Most recently the Great Big Sea webpage was being used to advertise the personal projects of Alan and Sean while the members of the band sorted out their future. However, the webpage also contained song lyrics, From The Road blog posts and still sold merchandise.
I personally found the Great Big Sea webpage and in particular, the From The Road blog posts by Alan, Sean and Bob a great source of information about what happened with the band and on personal projects over many years. The posts were written in their own words, from their own perspectives and contained some personal photographs not available elsewhere. I used some of them for my posts on this blog when I started to write around the theme of Throwback Thursdays.
Now unfortunately a large percentage of that information will be lost and the Great Big Sea story will be told mostly from the perspective of fan blogs which can be biased in their interpretation of events and the photographs and videos they take. Although some fans have suggested webpages from the site can be accessed through an archive site I have not used it.
Great Big Sea band member Bob Hallett who views posts and responds to comments on the fan page implied the webpage had been removed because Sean McCann (who had left the band) wanted them removed. Many spoke of their appreciation by Bob of keeping the fans up to date with what was happening behind the scenes.
I agree with some of the fans who believe that if Sean McCann wanted to leave the band that is all good and well and we wish him well in his solo career and personal life. But he should not try and ruin the future for the rest of the band and the fans through any way he can including not cooperating and preventing the band legally from continuing. The rest of the band should be able to continue on the path they choose including creating more music and touring.
Some fans believed Sean McCann had been thrown under a bus so to speak. I believe the only person who threw Sean McCann under a bus was himself by refusing to move on and allowing others whether they be the band members or the fans to move on without him. In the beginning I was prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt and try and be supportive, even defending him and his actions on occasions, but it has now been several years since he left and after last weeks developments I now have lost all patience with him.
I had not been overly impressed with a lot of Sean McCann’s new music, his actions towards the remaining members of Great Big Sea after his departure and his constant bashing, not only of his time in Great Big Sea and their management but also the fans who listen to music in general throughout the media. It is time for me to move onto other more positive music experiences and there are plenty to be had whether it be in Newfoundland and Canada or anywhere else in the world.
