Joined At The Hip: Podcast Explores The Legacy Of The Late, Great Gord Downie In “Discovering Downie”
You probably know Gord Downie as the greatly missed frontman of Canadian rock legends The Tragically Hip. You may even know that he, along with his bandmates, was made a member of the Order of Canada before his untimely passing from cancer in 2017. But did you know that he also enjoyed a prolific parallel career as a solo artist that continues to this day via posthumous releases?
Jamie “jD” Dew knows. But he’s well aware that not everyone else is quite so clued in. That’s why the Toronto-based superfan has launched a new podcast, Discovering Downie, that’s devoted exclusively to examining its namesake’s lesser-known but still vital output under his own name. And just so less obsessive members of the listening audience don’t feel alienated or intimidated, jD is bringing along three co-hosts who consider themselves big Hip fans as well, yet who are still relatively unschooled in Downie’s solo work. Every episode, Langley, BC’s Craig Rogers, Vermonter Justin St. Louis, and Californian Kirk Lane will join jD for a deep dive into the great man’s eight so far solo albums, sharing the thrill of discovery—or in jD’s case, rediscovery—of a creative spirit it took more than one recording contract to exercise.
“The mission of this podcast is to highlight and showcase the solo works of Gord Downie to a cohort of fans that might not be as familiar with it,” jD says. “I put out a call for giant fans of The Tragically Hip who weren’t familiar with Gord’s solo discography, and I had several people reach out. Ultimately, I went with Craig, Justin and Kirk because I thought they each brought something unique to the table.”
You couldn’t ask for a more qualified, complementary bunch. Rogers is an accomplished guitarist/saxophonist who earned degrees in music and education and performed extensively with original bands before joining the Tragically Hip tribute outfit Gift Shop. St. Louis is a lifelong devotee of Canadian culture and such a fervent disciple of The Hip that he mentioned them in his wedding vows. The multifaceted Lane balances his day job as an event technology producer with gigs as a club musician and sometimes stage actor. Living in a market where the group was largely unknown, he got to see them in an intimate club setting multiple times, after being brought into the fold by Canadian friends he worked and played hockey with.
“My hope for Discovering Downie is to share the brilliance of Gord’s solo work to the broader community of Hip fans,” says co-host Rogers. “Together, let’s explore the depth of his solo albums by exchanging stories and experiences, enriching our appreciation for his profound artistry.”
The new show builds on jD’s work hosting the 2023 podcast Getting Hip to The Hip, on which he introduced the band to novice listeners Pete Marchica from Malaga, Spain and Tim Lyden (of Portland, Oregon)—neither of whom had even heard of the group before. Five years previous, jD created the seminal Hip podcast Fully & Completely, which reached the Top 10 on the Apple podcast charts, racked up over 150,000 downloads, and inspired a Facebook fan group with nearly 2,000 members.
Discovering Downie will last for 11 episodes. And as with Getting Hip to The Hip before it, its run will include a live show. This one’s set for 7 p.m. Friday, July 19, at the Rec Room, 255 Bremner Blvd., Toronto. Appropriately enough, all proceeds from the event will go to the Gord Downie Fund for Brain Cancer Research. As Downie himself once sang, “Come on, just let’s go.”
Hi JD, care to introduce yourself?
My name is Jamie Dew but people call me jD. I am a podcast producer and host who works out of Toronto. I’ve worked hard on several podcasts with topics that range from pop culture to mental health. In the past, I’ve raised money for CAMH with events tied to the Show of Strength podcast, and just last summer I produced Getting Hip to The Hip that paired with a fundraiser for the Downie Wenjack Fund. We raised nearly $4,000 at that event.
Tell us about the process of recording the podcast “Discovering Downie”? What did you want to do that you didn’t have a chance to do with the past podcast, “Getting Hip To The Hip?”
For this particular project – Discovering Downie, I am but a cog, in a four part partnership. Craig Rogers, Justin St. Louis, and Kirk Lane do most of the heavy lifting on Discovering Downie as they are the diehard fans of The Hip that I went looking for. They have little to no knowledge of the solo works of the late, Gord Downie. The premise for the podcast is to take them on a journey through his discography and to share their experiences with others who may be in the boat. Although it can be tough to arrange recording times with two of our hosts living in the Pacific time zone, we have bonded through the process and look forward to our fundraiser, A Celebration of Gord Downie on July 19th at the Rec Room in Toronto. This year we are raising funds for the Gord Downie Fund for Brain Cancer Research. Our goal is to top last year aiming for a stretch goal of $7,500. We will have a silent auction, The Almost Hip – a tribute band, and the finale of our podcast live and in person with special guest, Patrick Downie.
Fave Hip song and album?
This is like Sophie’s choice. The album changes depending on my mood if I am being honest. When I am feeling lonesome for the band I will spin Fully or Day for Night. When I am looking for a figurative punch in the face, I put on In Violet Light or Music @ Work. But the album I go to the most has got to be Trouble at the Henhouse.
As for my favourite song, it’s been my favourite since the first time I heard it as an interlude during New Orleans is Sinking on my 19th birthday at Roadside Attraction and that is the absolutely stunning, Nautical Disaster.
Who was the first and most recent Canadian artist to blow you away?
The first Canadian artist to really peak my interest was Red Rider, Tom Cochrane’s old band. An interesting tie-in to The Hip is that their guitarist, Ken Greer actually produced the baby blue record, The Tragically Hip EP.
More recently I’ve enjoyed the output of the Hamilton-based band The Arkells. I had the chance to see Max perform with Paul Langlois once and his vocals blew me away.
What are your plans for Spring and Summer?
It’s nothing but work for this guy. In between recording and editing Discovering Downie, we are working hard at planning the mid-summer event and soliciting sponsors and silent auction donations. Once that ends I plan to take a nice long break before coming back next year with a brand new podcast that features the works of The Tragically Hip. Stay tuned!