About Gordon Downie

Gordon Downie is a Canadian rock musician and writer from Kingston, Ontario. He is the lead singer and lyricist of 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, and published a book of poetry, Coke Machine Glow. In June 2010, Gordon released The Grand Bounce produced by Chris Walla. Gord wrote the lyrics and music to all 13 tracks. He attended Ernestown Secondary School (Odessa, Ontario) in Grade 9 and part of Grade 10. He graduated from Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute in 1982, a school also attended by his bandmates. 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. Downie is the godson of former Boston Bruins GM/coach Harry Sinden. Downie's use of stories and myths about life in Canada, along with his wild antics and rantings on stage have 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. Downie currently resides in Toronto.