FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1997. All Rights Reserved.


Maybe it's because I'm not the biggest fan the band ever had, but with a gun to my head and a press photo in my hand I could not identify the members of The Tragically Hip in a police lineup. Swear to God. Okay, maybe I could guess that the bald guy who reeked like weed and muttered crazy shit about paradoxes and coconut cream was Gord Downie, but that's only because I know Timothy Leary is dead.

So is that a good thing or a bad thing - that the most popular band in Canada is also one of the most nondescript cast of anti-characters around?

"It's pretty easy for all of us," says Hip guitarist Paul Langlois. "We rarely get recognized and if it ever happens people are generally pretty cool. It seems pretty obvious from the reputation we have that we're more about the music than the personalities.

"We're low key and non-image if anything and that's always been conscious. But partly it's pretty hard to impress a Canadian regardless of who the celebrity is across the restaurant. It's good, because we're the same way."

It says something about how down to earth a band is when they can receive as much attention and aural exposure as The Tragically Hip has, and still be considered (and consider themselves) low profile. In Canada they've sold millions of albums and every single they put out is played by radio and MuchMusic until a new one arrives. And played. And played. And played so blinking much that even if you don't own a radio or television, unwitting exposure in cabs or watering-holes will ensure that you know every word (whether you understand them or not depends a great deal on how long you've been in that bar or what you've been doing to warrant a cab ride).

Local rock radio programmers (a monkey and a dartboard?) seem to be doing their best to kill any joy a Hip song ever held. Cuts from their latest record, Live Between Us, are played every hour on the hour ad nausea - and don't think the band hasn't noticed. Sure they appreciate the support and the healthy paycheques, but....

"Yeah, it's something that we're conscious about and can't really do much about it," Langlois admits almost apologetically. "The only time it really gets uncomfortable is when a record comes out or tour comes to a certain town then it's 'Hip hype week.' Those kind of things have always made us a little queasy.

"I guess it's a bit of a surprise because we didn't really expect much of that kind of support. I'm sure we're long past where some people are sick of us, but that's something we've always been aware of.

"Anyone that I hear on the radio and see their video every day and just get hammered over the head, even if I'm a huge fan, it starts to irk me a bit. I feel like I don't want to hear that song anymore.... We try and ignore it when it's hype week and just hope next week it will be someone else," he says.

The Tragically Hip don't just hope it. Thanks to their industry push power they can often help it be someone else next week. They've always been known for their boosterism when it comes to bands they dig and every time they tour the country they hand pick an act they feel to be worthy of the attention a sold-out arena show can elicit. Even the new album begins with Downie referring to openers The Rheostatics and his fondness for them.

But perhaps the greatest testament to the band's fandom is Another Roadside Attraction. Modeled after eclectic European music festivals, Roadside - hands down the best touring summer music festival - features an array of Hip faves, old and new. Usually among the bunch is a fellow Kingston act (nepotism - last time thy name was "Inbreds," this time "Van Allen Belt"), but after that the field is wide open.

"We're certainly fans of all the bands and that's always been a requirement - the whole bill we're excited about," Langlois says before gushing about the other artists on the roster of this, the third of their festivals. "These are bands that deserve to be heard - some get heard anyway, we just felt like it would be a nice flow to the day.

"I think people are more comfortable with the idea of the format now. Maybe it's now seeping in that we do choose the bill and we are fans of these bands. Not that that's a huge endorsement or anything, but certainly it tells the people that this wasn't just thrown together, there's supposed to be some sort of continuity to the whole thing.

"This year we got a little extra lucky. We had tried, for example to get Los Lobos a couple of times," he says. "We're pretty happy to even be able to meet those guys let alone see them eight shows in a row."

And who knows, maybe after the last show Los Lobos will even be able to recognize them.

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