Today, for the top story on the CBC Newfoundland and Labrador Internet news site they decided to re-visit and re-hash the Great Big Sea hiatus. I will call
it a hiatus because as most Great Big Sea fans know, there has obviously been a
kind of an agreement between Alan Doyle and Sean McCann about what songs they
will perform individually however, nothing else seems to have been decided, seriously. So
why bring this up again, in particular when Alan Doyle is launching his new album So Let's Go today and beginning his tour which will take him and his band well
into the middle of the year?
At the beginning of last year I wrote a number of posts
about my feelings and my interpretation of the feelings of the fans about the extended
break by the band members, and in particular Sean McCann to pursue other
projects. As an interested fan and blog writer I collected and posted a range
articles and radio interviews that allowed the band members to speak for
themselves about the decision to go their separate ways for a while and what
the future held not only for them, but what the fans could expect. I added a
few comments.
They were published in posts at the beginning of 2014.
My post, ‘The Great Big Sea Break Up.
Some Reflections’ had over 700 hits, ‘Farewell
Sean McCann’ and the three parts, over 500 hits and ‘Sean McCann Part 4 Endings and New Beginning’ over 380 hits. My
blogger statistics tell me there is a steady interest from a range of sources
in Canada and the United States about the past, present and future for Great
Big Sea. So as a fan blogger I am feeling kind of responsible for some of the
information journalists get and as a consequence the upset fans today.
My feeling amongst Great Big Sea fans (although I don’t
speak for the fans) is they have adjusted to the separation and so have Great
Big Sea. Any Great Big Sea fan who goes to see either Alan Doyle or Sean McCann
in concert knows they will get a little bit of Great Big Sea, as well as their
new music. And that is the beautiful thing about this music, is that no matter
where and by whom it is performed it is still Great Big Sea. Music like
anything else in culture and society shouldn’t stand still and be unchanging, no
matter how much we love it. Music changes and grows like the performers and so
does Great Big Sea music. New interpretations are always being created and
loved by the fans.
So what ever happens in the future for Great Big Sea and
their fans, we will have to wait and see. But why waste time thinking
about what the future holds when there is so much exciting stuff happening in
the present? Today, as previously mentioned Alan Doyle releases his So Let’s Go
album and tomorrow the So Let’s Go tour begins. Both Alan Doyle and Sean McCann
are playing shows in February 2015 and I for one can’t wait to see both of
them. That is their past and present music, anyway they feel interested in
performing and sharing it with us the audience.
Is Great Big Sea kaput? Séan
McCann isn't holding his breath
CBC
News Posted: Jan 19, 2015 8:00 PM NT Last Updated: Jan
19, 2015 8:00 PM NT
(no copyright infringement intended).
Has Great Big Sea stopped rolling for good?
Co-founder Séan McCann admits he doesn't expect to see anything from the St.
John's-based group any time soon, particularly with him on stage.
"I think it might be years before we even sit
down again," said McCann, who announced his plans to leave the trio in
November 2013.
Since then, Great Big Sea's remaining members
— Alan Doyle and Bob Hallett — wrapped up promotion for XX, a retrospective of the group's
work over two decades.
The group's website still exists, but it focuses
largely on the members' solo projects, including Doyle, who heads out this week
on a tour to promote a solo album.
Séan McCann says he doesn't see a reunion for him
with Great Big Sea's Bob Hallett, left, and Alan Doyle in the near future.
(Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)
In a feature interview with CBC Radio's The Current, McCann said he felt he
needed to leave the group, citing a lack of communication between the three
members.
"We'd been on a bus for a year, and no one
talked about it. We had all this time to deal with this issue — which is
still not dealt with," said McCann, who retains a one-third ownership of
the band's business.
McCann said he and the others have yet to resolve
their differences.
"I don't think it's a priority for anyone
right now," he said. "I was under the impression that they would try
to deal with me fairly quickly … but I honestly think that Alan's busy,
and Bob's busy, and I'm in a different direction."
Great Big Sea launched as a pub-oriented band that
honed its Celtic-influenced style in St. John's bars in the early 1990s. Within
a few years, it was touring the country — and well beyond — playing
to a devoted fan based.
"The reason we were successful I believe, is
because we were all pulling the sled in the same direction. We were very
focused," he said.
"[But] we don't agree on so many things now.
People have multiple priorities now. At the end of it I think we were held
together by money … and if there's something I've learned, money can ruin
a lot of great friendships, and money has never brought out the good in
anybody."
McCann said things came to a head in late 2013,
when he decided to put the brakes on the band, or at least his involvement in
it.
"I literally wanted to say goodbye," he
said of his decision to tell fans directly through Twitter and Facebook.
"I wanted the opportunity to say goodbye,
and I took it, I suppose."
