09-15-2007, 08:49 PM
A preview from the Cape Breton University gig.
And a little tidbit about recordig the next album at the end:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.capebretonpost.com/index.cfm?sid=61583&sc=147">http://www.capebretonpost.com/index.cfm ... 583&sc=147</a><!-- m -->
The Tragically Hip to perform at CBU courtyard Friday
LAURA JEAN GRANT
The Cape Breton Post
SYDNEY — Touring has become second nature for The Tragically Hip but even bass guitarist Gord Sinclair acknowledges Friday’s performance will be a change of pace.
“It’s been a longtime since we did a frosh week show,” he said, in a telephone interview last week as the band embarked on a short swing through Atlantic Canada. “It should be awesome. We’re very excited to come back out to Sydney. It has been a longtime and it’ll be great to get there.”
The iconic Canadian rock band will perform Friday at the Cape Breton University courtyard as part of their frosh week celebrations — and The Hip should feel right at home performing under the stars.
“We did quite a few outdoor festivals this summer. They’re a riot and we’re pretty adept at helping the riot along, I’d like to say,” said Sinclair, with a laugh.
The award-winning, multi-platinum recording group — made up of Sinclair, lead singer Gord Downie, drummer Johnny Fay and guitarists Paul Langlois and Rob Baker — formed in the mid-1980s but Sinclair said two decades have gone by in a flash.
“It’s kind of amazing how quickly the years just sort of dissolved away. Time literally does fly,” he said. “We’ve always sort of kept our eye on the near horizon with everything we’ve done with our careers . . . always looking at the next writing session, followed by the next recording session, followed by the next touring session. We’ve just always felt so fortunate to be doing what we do.”
Having criss-crossed the country countless times and travelled south of the border and abroad to perform their music, Sinclair said they’ve always maintained what he described as an “intelligent approach” to touring with lots of breaks and time off to spend at home.
“I think what breaks bands up and kills bands and harms their careers is trying to do too much, too many shows in a row to the point where you start losing sight of the fact that it’s a pleasure to be able to stand up on stage and be paid to perform music for people,” he said.
With dozens of hit songs — Bobcaygeon, Courage, Ahead by a Century, Blow at High Dough and 38 Years Old, to name a few — Sinclair said it can be a tough assignment to satisfy audiences as every fan has their favourite songs and albums. He said they’re continually rotating songs in and out of their performance set.
“Gord Downie and I sit down every night to do the set list together and, this is going to sound really selfish, but we try to keep ourselves happy first. You have to be engaged with the song in order to expect the audience to be engaged with you,” he said.
The Hip will be on the road for much of the next couple of months, touring Europe and then the U.S. before taking a break in mid-November to begin work on their next recording project.
“In a perfect world we’re hoping to have enough material compiled for a new record and hopefully get working in the spring of 2008 to get that recorded,” he said. “It’s onwards and upwards constantly for us.”
Friday’s Hip show is open to the public. CBU student tickets for the concert are $25 and are available only at Caper Convenience at CBU. Tickets for the general public are $49.50 and are on sale at Caper Convenience, Centre 200 box office, Savoy Theatre box office or online at <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.reservatech.ca">www.reservatech.ca</a><!-- w -->.
And a little tidbit about recordig the next album at the end:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.capebretonpost.com/index.cfm?sid=61583&sc=147">http://www.capebretonpost.com/index.cfm ... 583&sc=147</a><!-- m -->
The Tragically Hip to perform at CBU courtyard Friday
LAURA JEAN GRANT
The Cape Breton Post
SYDNEY — Touring has become second nature for The Tragically Hip but even bass guitarist Gord Sinclair acknowledges Friday’s performance will be a change of pace.
“It’s been a longtime since we did a frosh week show,” he said, in a telephone interview last week as the band embarked on a short swing through Atlantic Canada. “It should be awesome. We’re very excited to come back out to Sydney. It has been a longtime and it’ll be great to get there.”
The iconic Canadian rock band will perform Friday at the Cape Breton University courtyard as part of their frosh week celebrations — and The Hip should feel right at home performing under the stars.
“We did quite a few outdoor festivals this summer. They’re a riot and we’re pretty adept at helping the riot along, I’d like to say,” said Sinclair, with a laugh.
The award-winning, multi-platinum recording group — made up of Sinclair, lead singer Gord Downie, drummer Johnny Fay and guitarists Paul Langlois and Rob Baker — formed in the mid-1980s but Sinclair said two decades have gone by in a flash.
“It’s kind of amazing how quickly the years just sort of dissolved away. Time literally does fly,” he said. “We’ve always sort of kept our eye on the near horizon with everything we’ve done with our careers . . . always looking at the next writing session, followed by the next recording session, followed by the next touring session. We’ve just always felt so fortunate to be doing what we do.”
Having criss-crossed the country countless times and travelled south of the border and abroad to perform their music, Sinclair said they’ve always maintained what he described as an “intelligent approach” to touring with lots of breaks and time off to spend at home.
“I think what breaks bands up and kills bands and harms their careers is trying to do too much, too many shows in a row to the point where you start losing sight of the fact that it’s a pleasure to be able to stand up on stage and be paid to perform music for people,” he said.
With dozens of hit songs — Bobcaygeon, Courage, Ahead by a Century, Blow at High Dough and 38 Years Old, to name a few — Sinclair said it can be a tough assignment to satisfy audiences as every fan has their favourite songs and albums. He said they’re continually rotating songs in and out of their performance set.
“Gord Downie and I sit down every night to do the set list together and, this is going to sound really selfish, but we try to keep ourselves happy first. You have to be engaged with the song in order to expect the audience to be engaged with you,” he said.
The Hip will be on the road for much of the next couple of months, touring Europe and then the U.S. before taking a break in mid-November to begin work on their next recording project.
“In a perfect world we’re hoping to have enough material compiled for a new record and hopefully get working in the spring of 2008 to get that recorded,” he said. “It’s onwards and upwards constantly for us.”
Friday’s Hip show is open to the public. CBU student tickets for the concert are $25 and are available only at Caper Convenience at CBU. Tickets for the general public are $49.50 and are on sale at Caper Convenience, Centre 200 box office, Savoy Theatre box office or online at <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.reservatech.ca">www.reservatech.ca</a><!-- w -->.