McConnachie masters hits on, off ice

FAYETTEVILLE, NC – For decades, the lines between the worlds of professional sports and entertainment have been growing closer and closer. These days, it isn’t uncommon to see sports stars cross over into the worlds of movies, television or music. Until now, the cross over was mostly at the top of the pro ladder but one SPHL star is changing that tune. On the ice, Fayetteville FireAntz forward Brett McConnachie skates hard and hits harder. Off the ice, he knows how to bang out some hits as well. You see, McConnachie is a Southern Hip-Hop recording artist who goes by the name of Bowx and has sold over 70,000 CDs of his music. So how exactly did a kid from Ajax, Ontario become an opening act for the likes of Ludacris, Lil Wayne, Busta Rhymes, Young Jeezy and 3 6 Mafia? Like all Canadian kids,

McConnachie’s goal in life was to become a pro hockey player. He got started on the path by playing junior hockey in 2000 with the Pickering Panthers and then in 2001 for his hometown Ajax Axemen in the OPJHL. McConnachie’s talent was evident from the outset with Ajax as he scored 12 goals and had 13 assists for 25 points in 49 games. A year later, he was sent to the Wexford Raiders where he exploded for 24 goals and 34 assists in 49 contests. The offensive display came at a perfect time because Wexford was constantly visited by college scouts and has a reputation for sending kids to Division 1 schools in the U.S. “The first year I played in Ajax, which was kind of a low-end, low-budget team, I was more or less playing there at a young age (15 or 16) just to get more ice time. The next year I wanted to go somewhere I could maybe be promoted a little bit toward school,” he said. “I always wanted to play NCAA hockey and get my degree which was something I always wanted to do.” His breakout season turned out to be perfect timing because that year a Russian under-20 team was traveling throughout Canada playing junior squads. Wexford was one of those teams the Russians tussled with. McConnachie recalled that he had a hat trick and a fight in that game, drawing the attention of the coaching staff of the University of Alabama-Huntsville in the process. “The one game we played against the Russians, the assistant coach from the University of Alabama-Huntsville was there. Right after the game, he came down to the locker room and talked to me,” McConnachie said. “I had never even heard of them to be honest. He offered to fly me down there on a recruiting trip. I went down there and it was awesome. For a school I had never heard of, it was amazing.” McConnachie chose UAH over several schools up north and over the course of the next four years played quite well. In 132 games with the Chargers, he totaled 37 goals and 40 assists. The program hit a high note during his senior season, winning its conference and qualifying for the NCAA tournament where as the 16th seed, UAH took top seeded Notre Dame to double overtime before losing with just over two minutes left in the second extra period. “My whole college experience was awesome. They have a really good business school – I think it is in the top 50 business schools in the United States, which I didn’t know until I had gotten there,” he said. “The whole experience was awesome. I really enjoyed my time there.” McConnachie’s pro career didn’t start off as successfully as his junior and college years had been. After starting out in the San Jose Sharks’ rookie camp and then failing to make the regular season roster in Worcester (AHL), he was sent to the Fresno Falcons of the ECHL. He only saw action in seven games for the Falcons as a knee injury sidelined him for more than a month and seriously curtailed his skating speed and power. After being released from Fresno, he found his way to Oklahoma City in the CHL, playing in four games before being shipped off to Amarillo where he picked up three goals and eight points in 32 games. The following year, 2008-2009, he started in Amarillo only to be traded once more, this time to the Tulsa Oilers. His stay in Tulsa was limited to 30 games as a coaching change led to extensive roster moves and ultimately his release. He ended up in Fayetteville, brought in by coach Tommy Stewart to try to jump start a team that was in danger of missing the post season. From the moment that McConnachie arrived in Fayetteville,Stewart made him a “go to” guy, giving his new forward opportunities to kill penalties, play on the power play and to get a regular shift. McConnachie paid the coach back with 11 points in 11 games as the FireAntz went 9-1-1 to secure a playoff spot. The ‘Antz got to within one game of winning the championship before losing to Knoxville. “It was nice to finally be given an opportunity. In college, I was one of the top players on the team, a first line guy. My first two years as a pro, I didn’t touch any power play time. I was always either third line or the extra forward,” he said. “When I got here, it was really nice to be able to contribute and be given an opportunity.” As it turns out, hockey is just one of McConnachie’s passions. In his younger days, Brett took piano lessons but they tailed off as he got older. By the time he reached high school, his tastes in music had grown to include hip-hop and rap. It was that liking of the genre combined with the movie “Eight Mile” starring rapper Eminem that spurred him into finding his “voice”. “I’ve always been a huge fan of music – all types of music – but mainly hip-hop, rap and R & B. I’ve just been a huge fan of that type of music for as long as I can remember,” he said. “When the movie came out, the freestyle battle parts when he’s (Eminem) battling the guys at the club, I just thought it was so cool.” McConnachie’s high school basketball (yes, he was a multi-sport athlete) teammates were all big rap fans and filled the locker room with it on a regular basis. They group would “freestyle” – that is each would jump in and add lines to the beat. At first, McConnachie joined in as a lark but soon found that he could go for a couple of continuous minutes at a time. He took his talents with him to UAH and his friends noticed that he had skills. They began talking him into going out to local clubs that were holding freestyle contests. One night, his buddies entered him in a “Freestyle Friday” contest and he was called to the stage. He won that evening’s contest and continued to out duel any and all comers for the better part of twelve weeks. Along the way, a representative approached him about going “pro”. “Halfway through the streak, I was approached by a manager. She was representing some guys around the area, in Atlanta and stuff like that,” he said. “She said that she thought I was something that was very marketable: a white guy who plays hockey who dresses like a white guy in jeans and a t-shirt. It was a clean image.” The management company helped McConnachie with producing his first two albums, “Triple Threat” and “Back 4 More”. “Triple Threat”, which debuted in 2006, sold thousands of copies in and around the UAH campus before McConnachie knew what hit him. “Basically what they (management company) did was look after my first two albums. They paid for all my studio time, paid for the albums to be printed so that I could make some money and sold them around school,” he said. Along the way, McConnachie needed to come up with an alter ego. He wanted something that utilized his passion for hockey while at the same time fit in with the Southern surroundings he was in. He went through several names until settling on Bowx aka Brett Williams (Williams being his middle name), which is on his newest album “Introducing Brett Williams: Rhythm & Bowx”. “I basically changed my stage name thirty times. I originally was going by Penalty Box. Then we cut the title name to just Pbox. After living in the South for so long we had it as Bowx – Penalty Box with a Southern drawl,” McConnachie said. “I’m going by Brett Williams right now.” McConnachie credits the likes of Lil Wayne, Ludacris and 3 6 Mafia for influencing his version of Southern Hip-Hop where the beat is more memorable than the lyrics. Still, the thing that makes Bowx’s music resonate with people seems to be the lyrics. McConnachie said that for him, the key is using material that he knows well – the events and people in his life. “That’s where I get my material from. That’s where all my stuff stems from. Anything I’m writing comes from stuff that I’ve seen, that I do. It makes it a lot easier. It makes it a lot of fun too. It’s almost like writing a book. You’re telling a story. That’s where all my personal music anyway – the stuff I record and write – it all comes from things that I’ve seen, things that I do and stories that I’ve come across along the way and just turn it into music.” McConnachie has gotten the chance to meet some of his rap idols when he opened up concerts for them. He said that one of the most surprising was his encounter with Ludacris, who seemed just as interested in Bowx’s hockey career as his music. “He (Ludacris) was really, really cool. He’s from Atlanta and he’s a big Thrashers fan I guess,” he said. “He was really interested in the whole hockey thing and how I got started rapping and whatnot. He was the coolest. He was down to earth. It was more him getting to know me. I didn’t have time to ask him any questions because he was just firing them out at me nonstop.” This season, McConnachie penned a theme song for the FireAntz that the team plays before every home game at the Crown Coliseum. He managed to get the name of every player on the roster incorporated into the tune. McConnachie said that he enjoys hearing it played just as much as seeing and hearing the reaction of opposition players. “It’s really cool. It’s a team thing. It’s something that we enjoy. There were probably nine or ten guys that came to the studio with me when I went to record it. It’s something that kind of brings the boys together,” he said. “When you take the ice to it in warm-ups and you hear yourself rapping, its kind of funny. The guys on the other team will give it to me a little bit. Its kind of funny when the guys on the other team chirp me about it.” As far as the future, McConnachie is quite happy playing in Fayetteville and is focused on a personal goal of winning a championship. Off the ice, Bowx is looking for that one big break that could lead to a lucrative recording contract that will make him a star. “I’m hoping that I sign a deal with a major label. That would be a goal – to get myself discovered and get some stuff going on that,” he said. “In terms of hockey, I don’t see myself moving up. I’m happy here. I enjoy playing for Tommy. I enjoy Fayetteville I enjoy the city. I want to win a championship. I think we have a good squad and we have a really legit chance at winning. That’s what I want.” For a guy like McConnachie and his alter ego Bowx, one can never have enough bling. To hear Bowx’s music, including the Fayetteville FireAntz song, go to www.myspace.com/thekidpbox Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com