Good morning all! It is 6 AM and I have already been up for almost an hour. I did not play much guitar this week, sadly. I have been kind of distracted and had to write a letter of introduction to my future practicum teacher which took way too much time and effort. I have not really updated my Trello either. I will be honest; I have only played about an hour this week. I also found out it will cost me about $100.00 to have the body of my guitar repaired. I guess that is not going to happen.
Since I have nothing to really share about what I have been working on, I want to take a minute to talk about my hero: Gord Downie, the frontman of the Canadian band, The Tragically Hip. I remember the first time I heard them, my eleventh grade English teacher played a song for us in class and I did not like Gord’s voice. I thought he sounded like a sheep. It was not until my back-packing trip to Europe that I began to appreciate them, especially Gord Downie’s lyricism. On a train, somewhere between Munich and Vienna, I heard his voice again. I was shuffling through my music and the song Bobcaygeon came on. I still do not know how the song made its way into my music, but I am certainly glad it did. It was as if I needed to be where I was, viewing the beautiful mountains and countryside to discover the poetry of his words.
I have listened to Gord nearly every day since that train ride. I began to obsess and would listen to the same albums over and over as if I were trying to internalize his words. Little did I know that the man himself would be cursed with the burden of not being able to recall his own. In December 2015, Gord was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer which debilitated his memory. Despite his diagnosis, Gord and the band booked a Canadian cross-country tour and I got to see him one last time. Gord Downie died today three years ago. Yesterday, his family released a posthumous album titled Away Is Mine. I have not stopped listening to it. I must internalize it.
A year ago, I learned one of their tunes, Long Time Running. I have attached a link to a video of me playing it to this post. I have decided I am going to try and fingerpick it.
Until next time.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/q8dZGheChPz5FU3W8