![]() For a while, the Hip members were living in Toronto, but as they slowly began to move away, Gord stayed and put down roots in the city, sparking up a lifelong bond with Finlayson. He collaborated with Josh Finlayson, the guitarist and co-founder for Toronto band the Skydiggers who is also described as Gord's "oldest Toronto friend." They first met in the early '90s, when the Skydiggers opened for the Hip at the Spectrum in Montreal. The songs featured on Away is Mine started as a way for Gord to stay busy. 'It was just a good way to spend time with Gord' " Introduce Yerself was more of a thank you," describes Patrick. It makes sense that the songs on Away is Mine were written during a period of down time, after the Hip's grand finale and his two solo projects. "Please be good to me/ Yea, save me from the useless nights," he pleads. "Come be surrounded/ by those who love you the most," Downie sings on "About Blank," while on "Useless Nights," he seems to be addressing a higher power. Introduce Yerself was more of a thank you. Both that album and Secret Path had a real sense of urgency to them, as if a clock was ticking, whereas the material on Away is Mine is much more relaxing and pensive, the sound of a man who is under no pressure and alone with his thoughts. Patrick describes the period following Gord's diagnosis as a bit tumultuous, with his brother instantly going into "writing mode" in order to complete Introduce Yerself. He left us a lot, including this drive to carry his legacy forward in the same way he would have." When he speaks of his brother, Patrick considers the weight of his words carefully, and will sometimes speak in the present tense. Just piles of poems and little things he's got at his disposal," says his brother Patrick Downie, Gord's caregiver through the last two years of his life. Downie’s vocals were at the heart of it all."He's always got pieces of writing in various forms of completeness and they're always within arm's reach. Minor success in other parts of the world notwithstanding, the Hip was Canadian royalty, receiving 17 Juno awards and scoring nine No. “The feeling I’m left with most is like, shit - I would love to ask him more questions about all of this,” he adds quietly, looking down at his desk.īefore he died in 2017 after a bout with brain cancer, Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip ruled Canadian airwaves with 13 popular albums and hits such as “Blow at High Dough,” “Nautical Disaster,” and “Ahead by a Century.” Those songs were not only commercially successful, but shaped Canadian identity thanks to their ubiquity in celebratory situations such as hockey games and weddings. You see a consistency and certain motifs that keep coming back and occurring in his work.”īut the process is not without its painful moments. You see what you can learn and reinforce what you already know about him. I’m very lucky to have this stuff and to go through it. “I want to savor and cherish every part of him. “It’s a labor of love,” Patrick says of his newfound archivist role during a video call from his Toronto home. “Don’t Drink the Brown Water”: Our Live Report From Woodstock ’99 The Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie’s First Posthumous Album Set for Release Rock previously worked on the Tragically Hip’s World Container and We Are the Same. Out Friday (May 5) is Lustre Parfait, Gord’s second posthumous record of big, bright songs recorded with producer Bob Rock (Metallica, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith) in the early 2010s. This knowledge is certainly coming in handy, as the younger Downie has been entrusted with the responsibility of curating Gord’s vast collection of unreleased music and work. It’s been six years since Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie died at the age of 53, but his brother Patrick continues to learn new things about his older sibling.
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