‘The Tragically Hip: No Gown Rehearsal’: An intimate take 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, offers an extremely intimate take 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, nicely, 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, buddies 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, specific 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 could 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 peak of Canadian rock, and life after Gord’s dying.

When revisiting all the archival footage, reflecting on previous performances and all the things that you just’ve all been by means of collectively, how did it really feel to observe?

Gord Sinclair: It’s just like the drone shot in a whole lot of methods. We at all times saved a reasonably slim horizon all through our careers, attending to the following gig after which the following alternative to make a file, subsequent alternative to take a while off, writing and stuff. If you step again and take 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 file after the earlier one.

Gratitude to the followers that got here alongside and the blokes I performed music with. Rewatching it made me actually recognize what Mike went by means of. Mike moved with Gord from Amherstville after we had been solely 13, and he’s coming at it not solely as a pal, however honouring his household and honouring the group. I believe he did a beautiful job. Once more, it’s a pleasant look again, for certain.

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

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Mike Downie: I believe timing was a giant 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… a bit of bit misplaced. You simply type of retreat into your personal form of expertise, and I had an identical expertise as nicely. You realize, attempting to determine what it’s all about. However, after we went into our outdated highschool, it was vacant. It had been bought to Queen’s College. College students had been all gone, and in October of 2021, we had been capable of 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 quantity 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 nicely, and to start out interested by, or speaking about, the band and definitely the early days as a result of it’s what we wished to do after we had been in highschool.

I do not forget that feeling, the lump in my throat, you realize, as we began speaking concerning the band and all the things. However quickly the story takes over. Gord’s not with us anymore, however he’s alive in these tales. It at all times received me once I’d hear one other story, clearly one thing I didn’t learn 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 a whole lot of that’s most likely not within the doc, but it surely’s, you realize, it’s in right here [gestures to his heart] without end now.

Has diving into the movie, creating it, taking a look at all the things, having the lump within the throat… has that helped every of you together with your sense of grief?

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

We misplaced a brother. We went by means of all the things that we did collectively, very collectively and overtly collectively, after which all of us went off individually and grieved. Fully 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 prefer to have a meteoric rise throughout that point?

Johnny Fay: It was enjoyable! I used to be pondering again to a number of the stuff that we had completed. 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 12 months to the day later, 54-40 opened for us at Penguin Park in Saskatoon.

I keep in mind speaking to some individuals they usually mentioned to me, “It felt like we had been watching a aircraft 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 by means of that and lived is a narrative in itself. It was a fairly thrilling time to be a band that was taking part in rock ‘n’ roll on this nation at the moment. There have been some actually, actually nice bands on this nation. After which Nice Massive 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 individuals put the cellphone 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, once I was setting out to do that doc, I actually wished 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 enormous success in Canada, however not practically as a lot in America. I believe we actually took an excellent 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 taking a look at our personal artists, our personal something and saying, “Yeah, that’s fairly nice, however what do the People assume?”

Again then it was virtually a parental approval type of factor that we wanted. And that’s what occurred to the Hip. After which after all, it flipped, as a result of then Canadians had been like, “Wait a minute, this implies all the things 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 believe 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 america. It simply took us some time to seek out our footing, and I imagine The Tragically Hip helped transfer that ahead in a giant means.

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 greatest rock bands in Canadian historical past. Wanting 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 individuals… I do know most of you had been there with me [gestures at bandmates], as we’re from a small city and this was a giant, massive live performance. I keep in mind they opened up with Bastille Day, and it was the loudest, most wonderful factor I’ve ever seen. It was really 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 wonderful. I nonetheless have issues wanting that man within the eye as a result of it’s Geddy Lee! It’s fairly unbelievable, again after we had been taking part in on tennis racquets as children listening to the Rolling Stones, after which we’re having a pint with them. It’s laborious to imagine.

It’s type of like a dream come true, that stage of inspiration. It speaks to the ability of music for me, as a result of I nonetheless maintain these recollections actually, actually strongly. Music was the one factor I wished to do after seeing Rush play, and as a music fan to have the ability to do this… to have the ability to recognize that on a winter’s evening in Saskatoon, or Pigtown, there’s a child on the market who’s possibly pondering the very same factor. You get that sense of neighborhood that music creates. Music is a superb power 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.