Dubstep on Ice

Austin Madaisky and JT Barnett are best known for their hockey skills but they also have aspirations in music. Off the ice, the two Western Hockey League players are trying to make a name for themselves as a dub group called SlushPuppie.

The day-to-day lives of these best friends and former Kamloops Blazers teammates are hectic and full between school, practice, games and travel for games. However, finding a spare moment to create music together is never a struggle for them. Barnett and Madaisky spend all the time they can spare making Electronic or "House" music - the precise genre designation is known as Dubstep. This form of dance music incorporates crossfading and heavy, pulsating beats. As they explain it, mixing is made easy with the assistance of computers and the Ableton Live music sequencer software.

The group has one complete original compilation called "Guns!" which you can hear as background audio in the slideshow. The song is based on a sample from an episode in the Emmy Award-winning show Family Guy ("And the Weiner Is . . ").

Their second single is an electro-dubstep reproduction of rapper Tech N9ne's single "Bout Ta Bubble," available on their YouTube Channel SlushPuppieHD and for downlaod on SoundCloud

On November 14, 2011, just after this story was completed, the Blazers traded Barnett to an American team, the Everett Silvertips. Although the former Blazer teammates are now separated by distance, they vow SlushPuppie will live on.

- Produced by Courtney Cox, Jessica Mulock and Vanessa Obeng.

Press the Play button to start the story.