‘The Tragically Hip: No Gown Rehearsal’: An intimate have a look at Canada’s band

It’s been virtually precisely seven years since Canadians misplaced The Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie, and greater than eight years for the reason that band performed their last-ever present in Kingston, Ont.

Time, elongated and obfuscated by the pandemic, appears merciless. Has it actually been that lengthy since we misplaced one among our nation’s most charismatic, beloved musicians? And has it actually been virtually a decade for the reason that group of men fondly known as “Canada’s Band” ceased to play?

The Tragically Hip: No Gown Rehearsal, a four-part docuseries streaming on Prime Video beginning Sept. 20, supplies an extremely intimate have a look at the band, from its humble beginnings in small-town Ontario to its glory days onstage.

Directed by Gord’s brother Mike Downie, all 4 hour-long segments of the docuseries are unapologetically uncooked, with vignettes from Gord himself and every of the band members because the plucky bunch of boys develop from youngsters dreaming of changing into rock stars into, effectively, rock stars in their very own proper.

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Brother of Gord Downie recounts emotional last tour of ‘The Tragically Hip’

Jaw-dropping live performance footage is featured all through — even die-hard Hip followers will see issues they’ve by no means seen earlier than (no spoilers right here!) — and there are interviews with household, pals and others who knew them in the course of the journey. Canadian celebrities and followers, together with Dan Aykroyd, Jay Baruchel and Bruce McCulloch, amongst many others, categorical their love and incredulousness concerning the band, cementing what any fan already is aware of: The Tragically Hip had been one thing particular, and a sure type of musical magic Canadians might by no means see once more.

International Information sat down with Mike Downie and the remaining members of the band — Paul Langlois, Rob Baker, Gord Sinclair and Johnny Fay — to speak about what the docuseries means to them, what it was like accelerating to nationwide fame on the top of Canadian rock, and life after Gord’s dying.

When revisiting all the archival footage, reflecting on previous performances and every thing that you just’ve all been via collectively, how did it really feel to look at?

Gord Sinclair: It’s just like the drone shot in quite a lot of methods. We at all times saved a reasonably slender horizon all through our careers, attending to the subsequent gig after which the subsequent alternative to make a document, subsequent alternative to take a while off, writing and stuff. While you step again and have a look at it, to me, it’s a sense of gratitude for the chance that we had…. We had been by no means certain whether or not we had been going to have the ability to make one other document after the earlier one.

Gratitude to the followers that got here alongside and the blokes I performed music with. Rewatching it made me actually respect what Mike went via. Mike moved with Gord from Amherstville once we had been solely 13, and he’s coming at it not solely as a buddy, however honouring his household and honouring the group. I feel he did an exquisite job. Once more, it’s a pleasant look again, for certain.

Why did you determine on now because the time to place this docuseries on the market?

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Mike Downie: I feel timing was an enormous a part of it, and it’s defined within the movie.

I do know for the blokes within the band, the years after Gord’s passing had been… just a little bit misplaced. You simply type of retreat into your individual type of expertise, and I had an analogous expertise as effectively. You understand, making an attempt to determine what it’s all about. However, once we went into our previous highschool, it was vacant. It had been offered to Queen’s College. College students had been all gone, and in October of 2021, we had been in a position to go in there for 4 days and actually simply type of take it over, use it as our set.

That was virtually 4 years to the day that Gord had handed. And I type of simply realized not too long ago that it was most likely the correct amount of time, prefer it was nonetheless actually shut. You see it within the interviews. However there was additionally sufficient distance to have some readability as effectively, and to begin interested by, or speaking about, the band and positively the early days as a result of it’s what we needed to do once we had been in highschool.

I keep in mind that feeling, the lump in my throat, , as we began speaking concerning the band and every thing. However quickly the story takes over. Gord’s not with us anymore, however he’s alive in these tales. It at all times obtained me after I’d hear one other story, clearly one thing I didn’t find out about my brother that these guys did. They had been spending most of their time away collectively. So, that was actually nice for me. And quite a lot of that’s most likely not within the doc, nevertheless it’s, , it’s in right here [gestures to his heart] without end now.

Has diving into the movie, creating it, every thing, having the lump within the throat… has that helped every of you together with your sense of grief?

Rob Baker: I feel grief is at all times going to be with you. It by no means goes away. The great occasions, you keep in mind them; they’re like a pleasant cleaning tub or an evening out. You could have nice recollections of it. However grief is one thing that pierces your pores and skin and leaves scars, it’s a must to reform the best way you progress via life, to accommodate. Time is absolutely simply one of the simplest ways to take care of it. Like we did within the band, you place one foot in entrance of the opposite. We by no means targeted on the horizon, conquering the world. It was all concerning the subsequent gig, the subsequent music we’re going to write down. And it’s the identical factor with coping with grief.

We misplaced a brother. We went via every thing that we did collectively, very collectively and brazenly collectively, after which all of us went off individually and grieved. Utterly alone. And that was actually laborious.

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The Morning Present: September 6

Watching this footage is simply mind-blowing. It’s such as you’re proper there within the pit. Within the ’90s, Canadian rock was such a beast. What was it wish to have a meteoric rise throughout that point?

Johnny Fay: It was enjoyable! I used to be considering again to a few of the stuff that we had finished. We had this one gig we had been actually enthusiastic about, we had been opening for 54-40 on the Spectrum in Montreal. After which a yr to the day later, 54-40 opened for us at Penguin Park in Saskatoon.

I keep in mind speaking to some folks they usually mentioned to me, “It felt like we had been watching a airplane take off, and also you guys went into the clouds!”

Having a dialog like that afterwards, it was like, “Actually?” 54-40, Blue Rodeo, The Northern Pikes… we had been all utilizing the identical PA corporations and stuff. We had been touring within the winter, which was fairly treacherous, and the truth that we went via that and lived is a narrative in itself. It was a fairly thrilling time to be a band that was enjoying rock ‘n’ roll on this nation at the moment. There have been some actually, actually nice bands on this nation. After which Nice Huge Sea out east, and it was like, yeah! We had been all doing it and we had been all having enjoyable. It was a good time to be making music as a result of it was pre-phones, which at our final present, that’s all you noticed. Some folks put the telephone down and watched it for actual, however (again then) was a fairly golden age of individuals going and listening to music.

Canadian success vs. U.S. success: Does it matter if The Tragically Hip had been as widespread within the U.S. as they had been in Canada?

Mike Downie: Actually, after I was setting out to do that doc, I actually needed to reply this query as soon as and for all. As a result of, I really feel, for lots of people, there’s this asterisk about large success in Canada, however not almost as a lot in America. I feel we actually took a very good run at it within the documentary, as a result of the reality is, it actually wasn’t about measuring nation to nation. It was actually this concept of validation that Canadians, particularly within the ’80s and ’90s, we’re our personal artists, our personal something and saying, “Yeah, that’s fairly nice, however what do the Individuals suppose?”

Again then it was virtually a parental approval type of factor that we wanted. And that’s what occurred to the Hip. After which in fact, it flipped, as a result of then Canadians had been like, “Wait a minute, this implies every thing to us. We love this.” And we realized it doesn’t matter what the remainder of the world thinks as a result of it’s ours. That confidence wasn’t actually there earlier than. And I feel the band had this inherent confidence due to this brotherhood and this partnership and this collaboration. The band had this confidence of their songwriting and of their efficiency.

Canadians had been popping out of our shells, rising up within the shadow of Nice Britain and the US. It simply took us some time to search out our footing, and I consider The Tragically Hip helped transfer that ahead in an enormous manner.

One factor that stood out concerning the doc, proper off the highest, is that you just had been all boys with a musical connection, fantasizing about changing into rock stars. And also you grew as much as be members of one of many largest rock bands in Canadian historical past. Trying again, does it ever really feel like a dream?

Gord Sinclair: Very a lot so, I used to be simply interested by this yesterday. When (we had been teenagers), Rush performed the Jock Hardy Area, which is a small half-hockey enviornment, possibly 2,000 folks… I do know most of you had been there with me [gestures at bandmates], as we’re from a small city and this was an enormous, massive live performance. I keep in mind they opened up with Bastille Day, and it was the loudest, most superb factor I’ve ever seen. It was actually inspiring.

And yesterday we’re sitting there, and right here’s Ged (Geddy Lee, Rush frontman) on TV speaking about our tunes. The 16-year-old me is like, “Wow.” It’s superb. I nonetheless have issues wanting that man within the eye as a result of it’s Geddy Lee! It’s fairly unbelievable, again once we had been enjoying on tennis racquets as children listening to the Rolling Stones, after which we’re having a pint with them. It’s laborious to consider.

It’s type of like a dream come true, that degree of inspiration. It speaks to the facility of music for me, as a result of I nonetheless maintain these recollections actually, actually strongly. Music was the one factor I needed to do after seeing Rush play, and as a music fan to have the ability to try this… to have the ability to respect that on a winter’s night time in Saskatoon, or Pigtown, there’s a child on the market who’s possibly considering the very same factor. You get that sense of group that music creates. Music is a good pressure for good.

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‘The Tragically Hip: No Gown Rehearsal’ is now streaming throughout Canada on Prime Video.

This interview has been edited and condensed.