“A commitment to performance is what has driven our band, not a commitment to making records. It (CDs) is an adjunct to what we do, rather than what we really do. Bands that attract me are bands that have some sincerity to offer, whether it is Clash or Green Day or a hundred other ones in between,” says Bob Hallett, a founding member of the folk rock band Great Big Sea.

 

Sitting in the lobby of hotel in downtown Vancouver, Alan Doyle, another member of Great Big Sea talked about the need for an artist to be authentic in their music.  “For us it has always been about staying true to our sound. In general, musicians are terrible liars and you can spot them five million miles away when someone is lying (through the music they are presenting).”

 

“We had a meeting, early on in the band’s history in 1992 or ’93, whatever, and one of the things that came out of that, is we weren’t going to recreate a previous generation’s folk music. Rather than using blues, jazz or rock ‘n’ roll, we were going to use the rhythms, melodies, the instruments and the language of Newfoundland folk music. That is where we started. That is the basis of Fortune’s Favour (their new CD), as much as it was for The Hard And The Easy (2005), Something Beautiful (2004), Up (1995) or any of the records in between.

 

Much of Great Big Sea’s success comes from the unique sound that they bring both to the stage and to their CDs. Born, raised and continuing to live in Newfoundland, Canada’s eastern most province on the Atlantic ocean, the band members have remained loyal to the essence of the Newfoundland’s culture and heritage. Those elements are clearly evident in Great Big Sea’s music. The song, “Banks of Newfoundland,” not only captures the spirit of the people of Newfoundland, but depicts the dangers that the deep-sea fishermen regularly face.

 

It (“Banks of Newfoundland”) is a traditional song. Most of the traditional Newfoundland songs that we have written are indigenous to Newfoundland. This is a traditional song, and it is about Newfoundland. There are a dozen songs out there with that title. The song talks about the end of a journey, the hardships of the journey and the light at the end. A lot of sailors’ songs are very simple; money, booze, chicks. They are not very philosophical,” says Hallett, in reference to the seventh track from Fortune’s Favour.

 

Whereas a lot of bands tend to drift away from their roots as they spend more time touring and spend less and less time in their hometowns, or eventually move away, the members of Great Big Sea continue to live in Newfoundland.

 

“The biggest thing for us is the context. We don’t live in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Los Angeles or New York. The distance between our culture and our music, is just leaving (through) my front door and talking to my neighbors. The culture is alive and well, whereas the rest of North America has been getting more and more homogenous, St John’s (the capital of Newfoundland) has become the capital of Newfoundland’s culture. I don’t have to go very far. All I have to do is turn on the TV, the radio or open the newspaper and all of that stuff comes flooding in,” says Hallett, leaving no doubt that he is proud of his heritage.

 

Doyle echoes Hallett’s sentiments and uses the word ‘lucky’ to describe how he feels about not only living in St John’s but being able to breathe in, see and absorb the many things that inspire his songwriting.

 

“One important thing is, we never set out to become a Canadian institution. We were very much about representing Newfoundland and the music of Newfoundland, when we started. The fact that we have been embraced so widely by Canadians is a source of surprise and pleasure to us,” says Hallett.

 

As talented as Great Big Sea is when it comes to creating original songs or incorporating elements from their homeland, from time to time the band reaches out to other songwriters, so that their music can remain fresh.  With their current album Fortune’s Favour, Alan Doyle collaborated with Australian actor and musician Russell Crowe to write the eighth track, “Company of Fools,” a rambunctious tune, which invites the listener to sing along.  They turned to indie alternative pop artist Hawksley Workman to help produce the album, as well as play a plethora of instruments and they enlisted him as a collaborative songwriter.