| Bound Down for Newfoundland |
| I got there in time to say Hi to Nora and Don Shorock from Kansas. The story of our friendship is unusual and definitely Internet-related. Three years ago, I went on a whirlwind East Coast Road Trip with a friend, Diane, from Kansas. We saw 6 Great Big Sea shows in a two week period, one of which was in Readington, New Jersey. It was one of the most fun shows I have attended and there we overheard Don and Nora talking about being from Kansas. They were sitting next to our friends from Boston on the blanket at the park. Here, they live in the same town where Diane’s folks were from! Big world brought much closer by Great Big Sea. We said our goodbyes at the end of the show, never expecting to meet again. |
| Some time later, Don and Nora contacted me off my website with questions about Newfoundland. Neither of us put two and two together until we had exchanged several emails. Here we meet again - online! Things get curiouser… Vic made a lot of friends in Newfoundland last fall working for the TARGA Road Rally and he likes to listen to the CBC shows. On New Year’s Eve, the CBC show he was listening to asked people to call in and wish people you know in Newfoundland a Happy New Year. So I called and waited on the line about 15 minutes to say my thing. While I was waiting, a person asked me where I was from. Most of the people were from Newfoundland originally, of course, but when I said “Philadelphia” she gasped and said she had just talked to someone else from the States. We had both mentioned Great Big Sea (and Rawlins Cross) as influences who got us to be interested in Newfoundland she said. I announced my wishes to our friends and acquaintances in Newfoundland, including Ham Radio buddies, Jim and Lillian, some people from the Online Kitchen Party on the Great Big Sea website, and of course the GBS b’ys. A few days later, I had a call from the CBC to ask if they could tell my story about Great Big Sea being such good ambassadors for Newfoundland tourism. Of course I wasn’t home and couldn’t get back to them in time. So they didn’t use my voice but they did tell the story. They DID however use the other Stateside caller’s voice – it was Don from Kansas! LOL! We were even written up in the little online news story where they invited Alan Doyle of GBS to listen to the calls and he commented about being an ambassador of Newfoundland and how it was nice to know how far-reaching their influence is. So it was nice to see Don for the third time that weekend and the last time for a while. Maybe we’ll see him roadtripping next year. Check out his trip photos of Newfoundland! |
| I waited to pick up my till and watched the heavy-hitters of Newfoundland music gather backstage - Jim Payne, Fergus O’Byrne, Colin Carrigan, Frank Maher, Graham Wells (again – he just raised his eyebrows and smiled), Dave Panting, Anita Best, and so many others! The stint at the beer tent was a little more intense tonight with a lot more people there for the last hurrah. We were quite busy all night and the time just flew right by. I wished my partner-in-crime good luck in her Social Work job and we went backstage to tally the money up. I didn’t get to see A Crowd of Bold Sharemen but I heard them. They were wonderful! Fergus and Jim and Colin and the others just really connected with everyone in the audience. You could tell how much of an institution they are and how much of an influence on the musical scene. Wow! What a performance, what talent! These two guys came on next - one from Nashnille and the other from Ontario. The Nashville guy wore the classic sequinned Country Music Guy jacket which appeared sooooooo out of place here. In Newfoundland, people in general don't make a fuss over the fact that millions of people know you and you've sold a million records. They treat you like any other person they see everyday. The big stars don't lord it over people either. They live just like everyone else - no limos, special expectations. It must be a relief to people like Great Big Sea who get mobbed in mainland Canada. So it was weird with this guy calling attention to himself with his clothes. Despite the look of him those two guys were really good! They played Bluegrass with a twist. The Ontario guy could get notes out of his harmonica that I didn't think were possible. They really wound the crowd up and around their collective fingers. It was great! Frank Maher was there to be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award. His group Maher's Bears played a great set. Jean Hewson did the introducing of him and his achievements and he accepted his award with humility and humor. Said he wasn't going to give a long speech and then rolled out a roll of paper towel with stuff apparently written on it. Stood there, looked it over scrolled down a bit, shook his head and scrolled down some more, and finally said, "Thank you." |
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| After the Ode to Newfoundland was sung (I have my own version) and everyone began to file out of Bannerman Park, Stan Pickett called me over and thanked me and invited me to Auntie Cray’s on Tuesday to see Frank Maher and Stan and others entertain. I told him I’d try to be there, not knowing if Vic had anything planned or not. Stan is a great guy and ran that Festival volunteer group very well as far as I could see. I’ll happily work for him again. |
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| I didn’t end up taking any pictures because I forgot to replace the batteries with new ones. So there won’t be any photos from the last night. But you can check out Don’s website for some. He took a lot of pictures. I sat with Fran and Jenny for the last time and we enjoyed each other’s company and tried to arrange to visit Jenny on the Burin Peninsula later on that week. Vic had taken some chances on a brandly new Garrison guitar for me but I didn’t win it when they pulled the ticket. Oh well, I’ll just have to buy my own some day. Fran bought one while she was in St. John’s and it is sweet. I got the last bit of souvenirs I could from the show but didn’t have enough money for a Folk Festival T-shirt because I had left the wallet at home – I just had pocket money unfortunately. |
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| Frank and Stan at the Accordion Session on Saturday. |