"We're is not a band you just go and see, or a cd you just listen to. We are something you have to do".

Thats how lead singer Alan Doyle describes this weeks Tunesday Artists - a right coast phenomenom that started out as informal, kitchen party jam sessions in the Newfoundland fishing village of Petty Harbor.
Doyle and childhood friend John Brenton began as the aptly named "Staggering Home", touring the pubs of Newfoundland with their own brand of East Coast music and it was there Doyle made the aquaintance of Sean McCann, Bob Hallett and Darrell Power who were part of another Celtic Band, Rankin Street. Tired of the revolving door that seem to be following "Street" the three pulled the plug and joined forces with Doyle and I think its safe to say that East Coast music has never been the same since.

Their debut album dropped in the spring of 1992; self-titled and self-produced it soon caught the attention of Warner Brothers Canada, who soon re-issued it under their own label. The bands hard driving sound and East Coast homage made them a VERY unique sound on the radio that year - "Fisherman’s Lament", "Drunken Sailor" and "I’se The B’y" (one of my favorites) helped keep this band at the top of the charts for almost 3 months.

Good thing too because it would be almost three full years before fans would get another taste.....

UP hit record stores in September of 1995 and while it did well in the single department; "Billy Peddle", "The Old Black Rum" and the FANTASTIC "Run Run Away" (their tribute to Slade) it took nearly a year to sell 100,000 copies in Canada and be certified platinum.

The same was not true for their next effort... PLAY, released in June 1997, was certified platinum within three months and by February 1998, had sold more than 200,000 copies! Not unexpected given some of the singles that came out of this disc..."End of the World", "When I‘m Up (I Can‘t Get Down)" and this weeks feature song saw MORE than their share of airplay, even on this end of the Great White North.

Riding the wave of success they decided to try their luck south of the 49th with the release of RANT AND RAVE, a compilation of their singles from their previous three albums. The band was surprised how well their style of East Coast was received in the US... in fact soon after the album dropped and radio stations gave them some air time a hastily put together US tour was organized, one that would gain this group many new fans.

The following year, the band released their fifth album, TURN, produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos and Tragically Hip fame and featuring another Celtic Band, the Chieftains who helped them with a cover of a traditional French tune, "Trois Navires De Ble". That single, combined with "I'm a Rover" and "Feel it Turn" helped them to yet another platinum disc.

Looking in yet another direction they released ROAD RAGE a year later, recorded totally live on our TURN tour between October 14 and December 31, 1999. They did the circuit, playing all 10 provinces of Canada, and recorded each concert every night.

SEA OF NO CARES was released February 19th, 2002 in Canada and February 26th, 2002 in the USA. Their sixth studio album, it featured the singles "Scolding Wife", "A Boat Like Gideon Brown" and the title tune and altho it failed to reach Platinum it was considered one of their best efforts to date.

They have since released two more albums, SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL, on February 24th, 2004 and THE HARD AND THE EASY, which dropped just last year, and both have gone on to prove that this East Coast "Phenom" and their "simple goal of playing the old songs but picking them up, where need be, with modern tempos" will be here with us for MANY years to come.

They are...

GREAT BIG SEA

and their song...

ORDINARY DAY

(you can downlod this song here -> http://www.mediamax.com/wdhiii/Hosted/G ... %20Day.mp3)

I’ve got a smile on my face, I’ve got four walls around me
The sun in the sky, the water surrounds me
I’ll win now but sometimes I’ll lose
I’ve been battered, but I’ll never bruise, it’s not so bad


And I say way-hey-hey, it’s just an ordinary day
and it’s all your state of mind
At the end of the day, you’ve still got to say,
it’s all right.

See that girl on the street, what keeps her from dying
Let them say what they want, she won’t stop trying
She might stumble, if they push her ’round
She might fall, but she’ll never lie down

And I say way-hey-hey, it’s just an ordinary day
and it’s all your state of mind
At the end of the day, you’ve still got to say,
it’s all right.


It’s a beautiful day, but there’s always some sorrow
It’s a double edged knife, but there’s always tomorrow
It’s up to you now if you sink or swim,
Keep the faith and your ship will come in.


Hope you enjoyed this weeks edition of TUNESDAY and as always if you'd like a copy of ANY of the songs mentioned here..

Just HOLLA....