I can't think of very many people who work as hard at the craft of songcraft as Gord Downie does. It was life or death. Every syllable was important.

The lesson there is that there's no hiding the sound of a band that is bored with its own music. Whatever it takes to create the sound of excitement, that's what you want to do.

Like any band, including mine, there's a comfort zone that's hard to escape. You kind of need an outsider to tell you that. You think it's your vocabulary, but it's a cocoon that's safe. Producers are supposed to tell you to try things a different way.

It seems silly, but it mattered to Gord Downie. I don't know if I necessarily felt like it had to be one or the other, but he really wanted that engagement: If you think it should be 'the' then tell me why it should be 'the.' 'Uh, okay, well...' He was really serious.

Gord Downie is extraordinary. It's safe to say there's nobody like that guy that I've ever come across.