Anthem singers, Lightning Girls auditions

Want to sing the national anthem at a Lightning game? Want to be a Lightning girl? The team is holding tryouts for both jobs.

Anthem Singer: The team is accepting audition tapes until Aug. 15. Interested parties must submit a CD or DVD of their a cappella renditions of the United States and Canada national anthems. All submissions must include the singer's name, address and phone number. The submissions will not be returned.

Submit your audition to the Tampa Bay Lightning, Att: Anthem Auditions, 401 Channelside Drive, Tampa, FL 33602.

Or ...

Music Showcase, 402 Oakfield Drive, Brandon, FL 33511.

Or ...

Interested singers can audition at Music Showcase at 6 p.m. on Aug. 27. The phone number is 813-685-5998.

Lightning Girls:  Preliminary auditions will be Aug. 10 at the St. Pete Times Forum. Registration begins at 10 a.m. There also will be two pre-audition workshops, Aug. 4 and 6 at 7 p.m. The workshops are $25 each. Registration for the actual audition is $20, or $15 if a workshop is attended.

Those interested in a workshop must fill out a registration form and submit it with payment by Aug. 4. Pre-registration for the audition also is due by Aug. 4. Registration materials can be brought directly to a workshop or the tryout. Pre-registration is simply a way to avoid waiting in lines.

Candidates must wear a half top, skin colored tights, form sitting shorts and sneakers or dance shoes. Applicants must be 18 or older and live within 50 miles of the Times Forum and must be a full-time student or employee or a combination of both. A high school diploma or equivalent is required, and a valid passport is suggested. No ice skating experience is necessary.

Go to tampabaylightning.com to get an application.

 

Comments

[jaime z]

I ALWAYS MISS THE DARN AUDITION to sing the National Anthem...alwaaays...and this chick thst sang last night was..ummmm....less then spectacular(im jus sayin)!!! Its my favorite song to sing.....whens my darn turn?? lol

discruntled vocalist....bLuE

[Phil]

GP... I am from Ohio, but lived in Philly for 8 years. That was my first NHL experience and have been hooked since! Been down here for 4 years and the Bolts are MY team!

At least now I can safely remove the paperbag from my head -- Denis IS gone, right?

Go Bolts!!!

[GP]

Sorry that was me in the last post.

Phil & NTMM,

Completely agree with what you said. I'm a philly transplant (I know ... boooooo ... screw you ! lol) and I claim TBL as my second team. You will start to see a change to passionate TBL fans ONLY when children growing up in the area now are of age to purchase tickets. Example, my 3 yr old son has a Flyers and a TBL jersey. I rooted for the Flyers when they were in town and he wore his TBL jersey. I could not get him to wear the Flyers jersey. Some would say my 3 year old is smarter than I (I beat you guys to the joke) but he proves my point (and I beat him later). He will grow up with passion for the TBL like I did for the Flyers. That is what is healthy for the Bolts. Seeing all those young kids at the games and playing ice hockey in the area. It may take another decade but those "other" teams fans will eventually be drowned out. There is nothing wrong with rooting for your home team .... BUT the home team should never let the opposing fans to be louder than them. Think that would happen in Philly? I don't even have to answer that.

Don,

I actually liked you until you said you hated the Flyers. I'll have to read your posts a little more closely now. ;)

To all:

How many fans in Tampa can name/remember all the players in Tampa history? I know a few of you can but how many casual fans do you see at games? This is why you have to respect Leo. I know he is over the top but I respect anyone who follows his/her team like that. Tampa needs more fans like him. If you go to any "hockey" city, you will meet lots of people like him. I remember almost every Flyers player since I started watching hockey when I was 5 or 6. This is why the children in Tampa are so important.

[Phil]

NtMM... Tampa is a hodge podge of people from all areas of the U.S. Very feew are born here or grow up here. They supported their Team until they moved here. I find that most of them wear/support TBL until their former team visits. I hate it too, but it is true. Go to Rays game and you get the same thing when Chicago, NY, or Boston shows up. Fact of life down here. The fact that they are fans is great and I think it sometimes fires up the Lightning fans when the "Let's Go Buffalo" chant is louder than the "Let's Go Lightning" chant. That is shameful.

I usually chant "Go Home Buffalo" when they start.

All in all, I agree with your sentiment. Sorry that most of us are transplants and need to learn to love OUR hometown team!

Go Bolts!!!

[pD]

Habs washed up Leo..pulled the big choke vs Philly.
Boooo

[Don in St. Pete]

NtMM, I will secons that! I can remember back to a couple years before the Cup season when the dastardly Red Wings fans would outnumber the Lightning fans. All the Yzerman, McCarty and Federov jersies were enough to make me puke.

[Not the Marlboro Man]

As long as we are on hate, I'll tell you I hate the Caps, Devils and Flyer with a passion. I'm from Colorado, where you never see any obnoxious Eastern conference shmos in the stands like you do here. This is the only thing that torques my hind end to no end. All the fans from everywhere else in the country get a free license to stink here. If you cheered for another team in most places you would be wearing someone's beer or be pulling popcorn and peanut hulls out of your hair. I'm not advocating any of that bad behavior like the Idiots from the above mentioned areas do, but Lightning fans ought to stand out a little more for their team here. Years ago when I first made Tampa my home, I couldn't believe the amount of Maple Geek Jerseys that actually showed up here for a game. The fans were horrible and obnoxious and some of them even tried to start a fight with my wife and I...luckily some of the attendants came up and threw them all out before the game concluded...and before I lost my half sober temper. But my point is this, the St. Pete Times Forum is the Lightning's house and the fans should demand that it be respected as such. You never here the Lightning fans chanting down another team's player, trying to get in his head or ever screaming above the Ranger fans when they start their obnoxious "Let's go Raaaaaanger chant." This year should be different. The fans need to get off their lazy bohuncuses and start enthusiastically supporting their team. I know you can't prevent the Bondra jersey wearing idiota and the Ovechkin Jersey wearing moronicas but you can make life miserable for them by out-yelling them and letting them know they are wearing the wrong sweater in our holy sanctuary. I have been to several games here in Tampa where there were more people on cell phones texting than watching the game....it was increadible. If I'm going to pay a lofty price for good tickets, the last thing I'm going to do is stay on a cell phone and text when V4 and MSL are on the ice. Come on people get behind your team...drink some American beer and raise alittle hell! Those other cities shouldn't even be able to get a ticket here, the fans should have them bought up now...the owners are dedicated to winning now, so there should be no excuse. Even if you can only afford cheap seats and only go to two games a season. Tampa is fortunant to have an NHL franchise and the fans should truly feel honored to have such a good team...the least we can all do is cheer them on when you go to the game. I don't care what other team's fans show up here, they should all get their @$$ boo'd big time.

[léo]

Like I said: Hate is good in hockey. It's almost an indispensable part of hockey-passion.
But booing isn't hate. Booing is affect.
You may hate Us, but you also know for a fact that We don't hate the Bruinies. We LOVE them. They're Our favorite adversaries. For obvious reasons.
The angle your booing is coming from (especially from a Bruinie!) will NOT affect Us. To Our ears, Bruin-boos are Love incarnate. The boo has reverse-negative Affect. Therefore, it's not working. Therefore, it's not booing. It's got no weight. Your brain cuts power; larynx dies out. It's a scientific fact, Don!: All attempts to boo the CH fail.
It's all motivation for Us, in the end.
Who can boo Us? We're too beautiful to be sullied. (ouch, even I think THAT one was too much)
But who though?
P.

[Don in St. Pete]

Leo, I hate the habs. I mean hate! I grew up watchin' them torch my Bruins every time we met in the playoffs. I'll boo them, and I'll boo them til kingdom come. Doesn't mean I don't respect them but I have them as much as you hate Philly and Toronto. I have Philly to, and I'll boo them just as loud as I boo the habs. BOO!!!!!!!!

[léo]

Heeeey! Sucker's back!
What'up dog?!
Yeah! An INTER-CONTINENTAL peeing contest! Woo-hoo!
And he's off! Hold on to that bull, Reg! Hold on! 4 seconds! Hold on, Reg! He's a beast, that one! Hold on! 8 seconds! HOOOOOONK!!! Ya did it, Reg! Ya did it!
Now, you can go back to Appalachia. Enjoy your side of beef.
And let the rest of us talk hockey.
PROVE to me that you can boo the CH, Sucker. Prove it.
And I ain't talkin' 'bout a 5-minute phase; I'm talkin' Mtl booin', REAL booin', booin' make you cry, dog! No one can boo Us. There's no reason to latch onto long enough to sustain a good boo at Our expense. Your brain cuts the wind from your larynx and it's finished. We're too glorious, see? Can't be booed. We can?
Prove it.
And not allowed to make stuff up, nor to delude yourself. That's a new rule I made up. It's nice, it's got appeal, I think you'll like it. See if you can stick to the rule.
And give it a whirl.
Sucker.
P.

[Not the Marlboro Man]

Chechmate3,
I understand that not all ladies like to see other ladies dressed in revealing attire, but just as sure as pork has salt, I don't want to see some dude dressed in revealing clothing either...it just some how seems wrong. My suggestion is that they put more clothes on the girls and lower the beer prices, that way the anticipated outcome will somewhat have the same effect. Then maybe everyone can be happy until we all get home after the game!

[PD]

Welcome aboard Harvey and Flasher..you guys know what train to catch.

[Boltflasher]

As far as picking the girls,...its good to be the owner....

[Twinebulge]

Rick Derringer ROCKS - or used to, anyway

How he can play those impossible chords and blinding arpeggios with those short fingers....amazing what determination plus 40 years of practice will do :)

[Czechmate3]

How about this...not all hockey fans are guys and we all don't get the same ...well..response when we see scantily clad girls in tight pants. What about catering to us ladies and we have the "Lightning Guys." I would so stop going to get my usual hotdog(pun?)at the concession stand to watch those boys dance! I might even consider renewing my season tickets.

[Phil]

Why not Feaster singing while Thunderbug blares the siren right beside him? Now THAT sounds like a good tradition!

Go Bolts!!!

[Not the Marlboro Man]

Bring back Rick Derringer! Hire some more Lightning Girls like Karen the hot auburn/brunnette and it will all be good!

[Judy]

I agree with Phil. Les and Marshall are the best and I wish they would be at every home game. Les is a well known jazz guitarest, and Marshall has a wonderful voice. They get my vote every time.

[Herb]

Good anthem singer but the guitar playing is a joke.

[Habs Suck]

Oh, leo says we can't boo the slabs. In his words it's "SCIENTIFIC fact."

What a genius. I'll boo whomever I want. Wanna stop me? You can do that. In person only.

Guess that conversation is over!!

[DSB]

But Ajax, could you boo Leo if he sang while using pom poms and wearing the half shirt and form fitting shorts!

[léo]

Boo me, Ajax?!
What a terrible thing to say.
Mind you, I went to school tellin' everyone me mum said I could sing like an angel. Turns out she meant the angel of death, but anyways,
I can hum real good!
And rest assured, should you come to Hockey City, you would not be booed; you would be welcomed with open arms, nurtured, educated, and then brainwashed into Joining.
And then who do you boo? Ajax? Big boy?
You gonna boo God, after that?
What is sayin' is,
You can't boo the CH; it's just impossible to do. Your brain would not allow sound to escape your larynx; it's a SCIENTIFIC fact, an auto-function of the body, similar to closing your epiglotus when you eat or your sphincter when you...
Well, you see my point...uh..
I MEAN, you UNDERSTAND my point.
...booing Leo...
Boo!
P.

[harvey]

I wanna know how to get a job as a judge.

Lets see.....18+, must wear half shirt, form fitting shorts, and tights. The real kicker is, the young ladies pay for the opportunity to audition.

For once I'm with PD. Sports Monopoly Rocks!!!

[phil]

I also liked the chick that uses the tuning harp and wears the Hooters outfits before she sings. :-)

Go Bolts!!!

[Don in St. Pete]

Ajax, I was thinking Leo should audition too! He would probably get free tickets.

[ajax]

The guitar duo puts the team to sleep. I swear we lost almost everytime they did the duo. (of course we lost almost everytime they didn't last year) To mello for hockey.
We need some jammin lungs etc.
I vote that Leo does the Canadian anthem so we all can boo him.

[Andy of Dunedin]

Les Stabler is the guitar player, and Marshall - is it Ghillon? - is the singer. Theirs is one of the best-ever renditions of the Anthem IMHO.

The most bizarre version I've ever heard was before a Rays game a season or two back. Sha-Na-Na, who was doing a post-game concert, performed The Star Spangled Banner as a doh-wop number.

[Phil]

The guitar player and "Les" (?) are the best -- especially when canadian teams are in town. They are phenomenal... I wish they would do EVERY game! There is no sense of a local 'tradition' for the Bolts. Thunderbug blaring a siren for 30 seconds is boring. Hopefully OK will get something going for us and pump a little Hollywood into our pre-game show. AND, can the graphics on our multi-million dollar scoreboard be any more bland?

How about a pre-game song like "The Good Old Hockey Game", and put the words on the fancy scoreboard so people can sing along? I'd put my beer down long enough to do that.

Go Bolts!!!

[Lynn]

Thank you for letting us know.

[Marv]

Well said Michael. The song should be sung as written..... period. Those who feel compelled to do otherwise can do so in the privacy of their own home.
Both National Anthems are beautiful, bear much history and when sung, be done in a very respectfully manner.

It would be nice to have them sung on TV as opposed to watching some last minute commercial.

[PD]

Let me guess, Len Barrie and Koulsie get to pick the girls too as well as the players.
Sports monopoly rocks.

[King]

Duke you have no taste and you are hereby demoted to Peasant Serf!

[Michael]

Duke, while I see your point, I like that guy. Atleast he dosnt butcher the song, or try to waiver his voice just to do it. The anthem is a special song, and it should be treated as such.

[Duke]

Maybe we can get someone else than the flat headed guy with his big doofy guitar player. It seemed he did just about every game, and it got old. Not knocking the guy, we would like to see some different folks do it. I would think there should be some talent in this market.