[chris]

I've told this before.

It was very early in 2006 and my better half was cruising Limewire trying to download Gary "US" Bonds' New Orleans on my laptop. She shouted over to me a song title and a band name that seemed vaguely familiar. We downloaded NOIS, liked it a lot and she proceeded to download a ton more tracks. The only other ones to make a dent on me at first were Bobcaygeon and Wheat Kings (I was going through a mellow phase). Fast forward a few months and I noticed that The Hip were playing a date in London, so I bought tickets and gave them to Emma inside the only Hip CD readily available in the UK at the time (In Violet Light - on play.com). She was ecstatic but I have to say, my hopes weren't high at all. We went to the gig and I was mesmerised by the fans, there was a guy videotaping the queue and everyone who'd got there early were in matching shirts. I got chatting to one of them (BigA) and bagun to find out how important this band was to so many people.

Wisely I kept my suspicions that they were overrated to myself and awaited their appearance on stage. As the crowd began to chant their name I realised I had no clue who these guys were, what they looked like or any of their back story. For the first time a concert would really be a voyage of discovery, I was feeding off the crowd by then, really excited then the band entered, they played Don't Wake Daddy and I thought to myself "These guys are okay, there's a real vibe to them", Gord took the mike and introduced Courage and that was it, I was hooked!

Within a couple of months I had almost all the albums (IBE evaded me until christmas and, I'm ashamed to say, I didn't buy an actual copy of World Container until I visited Toronto in late 2007), I'd joined this site and I was fast evicting Led Zep from the pinnacle of my list of favourite bands.

I just got a hold of Dustin - the taper who interviewed all the fans - and he's going to send me the footage soon. So I can finally finish the DVD!!!

[Billy]

Sean, have you retired that badboy or does it still make appearances?

[cygnus8595]

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.

You're the biggest Hip fan in Wyoming, too? :lol:

[mastodonfarm]

Sean's a never nude! Whoda thunk?

[Billy]

He probably "blue himself" too...

[cochise]

He probably "blue himself" too...

[briansmccabe]

Living in the USA is not conducive to Hip fandom. Fortunately for me, they tried one more attempt at American fame in the '90s with Phantom Power. I remember hearing "Poets" on a local rock station and I liked it, but it was played so infrequently that I don't even think I heard it all the way through before it was pulled from the rotation. That's the last I heard of them for 10 years.

So I was bored at work one day (happens a lot - I'm a computer geek) and I was losing myself in the 'Net. I was on a mission to find new music to replace my former grungy habits - it was great when I was in high school, but now that I'm in my 30s I don't want to hear about someone's drug addiction on EVERY FRIGGIN' SONG. I stumbled on the Hip and remembered hearing them back in the '90s.

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.

Hey neighbor! Where in WY are you? I live in Utah and have long since laid claim to "Utah's biggest Hip fan."

[briansmccabe]

Autumn of 1994, I moved back to the suburbs of Buffalo NY (Williamsville North alum - kind of - didn't actually matriculate from there but went there for 2.5 years). I worked at my friendly neighborhood Wilson Farms (convenience store chain) and this kid I worked with would NOT shut up about The Hip. This is Oct '94, right when DFN was released in Canada and bordering US cities. About 6 months later, I finally bought DFN and was flabbergasted by how good it was from start to finish. Tried FC later that spring / summer and HATED it. I was convinced for a period of a few months that pre-DFN Hip was pure garbage. In the spring of 96, I bought TATH the day it came out and decided I HAD to have been wrong about the pre-DFN stuff.

I was.

WATS is the 9th consecutive official release I have bought on release day (TATH, LBU, PP, M@W, IVL, IBE, YF, WC, WATS). I also bought CMG and BOTN the first day they were available in the U.S., and I bought LBU a second time on its release day in the U.S. more than a year after it was released in Canada (late summer of 98). Then came those ill-fated hyper-CD releases of everything from TATH back - got all those right when they came out too. I swear, that hyper-CD technology was dead before it even got off the ground. But hey, it was another layer of support for the boys.

for the longest time, Rush was my band. As in, my favorite band, and it wasn't even close. As the years went by, The Hip got closer and closer to pulling even with Rush. Then they did. Then they surpassed Rush. Then they left Rush in the frigging dust.

And now I don't really know what to do about this ridiculous Rush tattoo on my left arm.

[Lizard King]

Sean's a never nude! Whoda thunk?

haha, thats probably a good thing.

[MAverick]

And now I don't really know what to do about this ridiculous Rush tattoo on my left arm.

That made me choke on my laughter. Sorry.

[briansmccabe]

And now I don't really know what to do about this ridiculous Rush tattoo on my left arm.

That made me choke on my laughter. Sorry.

No worries, dude! It's kinda funny. Needless to say, when I got my tat, I was all "I'll NEVER regret this tattoo, because f'ing RUSH will f'ing ALWAYS be my FAVORITE BAND!!!! GAAAAHHHHH!!! RRRRUUUUUUSSSSSHHHHH!!!"

It was pretty pathetic. What can I say, I was a very dumb 20 year old. I still love Rush, and they will always hold a special place in my heart. Their music moreso than anyone else shaped my adolescent years. But I guess I sort of grew out of the irrational, immature "discipleship" that waaaaay too many Rush fans - many far older than me - still exhibit.

[cygnus8595]

Hey neighbor! Where in WY are you? I live in Utah and have long since laid claim to "Utah's biggest Hip fan."

Cheyenne. Originally from PA, though.

Oh, and Rush is my favorite band (Hip #2).