Musical melting pot: Great Big Sea offers free show at Missouri Southern

By Scott Meeker of the Joplin Globe

Simply describing themselves as a “Canadian” band doesn’t really do it justice for the members of Great Big Sea.

“Very Canadian” isn’t quite it either.

“We are Canadian to the core,” said Sean McCann, a vocalist and guitarist for the group, which has built a sizable following for their folk-rock tunes that blend traditional sounds with a modern sensibility. “We wear Newfoundland on our sleeves.”

The band will offer a free show at 7 p.m. Monday in Taylor Performing Arts Center at Missouri Southern State University. The performance is offered as part of the university's Canada Semester.

Along with McCann, the group features founding members Alan Doyle, on vocals and guitar, and Bob Hallett, a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist who plays everything from the fiddle to whistles.

With more than 15 years together, the band has become something of an institution in their homeland, said McCann.

“We were all in university, at Memorial University in Newfoundland, and playing in clubs as solo acts to pay for our books and tuition … and beer,” he said. “We became aware of each other and would jam at each other’s shows. This was working for us and so we became an all-star kind of band.”

Traditional music has always been part of Great Big Sea’s repertoire. McCann said that music is deeply ingrained in those living on the island of Newfoundland.

“The songs came from sailors from Portugal, Scotland, Ireland and everywhere else,” he said. “It became a melting pot for folk songs.

“By the time our generation came along, the songs had all been honed. We learned them at what we call ‘kitchen parties,’ where we’d turn off the stereo and pass the guitar around. (Incorporating traditional music) has never been something we set out to do. It’s just something we always did.”

In their years together the band has made the journey from bar band to stadium and arena rockers, but they still have a soft spot for their roots.

“We were always good playing at the bars. An instant hit,” said McCann. “Even now, it’s hard for us to walk past a good bar. We love that culture a lot.

“To be able to bring what is, at heart, a pub show and play for 5,000 or 6,000 people is great.”

Every member of Great Big Sea has become something of a multi-instrumentalist, as evidenced by the wide variety of instrumentation showcased on their albums and in live shows.

“It’s kind of funny, though. None of us can read music,” McCann said. “Now it would be too late to learn how even if we wanted to.

“Bob can play a little bit of anything. If there’s a piano in the room, I’ll sit down and play it. Same with a banjo and a bouzouki. Once we have a melody in our heads we can figure it out.”

The band is currently preparing songs for their 10th album, which will be recorded in January. It will be the first album they have recorded outside of Newfoundland.

For a band whose influences tend to bleed together, they’re looking forward to recording in New Orleans.

“We like New Orleans. We’re very much influenced by whatever town we’re in, and there’s not a more musical city in America,” McCann said.

He said the album will be produced by Steve Berlin, a member of Los Lobos who has worked with bands such as R.E.M. and The Replacements.

During Great Big Sea’s energetic live shows, the set lists tend to change on a whim as the band interacts with the audience and goes with the moment.

That’s why a concert might range from rock numbers with shout-along choruses to sea shanties to an impromptu Van Halen cover.

“It might be a train wreck, but there’s the humor factor,” said McCann. “We’re fearless. We don’t really care.”

In the end, he said, it’s all about the audience having a good time.

“We’re very much audience-oriented,” said McCann. “If you haven’t been to one of our shows, people come to the theater, they sing with us, they interact with us and help make it a positive, high-energy show. (The crowd) always drowns us out. It’s that kind of environment that we love to create.”