11-04-2016, 08:04 PM
MUSIC
Q. I had the opportunity to hear a song called "Get Back Again", which I think was recorded at some CBC session. From what I've been told it was written by Gord Sinclair. Is this true? Also, what ever happened to this great song? Everyone I know who has heard it has fallen in love with it.
A. Get Back Again is a great song, and Paul and Gord recorded it at CBC with Murray McLauchlan and his band. I have always loved that song and have wanted to put it on a record for a long time. However, you probably like it because the other three of us are not on it. - JF
Q. This question is for anyone, but Paul L. and Bobby B. may be best to handle it. Let me just start off by saying I am huge fan (of course, why else would I be doing this). OK, now to the question. I play guitar, and in figuring out myself and from other people the Hip's music, I noticed that many of the songs from Up To Here all the way to Trouble At The Henhouse use the chords of B and A a lot. Is this just an unconscious selection of these chords, personal preferences (I like to use G and C a lot myself), or does Gord prefer to sing in the key of B and A a lot?
A. A song's key is often a matter of accommodating the vocals and instrumental ranges. Till the 60's, B flat and E flat were the common keys (to accommodate the horn and wind instruments). Guitarists tend to favour keys which use open strings (for their particular timbre) as well as their potential as drones.
Your question made me look back at our oeuvre to see if B and A are very prominent. It didn't strike me that way. I was more surprised by the number of C sharp and F sharp songs. – RB
Q. Many bands these days have changed their sound drastically. Two acts, both large influences on the "Alternative" scene - U2 and REM - have both put out albums (Achtung Baby and Zooropa respectively) in which the sound of the music is a definitive change from previous work. The often heard complaint about the Tragically Hip is that they do not seem to progress from album to album, keeping the same sound and not progressing musically (note, I am referring simply to the music, NOT the lyrics). Has the band ever thought of drastically changing their sound?
A. Like I wrote earlier, we've always approached things one song at a time, trying to write and record music that reflects where we're at as people and musicians. It has to move us and, hopefully, will reflect our natural growth as songwriters. We've never consciously written with any other motivation.
Now that we have more time to devote to recording and writing there are greater opportunities for experimentation, but it all comes back to what the individual song requires to move us. That's the basic approach.
For every person that says our sound has stayed the same over the years there will be another who finds the evolution of the band from album to album unsettling. It's all a matter of personal taste, the response that your music evokes. How do you attempt to anticipate such a personal thing? You just try to let the music reflect where you are at and hope that it means something to those outside the group as well. Thanks for listening, though. - GS
Q. The Hip once played a tune that I think was called "Past." Has this song ever gone past the jam stages?
A. I think I know the tune you are referring to. It didn't really become a song - yet. - PL
Q. How would you (the Hip) explain the style of music that you all play. Some say that it's a touch of jazz blues with rock.
A. I'd say we’re a peppy little five piece combo of eclectic/post - modern/experimental traditionalists, or maybe a jazz/blues/raga/roots/rock band with a heavy metal/folk/rap sensibility. - RB
Q. I had the opportunity to hear a song called "Get Back Again", which I think was recorded at some CBC session. From what I've been told it was written by Gord Sinclair. Is this true? Also, what ever happened to this great song? Everyone I know who has heard it has fallen in love with it.
A. Get Back Again is a great song, and Paul and Gord recorded it at CBC with Murray McLauchlan and his band. I have always loved that song and have wanted to put it on a record for a long time. However, you probably like it because the other three of us are not on it. - JF
Q. This question is for anyone, but Paul L. and Bobby B. may be best to handle it. Let me just start off by saying I am huge fan (of course, why else would I be doing this). OK, now to the question. I play guitar, and in figuring out myself and from other people the Hip's music, I noticed that many of the songs from Up To Here all the way to Trouble At The Henhouse use the chords of B and A a lot. Is this just an unconscious selection of these chords, personal preferences (I like to use G and C a lot myself), or does Gord prefer to sing in the key of B and A a lot?
A. A song's key is often a matter of accommodating the vocals and instrumental ranges. Till the 60's, B flat and E flat were the common keys (to accommodate the horn and wind instruments). Guitarists tend to favour keys which use open strings (for their particular timbre) as well as their potential as drones.
Your question made me look back at our oeuvre to see if B and A are very prominent. It didn't strike me that way. I was more surprised by the number of C sharp and F sharp songs. – RB
Q. Many bands these days have changed their sound drastically. Two acts, both large influences on the "Alternative" scene - U2 and REM - have both put out albums (Achtung Baby and Zooropa respectively) in which the sound of the music is a definitive change from previous work. The often heard complaint about the Tragically Hip is that they do not seem to progress from album to album, keeping the same sound and not progressing musically (note, I am referring simply to the music, NOT the lyrics). Has the band ever thought of drastically changing their sound?
A. Like I wrote earlier, we've always approached things one song at a time, trying to write and record music that reflects where we're at as people and musicians. It has to move us and, hopefully, will reflect our natural growth as songwriters. We've never consciously written with any other motivation.
Now that we have more time to devote to recording and writing there are greater opportunities for experimentation, but it all comes back to what the individual song requires to move us. That's the basic approach.
For every person that says our sound has stayed the same over the years there will be another who finds the evolution of the band from album to album unsettling. It's all a matter of personal taste, the response that your music evokes. How do you attempt to anticipate such a personal thing? You just try to let the music reflect where you are at and hope that it means something to those outside the group as well. Thanks for listening, though. - GS
Q. The Hip once played a tune that I think was called "Past." Has this song ever gone past the jam stages?
A. I think I know the tune you are referring to. It didn't really become a song - yet. - PL
Q. How would you (the Hip) explain the style of music that you all play. Some say that it's a touch of jazz blues with rock.
A. I'd say we’re a peppy little five piece combo of eclectic/post - modern/experimental traditionalists, or maybe a jazz/blues/raga/roots/rock band with a heavy metal/folk/rap sensibility. - RB