11-20-2004, 02:08 AM
Awesome commentary on the NHL dispute and some grand old blues music. Enjoy!
Do the evolution
Tragically Hip continue to grow on latest album
By ROB WILLIAMS -- Winnipeg Sun
The NHL lockout is just road apples to Gord Downie.
Surprisingly, the frontman for Canada's unofficial national band Tragically Hip -- passionate fans who have penned their fair share of hockey songs over the years -- doesn't care about the lockout and cancellation of the country's national sport.
"It doesn't exist for me unless it's being played. It only exists in 60-minute time frames. I don't miss it at all," he says.
Downie doesn't stickhandle around the issue. He believes commissioner Gary Bettman doesn't want an end to the lockout until the players revolt against their union. He is firmly on the side of the players.
"My theory is Bettman wants to wait out until his southern expansion teams fold, that's 100 jobs lost that will break the union. He can't fold those teams but he can't admit he made a mistake, so he has to starve out various owners in terms of revenue sharing," he says.
The band's latest hockey song isn't so much about the sport as a player. Heaven is a Better Place Today was written about Dan Snyder, a member of the Atlanta Thrashers who died in a car crash last year.
Downie didn't know Snyder but was touched by his life story and the reaction to his death by his family, friends and fans.
"I wanted to commemorate it in some way, so this is an addition of everything that would go in that time capsule for Dan Snyder."
On a compilation album, the song might go well next to 50 Mission Cap, a song from 1993's Fully Completely about the disappearance and death of Toronto Maple Leafs player Bill Barilko.
The Kingston, Ont., quintet -- which also includes guitarists Rob Baker and Paul Langlois, bassist Gord Sinclair and drummer Johnny Fay -- have virtually defined and personified CanCon over the course of 10 albums in almost 20 years. Their latest CD, In Between Evolution, features some distinctly Canadian songs but expands their worldview with songs about the U.S. and the war in Iraq, as told through Downie's metaphorical poetry.
In Between Evolution -- named after the painting on the cover by Cameron Tomsett -- marks both a (duh) evolution and a return to the band's roots, thanks to the hiring of Seattle rock producer Adam Kasper (Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age), who helped them punch up their sound with a live off-the-floor recording approach.
"It's a common misconception we're happy. We're always pushing and challenging ourselves," Downie says. "Now we're at a position, 'Why don't we do it the way we used to?' Just go in and pound them out and tear them up.
"To me it plays to our strengths and makes it a natural progression from the studio to the stage. They feel and sound live."
Live is where the group are at their strongest. Downie compares them to an aging blues artist: Giving it all on stage every night until it hurts.
"I figure all our records are blues records. We're a band created for the long haul, like Howlin' Wolf or Muddy Waters. These are people that played well into their 70s. Howling Wolf, they would have to coax him down from the curtain from above the stage and he was 60 years old. That's rock 'n' roll," he says. "I'm going to be up there at 70. I'm too old to take a typing course."
Even though The Tragically Hip are arguably the most popular group in Canada, Downie is his own harshest critic. He and his bandmates aren't content to rest on their laurels. They are constantly working on their craft.
"Some would say we've proved nothing in Canada. I don't look at it and stand and look at what we've proven or accomplished. I'm sitting in a hotel room in Vancouver working on new material. I'm trying to get it down," he says.
The Tragically Hip will get down Tuesday when they make history as the first touring band to play the new MTS Centre, two days after their appearance as the halftime entertainment at tomorrow's Grey Cup in Ottawa.
Do the evolution
Tragically Hip continue to grow on latest album
By ROB WILLIAMS -- Winnipeg Sun
The NHL lockout is just road apples to Gord Downie.
Surprisingly, the frontman for Canada's unofficial national band Tragically Hip -- passionate fans who have penned their fair share of hockey songs over the years -- doesn't care about the lockout and cancellation of the country's national sport.
"It doesn't exist for me unless it's being played. It only exists in 60-minute time frames. I don't miss it at all," he says.
Downie doesn't stickhandle around the issue. He believes commissioner Gary Bettman doesn't want an end to the lockout until the players revolt against their union. He is firmly on the side of the players.
"My theory is Bettman wants to wait out until his southern expansion teams fold, that's 100 jobs lost that will break the union. He can't fold those teams but he can't admit he made a mistake, so he has to starve out various owners in terms of revenue sharing," he says.
The band's latest hockey song isn't so much about the sport as a player. Heaven is a Better Place Today was written about Dan Snyder, a member of the Atlanta Thrashers who died in a car crash last year.
Downie didn't know Snyder but was touched by his life story and the reaction to his death by his family, friends and fans.
"I wanted to commemorate it in some way, so this is an addition of everything that would go in that time capsule for Dan Snyder."
On a compilation album, the song might go well next to 50 Mission Cap, a song from 1993's Fully Completely about the disappearance and death of Toronto Maple Leafs player Bill Barilko.
The Kingston, Ont., quintet -- which also includes guitarists Rob Baker and Paul Langlois, bassist Gord Sinclair and drummer Johnny Fay -- have virtually defined and personified CanCon over the course of 10 albums in almost 20 years. Their latest CD, In Between Evolution, features some distinctly Canadian songs but expands their worldview with songs about the U.S. and the war in Iraq, as told through Downie's metaphorical poetry.
In Between Evolution -- named after the painting on the cover by Cameron Tomsett -- marks both a (duh) evolution and a return to the band's roots, thanks to the hiring of Seattle rock producer Adam Kasper (Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age), who helped them punch up their sound with a live off-the-floor recording approach.
"It's a common misconception we're happy. We're always pushing and challenging ourselves," Downie says. "Now we're at a position, 'Why don't we do it the way we used to?' Just go in and pound them out and tear them up.
"To me it plays to our strengths and makes it a natural progression from the studio to the stage. They feel and sound live."
Live is where the group are at their strongest. Downie compares them to an aging blues artist: Giving it all on stage every night until it hurts.
"I figure all our records are blues records. We're a band created for the long haul, like Howlin' Wolf or Muddy Waters. These are people that played well into their 70s. Howling Wolf, they would have to coax him down from the curtain from above the stage and he was 60 years old. That's rock 'n' roll," he says. "I'm going to be up there at 70. I'm too old to take a typing course."
Even though The Tragically Hip are arguably the most popular group in Canada, Downie is his own harshest critic. He and his bandmates aren't content to rest on their laurels. They are constantly working on their craft.
"Some would say we've proved nothing in Canada. I don't look at it and stand and look at what we've proven or accomplished. I'm sitting in a hotel room in Vancouver working on new material. I'm trying to get it down," he says.
The Tragically Hip will get down Tuesday when they make history as the first touring band to play the new MTS Centre, two days after their appearance as the halftime entertainment at tomorrow's Grey Cup in Ottawa.
cratch: ... I still read it... :oops: And as much as I love CSI and L&O, it doesn't quite sit right... I'm used to beer and hockey... right here in this chair... Christ... I watched the OC last week...