The Tragically Hip [ tickets ]'s vocalist-lyricist, Gordon Downie, is set to unearth the solo effort "Coke Machine Glow" on July 10th with a North American tour to follow. The lyrics of the album's 16 tracks are also featured with other Downie works in a poetry book of the same name, which was released in Canada by Wiener Art/Vintage Canada.

Recorded at Toronto's now-defunct studio the Old Gas Station, the mellow "Coke Machine Glow" (Zoe/Rounder) is quite a departure from Downie's work with the Tragically Hip, one of Canada's most revered groups. The Hip's independent debut was released in 1987, and its most recent studio effort was last year's critically acclaimed "Music @ Work." (The group got its name from the Michael Nesmith "Elephant Parts" video, which featured a clip asking for donations to The Foundation for the Tragically Hip.)

Joining Toronto-native Downie on his North American solo tour are drummer Dave Clark and guitarist Dale Morningstar of the Canadian band the Dinner is Ruined, guitarist Josh Finlayson of the Skydiggers, and bassist Julie Doiron.

Downie spoke with liveDaily correspondent Don Zulaica about "Glow," poetic license and reconvening with the Hip.

LiveDaily: The record is coming out July 10th--how long has the book been out?

Gordon Downie: The book has been out in Canada since March 28th. I don't know what the plans are in the States, whether to [release it] or not. I guess we're kind of looking into it.

You recorded the album at the Old Gas Station in Toronto. What's the story there? Why did it shut down?

It had been around for a long time, and Dale Morningstar and Don Kerr [of the Rheostatics] ran it. They basically recorded mostly everybody that came through Toronto, or came to Toronto specifically to record with them--every indie band you can think of. I was sort of getting Dale involved, figuring, "Oh, Dale, I should at least get you to play on a track, seeing as this place is about to go under the wrecking ball." And it turned out he played on practically everything.

... There was sort of a gentrification wave afoot here, pre-Olympic bid euphoria. A lot of artists that were in places that people didn't really want before, were sort of being forced out. They were being forced out with 30-days notice rather than the normal 60 days. So it sparked some activism in Dale, and he launched a few protests and things like that. That was going on as we were recording.

And the people that were vacating, it was like Sherman's March or something, you know? They were laying everything to waste. I think if they'd just given them 60-days notice, people probably would have swept up on their way out.

The people you involved in the project--how planned-out was this?

I didn't have a whole lot of planning. I mean, I planned--sort of--everything, but when it came right down to it, I wanted to be fairly wide-open, sort of picking people that were suitable and, more importantly, available. Don Kerr and Kevin Hearn [of Barenaked Ladies], for instance, were both heading off to sessions. So there were different things I had noted to myself as I was getting ready to do the record. I thought it would be great if I could hear Kevin playing piano--that's what you do when you're making a record like this, you can make all these decisions and follow your whims.

I think I hear kids in the background, which leads me to one of the songs on "Glow." Tell me about "Trick Rider," which deals with parenting.

I think I probably saw some trick riding going on at the Calgary Stampede--it probably just flashed on the TV or something. And it was just one of those days, really raining and snowing, and yet they were continuing on with it. It's not so much a competition, I think, as it's more of a demonstration kind of sport. So it's a girl on a horse doing--it's all a matter of balletic pose, while the horse gallops at a pretty good clip, in a circle. And you're, I guess, judged on your ability and poise. You're hanging upside-down, head within inches of the hooves.

And on this particular day, my first thought is all, "Jesus. There's nobody in the stands." And the announcer is like, "Please put your hands together for these pretty young ladies!" "F---, why don't you cancel it. If that horse goes over on the girl ..." It could very easily slip, you know. Totally horrible conditions. I don't know anything about it, obviously, which is why I'm a songwriter.

So in other words, [for the song] I just started coming up with this list of things that you would do for your kid--you know, if you asked me to eat a tarantula, I would--and then dreamed of many verses. "I'll be your spy, your Ondaatje, when you become a lie, when you don't play"--which is a line from [Michael] Ondaatje's book "Coming Through Slaughter." So there's all these different verses about what I would do for you. But if you're going to do something like that ... if I see you on TV trick-riding in the rain, and there's nobody in the stands, you know, I won't be there for you. I guess it's the continual lines in the sand that parents draw.

What are the touring plans around "Glow?"

We're going to do four folk festivals up here in Canada, then we're going to go downstairs to the States and do five smallish club shows. The Fez in New York, places like that. We're keyed up about it. We're going to have some fun and enjoy ourselves.

And when do you plan to reconvene with the other members of the Hip for the next album?

We've already sort of started, made a schedule. We've caught up and dealt with business ideas and affairs, and wrote four songs. We're like that--we tend to know what to do when we get together. We're shooting for November. We've given ourselves a deadline, and we're just going to write and write and then try and bash it out in, like, ten days. That's the extent of our plan--sort of back to the future, I guess. I will enjoy getting back into it, definitely.