Representative Albums: "Battle of the Nudes," "Coke Machine Glow"
Biography
Singer/songwriter and poetic improviser Gordon Downie is one of Canada's most treasurable artists. Since 1983 he's fronted Kingston, Ontario's beloved trad rock band the Tragically Hip, and Downie's lush and charming lyrical stories have garnered the Hip many fans across the globe, particularly in pockets of New York and Michigan. Downie, however, is the charging force -- not only as a lead singer, but also as an artist. The clarity in his songwriting exudes a passion, a poignant sensibility for the most simplistic and the most complex. Aside from his band duties, the new millennium saw Downie making time for a solo career. He worked alongside Skydiggers' Josh Finlayson and ex-Odds bass player Steven Drake, to complete and produce his first solo effort, 2001's Coke Machine Glow. Coke Machine Glow, which was also the title of his first book of poetry and prose, was recorded in Gas Station Studios and featured additional help from Barenaked Ladies' Kevin Hearn, bandmate Paul Langlois, and Don Kerr of Rheostatics. A second solo effort, Battle of the Nudes appeared two summers later. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide
Gordon Downie (born February 6, 1964) is a Canadianrock musician, writer and occasional actor. He is the lead singer and lyricist for the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip. He has released two solo albums, Coke Machine Glow in 2001 and Battle of the Nudes in 2003; the former was sold with a book of poetry of the same name included with the CD. Canadian indie band The Dinner Is Ruined served as his backing band for both solo albums. It has been cited on hipbase.com that Gord will be reuniting with Julie Doiron and possibly the rest of his solo band in the summer of 2010 to promote an upcoming solo album.
Downie's use of stories and myths about life in Canada, along with his wild antics and rantings on stage, has helped enshrine The Tragically Hip as a home-grown and much-loved Canadian band. Band performances are peppered with his seemingly endless and incomprehensible rantings between song verses—a trait that endears him to his fans. One notable rant is the "KillerWhaleTank" rant from the song "New Orleans Is Sinking".[4] Another is the double suicide story line in the song "Highway Girl".
Comparisons have been drawn between Gordon Downie and Michael Stipe 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.[5][6][7][8]
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 characters 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.
