Great Big Sea have emerged as one of the most popular Celtic/traditional acts in the world, rousing crowds with their blend of energy and spirit. CanEHdian.com's
Dave Brosha speaks with band member Darrell Power about touring, Newfoundland and the jump from opening act to headliner.
DB: How's everything going?
DP: Things are going well. We just came off of a six week tour of England, Scotland, Denmark and Germany, and then finally Halifax…after which we have had a well deserved rest to recharge and get going for the summer again. It was a grueling six weeks for the band and it was the longest road trip we have ever had. It was nice to get back to "The Rock" again and enjoy life for a while afterwards.
DB: Did you enjoy Europe?
DP: We all enjoy traveling. You have to enjoy traveling in this business because there's an awful lot of tours and you have to do your job everyday. But you get to do something that is really special; to see so many towns in Europe is something that not a lot of people get to do.
DB: Great Big Sea has pretty much reached the point of Canadian icon status. How would you sum up the past six or seven years?
DP: Although some people look at it and see it as a very quick rise, the band doesn't look at it that way. Slow and steady wins the race. In this day and age where people have one-hit songs that break them and send them into super star status forever, we seem to have gone about it the old fashioned way. We have the band and do the shows. We did Atlantic Canada time after time after time and then we extended our reach into Ontario and did it the same way from Toronto and fanning out and then we moved out West and it really worked for us. What happened in our case was radio had never discovered the band…people came out and saw the band live and discovered the band themselves. This seems to be a much better recipe for longevity than a one-hit song that really pumps you up off the bat.
DB: I remember personally the band perform at St. F.X. back in 1995 right when you started out. You were the opening act in the fall…
DP: We did something called COCA, where we toured the university circuit…and that really helped. It got our feet planted in the university circuit throughout the country. We spent September to April playing for a lot of university students and that counted for a lot of fun times. The thing with playing for university students - say for example a school like St.F.X. - not only people from Antigonish, but people from all over Nova Scotia and all over Atlantic Canada saw us. Then they went back to their homes during the summer and they tell their friends about us. Support really builds that way…
DB: …that's true. My roommate at the time was from Cornerbrook and I remember him telling me that we had to go see this great band from his home. I had never heard of you at that point. There was a decent size crowd there for the show but then you came back in April, this time to open for Blue Rodeo, and I think that this time the majority of the crowd was there to see you. This was after "Runaway" had come out and the energy that you guys had was unbelievable. What can you say about the jump you have made from opening band to headliner status?
DP: When you're opening for another band it's always a lot of fun because there's no pressure on you…the fact is that it's not your show. If it stinks you had nothing to do with it. When your headlining there is a lot more pressure on you, and of course the show is a lot longer too…instead of 40-45 minutes it's 90 or 95 minutes. We've played long enough and our repertoire is filled with songs that are fast, danceable and singable so it's a chance to get the crowd involved very early and keep it until the finish.
DB: You have a way of capturing the crowd…that has to be one of your biggest strengths. Your music really lends to itself to the live show compared to listening to it on the stereo.
DP: That's really what Road Rage, the new CD, is all about. After starting in small pubs in Atlantic Canada, the tour in 1999 was the biggest Canadian tour we had ever done. We went from West to East and that is what "Road Rage" captures. It's a snapshot of how mad the live shows were at that time. Even though it's hard to capture a live feeling with a studio album, I think we were successful. I guess that's what makes Road Rage so special.
DB: What younger band today do you think would remind you the most of Great Big Sea circa 1995?
DP: Wow…good question! Very difficult to answer. I'd have to go pretty local to a band called Timber. They're not really folk music and such, there are more along the lines of rock and pop. They're doing it the same way we did. They're playing a lot and touring a lot and the crowds are building and they're forging ahead without getting discouraged. They're a good band, they're musicians and I like them a lot.
DB: Do you think that Great Big Sea has moved away from its roots as a Newfoundland/party band?
DP: Probably. With each new album we have more original songs and you obviously leave the realm of the traditional. Fortunately when you have a member of the band like Bob who plays the accordian, mandolin and fiddle, no matter how much we tend to experiment at the same time it is still rooted in the traditional realm.
DB: Do you think it's been a natural progression for Great Big Sea?
DP: I think so because you're always going to be looking at doing something different. If you find something that works great, we like to take our chances on each new project.
DB: How much do you think that mainstream radio airtime has influenced your progression?
DP: It definitely brought us to another level. We had the fan base and fan support, but radio helped by getting people out to hear the band who would have never come out to hear a band. Radio was a very big help. Another thing that really helped us out was Much Music. We were a young Celtic band from Newfoundland who managed to get a video on Much Music, and even to have a song like "Mari Mac" played as well. There are so many pieces that have come into play to bring it all together to where we are today (dog barks in background, possibly in agreement).
DB: What can you say about the current state of Celtic music as opposed to Celtic music ten years ago?
DP: It's definitely not the same popularity as it was in mainstream format ten years ago. If you take a band like the Rankins - who are just not playing anymore - it is symptomatic of what has become Celtic music over the years. When a band as popular as them have decided to relax and throw in the towel it's a sad thing…but things like that happen. Yet at the same time it's never going to go away. You can walk into any small pub in a town today and hear Celtic music if you want to. That's the way it always was and that's the way it always will be. There's always going to be a music style that will grow and decrease.
DB: How important do you think the pub circuit is helping new Celtic acts?
DP: It at least gives them a start. It helps them get their foot in the door because the people that go to pubs enjoy a conversation-oriented evening opposed to dancing. It is a place that starts to give bands access to the people.
DB: What remains the most powerful aspect of being a member of a popular music band for you personally?
Boy! I suppose it's the satisfaction of us…once upon a time the four of us coming together with a mandate of playing traditional Newfoundland music. I'm sure that a lot of people in Newfoundland and elsewhere thought that we were off our heads to be doing so, and that we had to throw in other careers. But we believed hard enough that we could do it, and we worked hard, and it's the satisfaction that we did it. At every show we remember where we came from and what it's all about so it's something that I don't forget with each new show that we do. We took a chance and the chance was all worth it.
DB: You've got your popularity now. How do you think this popularity has shaped your personal and private life?
DP: That's the beauty of living in Newfoundland. You can return here and things are totally back to normal. You can talk to people now who are your friends and your buddies…and you can talk to strangers who just want to say hello, and that's it. You can live a normal life and just slip from life on the road to a simple life. I'm sure the four of us have the same feeling when we touch down onto the tarmac at Torbay.
DB: How do you think that music will play a part in your next two decades?
DP: This is what I've wanted to do my whole life, so I don't imagine that I will be venturing too far out of the music scene. We all enjoy doing what we're doing. So are we going to be playing in twenty years? (Laughs)…I just had visions of the four wheelchairs being rolled out now: "The Geriatric Four".
DB: Will Newfoundland be the absolute place of your retirement?
DP: Without question! This is the same for everyone. There is a certain part that wants to settle down and you want to do that in the place where you grew up. It's a natural inclination and I'm sure that it's one that the four of us will hold. The four of us will probably be sitting with a pint of Guiness in Newfoundland and enjoying our retirement.
Interview with Dave Brosha, 2001.
