{"id":934225,"date":"2026-10-15T18:06:28","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T18:06:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/934225\/"},"modified":"2026-10-15T18:06:28","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T18:06:28","slug":"this-garage-rock-band-has-a-song-for-the-canadian-cyclocross-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/934225\/","title":{"rendered":"This garage rock band has a song for the Canadian cyclocross season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cross is here! If you\u2019re a fan, you know the off-season discipline has plenty going for it. There\u2019s mud, often questionable weather, riders shouldering bikes, barriers\u2026crashes, mud, and spectators making enough noise to wake up the neighbours. If you\u2019ve ever been to a race or watched it on FloBikes<\/a>, you know there\u2019s cowbells.<\/p>\n

So. Much. Cowbell.<\/p>\n

Enter Dusty Coyote, a four-piece garage rock band from the Gananoque and Kingston area. The quartet might have stumbled across the perfect soundtrack for Canada\u2019s favourite excuse to get muddy.<\/p>\n

So they have a song \u201cMore Cowbell\u201d that wasn\u2019t written specifically for cyclocross. Of course, one can always think of that classic Saturday Night Live skit with Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken when you hear that phrase. \u201cI got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!\u201d<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s also a \u2018cross race in his hometown of St. Catharines called We Need More Cowbell<\/a> that happened in late September. Beofre it happened, Eric Leppof Dusty Coyote didn\u2019t take long to figure out there was indeed a connection.<\/p>\n

Dusty Coyote<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, this song might have accidentally found its perfect sport,\u201d Lepp wrote to Canadian Cycling Magazine.<\/p>\n

Fair enough.<\/p>\n

Dusty Coyote is a scrappy mix of garage rock, surf and funk punk, with Eric on vocals and guitar, Evan Massey on bass, Mathew Heidt on drums and Nic Lennox on baritone sax. The band\u2019s More Cowbell EP was recorded live, with the four musicians playing together rather than relying on a click track or autotune.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just like the energy of a band actually playing in a room,\u201d Eric said.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a decent fit for cyclocross, isn\u2019t it? A gritty sport that tends to reward a little chaos over perfectly polished proceedings.<\/p>\n

The band isn\u2019t made up of bike racers, either. Eric says none of the dudes in the band compete. But they love the enthusiasm at \u2018cross races. (Particularly the cowbells.)<\/p>\n

But the connection goes further. Lepp said former Canadian cross and road rider Nathan Chown had mentioned using it in a recap reel. Plus, the organizers of Prologue Cross in Uxbridge were planning to play it at their Oct. 18 event.<\/p>\n

The 2026 \u2018cross nats are coming up soon<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s also a big race coming up at the end of the month that the song would be great to play at full blast. The 2026 Canadian cyclocross championships<\/a> are taking place in Holmgren Country. They run from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1 at Hardwood Ski and Bike in Oro-Medonte, Ont.<\/p>\n

The weekend brings Canada\u2019s best riders together to fight for the maple leaf jersey. Canadian Cycling Magazine will be on scene too, for reports and photos. But if you can make it, try! Watching \u2018cross is always fun, and Hardwood is a great venue.<\/p>\n

The racing will be the main attraction, naturally. But if you\u2019re heading up there, there\u2019s no reason your playlist can\u2019t get involved, too.<\/p>\n

Give Dusty Coyote\u2019s \u201cMore Cowbell\u201d a listen on Spotify<\/a>, and find the band on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Because if there\u2019s one thing cyclocross doesn\u2019t need less of, it\u2019s cowbell.<\/p>\n