We were far, far from home last week when Toronto Mayor John Tory deemed August 10th ‘Tragically Hip Day’ - so we thought we’d do something special.
We’re currently on tour in Europe, and not able to take part in the festivities around Toronto to celebrate the iconic and bountiful career of The Tragically Hip, so we spent August 10th taking in the beautiful sights of Venice and reflecting on how much The Hip have inspired us as musicians. Any time we’d turn the radio on, or flip the channel to MuchMusic as kids, there were Gord and the boys. It was easy to feel the impact of a band who explored their musical abilities so boldly - and did so completely on their own terms. If you think about it, it’s pretty fucking punk rock. So we decided to record our own acoustic version of “Ahead By A Century” yesterday in Venice too.
Through his years Gord has truly inspired a nation of thinkers, believers, and dreamers - always inspiring us to be creative, providing the soundtrack to our good times, and also helping us through the tough ones. I think it’s time for us all to give back. Anything is welcome, but we urge each and every one of you to donate below to the Gord Downie Fund for Brain Cancer Research at Sunnybrook Hospital.
Much love and respect to The Hip for everything they’ve done for kids like us just trying to find a place to play our music. The inspiration just gets stronger and stronger. And to a true Canadian legend: Gord, we love ya!
Gord Downie Fund for Brain Cancer Research at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto:
donate.sunnybrook.ca/braincancerresearch
released August 15, 2016
Originally written and performed by The Tragically Hip.