tale for the North Carolina Hurricanes.

• New song “Stink Like The Skunk Of A Puck” written with 1^st to 5^th graders from Toquam Magnet school in Norwalk, CT.

• Played some great shows opening for Bowling For Soup and Reel Big Fish.  

• And….. NEW RECORD IS DONE! Stay tuned.

PS: Covid sucks and hockey rocks