Quotes from Gord Downie

I grew up on the lake and spent most of that time outdoors. As a musician, I travel widely around the country and talk to a lot of people, from all walks of life. That experience, combined with my rock and roll roots gives me something of an affinity for the underdog. In many ways, the environment is also the underdog - so, it's an easy fit.

We did reach a wider audience with 'SNL,' but it's hard to know what attracts people to your band in the long run.

I work a couple of hours a day with a guitar or pushing words around, so over time I have a lot of material, so I don't get into this feast-or-famine situation.

I'm grateful for the friendships and being able to show it, for people's dancing pleasure.

Our sound is nothing like the Doors.

It's a gas, just phoning up some bands and saying: 'You don't know us but we love you and would you come play with us?'

Once we went into the basement and learned a song, we felt successful. Then we learned two songs, and then we got a gig, and on and on - and that's the way musicians think. I don't know about other people - I mean, I don't know about all musicians either - but some are more driven than others.

It's time to listen to the stories of the Indigenous; we are blessed as a country to look to the wisdom of a really old country.

The only criterion we used in doing cover material was we wanted to do songs that we wished bands would play when we went out. We were doing Yardbirds and Rolling Stones cover songs-which is not any big deal, but where we were from, all we were getting were Top 40 bands.

To be honest, I think affiliation is anathema - if you're a rock 'n' roller, you're a lone wolf.

I was a rink rat growing up. I was a goalie and my father was a busy father of five, so he would come when he could. When he did show up, I'd look up and there he would be.

I like Raymond Carver's poetry a lot.

I have no illusions of the future. Or maybe it's all illusion. I don't know. I've always been ready for it.

As we move towards resolution and understanding and greater serenity in all aspects of our life, love's pretty elemental and that's nice to know. I think rock 'n' roll is the same. I don't pretend to understand it; it feels confusing and frightening and wonderful.

What would be great is if everyone who bought a record got a comp ticket to a show.

We used to tie a skipping rope to a pitchfork and try to spear big carp. We never got one. My kids love that story, very 'Lord of the Flies.'

I think the recording industry is founded on that principle: to approximate the live experience, to approximate that thing that evaporates as it's happening, disappears as it's happening.

I think you have to show people it's cool and fun to work together. It's your obligation. If you can't do it, who can you expect to do it?

As you get older, you mellow, but there's a natural propensity to watch what you say, 'cause you learn that you want more time and space to craft what you want to say because you're less likely to want to say impetuous things, or things that aren't thought-out properly.

Music brings people together. So my function in anything I do is to help bring people closer in.

You sort of get so lulled into thinking of yourself as this five-headed thing, the group, the band, The Hip. I guess you just forget it's a family, and like every good family, you can forget. But you're also committed to each other, so there's always room to grow, to learn and relearn.

We're a band. We're hired for parties. We have to know what to do.

If you're aiming for a hole in one, and you get one, you feel lucky - but at the same time you can justifiably say, 'Well, I was aiming for the hole anyway.'

We've met a ton of pro hockey players, got to know them, our music plays in their locker rooms. We've always taken pride in that.