Hubbry Logo
Tara SloneTara SloneMain
Open search
Tara Slone
Community hub
Tara Slone
logo
7 pages, 0 posts
0 subscribers
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Tara Slone
Tara Slone
from Wikipedia

Key Information

Tara Kamala Slone (born September 7, 1973) is a Canadian rock vocalist, actress and television personality.[1][2]

Early life and education

[edit]

Slone was born in Montreal, Quebec, and raised in Wolfville and Halifax, Nova Scotia.[3] Her stepfather Dr. Tomasz Pietrzykowski was the Dean of the School of Computer Science at Acadia University.[4] She began pursuing classical voice training at the age of 12 with the goal of becoming an opera singer. Her first job was at a Second Cup in Halifax when she was in high school as a barista for a few months before working at Sam the Record Man. She connected with music lovers and indie musicians, which she credits as influencing her taste in music.[5] At the age of 18, she attended first Dalhousie University and then Concordia University to pursue a degree in music. While at Concordia, she switched her aspirations to acting and rock music, and subsequently moved to Toronto, Ontario.[6]

Acting career

[edit]

In the mid-1990s, Slone played Columbia in the theatre version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in front of sold-out crowds when it stopped at the Grand Theatre in Kingston, Ontario.[7] In 2016, Slone appeared on stage at the Stratford Festival in the play The Hypochondriac.[8]

In 1997, Slone starred in Night of the Demons 3, and in 1998, she landed a recurring role in La Femme Nikita.[9] She appeared in three episodes. In 2008, she appeared in an episode of the second season of The Border, titled "Prescriptive Measures", as an American pop star who dies early on in the episode, which sparks the main plot of the episode.

Music career

[edit]

In 1996, Slone became the lead singer of Joydrop after discovering a wanted ad for a singer in the magazine Now. By 1997, Joydrop had a record deal[6] and released two albums. The band had chart hits in Canada with the singles "Beautiful" and "Sometimes Wanna Die,"[10] (which also reached #20 on the American Billboard Alternative chart)[11] and was nominated for a Juno Award.[12]

Since the breakup of Joydrop, Slone worked on a solo album with Jordon Zadorozny. Her latest album, Just Look Pretty and Sing, was released on March 6, 2007, but was completed before appearing on the reality show Rock Star INXS in 2005. Singles released include "My Little Secret", "We Were Stars", and "The Perfect Girl."[10] Joydrop reunited on April 2, 2017, edition of Hometown Hockey in Guelph, Ontario, with Slone performing "Beautiful".[13]

Slone competed on Rock Star INXS in 2005, a reality show that sought to find a replacement lead singer for the band INXS.[14] She was the sixth person eliminated from the competition.[15] She previously resided in Toronto, sharing a house with fellow Rock Star INXS contestant Suzie McNeil.[16] The two appeared in an episode of MTV Cribs, giving viewers a tour of their house.[17]

Broadcasting career

[edit]

From August 9, 2010, to August 28, 2015, Slone served as the host of Breakfast Television on Citytv Calgary.[9]

Beginning in 2014, Slone joined Sportsnet, acting as an on-site co-host for its new Sunday-night Rogers Hometown Hockey broadcasts alongside Ron MacLean.[18] The show was cancelled in 2022 and Slone parted ways with Sportsnet.[19]

In 2020, Slone was named host of a new weekly Sportsnet docuseries called Top of Her Game, which focuses on women's rights through interviews with female athletes, builders and executives.[20][21] In the same year she was host of the summer concert series Budweiser Stage at Home for the Citytv network,[22] for which she received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Host in a Talk Show or Entertainment News Series at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards.[23] In 2022, she accepted a position with the NHL's San Jose Sharks as a content contributor, and has also joined NBC Sports Bay Area on their Sharks broadcasts.[24] On June 8, 2024, Slone announced she was moving back to Canada to work for Sirius XM radio in music and entertainment programs.[25]

Personal life

[edit]

She is separated and has a daughter named Audrey.[9] Slone lived for two years near San Jose, California, with former NHL defenceman Dan Boyle.[19]

Tara has since moved back to Toronto. While still working for the San Jose Sharks, she now also works for SiriusXM radio.


Filmography

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1992 Kung Fu: The Legend Continues[26]
1995 Hart to Hart: Two Harts in 3/4 Time Vivienne
1997 Night of the Demons III Lois
1998 Twist of Fate Melanie Sims
2003 Foolproof Maggie
2004 The Straitjacket Lottery Nancy Leah
2005 Rockstar: INXS Contestant DVD release
2009 Rise Up: Canadian Pop Music in the 1980s Self
2014 The Owen Hart Foundation: A Look Back Self (Documentary short)

Television

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1996 Kung Fu: The Legend Continues Larissa Episode "Dark Side of Chi"
1997 The Newsroom Episode "Meltdown: Part 3"
1997-98 La Femme Nikita Gail (and Gail as Tara Slone) Episodes "Inside Out", "Darkness Visible", "Noise"
2001 Special Unit 2 Self Episode "The Wall"
2005 Canoe Live Producer
2005 Rock Star: INXS Self Finalist
2007 Best! Movies! Ever! Self (Musician) Episode "Road Trips"
2007–2010 Inside Jam[27] Co-host Sun TV
2008 The Border Kiley Tristano Episode "Prescriptive Measures"
2010–2015 Breakfast Television Calgary[28] Co-host
2014–2022 Hometown Hockey Co-host / Producer
2019 Hudson and Rex Greta Fermi[29] Episode "Bullet in the water"
2020 Budweiser Stage at Home Host 8 episodes
2020–2021 Top of Her Game Host 48 episodes

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia
from Grokipedia
Tara Slone (born , ) is a Canadian singer, actress, and sports broadcaster whose career spans and hockey media. As lead vocalist of the band Joydrop, formed in 1996, she contributed to albums including Metasexual (1999), which sold over 100,000 copies, and Viberate (2001), earning a Juno Award nomination for the group. Slone placed as a finalist on the 2005 CBS reality series Rock Star: before releasing her solo debut Just Look Pretty and Sing in 2007 and appearing in acting roles such as in the film Foolproof (2003). Transitioning to broadcasting, she co-hosted the NHL's Rogers Hometown Hockey for eight seasons from 2014, emphasizing community stories alongside , and hosted Sportsnet's Top of Her Game. Since 2022, Slone has served as a host and contributor for the San Jose Sharks, producing features and the podcast The Undercurrent, while joining Sirius XM Canada in 2024; her work highlights inclusive storytelling in hockey, drawing from her lifelong fandom rooted in Nova Scotia.

Early life and education

Family background and childhood

Tara Slone was born on September 7, 1973, in , . At the age of seven, she relocated with her mother and stepfather to , initially settling in . The family later moved within the province to Halifax, where Slone spent much of her childhood. Slone's given name derives from Tara, the feminine aspect of compassion in , reflecting her parents' decision to raise her in the Buddhist tradition. Little public information exists regarding her biological father's background or any siblings, with available accounts focusing primarily on her mother's household after the move to . By age 12, Slone had begun formal classical voice training, an early indicator of her musical inclinations amid a childhood marked by geographic transitions across Canadian provinces.

Musical and artistic influences

Slone's early musical development was profoundly shaped by her family's environment and her innate affinity for classical genres. Her father, an avid musician who plays and composes, exposed her to diverse sounds and fostered her creative pursuits from childhood, while her mother's supportive wisdom complemented this nurturing backdrop. As a young girl, Slone gravitated toward , participating in choirs where her voice demonstrated a natural aptitude for the style, prompting early formal voice training that continued through high school. This foundation evolved into aspirations for an operatic career; Slone trained intensively in classical voice, earning a music scholarship to , though she later pivoted toward and rock by age 18 due to the discipline required for proving mismatched with her emerging interests. Her broad childhood listening encompassed , classical pieces, , and rock, blending technical vocal precision with eclectic tastes that informed her later rock performances, characterized by an opera-infused vocal delivery. Artistically, her studies in at further honed her expressive range, integrating dramatic elements into her musical persona.

Acting career

Early roles and television work

Slone entered the acting profession in the mid-1990s, securing guest roles on syndicated television series filmed in Canada. Her first notable appearance was as Vivienne in the 1995 TV movie Hart to Hart: Two Harts in 3/4 Time, a mystery telefilm starring Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers. In 1996, she portrayed Larissa in the episode "Dark Side of Chi" of Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, a action-crime series continuation of the original Kung Fu, which often featured supernatural elements alongside martial arts themes. Slone gained more visibility in 1998 with a recurring role on the spy thriller , where she played Gail, a Section One operative, across three episodes during the series' run from 1997 to 2001. These early television credits, supplemented by uncredited or minor stage and film work, marked the initial phase of her endeavors, which overlapped with her musical pursuits before transitioning toward .

Film appearances and transitions

Slone's early film roles were predominantly in low-budget horror and thriller productions. In 1997, she debuted on screen as , a supporting character in the horror Night of the Demons III, directed by Jim Kaufman, which continued the franchise's theme of demonic possession in a high school setting. Her subsequent film work included the 1998 thriller Psychopath (released as Twist of Fate in some markets), where she played Melanie Sims, a character who is drowned in a bathtub off-screen by the antagonist. This role highlighted her involvement in genre films with violent narratives, though the production received limited theatrical distribution. By 2003, Slone appeared as , the receptionist at a security firm, in the Canadian heist comedy-thriller Foolproof, directed by William Phillips and starring a young as one of three friends simulating bank robberies that turn real. The film, praised for its clever premise but critiqued for uneven pacing, marked one of her more mainstream-adjacent credits amid a career leaning toward television. Slone's film output tapered off after 2003, with no major feature roles following, as her pursuits intersected with burgeoning endeavors. Concurrently with late-period work, she co-founded the band Joydrop around 1999, prioritizing vocal performance and touring, which effectively shifted her professional focus away from screen . By the mid-2000s, as Joydrop disbanded post their 2002 sophomore album, Slone pivoted fully to , securing her first on-air role at a before advancing to hosting positions, signaling the end of her primary phase. This transition aligned with a broader pattern in her career of diversifying from scripted roles to live media, where her entertainment background facilitated entry into and lifestyle programming.

Music career

Time with Joydrop

Joydrop was a Canadian band formed in 1996 in , , consisting of vocalist Tara Slone, guitarist Thomas Payne, bassist Tom McKay, and drummer Tony Rabalao. Slone, who had studied and theater for over a decade, served as the lead singer, contributing potent vocals that blended with the band's edgy guitars, hard-driving rhythms, and occasional use of samples and loops. The group's sound drew from diverse member backgrounds, including Payne's studies in and , McKay's education and session work, and Rabalao's training in and composition. The band's debut album, Metasexual, was released on September 22, 1998, via , produced by Ron St. Germain and featuring tracks that showcased their rock style with contemporary electronic elements. Notable singles from this period included "Beautiful" and "Sometimes Wanna Die," which gained on Canadian outlets like MuchMusic and helped establish their presence in the late alternative scene. Following this, Joydrop issued Viberate on July 17, 2001, also through , which highlighted Slone's vocal strengths amid the band's evolving sound. Joydrop toured during their active years, performing live sets that emphasized their rock intensity, though specific tour dates remain sparsely documented beyond regional shows like opening for acts such as in 1998. The band disbanded around 2002 after releasing two full-length albums, with Slone subsequently pursuing solo music and other ventures. No public statements detail a specific cause for the split, though it preceded Slone's appearance on the reality series Rock Star: .

Solo career and later projects

Following the disbandment of Joydrop due to label disputes, Slone transitioned to a solo recording career. In 2005, she participated in the CBS reality competition Rock Star: INXS as one of 15 contestants vying to front the reunited INXS, advancing to the fifth finalist position before elimination. Slone's debut solo album, Just Look Pretty and Sing, was released in 2007 on The Orange Record Label, comprising 11 tracks in an alternative rock vein that highlighted her vocal range and songwriting. In 2010, she released the standalone single "Climbing Kate," a two-minute track distributed digitally. Subsequent solo music endeavors remained sporadic, as Slone increasingly directed her professional efforts toward broadcasting and television hosting.

Broadcasting career

Initial hosting roles

Slone's entry into television hosting began in 2007 as co-host and producer of Inside Jam, a weekly entertainment magazine program aired on Sun TV (CKXT-TV) in Toronto, where she focused on music and pop culture segments alongside co-hosts including David J. Roberts. The show, which ran until July 2010, marked her initial foray into broadcasting after careers in music and acting, leveraging her background as lead singer of Joydrop to cover industry guests and performances. Following the conclusion of Inside Jam, Slone relocated to and joined Breakfast Television on as co-host in 2010, a role she held for five years until 2015. In this early-morning lifestyle program, she contributed to segments on entertainment, local events, and community features, building her on-air presence in a larger market while occasionally incorporating her musical expertise. These positions established her versatility in hosting before transitioning to sports broadcasting.

Hockey broadcasting and Hometown Hockey

Slone entered professional hockey broadcasting in 2014 as the on-site co-host for Rogers Hometown Hockey, Sportsnet's weekly Sunday-night NHL program, partnering with veteran broadcaster . The format featured a mobile studio that traveled to roughly 25 Canadian communities per season, originating pre-game coverage from local rinks, outdoor ice surfaces, or community venues to spotlight grassroots hockey, hometown players, and regional stories. Over its eight-year run from 2014 to 2022, Hometown Hockey completed 160 stops nationwide, differentiating itself from traditional studio-based NHL coverage by prioritizing community engagement and on-the-ground narratives that highlighted inclusivity, local inequities in access to the sport, and emerging talents. Slone's contributions included conducting interviews with players, families, and organizers, leveraging her prior entertainment experience to infuse segments with dynamic energy while focusing on the sport's foundational community ties. Sportsnet discontinued the series in June 2022, citing a decision not to renew amid shifts in broadcasting strategy. During her tenure, Slone established herself as a prominent figure in Canadian hockey media, bridging her non-traditional background in music and acting with NHL coverage that emphasized storytelling beyond elite professional play.

Recent professional moves

In November 2022, Slone relocated from to and joined the as a host, reporter, and contributor for , marking her entry into American NHL broadcasting following the end of Hometown Hockey. She fulfilled this role through the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, including on-site game coverage and features, while managing cross-country commutes after her mid-season relocation. On June 8, 2024, Slone announced her return to , citing personal reasons, and transitioned into a new position with Sirius XM Canada, where she hosts weekly music and entertainment programs. This move expanded her portfolio beyond into audio , leveraging her background as a with Joydrop. Slone retained her contributions to the post-relocation, with her podcast The Undercurrent—featuring interviews on and hockey community stories—renewed for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons. In 2025, she also began hosting duties for events, entering competitive media coverage.

Public stances and controversies

Commentary on NHL and Hockey Canada culture

In November 2021, amid revelations of the Chicago Blackhawks' mishandling of a 2010 sexual assault allegation by prospect Kyle Beach against video coach Brad Aldrich, Tara Slone delivered a pointed critique of the NHL's institutional culture during a Rogers Hometown Hockey broadcast. She described the league's culture as "deeply broken," stating, "We love this game, and we just want it to be better. And it isn’t. And anybody who thinks that this culture is not deeply broken is wrong." Slone highlighted a pervasive "culture of silence" that shielded misconduct, expressing personal disappointment in the NHL's delayed responses to issues like the Black Lives Matter movement, racial justice initiatives, and efforts to increase staffing diversity for women and people of color. She emphasized fans' conflicted loyalty, torn between affection for the sport and frustration with systemic failures that prioritized protection of the status quo over accountability. Slone extended her analysis to following 2022 disclosures that the organization had used player registration fees to settle multiple claims involving members of its under-18 and under-20 national teams, including incidents from a 2018 world juniors tournament in Halifax and . In an October 2022 interview, she asserted that the sport harbors "a built-in culture of entitlement, a built-in culture of , a built-in culture of secrecy," arguing these traits are embedded beyond mere and require dismantling the insular norms that dominate hockey's predominantly white, male-dominated . She contended that superficial changes, such as ousting executives or appointing interim boards, fail to address root causes, insisting on broader reforms to cultivate well-rounded participants rather than prioritizing victory at the expense of ethical development. Slone advocated for injecting diverse external viewpoints to challenge the "hockey norm," warning that without such shifts, patterns of aggression and entitlement—evident in high-performance sports like hockey—persistently correlate with risks of and exclusion.

Exchange with Don Cherry

In October 2022, Tara Slone, a former Sportsnet host, posted a Twitter thread criticizing Don Cherry amid renewed social media discussion about his 2019 dismissal from Hockey Night in Canada. Slone stated she had "never weighed in" previously but now felt compelled to address Cherry's persona, noting she "like(d) Don as a person" yet "loathed his perspective, more and more as the years went by." She described Cherry as a "bigot" whose views on topics like immigration, women in hockey, and inclusivity were outdated and harmful, arguing he should not have held a national platform and urging followers to "stop with the deification" of him. Slone's comments referenced Cherry's November 9, 2019, on-air remarks urging "you people that come here" to wear poppies in remembrance of Canadian veterans, which deemed "divisive" and led to his firing the next day—a decision that drew backlash from supporters viewing it as an overreaction to patriotic advocacy rather than overt bigotry. Slone, who had co-hosted Hometown Hockey on the same network from to , implied Cherry's influence perpetuated a resistant culture within hockey toward progressive changes. Cherry responded dismissively to Slone's thread in interviews, suggesting her timing—coinciding with her own career transitions and public visibility—indicated ulterior motives like self-promotion rather than genuine reflection. He shrugged off the "bigot" label, emphasizing his long-standing support for veterans and hockey traditions, and noted receiving supportive calls post-thread, framing Slone's critique as a "cheap shot" from a former network colleague. The exchange highlighted ongoing divides in Canadian hockey media between traditionalist views, often defended against institutional pressures, and calls for broader inclusivity, with Slone's stance aligning with sentiments prevalent in mainstream broadcasting outlets.

Responses to personal criticisms

Slone has encountered personal criticisms largely manifesting as sexist online harassment, targeting her and qualifications in male-dominated hockey broadcasting. In July 2022, shortly after the cancellation of Hometown Hockey, she faced trolls questioning her expertise and personal conduct; in response, Slone posted on that she did not "owe some pathetic troll an explanation," emphasizing her refusal to engage with baseless attacks. A similar incident occurred in March 2023, when a Twitter user dismissed her commentary on hockey issues, stating, "Don't care about your opinion. This is a man's game and unfortunately, women try and make comments about these actions and no one cares. Stick to women's sports like the WNBA." Slone shared a screenshot of the comment on Twitter, captioning it "Another day, another ______" to underscore the pattern of misogyny, and replied to supportive fans with a nodding GIF, opting for understated highlighting over direct confrontation. Fans condemned the remark as misogynistic, with one noting "incels gonna incel" in solidarity.

Personal life

Family and relationships

Slone was born in , , on September 7, 1973, and relocated with her mother and stepfather to , , at age seven. She has one daughter, , born around 2010. Slone married Joel Otocki, whose family origins trace to ; they celebrated their anniversary in in 2014. By 2022, Slone had entered a relationship with former NHL defenseman Dan Boyle, relocating temporarily to with her daughter to join him near San Jose. The relationship with Boyle concluded by mid-2024, after which Slone prioritized family considerations in professional decisions, returning eastward.

Residences and lifestyle

Tara Slone primarily resides in , , , where she has lived for over half her life since moving there in 1996. In late 2022, she relocated to the San Jose area in to take on a hosting role with the , marking her first extended time living outside . She returned to in June 2024 after nearly two years in the Bay Area, citing family priorities as a key factor in the decision. Slone maintains a family-centered , sharing her home with her husband and young daughter, with whom she prioritizes relaxation and quality time amid her demanding schedule. Her personal habits reflect a shift from her earlier music career days, avoiding excessive partying while occasionally ; she quit in the mid-2000s. More recently, she has publicly discussed overcoming , drawing from childhood aversion to her mother's habit. Slone also engages in practices, including and volunteering at a Buddhist center, alongside interests like language learning.

Achievements and recognition

Awards and nominations

Slone's band Joydrop received a Juno Award nomination for Best New Group in 2002. In 2013, Slone won the Film and Television Award for Best Television Host. She was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award in 2021 for Best Host in a or News Series for her work on Budweiser Stage at Home.
YearAwardCategoryResultWork
2002Juno AwardBest New GroupNominationJoydrop
2013Alberta Film and Television AwardBest Television HostWinN/A
2021Canadian Screen AwardBest Host, Talk Show or Entertainment NewsNominationBudweiser Stage at Home

Impact on media and sports broadcasting

Slone co-hosted Rogers Hometown Hockey on Sportsnet from 2014 to 2022, a format that broadcast NHL games from rotating Canadian communities to foster local connections to the league. This eight-year run, alongside Ron MacLean, introduced an on-location pre- and post-game show emphasizing grassroots hockey stories, described by industry profiles as groundbreaking for its community immersion in national NHL coverage. The series aired weekly Sunday nights, reaching audiences through Sportsnet's regional channels and contributing to Rogers' broader NHL rights package, which included over 500 regular-season games annually. In 2020, Slone helped develop and hosted Top of Her Game, a weekly 30-minute docuseries that premiered on and ran for multiple seasons, profiling female athletes and figures in sports and culture through in-depth interviews. The program focused on personal narratives, accomplishments, and intersectional aspects of women's experiences, addressing gaps in mainstream sports media dominated by male-centric content. By centering empowered women—such as athletes and advocates—Slone's hosting elevated visibility for female-driven stories, with episodes exploring career challenges and societal barriers in sports. Her tenure across these platforms advanced female representation in hockey , a field historically male-led, by securing prominent on-air roles and producing content that prioritized underrepresented perspectives without relying on traditional studio formats. Following the 2022 cancellation of Hometown Hockey, Slone transitioned to U.S. markets as a host and contributor for the , extending NHL storytelling to American audiences via and team programming. These efforts collectively broadened sports media's scope, though measurable viewership shifts remain tied to network-wide NHL metrics rather than individual attribution.

References

Add your contribution
Related Hubs
User Avatar
No comments yet.