For a while, the Hip members were living in Toronto, but as they slowly began to move away, Gord stayed and put down roots in the city, sparking up a lifelong bond with Finlayson. He collaborated with Josh Finlayson, the guitarist and co-founder for Toronto band the Skydiggers who is also described as Gord's "oldest Toronto friend." They first met in the early '90s, when the Skydiggers opened for the Hip at the Spectrum in Montreal. The songs featured on Away is Mine started as a way for Gord to stay busy. 'It was just a good way to spend time with Gord' " Introduce Yerself was more of a thank you," describes Patrick. It makes sense that the songs on Away is Mine were written during a period of down time, after the Hip's grand finale and his two solo projects. "Please be good to me/ Yea, save me from the useless nights," he pleads. "Come be surrounded/ by those who love you the most," Downie sings on "About Blank," while on "Useless Nights," he seems to be addressing a higher power. Introduce Yerself was more of a thank you. Both that album and Secret Path had a real sense of urgency to them, as if a clock was ticking, whereas the material on Away is Mine is much more relaxing and pensive, the sound of a man who is under no pressure and alone with his thoughts. Patrick describes the period following Gord's diagnosis as a bit tumultuous, with his brother instantly going into "writing mode" in order to complete Introduce Yerself. He left us a lot, including this drive to carry his legacy forward in the same way he would have." When he speaks of his brother, Patrick considers the weight of his words carefully, and will sometimes speak in the present tense. Just piles of poems and little things he's got at his disposal," says his brother Patrick Downie, Gord's caregiver through the last two years of his life. "He's always got pieces of writing in various forms of completeness and they're always within arm's reach.
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