Gordon Downie
Encyclopedia
Gordon Edgar Downie is a Canadian
rock music
ian, writer
and occasional actor
. He is the lead singer and lyricist
for the Canadian
rock band The Tragically Hip
. He has released three solo albums, Coke Machine Glow
in 2001, Battle of the Nudes
in 2003; and The Grand Bounce
in 2010. Coke Machine Glow was sold along with a book of poetry of the same name, included with the CD. Canadian indie band The Dinner Is Ruined
plus Julie Doiron
and Josh Finlayson, called The Country of Miracles, served as his backing band for all three solo albums.
. He is the godson of former Boston Bruins
general manager and coach Harry Sinden
. He attended Ernestown Secondary School
(Odessa, Ontario) in grade nine and part of grade ten. He graduated from Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute
in 1982, a school also attended by his band-mates. Downie then studied film at Queen's University
in Kingston. Downie was a minor league hockey
goalie
and played for an Ontario championship winning Bantam level team in 1979.
of R.E.M.
because both are known for writing intelligent, eclectic, and introspective lyrics, the meaning of which are often difficult to decipher, and also because they share similar performing styles.
Downie has cameo appearances in Men with Brooms
, in which The Tragically Hip play a curling
team. Downie also made a cameo appearance in the 2008 indie drama Nothing Really Matters, directed by Jean-Marc Piché. Downie also appears in the Trailer Park Boys
movie The Big Dirty
, in which he and Alex Lifeson
play a pair of police officers. More recently, he and other members of the band can be seen in the final episode of Trailer Park Boys, entitled "Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys", in which he is harassed while eating a bologna sandwich
at a singles dance. Downie is also featured in the sitcom Corner Gas
in the episode "Rock On!" in which The Tragically Hip are shown as a local band practising in the main character's garage. Colin James
is also featured in the same episode. Most recently, Downie appeared in Michael McGowan
's film, One Week
as a pot smoking philosopher alongside fellow Canadian Joshua Jackson
.
Downie is mentioned in the second volume of the Scott Pilgrim
series of graphic novels, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World. In it, the title character and his friend listen to one of Downie's solo albums, and repeatedly describe him as "a genius".
Downie worked with fellow Canadian band City and Colour
to contribute vocals on the track "Sleeping Sickness" for the album, Bring Me Your Love
.
Downie is a trustee of Lake Ontario
through his support of the Waterkeeper Alliance
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
ian, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and occasional actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He is the lead singer and lyricist
Lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
for the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
rock band The Tragically Hip
The Tragically Hip
The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as The Hip, is a Canadian rock band from Kingston, Ontario, consisting of Gordon Downie , Paul Langlois , Rob Baker , Gord Sinclair and Johnny Fay . Since their formation in 1983 they have released 12 studio albums, two live albums, and 46 singles...
. He has released three solo albums, Coke Machine Glow
Coke Machine Glow
Coke Machine Glow was the first solo album released by Gordon Downie, the singer for The Tragically Hip. It was released in 2001.Early copies of the album were released as a joint package with a book by Downie, also titled Coke Machine Glow. The book included the song lyrics from the album and...
in 2001, Battle of the Nudes
Battle of the Nudes (album)
Battle of the Nudes is the second solo album by Gordon Downie, lead singer of The Tragically Hip. It was released in 2003.Downie's backing band on Coke Machine Glow was credited as "Country of Miracles"...
in 2003; and The Grand Bounce
The Grand Bounce
The Grand Bounce is the third solo album by Gordon Downie, the lead singer of The Tragically Hip. It was released on June 8, 2010.-Background:...
in 2010. Coke Machine Glow was sold along with a book of poetry of the same name, included with the CD. Canadian indie band The Dinner Is Ruined
The dinner is ruined
The Dinner Is Ruined is a Canadian indie rock band. Formed in 1991 by Dale Morningstar, the band plays an experimental and improvisational brand of blues rock.The band members are Dale Morningstar, Dave Clark and Dr. Johnny Pee...
plus Julie Doiron
Julie Doiron
Julie Doiron is an award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter of Acadian heritage.-Background:Doiron started playing guitar in Eric's Trip at the age of eighteen, having joined the band at the insistence of her then-boyfriend, Rick White, also of Eric's Trip...
and Josh Finlayson, called The Country of Miracles, served as his backing band for all three solo albums.
Early life
Downie was born in Amherstview, OntarioAmherstview, Ontario
Amherstview is a community in Loyalist Township, Ontario.It is located on the north shore of Lake Ontario and has a population of approximately 10,000. It is adjacent to the city of Kingston, and considered part of the greater Kingston area. Amherstview is named for Amherst Island, located directly...
. He is the godson of former Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
general manager and coach Harry Sinden
Harry Sinden
Harry James Sinden was the long-time general manager, coach, and president for the Boston Bruins NHL hockey team, and was the coach of Team Canada during the 1972 Summit Series...
. He attended Ernestown Secondary School
Ernestown Secondary School
Ernestown Secondary School or ESS is a Canadian public, comprehensive school located in Odessa, Ontario, Canada. The school services about 650 students from Loyalist Township, Napanee and Stone Mills, Ontario. The town is in the eastern Ontario county of Lennox and Addington approximately 24...
(Odessa, Ontario) in grade nine and part of grade ten. He graduated from Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute
Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute
Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute is a secondary school in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1792 by Reverend John Stuart based upon a grant for secondary education in the colony of Upper Canada, it moved to its present location in 1892. It is considered the oldest public secondary...
in 1982, a school also attended by his band-mates. Downie then studied film at Queen's University
Queen's University
Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...
in Kingston. Downie was a minor league hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
goalie
Goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...
and played for an Ontario championship winning Bantam level team in 1979.
Career
Comparisons have been drawn between Gordon Downie and Michael StipeMichael Stipe
John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
of R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
because both are known for writing intelligent, eclectic, and introspective lyrics, the meaning of which are often difficult to decipher, and also because they share similar performing styles.
Downie has cameo appearances in Men with Brooms
Men with Brooms
Men with Brooms is a 2002 Canadian romantic comedy film, starring and directed by Paul Gross. Centred on the sport of curling, the offbeat comedy tells the story of a reunited curling team from a small Canadian town as they work through their respective life issues and struggle to win the...
, in which The Tragically Hip play a curling
Curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area. It is related to bowls, boule and shuffleboard. Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called "rocks", across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a...
team. Downie also made a cameo appearance in the 2008 indie drama Nothing Really Matters, directed by Jean-Marc Piché. Downie also appears in the Trailer Park Boys
Trailer Park Boys
Trailer Park Boys is a Canadian comedy mockumentary television series created and directed by Mike Clattenburg that focuses on the misadventures of a group of trailer park residents, some of whom are ex-convicts, living in the fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The...
movie The Big Dirty
Trailer Park Boys: The Big Dirty
Trailer Park Boys: The Movie, also known as The Big Dirty and simply Trailer Park Boys, is a 2006 Canadian comedy film based on the hit television series Trailer Park Boys. The film follows characters Ricky, Julian and Bubbles creating a plan for The Big Dirty, one last crime that will enable them...
, in which he and Alex Lifeson
Alex Lifeson
Aleksandar Živojinović, OC, better known by his stage name Alex Lifeson, is a second generation Serbian-Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist of the Canadian rock band Rush. In the summer of 1968, Lifeson founded the band that would become Rush with friend, drummer John Rutsey...
play a pair of police officers. More recently, he and other members of the band can be seen in the final episode of Trailer Park Boys, entitled "Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys", in which he is harassed while eating a bologna sandwich
Bologna sandwich
The bologna sandwich or baloney sandwich is a common and inexpensive lunch choice in the United States and Canada. It is traditionally made from pre-sliced bologna sausage between slices of white bread, along with various condiments, such as ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise...
at a singles dance. Downie is also featured in the sitcom Corner Gas
Corner Gas
Corner Gas is a Canadian television sitcom created by Brent Butt. The series ran for six seasons from 2004 to 2009. Re-runs still air on CTV and The Comedy Network in Canada; it formerly aired on WGN America in the United States....
in the episode "Rock On!" in which The Tragically Hip are shown as a local band practising in the main character's garage. Colin James
Colin James
Colin James is a Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, who plays in the blues, rock, and neo-swing genres. He grew up as a Quaker.-Early years:...
is also featured in the same episode. Most recently, Downie appeared in Michael McGowan
Michael McGowan
Michael McGowan may refer to:* Michael McGowan , Glasgow-born Northern Irish football player* Michael McGowan , British Labour Member of the European Parliament 1984–1999...
's film, One Week
One Week (2008 film)
One Week is a 2008 Canadian film directed by Michael McGowan and starring Joshua Jackson, Liane Balaban, and Campbell Scott. The film debuted at the Toronto Film Festival on September 8, 2008 and was released theatrically on March 6, 2009....
as a pot smoking philosopher alongside fellow Canadian Joshua Jackson
Joshua Jackson
Joshua Carter Jackson is a Canadian American actor. He has appeared in primetime television and in over 32 film roles. He is best known for playing Charlie Conway in The Mighty Ducks film series, Pacey Witter in the television series Dawson's Creek and Peter Bishop in the television series...
.
Downie is mentioned in the second volume of the Scott Pilgrim
Scott Pilgrim
Scott Pilgrim is a graphic novel series by Bryan Lee O'Malley. It consists of six digest size black-and-white volumes, released between August 2004 and July 2010, by Portland-based independent comic book publisher Oni Press. It was later republished by Fourth Estate, an imprint of HarperCollins...
series of graphic novels, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World. In it, the title character and his friend listen to one of Downie's solo albums, and repeatedly describe him as "a genius".
Downie worked with fellow Canadian band City and Colour
City and Colour
City and Colour is the recording alias for Juno Award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter Dallas Green, who was also the guitarist and vocalist of the post-hardcore band Alexisonfire. He plays melodic acoustic and folk music and is often accompanied by a rotating number of Canadian indie rock...
to contribute vocals on the track "Sleeping Sickness" for the album, Bring Me Your Love
Bring Me Your Love
-Personnel:* Dallas Green - vocals , acoustic guitar , percussion , national guitar , harmonica , banjo , electric guitar , bells , baritone guitar , piano , bass * Daniel Romano - acoustic guitar , pedal...
.
Downie is a trustee of Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
through his support of the Waterkeeper Alliance
Waterkeeper Alliance
Waterkeeper Alliance is an environmental organization founded in 1999, responding to a growing movement of organizations with the name Riverkeeper, Baykeeper, Soundkeeper, and other related "keeper" names, of which there are over 150 around the globe...
.
Studio albums
| Year | Album | CAN Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Coke Machine Glow Coke Machine Glow Coke Machine Glow was the first solo album released by Gordon Downie, the singer for The Tragically Hip. It was released in 2001.Early copies of the album were released as a joint package with a book by Downie, also titled Coke Machine Glow. The book included the song lyrics from the album and... |
26 |
| 2003 | Battle of the Nudes Battle of the Nudes (album) Battle of the Nudes is the second solo album by Gordon Downie, lead singer of The Tragically Hip. It was released in 2003.Downie's backing band on Coke Machine Glow was credited as "Country of Miracles"... |
33 |
| 2010 | The Grand Bounce The Grand Bounce The Grand Bounce is the third solo album by Gordon Downie, the lead singer of The Tragically Hip. It was released on June 8, 2010.-Background:... |
8 |
External links
- Gordon Downie official website