Podcast appearances and mentions of Kevin Hearn

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2024 78:30

This week the gang gets together to discuss the rest of Inroduce Yerself. Transcript: Track 1:[0:00] Hey, it's Justin. You know and love us on the Discovering Downey podcast, right? So come hang out with us in person for the finale. Join us for Long Slice Brewing presents a celebration of Gord Downey at The Rec Room in downtown Toronto on Friday, July 19th. Craig is coming from Vancouver, Kirk is coming from LA, I'm driving from Vermont, and JD's like walking down the street or wherever he lives in Toronto. Tickets are available now on our website at discovererndowney.com, and when you get your tickets, that means you can come Come hang out with us and our very special guest, Patrick Downey, and you can bid on some incredibly cool silent auction items, all while jamming along with tragically hip cover band The Almost Hip, and most importantly, helping us raise money for the Gord Downey Fund for Brain Cancer Research. Crack open a long slice, put on some Gord tunes, take a journey with us on discovering Downey, and then crack open another long slice on July 19th and hang out with us in the six. I always wanted to sound cool and say that. For more information, follow us on all the socials and visit DiscoveringDowny.com. Christmas Day for Edgar. My dad always used to say just after the presents, well, it's as far away now as it will ever be. I'm thinking about that as the stewardess cracks the public address system. For those sitting in economy, there's no music for you today.Track 1:[1:21] Welcome, music lovers. Long Slice Brewery presents. Discovering Downey.Track 2:[1:31] Hey, it's JD here and welcome to Discovering Downey, an 11-part project with a focus on the music and poetry of Mr. Gord Downey. The late frontman of the Tragically Hip gave to the world an extensive solo discography on top of the hip's vocal local acrobats that wowed us for years. So far, he's released eight records in total, three of them posthumously. Now listen, you might be the biggest fan of the hip out there, but have you really listened to these solo records? Because I'm an inquisitive podcaster, I enlisted my friends, Craig, Justin, and Kirk, giant fans of the hip in their own right, to discover Downey with me, JD, as their host. Every week, we're going to get together and listen to one of Gord's records, working in chronological order. We discuss and dissect the album, the production, the lyrics, and we break it down song by song. This week we're going to be talking about the back half well plus two songs from the front half of introduce yourself justin my friend how are you doing on this gray fucking oh is it gray there toronto oh oh it's terrible all day maybe because i was wearing sunglasses wait a minute.Track 4:[2:55] It is it was the opposite of that here in in beautiful vermont today it's it was a beautiful day i I think it's going to be great for the rest of the week, though. So whatever you're getting today, we'll get tomorrow.Track 1:[3:05] Oh, that's weather with Justin. We'll be back with Craig and Traffic. Remember, news on the fives.Track 2:[3:12] Where in the world is Kirk from Fuckachino? How's it going, man?Track 5:[3:22] I am in Washington, D.C. Right now for work in a hotel room. so having some technical difficulties so my apologies but things are good and uh excited to continue the conversation greg.Track 2:[3:41] What say you things.Track 3:[3:44] Are going well a little uh a little tired after a night out uh watching the sadies last night so they played a small venue downtown and got to see the boys rock out and um yeah it was it was a pretty awesome show a big banner of Dallas in the background and yeah, some touching moments, but mostly they, they just rocked.Track 2:[4:03] I haven't been to a live show in a little while now.Track 4:[4:06] Super cool.Track 2:[4:12] All right, fellas, before we get into the music, I want to talk to you about an email that I got from an organization called Lake Fever Wilderness Company. Basically, the gist of this email is that the Lake Fever Wilderness Company has submitted all the paperwork required to City Hall to get At Riverdale Park East, here in Toronto, mere footsteps from my home, renamed Gord Downie Park. I saw an article on BlogTO, and then they also gave us a couple other links to stories. But I'm hoping that our little podcast here, that people who listen to it will hear this, and you know we can build some awareness around this somehow anything you want to say about this or comment about this are you jealous and ate in your town yes.Track 4:[5:17] That sounds like a great cause and um for what it's worth i love the song lake fever so.Track 2:[5:25] Right Right?Track 4:[5:26] Yeah. Yeah. Oh, that's a, that's whatever we can do to help, man. That sounds great.Track 5:[5:31] Sounds very cool.Track 3:[5:32] I'm jealous. We, who do we get? Brian Adams Avenue.Track 2:[5:39] Probably already have it. Don't you?Track 3:[5:41] I don't know. I don't know. Maybe in England.Track 2:[5:45] Really? There's not a. Right mind-blowing to me one of the top songs of all time in terms of played, everything i do i do for you right, yeah but this is not a brian adams podcast this is a podcast called discovering downy and let's pick it up where we left off last time that puts us on side two of the first record With the very candid, my first self.Track 5:[6:47] I mean, just explains it like I remember it. And yeah. could feel all of those crazy, stupid emotions and, uh, could just totally wrap my head around and embrace, you know, the message that he was writing, you know, a piano forward tune again. You know, I think we talked about that the last one, uh, I love the vocal and the background that starts coming in uh you know echoing essentially the line um and then the last line is just classic so yeah uh it's a it's a brilliant tune in my assessment.Track 3:[7:28] Yeah, what I liked about it is that it really instantly just takes you to a place in your own life, whether the story is one you connect with or not, it takes you back to, you know, when you were in your teens or whatever. And that's what I appreciated about this song. Another thing before the echoing vocal you're talking about there's i just noticed today for the first time very very faintly in the opposite channel is something that sounds like a, a meowing cat i think it's a person but it's almost this little it's so subtle it's almost like one of those hearing tests you get where there's a little beep and you're like did i hear that but i listened a second time and there's something that comes in about 30 seconds before for the more noticeable vocal on the other side so i.Track 4:[8:19] Did not on that view yeah i listened to it today too actually and.Track 3:[8:24] Um i.Track 4:[8:26] Mean this this girl sounds cool as hell you know like he says in the song six years older so it's definitely you know she's his girlfriend but he may not be her boyfriend from what i'm picking up on you know like and and i certainly related to the you.Track 3:[8:41] Told me off and could she be responsible for uh hooking gourd on reading because he wanted to be like her.Track 4:[8:50] Oh yeah yeah yeah yeah interesting thought yeah yeah yeah i don't know again like i did feel a little awkward listening to this song let's.Track 2:[9:02] Move to the next track on the record you're ashore.Track 3:[9:05] Well this is probably the song i have the least to say about it's maybe the least memorable for me I think probably it's the type of song that if it's about you it's probably a maybe a bit of an inside joke or I'm not really sure what the you know what it's about who it's about, I appreciated the gentleness in his voice. I was glad that it was the length that it was because it was not my favorite. What did you guys think?Track 5:[9:38] I loved it me too i uh i i uh i mean it's the shortest song on the album it's a minute 30 you know the lyrics are simple it's you know essentially you're sure you're sure repeated and a few little straight lines but the brilliant in the very beginning is you know he's strumming and then it's the let flow it down i believe is what he says and uh yeah it's um Um, I think especially amongst this body of work amongst this album, like, you know, there's a lot of, there's a lot of piano, there's a lot of synths, there's even some beats and things of that nature. And it was kind of nice to just get a little short acoustic ditty in my opinion. But, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm a sucker for that. That's, uh, just like, just like back in the eighties, right? Every metal band had its little ballad. so uh i i love the ballads so.Track 4:[10:38] Yeah i don't know who it's about but it's an earworm i find myself humming the tune uh quite often and there's only a few words in the song so it's not like, you know like you said craig the lyrics aren't nothing about it is really memorable but it is it does get into your brain and it's an easy little like you could just walk through the the park and just sing that all day. But yeah, I mean, it's a minute 30 and that's about right.Track 2:[11:07] Yeah, that's about right. It's interesting you say that you couldn't determine who that's about, because I, so far, have really sucked at that game, listening to the first record. So, as we go into the second record, Gord lobs a softball at me, and even I know that this next track, Love Over Money, is about the fucking Tragically Hip.Track 4:[11:37] Damn right it is.Track 2:[11:39] Yeah who wants to go first here kirk.Track 5:[11:42] Yeah i'll go first um yeah i i you know uh i would say jd i've had a similar you know a similar experience in in trying i have little parentheses in my notes of who i think the note might be or the song might be too and i you know i can't even get specifics i just write like brother you know question mark things of that nature so this one was obvious what i loved about it as well and and i think i might have mentioned it on on the last of the first the first album it's such a pop it's like a synth pop tune is what i have and this is gonna sound weird but for whatever reason when i hear the song i think of that snl skit where you've You've got like Jimmy Fallon and they're all playing like they're doing that little, you know, they do the little dance.Track 2:[12:36] Oh, right, right, right.Track 5:[12:37] You know, when I heard this song, I, by the second time, I just, I couldn't get that shit out of my brain. So, but just beautiful lyrics talking about the band. So direct and so loving and so to the point. To me, an absolute, brilliant Gord Downie song. I mean, you know, just wonderful, wonderful song.Track 3:[13:06] The moment he said the line, we played to no one, and then no one plus one, I knew it was about the hip. Because I remember in 1996, a band I played in, we went across Canada two times that year, self-booked tours. And we ended up in Thunder Bay on one of the tours.Track 3:[13:24] And we played in a tiny club called crocs and rolls which is sort of like a legendary club in in thunder bay a guy named frank lefredo was the booker there who was kind of like a legend, in uh in music across canada and anyway frank um the first night we we played and we didn't draw much of a crowd and he said you know don't worry guys the you know first time the tragedy hit played here they played to to no one and then they played a second night and they got a couple more and the next night and you know they played i think three nights in a row on an early tour, and so that made us feel a little better and he and he um he felt bad about the the draw so when we came back um he found us a gig at another venue um for the for the drive back so that's the the memory that that comes up for me um and also the other thing the queen's jubilee uh so the reference to the um to the playing to the the deafening the husband of the queen um that would be that that show which i looked up and uh and yeah they played poets and interesting enough in that version of poets he changes the lyrics he censors himself a little bit i noticed so for the queen he he He changed bare-breasted to bare-chested, and there was one other change I can't recall.Track 4:[14:44] Yeah, it was a great performance. I remember seeing that. I wish that I had looked it up just to bring the memory of it back, but that line stuck out to me. I remember seeing that performance.Track 3:[14:57] And he used the laminar flow line as well in that version of Poets.Track 4:[15:01] Oh, that I didn't remember.Track 2:[15:04] Wow.Track 3:[15:05] Which ended up in Coke Machine Glow on Every Irrelevance.Track 4:[15:11] Yeah. Obviously, the bond between those five guys is unbreakable, and this song is funny, too. I laughed at this song the first time that I heard it and heard the lyrics. We missed death and marriage and a birth. I did notice the words hotel worth, which is kind of a preview to an upcoming thing. There's a song that actually got a lot of airplay here locally a few years ago. But yeah, yep, it did. Yep, it was on the radio two or three times a day for a couple months here.Track 3:[15:47] The love over money line um made me also think about the way that they split their royalties and i'm not sure if if it was like a 20 all the way around that would be my guess but but often the the lyricist will take 50 and then the people who wrote the music take the other 50 so you know maybe it's not that simple but the fact that all five of them were as far as i know listed on all all the all the credits sort of um you know over their career that's something that drives so many bands apart is that fight over you know well i wrote this i wrote this and like even in the band i spoke about a while ago like we had some really crazy discussions around royalties and who should get what and you know in my mind i've always been a equal share guy i don't care if you're the drummer if you're you know you wrote your part that's just you know then again i've not not like i'm making a ton of a ton of money in music or anything but but um it was nice to to see them stick together so long and the same five guys like what other band can you think of that released that many albums with the same lineup it's got to be a very very.Track 2:[17:02] Very short list.Track 3:[17:03] Like there may be some three pieces i mean but a five piece band think of all the potential for conflict and for you know one guy leaving it like no one there's some sleuthing.Track 2:[17:17] Some sonic sleuthing for you listeners out there send us an email at discovering downy at gmail.com with bands that have a lineup up that was consistent with at least 15 records released? Are there any? Is there a database that you could just plug that into and get it from?Track 3:[17:40] No idea. I mean, Aerosmith would be close, but they had that lineup change in the mid-career.Track 2:[17:49] Right.Track 3:[17:51] For one album anyways.Track 2:[17:53] Joe Perry left, right? Joe Perry and Brad Whitford.Track 3:[17:55] Yeah.Track 2:[17:57] Yeah, yeah. Okay, so the next track is You, Me, and the Bees. Do I go two for two here when I say this is an ode to the Boston Bruins? Yeah. And its ability to connect with your family, particularly in this case to Gord's brother, Patrick.Track 3:[21:03] That sounds about right to me.Track 2:[21:04] Take us away.Track 3:[21:06] Took me right to my childhood as well. And a good friend of mine, so my friend Blair and I, we played a game called hall hockey. Hockey's in my parents basement with you know those fisher price um bowling sets we take take one of the pins and a ball and we would just hit the ball back and forth and if you hit the wall you score and we had this ongoing game every time he came over and we would you know do the play by play and we were both oilers fans so you weren't allowed to be the oilers you had to choose another team and i'll never forget the quebec nordique if you were the nordique and you you know you'd be Stastny and then you pass over to to you know Michelle Goulet and as soon as Michelle Goulet, got the puck you know you're getting a shot in the balls every single time I don't know what it was but and um yeah and then Blair became a little bigger than me and started winning every single game and then we yeah we aged out of that game but anyways that's where it took me yeah what What about you guys?Track 4:[22:06] Oh man, this was me and my old man playing pond hockey. Yeah, I loved the song and I loved I could tell right away that the percussion was a hockey stick scraping on the ground. I loved it. And you know, again, I laughed in this song several times and the line about the trading of George Thornton and you know, it's, I don't know, like Like, I'm so excited to get to meet Patrick Downey because it sounds like these guys just had fun the whole time. This song is that relationship. And, you know, and as a Habs fan, I freaking hate the Bruins, but I get it. You know, I totally get it. And, yeah, this is just a really cool song about your brother. You know, it's fun.Track 5:[22:57] Yeah, I loved the song. And I loved, I could tell right away that the percussion was a hockey stick scraping on the ground. I loved it. You know, again, I laughed in this song several times and the line about the trading of George Thornton. And, you know, it's, I don't know, like, I'm so excited to get to meet Patrick Downey because it sounds like these guys just had fun the whole time, you know, and the song is that.Track 4:[23:30] I, um, I really liked how Gord's voice was very staccato and this, um, he was really kind of a minimalist with, you know, he didn't drag any of the, any of the, the lines out the Bruins. You know, like just very on the beat and kind of not screwing around. Or maybe this is screwing around for him, I guess. But, you know, he turned the word Bruins into Bruins, just one syllable. And I don't know, it felt like a different approach lyrically or sonically, I guess.Track 3:[24:02] Yeah, that phrasing really matched the style of the song too. That sort of, like the percussion that Kirk was talking about. It just, yeah, had that staccato feel.Track 5:[24:11] The phrasing, thanks for bringing that up, Craig. I had just recently watched the Juno Award tribute, Dallas Green and Sarah Harmer and Kevin Hearn, I believe it was, and I believe it was the Junos. And gore you guys both talked mentioned like the way he phrases like the way he takes his lyrics and will you know enunciate them to fit into the line it is like no one else right and then when you watch this tribute and you see her singing introduce yourself and trying to you know keep the cadence that that that gourd has i guess that's a good way to describe it there's a uh, a unique cadence to it so i i was blown away by that if you guys haven't seen it you you must watch it and then when they go into bob cajun and the harmonies are just incredible but like goosebumps you know it's so incredible and then especially when she comes in with that harmony But to hear her do the phrasing was wonderful as well, because that has to be difficult.Track 2:[25:25] Yeah, it's what we love about him, right? His ability to twist and turn and put round pegs into square holes or square pegs into round holes probably is more difficult, in fact. Snowflake has a haunting piano line that works well with Gord's almost pastime. What do you think of Snowflakes.Track 5:[25:46] Kirk? Yeah, Melancholy was my note. Again, the piano is used heavily throughout this whole album, but on this song in particular. My guess at who it is to is just a girlfriend is all I wrote. Um but uh the the other note that i wrote was the the woman leaned in to say goodbye but i don't remember his name and uh just the um where is gourd going with that you know i i uh i i wondered i wrote that down as a note so um but just again uh fully emotional song.Track 3:[26:34] Yeah i wondered if that was almost like a reference to maybe his fading memory yeah the oh yeah i was a bit puzzled by that too craig yeah it was a very eerie song and i really loved it i love the um the jangling sounds gave it like a really eerie feeling like you're in a i don't know like a haunted ballroom of some ancient house like i just picture this as a movie when I'm listening to it the the, vocal delivery makes me wonder if it was one of the later tracks that he he did and i really love the chorus and the the reverb they put on like just like in a natural there is a ton of reverb, like way too much reverb but it works really well it's so powerful when they do it on this album not something i would normally like um yeah his voice is is gorgeous in the song um a lot of feeling to the piano playing as well by by kevin um yeah and again i had a note about phrasing when he says my name and when he says goodbye it's kind of rushed and it made me wonder if it was just a lack of time just you know doing it in one take and not worrying too much about yeah about how it came off um but again that's what we love about you too yeah yeah.Track 5:[27:58] You i mean craig you sing when you play takes a lot of energy um so that's that's one thing that i wondered throughout this this album in particular when like if you just say you're looking at it on your phone and you're listening and you bring up the lyrics and you're you're you're questioning some of the enunciations i guess of some of the words but it's that's gourd and that's uh you know Him making it work for that particular song. And sometimes different than what the lyrics are written as. I don't know if that's just typo type stuff or if that's on purpose. this.Track 4:[28:37] So I actually, I don't know, my, my thought on this was that maybe this was, um, something that he was remembering from his childhood and maybe, um, with a, an older sibling or, a relative or somebody, you know, that he knew well. And, um, the thing that stood out to me.Track 4:[29:00] More was the, his recollection of the lake and, um, of the house and describing everything about the scene and that this woman is somebody, an acquaintance of whoever he's walking down the road with, and they're going to see her. Um, cause there's the line, she told me to go explore the quiet rooms. Uh, it like, so this is all right, kid, go check out the house. We got stuff to talk about you know um and i actually um somehow connected this to the you know affluent woman in the video for it's a good life if you don't weaken um my my head kind of went to that music video and i don't don't know why or where that happened but um it just felt to me like it that type of house and that type of, of meeting. And, you know, and then at the end of that video, Gord leans down and whisper something into her ear and, and then, then they walk out. I don't, I don't really know why that's where I went, but, um, it's sort of a mishmash of two different things. Yeah.Track 4:[30:13] So like there's the song that we'll get to called the lake. When I first heard that, I thought that was about the lake, But now I think this song might be about the lake. I don't know.Track 5:[30:23] Just the fact that when he writes his lyrics, like, yeah, he, it's inspired by something, but it may even have a different meaning than what it was inspired by for him. And I don't think he really intends for the listening audience to do anything other than interpret it for their own selves or application. So, um, you know, I, you just, I never got the feeling like he'd be offended by that.Track 2:[30:49] Yeah, I can't agree with you more. Again, that's one of these great things about this performer that we all love. We can get behind that. The next song is called A Better End, and it makes me sad. Lonesome for Gord, I suppose. How does it make you feel, Justin?Track 4:[31:17] Yeah, the same. I mean, it sounds a lot like the Man Machine Poem album. There's some melancholy in a lot of those songs. And this album came together in a different context, but it's musically a lot similar to or very similar to a lot of the songs on there. And there are connections with the lyrics, the line, for treasure or worse. That's in, is that in Man? or machine, one of the others. You know, where God walks with persons, even the may be doomed, that line crushes me every time I hear it.Track 2:[32:00] Repeat it?Track 4:[32:02] Where God walks with persons, even the may be doomed. And, you know, there's an end to that sentence, right? There's a finality in that one. And I don't know. I don't know who it's about. The song is called A Better End, but he says bitter. Um you know and that only at the very end of the song does it say the better end um so maybe there's some letting go you know i i i don't know yeah.Track 5:[32:37] I i uh i have a description written as dark melancholy but then my final note was a plea and that to me as i think you had mentioned, Craig, you know, maybe it was to a family member. And I kind of felt like it was to all family members and all of his like close friends, like, this is the letter, like, this is it. And so I just wrote a plea, question mark. And the beat, I think we talked about this before, you know it's it had the clock feeling to me throughout um and then like you had mentioned justin uh you know you you the title's a better end the the lyric that he uses is stay to the bitter end but it stayed in the bitter end and uh uh just uh, He's put out so much energy at this point, you know, because it is when they've recorded this, you know, it's 20, 2017. They've done the they've done the. The tours, he's done the secret path stuff like he knows what's coming, he knows the bitter end and he gave everything he could. And this is like his like, hey, somebody give me some energy for, you know, here for a better end.Track 3:[34:04] Yeah, I wondered if this was a close family member maybe saying to stay with me until the bitter end. Really, yeah, this was an emotional song, but it's also the type of song that's going to keep bringing me back to this album. I love this song. i found that again another powerful chorus with that big reverb sound and the way he belts out songs like this and snowflake and uh in the choruses is a real strength of this album nancy and yeah just a very powerful um i i had a note i would be interested to hear a heavy version of the song like a full band version um yeah but yeah haunting piano it gave me um secret path vibes it felt very much like musically could have been on secret path he.Track 4:[35:02] He hits a lot of different spots um um in his range too he sings very deeply and then he sings very high um there's There's a lot of, you know, he's probably in three octaves or maybe four during the song. Probably three.Track 2:[35:22] Yeah. So when I hear this song, I think of it, I think of an LP, like an old LP, like a 72, you know, RPM record. And I picture it being played on my grandparents' couch-sized hi-fi. It just sounds, it sounds old. It sounds authentic.Track 5:[35:50] Authentic it sounds like a needle you know the indie rock on the vinyl right it.Track 2:[35:56] Sounds like which sorry.Track 5:[35:57] It sounds like the needle on the vinyl it's just yeah it's you you and then you got that the dining you know the the dining room or whatever recording that's going on in the background and then and then it just sounds like they have the actual, you know the the needle and the vinyl that that that that static sound going it's it's brilliant it's a little soft guitar it's it's a sweet song it really is it's a sweet song yeah.Track 3:[36:28] And the way he sings it too it's almost like a bit of a like a shaky vocal like a bit of a warble to his voice which maybe it was actually maybe they added an effect to make to give it that vinyl quality to it. But I think maybe it's just his, I think it's just his performance. And when I say shaky, I mean, in a deliberate way, I talked last week about how I can't think of any singer who has as many qualities to his voice as Gord and he does it better than anyone. Yeah. Yeah.Track 2:[37:09] But then it did go away. You know, sort of, right? Yeah.Track 3:[37:17] When he wanted it to, yeah. He just gained so much control over his voice. He had power from early on, but then he developed different subtleties. And when he gets into an album like Secret Path, and he's singing sort of in character, he can just go into all these different places depending on the emotion of the song. And another note about Nancy is, first of all, I'm guessing it's about a sister. I didn't actually look up the names of his sisters, but that's just my guess. I liked how it talked about the beginning, the middle, and the end. And Gord forever being the storyteller. He's always thinking in terms of story. Just a little nugget I picked up. And the conversation at the beginning too when they're just starting to hit record he's talking about his cuff link.Track 4:[38:16] It's a good one.Track 2:[38:17] It is. It's really good. And I think on first listen, it would have been bottom third for me. And now it's firmly somewhere in the middle third. Like, it has a crack top third for me. But, you know, it's moved up for sure.Track 4:[38:36] Yeah.Track 3:[38:37] I feel like this album gets better as it goes on. I actually prefer the second half.Track 5:[38:42] That's fair.Track 3:[38:43] Um i think at first i really enjoyed the first half more maybe because i was really preparing for that first half um for our pod but i i love the the second half yeah i.Track 4:[38:57] Actually very much agree with that i think for me it starts to really get good at you're ashore and like i said it's it's a kind of a forgettable song but the the tone sort of changes isn't that wild yeah well.Track 2:[39:11] We are at the last song of the first side the remarkably upbeat think my about us.Track 5:[41:21] This is brilliant. This song is brilliant for me from the first listen to the critical listens in the middle to listening again just recently before this. And just the way it made me feel, the swagger it had, the message it had, um that just incredible descending piano line um it it was uh it it it's up there for me it's really really really up there i love love this tune i.Track 3:[42:03] Agree this is a masterful song really it's just it comes at a place on the album.Track 3:[42:11] Where you really need something that's a little, kind of cute is the word i'll use and you've got that little piano melody that almost just sounds like a finger exercise you would do if you're learning how to play piano and some really cool sounds on the synth or maybe it's a theremin but i'm pretty sure it's a synth, and i also had a note that the the drums enter in an interesting way the bass and drums come in and just maybe a spot you're not quite ready for and yeah just just like a playful song that i really enjoy just super catchy i i wish the world could hear this music like i wish more people, would give this a chance because it should be words were i mean maybe this is my thesis for the end of this whole thing but gourd's work should be appreciated like like josh even said like they're both up they're both equal they're both amazing yeah.Track 4:[43:09] I had the word super catchy exactly the same in my in my notes and i really don't have a lot of other notes about this song but i i can't stop listening to it i know that um it's a yeah it's a it's a and you're right craig it came at the right time um in the sequencing um it was needed in this spot.Track 3:[43:31] It's a little heavy before that.Track 2:[43:32] Right?Track 3:[43:33] Yeah, and it's going to get heavy again. Yep, that's right. Really heavy.Track 2:[43:37] I learned a really valuable... I gained access to some valuable experience today, when I was preparing for this recording, because it's the first time that I've flipped the record over, and had to tackle the final five songs that we ever get to hear from Gord Downie, or so we thought at the time. You know, like, we didn't know there was going to be posthumous releases.Track 5:[44:17] Right.Track 2:[44:19] We knew he wrote this right before he passed, So either way, you know, it's fucking heavy. Craig, when you think of The Road, do you think of that as heavy?Track 5:[44:35] Yes.Track 3:[44:36] Wow, The Road, this song destroys me. Again, there's a bit of a theme on the album in a few songs about The Road, about missing out on life events. Yes. On, you know, the sacrifice. Of you know being a touring musician um you know a dream that i had when i was young and it didn't work out and you know i'm you know thankful for the life i have um and you know i'm sure gourd was as well but man like it had to be there had to be some really tough times being out away from your family all the time and missing things and um anyways this song is so good and the um the thing i want to say about this is when the drums come in there's no hi-hat it's just sort of kick and snare and that space really sets the the mood for this song um you know along with you know the piano of course um and there's one line i want to point out the machines are somewhat suitable now um you know is that is that the hospital machines is it is it a reference to man machine poem um i'm not sure but but this song like.Track 3:[46:06] Depresses me almost as much as the the book the road which destroyed me when i was um a young parent uh you know or not you know i wasn't young but my my son was young and if you you know um cormac mccarthy's the road it is absolutely devastating it is the a book that took me well i've never gotten over it really and the movie as well i watched the movie and it took me about six months to watch the movie i had to watch it like a little bit at a time when i was in the right headspace and it just it is if you haven't read it's maybe don't but it's incredible um but this this yeah if you name something the road it's probably going to destroy me well.Track 4:[46:51] So I had a bit of an awakening about three years ago when in May of 2021, my wife had something that she had to do at work late at night or 8 o'clock, 9 o'clock, whatever. And she couldn't be home to make dinner. And it was like a Tuesday or something. I don't know. And she messaged me during the day and said, you need to be home and make Evelyn dinner tonight. night. Evelyn's our daughter. And at the time she was, uh, almost four and I got home and I realized, holy shit, I've never made dinner for my daughter before. Um, I was working 80 hours a week and I was missing everything. And my wife had an Instagram account for our daughter. And that was the only way that I was keeping up. I lived in the same house, but I wasn't in the same family. You know what I mean? And yeah, the song brings all that back and made a big life change that very night. I sent a long message to my boss and said, we got to talk tomorrow, but I'm going to get it all out right now. Cause if I didn't say it now, I'm not going to say it. And I told him I'm done at the end of the year. I've I'll stick with you for my commitment through this year, but but I'd put 10 years into my job and missed everything in that 10 years. And, um.Track 4:[48:16] Give Gord another three decades on top of that. Um, I don't know who the song's about and I guess it doesn't matter, but, um, but obviously it matters, but, um, yeah, I, I really identified with the missing everything and even going back to the song about, um, uh, what is it? Love over money, um, about the band, you know, we missed funerals and births and all this stuff. And yeah, that's me. I've been there, man. I've, I still, to some degree, I'm there a little bit, but, um, yeah, I missed my daughter's first four years of her life.Track 5:[48:54] Everyone knows in this group here, I'm on the road all the time. I'm talking to you from a hotel room in, in Washington, DC. And, um, and so, I mean, Justin, I think this is actually a letter to the road and a letter to everyone that he's been on the road with, including his wife, his part, you know, his, his kids, his bandmates. It's, it's that, you know, that's that life you choose, you know, whether it's a traveling musician, whether it's a a traveling salesman, whether it's a, you know, a producer. Um, and, and, and it's, uh, it's tough, but when you're not on the road, if you are a road person, it's your, your, you know, jittery, you're nervous, but how do you, how do you give to your family and to yourself and to your job and to your art? And, uh, he wouldn't have been able to do that without the road. So but you know it's a blessing and a curse um i we mentioned this about another song here and this one i wrote was also a song that could have been on secret path was the note for me.Track 4:[50:17] Yeah yeah but musically yeah again.Track 5:[50:19] We there's not enough hours in the day right lads to uh just talk about the amazing insight and that we have it here you know to listen to to watch to read to just just beautiful.Track 4:[50:36] Well there's there's that point where you know you're you're young and and full of energy and you've got these huge goals and then you start to achieve them and then at the same time you have this other life going on behind the scenes that has always played second fiddle to that and then you realize at some point you're too deep into the pursuit to stop now but that this other life that was didn't even exist when you started uh has now taken the spot you know is number one on your on your pecking order and how the hell do you make that change without destroying everything that you've created you know yep.Track 5:[51:14] Oh you are the bird.Track 2:[51:18] Yeah it's uh it's a slow and lovely song right what do you think about it kirk to.Track 5:[51:28] Me this this was uh uh, uh, just a letter. It seemed like a letter to a sibling, right? You, you became the bird you, uh, and then it just, it made sense. And, uh, um, um.Track 5:[51:44] I, it, it starts getting heavy after a while, right? When you, when we break, I mean, we talked about it with the last week when we talked about the first one and how emotional it was and, you know, here we are, you know, however many songs in and you just, you stop. And like you said, you know, JD, it was like, these are the last five tunes and it's, it's, it's almost hard to embrace, um, and think about without just getting, you know, overwhelmed. I, I think it is, I think largely because of the love we have for, uh, you know, what, what, what Gord Downie has done solo and with the hip and, and in jazz as a human. So, um, but, uh, yeah, just, uh, you know, Another note was, again, I think I mentioned it earlier, just lyrics that are written different than what is being sung. And I didn't know if that was on purpose. I think I mentioned that. And I didn't know if it was something Gord was trying to do on purpose. Or it's probably nothing. It's probably just what was written and what was sung.Track 5:[53:04] You know, he probably had it written down as such and just like we do when you have a script in front of you, your brain has already chosen what the next word is going to be. So, anyway.Track 4:[53:15] I noticed that this shared a lot of similarities with Spoon from the first half where he talks about help being the only reason why we're here. You help others and the child in the song Spoon is, I guess, tasked with the same thing. I don't know if task is the right word, but this is a common thread throughout the album. And this lyrically shares a lot with that song.Track 3:[53:48] Yeah. I agree, Justin. That was my real only, my only real note on this song was that, that, you know, it's the only reason we're here. And that seems to be like, yeah, like if I had to break down this album into one message, that would be, I mean, other than like a goodbye and, uh, you know, uh, a lot, you know, a love letter to his close ones. Um, that is like the, yeah, the summation of this album. I also thought probably about A Child, the song, and also there's the line about he was the bird, he passed it down, you want to help people out. So, you know, he's referencing not only the person he's talking to, but someone, maybe another family member, a grandfather or someone who's passed down that quality that, he respects.Track 4:[54:35] There's one of my mentors. I kind of think of him as a father figure. His name is John Adams and he was a very bottom level race car driver around these parts. And, he and my father were about the same age and they were friends. And I started hanging out with John when I was 13 or 14 years old, trying to learn how to work on race cars. And there was one night he went off, he got pushed off the racetrack and he's, you know, this massive six foot six, 300 pound guy. And he comes barreling out of the car and climbs up to the top of the racetrack and gives a, gives the driver that, that wronged him the double bird. So he became the bird man that night. Um, that was his, that was his nickname. And so everybody calls him bird. And, you know, I thought, wouldn't that be silly if he passed his nickname down to me somehow, how you know because he doesn't all of his all of his kids are girls and i'm kind of like his sort of son um i don't think that's going to happen but i i know the song isn't made to laugh, but i laughed thinking about that that's.Track 2:[55:42] A nice memory though yeah.Track 4:[55:44] He's still with us he's still with us flipping people off all the time, yeah i.Track 5:[55:51] Love that the lake.Track 2:[58:56] Yeah, this one's a fucking tearjerker to me. So proceed with caution on this one. Justin?Track 4:[59:04] Yeah. I kind of mentioned it before that I thought that this song was about Lake Ontario, which has been such a constant theme throughout Gord's entire career with the hip and with the solo stuff. And there's so many references to the lake. Um but this song is not about the lake this song is is about his daughter willow i mean that's right at the end of the song uh i realized today you are lake ontario the love of my life you are willow and then he does this fantastic call and answer thing with his own you know backup vocals um saying willow over and over again and it's like wow this one this one is something um it's a it's a beautiful song um it's just gorgeous um and yes he does describe the lake or a lake um but all these same qualities could be about your child and man it's uh it's a crusher very.Track 5:[1:00:09] Astute observation mr justin that's uh i i think spot on um and as you mentioned you know it's obviously and and to compare the two is is that there's no disservice in that he loves them both dearly so um i loved how the keys on this made it feel like you were on the lake like you listen to the.Track 4:[1:00:37] Song and you feel like.Track 5:[1:00:39] You're floating in you know in a boat a canoe whatever on the lake and you hear the lake in that song. Um, absolutely amazing. Absolutely amazing.Track 4:[1:00:55] You know, I, I grew up on the water. Um, Lake Champlain is, they call it the sixth great lake. Um, and that's, I can see it out the window. Um, and my family had a camp on a little lake, uh, Hall's lake. And my wife grew up on a lake in Ohio, Guilford lake. And we go there They're three, four, five times a year. We're headed there next week. And she also came to Vermont working at a summer camp for, I think, seven summers on Lake Fairley, which is a gorgeous resort area. And so on first hearing this song, The Lake, and probably the first 10 times I heard it, I was like, man, I can see it. And then I picked up on the willow thing after, you know, 11th on my 11th listen, I guess. And I was like, Oh no, it's just something completely different. But if it is just about the lake, Oof, that's just as devastating and lovely.Track 3:[1:01:57] Yeah, I also grew up near a lake. Our house in Peachland, which my parents still live in, overlooks Okanagan Lake, which is a very large lake. And yeah, it just brings back memories. And it is maybe my favorite spot on earth. Right across the lake from where we live is a small island. There's no roads. There's no power. There's no development on the other side of the lake. And it's just a place that we would boat to when I was a kid and try to get over there every summer. And it's just, you know, this song takes me there. And also, you know, with the mention of his daughter at the end and, you know, the, you're the love of my life and it, yeah, it's just a beautiful song.Track 2:[1:02:46] It's gorgeous. Kirk?Track 5:[1:02:49] Again, we've said it already. you know these last five songs are they're crushers it's like it it was really hard to listen to them in succession like i really needed to stop you know this these last two far far away and blurred i you know my my my space that i left for what is supposed to be my guess of who it is who the song is to the letters to, is blank. And it is blank because to me it could be anyone. Maybe it was obvious to one of you guys, but I really felt like it was almost like a letter to everyone.Track 5:[1:03:34] We smile. All that we've been through, up and down for sure, onwards and upwards, up close, far away, and blurred. Um, the tempo changes in this song are amazing. It goes into a, a swing almost during the chorus. Um, and, uh, I, I, again, just the instrumentation and the, the combination of what, you know, uh, you know, obviously not just, um, Gordon, Kevin, but, you know, the others that contributed as well. So just add, I think, to each one of these letters, as it were, you know, as they started out. What'd you think about Far Away and Blurred, Craig?Track 3:[1:04:25] I really love this song. Another strong song on the second half of this album. And I almost wondered if maybe it could be another touring song, or maybe he's talking about traveling with his family. Great melody. And I agree with what you said, Kirk, when it changes tempo halfway through the song, and the drums come in with that slow beat, and the echo the the vocals are echoing and i i found that part very powerful and it's like, again i just can't, get over the the brilliance of his work it is like so emotional um and there's this like guitar pattern going on that's really really cool in the background as well and yeah and justin you yeah.Track 4:[1:05:20] I i guess i'm echoing what you guys have said um it's just a if i mean it's a little bit upbeat um for a hot minute there and again comes at a at a place where you need it um Um, yeah, it's, it's lovely. It's how it's a guy who's frigging dying, um, and telling everybody how much he loves them and that he always has, whether, whether you're in view or not. Right. Um, yeah, the.Track 5:[1:05:53] Passion in his voice in the vocal, um, is just so palpable. And so it just, I mean, wrenching, but almost in a, just again, another reminder of just how amazing, how amazing every part and ounce of the art that comes out of this guy is just incredible, incredible.Track 3:[1:06:23] Yeah, JD, did you have anything to add for this one?Track 2:[1:06:26] I don't know if I could get anything out right now if I tried. it's.Track 3:[1:06:30] A tough one I.Track 2:[1:06:32] Think you know his voice in the verses I've got written down that it's playful and painful at the same time, and you know it builds the chorus is obviously as powerful a gourd voice as we've heard in almost any song on this record, We'll get more of that in later records that we'll discuss in future episodes, but yeah, it's a great song, but it's the second-to-last song, and the North is a really powerful way to end. A callback to Secret Path and The Bridge. But overall, it's an interesting tracking decision. It can't be a coincidence. Right, Justin?Track 4:[1:11:07] No, of course it's not. It's a reminder. It's like he spent a good portion of that final show in Kingston reminding everybody to pay attention and to keep paying attention. And that's exactly what this song is. is it's it's uh yeah i did secret path but keep going forward keep talking about it keep moving keep changing um keep trying to figure this out um you know i don't know if we i don't think we've said this on air but when we first started talking about this album there i i mentioned to you guys in our in our group chat that i thought this was some of the songs on this album were like a stream of consciousness and i think i know that there's the video of of them recording this song and i know that it's not a stream of consciousness but i think when he was writing this song, what he wrote down is whatever came to his head first and i'm going to find a song to to put it to and i got to get this message out i don't care if it's rhymes or makes sense musically or what This has to be said again and again and again and again. And good on him, you know. Yeah.Track 3:[1:12:22] Yeah. So he makes the reference to, um, you know, a place West of, of James Bay, which would be Ottawa, Piscat, which of course the hip have, have the song about. And, um, I, I, I'm wondering if this song is either about or to Joseph Boyden, the author who, at the same time secret path was released, released a book called when Jack, um, I didn't mention him on the secret path episode only because there is some controversy you can look it up if you're interested but calling his um his roots into you know question um you know people questioning that he may not be in fact indigenous so you know that's definitely something you can kind of look into yourself but um joseph boyden is famous for a book called three day road and And just an interesting little thing that I came across about a week ago was a story related to this. So this story, Three Day Road, is about from just, I haven't read the book, but I've read a different story about a sniper in World War I named Francis Paganagabo. And he was nicknamed Peggy. And he has more kills than any sniper in North America.Track 3:[1:13:44] And his story is relatively unknown. And it's a really fascinating story. And anyways, I was reading a short story about that last week and then made this discovery about the connection to Joseph Boyden. Anyways, I highly encourage you to check out a story called Peggy. There's actually a podcast too by CBC called This Place. which is 150 years of Canadian history told by indigenous voices. And the episode on Peggy is incredible.Track 5:[1:14:19] The line Canada, we should have never called Canada. Um, I thought was pretty bold as well to put out there as you guys all had been mentioning, you know, obviously when he had addressed the crowd, you know, at several of the shows and, and several of his interviews. So I think that's, uh, bold, but expected. So I, I, uh, I think we all appreciate that. He would, would, go out there to this level.Track 3:[1:14:51] Yeah there's definitely a call back to that that statement in the last show that he made to the prime minister and i always um really admired that and, i always wondered what it would be like if an american artist did the same thing, you know like a high profile of bruce springsteen or someone went out and said something like that just the absolute division that would that would ensue um yeah yeah oh.Track 5:[1:15:18] Yeah I was going to say the dick and chicks are a good example.Track 3:[1:15:22] Of it.Track 4:[1:15:22] Happening.Track 5:[1:15:23] So but yeah.Track 4:[1:15:27] Or the opposite of that lady antebellum who's then sued the person that they stole their name from well fellas.Track 2:[1:15:36] It's time to ask the question will you be keeping this record in your rotation.Track 4:[1:15:44] I'm going to say not all the time And it's got nothing to do with the music. It's the subject. It's the heaviness of it. It's I don't want to, I don't want to be down. Um, there are some songs on this, on this record that are frigging awesome. They're all, they're all very good, but you know, there's some songs that certainly fit into the hip like catalog.Track 2:[1:16:07] Sure. And you can add them to your mixtape, right?Track 4:[1:16:10] Exactly. And that's probably how I'll consume them. Um, but this is going to be something that I listened to once every couple of years, maybe.Track 5:[1:16:19] Yeah, it's a commitment. I was just going to say it's a commitment. So I would answer very similarly to what Justin said. Even for this particular purpose of this podcast, it was heavy listening every time, every time you went through it. And so definitely some tunes I want to keep hearing regularly, but it's not something that I would. All i have on regular rotation like like i would would some of the others that that have definitely been fantastic in my opinion i.Track 3:[1:16:58] Agree with you guys i i definitely will come back to this album, um considering i gave it you know it took me six and a half years just to give it a first listen i'm definitely not going to wait that long um but i think i'll just have to be in the right frame of mind to put it on but i absolutely will i really do love it in fact coming up with an mvp track for this is definitely the hardest decision i've had to make i was hoping we were going to do one last week and one this week but so i'm it's going to be a last uh last second decision i was.Track 4:[1:17:31] Hoping jd would forget the question this time.Track 2:[1:17:33] I've got it written down so i don't forget my My memory is so piss poor.Track 3:[1:17:39] Right in on your hand.Track 2:[1:17:40] I call it a format sheet, but for real, it's cheating. Craig, we're going to stick with you. And we're going to go to MVP track.Track 3:[1:17:48] I want to know what they say first. So to clarify, is this my absolute favorite track or is this the track that I want to put onto a mixtape?Track 2:[1:18:00] It can be, that can be your interpretation. It can, it's the most valuable player. It's the, you know.Track 3:[1:18:07] So I had so many I mean my first instinct was a natural but I think I'm going to have to go with Snowflake it's.Track 2:[1:18:17] So good it.Track 3:[1:18:18] Is such a powerful song to me and I love the chorus I love the way again that big reverb sound and it's just a really gorgeous song and takes me you know visually takes me somewhere.Track 2:[1:18:36] We could definitely overuse the word gorgeous on this record because there's so much gorgeosity on it, you know?Track 4:[1:18:45] Nice.Track 5:[1:18:46] There is that.Track 2:[1:18:48] Right?Track 5:[1:18:49] There is that.Track 2:[1:18:50] Kirk.Track 5:[1:18:51] Yeah. MVP? Thinking about us, man.Track 3:[1:18:54] Good call.Track 5:[1:18:55] That tune, just thinking about us. It's thinking about us. That's all I need to say.Track 2:[1:19:01] You didn't have to hesitate at all. Wow.Track 5:[1:19:04] No.Track 2:[1:19:06] Justin, how are you going to react to the question? Craig was very concerned and didn't want to say anything. Kirk was very resolute and just put a flag in her. And Justin, where are you on this one? I'm giving you some time to think, so it's not really fair.Track 4:[1:19:25] Well, I don't need time to think. I just don't have an answer. I've been thinking about this since the first listen because I knew that this was coming. Um i will i i do have an answer um but i'll tell you the pics that i had wolf's home because it makes me think of my dad bedtime because of just the connection with my daughter and when this song or when this record came out um i love introduce yourself for the reasons that we talked about it's it's a great song about your buddy and and you know get me out of another jam please you know There was some interview that Gord did that he told Billy Ray. He goes, something happened with a guitar. And he goes, I will literally blow you if you fix this. I love Spoon, that song Spoon, because I really like the band. But I also like the story of going to the show with a kid. um but i'm gonna go with love over money because that's why we're all here in the first place yeah right good job justin yeah thank.Track 2:[1:20:37] You what bow you put in it love.Track 4:[1:20:39] It yeah yeah.Track 2:[1:20:42] And that brings us to the end of Introduce Yourself. Just a, you know, what a, I'm going to use the word again, what a gorgeous piece of work. And so memorable and so thoughtful. And, you know, this is the last stuff he recorded. It's really, really quite heavy. And we're sorry if we brought you down a little bit with these last two episodes, um but trust us we're celebrating this music we're not mourning we are celebrating and.Track 3:[1:21:23] Jd i want to thank you one more time for bringing me on board for this project because this is the album that i told you right from the start has been sitting on my shelf and i needed i wanted to listen to it. It's been staring at me for years and I just couldn't do it. And I think maybe just having, you know, you guys along with the ride makes it, you know, easier to do.Track 2:[1:21:50] Thank you very much. Thank you for doing it.Track 4:[1:21:53] Yeah. I a hundred percent. Thank you. I, I didn't know about any other records, um, um that gourd had done um but i knew about this one and i was choosing to not listen to it you know i i wanted nothing to do with it um and i gotta be honest with you i'm glad it's over i'm glad it's behind us um i listened to this this album in its entirety probably 25 to 30 times um it's.Track 2:[1:22:22] A lot yeah.Track 4:[1:22:23] It's a lot and the last week or so um leading up to recording this i stopped listening completely um i had to stop it was just killing me and i started listening to um some of the older hip stuff and i started listening to some sadie stuff and i listened to conquering sun quite a bit um but i had to get away from the heaviness and go back to being a fan, because this was a hard one.Track 2:[1:22:57] Completely agree well on behalf of uh craig and justin and kirk it's me jd and we're saying goodbye for another week we'll be back we've just got a couple episodes left fellas we've got away is mine and we've got luster parfait and then we've got the finale and i'm getting excited about yeah.Track 4:[1:23:21] Hell yeah oh yeah yeah and you know it's gonna.Track 2:[1:23:26] Be a good time.Track 4:[1:23:27] I got it you know we got to give a shout out to our our social media following you guys are really starting to step up and kick ass lately and it's really re-energized all of us a lot um we're our group chat has been on fire the last several days as we record this because we're just like did you see this one did you see the message there did you see the email oh my god you know it's yeah we're obsessing over the rankings and it's it's great it's fun it's a lot of fun well.Track 5:[1:23:52] So it was so crazy too to get some like some you know some of the official accounts of these people that we were talking about are.Track 4:[1:24:01] Right are.Track 5:[1:24:02] Sharing some of the you know the links and stuff to some of these episodes and and uh we're getting just some great amazing comments you know through the right you guys mentioned social media you know instagram facebook and uh just i don't think any of us had that on our bingo cards when we woke up in the morning, you know?Track 2:[1:24:22] I didn't.Track 4:[1:24:27] Right. And the Sadies messaged you back today, Craig. That's cool.Track 2:[1:24:33] Holy shit.Track 4:[1:24:34] And JD's putting in the legwork tenfold over what we're doing.Track 2:[1:24:38] Stop.Track 4:[1:24:39] He's listening. He's throwing everything together and doing interviews and making all this happen. I mean, I don't know if any of us are getting rich off this.Track 2:[1:24:48] Oh, not fucking me.Track 4:[1:24:50] You know, JD is certainly reaping the benefits of, I think a lot of people are appreciating what you're doing and I know we are.Track 5:[1:24:57] Yeah, absolutely.Track 2:[1:24:59] It's a group effort, guys. It's a group effort, man. All right, folks. Pick up your shit.Track 1:[1:25:07] Thanks for listening to Discovering Downey. To find out more about the show and its host, visit DiscoveringDowney.com. You can email us at discoveringdowney at gmail.com. And hey, we're social. Check us out.

Mixtape III

Dial Nits

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2024 45:30

Dutch band The Nits are turning 50 in 2024. A time for celebration! In this episode, we invited some guests to the party and hand over the microphones – not to the Nits themselves, but to their colleague musicians, friends and admirors from many different countries, from Switzerland via Great Britain to Canada. The updated version of a mix-tape, part three

canada switzerland dutch great britain mixtape curveball barenaked ladies nits kevin hearn henk hofstede

Introduce Yerself Pt. 1

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2024 70:57

Buckle in because this is a personal album we're discussing on today's episode of Discovering Downie. A mere 10 days following Gord's death fans were gifted the posthumous diary, Introduce Yerself. Craig, Justin, and Kirk have little experience with this record. Things get raw!Thanks for clicking.Follow us on social media @gorddowniepodTranscript: Track 6:[0:00] One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10. Long Slice Brewery presents a live event celebration of Gord Downie July 19th at The Rec Room in Toronto. Join the hosts of the podcast Discovering Downie as they record their finale with special guest Patrick Downie. A silent auction with items from the hip and many others will take place along with live entertainment from the almost hip. All proceeds will benefit the Gord Downie Fund for brain cancer research. For more information and tickets, please visit discoveringdowney.com. How it all works. Welcome, music lovers. Long Slice Brewery presents Discovering Downey.Track 1:[1:15] Hey, it's JD here. Welcome to Discovering Downey, an 11-part project with a focus on the music and poetry of Mr. Gord Downey. The late frontman of the Tragically Hip gave to the world an extensive solo discography on top of the hip's vocal acrobatics that awed us for years. So far, he's released eight records in total, three of them posthumously. You might be the biggest fan of the hip out there, but have you heard these records? Because I'm an inquisitive podcaster, I enlisted my friends Craig, Justin, and Kirk, giant fans in their own right to discover downy with me jd as their host every week we get together and listen to one of gourd's records starting with coke machine glow and working from there in chronological order we discuss and dissect the album the production the lyrics and we break it down song by fucking song this week we're dealing with the challenging introduce Introduce yourself. Craig, how are you doing this week, my friend?Track 2:[2:20] I'm doing well.Track 1:[2:21] That's good to hear.Track 2:[2:22] Can't complain.Track 1:[2:23] Gigging?Track 2:[2:24] Yeah, I had a big show on the weekend and it was sold out and we had played about 30 tunes and it was a great time.Track 1:[2:32] Oh man, I wish I had a teleport device. Yeah. So I could go to your gigs. You too, Kirk. How are you doing, man?Track 4:[2:40] I'm doing well. Thank you. Yeah. Had a gig last week and got some travel coming up. So just been kind of finishing up on some graduation things with the kids. And, you know, like I said, some work stuff, obviously spending lots of time with this, this little project we got going on, but yeah, doing well.Track 1:[2:59] It's a lot. It's a lot, but it's been a lot of fun so far. And part of the fun is Mr. Justin St. Louis. How are you doing, sir?Track 3:[3:08] I'm good, dude. It's hardcore, hardcore here in this house right now, but things are good, man. Things are good.Track 1:[3:16] Well, that's great. Just off the top, I want to say that we're starting to get some items rolling in for the silent auction for the fundraising event that we're hosting in July. We've got the PWHL Toronto franchise has given us a really cool donation that we'll be sharing online in the days and weeks to come. We also got a donation from the Toronto Blue Jays, the Tragically Hip themselves have donated something. We've got a great restaurant, Mighty Bird, that is donating. And there's lots of other stuff as well, like lots of great artwork and shit. So get your tickets.Track 4:[3:56] Hey, we have some beers too, right?Track 1:[3:58] We do have some beers. Yeah, Podcast Pilsner. It's got our logo on the can.Track 3:[4:03] Let's go.Track 1:[4:04] That right? Yeah. And it should be a decent price. It's made by our title sponsor, Long Slice, of course. So go to discoveringdowney.com and click on fundraising tickets. Bob's your uncle. So there's that.Track 4:[4:17] Bob's your uncle. Love it. I love it. That's like six one way, half a dozen the other. I tell that to anyone that's under 40 and they look at me like, what are you talking about? Like, just figure it out. ticks one way, half a dozen the other. That's very confusing.Track 1:[4:35] Yeah. It is.Track 3:[4:39] Every time I hear Bob's your uncle, I think of 101 Dalmatians. When the bad guys break in and steal the pups from the nanny, he says, well, be out faster than you can say Bob's your uncle. And that was the first time I ever heard it. Anyway.Track 1:[4:54] I found out it's not an American phrase. It's a Canadian and UK phrase. So I told a bunch of people this and they were like, I've never heard of this in my life.Track 3:[5:03] What do you mean? No. Yeah. Right.Track 1:[5:06] All right, time to get a bit heavy here, because on October 17th, 2017, we said goodbye to the man who walks among the stars. This was truly one of the more emotional days in my nearly 50 years on this plane. Only losing family and close friends has ever cut as deeply as sending Gord off to the abyss. Less than two weeks later though on october 27th 2017, gourd released a posthumous effort called introduce yourself, where do you start with this one in my mind there are elements from each of the previous five albums on display here i hear secret path on coco chanel number five to name one off the top of my head the sparse production handled deftly by kevin drew gourd's partner in creating this double record. I have to imagine the production and limited instrumentation could have been a result of Gord's condition at the time of recording. However, as sick as he was, he persevered through two sessions in putting this album together.Track 1:[6:15] The liner notes indicate that Gord took on the bulk of the guitar work while handling vocals, some synth, and a bit of percussion to boot. Mr. Drew handled piano, bass, organs, keyboard, and percussion. This album does also feature some great guest performers, notably Dave Hamelin, with some work on the drums, as well as synth, and finally, on Nancy, he plays a frickin' B-3. David Billy Ray Koster offered some additional drum work and background vocals, while Patrick Downey contributed background vocals and percussion on Safe is Dead. Jillian Weiss also added vocals to that track. Lastly, engineer and bathhouse resident Niles Spencer has his fingerprints on several songs, playing keys, creating beats, samples, and a Morse code sound on the 19th track, The Road. From the get-go, this album has been scoured by fans to try and determine who each song is about. You see, this album has a premise. Each of the 23 songs is about someone from Gord's life. This is clearly the most personal record Gord, or the hip for that matter, has ever released. I'm going to leave you with one more date that is significant to me with regards to Introduce Yourself. May 30th, 2024.Track 1:[7:35] This was the day I peeled the cellophane off my copy of the vinyl and finally listened to the album in its entirety. Prior to that Thursday in May, I just didn't have the stamina or emotional wherewithal to make a dent in what I now know is a celebration of the music, the man, and the legend, Gord Downie. Justin, what are your initial thoughts on this one?Track 3:[8:00] I could not handle this album when it came out. I tried it and I had to abort after five songs maybe. And I'll tell you, and maybe I should save it for the song, but there was one, this all happened when, when my daughter was a newborn, there was, there's one song that just wrecks me and, uh, still does. Um, there's several that do, but one particular, and I just had to put it away until this, this project came around. So, you know, I sat on it for seven years. I had tried it and I wasn't ready.Track 1:[8:31] Me too, man. Me too. I'm either going to apologize for this project or be thanked for this project to find out what Justin's thoughts were on some of these songs. Kirk, I want to hear from you.Track 4:[8:44] Yeah. Well, for me, this came after us doing Secret Path, and that was such an emotional...Track 4:[8:56] Couple of weeks. I mean, it really was because we'd already become so close to Gord before we even started this project. Then when we started this project, you just became intimately familiar and then secret path happens and you're just, and I needed a break. I needed a break from, I'll say Gord Downie solo and I needed to fall in love with the hip again. I think I got that record store day hip album and i put that on and then i just went on a journey and just kind of fell in love with the hip again but i took a long break to prepare myself for this and there's no amount to break or anything that could really prepare you for it and every listen no matter what the device was whether it was on my record whether it was in the car whether it was out walking the dog. It was just obviously beautiful when you think about these letters and that he had the opportunity to do it, but also just so extremely heartbreaking at the same time, right? And then one final thing for me, my wife and I had also just recently watched the new documentary that came out on Jim Henson, right? And we're big Muppets fans. And of course they had a little bit on, you know, on Craig and I's favorite Emmett Otter.Track 4:[10:20] But yeah, it's just real quick, you know, but the point I wanted to make was.Track 4:[10:27] The Muppets, Sesame Street, everything that Jim Henson created, right? And he passed when he was 53. And Gord passed when he's 53. And I'm 53.Track 4:[10:39] And I'll be honest with you, gents, I have been on this. I'm 53. And these two gentlemen created this body of artwork that has been so incredibly moving for so many people for so many generations. And it just really stopped me in my tracks and went, wow, I'm 53. If I went right now, what would my story be and what impact would I have? And how thankful, even though it was, and I say this because I'm 53, that we lost those two gentlemen so young. Thank goodness we have this to go back and listen and watch and read and discuss and record podcasts. And I'm just so thankful. So sorry, a very long-winded answer, but I needed to share that with you because I think all of us are gonna have these emotional moments throughout this recording today. And just thinking about like, if I had a chance to write letters to everyone before I went, like, I don't know that I could do that. So um so that every listen has just been that thought wow can you imagine you had to write a letter to all the people that you know you cared for just.Track 1:[12:02] Take a moment brother we appreciate you man hell yeah best 53 year old on this podcast by by a country mile i.Track 4:[12:13] Will i will accept that sorry i'll accept that thank you as i cry thank you all right.Track 1:[12:22] Craig no i always i always start my questions with like for some reason i'm like mclaughlin of the mclaughlin group uh i don't know if you remember that sketch on snl but i feel like what justin you know and it's like this episode is a lot more stark and i don't want to be like scaring the shit out of you as i'm asking you a question but craig i want i'm curious about your experience now yeah.Track 2:[12:51] Well really quickly just before we um get into that uh kirk um not sure if you knew this this will probably just make things worse but um jim henson at his funeral they actually used a song from emmett otter as the um as the song that played during his um ceremony so yeah So you know how much it meant to him? Yeah.Track 3:[13:11] He also wrote his own goodbye letter and just stored it away.Track 2:[13:15] Oh, wow.Track 3:[13:15] In case of emergency, right? Yeah.Track 2:[13:19] It's crazy. Yeah. So, J.D., much like yourself –, I bought this album when it came out, and it remained unopened. And I actually remember watching a video that was like a promotional video that came out around the time the album was released. And it was a black and white. I put it on for about 30 seconds, and I just, I had to turn it off. And I actually just, for the first time since then, watched it last night. And it made sense why it hit me that hard it was the north the very last song which we'll get to at the very very end of i guess next week's podcast and that is a heavy tune and gourd was, not looking his best during the recording of that and it was just sort of like a rehearsal take they were showing it was just heartbreaking to watch and it was such a sad song i didn't know what it was about at the time, but I just knew I could not listen to this album. And yeah, so when this podcast opportunity came up, that was my first thought was like, I've had, I've been waiting to crack this open and I was looking for the opportunity to, you know, the right time. And that time is here. And to build off what Kirk was saying, like this, this album is a gift.Track 3:[14:46] Yeah.Track 2:[14:49] To his loved ones who were the subjects of the songs, to his bandmates, to his fans. And it's beautiful. The fact that he got this out there, like Kirk said so well, how many people get, number one, the opportunity to do something like this, and number two, can bring themselves to write those hard words.Track 1:[15:15] Absolutely. Yeah.Track 2:[15:16] Yeah.Track 6:[15:17] And, and when you consider the condition that he was in when he recorded these things, it's absolutely mind blowing for heaven's sake.Track 1:[15:26] This isn't somebody who was fully operational. And there's songs that are just so well thought out and gorgeous and, and so gored, you know?Track 3:[15:38] Well, and he wrote it in two stages too. And, you know, I would say that the second stage was probably in worse condition, right?Track 1:[15:47] You're likely right.Track 3:[15:49] He was gone six months after, you know, wild.Track 4:[15:55] One thing, because this is a blanket statement for all of it, is in any of the, you know, quick research that you do, like most of these songs were recorded in one to two takes. You know, for multiple reasons, one, they didn't have the time and neither did he or the energy. And so when you, you know, when you thought about when I went through and listened to every song and just went like, you got this amount of time, you're going to do this. And, you know, and they end up, I mean, one to two takes on some of these albums, just some of these songs. Sorry.Track 3:[16:34] And that's all they needed to.Track 1:[16:37] Yeah, I think that rawness really adds another layer to the context in a certain way, doesn't it? Because it is raw emotionally, and then it's raw musically as well.Track 4:[16:48] Yeah, very much so, but still incredible. Like on a majority of those songs, you wouldn't know. I mean, the one thing I read, and I would agree, is it's a piano forward album. There's very much a piano keys. There's some great guitar lines, but, um, so that helps obviously from a production standpoint in, in getting your, your tone tonality and, but I also think that it just really added to the, the, the emotion that the points, I'm sorry, I'm, no.Track 3:[17:30] But you're right.Track 4:[17:31] It's just incredible that they were able to get some of this production down in the manner that they did. And as a whole, going back to 53, I could hear so many decades in the songs, in the musicality that he was trying to experience. There's literal 80s synth pop songs on this. There's ballads. And there's all of these. You know, for me, I reflected born in the seventies, you know, really experienced that music eighties, nineties, two thousands. And then obviously the stuff you were influenced before that. And that instrumentation, in my opinion, came through in a lot of these songs. And again, one in two takes blows me away. Yeah.Track 1:[18:18] Yeah. Yeah. Drew, Kevin drew deserves, uh, a heap of, uh, of credit for pulling this together. And Niles Spencer was the engineer on the project. So hopefully later this summer, you guys get to meet Niles and we get to look around the bathhouse. That would be tremendous.Track 2:[18:40] Yeah. That would be amazing.Track 3:[18:41] Yeah.Track 1:[18:42] So we'll see what we can do there. Should we get into this song by song?Track 2:[18:45] Yeah.Track 3:[18:45] Let's do it.Track 1:[18:46] Okay. Craig, we're going to start with you in first person.Track 2:[18:51] So i decided early on when i started listening to this album i i felt like i didn't want to dig too deeply into what you know who each song was about right but some are just so obvious so first person you know it's a song to his mother you know the first person that you know he sees the first person to bring him to life just a really great song to start the album with very emotional um, Yeah. And I don't know, I didn't look up if his mother is still alive or was alive when this was released. So, you know, at the end he's saying goodbye.Track 3:[19:30] He addressed her in the final Kingston concert.Track 2:[19:34] Okay.Track 3:[19:34] Yeah. And she was there for that. I mean, they were only a year apart, so I don't know this, but I would assume she was still alive at that point. And I don't know if she's now or not.Track 2:[19:44] Yeah just the you know again the chance to say goodbye to his mom and yeah it's not really, how things are supposed to go i guess but um not at all yeah and that yeah the last thing i'll say is just there's that you know the vocalizations after the word goodbye i talked about them last week on secret path but there's these like raw just emotional you know screams and like emotes that he makes um in in the secret path concert and on the album and on this album as well that you know just that i don't know guttural just raw human emotion that it's really cool, what'd you guys think yeah.Track 1:[20:25] We saw a lot of that on the final tour for sure that raw guttural emotion.Track 2:[20:29] And uh.Track 1:[20:31] It's mirrored on this record absolutely crystallized uh on vinyl and cd cassette i don't know if it's on cassette justin um where do you stand on first person.Track 3:[20:43] Can't add a whole lot more but there's one thing that is very consistent in this song and the second song and it's that quarter note bass drum heartbeat boom boom boom boom to the whole thing and it's, not by accident for sure yeah yeah.Track 2:[21:01] And that was a feature of secret path to a lot of other songs without heartbeat.Track 4:[21:06] And a clock too is what I heard. Yes. I heard it as an underlying heartbeat, but it was also- click it was also time moving yeah oh that's good yeah it it really hit me in.Track 4:[21:22] Fact i think it was last night on one of the one of the tunes i don't remember exactly which one it was but it was fitting and it was very much a clock and a heartbeat again love love the opportunity that we had the chance to to to listen to this and to listen to those thoughts you know that was one One of the things I was thinking of, and we can say this about all of them is sometimes it's hard to really express your feelings at any moment, face-to-face writing it down, you know, after the fact. And so often it's after the fact, you know, this entire album, but of course this song right away, acknowledging his mom, but just that I'm going to go through and I'm going to give everyone that I've been in touch with or that I've loved, you know, I'm going to express some feelings to them. And a lot of the times those things sometimes people feel might be appropriate to be private, but for me, I love that Gord was very open about those feelings and emotions. So just incredible. Absolutely incredible.Track 1:[22:28] Incredible yeah i couldn't agree with you more it's so heartbreaking and i don't know whether we should have put a trigger warning at the top of this episode uh as we did with secret path this is some heavy shit so let's move on to wolf's home, All I want is you, All I want is you.Track 3:[26:05] And the heartbeat, you know, it really just, that's the other half, right? This is a decidedly more upbeat tune. It's really catchy. It's kind of fun. And it really, you know, the track that follows this is heavy too, but it does set the tone for kind of the rest of the album. The context of this whole thing, like we talked about over and over, is heavy, but the songs are kind of fun, you know? And Wolf's home is, all right, kids, stop the nonsense and the bullshit. Dad's home. Everybody cut it out. There's two lines that really stuck out to me. One was, I don't do what I hate, which is a spin on I do what I hate from Man, from the Man Machine poem album, which is the first track on that. And then at the very end is, all I want is you. you know and you know all the all the references to to edgar downey throughout the the hips catalog and and everything that gore did and you know lonely end of the rank and all those things it's um yeah i just these first two songs really kind of wrap your arms around the entire album with with what you're going to get out of this and um it's nice that it was his parents that, were the the opening numbers you know it was really a touching couple of tracks there.Track 4:[27:25] Yeah absolutely it's a tribute really it is and a tribute to obviously what an upbringing to, be able to you know have this individual that again has left us with such amazing art but yeah mom and dad right off the the bat i don't know if you guys noticed this or not and i think craig was trying to show it i have lucky enough to have the vinyl of this but on all the it's all handwritten the lyrics that are in here but in each one i'm fairly certain it's the who the song's about but it's it's covered up and it's a different color and it's on every single song in both you know close the first and the second album craig.Track 3:[28:04] You referenced that black and white video and in that video the only bits of color are where they overlay they kind of superimpose gray uh, gourd's handwriting in red and blue and he's got that four color pen that he's always using on.Track 4:[28:20] All the interviews. Yep.Track 3:[28:21] And I also was super happy to figure out that he's a lefty in that video because they show him making a note. And I'm like, all right.Track 4:[28:30] Right on, left-handers.Track 2:[28:31] My daughter is going to love that. Yeah, so this song, Wolf's Home, again, yeah, definitely about his father. And it's such a catchy song. The melody in the chorus, the ascending melody and the way the timbre of his voice just, changes as he's going up to those high notes and just such a nice quality like, he's such a versatile vocalist i don't think he gets enough credit for the just the different voices he uses on on different styles of tracks.Track 3:[29:03] There was something that i read a few years ago about how gourd just stayed in the pocket with the hip and i'm like what the frig are you talking about like the guy will go until he doesn't have a voice on the low end and then he blows it out on the top, Mariah Carey style. Like, it's unbelievable, his range.Track 1:[29:21] Ha ha ha ha ha ha.Track 2:[29:23] Some interest interesting percussion sounds almost like on on the two and four there's some kind of a where the snare would be there's some kind of i don't know what it is almost sounds like toy drums or something or just something random in the studio they were hitting but, but yeah i have nothing really more to add just just a great song.Track 4:[29:40] Yeah and i'll pick up on bedtime the next one which is to one of the kids i'm not sure if it's specific or if it's just to his children in general or you know again just going through that the theme that we've been talking about is knowing you know and it really doesn't matter who it's to that does add to obviously the level of seriousness but for me it was I think Craig mentioned this as well it's like yeah there was something you could pick out right away but it really didn't matter at some points again just breaking down that these were the very personal letters that were going out and doing it in a manner of he gets to add the instrumentation to it and as as we've talked about on several of the different albums and different tunes then again this one is more of the piano ford as they had mentioned the emotion that can be evoked from from that backing music to it and and knowing looking at very few i think there was only like four or five of these tunes that were solely gourd so you had some of the other you know drew that was involved, and niles and some of the other that helped i think a little bit with some of the i mean i don't know what their breakdown was if they were more instrumentation if they were more the uh um the lyric side of it but but just uh again i think a masterpiece put considering everything and having kids we all went through this or i went through this with all my kids.Track 4:[31:06] Multiple times in a different manner and and but how important that was and how with each of my kids, I have those memories of that connection, right? And that was a way that you could help your spouse was putting the help and putting the kids to bed. So it evokes some, some, very direct and deep memories and then saddens you when you know that these are memories that his children are going to read and hopefully appreciate.Track 1:[31:36] Oh, I can't imagine. I can't imagine. I just can't imagine.Track 2:[31:41] Yeah. Definitely brought back memories for me of, of those early years with kids and the, the struggle of bedtime and just the, the passage of time, you know, the way that those nights would just seem to last forever. And you were just, Then you wake up the next day and do it all over again. And then yet the years just start flying by. And that's what struck me during this song is that just the passage of time and how strange the days are so long and the years are so short. So, Justin, what do you think?Track 3:[32:18] Like I said, this album was released, Gord Died, and this album was released when my daughter was four months old. and we still have her gray rocking chair upstairs that, um, why would I would rock her to sleep in? And when this album came out, I think I listened on the first day, this song came on as I was rocking her to sleep and I bawled like a frigging toddler. And, uh you know the the line um as if from a bomb backing up like whoa and the floor with the creaks of time and we're living in this old apartment above a barn you know that's you can't breathe without the floor creaking and then you get to the door and she wakes up like are you really like leaving like what do you get back here you know and like so this song i it totally destroyed me and as I'm trying to get her calm I'm losing it and so I had this is this was it I heard three songs on this album and I stopped for seven years until we started this project I do love this song very much but man did it hit home and I was already raw from from having lost Gord you know my musical hero ten days before and then shit this happens come on yeah.Track 4:[33:40] I wanted to speak about JD when you were talking in the intro. When Gord passed, it was as deep as any friend or family member that I can recall. I mean, it was a deep fetal position kind of cry. And especially having seen and just a break, we've already talked about it before in a prior episode, but on the long time running when on the last tour, when he would kiss everyone on the lips before they went out on stage, you just were overwhelmed by the amount of love this one individual had. And that, you know, to this day, it's still permeates in this discussion. So amazing.Track 1:[34:29] Well, let's stick with you, Kirk. Let's talk a bit about introduce yourself.Track 4:[34:33] Introduce yourself. Well, title track to the album. I'm sorry. I got to get this out of the way. I need to know so much more, or I need to visit the Danforth because some of my favorite songs always mentioned the Danforth. And I just have to imagine it's some beautiful place near Toronto because it's in like old apartment from bare naked lady, which is a song that I love. Several other Canadian bands mentioned the Danforth. So that was the thing that snuck that stuck out right because everything had been so emotional i needed some sort of brevity and so when i got to danforth the line danforth so i need to ask jd give me info on the danforth so the danforth is the.Track 1:[35:18] Other side of bluer street the eastbound corridor of the street we call bluer street in midtown yeah it's not down it's the roof of downtown is bluer street and it cuts across the Bloor Viaduct, the Prince Edward Viaduct, which has the luminous veil on it that we spoke.Track 2:[35:36] Of in another episode.Track 1:[35:38] Then the Danforth was traditionally Greek town. It had oodles of Greek restaurants. There was lots of Greek variety stores and that sort of thing. And in the early nineties, it became a very popular place to start a family. You buy a house pretty reasonably. Now it's, you know, just as it's, as is want to happen. And it's pushing further and further and further East because the original Danforth area is now, you know, like $3 million homes, $4 million homes. Uh, and then there's some areas that there are way more than that. And I'd be glad to take you on a mini tour when I'm here because that's where I live. You know, maybe a soda pop at my local. We'll see.Track 3:[36:23] Yeah. Love it. Let's do that.Track 4:[36:25] Yeah. So that was my, that was my takeaway on this, this particular one. And again, that just overwhelmed my thought process was needing to know more about the Danforth. So I appreciate you helping, helping me with that. So, yeah.Track 2:[36:41] So this song was, um, was written about Billy Ray, Billy Ray Koster, the longtime hip roadie. And so, um, it's really just a thank you. And at the end of the song, just, you know, I thank you for your help. Help. Such a simple line, but such a beautiful goodbye to this lifelong friend who, from what I remember reading years ago, is that Billy Ray just as a young man or someone in his late teens just wrote the hip saying, I want a job, I'll do anything, and just worked his way up. And he really became almost like a member of the band by the end. And just the story of of this song is hilarious. Like it's a, it's a emotional song, but it's also so funny. Like the, you know, the not it isn't, it isn't because, you know, maybe some of the reason he, he, you know, the story being that he needs to write, introduce yourself on his hand to show to Billy Ray. So he'll introduce himself to the driver of the car that he, that Gord should know the name of, but has forgotten. So, you know, was that because of, you know, the cancer maybe? And I think I know what Justin's going to talk about here. What was your first thought?Track 3:[37:56] I can picture them in the back of a car or the cab or whatever. And Gord's like, oh shit, you know, like, what do I do here? Yeah. I mean, there's not much more that I could peel back on this, but I do remember in the interim of deciding to put the album down when it came out. And now I do remember watching the live performance that Sarah Harmer, Kevin Hearn, right, did it. And it was awesome. It was really, really, really good. And I was like, oh, okay, that's, and I had no idea what it was about at that time. So I was like, oh, this is a really sweet song.Track 2:[38:29] The Junos.Track 3:[38:30] Obviously emotional, but, um, you know, hearing the, hearing the lyrics, I was like, Oh, okay. And I've referenced it a few times here, the interview, the sit down with Peter Mansbridge and yeah. And he's like, well, I've got your name here, so I don't call you Doug or whatever, you know? Um, yeah. So, uh, yeah.Track 1:[38:57] Right.Track 2:[38:59] That's what I was going for. Yeah.Track 4:[39:02] Hey, I got to say with Billy Ray, because most of the shows that I saw were in small clubs, he was just as much a member of the band as anyone else for all of my crew. We almost enjoyed seeing him more, right? He always had that kind of crooked cowboy hat. And he always had like either a roll of duct tape or a wrench or there was art, you know, there was always something that says I'm the tech guy like reminded you of Tom Hanks when he did that Saturday Night Live skit when he was a roadie for Aerosmith or whatever, but he was so much he was the flavor of it. It was like he had to come out and put the mic stand back up because Gord knocked it down, you know. And then I love the fact as well that on this album, as well as I think the last or a couple of the others, he plays drums on a few of them. So how fantastic is that from Craig, as you mentioned, like a letter, just this, hey, I want to do something for you. And then he becomes this lifelong friend. And now he's part of, you know, part of introduce yourself in the title track song and, uh, just such a character.Track 3:[40:11] So it also, uh, it reminded me of the roadie by tenacious D. Sebastian bringing this, you know, 55 year old groupie into the dressing room.Track 4:[40:23] Love it.Track 3:[40:25] Love it.Track 4:[40:25] Love it. Love it.Track 2:[40:28] As someone who is terrible with names, definitely made, made me laugh. And if I ever get a tattoo, maybe that's what it'll have to be. Cause man, I'm in my job. It's not the best quality.Track 3:[40:39] It's a good story though.Track 1:[40:41] Coco Chanel five. That's what I think, yeah.Track 3:[43:49] So this, I mean, it's got to be about Laura, right? And yeah, and the thing that made me doubt that was that there's a song later in the album about his first girlfriend. So maybe he's singing about all of them. But the thing that drove it home for me was the line when I was recording in Memphis, which is the Up To Here album. That would put the timeline about right. I, I feel awkward listening to the song, the song and the one about the girlfriend. Like I shouldn't, I shouldn't be in this room right now, you know? Yeah.Track 2:[44:20] That, that, that was my thing off the top was like, I didn't want to dive too deep into who these songs are about, but sometimes it's, yeah, that this, that's what I thought about this one. And, but you know, Gord put this out in the world, so we, it is okay for us to do this. It is, is um yeah.Track 4:[44:37] And i agree that it definitely could have been on secret path like it has very much that same feel musically right instrumentation musically that was very much and there was even a moment on this particular song where it it was an mvp for for me for a while oh interesting yeah i just i think because again secret path was so impactful and for me after like the great build buildup from Coke machine glow, you know, just that amazing buildup and you hit secret path and you're just, it was hard to go on. So it was, I, you know, I was glad to hear something to kind of wake me up out of that funk. So, uh, but just a great song, but yes, difficult to listen to at times that the line was very uncomfortable for me. It really was. It's so good.Track 3:[45:27] Don't even say it.Track 4:[45:28] I'm not, but it's very uncomfortable for me. And that's That's probably the reason why I didn't end up as my MVP. I'll be honest.Track 1:[45:38] Just a little too inside baseball, Gord. Let's go with Ricky, please. And we'll start with Craig this time.Track 2:[45:47] This is a song I don't have a lot of notes about. It's just a nice upbeat song that was needed at this point. And it's nice and short. Gave me, I've said this a number of times on this pod, but Ben Folds kind of vibes you know and I have no idea who Ricky is I really didn't look at the lyrics too closely in this one so.Track 1:[46:13] Okay. Anybody else got anything?Track 3:[46:15] So I had asked in the group chat if this was about Patrick, his brother Patrick. And I know that You, Me, and the Bees is about him too, but I was thinking Ricky might be a nickname for Patrick. But the reason why I asked that was one of the lines is, you got me to the only door I've got. And Gord references the door in interviews and at the end of his life. And I know that Patrick was very close to him and was kind of his caretaker at the end. Um, so that's where I was thinking that maybe this is maybe Patrick got two songs. I don't know. I really don't know, but it's obviously somebody who's been very close with him forever and, you know, dating back before the illness, of course, too. But yeah, I don't know who it's about, but that was my initial thought. And I, I don't know. I have no idea, but it is a very fun listen.Track 1:[47:06] Well, if you out there listening, no, send us an email, discovering downy at gmail.com. we'd love to hear from you kirk what do you got.Track 4:[47:15] This one it gets a little more upbeat and so the clock is going a little faster i i agree with you justin that there definitely has a a feel to this sounds like a brother at least from that that standpoint i love i love the instrumentation the repetitiveness the i i i did that was something that i have in my memory as far as a note for this so this.Track 3:[47:40] Song and and a few others sound like a marriage between now for plan a and man machine poem like they could be hip songs 100 from those two.Track 4:[47:49] Great agreed i would wild okay.Track 1:[47:51] I gotta think about this in a different way safe is dead is our next track and i think we'll start with justin this time yeah.Track 3:[48:01] So i guess i'm gonna say it again this sounds like it could be from Not For Plan A or Man Machine Poem. And I don't know... It's probably more like man-machine poem, I think, but I couldn't even tell you who this is about. But, you know, it's certainly previewing death or reliving somebody else's. I don't know. But the dark preview, who'd miss this fear, a damn silence, exiles meet. And then the dark brochure, full dark soon, and then the rise of a scarred moon. So, like, I wonder if the brochure is a literal brochure. Like, here's what to expect in your next year and a half with glioblastoma, you know? Like, good luck, read this, and you've got information.Track 1:[48:42] God.Track 4:[48:43] That's, I mean, honestly, that's very much the way I took it. Safe is dead. Like, there's no good information on here. So it was stark to me, even in the music. And then if you read in some of the liner notes, this was one of the only ones with some backing vocals, and I think Patrick was one of them. And I think Billy Ray was another one. I have to look that up. But so interesting when you think about who was involved in this song. And then, again, just that premise or thought, like whether it's a pamphlet or like his doctor saying, hey, this is what's up. So you're just like safe as dead. Yeah. That was my uh.Track 2:[49:31] Yeah justin you mentioned man machine poem and i have a note right here that says remind the vocals remind me of insarnia from that album and musically i was really drawn to this song it reminds me so much of a band called future islands and specifically there's a song called fall from grace on the singles album which was the album that broke them and i heard that.Track 3:[49:56] Song today on the drive home.Track 2:[49:57] Really yeah.Track 3:[49:58] It's funny it.Track 2:[49:59] Is so similar yeah and i love i love that's my one of my very favorite songs by future islands so this one really stuck with me just the the drum beat the repetitive notes in the piano if it was future islands it would be more of a synth sound but it's a very similar idea just this repetitive groove that just goes for the entire song the nice echoing at the end the vocals that you mentioned and the way the beat drops out there's like a single hand clap to end the song it's one of my favorites i think on the album tremendous and sorry and last thing what wait what like what such a gourd thing to say what what wait what like just awkward and but not from him when he says it it's just when you when.Track 4:[50:49] You hear it for the first time it doesn't sound like he's saying that i had a completely different phrase.Track 2:[50:54] In my brain.Track 4:[50:55] You know when you hear something you're rocket man burning up his when you hear that that's what i heard was.Track 2:[51:01] Something completely.Track 4:[51:02] Different until i read it and i.Track 2:[51:03] Went excuse me while i kiss this guy wait.Track 4:[51:05] What what yeah exactly there's a bathroom on the right on the right.Track 2:[51:10] Do we.Track 3:[51:15] Have to pay rights fees for these now jay no.Track 1:[51:17] No we're fine we're fine we got big podcast lawyers yeah well we go upbeat again with the next song uh in a celebratory sort of way kirk what do you think is spoon.Track 4:[54:10] I'm just going to ask this question up front. In the band Spoon, we had had some discussions about them on our exchange, and I didn't look deep enough. Are they a Canadian band? They're not, no. No? But popular up there, obviously, and is that who he's referring to when you go down to the bottom?Track 1:[54:32] It definitely is that band. in terms of popularity middling you know they're not a superstar band by any stretch but they sell you know they sell they sell records similar to what they are in the u.s they're still sort of underground you know to a lot of people even though they've had at least three breakout albums great indie band yes but.Track 3:[54:52] They're only an indie band you know they're.Track 1:[54:53] Not mainstream yeah.Track 2:[54:56] Yeah relating to the story i just told actually it was driving me nuts i i knew i had a ticket to spoon but i have no memory of the concert and it was just driving me nuts i actually pulled up my concert tickets yesterday and went through them all until i finally finally figured out what it was was that i just mentioned future islands they were playing a show at stanley park in downtown vancouver the you know the park and um spoon was headlining future islands was opening so i went for future islands they sold out of beer like in the opening band they may and not Not that I was there for beer, but the timing worked out perfectly though, because I actually had a second concert ticket that same night to see War on Drugs in downtown Vancouver. So we had to like run down the street, catch a bus down to downtown Vancouver and made it to the Vogue to see War on Drugs. This is, I don't know, nine years ago, I think. And so I missed Spoon. So I didn't even get to see five songs.Track 4:[55:54] You missed Spoon. I was going to ask if you had both. No. Okay. You missed Spoon.Track 3:[55:58] I haven't seen them, but I love them. And in particular, the album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga that is referenced on here. You don't even have to know that it's Spoon to know Don't You Ever or The Underdog or Cherry Bomb from that album. I know that if you heard them, you would recognize them instantly. They're radio hits. But Spoon's a freaking great band. And I'm jealous of the five-year-old kid who's in this song, which has got to be his youngest son, right? I would imagine.Track 1:[56:27] Well, he talks about recording in Maui with Bob.Track 3:[56:29] In Maui with Bob, yeah.Track 1:[56:31] So that would be what? That would be 2011?Track 2:[56:34] I think so.Track 3:[56:35] That would be the luster part of it, wouldn't it?Track 1:[56:37] That's what I've, that's what I've thought.Track 2:[56:38] I assume it's talking about either We Are The Same or World Container because he talks about we. He says we as in the band, like we were recording with Bob. Job so yeah and Maui is a place that um you know it's it's it's the destination for people in in Vancouver for vacation it's you know five hours away and so I've been there multiple times and so when he when I first heard the song and he starts dropping you know Haleakala the volcano Baby Beach is a place where when my son was just just a baby we took him to Baby Beach which is a a place where there's a like a natural barrier i believe it's natural there's no waves so you can actually take your toddler into the water they can just kind of play around in six inches of water and it goes out for for many meters and and i have these distinct memories and a great set of photos of my son on that beach talks about anthony's which is a little restaurant up in the in paella I believe, which is on the, if you're taking the road to Hana, very famous drive around the east side of the island, which I recommend to anyone who goes there. Brought back all these memories of my trips out there. And he even talks about his, I think his leg was broken or something. And one of my early trips to Maui, I was there on crutches. I had a hockey injury.Track 2:[58:03] So I had to cancel a bunch of my plans for that trip. And my son was very young. I think it was seven, eight months. And I remember the first day just taking the stroller for a walk and I'd go, you know, to the cinnamon roll place. And then I'd go back to the condo. And then the next day I'd go a bit further by the end. Within a week, I was walking for hours every morning. Like, you know, with the time change, I was up at 5.30 a.m. And taking him for just the longest walk. And just such a great memory. And I was fully healed by the end of that trip. That's great.Track 3:[58:35] There is the opening lines I just wanted to mention. You're transcendent. You taught me so many things. You taught me that help is all we to this dumb planet bring. What a nice compliment to give somebody.Track 2:[58:45] Right? And don't read the Apple Music translation because it says hell instead of help.Track 3:[58:51] That would change the song.Track 2:[58:52] You know, I've noticed on some of my listens.Track 4:[58:56] I'll look up a lyric because you can look on Spotify or whatever. And what you're hearing or what he's saying does not correlate with what the lyrics are so i noticed that on a few tunes i didn't write the specific ones down but uh that's interesting that you know it it translates it however it wants so i'm like he didn't just say what.Track 3:[59:17] It's for what it's worth i've had good luck on the website genius um when i when i can't find yeah and there's usually some notes some reference notes but they'll also capitalize words like like the album, the liner notes would have, as opposed to if you're listening to Spotify or YouTube or something that just doesn't take, you know, have that nuance. Right. Um, and I can add a lot of meaning.Track 2:[59:43] Yeah, and Kirk, you asked about Spoon being Canadian. While they're not, the band Deer Hunter, who Gord mentions in the song as the opener, they are from out east, I believe, Montreal maybe?Track 1:[59:55] Do you know, JD? I think it's in Quebec. Yeah, I think so.Track 3:[59:59] I think they are.Track 2:[1:00:00] I feel like I've seen them.Track 4:[1:00:01] Are they still active? Because I feel like I've just seen them recently, like opening up for Barenaked Ladies, which would make sense if they're Canadian.Track 3:[1:00:08] They have, they have a little bit of a following around where I live. Um, I haven't, I haven't seen them and I don't know much about them, but I know that the local station out of Albany, New York mentions deer hunter often. So yeah, there's still, I think there's still around.Track 4:[1:00:23] And I feel like I just saw them with bare naked ladies and, uh, what's the band that does closing time? Semi Sonic.Track 1:[1:00:30] Yeah.Track 4:[1:00:31] They were on the same, same bell.Track 1:[1:00:33] I went on a scavenger hunt in setlist.fm trying to find a show in Toronto that Deer Hunter opened for Spoon, and I couldn't track it down. That would definitely help us with the date in terms of figuring it out. I'm pretty sure they even say the venue in the song, don't they? In the lyric?Track 4:[1:00:58] Deer Hunter opened the show. The headliner was introduced. We did our best. We'd have to go soon. We got a t-shirt and we cut five tunes. Just enough to say that the first show for us, too, was Spoon. So anything else on Spoon?Track 3:[1:01:15] I listened to Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga several times because of this song. Yeah.Track 1:[1:01:24] Next up, Craig, is A Natural.Track 2:[1:01:29] Yeah, this song is the... Okay, so I'm in Seattle. This is... What year was this album? 2017? And this would have been, I'm guessing, a couple of weeks after gourd passed and i was in a 10 days i was in a clothing store or something i think a vintage clothing store in seattle and my wife was shopping and i was just sort of hanging out and i heard this song i was it was kind of like lightly in the background i couldn't i wasn't paying attention to who it was but they always play great music in seattle on in these types of stories i find and then the chorus came on and that powerful voice of his with all that reverb and it hit me like like a ton of bricks like i was like yeah it was like gourd from beyond the grave um and i was just i was in the u.s i was i was just it was amazing and i remember thinking like what is this is this like a hip song that i somehow don't know is this a you know some other artist where he just sings the chorus and i you know tracked it down when i got home and realized it was on the album that i had unopened um and so this was one song that i did listen to over the years, yeah what'd you guys think of this one.Track 4:[1:02:54] Just this was one of those that was the kind of the synth pop you know feel behind it which i loved again because again correlating back to the ages is like, gord probably had an affinity for the 80s and certain aspects of it in certain songs and whether you like it or not you're still influenced by it because you get that kind of that's again the the keyboard the synth sent the type music there but yeah again as craig mentioned the um powerfulness in the voice during the chorus is it creates goosebumps it just fills you up and and again makes you thankful that you have a variety of different you know opportunities to listen to the voice you know whether it's a solo stuff for the hip and so you were you just you were thankful for it and just the imagery in this song you know just sitting there and it's soaking and wet you know bathing suit with a bb gun and just kind of iron you know you you've experienced that or you've seen it and so you just felt connected to the song right away but it was so intense and then just the song the course itself is just a praise you are a natural if you say that about someone they're just you know they're beyond special so very much a song that made an impression, especially with his vocal abilities, as we've all mentioned and commented on how phenomenal it is and how varied, which I think Craig mentioned as well, or Justin as well.Track 3:[1:04:23] I wondered if this was about his sister or one of his daughters. I don't know why, but just the scene, the way that it's set, it seems like he's singing about a female.Track 4:[1:04:35] I would not disagree with that.Track 3:[1:04:36] Yeah, I don't know. Yeah. Well, and I was thinking that as they were kids, he's telling this story from his own childhood. Yeah. Don't know.Track 2:[1:04:47] That was my first thought too, but yeah, it could be. I feel like it is probably a child with one of his children.Track 3:[1:04:53] It also sounds a lot like a couple of songs in Secret Path.Track 2:[1:04:57] Yeah. The way he sings at the end though, I am the lucky one. That made me think I think maybe it was him as a father saying that line. And also to add to the 80s vibe, the bass, it really takes a lead in this song, very much like a Peter Hook style New Order.Track 4:[1:05:17] Yeah, great observation, Greg. I don't disagree with that at all.Track 1:[1:05:22] Well, let's wrap things up for this week with faith, faith. And we'll start with you, Mr. St. Louis.Track 3:[1:05:31] This one got me. Jesus, about the dog. I mean, I assume it's a dog. What else would be getting scratched under the chin? But, oh, my gosh, my puppy is just, well, the puppy is two years old. But, you know, I mean, what's nicer than the love that you get from your dog? and um very.Track 1:[1:05:54] Little in this world.Track 3:[1:05:55] Faith yeah but i mean just this song too is crushing take this take the dog out of it this is this is a masterpiece of a song and you can get emotional without lyrics with a song it's pretty damn amazing um so a couple of a couple of weeks ago, my mentor ken squire and you can google him he he's the one that got nascar on tv he's he's from around the way here and i worked for him for 20 years and he kind of took me up under his wing as the annoying kid who wouldn't stop asking for a job you know he's he's a legendary figure in the world of motorsport around the world so he he passed back in november and a few weeks ago they had his memorial service at his racetrack here in Vermont. And the most poignant part of the whole thing was they read a poem called The Sweetness of Dogs. This song brought me back to that moment where I welled up at his service and how the person and the dog are sitting under the moonlight. The person looks up at the moon and thinks, what could be more beautiful? And And the dog looks up to the person and thinks the same thing. And I'm just like, whoa. And the song just drains me. Yeah. Yeah. Ferguson, Ferguson's going to get this song the rest of his life.Track 4:[1:07:22] Yeah. It's, uh, it's, it's overwhelming. The, the passion that you feel when he screams the faith, faith, your faith, your faith, your faith. I think it's the Y-E-R, touching the nose every morning, one, two, three times, dark unwavering eyes. And if you have an animal, you know, especially if you have a dog for me, you know, I have my, my little guy, Andy, and we take our walks every day. And I do a lot of my gourd listening when I'm on a walk with my dog, you know, and it's, The dog has an attitude, and it's a great personality. And yeah, there's a love there that I think he captures, obviously, amazingly in the lyrics there.Track 2:[1:08:15] Yeah, I just have a note about the piano playing. So Kevin Drew on the piano, as we learned on the Secret Path album, he plays with a lot of feeling. And he's definitely got like a style to his playing. And I love how at the end he goes up the octave. And it's just, there's a lot of emotion in his playing, which really matches the lyrics. Now, unlike you guys, I'm not a pet person. I'm allergic to dogs. So it's not really my fault. Um so i've never had a dog i did have a cat growing up and i i do have a really great story but i'm gonna i'm gonna save it for when we have more time it feels.Track 4:[1:08:54] Like loving emmett otter craig that's what it feels like.Track 2:[1:08:57] Okay that's what it feels.Track 1:[1:08:59] Like well fellas uh it's been an absolute, pleasure to listen to your thoughts on the first half sort of i know it's not divisible the way the records are, but that's what we're going to cover this week. Let's bid adieu to our listeners and encourage you out there to shoot us an email, discoverydowney at gmail.com if you're enjoying what you're here. We'd love for you to join our community on Facebook, and of course we want to see you on July 19th at the Rec Room here in toronto tickets are available now at discovering downy.com.Track 4:[1:09:47] That's going to be a fun night i.Track 1:[1:09:51] Think so right.Track 4:[1:09:52] Really fun and do.Track 2:[1:09:55] People know like we've never actually met no i don't i guess i guess they.Track 1:[1:09:59] Wouldn't know that yeah.Track 2:[1:10:00] I mean i've i've met jd and kirk i guess in person very briefly yes uh kirk um a couple times and justin yeah yeah not not yet i haven't met you yet but But yeah.Track 4:[1:10:09] It'll be the first time for all four of us. Yeah.Track 1:[1:10:12] But we're all going to see each other on the night.Track 2:[1:10:15] It's going to be awesome.Track 3:[1:10:16] Yeah. Actually, we're going to see each other on the 18th too, aren't we?Track 2:[1:10:20] Road trip.Track 3:[1:10:21] Yeah.Track 1:[1:10:21] Yeah. Yeah. If you're out there and you're.Track 4:[1:10:24] We got to go to the.Track 1:[1:10:25] If you're out there, we got to see the dance tonight and you feel like meeting up with four dudes and you want to give us a tragically hip tour. That's a perfect opportunity. You guys are discovering Downey at gmail.com email. We would love that we would love nothing more than that so we'll have a film crew with us we can shoot some cool stuff and it'll be a lot of fun, pick up your shit.

Secret Path

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 19, 2024 84:14

This week on Discovering Downie the gang takes a look at the haunting fifth record in Gord's discography, Secret Path. Transcript:Track 1:[0:01] Hey, it's JD here, and we wanted to take a moment to thank you for tuning in to Discovering Downey. That said, it's time to take this relationship to the next level. Live, baby, live. Friday, July 19th, Long Slice Brewery presents a celebration of Gord Downey. Tickets are now on sale at DiscoveringDowney.com. Come for the finale of Discovering Downey with special guest Patrick Downey and stay for the HIP Tribute Act, the Almost HIP, and our fantastic silent auction. All proceeds from this project will go to the Gord Downey Fund for Brain Cancer Research. So come out to the show because seeing is believing and you won't believe what we've got in store for you until you see it yourself. Get your tickets today.Track 1:[0:53] The goalie who lives across the street. Jean Beliveau is welcome anytime at the outdoor rink in the park just across from my house for morning hockey under blue skies this winter. Birds wheeling overhead, rushing temperatures, lousy to no gear. I'm the goalie who lives across the street. Kids play with smokes hanging out of their mouths. Beautiful huck hogs with incredible tricks. They are so easily fatigued that you can't.Track 1:[1:32] Two minutes for it. I saw his blood, a billowing crimson cloud against the milk white ice. That's an infraction here. When the predatory follow the puck down to the other end, my net swarms like the great barrier reef of the smaller fish. My crease fills with good questions and wobbly wrist shots. There are no bad questions, only bad wrist shots. And then there are the parents always yelling, always telling them where to aim. At the rink across the street, Jerry Cheevers is welcome Welcome any time. Welcome, music lovers. Long Slice Brewery presents Discovering Downey.Track 1:[2:13] Hey, it's JD here, and welcome to Discovering Downey, an 11-part project with a focus on the music and poetry of Mr. Gord Downey. The late frontman of the Tragically Hip gave to the world an extensive solo discography on top of The Hip's vocal acrobatics that awed us for years. So far, he's released eight records in total, three of them posthumously. Now listen, you might be the biggest fan of The Hip out there, but have you really listened to these solo records? Because I'm an inquisitive podcaster, I enlisted my friends Craig, Justin, and Kirk, giant fans in their own right, to discover Downey with me, JD, as their host. Every week we get together and listen to one of Gord's records, working in chronological order. We discuss and dissect the album, the production, the lyrics, and we break it down song by song. This week we're going to be talking about Gord's fifth record, his last release before his death in October of 2017. This is a sobering, thoughtful, and potentially triggering album called Secret Path. Justice St. Louis, how goes? Things are busy, but things are good. And this is the thing that I look forward to the most out of my many, many things that I have going on.Track 1:[3:38] Racing all the time and kid stuff all the time and soccer is in full swing and everything is fun. But this is the thing that I can kind of crack a beer and relax and hang out with you dudes and just enjoy what we're doing. Well, that's lovely. Yeah. I'm glad you're enjoying this. Me too. Kirk from Chino, are you ready to get going on this one? I am ready. Yeah, it's a big one, right? Yeah, it is. I mean, obviously there's that nervous anticipation, I think is a good way to describe it. This of all we've been through that has been obviously just amazing and overwhelming as you mentioned like how did we not dive into this before you know especially with our love of the hip but then this comes along and just when you think you're you know you got your head wrapped around it it just goes to a whole nother level and uh again just something peeling back those layers And just finding out more about what an incredible individual that we had the chance to be on earth with at the same time. And obviously as much as we miss him.Track 2:[4:49] And we do miss him so much. Fuck.Track 1:[4:54] Craig, what's news? news oh not too much same as justin i've got a lot going on with you know my son in baseball my daughter in soccer the band work um which you know is mostly good but can be can be tough this time of year looking forward to digging into this album i've this is the one album i said coming into this project that i actually do have experience with so i've i've.Track 1:[5:20] Been listening to this since it came out, and so a bit of a different experience this week for me. Yeah, I suspect we're going to be leaning on some of your learnings over the years as we dive into the music. So that'll be interesting to compare and contrast what we've got from the record, or what the other fellas have got from the record, and compare and contrast it to what you've learned over the years. Yeah. I could tell you that after years of waiting for some kind of concept record from Gord or the Tragically Hip, we finally get that on Gord's fifth and final record released during his lifetime. After being moved by a late 1960s article from McLean's magazine, he began to honor the legacy of its subject matter, the young indigenous child named Jenny Wenjack. Secret Path was released as part of a multimedia experience, including a book, animated video, and of course, the standout 10-track album. To call this album chilling is an understatement. There is no happy ending for our protagonists, and Gord's voice reflects that throughout the 41-minute runtime of this album. The sparse production and instrumentation underscores the haunting lyrics and melodies Gord has conjured on this release.Track 1:[6:35] Don't fall into the trap of thinking you must listen to this record from start to finish to really get it. There are plenty of songs for song's sake on this release, and they can certainly be enjoyed without the context of the entire record, but clearly the record is designed to be listened to front to back, ultimately. Produced by Kevin Drew over a couple sessions years apart, the record dropped in the midst of Gord's battle with cancer, but that didn't stop him from making certain everybody knew the importance of Chani's story. This is an important record as a music fan and as a Canadian. Understanding our past is key to informing our future, and Gord and his cohorts outdid themselves on this effort, and it is a must-listen to unlocking the legacy work in Gord's memory.Track 1:[7:25] Kirk, talk to me about your first experience with Secret Path. Well, as extensive as Craig, this is the only actual Gord Downie album that I listened to once through maybe three years ago, four years ago, after I read the book and mentioned parts of it. Not the actual graphic novel, but the tragically hip book where they have discussions about some of his solo stuff. So, you know, I had gone through the songs once before, but what I typically like to do when I'm doing the first lesson is go for a walk. And so I'm listening to it while I'm, you know, walking the dog and have my headsets in and usually at night. So it's quiet out outside of, you know, the birds and whatever other sounds are going around. And, you know, it like we'd all kind of mentioned this is this is a heavy heavy heavy heavy album and heavy songs and as that journey progressed and I would listen to the actual vinyl and then watch some stuff on online and listen in my vehicle and obviously I you know it was I think of all the albums this one it really.Track 1:[8:41] Drives you to do the research and to really listen and to really understand what it's all about. And probably, I don't know, like 20, 20 something listens in. And I finally watched the actual cartoon. And then I got the book around the same time and it changed everything. Think it had already made an incredible impact on me and then i got the you know finally got the graphic novel in and i watched the the 45 minute or so cartoon or or film of it you then see, what is being written about yeah and you see it in such a dramatic fashion and honestly gentlemen And it, it, it, it emphasized and changed a lot of the meaning of the songs that I had already listened to 20 times and had an opinion on and had done some research and read the lyrics, but I hadn't, I hadn't seen it. And that, that novel and, and then watching the, the, the, the film, I mean, to be bold is, is life-changing. You can love it and enjoy it, and it can uplift you, but I think that the topic and the subject matter deserves reverence, and so it has mine. Craig, you have a lot of history.Track 1:[10:08] With this record but i'm wondering if you can think back to the first time you heard it what was your experience like then that's tough it's it's um for me the the animation and the, and the the songs have always gone hand in hand i've always i'm so i'm not sure i've mentioned this before but i'm um i teach you know grade seven students and this is something i have used in my class every year since it's come out um i'll talk more a little bit more about that a little bit later so to me they've always been tied together and every year for me it's like a like peeling back another layer and it's just been amazing over the years to share it with with so many kids and and hearing different perspectives and different things i hadn't thought about um sharing you know my ideas with them and it's always a highlight of the year you know of course you know a very serious topic and um you know they get the heaviness of it And I think that's the beauty of using art to educate about topics like this. Of course, you shouldn't just use this, but as a supplement to your teaching, it's really powerful. And yeah, they really do enjoy it for the most part.Track 1:[11:22] Justin, what are your initial thoughts of the record? I feel guilty that there's still a huge group of people that celebrate and get angry about the fact that others are trying to change the way that we are educated here, that Columbus Day is a thing in the States, and that Indigenous Peoples Day hasn't been adopted universally. You know, there's a strong contingent of Abnaki and Mohawk in this area. And I do know, you know, people that are affiliated with those tribes and those groups. And I just kind of want to say I'm sorry all the time. Like this album and the novel and the video, exceptionally moving. Kirk said, I can't be happy when I'm listening to it. I really think some of the songs musically are phenomenal and I want to dance to them. But I also am like, don't dance to this. What are you doing? Yeah, I really love, and I mean that word, I love this album and this project. If I can say one more thing too, coming into this whole journey with you guys, this was my reference point. And I knew how amazing this album was. And I honestly.Track 1:[12:46] Was terrified to dig into coke machine glow and all these other albums and just be disappointed, and so i would i've been super happy that that all those albums were so great knowing that this masterpiece was coming up like and i don't use that word lightly this this might be the best thing gourd ever made and you guys know how much i love the hip and how much i love you know battle of the nudes but but like you said justin it's very somber and it's a it's a whole different from Beast. I want to also say this as kind of a disclaimer that I don't want to give the impression that I know what I'm talking about on this episode because I don't. My research about this is only surface level. Kirk and I, I don't know if I can speak for you, but I think we've talked about this, that we don't really have a deep enough understanding of what this album represents. And, you know, I do want to lean on you, Craig, and you, JD, as you guys would know, you know, intimately more about the subject. And I have really enjoyed learning and I have deep dove into several podcasts. And I would absolutely recommend, if I can get it out there now, there's a guy named Chris Waite who has an Anishinaabe podcast, which is fantastic. And I listened to five or six hours of it so far and I've read things and I've listened to other podcasts. And some of it is the same regurgitated thing that I think they probably just read off Wikipedia or something, but there are some that really do a great job. And Kirk, you said it again, this is life-changing and I actually care about this. I've already forgotten half the songs on all the other albums that we've listened to, but I won't with this one. Yeah. I mean, obviously he had a tremendous platform and this was something that became very important to him in his later years. But it's interesting that, you know, work was started on this record in 2012. Yeah, that part to me, J.D., was... Starting the recording in 2012 and 2013 and then not releasing till 2016, correct? Yeah, he was waiting for the 50-year anniversary of Jane's passing. So that was a date, I believe, that was always there. I'm going to use this opportunity to do my own disclaimer. And that is to just say that not all people would agree that this is Gord's story to tell. I just want to acknowledge that that is a valid opinion to have. And so if you're listening and you're thinking this is not his story to tell, I totally get what you're saying. Excellent point, Craig. That's something that we need to be very careful around. So if you are listening to this and this is something that could be triggering, whether it's the subject matter or the people telling the story or the people interpreting the telling of that story, if this If this is something that is going to make you squeamish or uncomfortable or trigger something in you deeper than that, please turn off the podcast now. We'll be here when you're ready. This isn't going away. Let's get to the first track, though, fellas. This is an absolutely haunting song. It's called The Stranger.Track 1:[21:07] Yeah, so right away, the tone is set with the soundscape, the introduction, you know, probably 30 seconds before the guitar comes in. And when it comes in, it's unmistakably Gord playing that guitar. And, you know, it's something he, it feels very much like something he would write. And it has an odd feel to it. It's really hard to sing along to.Track 1:[21:32] And the phrasing makes it really unique.Track 1:[21:35] He sometimes starts right on beat one, and sometimes there's this little pickup and makes it a little disorienting at first, but it gets into a more sort of repetitive style afterwards. But the heartbeat in the drums, really haunting piano, just all just sets the tone perfectly. The lyrics, again, they're just just setting up the story i really enjoy the the contrast you've got the playful you know the boy walking down the the railroad tracks he's jumping to the right he's jumping to the left and and this is something that'll come back a little bit later too as this you know basically the whole the whole story is set present time of the story is him walking down the track until he you know passes the line and what i'm feeling is anyone's guess what is in my head and what is in my chest to me that might be gourd's way of almost saying this this is like an artistic telling of this story like this isn't meant to be a literal this isn't an encyclopedia entry about about cheney this is felt that same thing craig yeah yeah it's very much centered in emotion and because you know there is no way of knowing what he was really going through so gourd is just tapping into all these human emotions that one could imagine you would go through so and that is one of the critiques of this album that i've read is that you know it's not 100 factual well i really don't think that's the point this this is a much larger story than this isn't about one one boy i mean.Track 1:[23:05] It is but it's also about canada it's about it's about everything it's and a couple of other you know quick things so the memories if you're looking at the animation and the the graphic novel this first song starts with memories and the the main thing you'll notice right away is You've got the cold colors, the blues in the residential school memories and walking along the track too. In contrast with when he's talking about his family. So he talks about his dad. Dad is not my dad. My dad is not a wild man. So the goal of the government was to assimilate Indigenous peoples who were quote unquote uncivilized. It actually shows the opposite. It shows that his memories of his family are of love. Oh, man. Yeah.Track 1:[23:56] Kirk, what do you think? Take us there, brother. Throughout all of these songs and what's laid as a foundation for us with The Stranger is there's always hope. The hauntingness of this song sets the tone. Like you mentioned, Craig, the coloring is, as I said earlier, when I saw it, when I read it and I saw it, it changed the meaning for things. But that to me is, I try to be an optimist. I loved the color. I don't know that I would have survived if there was no color in this because there needed to be that light and that division of those families and in the colors that they were to have any sort of pathway out of this. Yeah, and also just showing that he had a very rich life. It shows him learning how to make a fire, how to fish, all these cultural teachings that were life, were valuable.Track 1:[24:54] So anyways, I just want to mention one other thing. Another great visual in the graphic novel is the raven feather falling and transitioning into the hare. So upon arrival to the residential school, Chani's remembering his first day when they're being showered and probably scrubbed with harsh chemicals, which there are many stories of this happening, and the hair being cut. That's very symbolic. The long hair in males in many indigenous cultures is sacred.Track 1:[25:36] It's often cut only for a special reason. Maybe if a family member passes or something, the long hair is very closely tied to their identity a lot of time from what I've heard and read. So this was just very cruel behavior and humiliating. Yeah let's uh go to the second track on this record it is called swing set who's up first so swing set um.Track 1:[26:07] That's kind of the one where channey is like on the cusp of now and it's literally in the lyrics now not yet now not yet i didn't know this until researching like like everything in this i didn't realize that he was one of set i think i read nine kids that took off that day and he was one of three in in a group somewhere i read that there were nine children that left that same day and And they waited until one kid was being dragged literally back into the school to make their escape off the swing set. I mean, they were watching, like knowing this is going to happen. And the video is incredible to go with the music. They're like, you know, they make a distraction and twist one kid up in the swings. And I don't honestly remember if it was Chani or one of the others, but to make the teachers think, you know, we're playing, right? And we don't have this other plan. Yeah, the now not yet through the whole song is really cool. And by the way, the tune is awesome. Like that's what I was going to mention. Justin is the music is the emotion. Like it's that fleeting, like it's, it's very upbeat. I mean, that was one thing that was, that hit me when I first hit, heard it was like, no, I did not expect music like this.Track 1:[27:19] Right. In the context of, of, you know, the overall package now to me, and I know it isn't Kevin Hearn and I've talked before about how I enjoy the stuff that he does with bare naked and I know he's done a little bit with Gord and is on a track here. So I immediately thought it was Kevin Hearn because that's very much his type of and style.Track 1:[27:40] So I had made the assumption that was it and it isn't, but I love that it had that same feeling. And the music itself is almost chaotic. It's upbeat and chaotic, which is the emotions. I mean, come on guys, we've all had that moment where you're gonna do something stupid, and you know you're gonna do it and you know it's probably not the best thing to do but the emotions you have inside you know you could the goosebumps and uh and to me the the music really i think encapsulated that that feeling phenomenally and how crazy like that's the that's the springboard swing set that's that this is where the plan was gonna it's literal and metaphorical yeah that at first i guess longer versus the turning around around in my seat and the chains are tight over my head and until the tension is complete, right?Track 1:[28:32] Whoa. How cool of a double meaning. Honestly, that's one of Gord's best set of lines in anything really that he's written. Like, cause it's literally on a swing and they're twisting the kid around. And then also this is the fulcrum of my life, right? And here's the tension and there's no way out of it. It's go now, not now. And later on when, when he looks back and any, the image of it is his just, just seeing the swing twisting in the sun is great. It was great. The other thing I wanted to mention about this song, I love how there's the breath in the background. It's almost like that either excitement or even, you know, when you're running and you're breathing heavily. And there's kind of that breathy sound in the background, almost like background sort of vocals. And one thing in the art is that some of the frames are showing sort of like them praying in the school.Track 1:[29:22] And so various memories in between the swinging is what I was just looking at because I have the graphic novel next to me. But yeah, Greg, that's a great, right. So this, this like forced religion upon them. So these schools were funded by the government, but they were typically run by, by church groups. So, and if I read correctly that this was the Cecilia Jeffrey school, right. And this was run by a women's organization connected to a church. Is that right? I believe so. Yeah. Yeah. But all of the images are of men or so it seems. Yeah. And I believe that was one of the critiques I read online, which I really don't think It matters in what Gord was trying to communicate here. I mean, again, like I said at the start, this is all about the emotion and.Track 1:[30:06] Getting an idea across that is really not just about one kid it's just about the whole system and yeah yeah there when i i got the book before i saw the video i wanted to kind of do it in stages listen to the music first and then read the book and then do the video and the images of when channy's in bed and the i don't know what you want to call it the clergyman or the the teacher or the the schoolmarm or whoever it is is walking kind of through the bunk at night took on a whole different meaning for me later in this album yes um and i didn't realize what i didn't know until about three or four songs later it's creepy in this one when you're reading when you're reading the book and looking through it it's you know like all right man it's nighttime like leave me alone right yeah it looks more like an intimidation thing totally than what it turns out to be yeah.Track 2:[31:01] I I tend to agree with you, and let's see how it plays out in the next chapter of this story. Maybe my favorite song on the record. I don't have to do an MVP pick, so I can reveal it to you early, but Seven Matches. Kirk?Track 1:[31:18] I think it ended up just being a group of three that made it past a certain moment, and they went to a relative's house, or it could have been parents, and two of them, and then uh cheney was you know not part of that and so he needed to move on, and is given this jar with the seven matches and the song itself you know from a musical standpoint is is is very soothing and it's uh i love that style of of vocalization that that that Gord uses in the speak singing, I guess is a good way to describe it. It's so deceiving, right? Because it does make you feel, like when I listened to it the first couple of times, and even now, like it gives me a sense of warmth. It gives me a sense of security. And this mother said, here, these are your seven matches. And then the emphasis that's put on that.Track 1:[32:25] To me, it really broke down to like, this is your life. Your life is now in a jar and it's seven matches. And then with each phrase, it's six, it's five, it's four, and he has to use them or he freezes. So I'm, as we've mentioned the whole theme, this warm song that does give you comfort is heartbreaking, absolutely heartbreaking.Track 1:[33:00] Yeah this one is um because it starts out so hopeful right and it sounds like you can hear a spring in his step you know and he's got this chick of the matches and it's like a little rhythm going down the train tracks and you know he talks about how i know she didn't mean to hurt my feelings but that's what she like i know how to build a fire right like give me a break you know But then you're down to two matches, you know, and you're, uh-oh, like it's, it really gets heavy at the end. Yeah. I also wonder if that line you just mentioned is, it could be her saying, you know, you need to give yourself up and go back to the school. And I almost wondered if that was, was another meaning of that.Track 1:[33:45] Like she didn't, you know, she, she hurt my feelings. That's insightful. Yeah. It certainly could be. i i took it as the way that i did because he mentions the memory of her smile like right here you go buddy this will help you good luck yeah that's just my interpretation yeah and i think there are layers like like any song of.Track 1:[34:06] Gourd's and i just wanted to mention to the almost like childlike quality of these first few songs like in.Track 1:[34:14] The way that gourd's singing almost like a naivety to his voice and not only that you mentioned the the seven six five four that's like a a very common thing to do in children's music and so i wondered if that was intentional to a lot of the melodies in these first few songs are quite yeah just just like simple melodies that almost sound like you could picture a kid singing them yeah i didn't think of it but you're you're right wow i just want to mention that this is the song that i think i had i want to say familiarity because it was like three or four notes but the peter mansbridge interview with gourd yeah they they were kind of in the studio gordon and the guys and they played this song and it was just maybe one line and i don't remember but i remember the tune this was the one that stuck with me entering this this project i want to point out because again as i mentioned i had the graphic novel next to me on a music stand you know as points of reference but the heartbreaking frame from the middle of the page where the family very stoic the mom is again as you mentioned you know showing them how to use the match and you could see the despair in their face you can see the absolute despair because they know this is only going to end two ways he's going to get caught and go back or the eventuality of what happens, happens.Track 1:[35:38] But then the next photo, the smile, you know, the last smile, I mean, when you think about it, this is the last actual act of love.Track 1:[35:49] He experiences before he passes like the a real act of love from another human being and then the chick chick chick is he's shaking the matches and part of the song so that that's all i wanted to mention i i actually did think that um that little grin on his face not only was it feeling nice about what that family did for him but also like now i've got an ace in the hole like a little bit a little bit mischievous. Like I have a backup plan now. Like he's got, he's got, he's pulled one over on something, you know?Track 1:[40:10] The chorus in here, I will not be struck. I'm not going back. Visually, it ties into the shots of Chaney in school being taught English and struggling. A lot of survivors reported being hit when they were speaking their own language. And so they were forced to learn English and were forbidden to speak their own languages.Track 1:[40:35] And to this day, there are many, thankfully many, Indigenous languages, but often not a lot of people speaking them. So I think, you know, from what I've heard that, that it's definitely on the upswing and I know there's people around where I live teaching languages, you know, teaching traditional languages to kids and, um, and even in the schools. Yeah i i so struck i thought the word struck like you said is is super deep struck meaning literally hit by one of the teachers and i also struck like i will not be struck by emotion no by emotion and turning back and yes the match absolutely but also he's literally walking down train tracks i won't be struck by a train and he says i'm gonna put my ear against the rail and And what I can't hear, I can feel, which is again, what I can't hear. I can feel is a way to think about him struggling with the language and you see him squinting at the map. Like, I don't know what this means. And in the video at one point, they scramble the letters on the map because it's meaningless, you know? Yeah. And he throws the map in the fire. He's like, oh, I can't read it. So I'm going to just burn it. And it makes no difference to me. You know, if they didn't understand the language, they got hit. It. So if what I don't hear, I will feel. And I really love the, again, you go back to the father. I see my father's face warming his feet by the stove.Track 1:[42:05] We used to have each other. Now we only have ourselves. And there's that warmth like.Track 1:[42:12] In the in the visuals but also in the music um this song too has a very if you were to just hear this song without you know the context without thinking too much about the lyrics it's it's it starts off very melodic you've got just that that acoustic guitar and then the vocal melody is very very very um you know sweet and the drums come in and what i love about the drums is that you've got.Track 1:[42:40] This this rock beat the kick and and snare are just locked in so tight but then the hi-hat gives it a bit of chaos and there's just so much feeling in that in that hi-hat playing and i i'm thinking maybe they in the mix it might move around a little bit but it really the contrast between the tightness of the of the kick and snare and the and the hats really gives it, gives it a great feel um and then the bass comes in with this nice melodic line and then what what happens is the bass starts playing on the offbeats and it gives this sort of like ominous feel like something is, is coming. Right. And, and then also there's that guitar, the electric guitar is maybe my favorite part of the song. There's this, it actually, it's just sort of repeating the vocal melody, but there's this, some open strings in there and it's almost like a little bit out of tune or something or an effect that makes it just sound a bit uneasy.Track 2:[43:37] Yeah. I wouldn't have been able to explain that, but I get exactly what you're saying. Kirk, what do you think, buddy?Track 1:[43:45] I do love the overall usage, the hip as well, with the open tunings. That's something, as you know, Craig, playing in what you do and having to have a few guitars ready to go with open tuning, there is definitely an overall presence that it brings to the music. And if you don't mind, I'm going to jump into Sun, the next song. Song speaking of an ominous feeling and thought and they showed in the in in the graphic and in, obviously in in the the movie the cartoon the vision of his father and and then this song you know it's when I'm on your shoulder uh one of the in my research one of the things I found was a uh.Track 1:[44:30] I was a school in Canada that was the I'm assuming it was the teacher was playing the guitar and singing this and there was a interpretive dance going on to it and it was just extremely powerful extremely extremely powerful i i mean you guys know i lost my pops a year ago the memories and being a father and and the memories of that bond what what cheney's going through and as we you know are in this journey and and and not knowing what's going to come there's an you know i think I think a dark expectation, but you always hope that there's going to be something positive out of it. I think this song really, really sets up that whatever happens with this journey, you know, his family's there, his tribe's there, his dad's there. So I have a son from a previous relationship. He's, he'll be 18 this year.Track 1:[45:24] And I haven't talked to him in seven years, eight years, and not by my choice. That's just the way things are. This song hits me like a ton of bricks every single time I hear it. And I would like for him to hear it. Yeah. He's Chani and I'm, I'm dad and not quite the same thing, but it's real close. Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's a gorgeous song and it's.Track 1:[45:53] It's the most hopeful part of this album as as far as i'm concerned you know this is the driver for channy to to get home you know and he's got 600 kilometers ahead of him yeah there's dad that's that's the finish line yeah yeah i get you know feelings from from like there's many emotional spots on this album but this is definitely one that hits hard you know being a father and and a son and just um you know that message of you know i'll whatever happens i'll be with you and you know again the warmth of the of his father um the you know the fire is reminding him of his father the image and the warmth of his and also i think you know the use of the word dance you know like when you dance i'll be on your shoulder you know thinking of how important dance was or is in.Track 1:[46:47] Indigenous culture and you know again another thing that they wouldn't have been allowed to practice you know i think that there's another layer of this and i love the line at the end even as the world convulses and then at that moment there's this bass convulsion there's that big deep noise yep and you know don't stop wishing what you wish yeah just such a great message and i know that's that's a part that hits me pretty heavy and especially that last chorus when that high harmony comes in just so emotional and yeah really great song i i i'm thankful for this song you know with my with my experience it's i need reminders and this is a good one right yeah i really i really love the song a lot yeah so some secret pass secret path and if the last one you You know, if sun is the most hopeful, this is where it turns.Track 1:[47:46] Yes. Yeah. Right. And it's immediate, um, freezing rain and there's never been a colder rain than the one I'm in. And that is, you know, literally and symbolic, you know, it's, it is pouring on this kid and the snow is building up and it's, it's so nasty. And we, you know, I don't know if you get snow down in Chino, but we get snow. We do at our local mountains yeah where my mother-in-law lives in right when and in big bear and because i travel a lot i i get into a lot of snow so i've been into some below zero temperatures and i yeah i i that's why i live in southern california gentlemen yeah i know i know i like visiting the snow i don't like living in it yeah i know the ice pellets he's talking about And you go out to walk the dog and your feet come in soaked and you're only out there for two minutes. The dog's got to poop and you just, all right, do it. Come on. And you come in and you're cold and it sucks and it's to the skin, it's to the bone. And in this instance it's piled up so high that he can't even walk on the tracks they're sticking you know the snow and the ice pellets are sticking to the tracks so he can't tightrope them he can't he can't get his feet off of off of the wooden whatever they're called planks between the tracks.Track 1:[49:12] Because there's snow and ice built up on the tracks too so he is screwed every way possible.Track 1:[49:17] And there's no way out of it and this is the secret path like this is and this is what i have to do during the secret path the thought process right because he's he's essentially entering a delirium right all you have is your thoughts at this point and so the focus then becomes it's not a it's a windbreaker it's not a jacket it's a windbreaker where's my jean jacket And if you've ever worn a jean jacket before, you feel it and it provides warmth, but windbreakers don't provide warmth. They're what they are. And that delirium leads into those lines that are haunting, absolutely haunting as he's navigating all the elements that you had mentioned, Justin. And it's like you said this song just takes such a turn and then it takes a deeper turn and a deeper turn and a deeper term and and then it hits the chord and i'm sure you guys have heard it yep but that chord the first time i listened to it after the you know years ago when i just did a kind of a, I don't even know if I listened to the whole thing. I think I just kind of hit the first of each song, right? I didn't listen to the album, like listen to it. But this time when I listened to it, I heard that chord and that chord is death.Track 1:[50:46] That chord is now hope's gone. Now it's just whatever happens. He continues, of course, but that chord is the, there's no secret path. That's exactly it. That's the turning point right there is it's, it's hope is gone. And I know the exact, exact moment you mean. And I love that line too, that you mentioned about the, the icy rails that he can't even tightrope. You imagine him earlier in the day, maybe, you know, kind of like playing these childish games like like in the first song he mentions jumping from the left to the right and now it's like that loss of innocence right like he's yeah there's no way out now and the the jean jacket thing my take on this is that there's actually a famous uh you know story uh about a woman named phyllis webstad so she started something called orange shirt day have you heard of this down there yes yep or maybe i've seen it i have not okay yeah so september 30th for a number of years now has been in BC anyways has been the orange shirt day and so this woman Phyllis is from, around here she actually went to the school that would be closest to where I live and she you know was taken away to residential school and she was given or bought this this brand new orange shirt to take to school and when she got there you know they took it away from her and she never saw it again and she just couldn't understand as a you know young girl why they stole it from her and and so you know she talked about you know to this day the color orange reminds her of this and those feelings of of you know feeling worthless and so september 30th now in canada is a as a new statutory holiday uh as of a couple of years ago for national it's the national day of um national day for truth and reconciliation it's called and um yeah so so that That is what it reminded me of this, you know, he is, his jean jacket's taken away and, you know, they give him this windbreaker that it doesn't even do what it's supposed to do. You know, they're, they're liars, right? Like they, they call this a wind, windbreaker. It doesn't do what they said it would do. There's one part in one of the choruses. I know what you're going to say. Where he says it's, and then they call it a windbreaker. and like gourd is and i don't know if that's intentional or not but it feels like channy's like incredible it's like what what is this is it a windbreaker or not like why why are you selling this if it's not because channy had uh from what i understand a pretty good understanding of wordplay whether he could read or not in english he picked up on um double meanings of words or a twist of phrase or or something like this that you know could mean a couple of different things and and be funny even well this is literally this jacket is not breaking the wind from me right like yeah why.Track 1:[58:27] Yeah. This is, this is a tough song. Um, it also happens to be a great song and again, take away the meaning and it's a very just rock and song. Yeah. I love the way you've got that really quiet intro and then it just hits you over the top of the head with that don't and really just smacks you in the face. And it, it is so powerful. I mentioned I I'm, I'm a teacher. And when, when I play this for the first time and I crank the speaker up to see, you know, the the shock yeah yeah so so this you know very obviously a reference to abuse to you know sexual abuse physical abuse i spent a little bit of time in the last few weeks going through the truth and reconciliation document which is basically the documented truth of survivors and their families and and anyone who is affected by by residential schools and the university of mantoba keeps these uh these records and they're they're free to look at you know if you too many many stories to to count it's just horrifying and yeah really i think the part that gets me in this song is it's not even in the lyric um booklet i don't think but what but the little whispers how how yes yeah that so so powerful you know how how yeah when i heard the song first.Track 1:[59:41] Before i saw the illustrations and before i saw the video i i thought that this was Cheney saying, don't let this change who you are, not knowing that it was about sexual abuse, not even considering that that was a thing. And I thought that this was, don't let their, you know, it's in the law to kill the Indian, right? That's the phrasing that's in the rules or the laws or whatever the credo was that was written up in the 1800s when this started, started kill the Indian in the child and don't don't let them do this to you don't let them take your your culture away from you your your origin from you I had a very similar take and belief on it Justin as an end you described right after that you you have the you know I heard them in the dark heard the things they do I heard the heavy whispers you know.Track 1:[1:00:39] Whisper just don't let them touch you and that's that's about you that's the part in the video where i was like oh now i get it yeah they make it yeah yeah quite obvious at that point like yeah if you haven't gotten it by that point there there's a frame there that yeah it's it's heartbreaking it's it's same thing as i mentioned earlier like i had i had an understanding of what the the lyrics meant or the songs were and then i got the graphic novel and i i went through it and And I'd stop, I literally had to close it and walk away for a bit and gather myself and just, you know, you know how something horrible is going on and you're, you go, how can it be any worse? And then the worst reveals itself. Yeah. In the book, the last frames, um, before the, the, the next song are a hand in the dark. work. And then the very last frame is a hand in the sky over literally and figuratively over Chaney's head as he walks down the tracks. And it's like, this is never going to go away. It's something he would have if he lived to 90 years old, it's still there.Track 1:[1:01:49] Well, and you know, we talked about how secret path was that transition, right? And there was smiles and there was glimmers of hope. And then when it turns, when that desperation hits in there's no secret path like all that that he had been suppressing that you know that's.Track 1:[1:02:09] Victims of abuse that's a survival technique is to just suppress it and it it released it and so now all the dark darknesses is just so prevalent and heartbreaking yeah.Track 2:[1:02:27] It's hard to hold my tongue and, this stuff makes me angry and rightly so, but we're going to turn the page right now and we're going to go to the next track which is the 8th track on the record Haunt Them, Haunt Them, Haunt Them, justin i.Track 1:[1:02:55] Think i'm in despair okay then you can end the song right there like that's it i don't know if i if i if i have cried actively but this is the one that i was like okay all right um i'm ready for this to be over with because i don't know if i can handle it and um the raven and, can't wait to eat your eyes you know like god that raven is just like sitting on the branch licking his lips like let's go let's i i've got a way out for you man and it's going to be through my stomach you know because you're going to die and and i can't wait you're my next meal and.Track 1:[1:03:32] You know and he's got a channy has to try and keep walking and keep breathing and you know the theme throughout the thing is is i'm i'm just going to close my eyes i'm just going to catch my breath i'm gonna get up and keep going and he's at the point where he knows if i if i try that.Track 1:[1:03:51] That i'm not getting up my pale last days and my all my memories are just memories of memories like he can't and even he can't he can't think of being there with his father or his family at home he can only think of laying in bed at the school thinking about his father at home like he's he's happy he's out of body he's he's um delirious he is beyond rational thinking i think and the drum beat is you know we've all been in a situation where we're truly exhausted and your heart just feels like it's you know 20 times bigger than it is and it's your brain the blood flow the pumping is is in your head and that that is such a prevalent theme throughout this and i think it really helps to hit home that desperation and again yeah the uh being being followed stalked by the raven you know death forgive me because again i don't know this and i don't want to sound like i do but if i understand it correctly ravens are sort of important in indigenous culture sort of the the symbol of death is that am i understanding this correctly or or that they represent maybe the darkening of times or something. I would imagine it would be probably different for, for different areas of the.Track 1:[1:05:13] You know entry but um yeah but yeah definitely i think in this story you know definitely that's, part of what the raven character is there for yeah um another thing to touch on in this song is is this is really about the you know the stripping of culture and the the scenes with with the halloween like i just imagine you know these kids who are being told that that they're you know uncivilized you know this is you know their their words and then they're teaching them about this you know crazy holiday about ghosts and ghouls and it just imagine how nuts that must have seemed to them and so you know being forced to to you know we you know many schools even to this day you know we do things around christmas and thanksgiving and all these you know, Easter, all these, um, you know, Christian holidays. And, you know, thankfully now things are more inclusive when we try to recognize many holidays, you know, in these parts, just that, yeah. I can't necessarily say the same around here.Track 1:[1:06:19] Yes. Um, anyways, I, I kind of lost my train of thought, but, but I know. Yeah. The, and even the, I like the, the, the masks that they show in the, um, in the video that, you know, the paper mask, paper bag mask and and the eyes are cut out and then later on you of course you've got the raven holding the eyes and and the other thing i think about this song is that this is like revenge this is revenge this is him wanting revenge and i think it's shortly i don't think it's a feeling that goes through the whole song because at the very end there's that twist where it's i want to go back not to haunt them yes so the whole song it's like i want to go back and haunt them you know i want revenge you know and you have to imagine these are the some of the emotions you might go through in this in this experience like anger and wanting to get back at them and then at the end no i just want to go back and you know not that he wants to go back to school and be treated the way he was but at some point he must have had that feeling like this was a mistake i want to go back not to haunt them just i want to go back you know one thing that hit me with the graphic novel and and and the uh the movie cartoon um the when they take the picture.Track 1:[1:07:28] And um i'm sure you guys have heard the you know the the tale of of of being fearful of a camera right the camera takes your soul and that was one thing that hit me when i saw it even though i know it's in more in modern times and and um there would be exposure to it but um.Track 1:[1:07:50] Further indignities and reasoning for haunting right that they're making us put these masks on but then they're still taking that picture and taking taking the soul was a and and probably meaning and probably sending that picture to a newspaper saying look how much fun these kids are having yes yeah and being exploited at the same time even further moving into the only place to be you obviously you can be hit by the emotion as I read through the lyrics and as I looked at the images yeah and I think this is a song of acceptance regardless of trade or true not true we do know that he was taken from his family and we do know that it was hundreds of miles away and we do know that eventually he perished and and and obviously went through horrendous things and is now made that decision and moved and to try and get back home and has gone through what we've discussed. And this is the only place to be, right? Because I think as we discussed in Secret Path.Track 1:[1:08:57] I think there's that in the song Secret Path, that turn and I don't believe that he has necessarily hoped to physically be back with his family, but I think he's now realizing that he's going to be with his family as he moves on and uh he's out he's away from from that which caused this horrific change in in his life from a you know 12 year old boy or however old when he was first taken and from a loving family and sisters and and and and to to the horrors that were experienced and now Now, obviously, physical survival is not likely, and this is the only place to be.Track 1:[1:09:42] And I was thankful, like Justin mentioned, after don't let this touch you and haunt them and like really wondering, wow, how can we finish this? I did feel a sense of, okay, I'm going to give you a little bit of a pillow to fall down on. Um before we finish this out which you know when we talk about the last song um you know i spoken with you guys earlier before we started recording about how impactful that song is but the only place to be was i think the right uh transition into where we've come from into where we're going, yeah and and the word acceptance is exactly what i what i think for the song it's that acceptance of, of death and um and even in the visuals you have a life you know almost like his life flashing before him it's it's all you know and as an effective sort of conclusion to the story too you've got all these scenes that we've seen in the book just flashing by and a lot of the lyrics are almost like him being at one with nature which we know of course is a huge part of indigenous culture is just that being at one with the earth and respect for the environment with respect for, you know animals and everything being equal and i think that's what what this song is is is doing yeah.Track 2:[1:11:03] Yeah what do you think justin.Track 1:[1:11:06] Well and i i found a lot of peace in this song and comfort for my own selfish self but i think that maybe that's what gourd is trying to convey here too and and i am for the wolf and the raven will be first to get my eyes and i'm going to feed these animals and take my body that's fine and I'll be somewhere else and I think he's yeah acceptance is the right word this this song is definitely a cooling of temperatures though like it's okay you can breathe and we know where this is headed and the worst part of it is over like he's he's ready to go here's the door.Track 2:[1:15:12] Here, here, and here. How would you best describe this one, Craig?Track 1:[1:15:20] Pure emotion. Like this song, like with so few words. There are nine words in the song. Yeah. Gorgeous takes you. Yeah. Just like eases out of it. And it's just heartbreaking and beautiful.Track 1:[1:15:37] And the, um, yeah, I should mention the piano too. So, so this is one of the, the tracks that Kevin drew helped to help to write his piano work is, is just, yeah, it's, it's just a perfect closer, like a little epilogue and yeah, lyrically, this one's tough. This one's tough to again in so few words it's like you know what gets me is that i think it's the last line when he says you sign you sign you know it's like you know the death certificate or yeah it's just yeah kirk yeah i know you said this one really affected you what what are your thoughts i i um yeah we're jumble it's it's it's everything it's um you know as a as a lover of music as a creator of music as a recreator of music in in all forms it's hard to write it's it's hard to write poetry it's hard to write a novel it's hard to write a sentence and you want to write everything you want you feel like you need to have this descriptive word for every single thought and emotion right just think about like if you're in social media like you you want to you're put you're posting a picture or story and you want the world to know why you're doing it right so you write this three paragraph of well just show the effing picture and.Track 1:[1:17:04] Just let it be and and to me it was like gourd crack the the age old this is all you need this is it we don't need to say anything other than these nine words yeah yeah and earlier in the album you know words are birds words are it's you know it's speaking to that power of words and And also, there's another line in the book, I forget which song it is, but when there isn't a next sentence, track four. Yeah, it's almost like sometimes there aren't words, right? Like, the emotion is just there. Yeah this one's a this one is you know the you knew it was coming from the first note of the first song right you know the story before you press play and you finally get there and it hurts worse than you would imagine it would yep this is 140 characters he got it all in one tweet you know and it and it's destroys you it absolutely because you don't need any more yeah.Track 2:[1:18:13] No uh I really like that you can fit that in one tweet uh it's concise it's a call to action and um it wraps up a really fucking powerful and phenomenal record craig early on said this might be his favorite work by gourd downey and that includes all the tragically hit material so fellas it's going to be tough to do this next part but it is tradition in these parts so what do you think about naming your mvp tracks.Track 1:[1:18:51] I'll i'll take a i think to grab on to this this topic quickly um you know i think it's difficult to not choose here here and here as an mvp but i can almost say a co-mvp for me is sun those two um obviously embody so much and and have impacted us and uh so i'll i'll have to stick with here here and here but uh sun is is uh definitely right there for me um.Track 1:[1:19:24] Yeah, it's a tough one. I love this album. Don't let this touch you. I know that the subject matter is something I wish it didn't have to be written, but at the same time, you know, he does it in such an elegant way. It's it's for touching on a topic like this he just it makes you feel so much and and i think the main reason i'm picking it to that is actually not to do with the lyrics it's that that transition i mentioned you have the theremin and then everything changes and it just settles and relaxes and the bass line is just i think that's my musical highlight of the album that that little descending bass line yeah the drums and i love how the drums drop out for a moment and they come back in and it's beautiful that that that whole section is just it makes makes it for me justin what was your your favorite yeah it's also don't let this touch you and on my first run through it was the song that got my attention just musically like only as a rock and roll fan this is a great song long it's just you know musically really really cool and then my experience with um the video.Track 1:[1:20:41] Which totally crushed me and changed everything that I thought I knew about this album and about the story and that's that's the moment for me that that I was like okay I need to read more I need I need to really understand this and um but at the same time I told the whole story too I didn't need don't understand anymore but it was the the push that i was like okay this is worse than what we thought and it was already bad but yeah that's the one yep this has been i'm breaking up all right we've all we've all had our moments today and i think that's a good thing on on several levels right because it is of uh uh it is of a a topic in nature that that should be heartbreaking to anybody and everybody that that comes across it but you know let's hope that it does bring to a sense of hope because we do need to face our our fear and the darkness and that's the best way to to to combat it and and hopefully to make change so i know for me even with the heaviness of the subject again it's uh you know gord has has raised the bar again and in so many ways and on so many levels because you know gourd's message was we're not a canada until we get this figured out and it's going to take 100 years well yeah yeah guess what yeah.Track 2:[1:22:03] Uh then you know no amount of time will fill the void that has been created at the tremendous loss of life and culture, at the hands of people who should have frankly known better. Anything else you guys want to say before we pack up this gear?Track 1:[1:22:29] I just will continue to say how thankful I am to be on this journey with you. And I'm glad we were able to share this today. And we hope that it's insightful for others and that it'll inspire you as well to do your own research and do your own. Thank you all. Yeah, thank you. That's right.Track 2:[1:22:48] Absolutely. Well, that's what we've got for you this week with Gord's fifth record, The Spellbinding Secret Path. Highly recommend getting this record, experiencing the whole multimedia venture. You heard the guys say how it changed their look on on several songs on the record, so it's well worth it. We also want to do a viewing party of the live CBC concert, so stay tuned for that, and that's about it. So on behalf of Craig, Justin, and Kirk, this is JD saying, pick up your shit.

Bonus: Introduce Yerself - Josh Finlayson

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 7, 2024 92:12

This week on our Friday bonus episode the boys sit down with Josh Finlayson to pick his brain on working with Gord and creating the wonderful music they did together inside and outside the Country of Miracles.Transcript:Track 2:[0:17] Hey, it's JD here, and we're back again for a special bonus episode here on Discovering Downey. This is a really exciting one to share this week. It is with Josh Finlayson, who you've got to admit was one of Gord's shadows during his solo career and really extended that friendship onward into just a wonderful partnership. Partnership i won't waste too much of your time going into details because the boys craig justin and kirk are sitting around the table right now with mr finlayson and they are amped to get this interview into your ear holes i will say one more thing though we are getting very excited about our event july 19th tickets are on sale at discovering downy.com get them while you can they are 30 $30 for a ticket or $50 for a pair or hey, if you've got a group of friends that want to come out, you can save big bucks and get 10 tickets for $200. That's $20 a ticket or $10 off the single price. We've got some fantastic prizes that we are getting ready to announce for the silent auction. And of course, you'll see the almost hip and our special interview with Patrick Downey on the finale of Discovering Downey. Before we get into the interview, I'm going to spin a special track for you. This is the Sky Diggers, of which Josh Finlayson is in, along with Andy Mays and several others. They are going to get into some Sky Diggers talk in this conversation, no doubt. So let's listen to their version or rendition of Depression Suite before we head into the interview with Mr. Finlayson. See you on the other side.Track 7:[5:27] Welcome everyone to a very special episode of Discovering Downey. My name is Kirk Lane and I'm going to be here with our good buddies Justin St. Louis and Craig out in Vancouver. We're really excited today to have a very special guest, Mr. Josh Van Laysen from, well, from the Sky Diggers, I think is well most of you will know him from. But in regards to this adventure, Josh was very involved with several of Gord's solo albums that we have been discussing here on the pod. And uh we're just really excited to have him on board and just really talk about the his musical journey and and then obviously how it relates with his experience with with gourd solo projects not only with the recorded albums but also from a live perspective so um we've got lots of uh interesting topics and things we want to talk about and we're really thankful that he took took some time to join us today so welcome josh.Track 5:[6:28] Thank you thanks for having me yeah.Track 7:[6:31] I mean i guess i want to start with something that was recent and you had a pretty uh looked like a pretty good bill recently in a gig in toronto with uh with with your band the sky diggers and the sadies and paul and was band so i i think the group would love to hear a little bit about how that that went and and some of the other shows that you guys have been able to do together.Track 5:[6:54] Well we uh we um we played at a venue in toronto called the concert hall which is which is a venue that it's a it's actually a masonic hall and was built i'm not sure when i'm i'm assuming probably, late 1800s early 1900s it's right it's very close to young young and bluer um it's right downtown but it was used as a venue uh in the 60s um it was uh it wasn't the concert hall at that point it was called uh something else it just escapes me right now but i know led zeppelin played there like early days one of their first uh shows in toronto and many other acts you know like it's a pretty storied venue I saw I saw the stray cats there I saw it admit like that would have been 1982 Wow I know the the English beat played there the jam REM like tons of bands played there in the in the 80s and into the 90s there was the the hip did a.Track 5:[8:09] I think at the end of the Up to Here tour, they did a show there. And then they did three shows at the beginning of Road Apples. And I remember those shows. I was at at least two of them. And they were amazing shows, very memorable.Track 5:[8:30] And we actually had a show scheduled there in 1995 and had to postpone it. But it's a long story, but we had to reschedule it. And then it closed for a long time. It stopped. It was actually leased by a television station up here, and they filmed live television events there. So it stopped being a venue. And it just reopened, I think, in the fall of last year. And a friend of ours is booking the room. And so we thought it would be great to play there. It's about a 1,200-seat room. It's not huge, but it's a very cool room. And so we asked Paul Langlois, who we'd done four or five shows with in March and April of this year, shows that had been rescheduled in the fall. He fell and broke.Track 5:[9:28] A few ribs in the fall um and then we also asked the sadies to join us and the sadies are, uh old friends as well so it was a it was a very special night it's a great venue it was uh it's a lot of fun it's a great sounding venue it looks great and uh we did a bunch of collaborations as we had done with paul and uh i you know we've known the sadies for since they started actually Actually, I met Travis and got to know Travis when he was playing with his dad's band, the Good Brothers, in the early 90s. When this guy Deere started playing, we did some shows with the Good Brothers. And that's how I got to know Travis before he joined his brother Dallas in the 80s with Sean Dean and Mike Belitsky. And yeah, so that's kind of the background of that. I did lots of collaborations with the 80s and with Paul.Track 7:[10:22] We did.Track 5:[10:23] Some hip songs we uh did some covers uh yeah it was fun good night i.Track 7:[10:29] I really love seeing uh as we've gone through this like the connection that many of the canadian bands have and and the the gigs they do together and then the projects that they do together and and i that's been really great to me to see that community and uh i mean i guess you see it a little down down here in the States, but not to the extent that I think you guys have been doing it. And it's been really exciting to see all that and be a part of that. Let's go back to the beginning and you and your musical journey. If you wanna give us just a bit of a history, like when you started out, what really got you into music? And then talk to us a little bit about, as you'd mentioned, many of the other bands that you've been a part of, The Hip and Gord, and how that relationship formed.Track 5:[11:18] Um okay well i i was born and raised in toronto i'm the youngest of three boys um and everyone in my family played music uh and my i have two older brothers um my eldest brother's a music teacher he was a classical guitar player uh and my middle brother was uh he played piano at a pretty high level so i was and my mom played piano my dad played a little bit but had a very eclectic and very cool record collection uh so there's always music around and uh that was a big part of my uh you know i don't think i really understood at the time how enriching that experience was like it was just always around um and because my older brothers played i i just assume that anyone could play, you know what I mean? It was almost a strange thing. It's like sports a little bit. When you're the younger brother, you're always trying to keep up and, you know, you just, you think any idiot can do it because if they can do it, you can do it. So, um, I think I had this sense of, uh.Track 5:[12:30] There's a bit of fearlessness in it and it sort of coincided with an era of I'm 60 years old so you know I was in high school in the late 70s and finished high school in 1982 so I kind of came out up through that post-punk punk and post-punk era of music where it was all very DIY and people you know started bands as I did just joining them you You didn't have to play all that well.Track 5:[13:03] You just had to think you were playing well. And that was a good start. So, you know, I played in various outfits and eventually got recruited at the end of my high school year. At that time, Ontario still had a grade 13.Track 5:[13:24] And so in that year, a friend of mine, he was a musician that had played in a band that was kind of popular in our high school. And he had that band had uh uh ended and he kind of recruited me he said i want you to play bass in this band and uh i thought okay i mean i would i'd have just played guitar i'd never played bass but i thought sure i'll give it a whirl and that was sort of at the end of it was april of um, of the final year of school we started doing a bunch of gigs and kind of had this a bit of a built-in audience because he had he had been doing it for a while and we made a plan to the following fall of 1982 uh to uh move over to london england and you know have uh uh see what our uh see if we could find any luck doing that uh and uh and in fact i was just talking about at the concert hall we we did a show in the fall in i think october of 1982 which gave us the money to buy our plane texas to move over to uh to london and uh oh wow nice years and uh.Track 5:[14:41] You know that was an experience unto itself i said you know i was there for a couple of years it was you know like uh we ended up in brixton which was a which was a pretty uh rough part of town there have been a lot of riots there and race riots and um it was but over in the uk you can and a lot of europe you can squat which is basically paying no rent uh and uh so we did that we found a way to exist on very little money you know uh and stayed there and it was a great education you know i always refer to it as my university education really it was a good life education and a good musical one too um i lived it was all a lot of it was west indian uh and i lived above uh the squad i lived in was uh right above this great record store called desmond's hip city which ultimately became one of our our recordings and the song is about that not experienced living in Brixton with this band.Track 5:[15:49] And that sort of ran its course. When I moved back, I had heard about a mutual friend who I didn't know, but we had a mutual friend and this would have been 1985. He, was he was putting together his own home studio and in 1985 that was unusual you know like studios were still fairly um difficult to it was it was expensive to record it was uh but he had a he had an i think a half inch 16 track uh machine and he worked in a music store and he had he had a big uh you know a big plan to start a record label and it was all very cool and i thought well you know i'd like to do this i had done a bit of recording in the uk and um you know i knew that that was sort of the way forward with any anything so i i when i came back to canada to toronto i uh.Track 5:[16:50] Um you know i connected with him we rented a house and built a studio in the house and i mean And truthfully, we smoked a huge amount of marijuana, and I don't know, I spent a lot of time looking for the tape measure, as I recall. But we did, as a carpenter, I make a good musician, so I wouldn't be misleading you if I was trying to tell you that the studio we built had anything to do with me. But out of that experience, Andy Mays, who I grew up with, who's the singer and this guy, he and I reconnected. He had played in a band. He's a few years older than I am, but he played in a band and we had done some shows with him before we moved over to London. And we started hanging out and playing and playing with Wayne Stokes, who was the guy that owned the studio. Wayne drummed on our first couple of records before he left the band. And uh and that was really you know that was from sort of 86 to about uh 88 1988 we we started the band um and we did a residency in toronto a weekly monday night residency which eventually led to our, our first record deal with enigma records which was based in culver city in la just as It's, you know, part of L.A.Track 5:[18:18] And that record had a song on it called I Will Give You Everything, which kind of launched us into, you know, into having a career. And, you know, it's still a song that has been good to us. You know, like it's been used in lots of movies, and it's still a song people want to hear, and still a song I love playing. From there, when our first record came out, we did some shows with many bands, but one of which was The Hip.Track 5:[18:52] Uh we're i was just saying this the shows we did with paul we went back and forth introducing, paul's band and he would introduce us and uh and we were our last show with him was in ottawa, and uh our first show our first tour with the hip the first shows with the airport in montreal and Ottawa and that was 1990 1990 uh and that was 34 years ago and that was the first time we met and at that time uh Paul and Gord Downey were living in Toronto so you know they were they were just that was the tail end up to here and they were playing you know bigger rooms you know like and they had up to here sort of raised them up they often I think refer to that as their first record they had an EP before that.Track 5:[19:50] But that was I think they felt that was their first real offering as a recording and at the end of that tour we did with them they went in down to New Orleans and recorded.Track 5:[20:04] Road Apples and you know Gord and I at that, you know, and Paul, I mean, we all became friends and Gord and I in particular kind of hit it off and, you know, for whatever reason, as you do with, with friends and we, uh, you know, we kept in touch and those days we used to write letters to, uh, before email and, uh, texting. Um, and then Paul eventually a couple of years later moved back to Kingston and Gord stayed in Toronto and that was uh but we were both bands we were busy you know we were touring uh working musicians and not around a lot uh so you know our our time together was limited uh but but always uh great and and eventually led up to what became Coke Machine Shinglo, which, you know, there's sort of a story in that too. He, he wanted, we were looking to do, find a way to do a project together. Um, but the reality is that he, he had written a bunch of songs and the, and the hip, you know, they wrote as a collective, especially in those days. And, and that changed eventually Gord wrote more on his own and, um, and brought songs in and then he would write with them. It did evolve.Track 5:[21:27] And so he had written most of the songs from Coke Machine Glow he had written on his own. And eventually, he just decided, yeah, I should just make a record. And I think part of it was also.Track 5:[21:46] Besides myself, he didn't know a lot of musicians in Toronto, you know, because he was away a lot. He had a young family at that sort of by the mid, his daughter, Will, was born, I think around 96, 95. And so, you know, when he was home, you know, that was obviously a big part of his life. And I think he wanted to connect with the artistic community in Toronto. And Coke Machine Glow became the opportunity for him to do that. Which is why it's a pretty eclectic record eclectic musicians there's and he also wanted to explore the spoken word stuff which is a part of that record and and the uh uh and battle of the nudes as well it was sort of extended into that uh that record so um yeah i don't know that sort of gives you a bit of a an overview yeah.Track 7:[22:41] No we appreciate that and you know we just recently Obviously, having discussions on each of the albums, Coke Machine Glow specifically, it was such a discussion. We actually had to split up our discussion into two parts because there was so much to talk about. And again, because it was good for us to really take that in as that first offering from Gord and his solo effort. You have a producer credit on on that particular album and and the next one and then and then as mentioned I think as we go into the grand bounce that was Chris talk to us a little bit about that process and and and working with Gord and and how uh how that process went from either writing or recording or or things of that nature definitely we had our own discussions about it but it would It would be great to hear directly from the source on how some of that came about.Track 5:[23:41] Well... You know initially we were you know that we were trying to find a way into make a making a collaborative record but you know he had written these songs and um and at some point it was just like you know what like you should just do a solo record um because these.Track 5:[24:01] Songs he knew that uh they weren't going to be used in the in the hip and not because they weren't good songs but because their process was very much as a collective they would write songs together that was their that was how they did it gourd at that point uh gourd was pretty much writing all the words and uh um and they were they were you know playing they they would come up with the music and they that was just their process and um so you know we had these songs and and eventually it just became apparent that we should we should make uh the record and so we had he had had this cool little home studio set up you know this is 10 years after what i was talking about earlier and it was a like a digital i think it was a d80 da88 machine and a little board and so we were recording on that and um and then you know but realizing that neither of us were particularly good engineers and the hip had just mixed their record trouble at the hen house and I think Stephen Drake mixed that record and and he's a terrific talented mixer and a great musician and so Gord.Track 5:[25:24] Gord thought, you know, maybe we should get Stephen to engineer the session and the three of us will operate as co-producers.Track 5:[25:34] And which is what happened. So Stephen ended up coming and Gord really wanted to make the record in Toronto. Again, it was the sense of I'm living here. I've lived here for, I mean, at that point, it was probably over 10 years. Um and he had you know he had his his group of friends uh and artistic friends had grown just through meeting through you know through the hip but he thought you know if i if i do this project i can include them and i can uh um you know just sort of put down some roots in that in this community because at that point you know his creative outlet was the band and he would typically go to Kingston to to write songs and or to record and obviously all the road work they were doing so it was a you know at the time it was an attempt for him to put some roots down in in the city with other artists and other collaborators Gord was a very.Track 5:[26:44] Ambitious creatively is very ambitious and very always looking to evolve always looking to grow and and be influenced and inspired by other people so on that record you know we went in um you know the the idea was uh like initially it it uh the band was kevin hearn was there for kevin had just um he he just had leukemia and he had just he had like a bone marrow transplant and he was just in the recovering stage of that um and i'd met kevin before that but but you know um so but he was only available for a few days because he was going out with uh bare-necked ladies they were uh he was just joining back into the band and going out on tour um and uh.Track 5:[27:55] Don Kerr owned the studio with Dale Morningstar that we recorded at. It was called the gas station. And it was this cool old warehouse building down around King and Dufferin. It was on the top floor, all these open windows, really great view of the city. It's sort of looking south towards the lake through the exhibition in Toronto. And it just had a great vibe to it. And and don played a lot with ron sexsmith and ron was just about to make a record with steve earl in nashville his uh i think the record was blue boy and steve really wanted uh don to play on the record and to sing on it because he had seen don he's seen ron and don was playing with him and he loved their singing together and he loved his playing and a lot of ron's records at that point had been done in L.A.Track 5:[28:57] And their bands were put together for them. They're great sounding records, but Steve wanted Don to play on this record. So Don was only available the first couple of days, as was Kevin. And then Dave Clark, who at that point had played in the Rheostatics and left, was asked to come in and do the drumming. And Dale was just sort of around the studio to help as the assistant engineer, but he ended up playing on most of it. And then Julie Dwaran was asked to come and play on the record. She had sung on a number of hip songs and played in a band called Eric's Trip, who the hip had toured with.Track 5:[29:45] And then there was all these, like Travis Good played on the record. Travis at this point, I was talking about him. We had become good friends and he's a great musician and I thought, well, I want to invite Travis. And Gord, that's when he first met him. So this would have been 1999. As you know, the Sadies went on to make a record and do some touring with Gord as well. And they were very tight. And Travis played on Away Is Mine, the last record that Gord did that I, you know, we wrote together, um, and recorded at the bathhouse. Um, and so, and I, and then there was Adam McGaughan, who's a filmmaker who Gord had met, you know, really through the hip, but, you know, through, uh, maybe he used some hip song in a, in a movie. I can't remember the, uh, um, the connection, but he can.Track 4:[30:38] Yeah. Courage was used in the suite her after by Sarah Polly saying it.Track 5:[30:45] Right, okay. So, you know, he's another Toronto artist and Gord had met him. And so, you know, one of the, one of the, these sort of agendas of Coke Machine Glow and when it was trying to find a way to get into it because the, you know, Gord also released a book of poetry with Coke Machine Glow, but he wanted, he wanted to find a way to do spoken word stuff, which he had done. Yeah, you got it. He had done, you know, often at hip shows he was doing. He did a lot of those, like I know at Woodstock, someone was telling me all that was televised and he was reciting a lot of the Coke Machine Glow poems and a lot of the songs throughout pieces of, you know, instrumentals or whatever through that live show, as he was doing throughout that tour, I'm sure. And so he wanted to find a way to make the leap where he could do the spoken word stuff but you know of course the biggest potential obstacle was that it would be pretentious sounding so that was sort of the way that's that was this challenge.Track 5:[32:08] A couple of things ended up happening. One was that Adam Egoyan, who was a classical guitar player, when he grew up, he played classical guitar. So he brought down his classical guitar, and Gord asked him to just come up with some music, like pieces, little instrumental pieces. So he started playing, and the rest of us started improvising around those pieces. And Gord either would do the spoken word stuff.Track 5:[32:39] With us or we would find sort of this cool little section where it was it was just working and then he would use it and do do the spoken stuff the word stuff over that there was also a couple of there's a great I think it's I think it's the first first song on the record is accordion and pump organ and it's yarrow servinic who was the accordion player and the cowboy junkies and my neighbor uh at the time i invited him down and dale was playing the pump organ and um and it had it had this sort of uh, hinterlands who who kind of this funky weird kind of uh sound to it you know like it it uh and uh and it just somehow it worked you know like it was kind of charming and quirky and very much you know it was very much intended to be not it would have been a failure if it had been like a tragically hit record you know and you know because that would have you.Track 5:[33:52] They were doing that already, and Gord was doing that. This was an opportunity for him to expand his artistic palette, you know, and to challenge himself to be challenged, and challenge the other people around him. And so, you know, I think in that sense it was successful because it was very different. It was like a serious left turn. uh and i think you know from my memory people's reaction to it was like wow i didn't expect this and it's not it's not like the tragically hip which it wasn't and it wasn't meant to be um and i think it you know for a lot of hip fans it was like a real curiosity head scratcher and i think for people that weren't necessarily hip fans it was like wow i didn't expect this from gourd and it's cool and it's different and uh so you know it wasn't uh and really we just in the end we we uh we didn't we mostly toured in the states i think we maybe did one show in canada on that record um and uh and that was cool too because we were playing in a lot of smaller venues and it was a pretty eclectic band and it was a lot of fun.Track 5:[35:18] And it led in fairly quickly to what became, because he had written more songs, and a lot of those songs ended up on Battle of the Nudes. And at that point, the gas station had moved over to Toronto Island into this artscape, into this cool artistic community. Coke Machine Glow was the last record that was made at the Gas Nation. And I think it was 10 days that we made it in.Track 4:[35:50] I'm curious how different the two recording sessions were between Coke Machine Glow and Battle of the Nudes. Because in my mind, they sound very similar in that they sound like a band jamming, whereas the first one sounds like it's a little more acoustic, stick whereas the second one's like a full-on full-on band a little more you know experience under your belt was the actual were the actual sessions quite different.Track 5:[36:15] Um well uh one of the things that happened with uh so the gas station was uh it had you know it was a studio but um it didn't it had decent gear but it didn't have great gear and so what ended up happening was At that point, the hip had started to accumulate gear for the bathhouse, which was their studio in Bath, Ontario. And he brought up, there was a knave board and a bunch of microphones that he brought up and used it as, and we used his DA-88 machine I mentioned earlier. So it was eight tracks. We had eight tracks to use. so you know we could put as many mics into those eight tracks as we wanted it but and it was recorded live and it was acoustic and part of that was that you know when he and i were working on those songs initially before steven got involved it was typically two acoustic guitars and gordon had a very unique rhythm you know he always said he dropped he he played he strummed guitar like a drummer you know but his time was good you know he had great time uh he just did not strum like most guitar players he just you know it was not and i think part of that was singing and you know his phrasing was very unique too so there's a lot of syncopation going on.Track 5:[37:45] And um so initially that process was me kind of playing a more conventional rhythm which just gave the two acoustic guitars this fuller, kind of richer, solid bass. And then when Don and Dave drummed, that gave us another type of foundation. And then Steve and Drake played bass for most of that record. He played other things, too. And I think I played bass maybe on a song or two, but maybe Julie Dwarne played bass on something. But that was kind of the way it went and Stephen recorded it he had this nice gear and we used the DA-88 machine and we did a few overdubs like Paul Langlois came and sang on two or three songs and.Track 5:[38:41] And so that was an overdub. Travis Good was an overdub. Man, there was a couple of others, but I don't remember. But by the time we did Battle of the Nudes, we had done a lot of shows. And at that point, I was playing half the show on bass. Stephen didn't play in the live band.Track 5:[39:02] Partially because he was in Vancouver and he was doing other stuff. It was more of a practical decision than anything from my memory. And uh and i played guitar and julie and i and then at that point john press who's often referred to as dr p had also joined the band and those guys the dinner is around dale john press and dave clark and then myself and julie and uh and gordon uh and we did we did a couple festivals that summer we played like the edmonton folk festival but most of the shows were down in the in the states um and then when we went and recorded uh the gas station and moved to a portable on toronto island an old school uh school portable i don't know if you guys are familiar with with that phenomenon but in ontario they used to have their like boxes and they would be i guess it was It's just at schools, instead of adding, putting additions on schools, they'd have these boxes that would, you know, you'd walk out to your portable, your classroom. It was like a, it was like a cabin, you know, for lack of a better word. Obviously, it had electricity.Track 5:[40:18] But that's where the gas station moved into. And Dale recorded that. He recorded, I'd say, half of that record and mixed half of it or a third of it. And we also went to the bathhouse and recorded the bathhouse at that point. And a bunch of it was mixed there as well. Again, I'd have to look at the credits to sort of know what was done. And, you know, Gord was very taken with Dale. Dale was a very unconventional musician and very eclectic.Track 5:[41:00] And Gord loved that. You know, he loved that. He was just so outside. And Dave Clark is also a real free spirit. And John Pratt is an excellent, excellent musician, but also a free spirit, you know. So it was just it was a very different energy and even for me like it was like wow what a this is a total fucking trip you know this band can you know anything can happen at any point in time and i think gordon liked that you know like it was just it was um unpredictable and fun and uh, and yeah i think it was just and not to say that it wasn't fun in the hip it was just different and And it was exploring a different part of who he could be and his songs and his creative process. You know, that was a big part of it. So I don't know, Craig, if that answers your question, but...Track 4:[41:57] Yeah, yeah. And did you find your role in the band evolved over the years? Watching some of the live videos on doing our research, I noticed, you know, maybe a bit of a shift to playing some more bass near the end. How did you feel about your role and how it changed?Track 5:[42:15] I mean, it was really more the bass became, you know, I mean, I had played bass often on Scottie's records and the band I moved to England with, I played bass in that band. So it was not an instrument that I was unfamiliar with. And I was pretty comfortable on it. and uh and julie and i would swap uh run those first two tours and really even all the tours like she would play bass on certain songs i'd play uh guitar there's certain songs on that we toured with on coke machine glow like something like vancouver divorce i played always played acoustic as it was gore playing you know there's this cool uh interplay of the two acoustic guitars this sort of galloping feel, and Julie played this great solid bass part in that song, and Trick Rider, stuff like that. I always played acoustic on those songs, but then from Battle of the Nudes, and certainly when we did the Grand Bounce, I played almost, I think I played only bass. I don't know that I played any guitar, except for maybe, uh, uh, hello again, my friend. I'm to see you again. The East wind.Track 4:[43:37] So speaking of that song, from what I can tell, I believe there's like five guitars on that track. Does that sound right?Track 5:[43:44] If not more. You know, like it was, yeah, when the band kicks in, yeah, it was like a guitar orchestra, as I recall. It was a ton of good. I think Gord had his kids in there playing acoustic guitar. Yeah, that was for sure. Sure. And when we did it live too, I think I started playing acoustic and then it was like the guy and Rick Nielsen and Cheap Trick, you know, started playing acoustic at the beginning and then I'd, you know, Billy Ray would grab the guitar and I'd start playing bass. It was a bit silly, really.Track 5:[44:24] So I think it did just sort of evolve, Greg, I guess, really. But, you know, um dr pete was a great place bass player julie was a great bass player it was really not you know it wasn't like i'm the bass player and you know like no one else could play it was just the way it i love playing bass with dave clark drumming like he was dave is he's got a great command of many feels and uh and it was a you know the band really evolved too and and you know When you talk about the production stuff, it was also a natural. When we started, it was really Gord and I and then bringing Stephen in. But it was all very collaborative. There was no one saying, you have to do this. Gord was not that type of person. I mean, he would like something or not like it. But he was not the kind of person that would say, we're doing it this way. That was not really his MO you know like he was more into discovering what something could be rather than laying out like.Track 5:[45:36] Here's the here's where you're doing that it wasn't it wasn't like that at all rarely i mean he might have an idea that he wants to chase down you would try and do that which is of course cool but he was very open to suggestions and pursuing things and uh um and the more outside often the better he was attracted to often the diamond in the rough too you know he could see something in an idea i often couldn't you know which i always admired you know like you could see there was something there and he would keep he would keep pursuing it um and he he was very dogged that way and very persistent so.Track 6:[46:19] It seemed like you know you keep mentioning evolution and the band and um it seemed like the band took on a more significant role than just gourd downy this This is Gord Downie's band. And the name changed from The Goddamn Band to Country of Miracles. And then that even became more prevalent with The Grand Bounce. So did you guys bring songs to him? Or was it?Track 5:[46:45] Well, certainly, again, the spoken word pieces were often collaborative pieces. But the bulk of the songs were his songs. He and I maybe worked on some stuff. and I might suggest stuff in other situations. Maybe there would have been a co-writing. But for me, it was just like, these are your songs. You should, you know, like, I don't.Track 5:[47:11] You know like the uh they're great you know and you it was it you know he was at that point he was saying okay i'm putting my name on this i'm doing this book of poetry it was you know of course like any solo thing any songwriter any book of poetry there's there's a certain.Track 5:[47:31] Audacity to it all too right like it's uh and um there were collaborations on especially the first two records but by the by the time we did the grand bounce gordon had written these songs and that and there was you know it had been like four or five years before in between the grand bounce and um the battle of the nudes so he had collected more songs and i was aware of all these songs because we would still hang out and i'd come over we'd record them maybe but he had they were pretty finished songs and that you know he had gained a lot of confidence from making those first two records and he the story my my memory of um the chris walla connection was that the hip did a um there in pemberton just north ukraine there was a big festival there it would have been probably 2008 or 9 and i think tom patty was on the bill death cap for cutie were definitely on the bill because Chris sought out Gord they were on the bill he sought Gord out and said I'm a huge fan but I.Track 5:[48:42] Love your solo records, he knew them he had, Gord I think was a bit taken back and he thought wow this guy this is cool and he just as Gord did he was great at, you know, connecting with people and, um, and staying in touch with them. And, and I think in the back of his mind, he thought, man, you know, it'd be cool if, you know, cause at that point, I think Chris was just about to leave Death Cab for Cutie and he wanted to, he wanted to be a producer and kind of strike out on his own.Track 5:[49:15] And, uh, Gord thought, well, maybe it'd be cool to get him to produce the record and we'll do it at the bathhouse, which is what we did in 2010, I think.Track 5:[49:25] 2009 i can't remember the year now uh we spent you know it was august we spent i think three weeks at the bathhouse like the prime time of the year to be in southern ontario you know beautiful weather all the um the bounty of the you know the farming uh all the fruits and vegetables are coming uh and you know we spent and it was it was an amazing that was such a fun record not that the other records were not fun to make but you know we would start gordon had you know i think there's 12 14 songs on the record and we would do one song a day and we'd get up and he'd teach it to us and we start playing it and you know you know we get up around 10 in the morning and uh you know eventually you start working on the stuff and it would just the song would evolve all chris would make suggestions as we did it and then by the end of the day we'd find a um you know we it might be quick it might be a bit slower and take a few uh twists and turns but every day we got something cool down every day we got something that ended up on the record there's maybe one or two songs that didn't end up on the record but it was that was a you know i thought chris was amazing with everyone, because everyone, you know.Track 5:[50:48] Had made a lot of records at that point. And, you know, Dale produced records.Track 5:[50:55] But Gord was really good at, you know, Even choosing Chris, Chris sort of recognized everyone's strengths and their weaknesses and really empowered everyone into that. I just thought he was really great.Track 5:[51:14] That record I also love. It's a very different record. It was nice. I was mostly just a bass player on that record, but I love that.Track 5:[51:24] The opportunity to do that. And it was, again, you know, it wasn't his advice, but it was advice that I got from somewhere else. But, you know, the advice was play the gig you're playing, not the gig you think you should be playing. Just do what people are asking you to do and be the best version of that person you can be. And that was always a great thing about working with gourd like he he totally empowered you to be yourself and you know if he didn't like it or he didn't get it he would say but it wouldn't be like that sucks and i hate it and uh it would be you know we just find another way uh to, wherever that would be. It would just evolve. That was, again, a really great quality. And again, I think Chris Walla deserves a lot of credit for that record because he really kind of recognized everything. He was kind of the puppet master to a certain degree as well, really making sure that sorry.Track 7:[52:44] To interrupt yeah i just we had when we had our discussion about that about the grand bounce it was uh it was really felt like a band album and i think after i would imagine after you guys had done not only the two albums prior but you know playing together live and then having someone come in and being able to kind of shepherd that it it really came through i i think for me and i I think for us as a group, when we discussed it and, and it was, it was, I think we even talked about it when we, when we went over that particular album, like we were kind of bummed that we wanted the next, the fourth album. And I wonder if you could talk a little bit about that. Like what, what was that? Uh, was there discussions about that or?Track 5:[53:31] Yes um you know they're they're um so we we made i think it was 2010 we made the record in 2011 we toured we did a we did a bunch of summer shows um and we did some shows in the states but this that tour the grand bounce tour was almost exclusively canadian and um, And we did a bunch of summer festivals. And then we did a cross-country. We went coast to coast. So it was a pretty ambitious undertaking. It was not, you know, because Gord hadn't toured a lot as a solo act. It wasn't, you know, he hadn't really developed the, it wasn't the hip, right? And so it wasn't unsuccessful.Track 5:[54:17] But it's an expensive thing. You've got a tour bus. You've got a band. And, you know, it's expensive to, you know, with the hip, it was a different thing.Track 5:[54:27] And they could charge a different amount of money and it was just more established.Track 5:[54:32] So I think, I don't think the record was a disappointment for Gord. But I think the reality of taking a band out and touring and the costs of that were, I think that was maybe a bit sobering. I don't think he was unhappy with the you know the way the band played or or even the attendance or any of that i just think it was like you know it's it's not uh it's it it's it's more of an investment and i think it was like okay well where where do i go what do i do with this do i mean do i make another record like this and i you know he wasn't someone to repeat a process right that's the other thing like it was you know i can't say enough about working with chris was great and i thought he really brought out the best in everyone there he's really positive guy really understood everyone's kind of quirkiness and strengths and uh but so you know what happened was i think gourd we made that record and then was now for plan a that came next and then but but then what I what I remember because he he sent me we were talking about the songs from the secret path so the secret path was recorded in 2013 and.Track 5:[55:58] He had finished it and mixed it at that point. So he had this idea, and I think you probably know the story of this. So his brother Mike had found this CBC radio interview that was talking about a Maclean's article from 1966 that talked about Shani Wenjack.Track 5:[56:19] And Gord heard the documentary on the CBC and read the the mclean's article and sort of got very drawn to the story and you know he ended up writing you know again if you've watched any of the secret path stuff uh you know he wrote 10 poems and uh and that became the 10 songs for the secret path you know he ended up going there uh because he had a place just on in prince prince edward county just it was about a half hour's drive from the bathhouse and um he would come to the bathhouse and kevin drew from broken social scene where he was making a lot of records there and he kind of got to know kevin a bit and kevin said kevin uh was very much involved with arts and crafts he helped establish that label and i think he said well let's make a record and gourd had these songs and that's how that record was made so he finished it but i don't think gourd really knew what to do with the record and and my memory is more from nile spencer who was the engineer the house engineer at uh at the bathhouse i don't think gourd was i don't think he really talked about what that record was about out to any great extent i mean it was clearly a record.Track 5:[57:44] That was about a very heavy subject and he would have made rough you know he.Track 5:[57:51] Would have had some explanations for it but i don't i think he was very mindful about you know i'm not sure this is my story to tell um and uh.Track 5:[58:03] And I remember him sending it to me. They mixed it in like December of 2013. And he sent it to me early in January and just said, yeah, I did this. And I want you to hear it. And it's cool. And then he sat on it. He didn't know what to do with it. He had also been writing and recording songs with Pop Rock.Track 5:[58:32] Uh, since, um, after we are the same the hip record which led into uh the grand bounce and then you know spilled over into um the time that he he recorded um the secret path so he was doing a lot of stuff so when you say you know like it would have been cool to do another uh record uh with with the uh the country miracles and in that sense i i think it would have been but it wasn't like he was uh not doing it he was busy doing a lot of different things and and and that was very much you know he was loving all of that it wasn't like he wasn't saying oh i i will never do this again i you know but i think there's a lot of things going on and uh and and he was still being very productive and very creative. And then he got sick towards the end of 2015.Track 5:[59:33] At that point, you know, I mean, you know the story. I don't need to go through it. But, you know, he knew that he wanted, obviously, to do the last hip tour, but he knew he wanted to get the Secret Path record out. It was finished. But the graphic novel was another opportunity to provide an educational tour or for what the residential schools were in Canada. And, you know, these were things, I mean, these were things that we, Gordon and I, talked about a lot. I mean, we grew up being so ignorant of what had really happened in this country. And this was an opportunity to kind of pull the lid back a little bit and to have a discussion about that.Track 5:[1:00:22] And, you know, it's amazing. You know, like it just, you know, his illness and the attention that was brought to the hip tour and then consequently to the secret path project was kind of overwhelming, you know, like it was quite incredible to be in that sort of in the center of that, to be around him and to see the impact that it's had all of it. You know I mean like even with the hip tour you know like if you were in this country if you were if you were not a tragically hip fan you would you'd be touched by that story I mean who hasn't been uh impacted by a family member a friend who's had cancer and the story was just so incredibly touching and moving you didn't have to be a fan to be touched or moved by that story And then, you know, and then to carry on to do the, you know, the shows that he did for The Secret Path was, you know, that was amazing. I know I'm sort of going on to another subject now.Track 5:[1:01:29] Um, so just, yeah, I'm just kind of trying to bridge that time, time gap, you know, there was a, there was a lot going on for him. And, um, and you know, I think if the opportunity, if he had, if he hadn't gotten sick, I'm sure we would have made another recording, you know, I'm sure that would have happened. Maybe it would have been a different producer. Maybe it would have been something different, you know, like me was, uh, he was constantly doing things, you know, he was always working. Like he was, that was, you know, he was like a shark that way. He was always moving, you know, like he, very much part of his makeup, his DNA.Track 4:[1:02:11] So you were a part of the Secret Path live band.Track 5:[1:02:14] Yeah.Track 4:[1:02:15] And what was the lead up to that? Like, like the rehearsals, I know it seemed maybe Gord was, you know, he was quite sick at that time. were you guys you know were you ever worried that it it wouldn't work out or was there any hesitation.Track 5:[1:02:33] Well i think you know i even with the hip tour like i think you know when i mean i saw gourd all three you know from when he got sick and which was like november late october early November of 2015, he had his first operation, I think it was November, mid-November that year, and then it was a long recovery, and then he ended up having a second operation, and then, you know, went through radiation, and, you know, all the treatment that he did, so you know i saw him through a lot of that you know i you know i'd go over on a regular basis there's a time when the treatments were so he was sleeping a lot because you know they fucking kicked the shit out of you you know when he decided he wanted to do the the hip tour and you know i mean i think everyone i i mean there's it's all documented and you know in that uh show I mean, of course, everyone was concerned, could he do it? But, you know, man, the guy was a fucking force. Like, he was so strong physically and mentally. Like, he just, he was so determined to do it. And it was incredible, you know. I'm sure, Craig, you saw one of those shows, or, you know, like, it was a remarkable.Track 4:[1:04:00] I was at the two Vancouver shows. Justin was at the Ottawa show, actually, the second last one.Track 5:[1:04:06] Um, yeah, I mean, it, it, uh, I mean, to answer your question, was there concern for sure, especially for the secret past stuff, because he had never sung it beyond the recordings that he had done and when he wrote them. So as opposed to the, you know, the hip stuff where, you know, there's sort of a motor, uh, memory muscle that, you know, it's just, uh, but, you know, it's amazing like the brain is an incredible thing and you know gourd's short-term memory was impacted there were certain things that he struggled with but you know the music was it was pretty amazing what he was and he definitely made mistakes he definitely you know and it would could be counting in or waiting in it sir but we found out ways to make use or accommodate that and i I mean, it was amazing.Track 5:[1:04:58] Yes, there was concern that maybe it won't work, but it did, you know. And, you know, also, you know, Gord was not like, he could come in early on a verse when he was perfectly well. I mean, he was not a, those imperfections he often made work. You know, he adopted this philosophy, but, you know, what he used to say for a show to be interesting something something has to happen that neither the audience or the performer expects so a mistake can turn into a um an opportunity yeah and he often uh something happens and it's like okay here's my opportunity to make something of it not like not fucking freak out or fall apart and i mean that's a you know if you're a a seasoned performer, you understand that, you know, yeah, you don't have, I mean, everyone fucks up. I mean, that happens. So, yeah, I mean, it was... For all the shows we did with the secret pass stuff, there were very few mistakes. I don't think he made any more mistakes than anyone else made. Let me put it that way.Track 4:[1:06:14] Yeah, I know the show that's online is incredible. It is one of the best concerts that I've seen. I've actually made Kirk and Justin promise not to watch it yet. So we're going to watch it together one day online, I think. and it's so good. Yeah.Track 7:[1:06:35] Thank you, Justin. That's been something especially after we did the episode about the secret path and all the research we did. So yeah, when we had our recording of the secret path, that was one thing we had to make a little pack that we were going to wait. We're going to try and do a live stream of it, but it's been very difficult. Obviously watching some of the great documentary pieces that were done about the entire secret path project. And as you mentioned um you know where that kind of came in the timeline and and then obviously the it was recorded and then there was a few years break i think before it was released but um yeah we're we're very excited about seeing that that particular show and craig has has talked very highly of it so we're pretty excited to see that for sure yeah.Track 5:[1:07:23] Well it's very heavy you know it's It's not a, you know, and as it's meant to be, you know, it's a very heavy story. There's a lot to it. And it's being delivered by a guy that is well aware of his timeline, you know. And this was a part of his legacy that he was very aware that he he could have a positive impact you know any I think you personally really changed the conversation in this country and and I still see it you know I'm still very, I'm still involved with the Danny Wenjack fund and I'm actually doing a school event out of Vancouver next week next.Track 4:[1:08:17] Are you serious craig oh man craig's a teacher i'm a teacher i use it every year um, and uh i yeah so i watch that show every no no no go ahead i alternate between i'm sorry i was just gonna say i i go through every song with with the class and you know we talk and it's amazing every year there's like another another layer something else that someone will will see and we we talk a little bit about this artistic representation of this, of this boy's story and how it, it relates to the much larger, you know, issues that go back, you know, the things that we weren't taught when we were in school and it's, it's been really eyeopening and, and every year it's just a highlight of, of, of the year. A lot of students remember it years later. It's been really impactful and it's a way for me to dig into this topic that I, you know as a middle-aged white guy don't have a you know a personal connection to it gives me a way to sort of dive into this difficult material in a genuine way and students really appreciate that that um they can tell i mean i know i.Track 5:[1:09:28] Know it's in over 6300 classrooms across canada, the secret path and i know over 8 000 teachers are teaching that and i think really what's happening now is that they need to expand on the curriculum they need to build on it like the secret path has been a great introduction of course and it's a great tool but you can't teach the same thing over and over again you can't read the same book and expect you know so i think that's partially where they're at with it uh and that's a good problem to have.Track 5:[1:10:02] But you know it's it's just learning a truth that is important and a part of our history in this country that's important because you know as a canadian who spent a lot of time in the states you know i find that we are very we can be very sanctimonious and self-righteous about how fucking awesome we are and how our shit doesn't smell but you know and and you know.Track 5:[1:10:28] Canadians are the first to look down south and say well you know at least we're not fucked up like they are look at their medical system look at look at whatever you know like it's you know and and you know our shit stinks too and we you know we i just think this has been such an amazing opportunity to see how impactful uh this is and you know what's so interesting is that it's really ultimately not about gourd like and that was sort of his that was what was so incredible about this like he knew that he's he's telling the story and his illness and his celebrity and the connection to the hip were leveraging the the attention towards this but he knew that this was much bigger than him you know i i was just talking to the the guy that's organizing the uh event i'm doing out in uh in vancouver and he was saying yeah he's a huge hit fan big music fan and he's saying you know like a lot of these young kids don't know who the tragically hip are and it sort of breaks his heart you know because uh or doesn't they don't know who gourd downey is but they know the secret path and it's so interesting and truthfully it's really what it is the important part of the story is the truth of why that story had to be told and And I think Gord would be kind of smiling about that right now.Track 5:[1:11:54] I know with the graphic novel, I recall vividly him saying, in his mind...Track 5:[1:12:02] The graphic novel and the music could be played for grade fives. You know, that was sort of his target audience. That's good age. This could have a good impact. I mean, I think it's become much broader than that. And as you said, Craig, it became, you know, there are many layers to it and there's a lot to it. You know, with a lot of Gord stuff, it's very interpretive and very, you know you can really peel back the layers on it so i think that makes them happy and i know for me on a personal level to be able to they these are uh called uh artist ambassador that's part of the downey one jack artist ambassador program so i go i go into the schools and i'm introduced and i'm you know i knew gourd and i talk a little bit about my uh relationship with him and the connection to the secret path and i go around and i look at the work that the students do and i talk to them and i just it you know it fills my heart to know that i'm still connected to gourd through this project and all the other stuff i did but this was this was a special opportunity for him to leave his own legacy but not about him but the legacy of something that he felt.Track 5:[1:13:26] He felt like it's a story that needed to be told and it's a conversation that needed to be had.Track 7:[1:13:32] One thing that I was able to share with the guys yesterday, my middle daughter graduated from a local university out here, Cal State University, Northridge. And before the ceremony began, they actually had a recorded message from the indigenous tribe from the area saying, prior to the university being built. And they had partnered with them. And the leadership of the tribe actually sent out a blessing as well as a song to the university and to the graduates and to those of us that were there. And I was there with my mom, my 81 year old mom. And I'd been sharing a lot of the secret path story with her and, you know, gave her the graphic novel to read. And we talk about it because I go over and visit quite regularly. And we both were so taken aback as Americans, because we're aware of our ugly past, and we're aware how bad we stink down here. And too often, we don't get the opportunity to really recognize it and bring it to the forefront as much as we could. And for us, that was fantastic, especially after our discussion with this group about secret path to see something in the United States. And I've been to many graduations, and I've been to many events and whatnot. And that was quite literally the first time I had ever seen anything like that done in the recognition.Track 7:[1:14:50] And it really, it, it warmed our heart that it was, it's about time, of course, but it's going to take those like Gord and that project and what you guys did, um, obviously in what you're continuing to do to, to bring that recognition. So that was just, it was really great and timely. And I know Justin has spent some time i'm doing some research as well about about uh um some of the indigenous issues in the history and whatnot and it's been great for us as you know americans to have that open discussion as well and uh so we really appreciate you sharing that with us because that that was uh it was definitely emotional for us going through the secret path and having that discussion and and as as craig had mentioned you know us middle-aged white guys you know trying to pretend for a second that we We know what happened and what they're going through. The awareness, I think, was really important for us and to be able to discuss that. So definitely appreciate you sharing that with us.Track 5:[1:15:51] Yeah, yeah. I mean, I just read something or saw an interview recently and just talking about colonialism. And, you know, like, you know, our history is that is kind of the history of the world. I mean, it's not any more North American than it is. It happened in China 7,000 years ago. It continues that. You know, you can't change what has happened, but you can acknowledge what's happened. And, you know, what's amazing is, you know, I know, I mean, my mom is almost 94. for. You know, a lot of the discussions with her and people of her generation about First Nations people here was that, oh, you know, we give them so much and we give them money and they you know, there's all these sort of false narratives about.Track 5:[1:16:45] And, you know, she's just repeating things that she's hearing, right? So this is what happens. Like, you hear something enough, and it becomes the truth. You know, like, you know, and I mean, that's sort of the sad reality of politics these days as well. You get a message just fucking repeatedly all the time. And then before you know it, you're saying it yourself somehow. You're believing it. It's so weird. It's so fucked up. The truth is often difficult to accept and to acknowledge, and it's not just about being white and privileged.Track 5:[1:17:24] Which of course we are, or I am, I won't speak for you guys, but it's about being honest about what has happened. And the history is not as it often is. It's told through the eyes of the people that have been the beneficiaries of it. And this has been an amazing journey for me. I've ended up doing many different projects. And that's what I was doing with Kevin Hearn today. We do this collaboration with Chief Stacey LaForme, who's just retired, but was the elected chief of the Mississaugas of the First Credit. And he's a poet as well. And we did a collaboration with him when the 615 bodies were discovered in Kamloops. He wrote a poem and Kevin and I put some music to it and inserted his voice through that as well. I'll send it to you, Kirk. It's a very, very powerful thing. And we've done a bunch of performances with him and we're doing something with him in June again.Track 5:[1:18:36] And it's, you know, again, it's like it's just this ongoing dialogue and this process of, you know, realizing that people are people, you know. And it's very powerful to share these collaborations and these stories. And, you know, I mean, Greg, you're seeing it every day. I see it every once in a while when I go into these schools. But these young kids are hearing these stories. So they're not, they're not, they're hearing these stories firsthand. They acknowledge and accept what happened. So they're not denying it. They're not pretending it didn't happen. They weren't, as what was Gore's line, trained to ignore it.Track 5:[1:19:22] It's such a fucking good line. And that was, again, that's sort of the righteousness of our thing is, you know, if you just put it out of your mind, well, then you don't have, and you don't think about it, then it's not your problem.Track 5:[1:19:36] And, you know, lo and behold, it was, you know, like there's a very dark history to our relationship with the First Nations people in this country. And you know what's amazing is i remember travis good talking about this when he was touring with his dad's band the good brothers in the 80s and early 90s late you know mid to late 80s he'd go over to holland and they would be saying you know what's up with your country you fucking treat the natives like shit what's with the residential schools he had no idea you know like me he was sort of you know and he learned about it from another country you know like it's always amazing how you know where we can be so uh oblivious and ignorant of our own truth i know i i did i'm kind of on a bit of a rant but it was a very and still is a very moving part of uh that relationship uh with gourd and and very one i'm so i'm just so i'm so proud of him for finding the creative courage to to to make that record and then you know like just so blown away by his courage for sure but his tenacity to get it out there and to go out and do those shows that was uh that was a.Track 5:[1:20:59] Remarkable thing including the hip tour i don't i don't they're not one i don't see one is more exclusive than the other i just think.Track 5:[1:21:09] It was a remarkable feat to watch him go through that.Track 7:[1:21:12] Absolutely and and uh you know this whole project as we'd mentioned has been great for us as as tragically hip fans and already having an appreciation and a love for gordon and what he's done and the band had done and a

The Grand Bounce

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2024 112:16

This week on the pod, the gang settles in to the project and describes their experience with Gord's 3rd solo release, The Grand Bounce.Transcript:Track 1:[0:01] Hey, it's Justin. You know and love us on the Discovering Downey podcast, right? So come hang out with us in person for the finale. Join us for Long Slice Brewing Presents, a celebration of Gord Downey at The Rec Room in downtown Toronto on Friday, July 19th. Craig is coming from Vancouver. Kirk is coming from LA. I'm driving from Vermont. And JD is like walking down the street or wherever he lives in Toronto. Tickets are available now on our website at discovererndowney.com. And when you get your tickets, that means you can come hang out with us and our very special guest, Patrick Downey. And you can bid on some incredibly cool silent auction items, all while jamming along with tragically hip cover band The Almost Hip. And most importantly, helping us raise money for the Gord Downey Fund for Brain Cancer Research. Crack open a long slice, put on some Gord tunes, take a journey with us on Discovering Downey, and then crack open another long slice on July 19th and hang out with us in the 6th. I always wanted to sound cool and say that. For more information, follow us on all the socials and visit DiscoveringDowny.com. Cheers.Track 2:[1:23] Thanksgiving. Victims and their victim-ears sit down to Turkey hungry for punishment full of mercury fullimate, serene after the screaming. Grace makes the mouth make shapes it's never made before. We give thanks for the poetry we read and write all day. For freeing us to drink with impunity a toast to no punishment replaces Amen. The prayer is swallowed away for the silence and the quiet carving serene after the was screaming, a little violent, but turkey nevertheless.Track 1:[2:08] Welcome, music lovers. Long Slice Brewery presents Discovering Downey.Track 2:[2:16] Hey, it's J.D. here and welcome back to Discovering Downey. This is an 11-part opus with a focus on Mr. Gord Downey, the late frontman of the Tragically Hip, but somebody who also gave to the world an extensive solo discography. Eight records in total. But have you heard them? That was what I sought out when I enlisted my friends Craig, Justin, and Kirk to discover Downey. These three are giant Tragically Hip fans, but they had little to no exposure with Gord's solo oeuvre. So every week, we get together and listen to one of the records in chronological order and see what we think. Did we miss out? Or did we make the right choice? We're going to find out on Discovering Downey. This week, we're going to dive into Gord's third solo release. This, with The Country of Miracles, it is the grand bounce. Now let's go to the team.Track 1:[3:27] Justin St. Louis, how are you doing this week? Week i'm worn out man and uh i'm ready for this thing to to take over my life tonight and just be back in the normal and enjoy the music and enjoy talking about it with you guys love it yeah kirk where are you headed off to next yeah actually heading off to the big apple nyc i'm uh going to be chaperoning my uh my youngest and they're going to be performing at carnegie so very proud pops Pops. And, uh, we just got back from a really cool trip in Memphis and Nashville and they did really, you know, they did fantastic there. So I've been surrounded by music and, um, that's inspired me, but I'm gonna, you know, concur with Justin and say, I'm definitely looking forward to a discussion about this album. I mean, uh, it's been a pretty cool journey so far, but this, I think this is gonna, this album is going to spark a pretty good conversation in my opinion. So, but doing well and looking forward to traveling again. It'll be interesting for sure. Craig, how are things on the left coast, motherfucker?Track 1:[4:36] Not too bad. Just got back from a family trip to Disneyland that was six years in the making. We tried it, you know, in 2020 and it didn't work out. And so we finally made it down with the kids and spent a few days in LA at the end of the trip and was lucky enough to have Kirk from Chino drive all the way out to LAX and we hooked up for.Track 1:[4:59] Little conversation and yeah, it was cool. It was a good time. Yeah. So first time meeting in person, which was a great night. It was really cool. Yep. No, it worked out actually great. I just got back from that trip with a choir that I'd mentioned and then, uh, hadn't seen my mom in a bit and she was actually staying, um, uh, doing some pet sitting at a house in garden Grove that had some good memories. So it kind of was a half, half the distance to LAX. So it worked out perfect to go and meet you and and i appreciated uh appreciated you giving up some time from your family for a little bit to have a good conversation so and i know it'll carry over tonight well this week on discovering downey we're here to discuss and dissect the june 2010 released from gord and his band the country of miracles consisting of the usual suspects canadian musicians oh.Track 2:[5:48] Man i'm gonna butcher this julie duaron right is that right yeah so she's on vocals guitar and bass then there is gourd's frequent collaborator josh finlayson.Track 1:[6:02] Dale morningstar on lead guitar dave clark on drums and dr p on keyboards chris walla a former member of death cab for cutie turned the knobs on this release but where do you start with the grand bounce it's been seven years and three albums since Gord's last outing, and The Country of Miracles sounds as though they've been chomping at the bit to jam with Gord yet again. This album, to me, is a band album as much as it is a Gord solo affair. As a result, it sounds more cohesive than the previous two releases. While it rarely reaches the heights of Battle of the Nudes, it is a remarkably consistent effort. It's worth noting that the songs on The Grand Bounce seem more structured and maybe even more thought out as three to four minute rock songs that are reminiscent of Gord's day job, The Tragically Hip. There's an energy on this record that's palpable. Perhaps it's the shorthand of working with the same band for three consecutive records?Track 2:[6:58] I'm not sure, but it's there. Now, once we get into the songs on this 50 minute, 13 song opus.Track 1:[7:06] It's tough not to get caught up in the sonic presence that Walla brings to the table. There's a depth to the maturity, And I'll use the term again, a cohesiveness that wasn't as pronounced on the prior two efforts. While the grand bounce is a perfectly fine listen, it's only after letting it grow on you. For me, it sat growing on me since I did the fully and completely podcast. And that to me is when it shows its real prowess, creating earworms and hooks that reel you in and invite you over for dinner just to hang out with the music.Track 1:[7:40] But what do our friends Craig, Justin, and Kirk have to say about the Grand Bounce? Let's not waste any more time and get right to them. Kirk from Chino, talk to me about your first experience with the Grand Bounce. Yeah, well, after we had finished up talking about Battle of the Nudes, I had had some travel for work, and then I was getting some other stuff ready for a very busy week. So I didn't get to jump on to a listen right away. I mean, it was a number of days. But I was doing a walk at night and, you know, cool walk with the dog and had it in my AirPods. And just right away, I was really taken by it. I really felt the maturity of it, you know, very reminiscent of what you had mentioned, JD, in your lead up to, you know, the discussion about the album is it just had a maturity to it. The band, it felt like a band album, exactly what you said. and I, as much as I loved the first two albums, I just felt a comfort. Like the whole time I've listened to this album, which is, I don't know, maybe 15, 20 times at this point, it just, it's a warm blanket to me. It's like, it now is okay.Track 1:[8:57] It's okay, I can like Gord Downie as a solo artist. You know, I just had a great experience with it. I really, really loved it. I could spend a lot of time talking, but I want to hear what the other guys have to say about it. Well, Craig, what do you think? Yeah, this was really a grower for me. I wasn't sure when I first put this on. I didn't think I would like it as much as I do. And overall, I really love this album. I have maybe a couple of critiques, which we'll get to later. Later but my my journey with this album actually goes back to 2015 when you may remember jd that we had a bunch of target stores open in canada in whenever 2010 maybe and they only lasted about four or five years and they went went under and when they were closing down they had cds on sale for five dollars you can get any it could get any cd and i happened upon the grand balance and And actually the next album we'll be doing next week and pick those both up for five bucks. And they sat on open for many years and I just opened them for this podcast. So I I'm lucky enough to have an actual podcast.Track 1:[10:05] Physical copy and the liner notes that came in them so i may be able to offer a few little nuggets um one i would just want to mention off the top chris walla is actually mentioned as a member when it says the country of miracles are and it lists all the members plus him so i believe he was playing guitar on wow much of the album wow very cool some of those videos he was playing so that i'm not surprised by that and i love that thank you for sharing because this is actually the only album that I couldn't get. I tried to get vinyl of everything, but I don't have a CD. So everything has been streaming or online.Track 1:[10:41] And I watched several videos with interviews and he talked specifically about the inlet, the vocal or the lyrics. And you just showed a picture of it, Craig, and it's not the standard sizing that you normally get. So I appreciate you sharing that. That was pretty cool. And I think also what I learned with this album is again, just to trust Trust, you know, Gord, you know, you may not like it right away, but give this album a good listen if you haven't before. It took longer to grow on me than the other two, but highly recommended. Yeah i think a good strategy with this record is to listen the fuck out of it for like two or three days and then put it on the shelf for a week and then pick it up and there's something like kirk was saying that's comforting about it you come back to it and you're like whoa this is really fucking way more hooky than i imagined when i first listened to it but let's uh talk to our friend mr st louis what do you say on the matter of discovering downey v the grand bounce So I also had the word warmth written down, and I did take your strategy, JD, of I listened to it probably 10 times. I started immediately after recording our last episode, which is how I had done the previous. I was like, okay, this is not Battle of the Nudes.Track 1:[12:04] And I immediately heard what I thought was Bob rock sound. But then I realized this isn't Bob rock sound and neither were those other two albums. This is the era that Gord was in with the hip and all of the Bob rock haters probably owe him an apology because this is the type of stuff that Gord was writing at that time. And so it did feel familiar and it did feel comforting and it did feel warm and I liked it. I also, you know, during this time, um, when the album came out i was listening to kings of leon and mumford and sons and stuff like that and there's a lot of that in this in this sound and i you know i was a uh death cab for cutie fan at the time and you know postal service and all that stuff i mean so it was very contemporary for for when it came out and it felt like it belonged in that 2010 range but.Track 1:[12:58] For me, it was a big letdown after Battle of the Nudes, because that album was so damn good. And because we didn't have seven years between recording these episodes for our musical tastes to change, it was like, whoa, this is a massive shift from what we had just digested into this new album. I don't hate it, but I don't think I love it.Track 1:[13:20] Wow. Yeah. I don't see it as such a massive shift. It's going to be interesting as we get into the track by track. Should we do that now, gentlemen? Let's go for it. Let's do it. Okay, the first track on the record is a great one for me in the sense that winter has ended. But when I think about winter, I think about that. I think about Gord standing on the edge of Riverdale Park and having somebody discuss this east wind with him, this strong east wind that blows in and is very cold. And we're going to hear from Craig first on this one. So, Craig, what do you think of the east wind? This is the one song off the album I was familiar with. I had seen maybe a video, I'd heard it quite a few times, and I love it. I think it's a great opener. I want to point something out really quickly that you guys wouldn't necessarily know without the liner notes, but there are Roman numerals, one through four, throughout the album. And at first I thought maybe it was to do with the record I thought maybe the four-sided record which it is, I looked it up but the.Track 1:[14:29] There's three songs per side on the records, and it doesn't quite jive with the numbers in the booklet. So what I think is, I've come up with a little story around, this isn't a concept album by any means, but it's definitely got a story to it. And so I've actually listed what I think the story is about, and I think section one is about a move. And so you've probably done the research too and and gourd at the time was moving up to glenora on the um on the great one of the great lakes so this this first section i think all the songs kind of relate to moving uh the east wind maybe not as much but also interestingly enough the east wind is the only song that doesn't have lyrics printed out in the booklet and i'm not really sure why that would be what yeah so there's a quote at the top it does say the the quote about the east wind is the laziest wind, but right under that is track two. And if you saw some of the video research or YouTube, he talked about it was a neighbor who was a farmer who was describing the east wind, the laziest wind.Track 1:[15:40] So I found that very interesting, Craig, when you proposed the theory of the story. Because I could think to several of the different interviews and different discussions about different songs and how he's definitely pinpointing some real life things that are happening. Like you mentioned the move and, and, uh, obviously some discussions about relationships and, and then he's got his kids involved in some of these songs too. So you may be onto something, my friend. Another theory theory I have is that maybe this song is meant to be like a little bit of an introduction sort of before the story starts. And maybe that's why it didn't have the lyrics in here or maybe it's a misprint who knows, but the song itself musically is, is great. Uh, very much a band jamming again, like we're used to from the previous two albums, but just more layering, more production.Track 1:[16:30] I really love how the guitars are layered. From my count, there's five guitar players on this track, including one who I couldn't find any mention of anywhere on the internet. Someone named Edgar Lewis played guitar, and I believe he plays the guitar at the end, the little guitar melody, the sort of New Order style melody at the end. I couldn't find anything about who he might be. The name Edgar, of course, made me think of Gord's middle name. So not sure if there's a connection there. But yeah, I could not track this person down online. Anybody out there knows who Edgar, what his name is? I apologize. What's his name again? Edgar Lewis or Louie.Track 1:[17:10] Edgar Louie. If you know who Edgar Louie is, shoot us an email at discoveringdowneyatgmail.com. I wonder if he's an acquaintance of Chris Swala. Possibly. Although they did record in Kingston, so it would have been quite the trip for one little guitar melody. But yeah, maybe he was someone working in the studio. Maybe he's a friend of the band or who knows. But yeah, the Chris Walla production is very noticeable on this song. The way things are, you know, I think Gord even mentions in an interview, he just keeps layering things every few bars and very evident. The drums are a good example of this in the song. They come in kind of lightly, but they're still pretty intense. And then the toms come in, and you've got that really almost tribal beat for the first few bars once the whole band kicks in. And then you get just sort of a regular beat. But it's always driving forward. There's always momentum with the drums. It's always picking up momentum right through the end of the song and really strong playing all together. Such a solid song. I think the second part of that build, when I first heard it, was like, oh, this is sort of like maybe some of the tone that was on Battle of the Newts, where it was kind of subdued and subdued.Track 1:[18:31] Just there. And then there's this massive sound, which really works. I do love the song a lot. And I believe you that there's five guitars in it. Um, cause if you have earbuds in and turn it up, you, you feel it. Yeah. And while the chords are quite simple, when you really listen, there's actually a lot going on, even with Gord's guitar. And I feel like on this album, he has matured as a player. You can tell, you know, he's got another seven years of experience and we never did really talk about on the previous episodes his guitar playing but when he first started playing guitar in the hip it was a bizarre thing to watch his strumming patterns it was so awkward to watch him as a guitar player and i'm not even sure he was really too much in the mix back in the early days but he has grown so much as a guitar player he's playing a lot in open tunings i believe i've read that open c was his favorite so i think a lot of the songs on this album or an open C. I noticed in the videos he was playing a Tele for much of this session rather than acoustic.Track 1:[19:33] And yeah, there is a lot of subtleties to the guitar playing, even though it's basically two chords through the whole song. I was going to mention, Craig, and we've all obviously did our research and saw the YouTube, but the bathhouse sessions when they were recording. And, and I'm honestly, it's like, it's a question to this group. They, they were all isolated, but they were all playing live. And you had mentioned how much he was playing guitar. And in the, that little six part series, I loved how Gord was so committed to playing guitar, as you had mentioned. Like there was typically when you're recording an album like you want to do the the vocal and the guitar separately and he was nope i'm going to do it together because the guitar strumming was creating some of the cadence of the vocals and and i loved how or i felt like that was demonstrated there so i think that's a great point that you brought up craig that he was really focused on that playing yeah that makes this album easier to sing to we had mentioned whether i don't remember if it was on air or off air, but we had all had trouble singing along with the first two albums. And this one is much more poppy and rhythm driven. And I think you're absolutely right, Kirk, that him playing the guitar as he sings and it's in every take really kind of made that happen. I also did notice if you, it's really low in the mix, but when this track first starts, somebody says, no more takes.Track 1:[21:01] Like, we have to do it this time, you know? I really, I picked up on that and I enjoyed it, especially after watching that six part series. I'm gonna jump on your story theme, Craig, and Moon Over Glenora.Track 1:[21:14] The next song on the album.Track 1:[24:18] I absolutely love this song right and he talks about the ferry ride and that really goes along when you think of the east wind and being off the lake and then now talking about the ferry, uh justin what'd you think about this song oh man this song solidified my crush on julie this is, such a great track and the duet through every word and then the live performances of this song that i I was able to find on the, on the hips now for plan a record, there's one lyric that's, we don't want to do it. We want to be it talking about the music and they are absolutely the music while they're playing the song. And it's just a lot of fun. And it's like a, it's like going to a club show, which it probably was. I really did love the song. And for me, the ferry ride across Lake Champlain is just a part of life here when you're going over to New York and it just, just talking about the spotlight, finding the ice in the water. I've been on that ferry and the song is really, I think, about two people falling in love, not knowing that they're falling in love. And they're kind of bickering and arguing about it. And they get outside in the ferry and it's cold and it's terrible and you got to stay warm, so let's complain about something.Track 1:[25:29] And they talk about the wolf and they've killed the wolf by the end of the ferry ride. You know um it's the the imagery is really cool and the dead lake right isn't that the last the ocean is dead the ocean is dead yeah yeah it's a great little song i really do love it but i think the star is julie and this really she's fantastic yeah i uh story-wise i actually had almost the opposite thought to me it was maybe um a couple falling out of love and maybe this is the the cracks are starting to show. Like maybe it's not totally fractured yet. And again, I'm not saying that this is about Gord or, you know, I don't know too much about his personal life, but I do know parts of this are inspired obviously by true events, you know, the move to Glenora. Did anyone watch the interview with Gord with Kim Mitchell? If you guys even know who that is? Yeah, I did. Do you know who he is?Track 1:[26:26] Well i had to look it up i didn't know who he was immediately and i got confused because it was that little two-part interview and he had mentioned something about being and i think like saint paul minnesota and it threw me off because it said toronto but then in the second part they they confirmed they were talking in toronto um the one thing sorry and i hopefully i don't derail your thought but the one thing that i loved on that particular interview is the reverence that gordon had for that particular guy so i definitely had to look him up you know to see the songs that he was involved with and and he was uh you know as he mentioned in that he's a hero so sorry go ahead i just wanted to bring him up because he's a you know a classic canadian artist i'm wearing my my cancon shirt here and uh he was definitely a a big part of you know the music scene here in in the 80s and 90s i guess i brought it up because um this was a song that he mentioned really loving that you know kim really loved it also i found it really interesting I'd never heard this before, but Gord references a song that the two of them wrote together.Track 1:[27:29] And by the sounds of it, it's a song that was never released. So it sounds like Kim Mitchell had a song he wrote and then Gord wrote the words too. And so there may be an unreleased song out there, or maybe if a listener's heard this or has any idea how to track this down, I'd love to hear it. So that was my only thing I wanted to add. Oh, and also Dale does some really really cool guitar, little shots on, on this sort of beat two and four. And then he does these little muted scrub scrubs. I'm not even sure how to.Track 1:[27:58] How to put in words what that sound is i'm you know what i mean kind of like a pick almost like a pick slide into the the bends i mean i don't know it it's almost it's a it's a technique it's not it's a rhythmic pattern that he's doing yeah and with with some notes in there but they're sort of muted but anyways i thought that added some nice accent but i agree with with you justin that julie really steals the show on this one it's such a good song on many of the songs on this album that combination of voice, to me, that was what I had mentioned earlier about how much I enjoyed this album, is when you feel that the band is now a band and you feel that connection. But we are so used to hearing Gord as part of the hip and that amazing combination of vocals that he has, you know, with Paul and then obviously with the guitar phrasing and how the hip is the hip and you can hear that. And I think with the vocals that he has with her on many of these albums, but especially on this particular album and several of these songs, to me, that really solidified like, okay, this is a great combination of musicians that are doing fantastic things. So I so appreciated this song.Track 1:[29:19] Another, Gord has that ability to do like an upbeat rhythm and kind of like Pascal's Submarine that we talked about in the last album, where it's kind of a dark subject, but it's a very upbeat song. So I really felt that with this particular song. I couldn't help but think, as he said, the ocean is, as they were repeating, the ocean is dead at the end. I was just thinking about all the water songs that Gord has and how water must be his Roman empire. There are a couple things that come up on this album over and over. Water is one, color is another.Track 1:[29:57] Um, and day and night is a third thing. There was a fourth, I can't remember right now, but there was some definite themes through the entire album. Kirk, what did you think when you first heard as a mover? What I loved specifically about as a mover is the buildup. I think Justin may have referenced in, in some of the, those interviews where, um, how the production was every four bars, you got to get something new. So this really was uh okay you know you get the train feeling that's going on it's that moving it's the transformation it's the sorry not transformation but him him relocating to glenora as we'd mentioned now we're going into this as a mover and you know this these lyrics not just specifically for this song but for for this all album and i think in one of our messages together.Track 1:[30:53] It was hard to pin down some connections on some of these there there are some that are that are there but I agree with that that that guidance on that so as a mover to me loved it you know the sarcasm hey baby want to kiss closes it out with that that that particular theme and it's It's a driving, great rhythmic song. Another thing that was clear in my memory in some of the interviews that we got to see was he was so excited about this album in that it was genre-less, right? You can't just say it's a country album. You can't just say it's a pop album. You can't just say it's a jazz album. It has a little bit of everything. And he even talked about touring for this particular album, that they were doing a bunch of festivals and that they were jazz festival, a pop festival, a rock festival. It was different. So he was pretty proud of that fact. And I got that feeling with that as a mover. Justin, what was your take on the song? So I found a note somewhere that when Gord was writing this album, he was reading a book about Custer. And the title of the album, The Grand Bounce refers to a phrase that was coined during the Custer's involvement, whatever, in the 1860s. Whenever they deserted the cavalry, they called it the Grand Bounce. And desertion and moving and all this stuff really tie in together and –.Track 1:[32:22] This song is kind of what really sparked my thinking about that. Like, you know, this is, there's something happening here and yes, the, the train, you feel like you're on a train as soon as the song starts. And, um, it's definitely a different sound. This song is way different than anything that Gord had put out previously. And I know, again, I, it, it kind of rubbed me the wrong way a little bit. I mean, I've, I've come into all this with an open mind, but it was like, what is he trying to do here? It didn't, the production of this album, And the sound of the songs just did not match up with the first two albums. And this doesn't even match up with anything else that's on this album. And my first reaction was, is he trying too hard with this song to sound different? But it certainly has grown on me. But the theme of moving and desertion and the grand bounce itself, this song tied the album title together for me. Craig, what do you think? In the lyrics, you've got the wife, you know, not wanting to move and you've got the kids wanting to move all that, you know, wanting to go everywhere. And he says he's in the middle, he's got no opinion. So I kind of like that tension in here. I also love the line where he rhymes pressure and less sure. Oh, and he does it in this low register the second time through?Track 1:[33:44] I'm even less sure. And when he says it, he's almost talking it. It's so great. Yeah. And I know I mentioned to you guys in text that when I first heard this song, I was not a fan.Track 1:[33:58] And JD, you were a bit surprised by that. And then it just grew and grew and grew on me. Like more than any other song on the album. I love the song now. I really was not a fan at first. Just love the whole feel of it. And the little drum shuffle with the brushes. And i think what i didn't like at first was just the chorus there was something weird about just those words as a mover it's just not very smooth sounding it doesn't roll off yeah and so that that kind of bothered me at first but really it's whatever feelings i had about it have totally changed now i think it's totally yeah it's a really cool song i was with you that you know At first, I just didn't like it. But then I remembered the song is now 14 years old. And when it came out, I was listening to Mumford & Sons and I was into that sound. And this could be on one of their albums.Track 1:[34:50] And I had to force myself to transport back to that time period. And I would have loved the song back then. And also the, you know, the title as a, as a mover, it made me think like a double meaning could be like a mover is also a dancer. And the next song we have is the dance and its disappearance. And this was another song that I didn't love at first. It's still not one of my favorites on the album, but once I read the lyrics, once I got into the CD booklet and started trying to figure out what it was about, I started to appreciate it a lot more. And so I just want to read you this quick quote in the booklet. There's a quote from Crystal Pite, who I believe is a dancer. And she writes.Track 1:[35:38] It is an extreme expression of the present, a perfect metaphor for life. And it goes on. Once I kind of got what that phrase meant, it just started making sense. And when you watch the live videos of this song, every single performance of this, Gord has something to say about people in the audience with their cell phones. And he's very appreciative when there's not too many people with their cell phones. And he talks about, if you're filming this on a cell phone, you're getting 10% of the experience. Put it away.Track 1:[36:08] And there was one show in Victoria and I wrote down what he said. He says, you like that things disappear as they're happening. I don't see any phones in the air trying to capture 10%. Your brain can handle it. Let it resonate. Let it sink in. Wait till tomorrow, the day after, it'll be all right. Yeah. And I love that message. Yeah, me too.Track 1:[36:26] Fuck. Kirk? This song, when I first heard it, and we've had this discussion on some of the other albums, You know, can this be a hip song? And that opening little riff on this particular song was very hip-like. And there was another interview that I had looked up, I think Alan Cross was his name. And he had even had mentioned that on this particular, he wrote simply a hip-like song. So I think that was one thing that I appreciated is there was not any fear anymore. Like, it's okay because I am the guy who writes the stuff for the hip. So there's going to be songs that sound hip like, and I think he embraced it. But I think that I, the thing that I loved about this, and as I mentioned on the other songs and you guys as well is the, the harmonies with, with, with Julie on this, like that's okay. This is Gord Downie. This is that sound where with the hip it's, this is what I sound like when I sing with Paul or whoever's doing the backup. And I believe that he really captured that in this album, but that song as well. So that was one thing that I noted in my research on this particular song. I think this is my favorite tune on the record.Track 1:[37:41] Gord had that theme, let it disappear into the night and let it happen, use it up. That is a decades-long theme in whatever he's done, and I love the message. I also love the word a squirrel. Holy crap. What a great way to convey that you can't settle down. My mind a squirrel. Holy crap. Did anyone else look up Sudbury yellow? Speaking of colors, I mentioned earlier that color is a huge theme throughout the whole thing. Also tying into the cover art, which was actually a painting by Gord Downie himself. So I think art was much on his mind during the recording of this album. And there is different mentions of colours in so many different songs. So Sudbury Yellow references the colour of the staircase at Sudbury Hall in England. And when you look up a picture of it, it's a very striking yellow. It's actually pretty neat to look up. And also another great So he rhymes the word orange with door hinge. Yeah. Blood orange with door hinge. Yeah. That's great. And I did notice the color theme throughout this and, and art is again, a decades long theme with, with Gordon. And there are many more examples through and we'll get to that.Track 1:[38:57] Well, let's stick with you, Justin, and move forward to The Hard Canadian. When I think of this song, I always, I can close my eyes and I picture, this is going to be lost on the two Americans, I apologize, but I picture Relic from The Beachcombers as The Hard Canadian.Track 1:[39:16] Beachcombers was a CBC show based in the West Coast, and there were some hard-living fishermen type, and there was one character who was sort of a scoundrel, and his name was Relic, And he just looked like a hard Canadian. He looks like the lyrics to this song. But Justin, what do you think of the hard Canadian?Track 1:[39:34] So I had two trains of thought on this. And one was that I thought Gord might have been singing about himself and just the fuck you today kind of thing. But I also thought it was about the weather, maybe in the winter. And go out to the plains and it's brutal out there. And the hard Canadian weather doesn't care about you. You know, and yeah, so the hard Canadian in my weather theory is the hard Canadian don't give a damn about you. What's a windswept face to the elusive presence of the sun to the hard Canadian? Like, you know, it's winter all the time in some places. It's dark all the time in some places, you know, north of 60, right? And it's the line, whether he's just mean or willfully dense, like the weather is controlling itself. self. It was like Mother Nature or whatever is doing this on purpose to test you. Let's see if you come out the other side. Again, the art theme, there's the quote, and it's in quotations from life nothing to death nothing, refers to a piece of art by Frank Stella, which is, forgive my Spanish here, but de la nada vida a la nada muerte. Is that how you'd say it? But that's what it translates to, from life nothing to death nothing. And it's this massive piece of art that's It's very 1965 looking and it's just another theme in there. And I don't know how it ties in other than it's a.Track 1:[40:59] You know, foreboding dark quote. That's just my, I don't know. That's my interpretation of it. But you know, Gord obviously was going through some stuff too. And, and it, it felt like this was almost a third person narrative of a first person point of view. There was two songs on the album that I'm familiar with. The hard Canadian is the first time I heard it. I had definitely had heard it before, but had not, you know, process that it was not a hip song. I think I thought it was like a deep cut hip song or something when I heard it years ago. But the other one is, and I know we'll talk about it, The Night Is Forgetting.Track 1:[41:36] He would sing it when he would do hip songs. He would sing some of his gourd songs. So when I read that story or heard about that story, I'm like, I know I've heard that song before when they played out here in LA or whatever. So, but anyway, the hard Canadian, what he had mentioned was it was Mike, Mike Clattenberg trailer park boys. That's that, that's it's one of the series that I haven't watched. I've watched letter Kenny and I've watched, you know, several other Canadian, but I have not watched the trailer park boys. And he had mentioned that it was one of the guys I guess is one of the creators and he's like yeah I got this new thing and it's hard Canadian it's dope and and so when I'd heard that description I immediately thought of like if you guys are familiar with letter Kenny like Wayne is he's hard Canadian it's just gonna smoke a you know go out and smoke and have a puppers have a dart yeah having a dart exactly so that that was the imagery that I got from it I want to point out that this is the first song in section number two lyrically in the lyric booklet.Track 1:[42:39] And I just noticed that there's a quote here from Walter von Tilburg Clark, night is like a room. It makes the little things in your head too important. And I just realized that's the second verse of the East wind. And then I glanced forward section three has the lyric from the third verse. So the lyrics from the East wind are in here, but they're, they're heading each sections. And so in my mind, and they're quotes from other authors. Is that what it is? Yeah. It was, um, he said that song was made up of the East wind I'm talking about was made up of quote, like three quotes that he, that he loved. And I had seen that somewhere. Yes. And so the hard Canadian to me is like what JD said, like I'm picturing like a relic type. I had a baseball coach when I was a kid who he's this older guy and he always had like this about one inch left of a, of a homemade smoke. And, uh, and that, that line where he says, takes a puff of puff of nothing and pick something from his tongue. Like I just picture Mr. Heller, my baseball coach who, you know, for four years, you know, first 10 minutes of practice, you don't wear a glove. You're, you're passing the baseball just with bare hands and, and just thinking back to those, those times, there was another line that I want to bring up the silences.Track 1:[43:55] He don't listen to them. Do you think that's a reference to Pascal? Maybe that's interesting. Uh, I hadn't thought that, But because I'm thinking now my mind is a squirrel and I, I'm almost thinking this is about, you know, that, that, you know, rural Canadian, um, you know, like a relic type. And in my mind, Gord is trying to say maybe that, that there's more, more to that person than, than maybe meets the eye. I don't be so quick to judge when he says he, he blurs the image, drags his brush through the wet pigment. To me that line saying you know don't be so quick to judge the hard canadian well right at the end he mentions remembering someone too and that's absolutely you know makes sense and i know a lot of hard frenchmen that are from quebec that have been through hell and you get down to it and they're just you know beautiful soft men inside but you got to get through seven layers of onion to get there.Track 1:[44:56] And that really ties perfectly into the next song, which is Gone.Track 1:[48:41] Because it has a very similar story behind it, which I'll get into it a little bit. But Kirk, what were your thoughts on Gone? Yeah, no, I love that you actually had mentioned that you're going to get into more of the meaning of it. Because I have some thoughts and ideas, but what I really wanted to talk about on this particular one, from the musician side, that I absolutely loved about it is – I'll give the note that I wrote. And I can't remember exactly who it was that mentioned it to Gord, but he said it sounded like a moose in the distance.Track 1:[49:16] And when you listen to this tune, which is a beautiful tune, another great example of the harmonies, it's another one where you just hear the range of Gord's vocals that are just phenomenal and how he can cover the spectrum with that. But the fact that Dale Morningstar was using a theremin and had several different layers of the theremin recorded on that and you hear it. And then when you get confirmation of it, you go back and listen to it and you go, oh, wow. Right. Because there's only a few songs out there that we all know and love that have the theremin. Right. There's only what the Beach Boys and Led Zeppelin or the, you know, have have really pulled it off. So it's cool to see them jump out from a musician standpoint, musicianship standpoint.Track 1:[50:05] The other thing that I wanted to mention before, and I definitely want to hear Craig's thoughts on the meaning of it, was that Gord had mentioned in one of his interviews that this and I think The Night Is Forgetting, he called it the grandma and the grandpa. So he'd had these songs for a long time and he'd matured with them. And so I think that that anticipation of so much time between the two albums, but then having songs that came, you know, at different points along the way. And I just felt like this one had, it had marinated and it was, what was presented was what had, he had settled on, because I think that happens anyone who's done music creation. You're, you write it with a thought, a producer takes a look at it, an engineer takes a look at it, the rest of the band, and it becomes something different.Track 1:[50:55] Anyway, Craig, your thoughts on some of the meaning behind it. In the booklet, there's a quote from a Polish writer named Bruno Schultz. And it says, He had not been rooted in any woman's heart. He could not merge with any reality and was therefore condemned to float eternally on the periphery of life in half real regions on the margins of existence. And apparently this was in reference to his own father. So again, coming out of the last song, it seems to kind of tie into that idea of, at the end of The Hard Canadian, where there's someone he was remembering. So this idea of, there's actually the lyric in the song, gone and feeling half real on the edge of your life. And that ties directly to that quote. quote musically the bridge that there's a building bridge with uh julie singing backup and.Track 1:[51:48] Really really great songwriting and this was another song that really grew on me it's just such a catchy kind of fun fun song uh justin what did you think no i loved it right from the beginning it yeah it builds and it starts really slow and then it gets really slow again in the middle and it's quiet. I didn't dive too deeply into the lyrics, but there's definitely, you know, this is a life story kind of thing. And maybe at the end of it. Yeah. I just, I really love the way the song made me feel and that's only surface deep, but sometimes that's all you need in a song. And I don't know, I could listen to this one over and over. And I have. Okay. Kirk, how about the drowning machine? What are your thoughts there? I think we have another nautical disaster, could we call it, on this next song? Yeah, yeah. Through Drowning Machine. Drowning Machine. Until I actually looked it up, I didn't really know what it was talking about. But apparently, the Drowning Machine is like a common name for a weir, which is a low head dam, which if you've seen pictures of them, basically what happens is the water just cycles. And just if you get if you end up going over one of these dams you're.Track 1:[53:02] Pretty much not getting out and so gourd had apparently read a story about um about some girls being saved from the the bow river in alberta and um there was actually i i kind of looked up this this bow river and there's this this notorious um spot on the river where where i believe it said had 14 deaths in 30 years and they actually had a there one story there was there was actually a boom across so if you if you're totally out of you know if you miss all the signs and you you keep going down you can grab on to this boom at one point a storm had washed it washed it away and so a couple of men died in in i believe 2007 because the the boom had been washed out and so finally they did some construction and they and they have now made it into uh an area called the Harvey, this is called the Harvey passage. And apparently people go there to do white water rafting. And there's actually two kind of, um, passages that go through now two channels, uh, at different levels of, you know, for, for different levels of experience, um, for, for rafters. I had, I had done some research on the, um, Glenora song and there's a very treacherous river that it's like, Hey, don't go there, fly over it.Track 1:[54:20] And this reminded me of, reading about that, it reminded me of Niagara Falls, just the immense force of the water at the bottom. And you're not going to get out of there if you go over the falls.Track 1:[54:37] We had a deer camp when I was a kid on the Huntington Gorge here in Vermont. And there's a plaque with a list of 30 or so names of all the people that have died in the gorge. And our deer camp was the spot where the state police would fish the bodies out of the river every time there was one that ended up there you know we we couldn't get to the to the camp because they would use the front porch to be their their base of operations oh yeah wild and i i have to say at the end um there is some lead guitar at the end by dale that really at this point in the album when I was, especially on first listen, when I wasn't totally jiving with some of the earlier tracks, this song was the one that immediately I loved, like right off the bat. And hearing that guitar when Dale finally cuts loose and really leans into that dissonance, I felt like, okay, I'm starting to get this. And Kirk, what did you think of this? Yeah, I am fascinated, obviously, with Gord's fascination with water and the nautical side of things. But again, I think this song was just another great example of their time together and how they really... And I don't know if you guys noticed this.Track 1:[55:58] I don't think they played this on that six-part one, but I really enjoyed that it wasn't like a monarchy. You know, it wasn't Gord was given direction. It was everyone was involved. And I really loved the different parts that you would see with Chris Swala and his just subtle, nice guy production tips. So, um, I really love that interaction of, of how now that they've been done.Track 1:[56:25] A couple albums together and now it had been a little bit. And I also read something about how, yeah, they wanted to definitely get that indie vibe and they definitely wanted to have a variety of different styles of music, but how they also, you know, they're also very accomplished musicians and they've spent some time with some big bands and have played in some pretty, pretty big arena. So they could bring that to the songwriting and, and, and, and the music within this. So, and I really felt that too, moving into Yellow Days, which was the next one.Track 1:[1:00:51] I love this tune. This tune to me, and maybe I'm hearing something wrong, but there was almost kind of like a jazz bossa nova, just a real kind of amazing groove to it. And I also loved hearing about the story about Josie Dye, I think was her name. And they had had a passing at a festival way back when, when I think she was a hip fan and he was just walking around and that that that's That's actually part of the lyrics in this particular tune. But I love this song. He talks about it in some of the interviews and the descriptions about just the Canadian summers and how much the Canadians love that summer, but it goes by so quick.Track 1:[1:01:36] And so they're really just trying to make the most of every time they have good weather and they have a good moment and also keeping with Craig's color theme, which I love that you brought that up and along with the storytelling that's going on uh you know this is the here we are and and enjoying that summertime and almost reminiscent of them recording this album right for the two weeks i think in august and in 09 so justin did you dig this song yeah because we have the same summer and winter pattern that that you guys would up north today you know inside baseball we're not recording this in the summer when this is coming out we're recording it well before and it was the first warm day this year and I wore shorts and it was only 61 degrees outside. It was very windy. I shouldn't have had shorts on. But you take those moments and you wrap your life around them when you can get them. And 61 felt like 81 today. And I know the Canada gray because we have that here. It's Canada gray. Even as it's warm today, it's Canada gray outside. And just the imagery of it is wonderful. wonderful yeah and i mentioned the earlier the you know the theme of of days and nights so you know that's very obvious here uh and going into the next song and um.Track 1:[1:02:53] A couple of things, Kirk, when you were saying, you know, that beat at the start, I had the same thing. I was actually trying last night to figure out what type of beat this really was. The word that came to my mind was Calypso, but then I looked it up and it was not correct. But like this South American, like it's something I've heard. Bossa Nova was what came to my mind. So, you know, Calypso Bossa Nova, it's definitely a Caribbean feel. And, you know, the fact that it's on a Gord album, you know, again, just really talks to, you know, we had your hardcore on the last one and now we're doing Calypso Bossa Nova, you know, jazz type stuff. It's brilliant in my opinion. It reminded me of my grandmother's organ, you know, had those big tab buttons that there's a there's a pre-programmed beat and it's really bad not that the song's bad but on the organ it is yeah kirk your story about the you know everyone you know in this you know having so few.Track 1:[1:03:54] Summer days in certain parts of canada it reminds me of back in 96 my band was was in winnipeg we were playing you know this show at a you know the club that all the you know the all the decent bands played at and so we were really excited about playing this this club and uh it was on a weekend we thought like this is great and it turns out it was the the long weekend in august and everyone in town leaves for the for the lakes and there was nobody in town like not just for our show but anywhere it was just bizarre so those are the the yellow days of winnipeg well let's Let's continue on with you, Craig. Keep this wagon wheel going and talk about Night is Forgetting, which is a great title. Yeah. So, so again, the day, day and night theme and we go from yellow days and tonight is forgetting.Track 1:[1:04:46] And it was really bugging me this song because I'm like, I know that I know this song and I couldn't figure it out. And then I felt so stupid a week ago when I actually looked in my, on my phone and I had the hip version of this, which is from about, I think 2005, it was just a single. As far as I know, it was just released out of nowhere. It was, uh, I think it was left over from in between evolution. Okay. So, so I did have it. So I definitely been listening to it, you know, in the past, but it never was a song that, that interested me very much. So this one again, grew on me. I think I prefer this version now. It's, it's a little more upbeat. I love the piano. So, so shout out to Dr. P, John Press, who I don't think we mentioned last, last episode, but he is such a great player. I actually looked him up last night. I couldn't find too much about him online.Track 1:[1:05:38] And he is so tasteful. He never overplays until this is like, it was almost like someone said to me, you know, just, just let loose. And you can actually see, I'm sure you guys saw on the, on the bathhouse videos, you can see him rehearsing this on his own, kind of coming up with a part and man, he nails those, those runs. It's very impressive. It's so good. So I wrote, or I heard, and I could have definitely stole it, but I heard piano flurries. And that's exactly what it sounds like as a piano flurry when it starts driving. That's exactly what my note says. Yeah, piano flurries. And the one line that stuck out with me or to me was the dew drops on the luminous veil. And I know he mentioned this in the Alan Cross interview and the luminous veil being the suicide barriers they put up on the Bloor Street street viaduct in Toronto. I guess it was a place where there was just mass amounts of suicides, just 500 suicides and they finally put up this barrier.Track 1:[1:06:41] It's a 10 minute walk from my house, the Luminous Vale. When you guys come here, I'll show you the Luminous Vale. At night, it's very pretty, but in sort of a, I don't even know, like an eerie way because Because the sections that hold the guy wires up all look like crosses. Yeah, it's heavy, man. And so my last thing about this song, in one of the interviews, Gord, he mentions that he read a quote from, I believe, Thomas Jefferson saying something about war is forgetting another country's resources.Track 1:[1:07:19] And he said, I just replaced war with night. On the hip version of this, he actually does sing war is forgetting in the last chorus. us. So he changes that for this version. But I was actually looking up quotes from Jefferson last night. I didn't find anything that resembled such an idea. So if any listeners know what he was referencing here, I'd love to hear from you. So when Gord passed, there was an interview on some news, whatever, with Ron McLean from the CBC, or I don't know if he's the CBC anymore, more, but I knew him from Hockey Night in Canada growing up. And what I think was a quote that Gord said, but I've never been able to find it attributed to Gord, was, night takes the chances, day the reward. I love that quote. And he wrote an op-ed about Gord's passing that included that line as well. And it's just a beautiful line. And I sort of.Track 1:[1:08:19] Think of myself with my work that way. I sleep three hours a night just because that's how my body works. And I'm up till one in the morning and then I get up at 5.30. But I also love that forgetting and forgetting are really just a great sound in the song that can be interpreted in any possible way. Yes, I love that part of it. And as I mentioned earlier, this was one of the songs that I know I had heard before. And honestly, until I just recently had either read or heard that it was a hip song or that it was used on a couple of hip shows, I feel 100% positive that one of the shows that I saw, they played this. I haven't gone back and look at all the set list yet, but I feel pretty confident of that. So yeah. But just love the musicality of the song. I mean, that's the only thing I would add is just the musicality is insane. I have created this little thing that I've called Gord's Annunciation Era, where he's got a section of his career with a hip where he absolutely nails every letter in every word. And think of the lonely end of the rink, and it's a very hard – and this song is a great example of that. You know he says every letter in every word in every phrase and it's just a it's very distinct this this section of maybe eight or ten years of his career whether it's with the hip or solo.Track 1:[1:09:46] And I just love how he really makes his body be an instrument with words. And also the line, he says, weird undercurrent, we're undercurrent. And again, another reference to water in a way, but just thought that was a neat little turn of phrase there. Yeah, he's so good at that. And he changes just little tiny tweaks throughout this album in many different songs with words and lyrics and how he, it sounds the same on first two or three listens. And then you realize, oh no, this is a completely different set of words. Christmastime in Toronto, he did that too on the last album. And at the very end of this song, I love how he's singing over and over. Night is forgetting and then forgetting. And then there's one time when they totally phrase it differently. There's pauses.Track 1:[1:10:37] Do you know what I mean? I mean, the very last line, I think it is just a neat little, I love songs that have just one little quirk like that. Yes, yes, absolutely. You know what? It really goes back to, I'll be leaving you or I'll be leaving you tonight. I mean, right from the beginning, right? It's just a really cool trick that he's always done. Well, another, one of the other tricks that he's famous for is invoking his children and lullabying them. The next song, Moon Show Your Lashes, to me is just the process of writing some of these lullabies and things about his children. That's what it means to me. Mr. St. Louis, how about you? I took it as his battle with insomnia, you know, which is also a common theme throughout his career.Track 1:[1:11:25] And yes, I definitely picked up on the thing. Like, you know, there's a, there's a book that my wife and I love called go the fuck to sleep, you know, talking about your kids, like just give us a break, man. And tonight, in fact, before we recorded, my daughter was taking a bath and she's trying to speak Spanish and she's yelling it and asking my wife questions in the other room in Spanish. And I walked in and Linda looks up at me and whispers, she needs to shut the fuck up. You know, just those moments of give it a rest, kid. But I think that it could be interpreted either way that like, yeah, he's talking about his kids. Like just, okay, relax. We get it. moon slow your lashes.Track 1:[1:12:09] But, you know, I think, The way that I took it was more of Gord by the lamp with a notepad trying to come up with the next song and wondering, you know, there's the line, what must he think? And no more, I think he thinks. And kind of judging himself or his work before it's even completed and just not being able to reconcile that. For what it's worth, I love the lyrics in this song. I friggin' hate the tune. I hate this song.Track 1:[1:12:39] It's so annoying. And I don't know what it is about it. And it's such an earworm. And it's the one I can't get out of my head. I can't stand the song. Get out of here. Wow. Actually just blown away by what Justin said, because I absolutely love the tune. Me too. And I think it's that 2010s, as you mentioned, you know, like there's such a massive influence from all of them individually as artists, but obviously Death Cab and that influence, but I think what they were listening to at the time. And so I mentioned that I really liked this album. So, you know, there's, there's no real duds on it for me. So, I mean, there's little things of course that I could critique, but to me, this particular album and, and, and even this song like this, this one's really up there. For me you know i'm still trying to decide what's going to be my favorite song from this and it's the first time that i didn't know instantaneously i particularly i enjoyed you know again just how it made me feel it gave me that that just that cool this is where we're at in this this time in music like it was it was it had it has some heavy lyrics but it it's i mean not crazy heavy but it was an upbeat song, I think, overall. So I appreciated it. So there was a story, Gord, in one of the interviews online I found.Track 1:[1:14:01] Talks about a radio essay he was listening to by, by someone named Neil McDonald. And he was talking about a woman who would go up to a place called high level Alberta. So when they, when he says high level in the, in the book, in, in, in the song, I had noticed in the booklet, it was capitalized. So it actually is a place up in Northern Alberta. And this woman would go up to um, Northern Alberta and, um, make, make some money. You can probably imagine how she's making her money and, and she would do this in order to support her kids. And, uh, and then when she got back to her kids, I just want to want to hold and smell. And another crazy example of how Gord writes these like incredibly upbeat, like you hear it and you fall in love with it because it makes you feel good, but it's dark AF.Track 1:[1:14:52] It's just got some real, real, real just black undertones in some of it, but the music just keeps you going. And that line that says, when, not if, after, when I get out of high level, when, not if. Yeah. And forget the, in the bridge, I think it is the forget the hawks, jaguars, the knife lickers and creeps. And yeah, it just really changed my perspective of the song and and yeah that that juxtaposition between the the sort of cute music and the dark lyrics some some more themes of um you know burgundy the color burgundy dance dance so again dance is the the one earlier that i was forgetting when i was talking about themes so themes on this album water you've got day and night you've got color and you've got dance and this song has a couple of those things in it and and to me it was like you know the things we do for our family oh like i like i said i i really love the story in the song and the lyrics and trying to figure out what i think i thought but just the tune i can't do it i don't know why man i'm sorry i'm i'm i'm not totally crazy about this song uh it's not my lead i'm actually we passed by my my least favorite without me saying but but to me um The Hard Canadian is the weak link on this album. To me, it's just a... Oh, wow. Yeah, it's just... I think it's the chord progression has just so been done before. Yeah, I'm not in love with it either. And that's the one song that I was familiar with on this album. This song, I wasn't too much of a fan of at first, but I do really like it now. It has grown on me, especially I think hearing that story. Well, are we ready to jump into Retrace?Track 1:[1:20:11] This song, my note, it just says vocally amazing. That's the note I have.Track 1:[1:20:18] I'm sure there's an amazing meaning behind the whole song. I really don't care. I just want to hear Gord sing the main line. I retrace my steps. And it just puts me in this amazing, wonderful, just warm place like we talked about in the beginning. And even Gord in some of his interviews talked about how the process and these songs were company to him. And that's what I felt with this retrace, this tune. And again, another great pairing from harmonies and also great build. And also, as we'd mentioned before, where that whole theory of every four bars coming up with something new, the retrace song, it definitely had additions and installations to create this. I just, yeah, maybe I'm dating myself, but I don't know if you guys are familiar with the band, the Smithereens.Track 1:[1:21:17] Kind of had a Smithereens vibe to it. Had a Lou Reed vibe to it. I know that there'

god tv american new york canada trust thanksgiving uk man men battle england water americans speaking canadian walk blood toronto spanish holy nashville write night shame east turkey track fall in love mvp miracles cheers sons vancouver caribbean tickets cd los angeles lakers falling in love west coast fuck disneyland vermont amen crack broadcast victims polish jd talks af pascal pink floyd forgetting cbc babe mother nature pops led zeppelin twin peaks bounce airpods south american christmastime grove beach boys tend submarines thomas jefferson grateful dead pearl jam burlington nudes heller niagara falls chino tele lou reed new order lax relic soundgarden downey mumford bossa nova custer gord sudbury tragically hip death cab hockey night in canada abbotsford lake champlain smithereens alt j gord downie rec room dave clark steeplechase walla church street northern alberta bob rock retrace alan cross like dr kim mitchell newts secret path frank stella beachcombers yellow days kevin hearn chris walla neil mcdonald crystal pite ron mclean glenora evan s connell al purdy

Coke Machine Glow part 1

Fully & Completely

Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2024 72:31

Welcome to Discovering Downie. I'll be your host, jD as we listen in on the experiences and analysis from three huge fans of The Hip who have a blind spot for Gord's solo works. Meet Craig, Justin, and Kirk as they part in this epic 11-part podcast.We kick the show off by starting at the start with Coke Machine Glow part 1.Transcript:Track 2:[1:26] Welcome, music lovers. Long Slice Brewery presents Discovering Downy.Track 3:[1:34] Hey, it's JD here, and I'm joined by my pals Craig, Justin, and Kirk from Chino. While our love for the hip unites us, Gord's solo ventures remain uncharted territory for our trio.Track 3:[1:47] Hence, I've gathered this team of enthusiasts to delve into the musical repertoire of the enigmatic frontman of the tragically hip, the late gourd downey so come along with us on this exploration as we navigate through his albums one by one in chronological order embarking on our quest of discovering downey we've assembled quite the motley crew here to talk uh to talk about gourd's oeuvre and we're excited to do that we're going to do this all summer long so buckle up fellas how are you doing not too bad living the a dream amazing excited excited to go on this jaunt with you you gents for sure yeah it should be pretty fun i agree i agree completely i i am i am from a hip starved uh area of the world which you know i guess most of the u.s unfortunately was hip starved for a long time but specifically down here uh in the la market i got to see some amazing shows in really small places but like to, to like find a hip album in a record store or, you know, like anything that comes close to hip preference for me, I just like, I get all giddy. So when we, you know, we connected to talk with other hip fans, um, was pretty exciting, but then just to learn more about Gord, um, yeah, this is, this is going to be quite the adventure, my friends, quite the adventure.Track 3:[3:17] Yeah, I think so. What do you think, Craig?Track 3:[3:20] Yeah, I've been sitting in this room, my office slash music room, with a couple of unopened Gord CDs that I have collected over the years and just looking for the right moment, I guess. And along came that moment, and thanks to you, JD, to make this happen and to bring me on board. Ah, but I am but one hand on the rudder. The other three hands you see belong to Kirk, Justin, and Craig. Egg so there's that justin tell us about your experience with the hip so uh the u.s is hip starved for the most part but uh growing up in vermont we are just quebec junior and uh we get a lot of uh tv and radio stations uh down here in the greater burlington area so i i grew up with hip on the radio and um i didn't really know anything about him but in high school i discovered phantom power on my own.Track 3:[4:19] And, uh, that was it. I've been hopelessly blissfully lost ever since. And, um, my dad was kind of a hip fan, but you know, I think he was from like the old, you know, the, the hip crowd that they were trying to get rid of in the nineties, you know? And, uh, and so when I, when I came along, it was music at work and, you know, kind of the newer stuff that, that the old man probably wouldn't have liked too much, but, um, yeah, it's been a lot of fun. I got to see three hip shows and I was at the show in Ottawa two nights before the finale, uh, which was really amazing. Um, I got to see him in a basketball gym in Burlington and I got to see him in a bar in Albany, New York. And, uh, I feel like I got the, a pretty good sample size. Uh, I love them. I love them. Yeah. How about you, Craig? You have a unique role in this trio as well with your Tragically Hip experience. Share some of that with us.Track 3:[5:19] Um, yeah, I've, I've been a big hip fan way back going to probably grade eight when I, when I first heard, I think New Orleans on the radio and, uh, you know, I liked it and I, um, I didn't buy the album right away. I was into heavier stuff at the time. I was a big GNR fan and I was kind of a metal guy. And, uh, then I heard 38 years old and funnily enough, I thought it was, um, uh, Tracy Chapman at first, when I first heard the voice, the vibrato and, you know, it's just on faintly in the background. And then I kind of turned it up and this is a good tune. And then, you know, they, they announced it was the hip. And so I went out and got the CD. I think I maybe ordered on Columbia house through my, uh, through my parents or, you know, five CDs for, for a penny or whatever. And, uh, 12 here in the U S yeah.Track 3:[6:09] And yeah, I've been a huge hip fan ever since. And, and, um, yeah, I've been to, I think maybe 15, 16 concerts and, um, yeah, about a year ago, year and a half ago, I started playing in a hip tribute and it's just been a blast to sharing the music with, you know, the fans who don't get to see them anymore. And, you know, I wish I could, I wish they were still around and I could quit my job as a hip tribute guitar player, but unfortunately they're not playing anymore. I wonder if there's a Tracy Chapman angle, I wonder if we can get Luke Combs to cover some hip stuff and get them on the mainstream radio. you. It's a great idea. It's actually not. I don't think I want to hear that. No, but definitely giving them the credit they deserve. And man, Craig, like I seriously got goosebumps when you'd mentioned Tracy Chapman, like, you know, if you guys saw the Grammys, you know, that was performed and Tracy just sounded amazing. And, uh, I hadn't thought of it from that perspective. And, and yeah, I think you hit that spot on that. I haven't looked it up, But I'm guessing if you look up the release date of Fast Car and up to here, I'm going to guess they're within a year. Yeah, that's probably very true.Track 3:[7:27] So let's start at the start here with Coke Machine Glow. Kirk, any nuggets that you gleaned from production notes, anything like that, that you gathered on your fact-finding mission? Yeah, absolutely. Um, you know, I, I actually did because I'm a musician as well and, and, and do appreciate, uh, what goes into making an album. Um, uh, there, there was some pretty good information out there and, you know, especially knowing the hips catalog and, you know, they've had, they've had some different experiences from different producers and engineers and, and different recording experiences. And, um, so, you know, of course you're going, well, I'm going to get a lot of that. And, and then boom, you get hit right upside the head with, you know, But in the research that I did, I mean, they basically just, you know, had a couple, I think they had a kick mic and an overhead mic and just kind of a room mic. They played everything acoustic because they wanted to hear Gord's vocals.Track 3:[8:30] They were in, I believe, in the studio that is no longer there. It was like a loft in Toronto that was owned by a couple of musicians that were a part of, you know, the band that was there and part of the recording team. Um and obviously getting all their you know getting all their schedules together and and you know various musicians from from various different bands within the area and uh and they just wanted this to be uh just kind of that raw essence right that it you know for us as hit fans at least for me like that's where i fell in love is like whether you listen to the music or see them live, like the energy that comes out of every song is, is palpable on so many different levels. And, and, you know, I think those that, that have had the experience to enjoy their music and especially live, like there's such an energy to it and whether it's, uh.Track 3:[9:29] You know, whether it's one of their upbeat, you know, just rocking tunes or, or, you know, a simple acoustic there, they really know how to capture the emotion. And this album, Coke Machine Glow, I mean, yeah, wow. I mean, it was, again, it just felt like maybe one mic in the room and they just were circled around each other and they went for it. And one of the other notes that I heard that I thought was pretty surprising is they got a lot out of what was actually recorded and it sounded a lot bigger than what took place. I can get that. You could get a small little eight-inch speaker and, uh, put a mic on it and it could sound like you've got, you know, four Marshall, you know, full stacks grinding in front of you. So, you know, there's definitely some magic that can happen in the studio, but, um, uh, yeah, I, I think, uh, you know, I do a lot of stuff in theater and we always talk about how the set or the lights or the sound can become a character. And I think for me, the production elements of Coke Machine Glow became a part of the album.Track 3:[10:37] It had to be done that way, in my opinion, to be able to capture the energy that it did. Yeah it's very sparse sounding production wise like obviously there's songs and we'll get into them really rich and really lush and uh you know have a lot going on but predominantly this record like you said is pretty sparse craig i wonder what you learned um in your research about the album proper.Track 3:[11:09] Well, I went into this with a different approach where I purposely didn't look at any info for the first couple of weeks. And then I actually planned on recording this without having looked it up, but I decided I couldn't not. And the reason I had to look at the liner notes is because I was hearing all these voices that I recognized from Canadian bands. And what I was really thinking about was um what was can con and and the uh you know all the if you don't know the the story of can con basically it's the canadian content rules that um you know radio stations in canada have to play a certain amount of you know canadian written produced um music and the variety of musicians playing on this album we've got you know sky diggers we've got eric's trip we've got the hip We've got Dinner Is Ruined, who wasn't a band I had heard of out West, but looked them up today and quite interesting. And just this all-star cast of musicians from all these really cool indie bands. And that's what really struck me. Yeah, I couldn't put it better. An all-star group. And I should have mentioned, I guess, The Odds, of course, with Stephen Drake. He was so heavily involved with engineering and playing bass on it. And, and, uh, that was the voice that actually I was referencing. And I'll talk about that on the track when it comes up. Oh, cool. Okay.Track 3:[12:36] Justin, I'm wondering for you what the title means to you. What does it evoke? Um, I kind of, my brain goes to the golden rim motor in right. And late at night in a hotel, just kind of looking out the window and there's that freaking coke machine that's probably buzzing and nothing's cold in it and there's that glow lighting up a couple of cars outside the hotel room um it seems like a pretty good time to write an album or a book of poetry yeah just in my my mind went the same place yeah the lofty pines motel the the golden rim motor in.Track 3:[13:19] Yeah. There's a couple other hotels mentioned on this record as well. There's the Phoenix. Um, I'm trying to think, is there another one? Hmm. There's a poem, uh, in the book, Minneapolis hotel room. Oh, wow. Yeah. So definitely a road record, huh? Yeah, for sure. Yeah. And the other thing I think that, um, I didn't know going into this, that it was so closely connected to the phantom power album with a lot of songs that now with the re-release of phantom power we're we're seeing alternate versions of you know mystery and some of these other songs which is really really neat to discover at the same time yeah i agree with that i i delved pretty deeply into the the poetry book and it was amazing how many references to hip songs especially of that era um but even dating back to the early nineties with some live shows and how long this material had incubated. I bought, I don't know which album, but it came with a recording of a concert in 94. And there are several references that made their way into the poetry or into the lyrics of some of the songs.Track 3:[14:31] It's not on the music album, but it's in the, I think it's the first poem in the book was was bumblebee what is now bumblebee as the bonus track from phantom power right um the usa today bit was in this concert in 94 and it took you know years for that to come out and and there are other references from that show that are that are in coke machine globe of the album and the book it's it's really interesting how long it took for all this stuff to, surface. You have to imagine though, that as, as a writer, you know, you're going to go into recording an album and, and, you know, Gord being primary, you know, after a time writer, you can end up with some stuff that just doesn't make it. And, you know, it's hard to let go of stuff. You know, if you've, if you've done any type of creation, I don't care if it's video creation or writing or poetry or songs or whatever, like it's hard to just let that stuff go. Cause it's, It's whether you're telling a story about yourself or something you experienced or, you know, you want to get it out there, especially if you're a creative person. So I imagine Gord had, you know, and you read all the time and you hear on the interviews and he carries around a notebook and is basically writing every day.Track 3:[15:47] So uh but it is it is amazing and especially being a hip fan to see you know i noticed that as well when i was listening to some of the bonus stuff like hey wait that's a hit song why is that on here yeah you know and then you got to go back and you got to find the album that it's on because i was like justin i i wasn't introduced until the hip you know until i think 2000 uh with a canadian friend that i worked with and then i actually took a trip up to vancouver and it was like there's hip everywhere and i was like this is what's this all about how come i don't know about these you know this this band so yeah you know that i i really kind of came into play during that time and and beyond so of course i love the stuff that that came before it but for me there's something about being a part of what gets released when you're you know i'm i'm buying the albums or cds as they're coming out and then i'm seeing the tour so you know of course that heavy content with with, with those particular albums. So yeah, I have to imagine a lot of that, uh, came back in, into this particular one. And I mean, how long was the band together before this came out? 12 years, something. Almost, almost 15 or 20, maybe.Track 3:[16:57] Yeah, well, yeah, from the very beginning, but since the recording stuff started, so, you know. 87, the first one came out in 87. Yeah. This, to me, it felt like a release valve for everything that Gord couldn't or wouldn't put on Hips. It wasn't polished, you know what I mean?Track 3:[17:18] And he had all, I mean, there's a hundred pages of poetry and all these songs that are, you know, objectively strange.Track 3:[17:27] Um, and I, I think it just stuff that he knew wouldn't fly on a hip album that he had carried with him for years. And like I said, that show in 94 that he was work workshopping this stuff and it didn't make the cut with the band. So let's use it up now. Now, I'm very curious, as we get into the songs, to hear what you guys are thinking about some of these songs in their objective strangeness, as you put it, Justin. Or, you know, are some of them hip-adjacent? Are there any on here that you think, you know, the band could have put together? Obviously, other than the last track, which they did, and we can compare and contrast that when we get there. But are we ready to go into this record track by track? Let's do it. All right, we start with Star Painters. Who wants to kick this one off?Track 3:[18:29] Well, I'll take it. Yeah, Star Painters to me was like a palate cleanser. This was like Gord saying, this is not a hip album. And right off the bat, it's, it's a little strange. Uh, you got the accordion and, um, you know, the almost like a spoken word type thing. And yeah, it's just very obviously not the hip. So the first line, um, is, uh, ended up in music at work with freak turbulence. The myth is neither here nor there. So there are definitely, you know, there's some continuity there. And I think those two albums came out the same year. Didn't they? 2000. Coke Machine Glow was 2001 Okay well But Very close Very close They were likely recorded Right around the same time Yeah Yeah.Track 3:[19:19] There are themes that do persist for sure. But yes, this is not a hip song to be clear. I agree. And Craig, yeah, I think you hit it right on the head. You know, Gord was like, hey, come along for the ride, but this is going to be something different.Track 3:[19:40] And I really appreciate it. I mean, and I've heard that this song actually turned people away, right? Right. Like they didn't want to give it any more of a listen because of it. And, you know, I can say, yeah, I can say that, you know, for me again, I'm hip starved. So I'm actually really surprised at myself that I didn't dive in at the time and that that it really took this project to, you know, get me to start paying attention. Attention and at first it was difficult you know obviously this song but the entire album was like you're like you wanted a little more hip but then you had to understand you know what he needed to get out this song honestly for me is is one of my favorites off of the album and i'll tell you why it's the line the star painters are taking over now the scaffolding is in place your anesthesiologist tonight is washing up and on her way like i heard that and i just stopped and smoking your joint.Track 3:[20:50] Packing it up yeah getting the next one it it it it's it's it's gordon it's it's it's the, this is this song this album is not going to be for the faint of heart and uh and you know strap in like you said buckle up so i i had never heard anything by the dinner is ruined but you know trying to dive into to see what these guys are about the avant-garde and very strange ambient sounds and there's uh accordion and all kinds of weird stuff and that's very much dinner is ruined i i did listen to them um during this process and with that in mind on On the rest of the album, they feel pretty restrained compared to what they would normally have written or put out. But I think on this first one, they're just kind of like, to hell with this. We're going to do what we're doing. Yeah, sequencing is so important. You know, when you make a record, there's no accident that this song is first, like Greg said. You know, that sort of palate cleanser, introducing what the concept of this record is going to be. And you're right like if you came here expecting fully completely part two you know you're barking up the wrong fucking tree so there's that yeah vancouver divorce.Track 3:[26:08] Yeah, definitely a departure from the first track from Star Painters, right? This is a, I mean, almost written for radio hit. It's so easy to listen to and it's so addicting. The thing that really struck me, and it took me a couple of listens to hear it, but the bass is just one note over and over like a heartbeat, just a rhythm. And it's just the same note for 20, 25 seconds. And then, you know, it, it moves on from there, but, um, it was really, it was lovely. Um, but I, uh, one of the things that, that started to strike me and I don't know if it was Vancouver divorce or, or something else, but I think there's two schools of thought about this album. And again, this is a common theme with Gord Downie is it's either a little bit about Adolf Hitler or it's really a lot a bit about Adolf Hitler.Track 3:[27:13] There are so many ties to World War II throughout this album and the book and everything that Gord kind of does. Um, and I, I, I tried not to think about that going into all this, but it does, it does kind of get there, um, pretty quickly. I think, I don't know. I don't know if Vancouver has anything to do with the song or it's just, it fits well, you know, like the way that he explained writing Bob Cajun, it just, it rhymes. Right that's the town we're using you know i know in one of the live clips i saw before this song he said something about you know if if this couple can't make it in in paradise which in this case paradise is vancouver um debatable debatable maybe but um he um yeah then then i guess they can't make it anywhere yeah and i i didn't get any world war ii from it but i i didn't dive into lyrics quite as heavily i'm more of a music guy the lyrics are the last thing i digest when i listen to music so it takes me multiple listens um i don't typically read lyrics i like them to sort of hit me you know over the years um yeah did you guys get the uh the hortons reference.Track 3:[28:27] That one made me chuckle so the thing that i that i picked up on the hortons thing is he says sitting here at the hortons so you know this is important nobody sits at a tim hortons well they used to it used to be it used to be like a bar yeah oh yeah and it had lots of tables and chairs Yeah. And that's, that's far different from our experience with, with any Hortons chain down here. Yeah. Well, the thing that I think is interesting is that syllabically he could have said Tim Hortons, but instead he says the Hortons. The Hortons. I wonder if that's like to avoid the.Track 3:[28:57] Commercialism of saying Tim Hortons or like, it's just an interesting choice when it's the same number of syllables. Yeah. And I also think just, um, a lot of times Gord will choose a word that is almost unrhymable on purpose. And I think this is one of those cases Hortons. So it must be important and important. Yeah. It's, it's just, I love that. I love that. How about you, Kirk?Track 3:[29:21] What do you think? From a music standpoint? Cause like Craig, I, I, I do, do i i enjoy both and and and i'll end up reading lyrics as i go and and in this particular thing it was hard not to read uh a lyrics just to understand the connection as you're listening but this is one of those songs as well when when you think about it here you know how they recorded like holy crap how did they get that big of a sound out of what you you know at least in the the research that i did was very minimalist type of recording you know this kind of a squarish box and and and not really acoustically treated and you know in in you know you know in in the heart of toronto and all kinds of other stuff going on like i heard as well like they were being evicted and so they only had a certain time schedule to be able to get this recorded and then you hear the story about how like they're having a party downstairs and they're throwing couches around and gourd shows up and in his cowboy hat and goes uh hey would you guys mind you know being quiet for a little bit i'm i've tried to record i just can't imagine you're in that room and gourd down he walks in and says hey i'm recording tracks upstairs i think he was with kevin hearn from uh.Track 3:[30:36] You know uh bare naked ladies and and and uh and then they go back up and they record but just the fullness of this, this album. Um, and to me, I, you know, that's the thing I wanted to mention. Uh, uh, I believe it was this tune when you hear the keys, I don't know that Kevin got a credit on it, but I know he recorded a couple of tunes here. And so for me, I'm actually a pretty big BNL fan and I've seen them 20 times, something like that. But Kevin Hearns keys was very kind of prevalent. Um, and even if it wasn't him, you could, you could definitely hear the influence of it. So the powerfulness of this song is, is, is palpable for sure. Yeah. Yeah, looking it up, I think it was, sorry, it was, yeah, Jose Contreras played the organ on this tune. So he's the leader of By Divine Right, which is another very cool Canadian band that I remember listening to. I had their first album. But yeah, Kevin Hearn is definitely all over this album. Them yeah i gotta say as well from a lyrics perspective my money there's a phrase in this song that belongs on the podium along with you know it could have been the willow nelson could have been the wine you know taking advice from a prost or taking a compliment from a prostitute the line which by the way i play that song every night for my daughter at bedtime and my wife still Still haven't caught on yet.Track 3:[32:00] That's a good line. What the hell is this? You said it's art. Just fucking mirror it. Mirror. Yeah. Like you hang up your hat when you write a line like that. You just, you're done for the day. Put your briefcase together and you walk out the door, punch out, you know, that's a fucking great lyric. So I think, I think if, if I may, the, the person being divorced is an artist in this story. Right. right? And there are many references to art. There's the line, when the stampede's an optical course, when ancient train has hit old transient horse. And ancient train and old transient horse were capitalized. And I said, what the hell is that? So I deep dove that. And it is in reference to horse and train, which is a Canadian painting, which is based on a poem written by a South African anti-apartheid poet with the line and against a regiment. I oppose a brain and a dark horse against an armored train, which is just spectacular imagery.Track 3:[33:03] But again, tying in the art theme to the first line is such classic Gord Downie writing. Jesus Christ. Yeah. You've just blown my mind. Blown my mind. Like for real. This is track two. So get me. Yeah. Yeah. And I have to say too, the noise guitar at the end by I'm assuming Dale Morningstar is just amazing. I have a thing for loud, screechy feedback guitars. It just puts me in this state of zen for some reason. Like if you know the song Drown by Smashing Pumpkins, there's like four minutes of feedback at the end. And to me, that is so relaxing.Track 3:[33:45] I have that same thing written down, Craig. I have excellent screeching guitar going into and continuing through the third verse and out. One of the other things I have written down, though, I just want to share with you guys quickly. This is just sort of funny. When he says he's sitting at the Tim Hortons, or he's sitting at the Hortons, I know that's not true because on two occasions, I was walking down the Danforth and saw him sitting in the front bench of Timothy's Coffee, coffee, which is like a, like a Starbucks adjacent brand that doesn't exist anymore, but it used to. And it was minutes from his house. I didn't know where his house was, nor did I stalk him, but I knew it was in the area, like minutes away. And he would just sit there and he was sitting there with a, with a fucking notebook the one time and another time he was on a Mac book. But to me, it was, you know, one of those cool moments that I was like, I live in the same neighborhood. It's Gord Downie. This is so cool.Track 3:[34:41] Man, I wish that the Tim Hortons here in the States had a place to sit because mostly you just find them at a rest stop on the highway or you go in and you order a donut and you leave kind of establishment. No Hortons down here in California. I have to travel. Thankfully, I get to travel a lot for work. And if I see a Hortons, it's like, it's immediate picture and text to my family because we did a road trip and, you know, we went through Detroit and we went through Niagara and went through Toronto. And so my family fell in love with Tim Hortons. So is there a sponsor, right? JD? Oh yeah. The big sponsor. I'm eating Timbits right now.Track 3:[35:22] Mmm. Delicious Timbits. Thanks Tim Hortons. Um next up is uh sf song and to me this is like observational songwriting 101 to me i can just picture him under the covers of his hotel room with a pillow over his head trying to drown out the sound of this chambermaid tap tap tapping and knock knock knocking on the door it sounds as though and then him walking through the lobby and out into the front area of the phoenix hotel and he just describes everything he sees now i'm sure there's more to it than that but to me that's just beautiful.Track 3:[36:03] Yeah. Yeah. For me, one of my first shows was actually in San Francisco at the Fillmore West. And, um, you know, there's been some, you know, or so I've, so I've researched, there's been some pretty classic, uh, um, shows that have happened there. And, you know, I, I had a pretty, pretty amazing experience as well. I was with, with the Canadian friend that had, um, you know, introduced me to them and, and, uh, uh, but you, when I heard that song at first, I just immediately thought, you know, I'm like, hmm, I wonder if he was writing the song when he was there, when I saw him in 2000. And, uh, you know, whether he is or not, that's what I'm going to go, go to, go to bed with and stick to. I also noticed and really appreciated, um, uh, the breathing in the beginning of the song. Um, and then the reference towards the end, uh, about it, uh, uh, I miss my lung, Bob.Track 3:[37:04] That we talked about and, and, and, and then remembering the ads, remembering the ads that were going around at the time on the sides of buses and on, um, on, on billboards and, uh, you know, growing up in, in, in Southern California and, and, uh, seeing smoking ads. And then all of a sudden smoking ads start going away. And then you see the ad of, I miss my lung, Bob, or Bob, I miss my lung. I like to paraphrase. Yeah. I, uh, that's one of the lyrics I had to look up. I had no clue that was an actual thing. So that was pretty neat to, to come across those posters. I remember them from when I was a kid, of course, I'm East Coast, so it's not like they were around here, but I do remember seeing it on the news or something like that, the campaign.Track 3:[37:52] The other thing that struck me was Chambermaid and the references to Chambermaid, which are a continuation of Phantom Power, right? With vapor trails and escape as a hand. Right. Right. I also picked up on the click, click, click. You mentioned J.D. Off the top and those sounds. And he later on experimented with those types of things like drip, drip, drip and We Want to Be It and the chick, chick, chick of the matches in Seven Matches.Track 3:[38:24] Oh, wow. Yeah, it's just a little thing I picked up on. And also, I have a note here about just the low register, like just him singing in that beautiful low voice. And he, on this album, covers so many different subtleties in the way he uses his voice. Like a song like Coming Up Canada Geese, all of a sudden he's just a totally different singer, singing very um yeah almost like an indie indie rock singer yeah totally get that um you know also i think there's many examples of him singing in alter egos on on this record really expanding his repertoire you know as it were right like we start to hear him singing like this on the post phantom power records uh on occasion and um it's not startling because we're sort of used to it should we move on to trick rider only if you want me to cry right like this okay so this song says it's it's dedicated to c it's i believe it's his daughter I don't know. On the album that comes along with the new release, his daughter, I'm blanking on the name, starts with a C, reads this poem.Track 3:[39:53] So I'm guessing she was the girl on the horse.Track 3:[39:56] So I can't remember the name, Claire maybe or Chloe or I forget. Makes complete sense.Track 3:[40:04] I don't know this, so I'll ask it. How many kids does Gord have and are they spread out in age quite a bit? I don't know the second part of the question, but I know he's got four. There's Lou and Willow, who both played on his former partner's record, played keyboard and drums, respectively. And then there's Willow, who is an artist, like painter and jewelry artist, and she's very talented. She did the away as mind cover as well I did know that I think I think I asked that question because at the end you know of Gordon's life he did that interview with Peter Mansbridge, and talked about his son and got very emotional and his son was young he referenced his age and said he was quite young and this was 2016 or 17 whenever the interview was, and which would have been 15 years after this album came out.Track 3:[41:03] So, that's where my head went with how many, how old, just trying to put the puzzle pieces together. I was going to make mention when I was doing a little bit of research, there was a, uh, uh, you know, a fan video, uh, when, when I guess they toured this album and I believe they were actually in, uh, it might've been in Vancouver when they're playing it, but he was, you know, having an exchange with, with someone in the audience about, you know, uh, your nightlights on going to bed. And uh i think the fan might have been thinking that the song was about something else and and he referenced that right back to her very quickly in kind of a snide mark saying i don't think it means what you think it means about going to bed and and uh that stuck out to me it was you know one that he had no problems interacting with the fan and and kind of correcting them on on their interpretation uh of the song but it the song is is is beautiful and in so many different ways and you know all of us being fathers and and and having you know those experiences and and then obviously having the emotional tie-in with with gordon and what he's done with the band you know in the tragically hip and and and then with his solo stuff and and uh it it's it's gorgeous it's beautiful whatever adjective you can come up with that that uh you know brings that feeling to you.Track 3:[42:31] As a father in those moments when you're just you can't even can't even process i did this i had a hand in this and this human is is going to grow out into the world and And I'm a better human because of it. And to be able to, you know, put that, um, you know, in lyrics and in a song, uh, again, just adds to the, uh, adds to the amazement, uh, that that gentleman was able to give us.Track 3:[43:04] Yeah. And the vocal performance by both Gord and, uh, Julie Dwaran is, is so full that they have such control of their voices. Pitch perfect, emotional, just such a song. Her soft awe in the background puts this song over the top. It wouldn't be the song without her contribution to it. That's no disrespect to Gord, but the song isn't the same without Julie Dwaran. And I thought that my favorite father-daughter song was Thrown Off Glass from In Violet Light, But this one, my daughter is the one jumping off shit. She is trick riding 24 hours a day and I'm like, oh my God, kill me. Yeah. So I looked it up. It is Claire Downey who reads the poem on the new edition. So I'm guessing that's who C could be. Got to be.Track 3:[44:05] The song is way too personal for it not to be. is is julie did i understand that she's she did some stuff with the hip as well yeah, yeah she sang um in some live shows with them and i think was part of some tribute stuff at the end too i may be wrong um i know i know kate fenner was um on one tour as a backup music Music at work. But I feel like, I'm pretty sure I've read, yeah, that Julie was on, doing some backups on one of the albums. I could be wrong. Yeah, I remember that too. I feel like, maybe now for Plan A, possibly. That sounds right. I know, although I know... Oh, yeah. Oh, that's her name. Yeah.Track 3:[44:52] Also from Kingston. There's another woman who does now for planning the title track. Yeah, Sarah Harmer. She's the vocal on... Anyways, that's a different album, different band. Different podcast. Different podcast, yeah. Oh, and I have to... Last thing about Trick Rider for me is that slide guitar that just doesn't quite hit the note. I just love it. It's kind of that quarter tone or something. It reminds me of, if you know the Faith No More cover of Easy, right before the solo when Mike Patton goes up to the, ew, and almost like purposely is in between notes. I just think it's so neat. I was going to say both vocally and musically with a variety of instruments throughout several songs, obviously this one as well, is there's just that, it's not quite there, but it's also, it adds again to that character of the song. I heard something or read something about one of the musicians, I believe the guitar player that, that was part of this, like he hit a note and he, he would just beat the shit out of it until it became the note that was right for the song, whether it started off right or not, he, it, it was going to become that.Track 3:[46:03] And, and I love that thought or that prospect, right? We get so, we get so caught up in, Oh, everything's got to be perfect. I got to tune my guitar up exactly right. I've got to have the mic place perfectly. And I've got to have, you know this tonality and and sometimes it's just good to just just let it go and let that emotion come through more so than you know the technical note of itself yeah yeah there's no such thing as a wrong note if it's you know played with with with confidence and intention and yeah yeah so next we go to a song that i think could totally be a hip jam to me this song he's singing It's the first song on the record where he's singing in a tone in a register that we recognize.Track 3:[49:09] So Craig, you said it, um, this is punk rock and Gord loved punk rock, right? Yeah. Yeah. Um, but it's old guy punk rock. Like it's, it's, this is guys who are not punk rockers anymore trying to, to do punk or at least the story, right.Track 3:[49:26] Um, within the song. And, and I'm not saying that about the musicians that played the song. I'm saying that about the story Gord tells here that, you know, they're, they're, they're buying weed from each other in a cornfield, right? In the dark you know um like i can picture my old man and his uncles or and his brothers my uncles just you know hiding from the cops at age 50 55 years old just feeling like be cool man shut up uh i love this song yeah great song i i gotta say i'll take the bullet guys here's my first criticism even though as much as i love um how they recorded it my goodness gracious i needed the drummer to use some sticks and not brushes like i needed to feel that those drums coming through in this song and and to make it punk rock like it was like they they you know hey let's find the jazz drummer to do the punk song um and not that it didn't serve it well and it's a in fact probably what i would have liked was that drum track with the brushes and another drum track on.Track 3:[50:35] Top of it with sticks and then also maybe adding the mics to get more of the tonality of the drums but again now that's just the music guy and me going i wanted to hear that i needed to hear that snap i needed to hear that crack i needed to hear the pop right sorry gonna use a uh a breakfast cereal reference but um i i i i wanted that for this song still love it it's It's funny because it opens on snare hits. Right.Track 3:[51:08] Yeah. But if I'm not mistaken and I'll, I'll completely eat my words, I believe they use brushes throughout Craig. Do you, did you go that deep or what did you think? I didn't, but I know for me, I definitely noticed that it, it, it felt like it should be heavier but i think that's part of what gave the song character was those heavy guitars that almost sounded like they were played at a low volume in a room jamming and i i thought it just gave it a unique character and and i have to say though my favorite part is actually at the end when when all of a sudden i actually picked up a guitar today just to see what was going on with this and and they go up from you know they're playing and you know you're one four five e e b and a and then um they go right up they just go up to that f and i know the first time i heard it it's just just so striking it just sounds so out of place and then after you've heard the song a couple times just so perfect such a such a great dissonance and.Track 3:[52:05] Really really um almost like a two you know 2000s indie rock feel almost like an arcade fire kind of three years before arcade fire was doing it kind of thing so wow it felt like a one take demo to me and they said fuck it it's good like run it i like that we'll do it live yeah me too do it we'll do it keep it but kirk yeah i think um it would be really interesting to see what the hip would have done with with that song like a fully polished yeah you know but but i felt the same about the next song chandler um you're listening to it again today in fact and again was like man with some different instrumentation you know change changing the tempo a bit on this is this is absolutely the uh potentially a hip song uh for me you know uh and uh yeah hard hard not to uh go into you know as he speaks about letting the opening the window inviting the vampires in and if i'm not mistaken this this song did pretty well was it a single.Track 3:[53:15] I don't think any of the solo stuff did particularly well. It was sort of under the radar, especially after this record came out. This record was highly anticipated, but I think early on the word got out that it wasn't hip, and so there were a lot of hip people that jumped up. A lot of people stayed on board, don't get me wrong. but um there was a good cohort that sort of veered away and it's interesting that the sum of the parts you know um the hip are it just goes to show you how magical they are as a as a fivesome because you take one component away you know and it's just not the same like gort sinclair's solo record is dynamite so are you know paul's three records they're really really good but they're not the hip yeah you know so i'm just and i think this is where i got it from i'm just you know looking looking up on spotify and if you go to gordonie this song has the most downloads of all the solo stuff oh okay so that that makes a lot of sense yeah i know there's a there's definitely a video for this yeah yeah but i i don't recall ever hearing.Track 3:[54:31] This song anything from this album on the radio i i had i did hear some later songs um but definitely not that you know that i heard so this is where hitler comes in big time um the.Track 3:[54:47] Hitler had a very odd sleeping pattern. He stayed up very late and would go to bed at like 6, 6.30 in the morning and then get up at noon and just spend his whole day working out maps and plans and this is where the advancement is and all this stuff. And there are so many, if you read between the lines references about the night of a thousand missteps, the loss that made him dogged, or it could have been the doggedness that caused the loss in the first place.Track 3:[55:18] And Chancellor, I mean, that was Hitler's position, you know? Wow. Marching armies in the night, smiling strangers riding by on bikes. That would be, you know, when the allies come into Paris or something, you know? Children's smoking, which there was a huge anti-smoking campaign in Germany during World War II, sloganeers. And he mentions in one of the first lines, invite the vampire in, open the windows before we go to bed to get the coldest air in the room, which is just before the sun comes up. And then at the end, talking about a few things that vampires don't like, all the things referenced between the vampire references are Hitler-ish things. So I don't know it that's that's where my head went and then um before you are wow i know that but but damn it i'm following gordon's path you know and he like i said he references justin you're taking us into dark places my friend and the word chancellor for me it was like hmm and then i started to kind of read into it and i was like yikes and by the way guys spoiler alert this won't be the last time i talk about hitler during this thing not that i love him let's put that out there but there are There are some real references to the war throughout this album. Yeah, that's really interesting.Track 3:[56:41] My mind went a completely different direction. I was thinking like a chancellor of a university. And again, I didn't read the lyrics. I didn't dig that deeply in. But it was funny because my daughter really likes this song. We kept playing in the car and I was explaining what a chancellor of a university was. And she said, oh, I thought it was like Chancellor Palpatine. Wow. and it turns out she was she was the right one yeah i guess she was she was closer than i was yeah wow look at that cross my read is so completely vastly different again my read is like bittersweet and romantic uh the chorus yeah i couldn't be a chancellor without you on my mind if i wasn't if i wasn't obsessed with you or thinking about you all the time time. Um, you know, who knows what I could have become. And on the, and in the video, isn't he riding around? He's on the swan boats. It's just, it does not make me. Swans. Yeah. Yeah. He does not make me, uh, feel like, like, uh, like he's referenced, referencing world war two, but that's fascinating. I can't wait to hear it again now.Track 3:[57:49] But at the end of that video, if you watch the full video at the very end, he's, it's revealed that he is the guy working the dock at the, at the swan boats and he takes off his coat and underneath it is a uniform that says guy. And he's the one taking the coins or the tokens or whatever for the people to ride the swan boats. So it's kind of like, uh.Track 3:[58:13] You know, when Hitler was a struggling artist before he became this global force and kind of took control, you know, he was romanticizing the idea of, of being chancellor of Germany. Wow yeah wow and i don't know wow reference to it or yes it's dark man because and again think of think of uh the song scared every hip show you go to everybody's everybody's slow dancing that's not a slow dance it's like we talked about in the other podcast it's like yeah that's the hips trick right or it's gorge yeah yeah 38 years old same thing long running same thing fiddler's green you know and and on and on and on these slow slow songs are are yeah miserable yeah and i have to say good yeah yeah yeah yeah and and the the vocal phrasing that the gourd uses on this just that, laid back where he just sort of hesitates on certain words i just just love it he's so unique that way. I think that's what separates him as a singer, is that phrasing.Track 3:[59:22] Oh, yeah. This is a really hard album to sing. And you guys are musicians and you play guitar and other instruments. I've always been a singer. And I cannot keep up with Gord on this album. I just can't. Like the chorus of this song, like, I'm discovering uses for you. But the way he throws uses for you together, it's like, it's almost like one overlaps the other. And it's like, that's impossible. And then on the more quaint side, I love that he rhymes pajamas by mispronouncing in a gourd-like way windows to rhyme with pajamas, right? Instead of windows. Oh, so great. By the way, that uses line, again, going back to Hitler's underlings, you know, doing experiments on twins and stuff like that. Like, this is, I think this is a dark one. I'm going to listen to it again tonight. And I can't wait to hear it. No.Track 3:[1:00:19] I hope I'm wrong. I think you're right. No, we know he likes the Second World War.Track 3:[1:00:26] And, you know, we've heard references to, you know, Nazis moving works of art or Russians moving works of art, you know, to stave off the Nazi army. And really quick, sorry, really quick shout out for the piano player. I'm guessing it was um hern but but man that piano is is really nice improvised piano solo yeah yeah it's a very sweet sounding song yeah bait and switch man yeah he got us the never ending present i was listening and and if you're a you know canadian of my age you knew right away who was singing backup so that was Stephen Drake because my mind went right to Wendy under the stars and um and you know right back to my you know my first car and being you know 16 years old and listening to the radio and and hearing the odds for the first time and and yeah just an unmistakable voice the harmonies are very distinct you know distinctly the odds and distinctly The one thing that I picked up was he mentioned his shoes were polished, which as we learned in the longtime running doc that he polished his shoes before every show.Track 3:[1:01:46] So I think he's talking about himself and it's kind of an introspective – I mean, he says I in every song, but I think this one might actually be about himself personally.Track 3:[1:02:00] I picture him standing on Broadview Avenue waiting for the streetcar. He says bus, but in my head it's a streetcar. And all the rest of the lyrics are the stuff that happens until the bus crashes the hill. Him dropping money inside the little money grabber on a bus. There's talk of that um but what i really what i really love about this song is how ahead of his time he is because this is like living in the present like being in the moment is so important and i've learned like through my mental wellness journey like how important it is to live in the moment and the idea that the moment can be never ending if you come about it with the right frame in my mind is so refreshing to hear. Amen. And of course they named the, um, uh, Michael Barclay wrote the book with using the title of the song.Track 3:[1:03:05] Sorry, I'm going to take a little detour off of this that I just have to bring up being, being the, uh, for the South American and someone that, uh, uh, you know, again, was always starving for hip. I've loved in this journey, discovering other Canadian bands. You guys were mentioning the odds. And, you know, I did the research a little bit on the dinner's ruined. And of course, you know, of the real statics from, you know, grace too. And we're all richer for having heard them. And, um, uh, I'm, I'm very excited, you know, during this to be able to take a dive into that music that I never got. Right. Cause I like Justin, you were lucky because you get a lot of that music, uh, in the Northeast.Track 3:[1:03:49] Um, no, no, no, we only get the hip and rush. Rush. There's no Canadian music except for the hip and Rush. I will say that. And Alanis, of course. but to do as a you know as a musician and and and being a big fan of many canadian bands you know rush is up there for me bare naked ladies is up there for me um obviously the tragic the hip is up there for me um but these other bands uh blue rodeo that has i think a little bit of a a um you know it did well here in the states um of course alanis and some of the others you know i want to I know more about the, uh, the ones that didn't get, uh, similar, similar stories to the tragically happened. And I'm really excited about taking that journey as well. And I love that, you know, that's one of the things that I've heard about in different, uh, uh, reading and, and interviews is Gord was such a proponent of getting, I mean, music out there, but, but specifically, obviously Canadian music and, and giving, you know, these, these not as well-known bands an opportunity.Track 3:[1:04:56] So, um, sorry, I just needed to take that little side journey there and, and, and share that with you guys. I'm with you. I'm with you a hundred percent. Just going off what you were saying, yeah, apparently Gord would actually stand side stage and watch a lot of these bands. Like he would just stay there for the whole set. And all these bands, you know, Eric's Trip and The Odds, they were all change of heart. They all played with the hip.Track 3:[1:05:23] And for me, it's been fun because I've been doing the same thing. I was listening to The Odds last night and I couldn't believe how many hit songs they had. You know they're a band i enjoyed but never really really got into i think i've seen them live a couple times but man they had their pop song they were yeah that's exactly it they were they're you know pop writing you know machines but yeah i'm excited i'm excited about the journey for sure and and especially getting connected with you guys and having the experience you know know, uh, um, uh, being from Canada and, and, and really experiencing that not only on the radio, but, but live as well, that, uh, that's going to be a great journey. Cause isn't it great when you go to see, you know, you go to see one of your favorite bands and the opener shows up, you never heard of them. And, and all of a sudden they become, you know, one of your favorites and you're, you're falling around and, you know, and then it's always hard if they do make it, you're kind of like, man, that was my band, but I liked it when they were small, you know, I want them to be big, but not that big. I, that's, I mean, I mentioned it with, with the hip, you know, like all my experiences and I got to see them, I don't know, seven, seven, eight times, something like that.Track 3:[1:06:36] Like the biggest venue I saw them in was, was probably 1200 people. And, um, you know, the Troubadour, I got to see them in and, and, and up in San Francisco, the Fillmore's, you know, it's, it's over a thousand, uh, might be closer to actually, I'm not sure. I'll have to look that up. But the thing that I loved about it is, you know, I'm a hockey guy. And I think I mentioned the story to, to you, JD, like we're close to the ducks and the Kings and, and most hockey teams are, you know, 50 plus percent, if not close to 70% Canadians. And so I'd go to a show, I'd be in Hollywood and I'd look over and be like, Oh, Hey, look, there's Luke Robitaille or, you know, Oh, there's Chris Pronger. There's, you know, Scott Niedermeyer, you know, I'm hanging it out and oh oh hey paul korea how's it going you like the hip too you know and um what an experience and then canadian actors as well i got to meet dan akroyd at at the house of blues hollywood and he introduced the hip on stage and then you know he's rat so uh you know for me it's so weird um when you talk of this band they were a club band to me you know i i've seen what they've done and where they've played. And so anyway, I I'm, I'm taking us off the, the album, but just wanted to share that with, with you gents. No, that's cool.Track 3:[1:08:04] So now we take a hard, right. And, um, we get the track, the soundscape, uh, nothing but heartache in your social life.Track 3:[1:11:14] Did you say a hard right or a hard Reich? Because again, the Hitler.Track 3:[1:11:20] I'm serious. So again, this goes back to the poetry and there's a poem called Toiletten in the book and it is about Hitler's, I'm not even inferring this, this is about Hitler's podium at Zeppelin Field in Nuremberg and it now has signs pointing tourists to the toilet. Um, and the, uh, similarities between that poem and this song or spoken word, whatever, um, it's a hundred percent about that. And Gord even stumbles on a lyric that they, that they leave in the song, um, when the podium sprouting weeds and he stumbles on rendered ridiculous by the time. So the podium is this massive concrete structure that when you see film of Hitler speaking to 150,000, 200,000 Germans during wartime, that's where this is. But it's still there, and it's sprouting weeds, and the podium and its purpose have been rendered ridiculous by the times. When are you thinking of disappearing? I mean, when are you falling off the map when the unknown that you're fearing is in the clearing? That's totally about surrendering in the war and the allied forces moving across the field to wipe out the Nazis.Track 3:[1:12:46] When you're getting king-size satisfaction in the turnstiles of the night from all the shaky pill transactions, if that's not Jewish prisoners going to a concentration camp running down the train tracks in the middle of the night. I don't know what it is. It's, again, a very dark thing, and I think it leads to Hitler's suicide. That's when are you thinking of disappearing? Yeah.Track 3:[1:13:16] And it is interesting to note that the asterisk that comes with the title in the lyrics, it says Dale Morningstar provided echoing screams at the end of the song. It doesn't just say backing vocals or call and answer. It's echoing screams. I was wondering who was calling back and forth with them. They kind of sound like, even though the topic sounds quite serious, they're having some fun with it. At the end kind of yelling back and forth with each other and um and also of note um adam agoyan the filmmaker plays plays uh the classical guitar on this track and and one other track and so he's uh i think i read that that maybe this song was sort of based off some some things he brought in, came into the studio one day and they they sort of riffed off what he was doing and put this sort of spoken word. I also got, I don't know if you guys got this, but I almost got like an M&M vibe, like just like attitude wise. And of course I believe this would have been before M&M anyways, but, but just that, that sort of attitude and way he was rattling off these lines.Track 3:[1:14:29] Yeah, I get it. Absolutely. So the other me, you know, I was trying to get my, my head out of World War II with this, and it was easy to see in 2024 that Gord predicted the future of social media, right? This is before Facebook and MySpace and all this stuff, but this is 100% in line with everybody's mental health problems stemming from not having enough likes on their posts, right? This could absolutely be interpreted 20 plus years later in that way, if you were to look at it from that angle. Yeah, I...Track 3:[1:15:13] Obviously still like absorbing everything in the referencing that you're speaking of, uh, Hitler and world war two and, and how, you know, JD and Craig were like, didn't necessarily get that right away. I, I definitely, you know, heard the references. I, I knew of the references from some of the hip tunes. Um and uh and then just seeing this whole journey that he's taking with just coming out there with a solo album in the first place and then you hear about how um and again it's it's you know i don't know the exact i haven't spoken with the other members but some of the solo stuff really caused a bit of a rift within the band and then if you start thinking about the product of the hip you You know, this is where a big portion of their fan base starts turning away.Track 3:[1:16:04] And I wonder if that tension came through in some of the music. For me and you, Justin, we discovered them during this time. And like most bands, you don't become close to them. And, you know, I'll take a few exceptions. You know, Led Zeppelin. I wasn't there when the albums came out. But the band meant a lot to me later in life. But nothing like, I'll give an example of other bands, Rush and Barenaked Ladies. I went to those shows when those albums came out, same thing with The Hip, as it relates to 2000 and beyond. And so my reference point is there. Um, and then Gord goes off and decides to, to do this solo work. And, um, and not only does he does the solo work, but he starts taking that poetry side in the book that comes out along with it. He starts throwing in spoken word and we could spend a lot of time with the discussion about poetry versus spoken word versus lyrics versus, um, uh, you know, the, the, the written prose and, and, and where it all comes together and the different attitudes towards it. Um, but I, I'm, I'm honestly kind of shaking inside just thinking about the, the ability that, that Gord has to take a historical perspective.Track 3:[1:17:23] Area and put it into a spoken word and or song. But then in the same breath, depending on how you come at it, you get something completely different. If you don't know those references specifically, you're going to find something from a meaningful standpoint. So sorry. I mean, you really got me goosebumps in there, Justin. Well, I think that if I had never read lyrics from the hip, I would never have approached it from this angle.Track 3:[1:17:51] But it's kind of hard to not look at some of that stuff. He did an interview in the early 90s with some TV, whatever, and they said, what are your songs about? And he said, all of our songs are about war. And I remember seeing that on YouTube about 10 or a dozen years ago and thinking, oh, okay. Now, whether he was speaking Speaking of literal war or a relationship or conflict within the band or whatever, family, something, but there's a struggle or something that needs to be resolved in each one of these songs. And so I've, for better or worse, looked at a lot of hip stuff from that point forward, whatever year it was, as is Gord talking about literal war here. And that's just where I picked up on. Was he a history-type major? Did he have family that maybe participated in the war? There is a short poem in the book that is about his grandfather serving in World War II.Track 3:[1:18:56] Yeah, I could see that. Both my grandparents served in World War II, and I was a history major, and so I can see where that tie comes from.Track 3:[1:19:08] I hope we can move past the war stuff soon. Thanks justin yeah anything else from you craig well yeah i know i have nothing to add other than i love the little bait like bass kind of jazz odyssey thing that steven drake goes off on at the end if you if you notice the last like five seconds he just does this little improvised producer as well noodle it's pretty right bass player yes yes yeah engineering okay engineer anyways yeah Yeah, engineer. Well, that's what we got for you for this first episode. We're going to take a break and recuperate and recalibrate and take some electrolytes and we'll be back. Now, pick up your shit.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/fully-and-completely/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

god tv jesus christ music new york california canada children hollywood man speaking germany canadian san francisco west toronto german russian kings coffee detroit jewish trip new orleans world war ii grammy track nazis attention states southern california vancouver starbucks mac columbia minneapolis adolf hitler cd mirror rush odds pitch east coast amen south africans ottawa jd glow northeast hip coke cds myspace reich led zeppelin albany makes packing south american egg blown marching burlington smashing pumpkins chino swans u s niagara drown mmm tim hortons hips nuremberg tracy chapman luke combs barenaked ladies fillmore troubadour gord faith no more toiletten tragically hip gnr be it mike patton fast car danforth gord downie chris pronger commercialism timbits bnl peter mansbridge hortons phantom power fillmore west chancellor palpatine chambermaid sarah harmer michael barclay kevin hearn by divine right

Coke Machine Glow part 1

Getting Hip to The Hip

Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2024 72:31

Welcome to Discovering Downie. I'll be your host, jD as we listen in on the experiences and analysis from three huge fans of The Hip who have a blind spot for Gord's solo works. Meet Craig, Justin, and Kirk as they part in this epic 11-part podcast.We kick the show off by starting at the start with Coke Machine Glow part 1.Transcript:Track 2:[1:26] Welcome, music lovers. Long Slice Brewery presents Discovering Downy.Track 3:[1:34] Hey, it's JD here, and I'm joined by my pals Craig, Justin, and Kirk from Chino. While our love for the hip unites us, Gord's solo ventures remain uncharted territory for our trio.Track 3:[1:47] Hence, I've gathered this team of enthusiasts to delve into the musical repertoire of the enigmatic frontman of the tragically hip, the late gourd downey so come along with us on this exploration as we navigate through his albums one by one in chronological order embarking on our quest of discovering downey we've assembled quite the motley crew here to talk uh to talk about gourd's oeuvre and we're excited to do that we're going to do this all summer long so buckle up fellas how are you doing not too bad living the a dream amazing excited excited to go on this jaunt with you you gents for sure yeah it should be pretty fun i agree i agree completely i i am i am from a hip starved uh area of the world which you know i guess most of the u.s unfortunately was hip starved for a long time but specifically down here uh in the la market i got to see some amazing shows in really small places but like to, to like find a hip album in a record store or, you know, like anything that comes close to hip preference for me, I just like, I get all giddy. So when we, you know, we connected to talk with other hip fans, um, was pretty exciting, but then just to learn more about Gord, um, yeah, this is, this is going to be quite the adventure, my friends, quite the adventure.Track 3:[3:17] Yeah, I think so. What do you think, Craig?Track 3:[3:20] Yeah, I've been sitting in this room, my office slash music room, with a couple of unopened Gord CDs that I have collected over the years and just looking for the right moment, I guess. And along came that moment, and thanks to you, JD, to make this happen and to bring me on board. Ah, but I am but one hand on the rudder. The other three hands you see belong to Kirk, Justin, and Craig. Egg so there's that justin tell us about your experience with the hip so uh the u.s is hip starved for the most part but uh growing up in vermont we are just quebec junior and uh we get a lot of uh tv and radio stations uh down here in the greater burlington area so i i grew up with hip on the radio and um i didn't really know anything about him but in high school i discovered phantom power on my own.Track 3:[4:19] And, uh, that was it. I've been hopelessly blissfully lost ever since. And, um, my dad was kind of a hip fan, but you know, I think he was from like the old, you know, the, the hip crowd that they were trying to get rid of in the nineties, you know? And, uh, and so when I, when I came along, it was music at work and, you know, kind of the newer stuff that, that the old man probably wouldn't have liked too much, but, um, yeah, it's been a lot of fun. I got to see three hip shows and I was at the show in Ottawa two nights before the finale, uh, which was really amazing. Um, I got to see him in a basketball gym in Burlington and I got to see him in a bar in Albany, New York. And, uh, I feel like I got the, a pretty good sample size. Uh, I love them. I love them. Yeah. How about you, Craig? You have a unique role in this trio as well with your Tragically Hip experience. Share some of that with us.Track 3:[5:19] Um, yeah, I've, I've been a big hip fan way back going to probably grade eight when I, when I first heard, I think New Orleans on the radio and, uh, you know, I liked it and I, um, I didn't buy the album right away. I was into heavier stuff at the time. I was a big GNR fan and I was kind of a metal guy. And, uh, then I heard 38 years old and funnily enough, I thought it was, um, uh, Tracy Chapman at first, when I first heard the voice, the vibrato and, you know, it's just on faintly in the background. And then I kind of turned it up and this is a good tune. And then, you know, they, they announced it was the hip. And so I went out and got the CD. I think I maybe ordered on Columbia house through my, uh, through my parents or, you know, five CDs for, for a penny or whatever. And, uh, 12 here in the U S yeah.Track 3:[6:09] And yeah, I've been a huge hip fan ever since. And, and, um, yeah, I've been to, I think maybe 15, 16 concerts and, um, yeah, about a year ago, year and a half ago, I started playing in a hip tribute and it's just been a blast to sharing the music with, you know, the fans who don't get to see them anymore. And, you know, I wish I could, I wish they were still around and I could quit my job as a hip tribute guitar player, but unfortunately they're not playing anymore. I wonder if there's a Tracy Chapman angle, I wonder if we can get Luke Combs to cover some hip stuff and get them on the mainstream radio. you. It's a great idea. It's actually not. I don't think I want to hear that. No, but definitely giving them the credit they deserve. And man, Craig, like I seriously got goosebumps when you'd mentioned Tracy Chapman, like, you know, if you guys saw the Grammys, you know, that was performed and Tracy just sounded amazing. And, uh, I hadn't thought of it from that perspective. And, and yeah, I think you hit that spot on that. I haven't looked it up, But I'm guessing if you look up the release date of Fast Car and up to here, I'm going to guess they're within a year. Yeah, that's probably very true.Track 3:[7:27] So let's start at the start here with Coke Machine Glow. Kirk, any nuggets that you gleaned from production notes, anything like that, that you gathered on your fact-finding mission? Yeah, absolutely. Um, you know, I, I actually did because I'm a musician as well and, and, and do appreciate, uh, what goes into making an album. Um, uh, there, there was some pretty good information out there and, you know, especially knowing the hips catalog and, you know, they've had, they've had some different experiences from different producers and engineers and, and different recording experiences. And, um, so, you know, of course you're going, well, I'm going to get a lot of that. And, and then boom, you get hit right upside the head with, you know, But in the research that I did, I mean, they basically just, you know, had a couple, I think they had a kick mic and an overhead mic and just kind of a room mic. They played everything acoustic because they wanted to hear Gord's vocals.Track 3:[8:30] They were in, I believe, in the studio that is no longer there. It was like a loft in Toronto that was owned by a couple of musicians that were a part of, you know, the band that was there and part of the recording team. Um and obviously getting all their you know getting all their schedules together and and you know various musicians from from various different bands within the area and uh and they just wanted this to be uh just kind of that raw essence right that it you know for us as hit fans at least for me like that's where i fell in love is like whether you listen to the music or see them live, like the energy that comes out of every song is, is palpable on so many different levels. And, and, you know, I think those that, that have had the experience to enjoy their music and especially live, like there's such an energy to it and whether it's, uh.Track 3:[9:29] You know, whether it's one of their upbeat, you know, just rocking tunes or, or, you know, a simple acoustic there, they really know how to capture the emotion. And this album, Coke Machine Glow, I mean, yeah, wow. I mean, it was, again, it just felt like maybe one mic in the room and they just were circled around each other and they went for it. And one of the other notes that I heard that I thought was pretty surprising is they got a lot out of what was actually recorded and it sounded a lot bigger than what took place. I can get that. You could get a small little eight-inch speaker and, uh, put a mic on it and it could sound like you've got, you know, four Marshall, you know, full stacks grinding in front of you. So, you know, there's definitely some magic that can happen in the studio, but, um, uh, yeah, I, I think, uh, you know, I do a lot of stuff in theater and we always talk about how the set or the lights or the sound can become a character. And I think for me, the production elements of Coke Machine Glow became a part of the album.Track 3:[10:37] It had to be done that way, in my opinion, to be able to capture the energy that it did. Yeah it's very sparse sounding production wise like obviously there's songs and we'll get into them really rich and really lush and uh you know have a lot going on but predominantly this record like you said is pretty sparse craig i wonder what you learned um in your research about the album proper.Track 3:[11:09] Well, I went into this with a different approach where I purposely didn't look at any info for the first couple of weeks. And then I actually planned on recording this without having looked it up, but I decided I couldn't not. And the reason I had to look at the liner notes is because I was hearing all these voices that I recognized from Canadian bands. And what I was really thinking about was um what was can con and and the uh you know all the if you don't know the the story of can con basically it's the canadian content rules that um you know radio stations in canada have to play a certain amount of you know canadian written produced um music and the variety of musicians playing on this album we've got you know sky diggers we've got eric's trip we've got the hip We've got Dinner Is Ruined, who wasn't a band I had heard of out West, but looked them up today and quite interesting. And just this all-star cast of musicians from all these really cool indie bands. And that's what really struck me. Yeah, I couldn't put it better. An all-star group. And I should have mentioned, I guess, The Odds, of course, with Stephen Drake. He was so heavily involved with engineering and playing bass on it. And, and, uh, that was the voice that actually I was referencing. And I'll talk about that on the track when it comes up. Oh, cool. Okay.Track 3:[12:36] Justin, I'm wondering for you what the title means to you. What does it evoke? Um, I kind of, my brain goes to the golden rim motor in right. And late at night in a hotel, just kind of looking out the window and there's that freaking coke machine that's probably buzzing and nothing's cold in it and there's that glow lighting up a couple of cars outside the hotel room um it seems like a pretty good time to write an album or a book of poetry yeah just in my my mind went the same place yeah the lofty pines motel the the golden rim motor in.Track 3:[13:19] Yeah. There's a couple other hotels mentioned on this record as well. There's the Phoenix. Um, I'm trying to think, is there another one? Hmm. There's a poem, uh, in the book, Minneapolis hotel room. Oh, wow. Yeah. So definitely a road record, huh? Yeah, for sure. Yeah. And the other thing I think that, um, I didn't know going into this, that it was so closely connected to the phantom power album with a lot of songs that now with the re-release of phantom power we're we're seeing alternate versions of you know mystery and some of these other songs which is really really neat to discover at the same time yeah i agree with that i i delved pretty deeply into the the poetry book and it was amazing how many references to hip songs especially of that era um but even dating back to the early nineties with some live shows and how long this material had incubated. I bought, I don't know which album, but it came with a recording of a concert in 94. And there are several references that made their way into the poetry or into the lyrics of some of the songs.Track 3:[14:31] It's not on the music album, but it's in the, I think it's the first poem in the book was was bumblebee what is now bumblebee as the bonus track from phantom power right um the usa today bit was in this concert in 94 and it took you know years for that to come out and and there are other references from that show that are that are in coke machine globe of the album and the book it's it's really interesting how long it took for all this stuff to, surface. You have to imagine though, that as, as a writer, you know, you're going to go into recording an album and, and, you know, Gord being primary, you know, after a time writer, you can end up with some stuff that just doesn't make it. And, you know, it's hard to let go of stuff. You know, if you've, if you've done any type of creation, I don't care if it's video creation or writing or poetry or songs or whatever, like it's hard to just let that stuff go. Cause it's, It's whether you're telling a story about yourself or something you experienced or, you know, you want to get it out there, especially if you're a creative person. So I imagine Gord had, you know, and you read all the time and you hear on the interviews and he carries around a notebook and is basically writing every day.Track 3:[15:47] So uh but it is it is amazing and especially being a hip fan to see you know i noticed that as well when i was listening to some of the bonus stuff like hey wait that's a hit song why is that on here yeah you know and then you got to go back and you got to find the album that it's on because i was like justin i i wasn't introduced until the hip you know until i think 2000 uh with a canadian friend that i worked with and then i actually took a trip up to vancouver and it was like there's hip everywhere and i was like this is what's this all about how come i don't know about these you know this this band so yeah you know that i i really kind of came into play during that time and and beyond so of course i love the stuff that that came before it but for me there's something about being a part of what gets released when you're you know i'm i'm buying the albums or cds as they're coming out and then i'm seeing the tour so you know of course that heavy content with with, with those particular albums. So yeah, I have to imagine a lot of that, uh, came back in, into this particular one. And I mean, how long was the band together before this came out? 12 years, something. Almost, almost 15 or 20, maybe.Track 3:[16:57] Yeah, well, yeah, from the very beginning, but since the recording stuff started, so, you know. 87, the first one came out in 87. Yeah. This, to me, it felt like a release valve for everything that Gord couldn't or wouldn't put on Hips. It wasn't polished, you know what I mean?Track 3:[17:18] And he had all, I mean, there's a hundred pages of poetry and all these songs that are, you know, objectively strange.Track 3:[17:27] Um, and I, I think it just stuff that he knew wouldn't fly on a hip album that he had carried with him for years. And like I said, that show in 94 that he was work workshopping this stuff and it didn't make the cut with the band. So let's use it up now. Now, I'm very curious, as we get into the songs, to hear what you guys are thinking about some of these songs in their objective strangeness, as you put it, Justin. Or, you know, are some of them hip-adjacent? Are there any on here that you think, you know, the band could have put together? Obviously, other than the last track, which they did, and we can compare and contrast that when we get there. But are we ready to go into this record track by track? Let's do it. All right, we start with Star Painters. Who wants to kick this one off?Track 3:[18:29] Well, I'll take it. Yeah, Star Painters to me was like a palate cleanser. This was like Gord saying, this is not a hip album. And right off the bat, it's, it's a little strange. Uh, you got the accordion and, um, you know, the almost like a spoken word type thing. And yeah, it's just very obviously not the hip. So the first line, um, is, uh, ended up in music at work with freak turbulence. The myth is neither here nor there. So there are definitely, you know, there's some continuity there. And I think those two albums came out the same year. Didn't they? 2000. Coke Machine Glow was 2001 Okay well But Very close Very close They were likely recorded Right around the same time Yeah Yeah.Track 3:[19:19] There are themes that do persist for sure. But yes, this is not a hip song to be clear. I agree. And Craig, yeah, I think you hit it right on the head. You know, Gord was like, hey, come along for the ride, but this is going to be something different.Track 3:[19:40] And I really appreciate it. I mean, and I've heard that this song actually turned people away, right? Right. Like they didn't want to give it any more of a listen because of it. And, you know, I can say, yeah, I can say that, you know, for me again, I'm hip starved. So I'm actually really surprised at myself that I didn't dive in at the time and that that it really took this project to, you know, get me to start paying attention. Attention and at first it was difficult you know obviously this song but the entire album was like you're like you wanted a little more hip but then you had to understand you know what he needed to get out this song honestly for me is is one of my favorites off of the album and i'll tell you why it's the line the star painters are taking over now the scaffolding is in place your anesthesiologist tonight is washing up and on her way like i heard that and i just stopped and smoking your joint.Track 3:[20:50] Packing it up yeah getting the next one it it it it's it's it's gordon it's it's it's the, this is this song this album is not going to be for the faint of heart and uh and you know strap in like you said buckle up so i i had never heard anything by the dinner is ruined but you know trying to dive into to see what these guys are about the avant-garde and very strange ambient sounds and there's uh accordion and all kinds of weird stuff and that's very much dinner is ruined i i did listen to them um during this process and with that in mind on On the rest of the album, they feel pretty restrained compared to what they would normally have written or put out. But I think on this first one, they're just kind of like, to hell with this. We're going to do what we're doing. Yeah, sequencing is so important. You know, when you make a record, there's no accident that this song is first, like Greg said. You know, that sort of palate cleanser, introducing what the concept of this record is going to be. And you're right like if you came here expecting fully completely part two you know you're barking up the wrong fucking tree so there's that yeah vancouver divorce.Track 3:[26:08] Yeah, definitely a departure from the first track from Star Painters, right? This is a, I mean, almost written for radio hit. It's so easy to listen to and it's so addicting. The thing that really struck me, and it took me a couple of listens to hear it, but the bass is just one note over and over like a heartbeat, just a rhythm. And it's just the same note for 20, 25 seconds. And then, you know, it, it moves on from there, but, um, it was really, it was lovely. Um, but I, uh, one of the things that, that started to strike me and I don't know if it was Vancouver divorce or, or something else, but I think there's two schools of thought about this album. And again, this is a common theme with Gord Downie is it's either a little bit about Adolf Hitler or it's really a lot a bit about Adolf Hitler.Track 3:[27:13] There are so many ties to World War II throughout this album and the book and everything that Gord kind of does. Um, and I, I, I tried not to think about that going into all this, but it does, it does kind of get there, um, pretty quickly. I think, I don't know. I don't know if Vancouver has anything to do with the song or it's just, it fits well, you know, like the way that he explained writing Bob Cajun, it just, it rhymes. Right that's the town we're using you know i know in one of the live clips i saw before this song he said something about you know if if this couple can't make it in in paradise which in this case paradise is vancouver um debatable debatable maybe but um he um yeah then then i guess they can't make it anywhere yeah and i i didn't get any world war ii from it but i i didn't dive into lyrics quite as heavily i'm more of a music guy the lyrics are the last thing i digest when i listen to music so it takes me multiple listens um i don't typically read lyrics i like them to sort of hit me you know over the years um yeah did you guys get the uh the hortons reference.Track 3:[28:27] That one made me chuckle so the thing that i that i picked up on the hortons thing is he says sitting here at the hortons so you know this is important nobody sits at a tim hortons well they used to it used to be it used to be like a bar yeah oh yeah and it had lots of tables and chairs Yeah. And that's, that's far different from our experience with, with any Hortons chain down here. Yeah. Well, the thing that I think is interesting is that syllabically he could have said Tim Hortons, but instead he says the Hortons. The Hortons. I wonder if that's like to avoid the.Track 3:[28:57] Commercialism of saying Tim Hortons or like, it's just an interesting choice when it's the same number of syllables. Yeah. And I also think just, um, a lot of times Gord will choose a word that is almost unrhymable on purpose. And I think this is one of those cases Hortons. So it must be important and important. Yeah. It's, it's just, I love that. I love that. How about you, Kirk?Track 3:[29:21] What do you think? From a music standpoint? Cause like Craig, I, I, I do, do i i enjoy both and and and i'll end up reading lyrics as i go and and in this particular thing it was hard not to read uh a lyrics just to understand the connection as you're listening but this is one of those songs as well when when you think about it here you know how they recorded like holy crap how did they get that big of a sound out of what you you know at least in the the research that i did was very minimalist type of recording you know this kind of a squarish box and and and not really acoustically treated and you know in in you know you know in in the heart of toronto and all kinds of other stuff going on like i heard as well like they were being evicted and so they only had a certain time schedule to be able to get this recorded and then you hear the story about how like they're having a party downstairs and they're throwing couches around and gourd shows up and in his cowboy hat and goes uh hey would you guys mind you know being quiet for a little bit i'm i've tried to record i just can't imagine you're in that room and gourd down he walks in and says hey i'm recording tracks upstairs i think he was with kevin hearn from uh.Track 3:[30:36] You know uh bare naked ladies and and and uh and then they go back up and they record but just the fullness of this, this album. Um, and to me, I, you know, that's the thing I wanted to mention. Uh, uh, I believe it was this tune when you hear the keys, I don't know that Kevin got a credit on it, but I know he recorded a couple of tunes here. And so for me, I'm actually a pretty big BNL fan and I've seen them 20 times, something like that. But Kevin Hearns keys was very kind of prevalent. Um, and even if it wasn't him, you could, you could definitely hear the influence of it. So the powerfulness of this song is, is, is palpable for sure. Yeah. Yeah, looking it up, I think it was, sorry, it was, yeah, Jose Contreras played the organ on this tune. So he's the leader of By Divine Right, which is another very cool Canadian band that I remember listening to. I had their first album. But yeah, Kevin Hearn is definitely all over this album. Them yeah i gotta say as well from a lyrics perspective my money there's a phrase in this song that belongs on the podium along with you know it could have been the willow nelson could have been the wine you know taking advice from a prost or taking a compliment from a prostitute the line which by the way i play that song every night for my daughter at bedtime and my wife still Still haven't caught on yet.Track 3:[32:00] That's a good line. What the hell is this? You said it's art. Just fucking mirror it. Mirror. Yeah. Like you hang up your hat when you write a line like that. You just, you're done for the day. Put your briefcase together and you walk out the door, punch out, you know, that's a fucking great lyric. So I think, I think if, if I may, the, the person being divorced is an artist in this story. Right. right? And there are many references to art. There's the line, when the stampede's an optical course, when ancient train has hit old transient horse. And ancient train and old transient horse were capitalized. And I said, what the hell is that? So I deep dove that. And it is in reference to horse and train, which is a Canadian painting, which is based on a poem written by a South African anti-apartheid poet with the line and against a regiment. I oppose a brain and a dark horse against an armored train, which is just spectacular imagery.Track 3:[33:03] But again, tying in the art theme to the first line is such classic Gord Downie writing. Jesus Christ. Yeah. You've just blown my mind. Blown my mind. Like for real. This is track two. So get me. Yeah. Yeah. And I have to say too, the noise guitar at the end by I'm assuming Dale Morningstar is just amazing. I have a thing for loud, screechy feedback guitars. It just puts me in this state of zen for some reason. Like if you know the song Drown by Smashing Pumpkins, there's like four minutes of feedback at the end. And to me, that is so relaxing.Track 3:[33:45] I have that same thing written down, Craig. I have excellent screeching guitar going into and continuing through the third verse and out. One of the other things I have written down, though, I just want to share with you guys quickly. This is just sort of funny. When he says he's sitting at the Tim Hortons, or he's sitting at the Hortons, I know that's not true because on two occasions, I was walking down the Danforth and saw him sitting in the front bench of Timothy's Coffee, coffee, which is like a, like a Starbucks adjacent brand that doesn't exist anymore, but it used to. And it was minutes from his house. I didn't know where his house was, nor did I stalk him, but I knew it was in the area, like minutes away. And he would just sit there and he was sitting there with a, with a fucking notebook the one time and another time he was on a Mac book. But to me, it was, you know, one of those cool moments that I was like, I live in the same neighborhood. It's Gord Downie. This is so cool.Track 3:[34:41] Man, I wish that the Tim Hortons here in the States had a place to sit because mostly you just find them at a rest stop on the highway or you go in and you order a donut and you leave kind of establishment. No Hortons down here in California. I have to travel. Thankfully, I get to travel a lot for work. And if I see a Hortons, it's like, it's immediate picture and text to my family because we did a road trip and, you know, we went through Detroit and we went through Niagara and went through Toronto. And so my family fell in love with Tim Hortons. So is there a sponsor, right? JD? Oh yeah. The big sponsor. I'm eating Timbits right now.Track 3:[35:22] Mmm. Delicious Timbits. Thanks Tim Hortons. Um next up is uh sf song and to me this is like observational songwriting 101 to me i can just picture him under the covers of his hotel room with a pillow over his head trying to drown out the sound of this chambermaid tap tap tapping and knock knock knocking on the door it sounds as though and then him walking through the lobby and out into the front area of the phoenix hotel and he just describes everything he sees now i'm sure there's more to it than that but to me that's just beautiful.Track 3:[36:03] Yeah. Yeah. For me, one of my first shows was actually in San Francisco at the Fillmore West. And, um, you know, there's been some, you know, or so I've, so I've researched, there's been some pretty classic, uh, um, shows that have happened there. And, you know, I, I had a pretty, pretty amazing experience as well. I was with, with the Canadian friend that had, um, you know, introduced me to them and, and, uh, uh, but you, when I heard that song at first, I just immediately thought, you know, I'm like, hmm, I wonder if he was writing the song when he was there, when I saw him in 2000. And, uh, you know, whether he is or not, that's what I'm going to go, go to, go to bed with and stick to. I also noticed and really appreciated, um, uh, the breathing in the beginning of the song. Um, and then the reference towards the end, uh, about it, uh, uh, I miss my lung, Bob.Track 3:[37:04] That we talked about and, and, and, and then remembering the ads, remembering the ads that were going around at the time on the sides of buses and on, um, on, on billboards and, uh, you know, growing up in, in, in Southern California and, and, uh, seeing smoking ads. And then all of a sudden smoking ads start going away. And then you see the ad of, I miss my lung, Bob, or Bob, I miss my lung. I like to paraphrase. Yeah. I, uh, that's one of the lyrics I had to look up. I had no clue that was an actual thing. So that was pretty neat to, to come across those posters. I remember them from when I was a kid, of course, I'm East Coast, so it's not like they were around here, but I do remember seeing it on the news or something like that, the campaign.Track 3:[37:52] The other thing that struck me was Chambermaid and the references to Chambermaid, which are a continuation of Phantom Power, right? With vapor trails and escape as a hand. Right. Right. I also picked up on the click, click, click. You mentioned J.D. Off the top and those sounds. And he later on experimented with those types of things like drip, drip, drip and We Want to Be It and the chick, chick, chick of the matches in Seven Matches.Track 3:[38:24] Oh, wow. Yeah, it's just a little thing I picked up on. And also, I have a note here about just the low register, like just him singing in that beautiful low voice. And he, on this album, covers so many different subtleties in the way he uses his voice. Like a song like Coming Up Canada Geese, all of a sudden he's just a totally different singer, singing very um yeah almost like an indie indie rock singer yeah totally get that um you know also i think there's many examples of him singing in alter egos on on this record really expanding his repertoire you know as it were right like we start to hear him singing like this on the post phantom power records uh on occasion and um it's not startling because we're sort of used to it should we move on to trick rider only if you want me to cry right like this okay so this song says it's it's dedicated to c it's i believe it's his daughter I don't know. On the album that comes along with the new release, his daughter, I'm blanking on the name, starts with a C, reads this poem.Track 3:[39:53] So I'm guessing she was the girl on the horse.Track 3:[39:56] So I can't remember the name, Claire maybe or Chloe or I forget. Makes complete sense.Track 3:[40:04] I don't know this, so I'll ask it. How many kids does Gord have and are they spread out in age quite a bit? I don't know the second part of the question, but I know he's got four. There's Lou and Willow, who both played on his former partner's record, played keyboard and drums, respectively. And then there's Willow, who is an artist, like painter and jewelry artist, and she's very talented. She did the away as mind cover as well I did know that I think I think I asked that question because at the end you know of Gordon's life he did that interview with Peter Mansbridge, and talked about his son and got very emotional and his son was young he referenced his age and said he was quite young and this was 2016 or 17 whenever the interview was, and which would have been 15 years after this album came out.Track 3:[41:03] So, that's where my head went with how many, how old, just trying to put the puzzle pieces together. I was going to make mention when I was doing a little bit of research, there was a, uh, uh, you know, a fan video, uh, when, when I guess they toured this album and I believe they were actually in, uh, it might've been in Vancouver when they're playing it, but he was, you know, having an exchange with, with someone in the audience about, you know, uh, your nightlights on going to bed. And uh i think the fan might have been thinking that the song was about something else and and he referenced that right back to her very quickly in kind of a snide mark saying i don't think it means what you think it means about going to bed and and uh that stuck out to me it was you know one that he had no problems interacting with the fan and and kind of correcting them on on their interpretation uh of the song but it the song is is is beautiful and in so many different ways and you know all of us being fathers and and and having you know those experiences and and then obviously having the emotional tie-in with with gordon and what he's done with the band you know in the tragically hip and and and then with his solo stuff and and uh it it's it's gorgeous it's beautiful whatever adjective you can come up with that that uh you know brings that feeling to you.Track 3:[42:31] As a father in those moments when you're just you can't even can't even process i did this i had a hand in this and this human is is going to grow out into the world and And I'm a better human because of it. And to be able to, you know, put that, um, you know, in lyrics and in a song, uh, again, just adds to the, uh, adds to the amazement, uh, that that gentleman was able to give us.Track 3:[43:04] Yeah. And the vocal performance by both Gord and, uh, Julie Dwaran is, is so full that they have such control of their voices. Pitch perfect, emotional, just such a song. Her soft awe in the background puts this song over the top. It wouldn't be the song without her contribution to it. That's no disrespect to Gord, but the song isn't the same without Julie Dwaran. And I thought that my favorite father-daughter song was Thrown Off Glass from In Violet Light, But this one, my daughter is the one jumping off shit. She is trick riding 24 hours a day and I'm like, oh my God, kill me. Yeah. So I looked it up. It is Claire Downey who reads the poem on the new edition. So I'm guessing that's who C could be. Got to be.Track 3:[44:05] The song is way too personal for it not to be. is is julie did i understand that she's she did some stuff with the hip as well yeah, yeah she sang um in some live shows with them and i think was part of some tribute stuff at the end too i may be wrong um i know i know kate fenner was um on one tour as a backup music Music at work. But I feel like, I'm pretty sure I've read, yeah, that Julie was on, doing some backups on one of the albums. I could be wrong. Yeah, I remember that too. I feel like, maybe now for Plan A, possibly. That sounds right. I know, although I know... Oh, yeah. Oh, that's her name. Yeah.Track 3:[44:52] Also from Kingston. There's another woman who does now for planning the title track. Yeah, Sarah Harmer. She's the vocal on... Anyways, that's a different album, different band. Different podcast. Different podcast, yeah. Oh, and I have to... Last thing about Trick Rider for me is that slide guitar that just doesn't quite hit the note. I just love it. It's kind of that quarter tone or something. It reminds me of, if you know the Faith No More cover of Easy, right before the solo when Mike Patton goes up to the, ew, and almost like purposely is in between notes. I just think it's so neat. I was going to say both vocally and musically with a variety of instruments throughout several songs, obviously this one as well, is there's just that, it's not quite there, but it's also, it adds again to that character of the song. I heard something or read something about one of the musicians, I believe the guitar player that, that was part of this, like he hit a note and he, he would just beat the shit out of it until it became the note that was right for the song, whether it started off right or not, he, it, it was going to become that.Track 3:[46:03] And, and I love that thought or that prospect, right? We get so, we get so caught up in, Oh, everything's got to be perfect. I got to tune my guitar up exactly right. I've got to have the mic place perfectly. And I've got to have, you know this tonality and and sometimes it's just good to just just let it go and let that emotion come through more so than you know the technical note of itself yeah yeah there's no such thing as a wrong note if it's you know played with with with confidence and intention and yeah yeah so next we go to a song that i think could totally be a hip jam to me this song he's singing It's the first song on the record where he's singing in a tone in a register that we recognize.Track 3:[49:09] So Craig, you said it, um, this is punk rock and Gord loved punk rock, right? Yeah. Yeah. Um, but it's old guy punk rock. Like it's, it's, this is guys who are not punk rockers anymore trying to, to do punk or at least the story, right.Track 3:[49:26] Um, within the song. And, and I'm not saying that about the musicians that played the song. I'm saying that about the story Gord tells here that, you know, they're, they're, they're buying weed from each other in a cornfield, right? In the dark you know um like i can picture my old man and his uncles or and his brothers my uncles just you know hiding from the cops at age 50 55 years old just feeling like be cool man shut up uh i love this song yeah great song i i gotta say i'll take the bullet guys here's my first criticism even though as much as i love um how they recorded it my goodness gracious i needed the drummer to use some sticks and not brushes like i needed to feel that those drums coming through in this song and and to make it punk rock like it was like they they you know hey let's find the jazz drummer to do the punk song um and not that it didn't serve it well and it's a in fact probably what i would have liked was that drum track with the brushes and another drum track on.Track 3:[50:35] Top of it with sticks and then also maybe adding the mics to get more of the tonality of the drums but again now that's just the music guy and me going i wanted to hear that i needed to hear that snap i needed to hear that crack i needed to hear the pop right sorry gonna use a uh a breakfast cereal reference but um i i i i wanted that for this song still love it it's It's funny because it opens on snare hits. Right.Track 3:[51:08] Yeah. But if I'm not mistaken and I'll, I'll completely eat my words, I believe they use brushes throughout Craig. Do you, did you go that deep or what did you think? I didn't, but I know for me, I definitely noticed that it, it, it felt like it should be heavier but i think that's part of what gave the song character was those heavy guitars that almost sounded like they were played at a low volume in a room jamming and i i thought it just gave it a unique character and and i have to say though my favorite part is actually at the end when when all of a sudden i actually picked up a guitar today just to see what was going on with this and and they go up from you know they're playing and you know you're one four five e e b and a and then um they go right up they just go up to that f and i know the first time i heard it it's just just so striking it just sounds so out of place and then after you've heard the song a couple times just so perfect such a such a great dissonance and.Track 3:[52:05] Really really um almost like a two you know 2000s indie rock feel almost like an arcade fire kind of three years before arcade fire was doing it kind of thing so wow it felt like a one take demo to me and they said fuck it it's good like run it i like that we'll do it live yeah me too do it we'll do it keep it but kirk yeah i think um it would be really interesting to see what the hip would have done with with that song like a fully polished yeah you know but but i felt the same about the next song chandler um you're listening to it again today in fact and again was like man with some different instrumentation you know change changing the tempo a bit on this is this is absolutely the uh potentially a hip song uh for me you know uh and uh yeah hard hard not to uh go into you know as he speaks about letting the opening the window inviting the vampires in and if i'm not mistaken this this song did pretty well was it a single.Track 3:[53:15] I don't think any of the solo stuff did particularly well. It was sort of under the radar, especially after this record came out. This record was highly anticipated, but I think early on the word got out that it wasn't hip, and so there were a lot of hip people that jumped up. A lot of people stayed on board, don't get me wrong. but um there was a good cohort that sort of veered away and it's interesting that the sum of the parts you know um the hip are it just goes to show you how magical they are as a as a fivesome because you take one component away you know and it's just not the same like gort sinclair's solo record is dynamite so are you know paul's three records they're really really good but they're not the hip yeah you know so i'm just and i think this is where i got it from i'm just you know looking looking up on spotify and if you go to gordonie this song has the most downloads of all the solo stuff oh okay so that that makes a lot of sense yeah i know there's a there's definitely a video for this yeah yeah but i i don't recall ever hearing.Track 3:[54:31] This song anything from this album on the radio i i had i did hear some later songs um but definitely not that you know that i heard so this is where hitler comes in big time um the.Track 3:[54:47] Hitler had a very odd sleeping pattern. He stayed up very late and would go to bed at like 6, 6.30 in the morning and then get up at noon and just spend his whole day working out maps and plans and this is where the advancement is and all this stuff. And there are so many, if you read between the lines references about the night of a thousand missteps, the loss that made him dogged, or it could have been the doggedness that caused the loss in the first place.Track 3:[55:18] And Chancellor, I mean, that was Hitler's position, you know? Wow. Marching armies in the night, smiling strangers riding by on bikes. That would be, you know, when the allies come into Paris or something, you know? Children's smoking, which there was a huge anti-smoking campaign in Germany during World War II, sloganeers. And he mentions in one of the first lines, invite the vampire in, open the windows before we go to bed to get the coldest air in the room, which is just before the sun comes up. And then at the end, talking about a few things that vampires don't like, all the things referenced between the vampire references are Hitler-ish things. So I don't know it that's that's where my head went and then um before you are wow i know that but but damn it i'm following gordon's path you know and he like i said he references justin you're taking us into dark places my friend and the word chancellor for me it was like hmm and then i started to kind of read into it and i was like yikes and by the way guys spoiler alert this won't be the last time i talk about hitler during this thing not that i love him let's put that out there but there are There are some real references to the war throughout this album. Yeah, that's really interesting.Track 3:[56:41] My mind went a completely different direction. I was thinking like a chancellor of a university. And again, I didn't read the lyrics. I didn't dig that deeply in. But it was funny because my daughter really likes this song. We kept playing in the car and I was explaining what a chancellor of a university was. And she said, oh, I thought it was like Chancellor Palpatine. Wow. and it turns out she was she was the right one yeah i guess she was she was closer than i was yeah wow look at that cross my read is so completely vastly different again my read is like bittersweet and romantic uh the chorus yeah i couldn't be a chancellor without you on my mind if i wasn't if i wasn't obsessed with you or thinking about you all the time time. Um, you know, who knows what I could have become. And on the, and in the video, isn't he riding around? He's on the swan boats. It's just, it does not make me. Swans. Yeah. Yeah. He does not make me, uh, feel like, like, uh, like he's referenced, referencing world war two, but that's fascinating. I can't wait to hear it again now.Track 3:[57:49] But at the end of that video, if you watch the full video at the very end, he's, it's revealed that he is the guy working the dock at the, at the swan boats and he takes off his coat and underneath it is a uniform that says guy. And he's the one taking the coins or the tokens or whatever for the people to ride the swan boats. So it's kind of like, uh.Track 3:[58:13] You know, when Hitler was a struggling artist before he became this global force and kind of took control, you know, he was romanticizing the idea of, of being chancellor of Germany. Wow yeah wow and i don't know wow reference to it or yes it's dark man because and again think of think of uh the song scared every hip show you go to everybody's everybody's slow dancing that's not a slow dance it's like we talked about in the other podcast it's like yeah that's the hips trick right or it's gorge yeah yeah 38 years old same thing long running same thing fiddler's green you know and and on and on and on these slow slow songs are are yeah miserable yeah and i have to say good yeah yeah yeah yeah and and the the vocal phrasing that the gourd uses on this just that, laid back where he just sort of hesitates on certain words i just just love it he's so unique that way. I think that's what separates him as a singer, is that phrasing.Track 3:[59:22] Oh, yeah. This is a really hard album to sing. And you guys are musicians and you play guitar and other instruments. I've always been a singer. And I cannot keep up with Gord on this album. I just can't. Like the chorus of this song, like, I'm discovering uses for you. But the way he throws uses for you together, it's like, it's almost like one overlaps the other. And it's like, that's impossible. And then on the more quaint side, I love that he rhymes pajamas by mispronouncing in a gourd-like way windows to rhyme with pajamas, right? Instead of windows. Oh, so great. By the way, that uses line, again, going back to Hitler's underlings, you know, doing experiments on twins and stuff like that. Like, this is, I think this is a dark one. I'm going to listen to it again tonight. And I can't wait to hear it. No.Track 3:[1:00:19] I hope I'm wrong. I think you're right. No, we know he likes the Second World War.Track 3:[1:00:26] And, you know, we've heard references to, you know, Nazis moving works of art or Russians moving works of art, you know, to stave off the Nazi army. And really quick, sorry, really quick shout out for the piano player. I'm guessing it was um hern but but man that piano is is really nice improvised piano solo yeah yeah it's a very sweet sounding song yeah bait and switch man yeah he got us the never ending present i was listening and and if you're a you know canadian of my age you knew right away who was singing backup so that was Stephen Drake because my mind went right to Wendy under the stars and um and you know right back to my you know my first car and being you know 16 years old and listening to the radio and and hearing the odds for the first time and and yeah just an unmistakable voice the harmonies are very distinct you know distinctly the odds and distinctly The one thing that I picked up was he mentioned his shoes were polished, which as we learned in the longtime running doc that he polished his shoes before every show.Track 3:[1:01:46] So I think he's talking about himself and it's kind of an introspective – I mean, he says I in every song, but I think this one might actually be about himself personally.Track 3:[1:02:00] I picture him standing on Broadview Avenue waiting for the streetcar. He says bus, but in my head it's a streetcar. And all the rest of the lyrics are the stuff that happens until the bus crashes the hill. Him dropping money inside the little money grabber on a bus. There's talk of that um but what i really what i really love about this song is how ahead of his time he is because this is like living in the present like being in the moment is so important and i've learned like through my mental wellness journey like how important it is to live in the moment and the idea that the moment can be never ending if you come about it with the right frame in my mind is so refreshing to hear. Amen. And of course they named the, um, uh, Michael Barclay wrote the book with using the title of the song.Track 3:[1:03:05] Sorry, I'm going to take a little detour off of this that I just have to bring up being, being the, uh, for the South American and someone that, uh, uh, you know, again, was always starving for hip. I've loved in this journey, discovering other Canadian bands. You guys were mentioning the odds. And, you know, I did the research a little bit on the dinner's ruined. And of course, you know, of the real statics from, you know, grace too. And we're all richer for having heard them. And, um, uh, I'm, I'm very excited, you know, during this to be able to take a dive into that music that I never got. Right. Cause I like Justin, you were lucky because you get a lot of that music, uh, in the Northeast.Track 3:[1:03:49] Um, no, no, no, we only get the hip and rush. Rush. There's no Canadian music except for the hip and Rush. I will say that. And Alanis, of course. but to do as a you know as a musician and and and being a big fan of many canadian bands you know rush is up there for me bare naked ladies is up there for me um obviously the tragic the hip is up there for me um but these other bands uh blue rodeo that has i think a little bit of a a um you know it did well here in the states um of course alanis and some of the others you know i want to I know more about the, uh, the ones that didn't get, uh, similar, similar stories to the tragically happened. And I'm really excited about taking that journey as well. And I love that, you know, that's one of the things that I've heard about in different, uh, uh, reading and, and interviews is Gord was such a proponent of getting, I mean, music out there, but, but specifically, obviously Canadian music and, and giving, you know, these, these not as well-known bands an opportunity.Track 3:[1:04:56] So, um, sorry, I just needed to take that little side journey there and, and, and share that with you guys. I'm with you. I'm with you a hundred percent. Just going off what you were saying, yeah, apparently Gord would actually stand side stage and watch a lot of these bands. Like he would just stay there for the whole set. And all these bands, you know, Eric's Trip and The Odds, they were all change of heart. They all played with the hip.Track 3:[1:05:23] And for me, it's been fun because I've been doing the same thing. I was listening to The Odds last night and I couldn't believe how many hit songs they had. You know they're a band i enjoyed but never really really got into i think i've seen them live a couple times but man they had their pop song they were yeah that's exactly it they were they're you know pop writing you know machines but yeah i'm excited i'm excited about the journey for sure and and especially getting connected with you guys and having the experience you know know, uh, um, uh, being from Canada and, and, and really experiencing that not only on the radio, but, but live as well, that, uh, that's going to be a great journey. Cause isn't it great when you go to see, you know, you go to see one of your favorite bands and the opener shows up, you never heard of them. And, and all of a sudden they become, you know, one of your favorites and you're, you're falling around and, you know, and then it's always hard if they do make it, you're kind of like, man, that was my band, but I liked it when they were small, you know, I want them to be big, but not that big. I, that's, I mean, I mentioned it with, with the hip, you know, like all my experiences and I got to see them, I don't know, seven, seven, eight times, something like that.Track 3:[1:06:36] Like the biggest venue I saw them in was, was probably 1200 people. And, um, you know, the Troubadour, I got to see them in and, and, and up in San Francisco, the Fillmore's, you know, it's, it's over a thousand, uh, might be closer to actually, I'm not sure. I'll have to look that up. But the thing that I loved about it is, you know, I'm a hockey guy. And I think I mentioned the story to, to you, JD, like we're close to the ducks and the Kings and, and most hockey teams are, you know, 50 plus percent, if not close to 70% Canadians. And so I'd go to a show, I'd be in Hollywood and I'd look over and be like, Oh, Hey, look, there's Luke Robitaille or, you know, Oh, there's Chris Pronger. There's, you know, Scott Niedermeyer, you know, I'm hanging it out and oh oh hey paul korea how's it going you like the hip too you know and um what an experience and then canadian actors as well i got to meet dan akroyd at at the house of blues hollywood and he introduced the hip on stage and then you know he's rat so uh you know for me it's so weird um when you talk of this band they were a club band to me you know i i've seen what they've done and where they've played. And so anyway, I I'm, I'm taking us off the, the album, but just wanted to share that with, with you gents. No, that's cool.Track 3:[1:08:04] So now we take a hard, right. And, um, we get the track, the soundscape, uh, nothing but heartache in your social life.Track 3:[1:11:14] Did you say a hard right or a hard Reich? Because again, the Hitler.Track 3:[1:11:20] I'm serious. So again, this goes back to the poetry and there's a poem called Toiletten in the book and it is about Hitler's, I'm not even inferring this, this is about Hitler's podium at Zeppelin Field in Nuremberg and it now has signs pointing tourists to the toilet. Um, and the, uh, similarities between that poem and this song or spoken word, whatever, um, it's a hundred percent about that. And Gord even stumbles on a lyric that they, that they leave in the song, um, when the podium sprouting weeds and he stumbles on rendered ridiculous by the time. So the podium is this massive concrete structure that when you see film of Hitler speaking to 150,000, 200,000 Germans during wartime, that's where this is. But it's still there, and it's sprouting weeds, and the podium and its purpose have been rendered ridiculous by the times. When are you thinking of disappearing? I mean, when are you falling off the map when the unknown that you're fearing is in the clearing? That's totally about surrendering in the war and the allied forces moving across the field to wipe out the Nazis.Track 3:[1:12:46] When you're getting king-size satisfaction in the turnstiles of the night from all the shaky pill transactions, if that's not Jewish prisoners going to a concentration camp running down the train tracks in the middle of the night. I don't know what it is. It's, again, a very dark thing, and I think it leads to Hitler's suicide. That's when are you thinking of disappearing? Yeah.Track 3:[1:13:16] And it is interesting to note that the asterisk that comes with the title in the lyrics, it says Dale Morningstar provided echoing screams at the end of the song. It doesn't just say backing vocals or call and answer. It's echoing screams. I was wondering who was calling back and forth with them. They kind of sound like, even though the topic sounds quite serious, they're having some fun with it. At the end kind of yelling back and forth with each other and um and also of note um adam agoyan the filmmaker plays plays uh the classical guitar on this track and and one other track and so he's uh i think i read that that maybe this song was sort of based off some some things he brought in, came into the studio one day and they they sort of riffed off what he was doing and put this sort of spoken word. I also got, I don't know if you guys got this, but I almost got like an M&M vibe, like just like attitude wise. And of course I believe this would have been before M&M anyways, but, but just that, that sort of attitude and way he was rattling off these lines.Track 3:[1:14:29] Yeah, I get it. Absolutely. So the other me, you know, I was trying to get my, my head out of World War II with this, and it was easy to see in 2024 that Gord predicted the future of social media, right? This is before Facebook and MySpace and all this stuff, but this is 100% in line with everybody's mental health problems stemming from not having enough likes on their posts, right? This could absolutely be interpreted 20 plus years later in that way, if you were to look at it from that angle. Yeah, I...Track 3:[1:15:13] Obviously still like absorbing everything in the referencing that you're speaking of, uh, Hitler and world war two and, and how, you know, JD and Craig were like, didn't necessarily get that right away. I, I definitely, you know, heard the references. I, I knew of the references from some of the hip tunes. Um and uh and then just seeing this whole journey that he's taking with just coming out there with a solo album in the first place and then you hear about how um and again it's it's you know i don't know the exact i haven't spoken with the other members but some of the solo stuff really caused a bit of a rift within the band and then if you start thinking about the product of the hip you You know, this is where a big portion of their fan base starts turning away.Track 3:[1:16:04] And I wonder if that tension came through in some of the music. For me and you, Justin, we discovered them during this time. And like most bands, you don't become close to them. And, you know, I'll take a few exceptions. You know, Led Zeppelin. I wasn't there when the albums came out. But the band meant a lot to me later in life. But nothing like, I'll give an example of other bands, Rush and Barenaked Ladies. I went to those shows when those albums came out, same thing with The Hip, as it relates to 2000 and beyond. And so my reference point is there. Um, and then Gord goes off and decides to, to do this solo work. And, um, and not only does he does the solo work, but he starts taking that poetry side in the book that comes out along with it. He starts throwing in spoken word and we could spend a lot of time with the discussion about poetry versus spoken word versus lyrics versus, um, uh, you know, the, the, the written prose and, and, and where it all comes together and the different attitudes towards it. Um, but I, I'm, I'm honestly kind of shaking inside just thinking about the, the ability that, that Gord has to take a historical perspective.Track 3:[1:17:23] Area and put it into a spoken word and or song. But then in the same breath, depending on how you come at it, you get something completely different. If you don't know those references specifically, you're going to find something from a meaningful standpoint. So sorry. I mean, you really got me goosebumps in there, Justin. Well, I think that if I had never read lyrics from the hip, I would never have approached it from this angle.Track 3:[1:17:51] But it's kind of hard to not look at some of that stuff. He did an interview in the early 90s with some TV, whatever, and they said, what are your songs about? And he said, all of our songs are about war. And I remember seeing that on YouTube about 10 or a dozen years ago and thinking, oh, okay. Now, whether he was speaking Speaking of literal war or a relationship or conflict within the band or whatever, family, something, but there's a struggle or something that needs to be resolved in each one of these songs. And so I've, for better or worse, looked at a lot of hip stuff from that point forward, whatever year it was, as is Gord talking about literal war here. And that's just where I picked up on. Was he a history-type major? Did he have family that maybe participated in the war? There is a short poem in the book that is about his grandfather serving in World War II.Track 3:[1:18:56] Yeah, I could see that. Both my grandparents served in World War II, and I was a history major, and so I can see where that tie comes from.Track 3:[1:19:08] I hope we can move past the war stuff soon. Thanks justin yeah anything else from you craig well yeah i know i have nothing to add other than i love the little bait like bass kind of jazz odyssey thing that steven drake goes off on at the end if you if you notice the last like five seconds he just does this little improvised producer as well noodle it's pretty right bass player yes yes yeah engineering okay engineer anyways yeah Yeah, engineer. Well, that's what we got for you for this first episode. We're going to take a break and recuperate and recalibrate and take some electrolytes and we'll be back. 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Coke Machine Glow part 1

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Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2024 72:31

Welcome to Discovering Downie. I'll be your host, jD as we listen in on the experiences and analysis from three huge fans of The Hip who have a blind spot for Gord's solo works. Meet Craig, Justin, and Kirk as they part in this epic 11-part podcast.We kick the show off by starting at the start with Coke Machine Glow part 1.Transcript:Track 2:[1:26] Welcome, music lovers. Long Slice Brewery presents Discovering Downy.Track 3:[1:34] Hey, it's JD here, and I'm joined by my pals Craig, Justin, and Kirk from Chino. While our love for the hip unites us, Gord's solo ventures remain uncharted territory for our trio.Track 3:[1:47] Hence, I've gathered this team of enthusiasts to delve into the musical repertoire of the enigmatic frontman of the tragically hip, the late gourd downey so come along with us on this exploration as we navigate through his albums one by one in chronological order embarking on our quest of discovering downey we've assembled quite the motley crew here to talk uh to talk about gourd's oeuvre and we're excited to do that we're going to do this all summer long so buckle up fellas how are you doing not too bad living the a dream amazing excited excited to go on this jaunt with you you gents for sure yeah it should be pretty fun i agree i agree completely i i am i am from a hip starved uh area of the world which you know i guess most of the u.s unfortunately was hip starved for a long time but specifically down here uh in the la market i got to see some amazing shows in really small places but like to, to like find a hip album in a record store or, you know, like anything that comes close to hip preference for me, I just like, I get all giddy. So when we, you know, we connected to talk with other hip fans, um, was pretty exciting, but then just to learn more about Gord, um, yeah, this is, this is going to be quite the adventure, my friends, quite the adventure.Track 3:[3:17] Yeah, I think so. What do you think, Craig?Track 3:[3:20] Yeah, I've been sitting in this room, my office slash music room, with a couple of unopened Gord CDs that I have collected over the years and just looking for the right moment, I guess. And along came that moment, and thanks to you, JD, to make this happen and to bring me on board. Ah, but I am but one hand on the rudder. The other three hands you see belong to Kirk, Justin, and Craig. Egg so there's that justin tell us about your experience with the hip so uh the u.s is hip starved for the most part but uh growing up in vermont we are just quebec junior and uh we get a lot of uh tv and radio stations uh down here in the greater burlington area so i i grew up with hip on the radio and um i didn't really know anything about him but in high school i discovered phantom power on my own.Track 3:[4:19] And, uh, that was it. I've been hopelessly blissfully lost ever since. And, um, my dad was kind of a hip fan, but you know, I think he was from like the old, you know, the, the hip crowd that they were trying to get rid of in the nineties, you know? And, uh, and so when I, when I came along, it was music at work and, you know, kind of the newer stuff that, that the old man probably wouldn't have liked too much, but, um, yeah, it's been a lot of fun. I got to see three hip shows and I was at the show in Ottawa two nights before the finale, uh, which was really amazing. Um, I got to see him in a basketball gym in Burlington and I got to see him in a bar in Albany, New York. And, uh, I feel like I got the, a pretty good sample size. Uh, I love them. I love them. Yeah. How about you, Craig? You have a unique role in this trio as well with your Tragically Hip experience. Share some of that with us.Track 3:[5:19] Um, yeah, I've, I've been a big hip fan way back going to probably grade eight when I, when I first heard, I think New Orleans on the radio and, uh, you know, I liked it and I, um, I didn't buy the album right away. I was into heavier stuff at the time. I was a big GNR fan and I was kind of a metal guy. And, uh, then I heard 38 years old and funnily enough, I thought it was, um, uh, Tracy Chapman at first, when I first heard the voice, the vibrato and, you know, it's just on faintly in the background. And then I kind of turned it up and this is a good tune. And then, you know, they, they announced it was the hip. And so I went out and got the CD. I think I maybe ordered on Columbia house through my, uh, through my parents or, you know, five CDs for, for a penny or whatever. And, uh, 12 here in the U S yeah.Track 3:[6:09] And yeah, I've been a huge hip fan ever since. And, and, um, yeah, I've been to, I think maybe 15, 16 concerts and, um, yeah, about a year ago, year and a half ago, I started playing in a hip tribute and it's just been a blast to sharing the music with, you know, the fans who don't get to see them anymore. And, you know, I wish I could, I wish they were still around and I could quit my job as a hip tribute guitar player, but unfortunately they're not playing anymore. I wonder if there's a Tracy Chapman angle, I wonder if we can get Luke Combs to cover some hip stuff and get them on the mainstream radio. you. It's a great idea. It's actually not. I don't think I want to hear that. No, but definitely giving them the credit they deserve. And man, Craig, like I seriously got goosebumps when you'd mentioned Tracy Chapman, like, you know, if you guys saw the Grammys, you know, that was performed and Tracy just sounded amazing. And, uh, I hadn't thought of it from that perspective. And, and yeah, I think you hit that spot on that. I haven't looked it up, But I'm guessing if you look up the release date of Fast Car and up to here, I'm going to guess they're within a year. Yeah, that's probably very true.Track 3:[7:27] So let's start at the start here with Coke Machine Glow. Kirk, any nuggets that you gleaned from production notes, anything like that, that you gathered on your fact-finding mission? Yeah, absolutely. Um, you know, I, I actually did because I'm a musician as well and, and, and do appreciate, uh, what goes into making an album. Um, uh, there, there was some pretty good information out there and, you know, especially knowing the hips catalog and, you know, they've had, they've had some different experiences from different producers and engineers and, and different recording experiences. And, um, so, you know, of course you're going, well, I'm going to get a lot of that. And, and then boom, you get hit right upside the head with, you know, But in the research that I did, I mean, they basically just, you know, had a couple, I think they had a kick mic and an overhead mic and just kind of a room mic. They played everything acoustic because they wanted to hear Gord's vocals.Track 3:[8:30] They were in, I believe, in the studio that is no longer there. It was like a loft in Toronto that was owned by a couple of musicians that were a part of, you know, the band that was there and part of the recording team. Um and obviously getting all their you know getting all their schedules together and and you know various musicians from from various different bands within the area and uh and they just wanted this to be uh just kind of that raw essence right that it you know for us as hit fans at least for me like that's where i fell in love is like whether you listen to the music or see them live, like the energy that comes out of every song is, is palpable on so many different levels. And, and, you know, I think those that, that have had the experience to enjoy their music and especially live, like there's such an energy to it and whether it's, uh.Track 3:[9:29] You know, whether it's one of their upbeat, you know, just rocking tunes or, or, you know, a simple acoustic there, they really know how to capture the emotion. And this album, Coke Machine Glow, I mean, yeah, wow. I mean, it was, again, it just felt like maybe one mic in the room and they just were circled around each other and they went for it. And one of the other notes that I heard that I thought was pretty surprising is they got a lot out of what was actually recorded and it sounded a lot bigger than what took place. I can get that. You could get a small little eight-inch speaker and, uh, put a mic on it and it could sound like you've got, you know, four Marshall, you know, full stacks grinding in front of you. So, you know, there's definitely some magic that can happen in the studio, but, um, uh, yeah, I, I think, uh, you know, I do a lot of stuff in theater and we always talk about how the set or the lights or the sound can become a character. And I think for me, the production elements of Coke Machine Glow became a part of the album.Track 3:[10:37] It had to be done that way, in my opinion, to be able to capture the energy that it did. Yeah it's very sparse sounding production wise like obviously there's songs and we'll get into them really rich and really lush and uh you know have a lot going on but predominantly this record like you said is pretty sparse craig i wonder what you learned um in your research about the album proper.Track 3:[11:09] Well, I went into this with a different approach where I purposely didn't look at any info for the first couple of weeks. And then I actually planned on recording this without having looked it up, but I decided I couldn't not. And the reason I had to look at the liner notes is because I was hearing all these voices that I recognized from Canadian bands. And what I was really thinking about was um what was can con and and the uh you know all the if you don't know the the story of can con basically it's the canadian content rules that um you know radio stations in canada have to play a certain amount of you know canadian written produced um music and the variety of musicians playing on this album we've got you know sky diggers we've got eric's trip we've got the hip We've got Dinner Is Ruined, who wasn't a band I had heard of out West, but looked them up today and quite interesting. And just this all-star cast of musicians from all these really cool indie bands. And that's what really struck me. Yeah, I couldn't put it better. An all-star group. And I should have mentioned, I guess, The Odds, of course, with Stephen Drake. He was so heavily involved with engineering and playing bass on it. And, and, uh, that was the voice that actually I was referencing. And I'll talk about that on the track when it comes up. Oh, cool. Okay.Track 3:[12:36] Justin, I'm wondering for you what the title means to you. What does it evoke? Um, I kind of, my brain goes to the golden rim motor in right. And late at night in a hotel, just kind of looking out the window and there's that freaking coke machine that's probably buzzing and nothing's cold in it and there's that glow lighting up a couple of cars outside the hotel room um it seems like a pretty good time to write an album or a book of poetry yeah just in my my mind went the same place yeah the lofty pines motel the the golden rim motor in.Track 3:[13:19] Yeah. There's a couple other hotels mentioned on this record as well. There's the Phoenix. Um, I'm trying to think, is there another one? Hmm. There's a poem, uh, in the book, Minneapolis hotel room. Oh, wow. Yeah. So definitely a road record, huh? Yeah, for sure. Yeah. And the other thing I think that, um, I didn't know going into this, that it was so closely connected to the phantom power album with a lot of songs that now with the re-release of phantom power we're we're seeing alternate versions of you know mystery and some of these other songs which is really really neat to discover at the same time yeah i agree with that i i delved pretty deeply into the the poetry book and it was amazing how many references to hip songs especially of that era um but even dating back to the early nineties with some live shows and how long this material had incubated. I bought, I don't know which album, but it came with a recording of a concert in 94. And there are several references that made their way into the poetry or into the lyrics of some of the songs.Track 3:[14:31] It's not on the music album, but it's in the, I think it's the first poem in the book was was bumblebee what is now bumblebee as the bonus track from phantom power right um the usa today bit was in this concert in 94 and it took you know years for that to come out and and there are other references from that show that are that are in coke machine globe of the album and the book it's it's really interesting how long it took for all this stuff to, surface. You have to imagine though, that as, as a writer, you know, you're going to go into recording an album and, and, you know, Gord being primary, you know, after a time writer, you can end up with some stuff that just doesn't make it. And, you know, it's hard to let go of stuff. You know, if you've, if you've done any type of creation, I don't care if it's video creation or writing or poetry or songs or whatever, like it's hard to just let that stuff go. Cause it's, It's whether you're telling a story about yourself or something you experienced or, you know, you want to get it out there, especially if you're a creative person. So I imagine Gord had, you know, and you read all the time and you hear on the interviews and he carries around a notebook and is basically writing every day.Track 3:[15:47] So uh but it is it is amazing and especially being a hip fan to see you know i noticed that as well when i was listening to some of the bonus stuff like hey wait that's a hit song why is that on here yeah you know and then you got to go back and you got to find the album that it's on because i was like justin i i wasn't introduced until the hip you know until i think 2000 uh with a canadian friend that i worked with and then i actually took a trip up to vancouver and it was like there's hip everywhere and i was like this is what's this all about how come i don't know about these you know this this band so yeah you know that i i really kind of came into play during that time and and beyond so of course i love the stuff that that came before it but for me there's something about being a part of what gets released when you're you know i'm i'm buying the albums or cds as they're coming out and then i'm seeing the tour so you know of course that heavy content with with, with those particular albums. So yeah, I have to imagine a lot of that, uh, came back in, into this particular one. And I mean, how long was the band together before this came out? 12 years, something. Almost, almost 15 or 20, maybe.Track 3:[16:57] Yeah, well, yeah, from the very beginning, but since the recording stuff started, so, you know. 87, the first one came out in 87. Yeah. This, to me, it felt like a release valve for everything that Gord couldn't or wouldn't put on Hips. It wasn't polished, you know what I mean?Track 3:[17:18] And he had all, I mean, there's a hundred pages of poetry and all these songs that are, you know, objectively strange.Track 3:[17:27] Um, and I, I think it just stuff that he knew wouldn't fly on a hip album that he had carried with him for years. And like I said, that show in 94 that he was work workshopping this stuff and it didn't make the cut with the band. So let's use it up now. Now, I'm very curious, as we get into the songs, to hear what you guys are thinking about some of these songs in their objective strangeness, as you put it, Justin. Or, you know, are some of them hip-adjacent? Are there any on here that you think, you know, the band could have put together? Obviously, other than the last track, which they did, and we can compare and contrast that when we get there. But are we ready to go into this record track by track? Let's do it. All right, we start with Star Painters. Who wants to kick this one off?Track 3:[18:29] Well, I'll take it. Yeah, Star Painters to me was like a palate cleanser. This was like Gord saying, this is not a hip album. And right off the bat, it's, it's a little strange. Uh, you got the accordion and, um, you know, the almost like a spoken word type thing. And yeah, it's just very obviously not the hip. So the first line, um, is, uh, ended up in music at work with freak turbulence. The myth is neither here nor there. So there are definitely, you know, there's some continuity there. And I think those two albums came out the same year. Didn't they? 2000. Coke Machine Glow was 2001 Okay well But Very close Very close They were likely recorded Right around the same time Yeah Yeah.Track 3:[19:19] There are themes that do persist for sure. But yes, this is not a hip song to be clear. I agree. And Craig, yeah, I think you hit it right on the head. You know, Gord was like, hey, come along for the ride, but this is going to be something different.Track 3:[19:40] And I really appreciate it. I mean, and I've heard that this song actually turned people away, right? Right. Like they didn't want to give it any more of a listen because of it. And, you know, I can say, yeah, I can say that, you know, for me again, I'm hip starved. So I'm actually really surprised at myself that I didn't dive in at the time and that that it really took this project to, you know, get me to start paying attention. Attention and at first it was difficult you know obviously this song but the entire album was like you're like you wanted a little more hip but then you had to understand you know what he needed to get out this song honestly for me is is one of my favorites off of the album and i'll tell you why it's the line the star painters are taking over now the scaffolding is in place your anesthesiologist tonight is washing up and on her way like i heard that and i just stopped and smoking your joint.Track 3:[20:50] Packing it up yeah getting the next one it it it it's it's it's gordon it's it's it's the, this is this song this album is not going to be for the faint of heart and uh and you know strap in like you said buckle up so i i had never heard anything by the dinner is ruined but you know trying to dive into to see what these guys are about the avant-garde and very strange ambient sounds and there's uh accordion and all kinds of weird stuff and that's very much dinner is ruined i i did listen to them um during this process and with that in mind on On the rest of the album, they feel pretty restrained compared to what they would normally have written or put out. But I think on this first one, they're just kind of like, to hell with this. We're going to do what we're doing. Yeah, sequencing is so important. You know, when you make a record, there's no accident that this song is first, like Greg said. You know, that sort of palate cleanser, introducing what the concept of this record is going to be. And you're right like if you came here expecting fully completely part two you know you're barking up the wrong fucking tree so there's that yeah vancouver divorce.Track 3:[26:08] Yeah, definitely a departure from the first track from Star Painters, right? This is a, I mean, almost written for radio hit. It's so easy to listen to and it's so addicting. The thing that really struck me, and it took me a couple of listens to hear it, but the bass is just one note over and over like a heartbeat, just a rhythm. And it's just the same note for 20, 25 seconds. And then, you know, it, it moves on from there, but, um, it was really, it was lovely. Um, but I, uh, one of the things that, that started to strike me and I don't know if it was Vancouver divorce or, or something else, but I think there's two schools of thought about this album. And again, this is a common theme with Gord Downie is it's either a little bit about Adolf Hitler or it's really a lot a bit about Adolf Hitler.Track 3:[27:13] There are so many ties to World War II throughout this album and the book and everything that Gord kind of does. Um, and I, I, I tried not to think about that going into all this, but it does, it does kind of get there, um, pretty quickly. I think, I don't know. I don't know if Vancouver has anything to do with the song or it's just, it fits well, you know, like the way that he explained writing Bob Cajun, it just, it rhymes. Right that's the town we're using you know i know in one of the live clips i saw before this song he said something about you know if if this couple can't make it in in paradise which in this case paradise is vancouver um debatable debatable maybe but um he um yeah then then i guess they can't make it anywhere yeah and i i didn't get any world war ii from it but i i didn't dive into lyrics quite as heavily i'm more of a music guy the lyrics are the last thing i digest when i listen to music so it takes me multiple listens um i don't typically read lyrics i like them to sort of hit me you know over the years um yeah did you guys get the uh the hortons reference.Track 3:[28:27] That one made me chuckle so the thing that i that i picked up on the hortons thing is he says sitting here at the hortons so you know this is important nobody sits at a tim hortons well they used to it used to be it used to be like a bar yeah oh yeah and it had lots of tables and chairs Yeah. And that's, that's far different from our experience with, with any Hortons chain down here. Yeah. Well, the thing that I think is interesting is that syllabically he could have said Tim Hortons, but instead he says the Hortons. The Hortons. I wonder if that's like to avoid the.Track 3:[28:57] Commercialism of saying Tim Hortons or like, it's just an interesting choice when it's the same number of syllables. Yeah. And I also think just, um, a lot of times Gord will choose a word that is almost unrhymable on purpose. And I think this is one of those cases Hortons. So it must be important and important. Yeah. It's, it's just, I love that. I love that. How about you, Kirk?Track 3:[29:21] What do you think? From a music standpoint? Cause like Craig, I, I, I do, do i i enjoy both and and and i'll end up reading lyrics as i go and and in this particular thing it was hard not to read uh a lyrics just to understand the connection as you're listening but this is one of those songs as well when when you think about it here you know how they recorded like holy crap how did they get that big of a sound out of what you you know at least in the the research that i did was very minimalist type of recording you know this kind of a squarish box and and and not really acoustically treated and you know in in you know you know in in the heart of toronto and all kinds of other stuff going on like i heard as well like they were being evicted and so they only had a certain time schedule to be able to get this recorded and then you hear the story about how like they're having a party downstairs and they're throwing couches around and gourd shows up and in his cowboy hat and goes uh hey would you guys mind you know being quiet for a little bit i'm i've tried to record i just can't imagine you're in that room and gourd down he walks in and says hey i'm recording tracks upstairs i think he was with kevin hearn from uh.Track 3:[30:36] You know uh bare naked ladies and and and uh and then they go back up and they record but just the fullness of this, this album. Um, and to me, I, you know, that's the thing I wanted to mention. Uh, uh, I believe it was this tune when you hear the keys, I don't know that Kevin got a credit on it, but I know he recorded a couple of tunes here. And so for me, I'm actually a pretty big BNL fan and I've seen them 20 times, something like that. But Kevin Hearns keys was very kind of prevalent. Um, and even if it wasn't him, you could, you could definitely hear the influence of it. So the powerfulness of this song is, is, is palpable for sure. Yeah. Yeah, looking it up, I think it was, sorry, it was, yeah, Jose Contreras played the organ on this tune. So he's the leader of By Divine Right, which is another very cool Canadian band that I remember listening to. I had their first album. But yeah, Kevin Hearn is definitely all over this album. Them yeah i gotta say as well from a lyrics perspective my money there's a phrase in this song that belongs on the podium along with you know it could have been the willow nelson could have been the wine you know taking advice from a prost or taking a compliment from a prostitute the line which by the way i play that song every night for my daughter at bedtime and my wife still Still haven't caught on yet.Track 3:[32:00] That's a good line. What the hell is this? You said it's art. Just fucking mirror it. Mirror. Yeah. Like you hang up your hat when you write a line like that. You just, you're done for the day. Put your briefcase together and you walk out the door, punch out, you know, that's a fucking great lyric. So I think, I think if, if I may, the, the person being divorced is an artist in this story. Right. right? And there are many references to art. There's the line, when the stampede's an optical course, when ancient train has hit old transient horse. And ancient train and old transient horse were capitalized. And I said, what the hell is that? So I deep dove that. And it is in reference to horse and train, which is a Canadian painting, which is based on a poem written by a South African anti-apartheid poet with the line and against a regiment. I oppose a brain and a dark horse against an armored train, which is just spectacular imagery.Track 3:[33:03] But again, tying in the art theme to the first line is such classic Gord Downie writing. Jesus Christ. Yeah. You've just blown my mind. Blown my mind. Like for real. This is track two. So get me. Yeah. Yeah. And I have to say too, the noise guitar at the end by I'm assuming Dale Morningstar is just amazing. I have a thing for loud, screechy feedback guitars. It just puts me in this state of zen for some reason. Like if you know the song Drown by Smashing Pumpkins, there's like four minutes of feedback at the end. And to me, that is so relaxing.Track 3:[33:45] I have that same thing written down, Craig. I have excellent screeching guitar going into and continuing through the third verse and out. One of the other things I have written down, though, I just want to share with you guys quickly. This is just sort of funny. When he says he's sitting at the Tim Hortons, or he's sitting at the Hortons, I know that's not true because on two occasions, I was walking down the Danforth and saw him sitting in the front bench of Timothy's Coffee, coffee, which is like a, like a Starbucks adjacent brand that doesn't exist anymore, but it used to. And it was minutes from his house. I didn't know where his house was, nor did I stalk him, but I knew it was in the area, like minutes away. And he would just sit there and he was sitting there with a, with a fucking notebook the one time and another time he was on a Mac book. But to me, it was, you know, one of those cool moments that I was like, I live in the same neighborhood. It's Gord Downie. This is so cool.Track 3:[34:41] Man, I wish that the Tim Hortons here in the States had a place to sit because mostly you just find them at a rest stop on the highway or you go in and you order a donut and you leave kind of establishment. No Hortons down here in California. I have to travel. Thankfully, I get to travel a lot for work. And if I see a Hortons, it's like, it's immediate picture and text to my family because we did a road trip and, you know, we went through Detroit and we went through Niagara and went through Toronto. And so my family fell in love with Tim Hortons. So is there a sponsor, right? JD? Oh yeah. The big sponsor. I'm eating Timbits right now.Track 3:[35:22] Mmm. Delicious Timbits. Thanks Tim Hortons. Um next up is uh sf song and to me this is like observational songwriting 101 to me i can just picture him under the covers of his hotel room with a pillow over his head trying to drown out the sound of this chambermaid tap tap tapping and knock knock knocking on the door it sounds as though and then him walking through the lobby and out into the front area of the phoenix hotel and he just describes everything he sees now i'm sure there's more to it than that but to me that's just beautiful.Track 3:[36:03] Yeah. Yeah. For me, one of my first shows was actually in San Francisco at the Fillmore West. And, um, you know, there's been some, you know, or so I've, so I've researched, there's been some pretty classic, uh, um, shows that have happened there. And, you know, I, I had a pretty, pretty amazing experience as well. I was with, with the Canadian friend that had, um, you know, introduced me to them and, and, uh, uh, but you, when I heard that song at first, I just immediately thought, you know, I'm like, hmm, I wonder if he was writing the song when he was there, when I saw him in 2000. And, uh, you know, whether he is or not, that's what I'm going to go, go to, go to bed with and stick to. I also noticed and really appreciated, um, uh, the breathing in the beginning of the song. Um, and then the reference towards the end, uh, about it, uh, uh, I miss my lung, Bob.Track 3:[37:04] That we talked about and, and, and, and then remembering the ads, remembering the ads that were going around at the time on the sides of buses and on, um, on, on billboards and, uh, you know, growing up in, in, in Southern California and, and, uh, seeing smoking ads. And then all of a sudden smoking ads start going away. And then you see the ad of, I miss my lung, Bob, or Bob, I miss my lung. I like to paraphrase. Yeah. I, uh, that's one of the lyrics I had to look up. I had no clue that was an actual thing. So that was pretty neat to, to come across those posters. I remember them from when I was a kid, of course, I'm East Coast, so it's not like they were around here, but I do remember seeing it on the news or something like that, the campaign.Track 3:[37:52] The other thing that struck me was Chambermaid and the references to Chambermaid, which are a continuation of Phantom Power, right? With vapor trails and escape as a hand. Right. Right. I also picked up on the click, click, click. You mentioned J.D. Off the top and those sounds. And he later on experimented with those types of things like drip, drip, drip and We Want to Be It and the chick, chick, chick of the matches in Seven Matches.Track 3:[38:24] Oh, wow. Yeah, it's just a little thing I picked up on. And also, I have a note here about just the low register, like just him singing in that beautiful low voice. And he, on this album, covers so many different subtleties in the way he uses his voice. Like a song like Coming Up Canada Geese, all of a sudden he's just a totally different singer, singing very um yeah almost like an indie indie rock singer yeah totally get that um you know also i think there's many examples of him singing in alter egos on on this record really expanding his repertoire you know as it were right like we start to hear him singing like this on the post phantom power records uh on occasion and um it's not startling because we're sort of used to it should we move on to trick rider only if you want me to cry right like this okay so this song says it's it's dedicated to c it's i believe it's his daughter I don't know. On the album that comes along with the new release, his daughter, I'm blanking on the name, starts with a C, reads this poem.Track 3:[39:53] So I'm guessing she was the girl on the horse.Track 3:[39:56] So I can't remember the name, Claire maybe or Chloe or I forget. Makes complete sense.Track 3:[40:04] I don't know this, so I'll ask it. How many kids does Gord have and are they spread out in age quite a bit? I don't know the second part of the question, but I know he's got four. There's Lou and Willow, who both played on his former partner's record, played keyboard and drums, respectively. And then there's Willow, who is an artist, like painter and jewelry artist, and she's very talented. She did the away as mind cover as well I did know that I think I think I asked that question because at the end you know of Gordon's life he did that interview with Peter Mansbridge, and talked about his son and got very emotional and his son was young he referenced his age and said he was quite young and this was 2016 or 17 whenever the interview was, and which would have been 15 years after this album came out.Track 3:[41:03] So, that's where my head went with how many, how old, just trying to put the puzzle pieces together. I was going to make mention when I was doing a little bit of research, there was a, uh, uh, you know, a fan video, uh, when, when I guess they toured this album and I believe they were actually in, uh, it might've been in Vancouver when they're playing it, but he was, you know, having an exchange with, with someone in the audience about, you know, uh, your nightlights on going to bed. And uh i think the fan might have been thinking that the song was about something else and and he referenced that right back to her very quickly in kind of a snide mark saying i don't think it means what you think it means about going to bed and and uh that stuck out to me it was you know one that he had no problems interacting with the fan and and kind of correcting them on on their interpretation uh of the song but it the song is is is beautiful and in so many different ways and you know all of us being fathers and and and having you know those experiences and and then obviously having the emotional tie-in with with gordon and what he's done with the band you know in the tragically hip and and and then with his solo stuff and and uh it it's it's gorgeous it's beautiful whatever adjective you can come up with that that uh you know brings that feeling to you.Track 3:[42:31] As a father in those moments when you're just you can't even can't even process i did this i had a hand in this and this human is is going to grow out into the world and And I'm a better human because of it. And to be able to, you know, put that, um, you know, in lyrics and in a song, uh, again, just adds to the, uh, adds to the amazement, uh, that that gentleman was able to give us.Track 3:[43:04] Yeah. And the vocal performance by both Gord and, uh, Julie Dwaran is, is so full that they have such control of their voices. Pitch perfect, emotional, just such a song. Her soft awe in the background puts this song over the top. It wouldn't be the song without her contribution to it. That's no disrespect to Gord, but the song isn't the same without Julie Dwaran. And I thought that my favorite father-daughter song was Thrown Off Glass from In Violet Light, But this one, my daughter is the one jumping off shit. She is trick riding 24 hours a day and I'm like, oh my God, kill me. Yeah. So I looked it up. It is Claire Downey who reads the poem on the new edition. So I'm guessing that's who C could be. Got to be.Track 3:[44:05] The song is way too personal for it not to be. is is julie did i understand that she's she did some stuff with the hip as well yeah, yeah she sang um in some live shows with them and i think was part of some tribute stuff at the end too i may be wrong um i know i know kate fenner was um on one tour as a backup music Music at work. But I feel like, I'm pretty sure I've read, yeah, that Julie was on, doing some backups on one of the albums. I could be wrong. Yeah, I remember that too. I feel like, maybe now for Plan A, possibly. That sounds right. I know, although I know... Oh, yeah. Oh, that's her name. Yeah.Track 3:[44:52] Also from Kingston. There's another woman who does now for planning the title track. Yeah, Sarah Harmer. She's the vocal on... Anyways, that's a different album, different band. Different podcast. Different podcast, yeah. Oh, and I have to... Last thing about Trick Rider for me is that slide guitar that just doesn't quite hit the note. I just love it. It's kind of that quarter tone or something. It reminds me of, if you know the Faith No More cover of Easy, right before the solo when Mike Patton goes up to the, ew, and almost like purposely is in between notes. I just think it's so neat. I was going to say both vocally and musically with a variety of instruments throughout several songs, obviously this one as well, is there's just that, it's not quite there, but it's also, it adds again to that character of the song. I heard something or read something about one of the musicians, I believe the guitar player that, that was part of this, like he hit a note and he, he would just beat the shit out of it until it became the note that was right for the song, whether it started off right or not, he, it, it was going to become that.Track 3:[46:03] And, and I love that thought or that prospect, right? We get so, we get so caught up in, Oh, everything's got to be perfect. I got to tune my guitar up exactly right. I've got to have the mic place perfectly. And I've got to have, you know this tonality and and sometimes it's just good to just just let it go and let that emotion come through more so than you know the technical note of itself yeah yeah there's no such thing as a wrong note if it's you know played with with with confidence and intention and yeah yeah so next we go to a song that i think could totally be a hip jam to me this song he's singing It's the first song on the record where he's singing in a tone in a register that we recognize.Track 3:[49:09] So Craig, you said it, um, this is punk rock and Gord loved punk rock, right? Yeah. Yeah. Um, but it's old guy punk rock. Like it's, it's, this is guys who are not punk rockers anymore trying to, to do punk or at least the story, right.Track 3:[49:26] Um, within the song. And, and I'm not saying that about the musicians that played the song. I'm saying that about the story Gord tells here that, you know, they're, they're, they're buying weed from each other in a cornfield, right? In the dark you know um like i can picture my old man and his uncles or and his brothers my uncles just you know hiding from the cops at age 50 55 years old just feeling like be cool man shut up uh i love this song yeah great song i i gotta say i'll take the bullet guys here's my first criticism even though as much as i love um how they recorded it my goodness gracious i needed the drummer to use some sticks and not brushes like i needed to feel that those drums coming through in this song and and to make it punk rock like it was like they they you know hey let's find the jazz drummer to do the punk song um and not that it didn't serve it well and it's a in fact probably what i would have liked was that drum track with the brushes and another drum track on.Track 3:[50:35] Top of it with sticks and then also maybe adding the mics to get more of the tonality of the drums but again now that's just the music guy and me going i wanted to hear that i needed to hear that snap i needed to hear that crack i needed to hear the pop right sorry gonna use a uh a breakfast cereal reference but um i i i i wanted that for this song still love it it's It's funny because it opens on snare hits. Right.Track 3:[51:08] Yeah. But if I'm not mistaken and I'll, I'll completely eat my words, I believe they use brushes throughout Craig. Do you, did you go that deep or what did you think? I didn't, but I know for me, I definitely noticed that it, it, it felt like it should be heavier but i think that's part of what gave the song character was those heavy guitars that almost sounded like they were played at a low volume in a room jamming and i i thought it just gave it a unique character and and i have to say though my favorite part is actually at the end when when all of a sudden i actually picked up a guitar today just to see what was going on with this and and they go up from you know they're playing and you know you're one four five e e b and a and then um they go right up they just go up to that f and i know the first time i heard it it's just just so striking it just sounds so out of place and then after you've heard the song a couple times just so perfect such a such a great dissonance and.Track 3:[52:05] Really really um almost like a two you know 2000s indie rock feel almost like an arcade fire kind of three years before arcade fire was doing it kind of thing so wow it felt like a one take demo to me and they said fuck it it's good like run it i like that we'll do it live yeah me too do it we'll do it keep it but kirk yeah i think um it would be really interesting to see what the hip would have done with with that song like a fully polished yeah you know but but i felt the same about the next song chandler um you're listening to it again today in fact and again was like man with some different instrumentation you know change changing the tempo a bit on this is this is absolutely the uh potentially a hip song uh for me you know uh and uh yeah hard hard not to uh go into you know as he speaks about letting the opening the window inviting the vampires in and if i'm not mistaken this this song did pretty well was it a single.Track 3:[53:15] I don't think any of the solo stuff did particularly well. It was sort of under the radar, especially after this record came out. This record was highly anticipated, but I think early on the word got out that it wasn't hip, and so there were a lot of hip people that jumped up. A lot of people stayed on board, don't get me wrong. but um there was a good cohort that sort of veered away and it's interesting that the sum of the parts you know um the hip are it just goes to show you how magical they are as a as a fivesome because you take one component away you know and it's just not the same like gort sinclair's solo record is dynamite so are you know paul's three records they're really really good but they're not the hip yeah you know so i'm just and i think this is where i got it from i'm just you know looking looking up on spotify and if you go to gordonie this song has the most downloads of all the solo stuff oh okay so that that makes a lot of sense yeah i know there's a there's definitely a video for this yeah yeah but i i don't recall ever hearing.Track 3:[54:31] This song anything from this album on the radio i i had i did hear some later songs um but definitely not that you know that i heard so this is where hitler comes in big time um the.Track 3:[54:47] Hitler had a very odd sleeping pattern. He stayed up very late and would go to bed at like 6, 6.30 in the morning and then get up at noon and just spend his whole day working out maps and plans and this is where the advancement is and all this stuff. And there are so many, if you read between the lines references about the night of a thousand missteps, the loss that made him dogged, or it could have been the doggedness that caused the loss in the first place.Track 3:[55:18] And Chancellor, I mean, that was Hitler's position, you know? Wow. Marching armies in the night, smiling strangers riding by on bikes. That would be, you know, when the allies come into Paris or something, you know? Children's smoking, which there was a huge anti-smoking campaign in Germany during World War II, sloganeers. And he mentions in one of the first lines, invite the vampire in, open the windows before we go to bed to get the coldest air in the room, which is just before the sun comes up. And then at the end, talking about a few things that vampires don't like, all the things referenced between the vampire references are Hitler-ish things. So I don't know it that's that's where my head went and then um before you are wow i know that but but damn it i'm following gordon's path you know and he like i said he references justin you're taking us into dark places my friend and the word chancellor for me it was like hmm and then i started to kind of read into it and i was like yikes and by the way guys spoiler alert this won't be the last time i talk about hitler during this thing not that i love him let's put that out there but there are There are some real references to the war throughout this album. Yeah, that's really interesting.Track 3:[56:41] My mind went a completely different direction. I was thinking like a chancellor of a university. And again, I didn't read the lyrics. I didn't dig that deeply in. But it was funny because my daughter really likes this song. We kept playing in the car and I was explaining what a chancellor of a university was. And she said, oh, I thought it was like Chancellor Palpatine. Wow. and it turns out she was she was the right one yeah i guess she was she was closer than i was yeah wow look at that cross my read is so completely vastly different again my read is like bittersweet and romantic uh the chorus yeah i couldn't be a chancellor without you on my mind if i wasn't if i wasn't obsessed with you or thinking about you all the time time. Um, you know, who knows what I could have become. And on the, and in the video, isn't he riding around? He's on the swan boats. It's just, it does not make me. Swans. Yeah. Yeah. He does not make me, uh, feel like, like, uh, like he's referenced, referencing world war two, but that's fascinating. I can't wait to hear it again now.Track 3:[57:49] But at the end of that video, if you watch the full video at the very end, he's, it's revealed that he is the guy working the dock at the, at the swan boats and he takes off his coat and underneath it is a uniform that says guy. And he's the one taking the coins or the tokens or whatever for the people to ride the swan boats. So it's kind of like, uh.Track 3:[58:13] You know, when Hitler was a struggling artist before he became this global force and kind of took control, you know, he was romanticizing the idea of, of being chancellor of Germany. Wow yeah wow and i don't know wow reference to it or yes it's dark man because and again think of think of uh the song scared every hip show you go to everybody's everybody's slow dancing that's not a slow dance it's like we talked about in the other podcast it's like yeah that's the hips trick right or it's gorge yeah yeah 38 years old same thing long running same thing fiddler's green you know and and on and on and on these slow slow songs are are yeah miserable yeah and i have to say good yeah yeah yeah yeah and and the the vocal phrasing that the gourd uses on this just that, laid back where he just sort of hesitates on certain words i just just love it he's so unique that way. I think that's what separates him as a singer, is that phrasing.Track 3:[59:22] Oh, yeah. This is a really hard album to sing. And you guys are musicians and you play guitar and other instruments. I've always been a singer. And I cannot keep up with Gord on this album. I just can't. Like the chorus of this song, like, I'm discovering uses for you. But the way he throws uses for you together, it's like, it's almost like one overlaps the other. And it's like, that's impossible. And then on the more quaint side, I love that he rhymes pajamas by mispronouncing in a gourd-like way windows to rhyme with pajamas, right? Instead of windows. Oh, so great. By the way, that uses line, again, going back to Hitler's underlings, you know, doing experiments on twins and stuff like that. Like, this is, I think this is a dark one. I'm going to listen to it again tonight. And I can't wait to hear it. No.Track 3:[1:00:19] I hope I'm wrong. I think you're right. No, we know he likes the Second World War.Track 3:[1:00:26] And, you know, we've heard references to, you know, Nazis moving works of art or Russians moving works of art, you know, to stave off the Nazi army. And really quick, sorry, really quick shout out for the piano player. I'm guessing it was um hern but but man that piano is is really nice improvised piano solo yeah yeah it's a very sweet sounding song yeah bait and switch man yeah he got us the never ending present i was listening and and if you're a you know canadian of my age you knew right away who was singing backup so that was Stephen Drake because my mind went right to Wendy under the stars and um and you know right back to my you know my first car and being you know 16 years old and listening to the radio and and hearing the odds for the first time and and yeah just an unmistakable voice the harmonies are very distinct you know distinctly the odds and distinctly The one thing that I picked up was he mentioned his shoes were polished, which as we learned in the longtime running doc that he polished his shoes before every show.Track 3:[1:01:46] So I think he's talking about himself and it's kind of an introspective – I mean, he says I in every song, but I think this one might actually be about himself personally.Track 3:[1:02:00] I picture him standing on Broadview Avenue waiting for the streetcar. He says bus, but in my head it's a streetcar. And all the rest of the lyrics are the stuff that happens until the bus crashes the hill. Him dropping money inside the little money grabber on a bus. There's talk of that um but what i really what i really love about this song is how ahead of his time he is because this is like living in the present like being in the moment is so important and i've learned like through my mental wellness journey like how important it is to live in the moment and the idea that the moment can be never ending if you come about it with the right frame in my mind is so refreshing to hear. Amen. And of course they named the, um, uh, Michael Barclay wrote the book with using the title of the song.Track 3:[1:03:05] Sorry, I'm going to take a little detour off of this that I just have to bring up being, being the, uh, for the South American and someone that, uh, uh, you know, again, was always starving for hip. I've loved in this journey, discovering other Canadian bands. You guys were mentioning the odds. And, you know, I did the research a little bit on the dinner's ruined. And of course, you know, of the real statics from, you know, grace too. And we're all richer for having heard them. And, um, uh, I'm, I'm very excited, you know, during this to be able to take a dive into that music that I never got. Right. Cause I like Justin, you were lucky because you get a lot of that music, uh, in the Northeast.Track 3:[1:03:49] Um, no, no, no, we only get the hip and rush. Rush. There's no Canadian music except for the hip and Rush. I will say that. And Alanis, of course. but to do as a you know as a musician and and and being a big fan of many canadian bands you know rush is up there for me bare naked ladies is up there for me um obviously the tragic the hip is up there for me um but these other bands uh blue rodeo that has i think a little bit of a a um you know it did well here in the states um of course alanis and some of the others you know i want to I know more about the, uh, the ones that didn't get, uh, similar, similar stories to the tragically happened. And I'm really excited about taking that journey as well. And I love that, you know, that's one of the things that I've heard about in different, uh, uh, reading and, and interviews is Gord was such a proponent of getting, I mean, music out there, but, but specifically, obviously Canadian music and, and giving, you know, these, these not as well-known bands an opportunity.Track 3:[1:04:56] So, um, sorry, I just needed to take that little side journey there and, and, and share that with you guys. I'm with you. I'm with you a hundred percent. Just going off what you were saying, yeah, apparently Gord would actually stand side stage and watch a lot of these bands. Like he would just stay there for the whole set. And all these bands, you know, Eric's Trip and The Odds, they were all change of heart. They all played with the hip.Track 3:[1:05:23] And for me, it's been fun because I've been doing the same thing. I was listening to The Odds last night and I couldn't believe how many hit songs they had. You know they're a band i enjoyed but never really really got into i think i've seen them live a couple times but man they had their pop song they were yeah that's exactly it they were they're you know pop writing you know machines but yeah i'm excited i'm excited about the journey for sure and and especially getting connected with you guys and having the experience you know know, uh, um, uh, being from Canada and, and, and really experiencing that not only on the radio, but, but live as well, that, uh, that's going to be a great journey. Cause isn't it great when you go to see, you know, you go to see one of your favorite bands and the opener shows up, you never heard of them. And, and all of a sudden they become, you know, one of your favorites and you're, you're falling around and, you know, and then it's always hard if they do make it, you're kind of like, man, that was my band, but I liked it when they were small, you know, I want them to be big, but not that big. I, that's, I mean, I mentioned it with, with the hip, you know, like all my experiences and I got to see them, I don't know, seven, seven, eight times, something like that.Track 3:[1:06:36] Like the biggest venue I saw them in was, was probably 1200 people. And, um, you know, the Troubadour, I got to see them in and, and, and up in San Francisco, the Fillmore's, you know, it's, it's over a thousand, uh, might be closer to actually, I'm not sure. I'll have to look that up. But the thing that I loved about it is, you know, I'm a hockey guy. And I think I mentioned the story to, to you, JD, like we're close to the ducks and the Kings and, and most hockey teams are, you know, 50 plus percent, if not close to 70% Canadians. And so I'd go to a show, I'd be in Hollywood and I'd look over and be like, Oh, Hey, look, there's Luke Robitaille or, you know, Oh, there's Chris Pronger. There's, you know, Scott Niedermeyer, you know, I'm hanging it out and oh oh hey paul korea how's it going you like the hip too you know and um what an experience and then canadian actors as well i got to meet dan akroyd at at the house of blues hollywood and he introduced the hip on stage and then you know he's rat so uh you know for me it's so weird um when you talk of this band they were a club band to me you know i i've seen what they've done and where they've played. And so anyway, I I'm, I'm taking us off the, the album, but just wanted to share that with, with you gents. No, that's cool.Track 3:[1:08:04] So now we take a hard, right. And, um, we get the track, the soundscape, uh, nothing but heartache in your social life.Track 3:[1:11:14] Did you say a hard right or a hard Reich? Because again, the Hitler.Track 3:[1:11:20] I'm serious. So again, this goes back to the poetry and there's a poem called Toiletten in the book and it is about Hitler's, I'm not even inferring this, this is about Hitler's podium at Zeppelin Field in Nuremberg and it now has signs pointing tourists to the toilet. Um, and the, uh, similarities between that poem and this song or spoken word, whatever, um, it's a hundred percent about that. And Gord even stumbles on a lyric that they, that they leave in the song, um, when the podium sprouting weeds and he stumbles on rendered ridiculous by the time. So the podium is this massive concrete structure that when you see film of Hitler speaking to 150,000, 200,000 Germans during wartime, that's where this is. But it's still there, and it's sprouting weeds, and the podium and its purpose have been rendered ridiculous by the times. When are you thinking of disappearing? I mean, when are you falling off the map when the unknown that you're fearing is in the clearing? That's totally about surrendering in the war and the allied forces moving across the field to wipe out the Nazis.Track 3:[1:12:46] When you're getting king-size satisfaction in the turnstiles of the night from all the shaky pill transactions, if that's not Jewish prisoners going to a concentration camp running down the train tracks in the middle of the night. I don't know what it is. It's, again, a very dark thing, and I think it leads to Hitler's suicide. That's when are you thinking of disappearing? Yeah.Track 3:[1:13:16] And it is interesting to note that the asterisk that comes with the title in the lyrics, it says Dale Morningstar provided echoing screams at the end of the song. It doesn't just say backing vocals or call and answer. It's echoing screams. I was wondering who was calling back and forth with them. They kind of sound like, even though the topic sounds quite serious, they're having some fun with it. At the end kind of yelling back and forth with each other and um and also of note um adam agoyan the filmmaker plays plays uh the classical guitar on this track and and one other track and so he's uh i think i read that that maybe this song was sort of based off some some things he brought in, came into the studio one day and they they sort of riffed off what he was doing and put this sort of spoken word. I also got, I don't know if you guys got this, but I almost got like an M&M vibe, like just like attitude wise. And of course I believe this would have been before M&M anyways, but, but just that, that sort of attitude and way he was rattling off these lines.Track 3:[1:14:29] Yeah, I get it. Absolutely. So the other me, you know, I was trying to get my, my head out of World War II with this, and it was easy to see in 2024 that Gord predicted the future of social media, right? This is before Facebook and MySpace and all this stuff, but this is 100% in line with everybody's mental health problems stemming from not having enough likes on their posts, right? This could absolutely be interpreted 20 plus years later in that way, if you were to look at it from that angle. Yeah, I...Track 3:[1:15:13] Obviously still like absorbing everything in the referencing that you're speaking of, uh, Hitler and world war two and, and how, you know, JD and Craig were like, didn't necessarily get that right away. I, I definitely, you know, heard the references. I, I knew of the references from some of the hip tunes. Um and uh and then just seeing this whole journey that he's taking with just coming out there with a solo album in the first place and then you hear about how um and again it's it's you know i don't know the exact i haven't spoken with the other members but some of the solo stuff really caused a bit of a rift within the band and then if you start thinking about the product of the hip you You know, this is where a big portion of their fan base starts turning away.Track 3:[1:16:04] And I wonder if that tension came through in some of the music. For me and you, Justin, we discovered them during this time. And like most bands, you don't become close to them. And, you know, I'll take a few exceptions. You know, Led Zeppelin. I wasn't there when the albums came out. But the band meant a lot to me later in life. But nothing like, I'll give an example of other bands, Rush and Barenaked Ladies. I went to those shows when those albums came out, same thing with The Hip, as it relates to 2000 and beyond. And so my reference point is there. Um, and then Gord goes off and decides to, to do this solo work. And, um, and not only does he does the solo work, but he starts taking that poetry side in the book that comes out along with it. He starts throwing in spoken word and we could spend a lot of time with the discussion about poetry versus spoken word versus lyrics versus, um, uh, you know, the, the, the written prose and, and, and where it all comes together and the different attitudes towards it. Um, but I, I'm, I'm honestly kind of shaking inside just thinking about the, the ability that, that Gord has to take a historical perspective.Track 3:[1:17:23] Area and put it into a spoken word and or song. But then in the same breath, depending on how you come at it, you get something completely different. If you don't know those references specifically, you're going to find something from a meaningful standpoint. So sorry. I mean, you really got me goosebumps in there, Justin. Well, I think that if I had never read lyrics from the hip, I would never have approached it from this angle.Track 3:[1:17:51] But it's kind of hard to not look at some of that stuff. He did an interview in the early 90s with some TV, whatever, and they said, what are your songs about? And he said, all of our songs are about war. And I remember seeing that on YouTube about 10 or a dozen years ago and thinking, oh, okay. Now, whether he was speaking Speaking of literal war or a relationship or conflict within the band or whatever, family, something, but there's a struggle or something that needs to be resolved in each one of these songs. And so I've, for better or worse, looked at a lot of hip stuff from that point forward, whatever year it was, as is Gord talking about literal war here. And that's just where I picked up on. Was he a history-type major? Did he have family that maybe participated in the war? There is a short poem in the book that is about his grandfather serving in World War II.Track 3:[1:18:56] Yeah, I could see that. Both my grandparents served in World War II, and I was a history major, and so I can see where that tie comes from.Track 3:[1:19:08] I hope we can move past the war stuff soon. Thanks justin yeah anything else from you craig well yeah i know i have nothing to add other than i love the little bait like bass kind of jazz odyssey thing that steven drake goes off on at the end if you if you notice the last like five seconds he just does this little improvised producer as well noodle it's pretty right bass player yes yes yeah engineering okay engineer anyways yeah Yeah, engineer. Well, that's what we got for you for this first episode. We're going to take a break and recuperate and recalibrate and take some electrolytes and we'll be back. Now, pick up your shit.

god tv jesus christ music new york california canada children hollywood man speaking germany canadian san francisco west toronto german russian kings coffee detroit jewish trip new orleans world war ii grammy track nazis attention states southern california vancouver starbucks mac columbia minneapolis adolf hitler cd mirror rush odds pitch east coast amen south africans ottawa jd glow northeast hip coke cds myspace reich led zeppelin albany makes packing south american egg blown marching burlington smashing pumpkins chino swans u s niagara drown mmm tim hortons hips nuremberg tracy chapman luke combs barenaked ladies fillmore troubadour gord faith no more toiletten tragically hip gnr be it mike patton fast car danforth gord downie chris pronger commercialism timbits bnl peter mansbridge hortons phantom power fillmore west chancellor palpatine chambermaid sarah harmer michael barclay kevin hearn by divine right

Behind The Book Sports Betting Podcast: March Madness is BACK! But first, NFL Offseason and NBA Playoff Predictions

Behind The Book Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 11, 2024 47:52

Gear up for an adrenaline-pumping journey through the sports betting universe! Kevin Hearn steps into the podcast arena, bringing a fresh Chicago Bears perspective. The hosts discuss the Denver Broncos drastic off-season changes amongst other "poverty" NFL teams. The crew gives out early Tournament favorites and dogs. NBA playoffs are around the corner and the West looks unstoppable, can the Denver Nuggets go back to back?! Follow Ameristar Black Hawk:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ameristar.Casino.BHInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ameristarbh/Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmeristarBHTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ameristarbh Follow the Podcast:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthebookpod/

Kevin Hearn Talks Fatherhood, New Barenaked Ladies Album, Touring & More

The Art of Fatherhood Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 27, 2023 22:45

Kevin Hearn sits down with me to talk about his fatherhood journey. He shares the values he looks to instill into his daughter. In addition, he shares how they bond over music. After that we talk about the latest Barenaked Ladies album. We also talk about the impact that his music has on people and meeting and working with one of his idols, Lou Reed. Kevin shares how he prepares for a tour. We even talk about Star Wars collectibles. Lastly, we finish the interview with the Fatherhood Quick Five. About Kevin Hearn Best known as a member of the Canadian alt-rock outfit Barenaked Ladies, Kevin Hearn has appeared on all of the group's albums since joining in the late 1990s. Away from the band, the keyboardist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter has sustained his own career, working with his group Thin Buckle and issuing solo albums like 1997's Mothball Mint, 2011's Cloud Maintenance, and 2014's Days in Frames. Make sure you follow Kevin on Instagram at @kevinhearnmusic. For more on Kevin, go to his website at kevinhearn.com. Begin Health Is This Week's Sponsor Begin Health is the leading kid's microbiome health company on a mission to create the next generation of wellness through evidenced - based nutrition. Their signature Growing Up Prebiotics products are formulated for toddlers and kids ages 1+. It contains only two ingredients: fiber and 2'-FL HMO, a prebiotic strain with the same molecular structure of beneficial prebiotics found in breast milk. Their Growing Up Prebiotics harness the power of these ingredients to support a healthy gut. In addition it helps to improve digestion and help our littlest family members poop with ease. Learn more about our mission and check out our lineup of products at beginhealth.com. Use the code ART15 for 15% off your first purchase. About The Art of Fatherhood Podcast The Art of Fatherhood Podcast follows the journey of fatherhood. Your host, Art Eddy talks with fantastic dads from all around the world where they share their thoughts on fatherhood. You get a unique perspective on fatherhood from guests like Joe Montana, Kevin Smith, Danny Trejo, Jerry Rice, Jeff Foxworthy, Patrick Warburton, Jeff Kinney, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Kyle Busch, Dennis Quaid, Dwight Freeney and many more.

Episode 622: Kevin Hearn (of Barenaked Ladies)

RiYL

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 26, 2023 39:57

Few bands reach the status of “institution.” It's a qualifier that has applied to Barenaked Ladies for several decades now. Multi-instrumentalist Kevin Hearn has been a part of that journey since 1995, joining prior to the one-two punch of Born of a Pirate Ship and Stunt, the latter of which catapulted the already-popular band into the stratosphere. Hearn's professional career stretches back further, to the late-80s, when he joined Toronto's legendary Look People. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Behind The Book Sports Betting Podcast: featuring guest hosts David Gaston and Kevin Hearn

Behind The Book Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 27, 2023 18:25

The hosts are joined by two guests: Kevin Hearn, new Player Development Manager at Ameristar Black Hawk and David Gaston, Senior Account Associate with the Colorado Rockies. The hosts give their favorite picks of the week and an update on the Spread Pick Em Challenge.Follow the Podcast: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthebookpod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/behindthebook_ Follow Ameristar: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ameristarbh/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmeristarBH

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Ep. 45: Can We Save America From Financial Collapse? | Rep. Kevin Hearn | Dr. Carol Swain

The Sean Spicer Show

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 20, 2023 48:00

In an era where big government spending runs unchecked, how do we restore a balanced budget? Today, Representative Kevin Hern joins Sean to explain how we can restore fiscal responsibility, and share his work leading the House's most conservative caucus. And as wokeism and cancel culture divide America like never before, Dr. Carol Swain gives her take on racial relations today—and how DEI programs are all doomed to fail. -- Advertisers: Go to 4Patriots.com and use code SPICER to get 10% off your first purchase. Visit BishopGoldGroup.com/Sean for a special promotion to start your journey toward prosperity with precious metals. Get a complimentary bottle of Nugenix Total T when you text 231-231 and enter the keyword SPICER. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Season 3, Episode 14: Daryn Barry

The Talk Music Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 20, 2023 91:26

On this week's podcast, my guest is DARYN BARRY, co-owner of one of the best studios in the world: The ORANGE LOUNGE RECORDING STUDIO in downtown Toronto. I recently had some of the most fun in years with Daryn as we chatted in his beautiful, vibing control room. Daryn was the first employee I hired at my Hypnotic label/studio many years ago, so we chat about how we first met and some of the acts we worked on together, including BIG SUGAR, ANVIL, VOIVOD, and THE LOOK PEOPLE (featuring JAYMZ BEE and KEVIN HEARN). After leaving Hypnotic, we go deep on how Daryn helped open The Orange Lounge boutique studio and turn it into one of the best in the world. With an incredible list of some of the world's biggest stars who have either recorded or mixed there (DRAKE, AMY WINEHOUSE, THE WEEKEND, NELLY FURTADO, TRAGICALLY HIP, RUSH and MADONNA), Daryn opens up about his time working with the artists and offers his expert advice on the process. This is the longest chat I've had so far, but we had so much fun discussing our views on the music biz that I've decided to post the entire deep dive. Enjoy! Follow us and subscribe to the Talk Music podcast so you never miss out. The Talk Music Podcast features host Tom Treumuth, a multi-Platinum music producer/manager/entrepreneur. The focus is on both Canadian and Global music commentary. Over his 40 year music career, Tom Treumuth has worked across all aspects of the music industry, including as a talent scout for RCA New York and producing over 60 albums, with 8 achieving Gold and Platinum status (Honeymoon Suite, Helix, Big Sugar). His Hypnotic label released over 100 albums across all genres via A&M/Universal including artists such as Big Sugar, Anvil, Voivod, Figgy Duff, the Look People, Grimskunk, Chris Spedding and many others. Tom also owned and ran a recording studio, was a booking agent and was signed as a songwriter to RCA Publishing in New York. Tom loved artist management and during his career managed Honeymoon Suite, Lee Aaron, Platinum US rock group Steelheart and Hamilton born Kazzer (Pedal to the Metal) who Tom signed to Columbia Records in New York. Tom also managed and Co produced rock act Gypsy Rose whom he signed to RCA in New York where he worked closely with Gene Simmons. More recently, Tom was Co-Managing Director of indie label Frostbyte (Universal) where he was involved in signing the Headstones and Matt Good. Tom also co-founded Latitude 44, a tech conference in Toronto and was Artistic Director for Estonian Music Week. Tom's career started as a keyboard musician in True Myth, who recorded the world's 1st digital rock album on Warner Music.

Political Thriller: The Ousting of McCarthy and the Hunter Biden Laptop Controversy

Narativ Live with Zev Shalev (Audio)

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 8, 2023 26:45

American politics is never short of drama; this episode is a testament to that. We're starting with a political thriller - the ousting of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. His replacement could be Jim Jordan, Steve Scalise, or Kevin Hearn. Or it could be a plot twist like no other - Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries as a Unity Speaker. This upheaval of leadership and the potential for a coalition government could change the face of the Republic. But wait, there's more! We're also diving into the murky depths of the Hunter Biden laptop controversy. This tale has a mysterious laptop, political machinations, and a cast of characters ranging from a Delaware store owner to Rudy Giuliani. We discuss the explosive contents of the laptop, the possible smear campaign against the Biden family, and the fascinating chain of ownership of the laptop data. So buckle up! This episode promises to be a wild ride through American politics' complex and often scandalous world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Political Thriller: The Ousting of McCarthy and the Hunter Biden Laptop Controversy

Narativ Live with Zev Shalev

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 8, 2023 25:15

American politics is never short of drama; this episode is a testament to that. We're starting with a political thriller - the ousting of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. His replacement could be Jim Jordan, Steve Scalise, or Kevin Hearn. Or it could be a plot twist like no other - Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries as a Unity Speaker. This upheaval of leadership and the potential for a coalition government could change the face of the Republic. But wait, there's more! We're also diving into the murky depths of the Hunter Biden laptop controversy. This tale has a mysterious laptop, political machinations, and a cast of characters ranging from a Delaware store owner to Rudy Giuliani. We discuss the explosive contents of the laptop, the possible smear campaign against the Biden family, and the fascinating chain of ownership of the laptop data. So buckle up! This episode promises to be a wild ride through American politics' complex and often scandalous world.

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Kevin Hearn's THE SUPERHERO SUITE (2019) Review!

Barenaked ABCs (Alphabetical Barenaked [Ladies] Catalog

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 8, 2023 94:57

BAM! POW! CRASH! Sorry, I was making NOISES! With my MOUTH! For this PODCAST! Also in this episode: Too much cum talk. The return of a very familiar setting... The Raceist! Zoooooooooom! BONUS SEGMENT: PETERBOROUGH AND THE KAWARTHAS! You can find Kevin Hearn's Superhero Suite at: https://open.spotify.com/album/7xH2EjW5DfvHMyX57ZbI6R?si=JRaI_GMUS7mzVfChD9hEPQ&nd=1 Buy Children of Teclis: https://www.amazon.com/Children-Teclis-Warhammer-Age-Sigmar-ebook/dp/B0C81R4L4H Back Saker's Kickstarter (yes, it's out!): https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2d6/nerdcore-darlings-2d6-present-their-ninth-weirdo-album/rewards Get yourself some IABD shirts! Wear a logo on your chest!: https://www.teepublic.com/user/itsallbeendonepodcast Catch us on the 'net!: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1593559714014720 Twitter: @beendonepod Discord: http://www.projectderailed.com/discord Thanks to Project Derailed for hosting us!

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Episode 282: Phillip Harder

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2023 60:25

We have a rare treat for you this week. We were able to talk with music video legend Phillip Harder. He directed 6 BNL videos and 2 Kevin Hearn videos. And he has some great stories to tell.

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BARENAKED LADIES Kevin Hearn live from Summerfest grounds

Dirt from the Road

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2023 38:43

Barenaked Ladies keys/guitarist Kevin Hearn sits down with Brett Newski (NEWSKI) live at the BMO Harris Pavilion on the Summerfest Grounds in Milwaukee. More on Kevin: https://www.instagram.com/kevinhearnmusic/ Support the pod: https://www.patreon.com/Newski NEWSKI TOUR: 6/16 - APPLETON, WI - Fox River House 6/17 - SHEBOYGAN, WI - Three Sheeps 6/23 - CEDAR RAPIDS, IA - Newbo City Market 6/24 - BROOKFIELD, IL - Music on Grand 6/30 - BARABOO, WI - Tumbled Rock Brewing 7/1 - MADISON, WI - Terrace at Memorial Union 7/14 - MILWAUKEE, WI - Fiserv Forum Deer District 7/15 - GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Founders 7/16 - THREE OAKS, MI - Acorn Theatre 8/18 - VIROQUA, WI - Fortney Hotel Street Party 8/31 - NORMAL, IL - Make Music Normal 9/15 - GREEN BAY, WI - Badger State Brewing 9/21 - SPRING GREEN, WI - Shitty Barn

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Bothering the Band - Kevin Hearn

Bothering the Band

Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2023 52:44

From Gord Downie to Lou Reed, we got deep in music discussion with the super sweet Kevin Hearn (aka Kev Cakes), multi-instrumentalist from Barenaked Ladies, and one of the most respected Toronto musicians of the past 25 years. His seventh solo album, Days In Frames, is sonically stunning, easy and breezy...just like Kev Cakes himself.

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#338 Chris Brown

Apologue Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 8, 2023 46:50

Brown was one of the primary singers and songwriters for the alternative rock band Bourbon Tabernacle Choir in the 1980s and 1990s. When that band broke up, he continued performing as a duo with his Bourbon bandmate Kate Fenner. Brown has accompanied dozens of notable musicians on stage, including a six-month stint as a member of Barenaked Ladies in 1998 filling in for Kevin Hearn while Hearn battled leukemia. He is also a social justice activist and the founder of the Pros and Cons Program bringing recording arts to prisons and creating musical works for charities. The Pros and Cons Program has become internationally recognized as groundbreaking in fields of restorative justice and inmate mentorship, with the support of The David Rockefeller Fund. Brown recorded an album with the prisoners called Postcards from the County which Exclaim! described as "inescapably honest and sincere". Brown has recently launched Wolfe Island Records as a home for the prison music and the many artists he produces and collaborates with, including Fenner, Suzanne Jarvie, David Corley, One River, The Mermaids, Hadley McCall Thackston and the Stephen Stanley Band. In 2017 he released a new solo album Pacem. PopMatters premiered his first single, "Keeper of the Flame", and Huffington Post raved that "Pacem is one of those albums that works on the listener from the inside out." Brown currently lives in Wolfe Island where he tours solo and performs with local musicians in a band called Open Hearts Society. Catch Brown Hawkins Stanley on tour this spring! Brown Hawkins Stanley SHOWS SPRING 2023: MAY 11, 2023 BROWN/HAWKINS/STANLEY - Palasad Social Bowl - London Ontario London, ON Palasad SocialBowl 777 Adelaide Street NorthLondon ON N5Y 2L8 (519) 645-7164 w/special guests The PairsTICKETSINFOMAY 12, 2023 BROWN/HAWKINS/STANLEY - THE MULE SPINNER - HAMILTON Hamilton, ON The Mule Spinner 11 Landsdowne AveHamilton ON L8L 6N3 (519) 774-1218 w/special guest Lori YatesTICKETSINFOMAY 13, 2023 BROWN/HAWKINS/STANLEY - OXFORD PENNANT ROOM - BUFFALO Buffalo, NY Town Ballroom 681 Main StreetBuffalo, NY 14203 W/ special guest Greg SmithTICKETSINFOMAY 19, 2023 BROWN/HAWKINS/STANLEY - THE PARKSIDE LOUNGE - NYC New York, NY Parkside Lounge 317 East Houston StreetNew York, NY 10002 (212) 673-6270 Guest TBATICKETSINFOMAY 20, 2023 BROWN/HAWKINS/STANLEY - BIG WRENCH - BROOKLYN NY Brooklyn, NY Big Wrench 264 Hoyt St.Brooklyn, NY 917-375-1574 Guest TBAINFOMAY 21, 2023 BROWN/HAWKINS/STANLEY - REDBIRD LIVE - OTTAWA Ottawa, ON Redbird Live 1165 Bank StreetOttawa ON K1S 3X7 w/ special guest GravenTICKETSINFOMAY 25, 2023 BROWN/HAWKINS/STANLEY - JETHRO'S - PETERBOROUGH Peterborough, Ontario Jethros 137 Hunter Street WestPeterborough Ontario w/ special guest Rocky RobertsTICKETSINFOMAY 26, 2023 BROWN/HAWKINS/STANLEY - SAM'S PLACE - PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY Prince Edward, ON Sam's Place 3038 County Rd. 3Prince Edward ON w/ special guest Liner.TICKETSINFOMAY 27, 2023 BROWN/HAWKINS/STANLEY - Longboat Hall - Toronto Toronto, ON Longboat Hall 103 Dovercourt RoadToronto ON M6J 3C2 (416) 792-1268 w/ special guest Liner.TICKETSINFO Go to BETTERHELP.com/apologue for confidential online counselling.use the code word Apologue for a 7 day free trial Pledge monthly with Patreon https://www.patreon.com/apologueShop Apologue products at http://apologue.ca/shop

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Season 3, Episode 2: Kevin Hearn

The Talk Music Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2023 32:58

This weeks guest is Kevin Hearn who has been a member of the Canadian Hall of Fame inductees Barenaked Ladies since joining them in 1995. Kevin has worked with some of the world's best musicians and artists such as Neil Young, Tanya Tagaq, Elvis Costello, Tom Jones and for his last six years Kevin was Music Director and keyboardist for Lou Reed who was one of his musical hero's. Kevin also had a deep friendship with Gord Downie and worked closely with Gord on his last album “Secret Path” and his final concert at Massey Hall. Kevin being a creative tornado has also recorded some innovative and imaginative solo albums over the years and a brand new one was just released Feb 17th called “Dreaming of the 80's.” The new album features violinist Hugh Marsh along with Carole Pope, Fernando Saunders from Lou Reed's band, trumpeter Micheal Ray from the Sun Ra orchestra and esteemed opera singer Michael Colvin. The start of our interview begins with a fun chat about our time together when he was a member of the Look People an act that was signed to my Hypnotic Label. Kevin has truly made the world a better place with his presence through music and his generosity and I am honoured to have him on the podcast. For more info on Kevin here is his homepage https://kevinhearn.com

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Episode 643: Russia's campaign to forcibly adopt Ukrainian children, New Order's Blue Monday at 40, Xylazine arrives in Canada, Kevin Hearn and more

Day 6 from CBC Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 24, 2023 54:06

Meet the Ukranians trying to stop Russia's alleged abduction of Ukrainian children; the legacy of New Order's Blue Monday at 40; Indigenous communities take the lead on clean energy; Canadian brace for the impact of Xylazine in street drugs; how high-priced eye creams compare to regular moisturizers; how Canadian musician Kevin Hearn accidentally helped uncover the biggest art fraud in history; and more.

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Episode 45 - Kevin Hearn and Hugh Marsh talk about the decade that influenced their new album Dreaming Of The 80's

The Sound Affect

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 22, 2023 88:26

After joining the Barenaked Ladies in 1995, Kevin Hearn has released innovative solo records and collaborated with everyone from Ron Sexsmith and Mary Margaret O'Hara to The Violent Femmes and Lou Reed, for whom Hearn acted as a musical director and keyboardist from 2007 until his passing in 2013. Hearn was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2018 as part of Barenaked Ladies. Canadian violinist Hugh Marsh began playing music professionally in the late 70s. Although he began playing Jazz, he branched off by joining Bruce Cockburn's band in 1979. Marsh was a founding member of the band Nick Buzz. But, throughout his distinguished career, he has also played with Loreena McKinnett, Peter Murphy of Bauhaus, Robert Palmer, Hans Zimmer, and most recently, the Rheostatics. These pillars of Canadian music have released Dreaming of the Eighties, a celebration of a decade that we either love or hate. After listening to Hugh and Kevin's record, I think you'll agree that they have tapped into that love!

Kevin Hearn's DREAMING OF THE 80S (2023) Review!

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Play Episode Listen Later Mar 20, 2023 93:20

Oops! it was late! But the 80s are NEVER LATE! They're ALWAYS IN STYLE, BABY! Also in this episode: I GOTTA be a comp-troller. Gimme that burger. All my ehas live in Tehas. The premiere of the new Kevin Hearn song "Ice Cream Date!" BONUS SEGMENT: THERE AIN'T ONE! This episode was TOO LONG! Get yourself some IABD shirts! Wear a logo on your chest!: https://www.teepublic.com/user/itsallbeendonepodcast Catch us on the 'net!: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1593559714014720 Twitter: @beendonepod Discord: http://www.projectderailed.com/discord Thanks to Project Derailed for hosting us!

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40: Kevin Hearn from Barenaked Ladies

Turnbuckles

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 28, 2022 74:55

This week, the hosts talk with Kevin Hearn from the Barenaked Ladies about his history as a wrestling fan, new music, and more! Later, Sadie Names 'Em, and the hosts reflect on the funniest moments in wrestling this year. FOLLOW US on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube @turnbucklespod SEND US AN EMAIL at turnbucklespod@gmail.com Jon Rineman @rinemania Julie Harrison-Harney @juliehx2 Tommy Rico @tommyricomedy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 237: Serendipity

Barenaked ABCs (Alphabetical Barenaked [Ladies] Catalog

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 6, 2022 65:15

We were meant to discuss this song sooner or later and I'm glad that it happened. And now we are done with it so you can hear it and we can move on to other songs. Enjoy our discussion of “Serendipity” with Trevor Cox. Barenaked Ladies are Men Appearance Kevin Hearn interview about coming to music and keyboards Kevin singingRead More

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Kevin Hearn | 08-04-2022

Breaking It Down – Frank MacKay

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 5, 2022 45:25

The Award winning Canadian Band “Bare Naked Ladies” are known internationally for many of their hits records including “If I Had A Million Dollars,” “One Week,” “Brian Wilson” as well as the theme song for “The Big Bang Theory.” Guitarist, Keyboardists & Vocalist Kevin Hearn is our special guest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Como lo oyes - Macca Week: Cantando a McCartney 2 - 21/06/22

Como lo oyes

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 21, 2022 58:44

El sábado Sir Paul McCArtney cumplió 80 años. El viernes hicimos un Black Is Black con el título de “Black Mac” con versiones del genio de Liverpool por partes de grandes figuras de la música negra. El jueves emitimos una selección antojo de nuestros temas favoritos. Y hoy una segunda parte de versiones de artistas de géneros diversos. Nombres célebres (Brian Wilson, Jamie Cullum, Roger Daltrey, Aimee Mann, Nick Cave, Dr. John) y artistas alternativos como Heather Nova, Gabriela Cilmi, Bien Taylor, Barenaked Ladies o The Lilac Time. DISCO 1 GÖRAN SÖLLSCHER Michelle (6) DISCO 2 AIMEE MAN & MICHAEL PENN Two Of Us (I AM SAM - 1) DISCO 3 ROGER DALTREY Helter Skelter (THE ART OF McCARTNEY - CD1 - 15) DISCO 4 DR. JOHN Let ´em in (THE ART OF McCARTNEY - CD2 - 10)¡ DISCO 5 NICK CAVE Let It Be (I AM SAM - 17) DISCO 6 CHEAP TRICK She’s Leaving Home (6) DISCO 7 CORINNE BAILEY RAE Bluebird (THE ART OF McCARTNEY - CD 1 - 8) DISCO 8 GABRIELA CILMI O (¡COMING UP! - 14) DISCO 9 JAMIE CULLUM Every Night (THE ART OF McCARTNEY - CD1 - 12) DISCO 10 HEATHER NOVA We Can Work It Out (I AM SAM - 13) DISCO 11 GABRIELA CILMI Ob.La.Di.Ob.La.Da (MOJO- 4) DISCO 12 BRIAN WILSON Wanderlust (THE ART OF McCARTNEY - CD1 - 7) DISCO 13 BEN TAYLOR I Will (1) DISCO 14 KEVIN HEARN & STEVEN PAGE (BARENAKED LADIES) & STEPHEN DUFFY /THE LILAC TIME) Junk (LISTEN TO WHAT THE MAN SAID - 7) BEN TAYLOR I Will (1) Escuchar audio

E137 Kevin Hearn (Barenaked Ladies)

The Adamantium Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 14, 2022 53:45

Canadian songwriter/instrumentalist and member of Barenaked Ladies, Kevin Hearn, joins us on this episode of The Adamantium Podcast. We discuss his latest solo project, There and Then: Solo Piano Improvisations, it's truly improvised nature and inspiration, his partnership with producer Mark Howard, and his collaboration with Gord's daughter, Willo Downie, on the improvised artwork for the album. We also discuss his relationship with Lou Reed, his invaluable part in the ever important documentary, There Are No Fakes, and our mutual love for The Muppets.

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Kevin Hearn + Manny Jacinto + CS Porter + Aba Amuquandoh

The Richard Crouse Show Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 13, 2022 40:15

This week on the Richard Crouse Show we meet multi-instrumentalist and Barenaked Ladies pianist Kevin Hearn. The Canadian Hall of Famer has just released a beautiful new solo record titled “There and Then: Solo Piano Improvisations” and he joined us via Zoom to talk about it. Then, actor Manny Jacinto stops by to talk about how = his character in the new Amazon Prime rom com “I Want You Back,” was inspired by two characters from his last TV show, the great sitcom, “The Good Place.” Then we meet CS Porter. We'll learn about how and why he sat down to wrote a thriller called “Beneath Her Skin” after being diagnosed with MS. Finally, Aba Amuquandoh of “This Hour Has 22 Minutes” stops by, but she's not here to talk about politics. She has her eye on something much smaller… tiny in fact. She's the host of a new CBC Gem show called “Best in Miniature.” Listen and learn how creators shrink down their designs to itty-bitty proportions.

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Kevin Hearn + Manny Jacinto + CS Porter + Aba Amuquandoh

House of Crouse

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 13, 2022 40:14

This week on the Richard Crouse Show we meet multi-instrumentalist and Barenaked Ladies pianist Kevin Hearn. The Canadian Hall of Famer has just released a beautiful new solo record titled “There and Then: Solo Piano Improvisations” and he joined us via Zoom to talk about it. Then, actor Manny Jacinto stops by to talk about how = his character in the new Amazon Prime rom com “I Want You Back,” was inspired by two characters from his last TV show, the great sitcom, “The Good Place.” Then we meet CS Porter. We'll learn about how and why he sat down to wrote a thriller called “Beneath Her Skin” after being diagnosed with MS. Finally, Aba Amuquandoh of “This Hour Has 22 Minutes” stops by, but she's not here to talk about politics. She has her eye on something much smaller… tiny in fact. She's the host of a new CBC Gem show called “Best in Miniature.” Listen and learn how creators shrink down their designs to itty-bitty proportions.

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Singer-Songwriter Jadea Kelly & Multi-Instrumentalist Kevin Hearn (Barenaked Ladies, Lou Reed & more)

Canadian Musician Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 9, 2022 58:32

First up on the podcast this week, Canadian Musician Editor-in-Chief Mike Raine is joined by singer-songwriter Jadea Kelly. Originally from Ontario and now based in Los Angeles, Jadea is back after a few years away from music with her new LP, Roses. Her previous LPs saw Jadea become widely regarded for her voice and songwriting, so she explains why she needed to get away from recording music – and away from Toronto – in order to focus on her own physical, mental, and financial health. She discusses her songwriting, her time in Nashville, and why L.A. has become her new home, or a “gift to herself” as she calls it. She chats about the struggles that many artists face and why she wants to be open about her own. Then, Kevin Hearn joins! Though he is well-known as the multi-instrumentalist in Barenaked Ladies, he's had a fascinating musical life that goes well beyond the pop-rock pioneers, including being the band leader for none other than Lou Reed. He has recently released a beautiful solo album of piano improvisations that has a unique backstory to it. Kevin chats about the new album, writing and recording with BNL, learning from Lou Reed, and more.

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EP 197 | Kevin Hearn - There And Then

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Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2022 47:52

Kevin Hearn has released a stark album called There and Then: Solo Piano Improvisations. 3 distinct rooms, 3 pianos, and 3 days of playing, each only for 3 hours. No demos. No rehearsal. No real conversation between himself and producer Mark Howard. Yes. The same Kevin Hearn who was a member of the Corky and the Juice Pigs Band, bandleader for Lou Reed, and a star member of Bare Naked Ladies. Kevin worked for years with Gord Downie. Right up until Gord was lost to Cancer. There and Then honors Gord (Among the Stars)and Lou (Lou) and Garth Hudson (The Garth Hudson Institute) and the basic elements of great music. The album cover was painted by Gord's daughter Willo. Lou Video was directed by Mike Downie. Rather than paint a word picture I've decided to let Kevin tell the tale of how all this came to be. THIS is an album that will become a balm for the World we all live in. Well done Kevin and Mark.

Jaymz Bee: Toronto Mike'd #1001

Toronto Mike'd Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 21, 2022 95:30

In this episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike catches up with the very famous Jaymz Bee. They discuss the Being Bee documentary that's in production, Kevin Hearn, the Look People, Music for Agents, and so much more. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Canna Cabana, StickerYou, Ridley Funeral Home and Patrons like you.

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NEWSTALK SAUGA960 SHOW #12

Josh Holliday Live!

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 31, 2021 49:18

A best-of show to end the year.- Interview with Kevin Hearn of Barenaked Ladies, Lou Reed's band, There Are No Fakes documentary, and solo work.- Interview with Dr. Alyson Kelvin, viroligist/vaccinologist who was featured in the Nature of Things season-opening documentary, Inside the Great Vaccine Race.

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Too Opinionated Interview #222: HuDost

Too Opinionated

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 13, 2021 58:57

Today on Too Opinionated we talk with musicians HuDost! HuDost's new album, ‘Anthems of Home', is a lush, breathtaking original collection of compositions that ask important questions and evoke the imagery of dreams. The music of HuDost weaves a seamless tapestry of folk, world, and rock that renders tears and laughter in listeners, cultivating the nameless longing that abides somewhere in all our hearts and invoking total celebration. HuDost's core musicians are Moksha Sommer, from Montréal, and Jemal Wade from Kentucky. HuDost's previous album 'of Water + Mercy' received rave reviews and as an independent release reached #24 in the BILLBOARD SALES CHARTS for Folk/Americana also winning the 2020 Independent Music Award for Social Action Song. In the last year they also received two of the 'Best of Nashville 2020' awards. ‘Anthems of Home' continues in this current of Folk/Americana with the added movement of ambient electro in some songs and unapologetic groove in others. HuDost released ‘Our Words Will Be Louder', the album opener, as a means to encourage people to take positive action by voting in the 2020 election. Some of the song's video cameos include Jars of Clay, The Accidentals, Christie Lenée, Kevin Clash (Elmo), Kevin Hearn (from the Barenaked Ladies), Cy Curnin (from The FIXX), GangstaGrass, Alana Bridgewater, Nawal, Hymn for Her, Jai Uttal, and more. Want to watch: YouTube Meisterkhan Pod: (Please Subscribe)

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Interview with HuDost

Bringin' it Backwards

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 9, 2021 39:41

We had the pleasure of interviewing HuDost over Zoom video! HuDost's new album, ‘Anthems of Home', is a lush, breathtaking original collection of compositions that ask important questions and evoke the imagery of dreams. The music of HuDost weaves a seamless tapestry of folk, world, and rock that renders tears and laughter in listeners, cultivating the nameless longing that abides somewhere in all our hearts and invoking total celebration. HuDost's core musicians are Moksha Sommer, from Montréal, and Jemal Wade from Kentucky. “2020 and 2021 have been a time of conflict and resolution, pain and discovery, challenge and grace, fear and courage for almost everyone. As parents, social activists, and musicians, we have gone through this time of challenge with the hope of keeping our minds, hearts, and arms open. We feel that our new album gives voice to this journey in a way that will remain timeless and will prove the resilience that we all share. It also gives room for the greater vision of what is and what can be and the love that emerges when we allow truth to be seen and spoken.” Moksha Sommer, HuDostHuDost's previous album 'of Water + Mercy' received rave reviews and as an independent release reached #24 in the BILLBOARD SALES CHARTS for Folk/Americana also winning the 2020 Independent Music Award for Social Action Song. In the last year they also received two of the 'Best of Nashville 2020' awards. ‘Anthems of Home' continues in this current of Folk/Americana with the added movement of ambient electro in some songs and unapologetic groove in others.HuDost released ‘Our Words Will Be Louder', the album opener, as a means to encourage people to take positive action by voting in the 2020 election. Some of the song's video cameos include Jars of Clay, The Accidentals, Christie Lenée, Kevin Clash (Elmo), Kevin Hearn (from the Barenaked Ladies), Cy Curnin (from The FIXX), GangstaGrass, Alana Bridgewater, Nawal, Hymn for Her, Jai Uttal, and more.Watch Here HuDost's music is a powerful voice for life's journey and discovery. It is through music that the losses and gains, pains and triumphs, and excruciating beauty of life can be given a voice of empathy. Both critics and fans have said time and time again that the music of HuDost is this very expression.We want to hear from you! Please email Tera@BringinitBackwards.com. www.BringinitBackwards.com #podcast #interview #bringinbackpod #HuDost #zoom Listen & Subscribe to BiB Follow our podcast on Instagram and Twitter!

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Episode 610 - A Good Lovelies Christmas & A Happy Hanukkah!

Folk Roots Radio... with Jan Hall

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 7, 2021 59:16

It's getting close to 'that time of year'. We know that because wonderful vocal trio Good Lovelies, that's Caroline Brooks, Kerry Ough and Sue Passmore are about to hit the road on their 16th Christmas tour. After appearing virtually last year because of the Covid pandemic, this time around they'll be taking their songs, harmonies and a kick ass band around Ontario for some in person shows. They join us on Episode 610 of Folk Roots Radio to talk about the tour, and some interesting future plans – and spoiler alert, it sounds like there is a new album in the offing. Although it feels a little too early to go into full holiday mode, we also include some wintery songs and Hanukkah songs to ease you into the holiday season, and feature music from Joni Mitchell, Bruce Cockburn, Garth Hudson with Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle, The McDades, Haley K Turner, Rachael Sage, Deborah Holland and Catherine MacLellan. If you like the artists you hear on this show and want to support them, don't just stream their music – BUY their music and then you'll really make a difference to their income during this difficult time when it's much more challenging to find live shows. Folk Roots Radio is a labour of love - a full time hobby. If you enjoy this episode, please consider giving us a 'LIKE' and leaving a review/comment on your podcast provider and sharing the episode on social media. We'll love you for it! Check out the full playlist on the website: https://folkrootsradio.com/folk-roots-radio-episode-610-a-good-lovelies-christmas-a-happy-hanukkah/

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NEWSTALK SAUGA960 SHOW #8

Josh Holliday Live!

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 3, 2021 49:51

A feature conversation with Kevin Hearn from Barenaked Ladies. - BNLs holiday show's- Kevin's solo work- Loud Reed friendship- Documentary There Are No Fakes- Harland WilliamsPlus some futurologists look ahead, and airplane boarding anxiety.

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EP. 141 - HUGH MARSH

INDUSTRY TACTICS with FRIENDLY RICH

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 29, 2021 85:53

This talk with Hugh Marsh goes all over the place, from his work on the Armageddon score to 3am phone calls from Robert Palmer. Hugh Marsh has had some incredible adventures in music, playing with everybody from Loreena McKennitt, The Rheostatics, Bruce Cockburn and more. Hugh shares some very important tactics in this episode, as he prepares to release an album of 80s cover tunes, alongside Kevin Hearn. Get into it, an epic chat with the prolific violin guru, Hugh Marsh!

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Fake Nudes

Clothed Men Discuss Barenaked Ladies

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 27, 2021 70:29

Twelve Albums later, and here we are at the Season Finale of CMDBNL! Before Chris and Ephraim get into live releases, novelty releases, and NEW releases, they need to wrap up Season One by discussing Fake Nudes. Why was THIS the name that BNL decided on? Why does Jim Creegan only get one track and Kevin Hearn gets SIX? and could this album possibly have the most abrupt tonal shift (PUN!) in Barenaked Ladies history? PLUS: Ephraim and Chris fantasize about an Ed Robertson, Alan Doyle, Jim Cuddy Traveling Wilburys-esque supergroup

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EP 172 | Ed Robertson Talks New BNL album Detour de Force

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Play Episode Listen Later Sep 3, 2021 28:55

The Barenaked Ladies 16th album is called Detour de Force. More wordplay from a band that majors in it. Right? I knew this album would be different when I saw a track written by bassist Jim Creegan called Paul Chambers. Who writes a pop song about a legendary bass player (Kind of Blue) as a metaphor? Ed himself wrote the amazing Live Well, a song about his childhood filled with his Father's alcohol abuse and how he overcame the trauma. The album ends with the outstanding Kevin Hearn track called Internal Dynamo. It's about planets generating their own magnetic fields. Not your basic pop/rock fodder. It starts like something Pink Floyd might have left us with but 2:40 into the 5-minute track the music shapeshifts into Rage Against the Machine and then ends with a Beatles White album feel.

Kevin Hearn of the Barenaked Ladies - Norval Morrisseau Documentary

Ahkameyimok Podcast with National Chief Perry Bellegarde

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2021 29:54

"I just wanted to buy a painting, really." Kevin Hearn of the Barenaked Ladies is our guest on this episode of #Ahkameyimok. He and Perry talk about his new documentary, "There Are No Fakes," which exposes a massive art forgery ring surrounding the work of legendary Ojibwe painter, Norval Morrisseau. When the Barenaked Ladies started producing chart topping, international hit songs in the late '90's, Kevin Hearn decided he could now afford to buy a painting by his favourite artist, Norval Morrisseau, whose abstract works of Indigenous inspired woodland scenes are celebrated in galleries around the world. Little did Hearn know that that purchase, which turned out to be a fake, would draw him into a bizarre, dangerous and heartbreaking world of art fraud that is destroying the legacy of one of Canada's greatest artists. The documentary "There Are No Fakes," tells Hearns story. It was featured at HotDocs in Toronto and is now available to watch for free on TV Ontario at TVO.org The Ahkameyimok Podcast is produced by David McGuffin of Explore Podcast Productions. Our theme music is by the Red Dog Singers from Treaty 4 Territory in southern Saskatchewan.

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Barry Appleton, Appleton & Associates

Tales of The Tribunal

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2021 71:00

Legacy. Impact. Influence. Things that many seek to have but are difficult to achieve. This is true across any profession, including the legal profession and that effect is magnified when you consider an international legal career. Which is why its that much more impressive when someone is able to accomplish said impact, and that is the story of this week's guest, Barry Appleton. Barry has occupied a number of positions and roles throughout his career and shares his experience and perspective as counsel, arbitrator, mentor and educator in the field. Check it out: ARBITRATION IDOL SIGN UP: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/arbitrationidol TIME STAMPS: Opening Notes - :34 Interview Starts – 2:50 Personal Interest – 54:05 Closing Notes – 1:08:40 BOOKS, MUSIC & MEDIA: BOOK: “Life in the Time of Cholera” by Gabriel García Márquez MUSIC: Oscar Peterson & Montreal Jazz; Kevin Hearn with Bare Naked Ladies None of the views shared today or any episode of Tales of the Tribunal is presented as legal advice nor advice of any kind. No compensation was provided to any person or party for their appearance on the show nor do any of the statements made represent any particular organization, legal position or view point. All interviewees appear on an arms-length basis and their appearance should not be construed as any bias or preferred affiliation with the host or host's employer. All rights reserved.

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Kevin Hearn from Barenaked Ladies, Part Two: Toronto Mike'd #882

Toronto Mike'd Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 9, 2021 51:59

Mike chats with musician Kevin Hearn about his relationshp with Gord Downie and his work on The Secret Path.

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Kevin Hearn from Barenaked Ladies, Part One: Toronto Mike'd #877

Toronto Mike'd Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2021 62:55

Mike chats with musician Kevin Hearn about his years playing with The Look People, Corky and the Juice Pigs, the Barenaked Ladies, the Rheostatics, Lou Reed, Thin Buckle, and Cosmic Krewe's Michael Ray and Laranah Phipps-Ray.

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Grinning Streak

Clothed Men Discuss Barenaked Ladies

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 19, 2021 66:40

Talk about a bounce back! After the contrasting opinions of Chris and Ephraim from the last episode, both are in full agreement on this album. The consensus? It's great! Commercially as well as critically successful, The Clothed Men break down the very catchy singles, Kevin Hearn's continuing influence on the sound of the band, and the impact that fatherhood has had on Ed's songwriting. PLUS: Some possible, yet unintentional kink shaming?!

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Kevin Hearn Spectacular!

Barenaked Ladies Are Us

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 12, 2021 114:16

We’re sitting down for one last BNL-themed episode with one last Bublé (for now) to discuss Kevin Hearn's vast solo catalogue. We grabbed two songs from each of his solo albums from Mothball Mint to Calm + Cents and gave them the old college try. Plus we learn that time is weird and - get this - it has a beard! Contact Us: Email: barenakedladiesareus@gmail.com Facebook: Facebook.com/BarenakedLadiesAreUs Twitter: @Jdwaldy Instagram: @Jdwaldy This Week's “Something Fantastic”: JD: Half Drunk Under A Full Moon - The Fratellis Nick: Game Of Thrones

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S10E13 - Grinning Streak Wrap-Up and Resequencing // Kevin Hearn CLOUD MAINTENANCE Review!

Clothed Men Discuss Barenaked Ladies

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 6, 2021 97:36

We did it! We're done! We've finished Grinning Streak and the end is ALMOST in sight, baybeeeee! On this episode, we review, resequence, and rank Grinning Streak! Surprises! Delights! Stay tuned for Silverball next week, my boys! Also in this episode: Jet Li's The Haddleverse Ev's Very Bad Rating System I am a great and powerful mugician! I cast small your car! A review of Kevin Hearn's CLOUD MAINTENANCE album (2011)! Get yourself some IABD shirts! Wear a logo on your chest!: https://www.teepublic.com/user/itsallbeendonepodcast Catch us on the 'net!: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1593559714014720 Twitter: @beendonepod Thanks to The Orange Groves (theorangegroves.com) for hosting us. Subscribe to their Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theorangegroves and join their discord: https://discordapp.com/invite/GdTsg8C !

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Barenaked Ladies Are Me

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 21, 2021 54:27

I'm...me? No, you're you, I'm me, but according to BNL we're all them! Confused? So are Ephraim and Chris as they break down the first of two albums as part of one larger project: Barenaked Ladies Are Me! After 3 years of songwriting, BNL had 29 songs to release, and they did it in a very confusing way! Why were these 13 tracks chosen as the standouts? For an album with an emphasis on collaboration, why were songs taken away from other members? And why is Chris really hungover in this episode? Plus: our love for Kevin Hearn continues with some digging into his side project Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle!

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Episode 128 - Conversation with Kevin Hearn of the Barenaked Ladies

Distance Makes the HeART Grow Fonder

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 7, 2021 18:56

In this episode of Distance Makes the Heart Grow Founder I chat with wildly successful musician and member of the Barenaked Ladies, Kevin Hearn. We discuss everything from his love of bike riding throughout quarantine to his experiences working with the beloved, Lou Reed. You don't want to miss this conversation with the inspiring and humble soul that is Kevin Hearn!

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Mysterious Mini 17: A Whirlwind of Events

A Galaxy Not So Far Away

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 25, 2020 14:37

There's lots and lots of events this week, so we jump right into it in this episode! Stay tuned for information about Independent Bookstore Day and this year's virtual San Diego Book Crawl! Events This Week: Tuesday, August 25th: Kevin Hearn, in conversation with Delilah Dawson Wednesday, August 26th: Jenn Lyons Thursday, August 27th: Charlie Donlea Saturday, August 29th: Independent Bookstore Day Saturday, August 29th: Virtual San Diego Book Crawl Sunday, August 30th: Middle Grade Virtual Panel Monday, August 31st: Doug Engstron, in conversation with Christopher Brown New This Week: Ink & Sigil by Kevin Hearne Memory of Souls by Jenn Lyons The Companion by Katie Alender Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll, Illustrated by Charles Santore Mr. Lemoncello and the Titanium Ticket by Chris Grabenstein The Inugami Curse by Seishi Yokomizo The Whitsun Daughters by Carrie Mesrobian You Can Trust Me by Emma Rowley The Second Sleep by Robert Harris Squeeze Me by Carl Hiaasen Ballistic Kiss by Richard Kadrey You can now find us on YouTube! Enjoy some of our recent virtual events here! Special thanks to Austin Farmer for letting us use the track "Kill the Farm Boy", from his album Bookshelf Symphony Orchestra! Send us your questions to podcast@mystgalaxy.com Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook! And support the store by ordering books at mystgalaxy.com!

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S8E2 - 2: Something You'll Never Find

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Play Episode Listen Later May 18, 2020 90:28

Where are my keys? Where is my mind? Where are the good Kevin Hearn songs on this album? We're lookin' for SOMETHING YOU'LL NEVER FIND, y'all! (The good Kevin Hearn song is coming up. Have faith, hurt birds.)ALSO IN THIS EPISODE: Good ol' Edging Ev. Musical chairs! Barenaked Ladies: Ghost Babel BONUS SEGMENT: CELEBRITY! Get yourself some IABD shirts! Wear a logo on your chest!: https://www.teepublic.com/user/itsallbeendonepodcastCatch us on the 'net!:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1593559714014720Twitter: @beendonepodThanks to The Orange Groves (theorangegroves.com) for hosting us. Subscribe to their Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theorangegroves and join their discord: https://discordapp.com/invite/GdTsg8C !

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Kevin Hearn, Barenaked Ladies

The Keyboard Chronicles

Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2020 42:02

Kevin Hearn is an integral part of Barenaked Ladies, but as you'll hear in this interview, his other projects are just as amazing and Kevin provides some great insights on every one of them. If you're a Lou Reed fan, or a Lawn Darts fan, you may enjoy this episode quite a bit. Please note […]

Ep. 7 - Who gets to profit from Indigenous art?

On Docs

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 17, 2019 37:13

Host Colin Ellis speaks with Jamie Kastner, the director of There Are No Fakes, a TVO Original Documentary, about the legacy of famed Anishinaabe artist Norval Morrisseau. Credit: Cave 7 Productions

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Ep 77 | Kevin Hearn and Tom Wilson

Understanding The Secret Path

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 19, 2019 19:09

On the eve of the 2nd anniversary of the passing of Gord Downie, Terry David Mulligan talks with Kevin Hearn and Tom Wilson about 'Secret Path Live'. In the last few months of his life, The Tragically Hip’s leader gathered his friends in studio and recorded his last solo album, 'Secret Path' as a tribute to Chanie (Charlie) Wenjack, a 12-year old Ojibwa boy who died trying to escape a residential school. This weekend at Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto, The Secret Path band will reassemble for a benefit - featuring Kevin Drew, Kevin Hearn, Buffy Sainte Marie, July Talk, Sam Roberts Band, Tanya Tagaq, Whitehorse, William Prince, Serena Ryder, Tom Wilson of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings and many others.

Understanding the Secret Path

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 7, 2019 43:32

Hosted by award-winning journalist & bestselling author Tanya Talaga, Understanding the Secret Path explores the creation of Gord Downie’s Secret Path (based on the true story of Chanie Wenjack), the history of residential schools, and how the Wenjack and Downie families came together to support Canada’s journey towards reconciliation. Featuring guests such as Mike Downie (Gord’s brother), Harriet Visitor (Chanie’s niece), Kevin Hearn and Kevin Drew (Barenaked Ladies and Broken Social Scene), we are all urged to answer Gord’s call to “Do Something” to make our country a better place.

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Ep 64 Kevin Hearn

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Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2019 46:27

Multi-instrumentalist and Barenaked Ladies musician Kevin Hearn talks to Terry about his new solo album Calm and Cents. The predominantly-instrumental album is inspired by the natural world, and "what we, as humans, are doing to it." Kevin previews four tracks from the record on this week's show: "Ghost Birds", "The Chemical Valley", "The Nemophilist", and "The Silent Collapse", and talks to Terry about the stark contrast in mood between his solo album and his work with the Ladies.

There Are No Fakes

The Richard Crouse Show Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 15, 2019 41:32

A new documentary called “There Are No Fakes” explores what the filmmaker says could be the largest art fraud scam in Canadian history. What begins as a document of a court case and its countersuits turns into something more important, more vital, as it underlines how Indigenous artists, even world-famous ones, have been exploited. Joining me in studio are director Jamie Kastner and one of the film's subjects, Barenaked Ladies member Kevin Hearn.

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The Richard Crouse Show "There Are No Fakes" with Jamie Kastner And Kevin Hearn

House of Crouse

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2019 33:08

This week on The Richard Crouse Show: A new documentary called “There Are No Fakes” explores what the filmmaker says could be the largest art fraud scam in Canadian history. What begins as a document of a court case and its countersuits turns into something more important, more vital, as it underlines how Indigenous artists, even world-famous ones, have been exploited. Joining me in studio are director Jamie Kastner and one of the film’s subjects, Barenaked Ladies member Kevin Hearn.

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Kevin Hearn on Lou Reed

House of Crouse

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 4, 2019 1:47

I love this so much. I interviewed director Jamie Kastner and Barenaked Ladies member Kevin Hearn this morning about a fantastic film they have coming out on June 14 called "There Are No Fakes." The whole interview will air in a week or so but I wanted to share this great clip of Kevin talking about working with Lou Reed. Reed was his friend and musical hero. He was also Reed's musical director and keyboardist from 2007 until his passing in 2013.

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Episode 73: Eraser

Barenaked ABCs (Alphabetical Barenaked [Ladies] Catalog

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2019 37:58

Welcome. It’s for you. You’ve just been erased. Expect to see Kevin Hearn and gang at your house in the next 2 minutes. Do not answer the door unless the person gives you the passcode “Barenaked ABCs”. Your response should be “Snacktime!” If they respond with anything but “the best children’s album ever” (or if you see Arnold Schwartzenegger throughRead More

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SIP Episode 51: Barenaked Ladies

Second Impressions Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2019 66:16

It's the perfect time of year to reflect on Canadian music legend Barenaked Ladies. Join Emma and Danica as they talk Napster days, the end of The Big Bang Theory, and plant science! How do you be green? Danica needs to know the name of those old video booths. Emma re-joins the club. Email: secondimpressionspodcast@gmail.com Twitter: @impressionspod Instagram: @secondimpressionspodcast

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Episode 61: Deck The Stills

Barenaked ABCs (Alphabetical Barenaked [Ladies] Catalog

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 11, 2019 20:57

Episode 61: Deck The Stills We are all decked out for our Christmas party. Wait…. it’s March. Um… well…. Let’s march on with the episode anyway. Let’s discuss another Christmas song: Deck The Stills Appearance “Resist It” by Carole Pope with Kevin Hearn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpAMdke3_Xo (video) https://www.samaritanmag.com/cause-song/80065/carole-pope-kevin-hearn-resist-it-2018

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Kevin Hearn

GOING SOLO

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 18, 2018 20:53

This week on GOING SOLO: Pianist and Yamaha Artist Kevin Hearn Join us each week as Canada’s top musicians share their story–how they got started, what inspires them, and their advice to young musicians who want to pursue their musical dreams. Each episode features a new artist interview punctuated by a beautiful and intimate performance presented exclusively by Yamaha Canada Music. Music has the power to move us, inspire us, and bring meaning to our lives in surprising and unexpected ways. Random Acts of Music and the GOING SOLO podcast is our way of sharing our passion for performance with you!

S3E8 - 8: Call Me Calmly (with BRANDT COOLEY, aka PROFESSOR SHYGUY)