[andy42g]

Autumn 1994 I had graduated from University over here in the Uk and had taken off with some friends on a 6 week Jolly in the Far East. In north Thailand (Chaing Mai) we embarked on a 3 day "jungle trek" with a random mixed nationality bunch of fellow travellers who were in the same hotel as we were. There was one Canadian guy called John and after the trek thing he stayed with us as we moved on in Thailand and we ended up swapping a couple of cassestte tapes for our Walkmans. He got The Icicle Works and I got one with Fully Completely and Toad's Dulcinea on the other side. I just loved both albums instantly and got the CDs as soon as I got home. I was able to also pick up Road Apples and Up to Here straight away and first saw the band after travelling down to London for them on the Henhouse tour. What a gig that was - the crowd was like nothing I'd ever experienced before: seemingly everyone else was Canadian, it an atmosphere like I'd never felt before and I was utterly carried away by the whole thing. Chatting with people in the crowd it dawned on me just how much this band meant to everyone there. The Canadians seemed decent folk and were amazed that a Brit like me was so into the band. I remember, amongst lots of other incidents that night, being in a big group of folk right in the middle and shouting out "Courage" along with everyone else whist being bounced around all over the place. Have followed the band best I can ever since and seen all their London shows, but the two gigs in Amsterdam on the last tour were probably the highlight of my Hip fandom so far!

[Billy]

Summer of 2003....

I was heading into my grade 12 year of high school. Up to then I really didn't care too much for music. Everyone around me seemed to be listening to music all the time, like it was the cool thing to do. Whatever was popular at the moment. I didn't mind U2 at that point, had a thing for Sunday Bloody Sunday, New Years Day and Zoo Station. My album collection had been incredibly limited, a couple U2 albums, Queens of the Stone Age, Wallflowers, Weezer and I liked most of the music my parents listened to.

At some point I decided to "get into" music, learn some of the rich history that I knew rock and roll had. I started listening to 92 CITI FM, the classic rock station here in Winnipeg, while I ploughed the fields in the fall time, with the shittiest radio you'd ever seen. But it had that classic charm. You had to crank it to hear anything audibly over the diesel, labouring hard to get through the soil that had compacted throughout the summer.

Eventually I became somewhat familiar with some of the bands. I remembered hearing "The Tragically Hip," and thinking, yeah, those guys have a reputation of sorts. I remembered my babysitter asking us years earlier if we liked that band. I remembered a big event (The Warchild Concert) that they had headlined here, and a lot of people I knew went to volunteer. As a result I kept an ear out for them when I was on the fields and developed a liking for Little Bones. Anytime they announced the Hip in the next rock block, I would sit there going Little Bones! Little Bones! Willing the radio station to play the one song I liked, being dissapointed when something else came on.

After the fall I headed into a record store to check what they had. I flipped through all the albums at the time. I looked at all of them, unsure of which one to buy. The one with Little Bones, or something else? I decided to check the track listings and buy the album with the most song names I could recognize. I'm sure you can guess I walked out of the store with Fully Completely.

I didn't really get into it all that fast. Sure I liked a couple songs but, always ended putting it down. Several months later I had grown to kind of like that album. In the springtime I bought myself Day For Night, being attracted to the cover art. The first spin, I thought the album was complete crap. Noise on the ears, it wasn't polished like Fully. But I gave it a chance (as I do with all music) and it grew on me, track by track...Grace, then Inevitability, Scared...etc. I heard a new album was coming out in June, so I decided to go out and get that first day out.

I still didn't like all of DFN (ironically would become my favourite) but bought IBE anyways, feeling special, that I had been there for the release day of a CD for the first time ever. I spun it. I fell in love. V-scar, Summer, Gus, and Makeshift became the soundtrack to the summer of 2004 for me. I don't think that disc ever left my car for the whole summer. I would buy Live Between Us and a few other albums over the summer.

Then the tour came around, and I had gotten tickets, 2nd row, to my first "real" rock concert. Which blew me away of course.

I had my band.

The Hip had also, in my quest to learn more about rock, essentially baptized me. Music went from something I avoided in 2003 to a full-out past time now. I spend practically all my money on albums and concerts, vinyls became another hobby of mine. Now my friends come to me when they have a question about music, when a new album is coming out or for the latest quality stuff in Canadian rock.

And here I am today.

Awesome story! Ploughing in the prairies, waiting for the Hip to come on the radio, just awesome.

[BrenTheodore]

Here's a story to appreciate...

It was right before The Stones came to Magnetic Hill in Moncton, New Brunswick when my friend was getting pretty stoked that The Hip were opening and it was going to be his second time seeing them (We were heading into Grade 10 at the time). He told me to pick up a copy of M@W since at that time he right into it. I did and began to listen to it and Phantom Power (which I borrowed from another friend, and incidentally loved more than M@W (and is still my favorite today)) and became quite into this band. Too bad for me they were touring for IBE at the time and didn't recognize to many songs being played. I really enjoyed my first Hip experience, and it began to get me hooked.

Now skip a few more months to a year down the road. There is this shaggy haired Grade 12 who turns out to be an ecstatic, over-the-top Hip fan. From what I heard this guy would do anything for the band. Now, the first time I can really remember talking to this guy was (I was in Grade 11 and he had graduated the year previous) at a Cast party when we drunkingly sang Bobcaygeon in someones backyard at 2 in the morning. A little after this, we become pretty good friends and I joined the hipbase and become hooked on this band.

If I knew this person would comment right after this post, I would let him reveal himself, and even though I am sure he is on he 25 hours a day, I will just have to come out and say who it is.



yours truly... sean.bonner

(and I am sure he will mod that picture out :wink: )

But yeah, he got me thoroughly hooked on this band, but it is a damn good ride. We have been to five shows together and a road trip to Montreal for 2 more, in less than three weeks.Thanks Sean :thumb:

[WesleyC.]

My Ex brother in law and I used to cruise around in his Z28 downtown Toronto and crank out Up To Here on the tape player.
Then he moved and I drifted onto other music for a while but I heard 3 pistols on the radio one day and listened in with great interest and it ended up being a radio interview for the road apples CD.
I was in Love, with the band and my new girlfriend who became my wife.
Road Apples drove her NUTS. We had a waterbed and I would put the CD on at bedtimea n put some headphones on and proceed to jerk around and toss and turn in the waterbed to the beat and drove her NUTS.
Then came Fully Completly and the Concerts.
Have not looked back.

[laliber]

yours truly... sean.bonner

Jigging to emperor penguin at summer camp? :thumb:

[Lizard King]

Bonner looks like Harry Potter with AIDS..

yours truly... sean.bonner

This one's for you hot legs..

[youtube]UcvjXAtzaMU[/youtube]

[Dark Canuck17]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

It actually looks like him to at the beginning glasses and all....sorry man that is funny :thumb:

[chris]

Here's a story to appreciate...

It was right before The Stones came to Magnetic Hill in Moncton, New Brunswick when my friend was getting pretty stoked that The Hip were opening and it was going to be his second time seeing them (We were heading into Grade 10 at the time). He told me to pick up a copy of M@W since at that time he right into it. I did and began to listen to it and Phantom Power (which I borrowed from another friend, and incidentally loved more than M@W (and is still my favorite today)) and became quite into this band. Too bad for me they were touring for IBE at the time and didn't recognize to many songs being played. I really enjoyed my first Hip experience, and it began to get me hooked.

Now skip a few more months to a year down the road. There is this shaggy haired Grade 12 who turns out to be an ecstatic, over-the-top Hip fan. From what I heard this guy would do anything for the band. Now, the first time I can really remember talking to this guy was (I was in Grade 11 and he had graduated the year previous) at a Cast party when we drunkingly sang Bobcaygeon in someones backyard at 2 in the morning. A little after this, we become pretty good friends and I joined the hipbase and become hooked on this band.

If I knew this person would comment right after this post, I would let him reveal himself, and even though I am sure he is on he 25 hours a day, I will just have to come out and say who it is.



yours truly... sean.bonner

(and I am sure he will mod that picture out :wink: )

But yeah, he got me thoroughly hooked on this band, but it is a damn good ride. We have been to five shows together and a road trip to Montreal for 2 more, in less than three weeks.Thanks Sean :thumb:

Are you mad at Bonner about something?

[BrenTheodore]

Are you mad at Bonner about something?

Like I said... we are good friends. And for the eight hour car ride I am going to endure with him from Fredericton to Montreal; well I just hope he is a good sport!

Sean, that first beer is on me :thumb:; and remember all the sentimental value of that post too...!

[Lizard King]

Harry Boner and the Sorcerer's Giant Wand

coming 2010

not to give too much away but the swordfight scene at the end is epic to say the least..

harrybonner2.jpg Size: 23.47 KB  Downloads: 7

[MAverick]

I've told this before.

Love this story!

[MAverick]

I grew up with the Hip, I will grow old with them too

Praise be to Paul, Johnny, Gord, Gord and Rob :rambo:

[MAverick]

I started off with some Internet streaming of their songs followed by a download of Yer Favourites (I always start with a greatest hits if I can). That was all it took. I still haven't seen them live and I still haven't purchased We Are the Same, but I'm probably the biggest Hip fan in Wyoming and I'm forever grateful for that day of boredom.

Me too.

[sean.bonner]

This was my feeble attempt to dress-up as Tobias Funke.

[Gangrel]

I can thank my step-father for the Hip. One day, in the sun room of his/our house in Tantallon, Nova Scotia, while I was playing on the Commodore 64, he came home and put a casette tape down on the table, saying "you should listen to this". It was black, with the band name in yellow, and a fuzzy photo of 5 guys on the front..........

Now, this wasn't a new occurence to me, as through his record collection of thousands (no, seriously) I had discovered such wonders as Springsteen, the Cure, Neil Young, and Jethro Tull (who's Rock Island tape I chose over MC Hammer at the Bedford Zeller's, saving me from a lifetime of baggy pants and backwards ball caps).

To be honest, I don't remember being blown away from the start. I remember thinking "it's ok", and that's that. I listened off and on to it, growing on me, but not snagging me.

but then...... a little thing called the Misty Moon happened. Back when, you know, Much Music was cool, relevant, and had the gall to *gasp* show live concerts! I happend to see Das Hips on the TV. Man.... is that singer on drugs? Is he mental? Stupid drunk? Or all of the above?

I think at that point I was blown away by the energy on that tiny stage. Plus, I was probably enamored at the guitarist who's face I couldn't see, playing with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth!

I think what also got me is that the NOIS I saw on the screen, wasn't like the one on the tape. It was longer! It was a jam! He's making up things on the spot! How cool is that!?! For a kid growing to like Neil, the king of guitar-y, bluesy jams, it was another nail in the coffin for me to like this band.

AFter that show, I listened to radio shows, tried to find them on TV, read Network magazine (we used to get them for free at school) and ate up everything Hip.........

As I have aged (too much I think) I don't collect like I once did. I don't glue myself to the radio or TV like I once did.... after all, it's harder to find them these days unless they want to change their name to Kanye or Fergie......

But they are still my favourite band although we tend to disagree a bit more now....... it's like any relationship really. The longer you are together, the more you find you nit pick. The recent recorded forays to the record stores haven't been grand slams for me like they once were, but I will say of all the bands I listen to, they are the only ones still hitting triples after 20 years of taking space in my brain, my soul, and the cockles of my heart.

There aren't many important memories I can think of that aren't tied to a Hip song.... somehow.