The Tragically Hip Share ‘Locked in the Trunk of a Car’ Guitar Tutorial
This marks the Canadian rock band’s second video in their YouTube guitar tutorial series.
The Tragically Hip have released the latest edition in their guitar tutorial series on YouTube, focusing on their 1992 single ‘Locked in the Trunk of a Car.’
For the step-by-step tutorial, guitarist Rob Baker breaks down the intricacies of the single in the Canadian rock band’s Bathouse Studio in Ontario. “[Gord Sinclair] came with this very simple guitar melody, finger picking on the two fingers and a little three-note bassline, playing simultaneously with it. As soon as I started playing it on the electric guitar, everyone just fell into place,” Baker shares of the song’s backstory. “We had that song up on stage playing it live for probably a year before we got to London to record it. ‘Locked in the Trunk of a Car’ was better live than it was on the record. It was one of those songs that continues to have life when you take it onstage.”
He then details how to play the riffs and discusses his approach to the tone of the electric guitar, before answering a few fan questions. Baker revealed the following as a response to whether his explorations in open tunings were inspired by Keith Richards’ technique: “The Rolling Stones for me were the portal into everything else. Through the Stones I discovered blues music, R&B music, reggae music, country music, you name it. They opened up a world for me that flows forwards and backwards, and in all directions.”
‘Locked in the Trunk of a Car’ was the lead single from The Tragically Hip’s third album, Fully Completely. The song peaked at No. 11 on Canada’s RPM singles chart, with the accompanying video winning for “Best Video” at the 1993 Canadian Music Video Awards.
The new tutorial follows the premiere episode, which showcases guitarist Paul Langlois’ breakdown of ‘Wheat Kings’, also found on Fully Completely. The Tragically Hip, who remain one of Canada’s biggest rock groups, were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2022. Last year, a documentary on their career, The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
