Great Big Sea
date:Tuesday, October 7, 2008 time:8:00 PM venue:The Rialto Theatre address:318 East Congress Street Tucson, AZ 85701 View map from:The Rialto Theatre
Presented by The Rialto Theatre
Great Big Sea is a *******. Forged from the loins of Figgy Duff and Ryan’s
Fancy, GBS found its feet on the unforgiving streets of St. John’s, and stood
their ground when others faltered. When asked about their unlikely success,
founding member Bob Hallett is typically candid: “We weren’t the best musicians
in town,” he says, “we just wanted it more. We were driven by a bloody-minded
need to succeed and we were rewarded for our bleeding.”
The band dragged themselves out of the city’s infamous bars to release their
Warner debut Up in the spring of 1995. Relentless touring and a raucous live
show quickly propelled the record to platinum. Their next effort Play enjoyed
even bigger success and the band moved its show into hockey stadiums across the
nation.
The US labels took notice and GBS was subsequently signed to Sire by Seymour
Stein (Madonna/Talking Heads), who unleashed the band on an unsuspecting
American public. Accolades and a solid cult following ensued. “We are showmen
and we live and die by our trade,” offers electrified lead singer Alan Doyle. “I
am drawn to the light and I was born to burn”.
Born and raised in ‘the far east of the western world’, the lads have traversed
the globe, all the while wearing their hometown on their sleeves. “Our music is
of Newfoundland,” explains McCann. “It would be impossible to do what we do if
we were from anywhere else. Our songs come from the sea and the cliffs and the
rocks and all the other natural beauties our country provides. Without her we
simply couldn’t exist.”
For this, their ninth album, the band made the surprise choice to work with
indie gadfly Hawksley Workman.
“We wanted to push ourselves, to be surprised by our own music,” said Hallett,
“and Hawksley was the right pilot for the flight…or the fight, depending on the
circumstances.”
A remarkable 15 years in, the band should by this time be content to slow down
and rest on their laurels. Instead, Fortune’s Favour sees them boldly embracing
new sounds and new ideas, fearlessly pushing the boundaries of their own art and
music. In their lifelong quest to marry the traditional music of Newfoundland
with their own pop explorations, Fortune’s Favour is a new benchmark.
“We embraced the law of the road when we started this, and we apply the same
rules to our music,” explains Doyle. “If you are not going forwards, you are
going backwards. And we hate retracing our steps.”
“This album is a stew of all our influences,” adds Hallett. “Bob Marley, the
Clash, Fergus O’Byrne, Ron Hynes, Johnny Cash, Donal Lunny, and who knows what
else. So who better to sum it all up than C.S. Lewis: ‘Further in and further
up.’”
Alan Doyle, Sean McCann, and Bob Hallett still live, breath, and create in
Newfoundland and Labrador. Their ninth studio recording, Fortune’s Favour will
be released on June 24th.
All Ages
7pm doors
Cost:
$23 general admission advance
$26 general admission day of show
