Musical Recommendations

Of course, Great Big Sea is not the only other band we like here at GBSofFans.

In fact, there are many other bands that we love. This admin (Krista) recommends:

The Punters. I first heard the Punters when I was very young. The band is now comprised of Larry Foley and Pat Moran, and they do mostly cover tunes, although it can be noted that there are some originals. When Alan produced the Punters album Songs for A Sunday Morning in 2006, this blogger's interest in the band was re-piqued. Definitely a band to listen to if you like Newfoundland Music.

The following video is one of mine, from April of last year, at O'Reilly's on George Street.

Gaelic Storm. One of my closest and dearest friends turned me on to the music of Gaelic Storm. I had heard some of their music before, through Great Big Sea, but when I saw a video of theirs on YouTube, I was hooked forever. A list of the current members can be found here.

The video is from Ships and Dip 3, and features Alan and Sean, as well as Carbon Leaf.

Scott Grimes. I always liked him as an actor, as one of my favourite shows used to be E.R. But when I heard him open his mouth and sing in 2010's Robin Hood, with Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Alan Doyle, and Kevin Durand, I was hooked. Had to find his music, and fast. Thanks to the wonderful Karina Frandsen, one of my fellow admins, and the creator of this blog, I have two of Scott's three albums, and have fallen even more in love with his music. This blogger's personal favourite is Drive. Here's some info from the wikipedia page on the album itself.

And here is my favourite video from that album, called Hide.

Cory Tetford.  He is one half of the duo Crush, who have not released an album since Face In The Crowd,  in 2003. Despite that though, this blogger is still a fan of Cory's amazing voice which is a combination of blues and gospel. Not surprising since he grew up as the youngest of three sons of a Pentecostal Pastor. It is said Crush always closed their shows with Amazing Grace, which was a favourite of Cory's mother, who passed away when he was a teenager.

The video is of Cory singing Proud Mary.

Michelle Doyle. If the last name sounds familiar, it's because it should. Michelle is the baby sister of Alan, and her vocal abilities blow me away. I first heard her sing on the song Alabama, when she did guest vocals for Barry Canning's 2003 album, Last Man Standing. After just a few seconds of hearing her voice, I knew that I needed more of her music, and thankfully, she released her own album sometime later, titled Michelle Doyle, and it was proudly produced by her big brother, Alan. 

Here's a clip of her singing the Etta James song, At Last. Enjoy.

Barry Canning. I have been a fan of Barry's for going on 10 years now. I first heard him at a Provincial Student Leadership Conference, in Glovertown. I immediately fell in love with his voice. I remember him singing the Neil Diamond song Sweet Caroline, and he got the whole crowd involved. It was fun. I don't know why I never bought that first album. But I did buy the second one, and am now Facebook friends with the man, and have seen him perform twice more since then. 

Here's a video I took at the Great Big Sea  Christmas show on December 28, 2010:

This is Alabama, done solo.

Shanneyganock. Another band from Newfoundland who is well known for their catchy songs, and the accordion playing of Mark Hiscock. One of their albums was produced by Bob Hallett, and it was titled Fling out the Flag. One of the songs on the album, my personal favourite, would be lead singer Chris Andrews' co-write with Alan, titled Roving Newfoundlander.

Here's a video of that song:

The Irish Descendants. This is a band that I have always loved. From the time I was a little girl, I loved their music. I recently attended one of their shows in Clarenville (where I currently reside), and got to talk to all the band members. You can read about the experience here.

Here's a video from when they played in Clarenville with lead singer Con O'Brien's brother Arthur's band, The Navigators, another band which you should check out!

I also recommend The Decemberists and Band from TV. Scott Grimes sometimes sings with them!

My second last recommendation before I sign off for the night is Billy Pettinger, known as Billy the Kid. I saw her open for Rex Goudie,  who I also will recommend (he finished second on Canadian Idol, to now ex-girlfriend Melissa O`Neil). Billy blew me away, and I bought her EP after the show. I fell in love with her music, and if you`re interested, you should definitely check her out!

She did a song here in Clarenville that was so new that she didn`t have a name for it. Lemme know what you think by visiting my YouTube channel and commenting on her video! Thanks!

And last, but most certainly not least, Rex Goudie. I fell in love with him and his music the minute I saw him on Canadian Idol. Still love his music now, and have all three of his albums. Finally saw him perform in December, here in Clarenville, where I got to meet him afterwards. Here's a picture:

And here's my favourite song of that night, a cover of Blue Rodeo's After The Rain. Well done as always Rex, well done.

Hope you enjoy these recommendations. I'll share more some other time! Anything bolded is worth checking out as well :)

Cheers,

Krista <3