BUZZ WORDS

Where There's Smoke, You Might Find the Hip ...

It has been said that the Tragically Hip sounds better under the
influence of marijuana.

This may be the case with many groups, such as Pink Floyd or the
Grateful Dead. It's just something in the music, something you can't
put your finger on. Repeated attempts to explore this theory have been
foiled since the researchers were too stoned to keep proper records,
but, as fans know, there tends to be plenty of pungent blue smoke at
Tragically Hip concerts.

Not that we would advocate this sort of thing, but hey, it happens.
Just reporting the facts. The studies continue.

Sometimes the feeling is mutual. The members of the Tragically Hip
themselves are "recreational guys," says bassist Gord Sinclair, the
"other Gord." Singer Gord Downie's lyrics are sort of baked, at least.

At the risk of getting on some kind of subversives list at the U.S.
border, Sinclair is candid about his drug of choice during a recent
phone interview.

"I've never really used it to aid, or felt it hindered, what I do
creatively," he says. "I don't drink very much. That's a personal
choice. I think it's healthier and, as you know if you smoke yourself,
I think it's a better buzz at the end of the day. I don't know if the
influence is direct on our music or not, but I think certainly as a
lifestyle choice, it's much mellower than drinking.

"And as a music fan, I don't think there's anything better than
waiting around all day to get into a concert and as soon as the house
lights go down, firing one up. That's what I used to do when I was a
teenager all of the time. It certainly helps on the listening side of
things, and, like I said, I don't think it hurts on the playing side
of things, either. It's good clean fun."

So what does this have to do with the Hip's new album, In Violet
Light? It was recorded in the Bahamas where area constabulary frown
heavily on drugs of any kind, particularly gringos dumb enough to buy
the local ganja - and "we're as gring' as gringo gets," Sinclair laughs.

So ... no smoke for the smokin' Canadian band. It was all work and no
play for these guys. Aside from a little morning snorkelling, Sinclair
says he and his bandmates put all of their energy into the making of
In Violet Light. Bob Marley and Chris Blackwell built the famous
Compass Point Studios with little but work in mind - no palm trees,
skylights or huge picture windows filled with distracting vistas of
gorgeous beaches, basically just a concrete bunker filled with musical
gear.

Producer Hugh Padgham - who made the Police classic Syncronicity and
XTC's English Settlement - was also a harsh taskmaster.

"We had to get away to focus 100% on the new record, like we did with
our first two records," Sinclair says. "The Bahamas is a great place
to do that. It's a wonderful place to go on vacation, but I wouldn't
want to live there. It's ridiculously expensive, so it's kind of
difficult to have fun unless you've got a whole satchel full of dough.

"The pace that Hugh kept us at was pretty demanding. He worked us
pretty hard. We could've been on Mars making this.

"It's like the time we recorded in London. People say, you must've had
a great time.' Frankly, we had a s--- time because we couldn't afford
to do anything."

Oh, come on. You guys must have some cash to throw
around.

Sinclair laughs, "We're Canadian boys. We got our eye on the bottom
line."

In this case, the bottom line was getting back to making a simple rock
'n' roll record.

"Hugh wanted to make an old-school record, the way he started off
making records in the '70s and early '80s, 24 tracks, set the band up
and have them perform. People have sort of gotten away from that these
days with the Pro Tools and all the digital toys. He wanted to capture
the essence of the band, which is live performance."

Some fans might complain that while the Hip still rocks - especially
live - the band has become too "arty" for its own good. In Violet
Light, like the last one, even contains literary footnotes. Sinclair
says he's comfortable with the dichotomy.

"Everything we write is a matter of collaboration. Everyone puts their
stamp on each individual song. Our whole career has been a process of
marrying each other's individual styles into a collective sound.

"I think it's made us more focused. As a songwriter, I spend a
majority of my time coming up with riffs and ideas. But unless I know
it's not going to work for my main band, rarely will I take the time
to finish the song. In my experience, the best songs the band has come
up with are ones we come up with together."

The Tragically Hip performs July 14 at the Stage 13 festival in
Camrose. Weekend passes are $129 and going fast. Call
1-888-404-1234.

You know what to do.