Gord Downie

“I'm agile.”

“The Sadies have the ability to create soundscapes, and to put you in places.”

“I'm interested in doing anything that teaches me something.”

“I like Raymond Carver's poetry a lot.”

“Our sound is nothing like the Doors.”

“As we move towards resolution and understanding and greater serenity in all aspects of our life, love's pretty elemental and that's nice to know. I think rock 'n' roll is the same. I don't pretend to understand it; it feels confusing and frightening and wonderful.”

“I was a rink rat growing up. I was a goalie and my father was a busy father of five, so he would come when he could. When he did show up, I'd look up and there he would be.”

“As you get older, you mellow, but there's a natural propensity to watch what you say, 'cause you learn that you want more time and space to craft what you want to say because you're less likely to want to say impetuous things, or things that aren't thought-out properly.”

“You know, I've been hit with a Greb boot in the face and I've been spat on. And my kids light up when they hear these stories. It really takes their minds off their troubles.”

“You have to - you have to allow something to tell you what it wants to be.”

“I haven't written too many political lyrics. Nor have I written any pro-Canada lyrics, any kind of jingoistic, nationalistic cant... That stuff doesn't interest me and I don't even know if I could write that if I tried because I don't really feel it.”

“I've changed like crazy. I know I have, 'cause I work at it.”

“I work a couple of hours a day with a guitar or pushing words around, so over time I have a lot of material, so I don't get into this feast-or-famine situation.”

“We used to tie a skipping rope to a pitchfork and try to spear big carp. We never got one. My kids love that story, very 'Lord of the Flies.'”

“I work at being a better member of my family. So I know that that affects and drifts and soaks into my work, and my art.”

“I love dance - trying to express myself wordlessly.”

“I used to run the band hockey pool - regular season and playoffs. I would write weekly reports, which were meant to demoralize and diffuse enjoyment for others.”

“I guess I want people to see me and to try to explain myself, and you don't always get the chance. Sometimes you don't get the chance and maybe no one ever gets the chance to really explain themselves, to have people see them. But I guess I'm doing that or I'm in the process of doing that.”

“When we watch dance, the artists and the audience are part of a momentary collective experience that will never happen again.”

“Being a dad, and being in a rock band, it's harder than it looks. But we tried. And we try.”