Nothing seems to have changed much for her as she speaks with authority of Newfoundland and for Newfoundlanders continues today and her less than respectful opinion of Great Big Sea fans who have a different opinion than her own. One thing I learnt during the time I was in Newfoundland is that Newfoundlanders can speak and write for themselves better than anyone else can. They are prolific storytellers in what ever medium they choose whether oral traditions, music, literature or non fiction. They do not need you or me to defend them or speak for them. They will continue to protect their own cultural heritage from the colonisation of others whether it be Canadians or an American from California.
Thank you to the person who has been leaving search clues on this blog for me to follow. The interesting thing about this post is some nouns like mainlanders and the world of fans have been written with capitals. Which suggests this post may have been updated since 2006 reflecting more current than original aims. But thanks for sharing anyway.
Hello. My name is Lynda, and I am a Great Big Sea fan. Does that admission count as the first of the twelve steps, I wonder. Perhaps not - perhaps no more and no less than one small step, and maybe I'll find some middle ground during my own walk on the moon.
First things first, a photo that I think perfectly expresses how I feel about starting this new venture, though it will still likely be followed by those thousand words it is worth so much more than:
This is my very first try at a blog, and I have absolutely no clue what I'm doing or if this is going to work. The people who run this place claim their blogging tools are more or less idiot-friendly, but I've found that this claim is usually about as reliable as "one size fits all". I have little doubt that I am more "idiot" than they are "friendly"; please be patient with the inevitable stumbling about I'm likely to do as I learn by trial and error and error and error and error. And error.
I've resisted past suggestions that I start up a blog, mostly because some of the ones I've read have come across to me as being a bit too much like poseur diaries. I've really no compelling urge to tell the cyberworld all of my innermost secrets or share all of the particulars of my personal life, nor can I imagine very many inhabitants of that cyberworld being overmuch interested in those secrets or particulars.
This is not to say I am immune to imagining at least a few of those inhabitants might indeed be interested in some of where and what and who I too am interested in, as well as in my opinions about those places and matters and people. This could be a completely erroneous assumption, but if so, it would certainly have plenty of company with all of those other erroneous assumptions currently residing in the cluttered space between my ears.
In the past, I've spent most of my time talking about these people, places, and matters of interest to me on various message boards, but I seem to keep getting my arse in hot water on those message boards, mostly because of non-conforming behaviours and non-conforming opinions. Hence, the brand-new blog.
Also hence, a bit of upfrontness-in-advance, so those whose noses are prone to going out of joint and whose panties tend to twist with small provocation can know ahead of time what they are going to be reading here, or what they are going to be avoiding here, as the case may be.
A large chunk of my affection and my loyalty is now in the possession of Newfoundland, which makes scant sense given that I grew up in Southern California and now live Stateside in the Pacfic Northwest, but then, "sense" is occasionally overrated. I have strong opinions about how Newfoundlanders are sometimes treated by Mainlanders; this this is one of those non-conforming opinions that has gotten my arse in the aforementioned hot water.
I behave with self-confessed unflinching eccentricity when it comes to that also-aforementioned GBS fandom. I attend many of their shows (for an understanding of "many" in this context, think of a number in your head and then add the exponent of your choice), for reasons that next to no one is ever able (or willing) to understand. Suffice to say, I enjoy their shows. That enjoyment has led to yet more immersion of the nether regions in hot water, as has my insistence on the band members' fundamental status as human beings both fallible and endearing, each in his own measure. Not "liking" the "right" band member "best" can get one into the hottest water of all.
This is probably the place that I should say that I think very highly of Alan Doyle - the songwriter, the author, the performer, the guitarist, the singer, the producer, the collaborator (this is where the Russell Crowe connection is going to come in, and I think quite highly of that fellow as well), and the man. His potential for all of the other possibilities as well. Another large chunk of my loyalty and affection is in his possession, or perhaps it's the same part of my heart that has been appropriated by the place he calls home. Yet more hot water, I have discovered, scalding hot in this case.
This blog is also going to focus not just on Great Big Sea, but very much on Alan, what he does in his "non-GBS" endeavours as well as what he does with his primary band. And whenever the Premier of Newfoundland lists Alan as being among those who can elevate Newfoundland's profile across the country, I am going to mention it here, since this is is going to be the place where those who complain about my mentioning that level of praise for Alan will be told to "deal" with it not having been "their" band member who was included in that list, though if "their" band member ever were so praised, I would certainly mention it here too. Fair warning again, fair treatment as well.
Fandom can be a weird and scary place, probably true of any group of fans, though this group of GBS fans has been the only one I've ever been closely involved with. It can also be a sweet and inspiring place, though, to be honest, apparently nowhere near so often as it is a weird and scary place. Even though I am currently in the midst of writing a book about Newfoundlanders at home and away, there are times I wonder if maybe I should be writing instead about some of what I've encountered in the World Of Fans over the past three or so years. Maybe next book.
A few other fair warnings...I take quite a few photos, mostly but not all at GBS shows (though the show photos may wind up being all that I share online since the others tend to be more personal and the storage space here is a little limited). You wouldn't think there would need to be a "warning" about photos, but, as I said, Fandom can be a weird and scary place. I'm also very wordy, and that genuinely does merit a warning, I suppose. This will probably seldom be the place to come for a quick read.
I want to allow comments here, but the hard, cold truth is that I have had several obsessed shrews pecking away at me for a few years now (threats of violence and the like - back to that "weird and scary place" notion), and if I leave the comments option wide open, I have a feeling they will do to this blog what they have done to my email account, or what they have done to a few of the message boards I once posted on. This blog has an option of holding comments until they are reviewed, and I think (hope) that is how I have it set up. For anyone who would like to comment in a constructive way (disagreeing is always acceptable - talk of disposing of body parts is distinctly less so), please do so and when I have a chance to review comments I will add them in as soon as I figure out how to do it. Please don't forget my intital plea for patience during the learning process.
That's it for the first hello. My plan is to wait until the 11th of March for my next entry, though I am planning to add pictures from the recent ECMA Songwriters' Circle in the next day or so. But the next entry will be on the 11th. That will be the 13th anniversary of Great Big Sea's first performance, and I have something special I want to post here for that day, again, if I can figure out how to do it. Fingers crossed.
