No one seems to know the answer to 'What are you at?' Well, you see, the question does not mean 'What are you doing' so much as 'How are you?'. And unfortunately, to make matters confusing, the correct answer is not 'fine', or a dissection of one's health. Instead, you are supposed to shrug in an exaggerated fashion, and through the corner of your mouth, mumble 'shag all', or 'nothing', or, (the best answer), 'Just heading out, actually'. And then you go get a pint. Newfoundland dialect is easy…” Allegedly from a GBS newsletter published November, 2003.
On a previous post “Great Big Sea and Throwback Thursday Part One” I posted a photograph from a social media account from one of the members of Great Big Sea. Unfortunately I had forgotten where I found it. Several days later I found the original post on Alan Doyle’s official Instagram account.
The photograph (below) was from a picture of Murray Foster’s first concert with Great Big Sea in Oshawa in 2003.
AlanThomasDoyle A bit late but a cool TBT 2003 and what I think was Murray’s first gig as a member of GBS. Date Unknown. (From the official Instagram account of AlanThomasDoyle. No copyright infringement intended.)
This find lead me on a search to Great Big Sea in the year 2003 and in particular Murray Foster’s first concert. Some things were certainly different back in 2003, however, some things remain the same.
One of the really interesting objects I found was a newsletter allegedly from Great Big Sea in 2003 on a webpage forum titled CookingLight. I am not really sure where the newsletter came from, if the newsletter is genuine and whether there are any more. The current Great Big Sea only contains posts From The Road as early as 2006.
If the newsletter is original then it is a real gem as it reveals quite a lot about the boys at this time. They write about the making of The Great Big DVD in St. John’s, their travels throughout the year, and their plans for the future. They also briefly mention Murray Foster’s first concert with the band in Oshawa during the winter and thank the fans for their support.
Great Big Sea also responded to posts they found on a fan webpage in the form of a did you notice kind of thing. I found their responses extremely informative and they are really very funny. The fan webpage mentioned has since been removed.
Of particular interest were the boy’s acknowledgement of and interactions with their fans and some requests. But I will let you read that section for yourself. At the bottom of the newsletter Great Big Sea responded to some of their questions they received via Email. These posts have been removed for copyright reasons and to protect the identity of the fans who posted but are available on the webpage for those interested. Some of the fans names I recognise from my time in the fandom and they are still there today in varying degrees. That interaction between Great Big Sea and their fans online continues today through social media sites.
Great Big Newsletter: Issue 17 November 18, 2003 from www.cookinglight.com (no copyright infringement intended)
“Greetings from Newfoundland. We finally took a minute away from our labours in the studio and elsewhere to answer some mail, and fill you in on what's happening in the surreal world of GBS.
The Great Big DVD
It took eons, but the DVD is finally out. It's already been released in Canada, and will be out in the US shortly, with overseas plans afoot. The DVD features almost the entirety of the Ottawa concert filmed last year, along with all 13 GBS videos, tons of interviews, karaoke tracks and some rare backstage footage. For new fans, it will be an eye opener, and for those who have been here from the beginning, it will be a trip down memory lane. Unfortunately, due to some last minute paper crap, the 'Lukey' video could not be included, as the rights are owned by a different record company. You will have to wait for the next DVD!
The New Album
For the past few weeks, we have been holed up in our St. John's digs, banging out tracks for a new GBS album. We wrote tons of stuff for this record, and made a pile of demos, so we have lots of stuff to work from. The goal is to have it out for March, so there is no time to waste. In fact, we have so much stuff that we are actually thinking about dividing it in two. Part I, with the bulk of the new originals would come out in March, and Part II, with some of the more traditional material, would come out later in the year. Either way, this stuff is the fastest, hardest and loudest bunch of songs we have had in a long time. We have deliberately given ourselves some really tight deadlines, to avoid the sort of shenanigans that marked 'No Cares' slow gestation. Get ready, this time we mean it.
The Road Behind
It was a weird year touring-wise. Geographically we were all over the place, and the less said about the end of the Cowboy Mouth tour the better. However, when you look back, you realize there were lots of highlights. Texas went from foreign territory to fertile ground. Stanley Park was a soft and beautiful evening. The mad crowd in Grand Falls told us all why we started this in the first place. California gets sunnier and sunnier, and despite a howling gale, Buffalo proved again that is GBS holy ground. And way back in the winter, Murray's first show in Oshawa reminded us how lucky we are to have such supportive fans.
The Road Ahead
The next year will see us turn the touring wheel up a few notches. All of our favourite haunts will see the band this year, and current plans have us covering much of the US and Canada. Number one on the list in the New Year is the US northeast and mid-west, where GBS fans have been going through some serious withdrawal. And this year we swear our faithful fans in Europe will finally get a chance to hear the MacFarlinized version of GBS. Better get in lots of liquids and buy some comfortable shoes. The road awaits.
Did You Ever Notice...
While trolling through the odd/fascinating/terrifying world of GBS fan sites, we came across an interesting feature, which attempted to delve into the world of GBS trivia. In fairness to the writers of www.everything-gbs.com, we decided to get into the guts of their intriguing project. So, like did you ever notice...?
'Trois Navaires' is boring in English
Boring? It doesn't even make sense. The French double entendres which are the point of the whole thing just do not translate.
The video to 'When I'm Up...' is an ode to 'The Hudsucker Proxy'
More of a rip-off, actually. We are always surprised how few people noticed this.
Donkey Riding is not as dirty as it sounds
Anyone finding 'Donkey Riding' erotic must recoil in horror from the ode to promiscuity of 'Yarmouth Town', or the thinly veiled metaphors of 'Berry Picking'. And we refuse to even discuss 'Old Brown's Daughter'.
Sean has gone through the most hairstyles.
Well, he is a restless guy. Bob gave it a good shot, though. We are still waiting for Alan to get started.
The 'da-da-dum' line in 'No Cares' is not on the record
The video used the radio mix, which arrived to late to make the album pressing.
GBS has never appeared on a Canadian album cover in a group photo
Nor will we. Keep in mind we live in a small place. It's all bad enough.
No one seems to know the answer to 'What are you at?'
Well, you see, the question does not mean 'What are you doing' so much as 'How are you?'. And unfortunately, to make matters confusing, the correct answer is not 'fine', or a dissection of one's health. Instead, you are supposed to shrug in an exaggerated fashion, and through the corner of your mouth, mumble 'shag all', or 'nothing', or, (the best answer), 'Just heading out, actually'. And then you go get a pint. Newfoundland dialect is easy.
Mailbag
Recently we found the long misplaced key to our mailbox, which was stuffed with gifts and letters stretching back for months. While we much appreciate the kind souls who send us presents, please keep in mind that we have a museum's worth of GBS inspired odds and ends, stuffed toys, cookies, etc. already. If you are gripped by such generosity, please give to a favourite children's charity instead. They probably need your help more than we do, and we will all be better off. And, while we are getting things off our chests, we refuse to reply to any more e-mails scolding us for failing to acknowledge so and so's birthday, when we were playing for a crowd of 10,000 plus. You would be amazed. That said, here's a few replies to some of the more notable letters and e-mails.”
AlanThomasDoyle A bit late but a cool TBT 2003 and what I think was Murray’s first gig as a member of GBS. Date Unknown. (From the official Instagram account of AlanThomasDoyle. No copyright infringement intended.)
This find lead me on a search to Great Big Sea in the year 2003 and in particular Murray Foster’s first concert. Some things were certainly different back in 2003, however, some things remain the same.
One of the really interesting objects I found was a newsletter allegedly from Great Big Sea in 2003 on a webpage forum titled CookingLight. I am not really sure where the newsletter came from, if the newsletter is genuine and whether there are any more. The current Great Big Sea only contains posts From The Road as early as 2006.
If the newsletter is original then it is a real gem as it reveals quite a lot about the boys at this time. They write about the making of The Great Big DVD in St. John’s, their travels throughout the year, and their plans for the future. They also briefly mention Murray Foster’s first concert with the band in Oshawa during the winter and thank the fans for their support.
Great Big Sea also responded to posts they found on a fan webpage in the form of a did you notice kind of thing. I found their responses extremely informative and they are really very funny. The fan webpage mentioned has since been removed.
Of particular interest were the boy’s acknowledgement of and interactions with their fans and some requests. But I will let you read that section for yourself. At the bottom of the newsletter Great Big Sea responded to some of their questions they received via Email. These posts have been removed for copyright reasons and to protect the identity of the fans who posted but are available on the webpage for those interested. Some of the fans names I recognise from my time in the fandom and they are still there today in varying degrees. That interaction between Great Big Sea and their fans online continues today through social media sites.
Great Big Newsletter: Issue 17 November 18, 2003 from www.cookinglight.com (no copyright infringement intended)
“Greetings from Newfoundland. We finally took a minute away from our labours in the studio and elsewhere to answer some mail, and fill you in on what's happening in the surreal world of GBS.
The Great Big DVD
It took eons, but the DVD is finally out. It's already been released in Canada, and will be out in the US shortly, with overseas plans afoot. The DVD features almost the entirety of the Ottawa concert filmed last year, along with all 13 GBS videos, tons of interviews, karaoke tracks and some rare backstage footage. For new fans, it will be an eye opener, and for those who have been here from the beginning, it will be a trip down memory lane. Unfortunately, due to some last minute paper crap, the 'Lukey' video could not be included, as the rights are owned by a different record company. You will have to wait for the next DVD!
The New Album
For the past few weeks, we have been holed up in our St. John's digs, banging out tracks for a new GBS album. We wrote tons of stuff for this record, and made a pile of demos, so we have lots of stuff to work from. The goal is to have it out for March, so there is no time to waste. In fact, we have so much stuff that we are actually thinking about dividing it in two. Part I, with the bulk of the new originals would come out in March, and Part II, with some of the more traditional material, would come out later in the year. Either way, this stuff is the fastest, hardest and loudest bunch of songs we have had in a long time. We have deliberately given ourselves some really tight deadlines, to avoid the sort of shenanigans that marked 'No Cares' slow gestation. Get ready, this time we mean it.
The Road Behind
It was a weird year touring-wise. Geographically we were all over the place, and the less said about the end of the Cowboy Mouth tour the better. However, when you look back, you realize there were lots of highlights. Texas went from foreign territory to fertile ground. Stanley Park was a soft and beautiful evening. The mad crowd in Grand Falls told us all why we started this in the first place. California gets sunnier and sunnier, and despite a howling gale, Buffalo proved again that is GBS holy ground. And way back in the winter, Murray's first show in Oshawa reminded us how lucky we are to have such supportive fans.
The Road Ahead
The next year will see us turn the touring wheel up a few notches. All of our favourite haunts will see the band this year, and current plans have us covering much of the US and Canada. Number one on the list in the New Year is the US northeast and mid-west, where GBS fans have been going through some serious withdrawal. And this year we swear our faithful fans in Europe will finally get a chance to hear the MacFarlinized version of GBS. Better get in lots of liquids and buy some comfortable shoes. The road awaits.
Did You Ever Notice...
While trolling through the odd/fascinating/terrifying world of GBS fan sites, we came across an interesting feature, which attempted to delve into the world of GBS trivia. In fairness to the writers of www.everything-gbs.com, we decided to get into the guts of their intriguing project. So, like did you ever notice...?
'Trois Navaires' is boring in English
Boring? It doesn't even make sense. The French double entendres which are the point of the whole thing just do not translate.
The video to 'When I'm Up...' is an ode to 'The Hudsucker Proxy'
More of a rip-off, actually. We are always surprised how few people noticed this.
Donkey Riding is not as dirty as it sounds
Anyone finding 'Donkey Riding' erotic must recoil in horror from the ode to promiscuity of 'Yarmouth Town', or the thinly veiled metaphors of 'Berry Picking'. And we refuse to even discuss 'Old Brown's Daughter'.
Sean has gone through the most hairstyles.
Well, he is a restless guy. Bob gave it a good shot, though. We are still waiting for Alan to get started.
The 'da-da-dum' line in 'No Cares' is not on the record
The video used the radio mix, which arrived to late to make the album pressing.
GBS has never appeared on a Canadian album cover in a group photo
Nor will we. Keep in mind we live in a small place. It's all bad enough.
No one seems to know the answer to 'What are you at?'
Well, you see, the question does not mean 'What are you doing' so much as 'How are you?'. And unfortunately, to make matters confusing, the correct answer is not 'fine', or a dissection of one's health. Instead, you are supposed to shrug in an exaggerated fashion, and through the corner of your mouth, mumble 'shag all', or 'nothing', or, (the best answer), 'Just heading out, actually'. And then you go get a pint. Newfoundland dialect is easy.
Mailbag
Recently we found the long misplaced key to our mailbox, which was stuffed with gifts and letters stretching back for months. While we much appreciate the kind souls who send us presents, please keep in mind that we have a museum's worth of GBS inspired odds and ends, stuffed toys, cookies, etc. already. If you are gripped by such generosity, please give to a favourite children's charity instead. They probably need your help more than we do, and we will all be better off. And, while we are getting things off our chests, we refuse to reply to any more e-mails scolding us for failing to acknowledge so and so's birthday, when we were playing for a crowd of 10,000 plus. You would be amazed. That said, here's a few replies to some of the more notable letters and e-mails.”
