05-08-2009, 11:52 PM
It's baffling why they've never gotten more attention down south. Most likely it has to do with the piss-poor job of their American labels and the lack of decent promotion over the years. Here in Canada they were able to ride the alt-rock/grunge wave in the early 90s, even though they came from more of a trad-rock background. As Robby once said, "We were too alternative for classic rock, and too classic rock for alternative." But somehow they were able to straddle both genres and get their songs played on alt-rock and classic-rock radio at the same time. People forget how HUGE they were in the mid-90s in Canada. I don't think we'll ever see another Canadian band get as big as they were at that time in this country. You couldn't walk down the hallway at my high school without spotting a dozen Hip t-shirts mixed in with the Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam shirts. The Hip were fuckin' massive.
What's really strange about the whole U.S. thing is that even hardcore music geeks down there don't seem to know much about them. The Hip have been touring the shit out of America since 1989. They've probably toured that country more times than most American bands have, and to this day people still don't know who the hell they are. I remember an interview they did with a Seattle radio station in 1991 or '92 where the DJ informed Johnny & Gord S. that Bridget Fonda, Eric Stoltz, and members of Pearl Jam had all called in trying to get tickets to their show that night...so it's not like they didn't have pockets of fans in the States (and famous ones at that). But for some strange reason the buzz about them never seemed to spread beyond that, and they weren't able to make the jump to playing larger venues. The band obviously came to terms with this a few years ago, and I get the impression that they really don't give a crap about American success anymore. These days they seem to be quite content travelling around the States in a nice comfy bus selling out clubs & theatres everywhere they play. In a lot of ways they're more successful in the U.S. than most American bands are, and they've gained fans simply through word of mouth, one show at a time over a span of 20 years. Now that's a hard workin' band. As a fan, I'm thankful that I get to see them up close and personal in small intimate venues down there, which is the best way to see them in my opinion. It's a shame that they've never gotten the recognition in America that they so richly deserve. But hey, it is what it is.
What's really strange about the whole U.S. thing is that even hardcore music geeks down there don't seem to know much about them. The Hip have been touring the shit out of America since 1989. They've probably toured that country more times than most American bands have, and to this day people still don't know who the hell they are. I remember an interview they did with a Seattle radio station in 1991 or '92 where the DJ informed Johnny & Gord S. that Bridget Fonda, Eric Stoltz, and members of Pearl Jam had all called in trying to get tickets to their show that night...so it's not like they didn't have pockets of fans in the States (and famous ones at that). But for some strange reason the buzz about them never seemed to spread beyond that, and they weren't able to make the jump to playing larger venues. The band obviously came to terms with this a few years ago, and I get the impression that they really don't give a crap about American success anymore. These days they seem to be quite content travelling around the States in a nice comfy bus selling out clubs & theatres everywhere they play. In a lot of ways they're more successful in the U.S. than most American bands are, and they've gained fans simply through word of mouth, one show at a time over a span of 20 years. Now that's a hard workin' band. As a fan, I'm thankful that I get to see them up close and personal in small intimate venues down there, which is the best way to see them in my opinion. It's a shame that they've never gotten the recognition in America that they so richly deserve. But hey, it is what it is.