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8 he traditional music of our East over the past three or four years, 3 growing in popularity across the country @ and reaching a wider and younger audiâ€" w . Riding the crest of that 4 wave of popularity is Great & COVCO C POpMIATIEY B NegE * gig Sea, four lads from Newâ€" foundland whose infectious, energetic, and sometimes frenzied blend of traditional Celtic and contemporary folkâ€" pop music has earned critical acclaim and a legion of fans. Great Big Sea‘s artful blend . of old and new is a logical evolution. All four grew up immersed in East Coast tradiâ€" tional music, and all four also grew up listening to rock radio. it only makes sense, then, that both types of music would influence the band‘s creative process. "You‘re listening to the (traâ€" ol ditional) songs at Christmas and stuff â€" when all the famâ€" ilies get together, they‘re the first songs that come out from your parâ€" ents and all their relatives. And the albums that they bought and you listened to when you were younger would be along those lines, too. So you‘re really being totally immersed in it at a young age," says Great Big Sea‘s Darrell Power. "So you grow up and you‘re listening to rock and roll and playing rock and roil, but at the same time this great music is night under your nose. So it was a real revâ€" elation for us all to actually come together and continue playing this music." That happened in 1992 when Alan Doyle (guitar, vocals) met Sean McCann (bodhran, tin whistle, guitar) and the two teamed up with Bob Hallett (button accordion, fiddle, mandola) and Power (bass guitar). The band immediately began touring extensively and in 1993 es for children â€" Ages 6 â€" 12 MARCH BREAK PROGRAM March 10 â€" 14 â€" 9:00 â€" 12:00 *# Theme Days # Pantonime # Creative Movement # improvisation # Clown Makeâ€"up # Mask Making BUILDS SELF ESTEEM Program fees are $97.00 At First United Church in Uptown Waterloo Deborah Loyd Call 886â€"1928 album‘s mix of revitalized traditional tunes like Mariâ€"Mac and Lukey, unexâ€" pected covers like Slade‘s hit Run, Runâ€" away, and originals like Goin‘ Up and Nothing Out of Nothing reflects the band members‘ desire to keep the music of their heritage alive, while at the same time breathe new life into it and take it to new levels. "We decided at the very beginning, even though we were going to play tradiâ€" tional. music, that we had so many other influences," Power says. "The music that we wanted to play is often so sparsely arranged that you can take anything that you‘ve learned and liked and add to it to make it more accessible to a larger listenâ€" Last February, following the release of up, Great Big Sea was named Entertainers The release of up later that year thrust the band into the national spotlight. The im $V 2 Roast Beef or Roast Pork Polish Sausage Millbank Medium Cheddar Select Bacon Rib Eye Steaks Boneless Chigken Valentine‘s Specials 47 King Street, St. Jacobs 664â€"3610 Monday â€" Saturday 9â€"6 "But really, there is a great tradition in Poland. The whole idea of sailing was, in communist counâ€" .$¢ if you could sail you had > the knowledge to go where ever you wanted to. } For a certain group of peoâ€" Ba ple who wanted to sail, the shanty was a great land teacher. This is how these e. shanties managed to creep their way into nooks and crannies, not only in Poland but many countries imâ€"Europe. And so we‘re going back in March. There‘s nothing more amazing than singing a verse of a song or shanty in English and then hearing a verse in Polish or Friesian. It‘s amazing." Touring is something the band has done almost nonâ€"stop since it formed, headlining shows in the Maritimes and Ontario, and performing across the counâ€" try and in Europe. The band recently spent eight days performing in the States and a week in Britain, and is now in the middle of a cross Canada tour. its hectic touring schedule is indicative of the band‘s hardâ€"work attitude and critical, Power says, to its success. "We believe that you have to play to people in order to achieve success because radio and video can only do so Award (by an audience of 5,000 people) at the Shanties ‘%6 Festival in Krakow, Poland, of all unlikely places. "We‘re actually going over to that festival again f this year. it‘s a great shanty + festival smack in the midâ€" , i dle of Krakow â€" the heart f . of shanty country," Power (Continued on page 19) wlssiii5 is itiidn in on o beiv e nc o ioh auunaite i itienicn Avep hA it anealiac avvccnacteremnan Areel e $1.991. $3.991. $4.9910. $4.991. $2.79n $5.99 /b 24 Kinc StREET NortH, WatEr100 SEASsON SUBSCRIPTIONS ON SALe Frioay Fesruvary 1414 1997 WATERLOO S STAGE THEATRE :3#3 call (519) 888â€"0000 sion among charts. Dream Fly leased perfor Richard. Whi pair‘s magnif stirring mom a star in her deprived of again hear T son‘s beautif voice is both tragedy and crime. Not 01 this wonder sense of fin rocker Richs Thompson telled eight ago by a rar der that left unable to si + all wheel ce free a‘c atabiaditsisis aiindieientainnss