Possessing a host of East Coast Music Awards and Juno nominations under their belt, Great Big Sea have just released their ninth album this past Tuesday. With a seamless fusion of traditional Anglo-Celtic music and rock, blending instruments like the mandolin and the fiddle with traditional drums and a guitar, Great Big Sea have built a large and loyal following all over North America and Europe. Despite their success elsewhere, the Newfoundland natives reserve a special place in their hearts for home, where they draw the subject matter for their albums based upon its rich culture, stories and traditions.
“Home is so important to us, from day one, we’ve worn our home on our sleeves, it’s a Disneyland of drinking and fun,” explains lead singer and multi-instrumentalist, Alan Doyle. Bob Hallett, with the ability to play anything from a fiddle to a whistle has some deeper thoughts on home.
“Home is a mental construct, the way South France was for Van Gogh, it’s something that we imagine, but still, extremely important,” he says. This should come as no surprise though for those familiar with the band. After all, it’s in Canada where Great Big Sea boasts their largest following. In fact, they’ve almost become a Canadian institution.
“The first time we toured North America, we would play the Saddledome in Calgary and other big arenas in Canada and then we’d cross the border and play a 300-seater in Denver,” says Doyle. “Finally America’s caught up with Canada and we fill bigger arenas in America too. You can earn immediate attention in Canada if you make some albums, but in America, there’s no way to earn media attention, there’s too many bands and the attention is given to those who have power to get it.”
Whether they’re receiving media attention or not has never been a huge factor for the band. Great Big Sea knows what they are and what they want to be. Regardless, the same would be true if they were the only ones who knew this.
“We want to be known as a sexy, good-looking, dancer-type band,” laughs Doyle. “Much to our demise, we’re one of the most honest bands out there; it’s important that we keep some authenticity in our image and our music.”
This rare authenticity is clearly displayed on their newest release The Hard and The Easy. Many of the songs are renditions of traditional folk songs blended with pop-rock music, like “Captain Kidd” and “The Mermaid.” This blend of old meets new allows the band to carve out a distinct niche in today’s music scene, a position overly trend-conscious new bands are hesitant to occupy.
“There are certain things I don’t enjoy about pop culture, like what kids would do with 20 other kids, they [now] do alone,” admits Doyle. “For example; video games, kids are more cut off from each other than they ever were. The body image of a girl has gotten worse, I mean, I don’t watch TV anymore, who in the hell watches reality TV like Trump? I know I sound like my grandfather or something, but entertainment wasn’t something you bought or purchased, and the demise of that is horrible.”
While pop culture does not always manufacture the most positive products, all is not lost.
“The good stuff will always rise to the top,” he continues. “The boy band phase is over, that’s a good thing for everyone, even the boy bands are probably like, ‘thank God I don’t have to wear a white suit and dance.’ And pop music is at a really good spot compared to five years ago. Thank God Green Day put out the best record in 20 years, and there are a few really amazing artists like Gwen Stefani and Maroon Five, that new CD is awesome.”
No, all hope is not lost. Especially if there are bands like Great Big Sea who are more concerned with cultivating something meaningful and lasting than making a quick buck.
“Success for all other bands has always been celebrity, but for us, we focus on a long term career,” Doyle remarks. “I have faith in our group, we’ve made music together for 13 years and we’ve made hundreds of mistakes. Some small, some big, and we’ll make a hundred more, but we’re still here.”