Local tribute to Tragically Hip raising funds for cancer research
Jud Haynes shares memories of Gord Downie in blog post
A Newfoundland and Labrador artist's expression of gratitude for The Tragically Hip is now helping raise funds for cancer research.
Illustrator and graphic designer, Jud Haynes, has a history with the band.
"They're not a band that I'm particularly buddies with, but at the same time it seems like every few years they've come in and out of my life in big ways and affected it in big ways," Haynes told the St. John's Morning Show Monday.
His former group, Wintersleep, toured the U.S. with The Hip in 2007. So it's no surprise he was impacted by the news of singer Gord Downie's terminal brain cancer this spring.
He was among the many who posted tributes to the band leading up to Saturday night's nationally broadcast concert.
Thank You!
On Friday, Haynes published a blog titled Remove the "R" and your name would be "GOD". He wrote it as a response to the many other tributes he said read like eulogies.
"His diagnosis is terrible, of course. But I just kind of felt like if he was reading any of these or his family... he's not done yet."
The response to his blog was huge, especially to the illustration that came along with it.
"I just felt like the image of saying 'Thank You' would represent us all. And I started getting hit with a lot of requests from people wanting to buy it."
"Obviously I felt really uncomfortable with doing anything that would be profiting from this... So I just said 'No, I won't be selling it.'"
While viewing the concert at a friend's place Saturday night, Haynes said someone brought up The Gord Downie Cancer Research Fund.
"I just wrote them and said, 'Hey I made this thing and you're welcome to use it if you like.' And they wrote me back immediately and were very excited."
You can see Haynes's visual tribute to The Tragically Hip here and read his blog at judhaynes.ca.
With files from the St. John's Morning Show