By: Wendy Wallace

Even during their embryonic stage. The Tragically Hip knew they had the guts for a career in rock n' roll. All they had to do was play the music they wanted to hear. And during the past decade since these five childhood friends formed the band, they've taken a self-serving journey acquiring hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts along the way.

"I'm still electrified by music. 1 feel quite fortunate to do it. It's my one and only skill, and jt's something 1 continue to work at and cherish," says Gord Downie, the Hip's brooding vocalist and penetrating lyricist.

He's calling from Toronto where he now lives. Interviews are a rarity for him. It's a commonly known fact that Downie doesn't really like the press much. But these days he wants to bring attention to the Hip's latest CD, Day for Night

He's pleasant enough, but the strong note of underlying cynicism and intense seriousness make for an intimidating experience.

Early in the interview, Downie confesses what drew him toward music was lack of boundaries. To him, freedom was his beginning. A concurrent evolving taste in music among the five musicians was the beginning of The Tragically Hip.

Paradox city

Back in 1985 in Kingston, Ontario. Paradox City of Canada, known for its university and its federal prison, The Tragically Hip came into being — mostly for fun rather than profit, something to do to break the monotony while attending Queen's University. But like a brush fire, one thing led to another and things began to happen quickly. By 1988. they were selling out gigs in their home town and had set out on their first tour of western Canada.

Fast forward to 1991. By this time their debut record. “Up To Here” had sold 400,000 copies worldwide, and their second onslaught. Road Apples. was on the verge of doing even better sales-wise than their first offering. Their tour schedule was a brutal example of what a rock band has to do to maintain a career: 300 gigs in 18 months, one gig every second night.

And now it's the beginning of 1995 Things haven't really changed much for The Tragically Hip, but things have grown. Their third CD, Fully Completely, sold in massive numbers, tours continued, awards piled up. And now, “Day For Night” has just been released, living up to its expectations by already selling 400,000 copies across Canada

This band has been together 10 years. Many relationships don’t even last that long.

"We love and respect each other, Downie said. "The way we operate is democratic. We have faith and trust in each other, and we put the band first and foremost. We have very little else but each other."

Downie also said “Day For Night” has brought the band full circle. He says music is fun again. That in itself is a revealing statement coming from a band who emerged out of the pubs of Kingston to now have their own Internet address (thehip.com), outlasting the eight-second bull ride to become a mainstay in an evolving, sometimes lacking Canadian music industry.

"The Canadian music industry has changed substantially since we started,' Downie claims. “At that time there was a mentality afoot that there were two kinds of hands: the good bands that were signed and the bad bands that weren’t. You were only happy if you got a recording deal, and if you didn't get one. you were made to feel that you should quit music and do something else. I always thought that was criminal.”

"In 10 years 1 have seen that change, evolve, and grow. And 1 have seen the confidence in musicians grow, and I’ve seen them treat music like it is a career worth pursuing. If 1 had teenagers, I would be encouraging them to join a band as much as I would (be encouraging them) to get a university degree or work at Dupont, because each one is about as secure as the other these days."

Stage presence

For better or for worse, wags have pointed out Downie's stage presence as a selling point of the band. He hates that idea.

"There is a difference between being a singer and a front person." he declares.

"Oftentimes, being the front person. you are thrust in front of the band in every way. I’ve never enjoyed that position and I have tried to shun it and push it aside at every opportunity, t'd much rather be a musician than a rock star."

But there's no denying that Downie's stage presence — raw and gritty, sometimes redeeming and grisly — is parallel to The Tragically Hip's sound. It's aggressive, low-maintenance rock music in its purest form.

When handed with an image of someone sitting in front of a stereo, headphones on. rocking back and forth listening to a Tragically Hip CD, sweating out frustrations to the climactic point where they feel an incredible desire to put their fist through a wall. Downie is pleased. He wants their music to have that effect. And he doesn't want to give anything less when he is on stage.

"I've likened being on stage to being on a hot griddle. When the music is pumping, it makes you do strange things. Because I don't play an instrument, I have to do something with my hands and body to allow me to get my words across. I don't spend a lot of time thinking about what 1 do on stage. It's a performance. It's going wherever the moment takes you and trusting in your body and voice "

When the Tragically Hip play the Coliscum for their sold-out concert on Feb. 21, they bring with them a stage show that. since the start of their touring days, has been bereft of techno toys. They have always used their bare-essential stage presence as a marketing tool to sell themselves, especially in countries such as the U.S., where they have been less successful than in Canada.

Persistent goal

Their 1993 “Roadside Attraction Tour” which featured the Hip with Australian band Midnight Oil, helped set a persistent goal for them

"’The Roadside Attraction Tour’ was a pivotal point in the band's evolution because it opened our eyes to (he existing possibilities," said Downie.

'Not only was it a challenge. hut we realized there is a need for comradery amongst musicians. Oftentimes the music industry is founded on the idea of 'kill your neighbor' lo get ahead. I saw cooperation among musicians. The tour showed us there are obstacles out there, but they are not each other."

“Day For Night” was also a turning point. This time around, the Hip didn't necessarily stick with what was expected of them, but opted more for a recording of which they would be unconditionally proud. Unlike previous discs, this one took much longer to record, was recorded in blocks instead of all at once, and much of the recording was done in their own studio in Kingston.

With a tour underway, five nominations for the upcoming Junos, and future international obligations, the wheels of The. Tragically Hip are in constant motion. From the outside looking in. you d have to wonder what keeps these guys so damn motivated.

Downie, who has a knack for using the English language to impact the simplest of thoughts, sums it all up.

"Look around you. Idleness is the worst plague on humanity today. It destroys people. We re lucky enough to have a job and to be doing this. So we do it."