(Belleville, ON) – Already a household name as arguably the most recognizable voice and face from the wildly popular Newfoundland roots/rock band Great Big Sea, Alan Doyle continues to both honour the musical traditions of the east coast, while at the same time stretching himself as a songwriter and recording artist through his solo material.
With Great Big Sea on indefinite hiatus following the departure of co-founder Sean McCann a couple of years ago, Doyle has pushed forward with a number of fulfilling creative endeavours. His second solo album, So Let’s Go, was recently released to rave reviews and popular acclaim, and he has also become a best-selling author with the issuing of his autobiography, entitled Where I Belong, in late 2014.
So Let’s Go follows on the heels of his successful debut album, Boy On Bridge, which came out in 2012, and saw Doyle tour extensively, intermingling a few Great Big Sea and other traditional Newfoundland tunes into his live repertoire.
That repertoire will be on display as Doyle tours Ontario this summer, including a slot opening for Blue Rodeo at Empire Rockfest in downtown Belleville, on Friday, July 24, as well as a show in Hagersville the next day and performances in Elora, Haliburton and Toronto in late August. (See tour dates here: http://alandoyle.ca/tour/). He is also going to be jetting off for dates in Europe and the United States.
He told www.musiclifemagazine.net that he chose to take a different approach to the new album – one that sees him mixing his affection for the traditional melodies of the east coast with modern songwriting, engineering and production methods.
“So Let’s Go is a very pointed effort to make a very simple folky fella the centre of a big contemporary musical production. The Boy On Bridge project was as much a travelogue as an album. It was a journey away from everything I’d learned and into the backyards of musical friends of mine in different parts of the world,” he said.
“I wanted to forget how I did it and learn how they did it. For Boy On Bridge I really did not want to bring with me any of the tricks I learned growing up in Petty Harbour or in Great Big Sea. So Let’s Go is the opposite. It was much more liberating to not be actively excluding things in my repertoire – often the most natural and habitual things I know.”
The title itself can be interpreted a few different ways. It could be seen as a personal mission statement for Doyle himself, but also a rallying cry that encourages people to get off their arses to follow their dreams and passions and throw caution to the wind once in a while.
“I couldn’t have summarized it better myself. The album is a call to action and a notice to [everyone] that time is short – so let’s go! The album is also a statement that I want to announce that I’m still in the game, still shooting for the stars and trying to grow as a writer and a concert performer. I am still trying to put the best band in the world on stage and give people the greatest night out of their lives. It’s lofty, I know,” he explained, adding that he deliberately wanted to send out a positive, empowering and optimistic message to the world through his music.
Part of that could be because of the almost clichéd references to Newfoundlanders as hardy stock, who have persevered through tough lives with stoic resolve, cheerfulness and generosity of spirit.
“I think it’s entirely possible that a people who, for generations, fought the elements and the sea to eke out a living on a frozen rock in the middle of the North Atlantic could have needed to develop a keener sense of positivism. It is possible Newfoundlanders may have to, just to get by. I certainly felt it growing up in my tiny fishing town of Petty Harbour as people got really good at dealing with hard times and could smile through the worst of them. So the cliché could be true,” Doyle said.
“As for me, I’ve always been a happy go lucky fella. And much of life has always been about celebration for me and it remains so.”
Doyle connected with a diverse but talented group of creative minds to come up with the overall sound and vibe for So Let’s Go, including Thomas ‘Tawgs’ Salter (Lights, Walk Off The Earth), Jerrod Bettis (Adele, Serena Ryder), Gordie Sampson (Keith Urban, Willie Nelson) and Joe Zook (One Republic, Key Perry) making it a true marriage of the traditional and non-traditional.
“Tawgs, Jerrod and Gordie are some of the best writers/producers in the game these days. They are the full package of contemporary popular music makers. They can write, arrange, play and record just about every aspect of a song in one room in mere hours. And Joe could very well be the best audio mixer on earth these days,” he said.
As for the songs on So Let’s Go, they run the gamut from rollicking party tunes, such as the lead-off track 1234 and Sins of Saturday Night, to the more heartfelt Take Us Home, the introspective and evocative The Night Loves Us and the plaintive Laying Down to Perish.
“The Night Loves Us is really about opening up and showing yourself honestly. It’s about not being ashamed of the scars and blemishes and imperfections in yourself. The story in the song is about a pair who stole away in the night, summoned up the courage to skinny dip and share one of the most beautiful moments in their lives as a result. Sins of Saturday Night is yet another of my ‘Catholic Guilt’ songs about paying for the night before. It’s bred into me and I can’t get it out – but the dance is worth the pain. The song simply says, ‘the song is worth the sorrow and we’re singing it tonight,’” Doyle said.
“Laying Down to Perish is a true story of four gents from Fogo Island, Newfoundland who went onto the ocean ice and as the wind changed and picked up, they knew they were never going to make it home. They carved the little title messages on to a wooden gaff and sent a message home to their families on the tides.”
Going solo is never an easy proposition for a musician, especially one who has built a two-decade legacy of success as Great Big Sea has done. Doyle understood it was going to be a challenge, but channelling the ethos of his current album title, plunged forward with Boy On Bridge.
“I’m always worried about how anything I do for public consumption will be received. In Great Big Sea, solo, TV, movies, books, whatever. I always hope they’ll be liked and loved by folks, but you never really know. I’m grateful every time anyone enjoys it,” he said.
So Let’s Go was written and recorded in what Doyle calls “small chunks” throughout the first half of 2014. At the same time, he was going through final edits and approvals on the autobiography, which he said has helped reinforce the philosophy behind the music he created for the album.
“The book was almost completely written while I was on the Great Big Sea XX [20th Anniversary] tour – on buses, airplanes and in airports. I wrote whenever time allowed. It made me have an
even deeper respect for my childhood and made me understand that the boy on the bridge in Petty Harbour really led me to where I am. So Let’s Go is a tip of the hat to his curiosity, energy and most of all his imagination and willingness to chase his dream,” he said.
“And I had no idea if it was the right time for a memoir or not – honestly. I also had no idea if people would like it. I am so new to it all that I was really flying blindly and throwing myself into the project with no natural instincts other than the ability to tell a story, I guess. I’d be lying if I said I was sure I knew the timing was right or that folks would dig it. Turns out they both were.”
Besides his roles as musician, songwriter and now author, in recent years Doyle has added ‘actor’ to his resume. A pal of fellow Newfoundlander Allan Hawco, the co-creator and star of the very popular Canadian television show The Republic of Doyle, Doyle himself appeared in a few episodes as the roguish ex-con Wolf Redmond. He is also a friend of Academy Award-winning actor Russell Crowe (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind) with whom he has had a number of musical collaborations. As well, Crowe got Doyle cast in the movie Robin Hood as Alan A’Dayle, and also in the film Winter’s Tale. Crowe, Doyle and fellow Robin Hood cast mates Kevin Durand and Scott Grimes all appeared in the third season premiere of Republic of Doyle.
“Both gents have been so kind to me over the years. There’s a very cool album in the hopper with Russell and a gang of us that do a few variety concerts here and there. I’m not sure when it will be released but it has some great tunes. Allan has a couple of shows in development and has kept me up to date on what they are doing. I’d love to work with him and his gang again as they are so patient and helpful with a novice actor like myself,” Doyle explained.
As for Great Big Sea, Doyle was his typically direct and honest self when assessing the current standing of the band and what may or may not lay ahead for it.
“Great Big Sea is on hiatus with no dates or recording planned for the foreseeable future. Sean has announced he is leaving the band and does not want to play live or record with Great Big Sea any more. He is still a one-third owner of the company and band, and between us all we have not found a way to pave his departure from the collective in a way that makes everyone happy,” he said.
“And none of us wants to forge ahead and cause a major conflict between us all. As for me, the last thing I would want is to have a racket with Sean or Bob [Hallett] as I owe them so much in my personal and professional life. So, the Great Big Sea mothership is tied up and will be for a while, it seems. If me and Sean and Bob can find a way to sail again, I’ll be the happiest dude on the boat.”
As for future musical projects, Doyle said he would love to record an album with his live touring band, The Beautiful Gypsies.
“They are incredible and so much fun to play, travel and hang with.”
Fans in Belleville will get a chance to see how much fun they can be as Doyle and his ‘gang’ open for the iconic Canadian band Blue Rodeo on Friday, July 24 as part of Empire Rockfest. For more information on that show, visit http://www.empiresquarelive.com/rockfest/
For more information on Doyle himself and his various creative endeavours, visit www.alandoyle.ca.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
SHARE THIS POST:
