Post by Ginny on Jul 11, 2006 20:56:19 GMT -5
The b'ys of Great Big Sea are funny guys. Here are some of their best quotes, as well as a link to the site where you can find more 
Séan: "I wanted to call it 'Séan McCann and his buddies', but the guys didn't go for that at all."
----Oakville, Ontario
Alan: "People say 'How do you often decide on your music?'. Well, we fight, actually. Arm wrestling is an age-old tradition that Great Big Sea has gone back. A lot of times, we'll do a two-on-two ball hockey game."
Bob: "Snakes and Ladders too."
----@ music interview
Séan: "Do we know any more songs Alan?"
Alan: "We know several million. And we intend to play them all."
---- Ottawa, Ontario
Alan: "Oh, McCann, you are a girly man. You are nuttin' but a girly man."
---- Vinny's
Séan: "We're not that fast."
Alan: "Easily distracted."
*both get distracted by something in the background*
---- MuchEast 98
Alan: "The biggest instrument in the house is 14,000 screaming people who we're going to get to sing along with some Newfoundland traditional songs."
---- BC Interview April 1998
Séan: "So, this is a song about how to bury a dead person. I'm great fun at parties, folks. Anytime."
---- Devon, England, August 6, 1998 during intro to General Taylor
Alan: "Historical terms, it was actually used as an instrument to scare away British people. So if there's any British people driving home, don't be alarmed, this is just a demonstration."
---- CISS FM interview talking about the Bodhran
Alan: "Rant and Roar just went Tinfoil in the US!"
---- New York City, NY, September 16, 1998
Alan: "While in Germany, and struggling to speak Deutsch on stage, I introduced myself by saying "Ich bin ein Neufundlander", which I thought meant "I am a Newfoundlander". It actually means "I am a Newfoundland dog" - a popular breed in Germany."
---- October 16, 1998 Newsletter
Alan: "Oh, that I could forget this one. While on stage in Dublin, I announced that "it's great to be here in the U.K.". Angry booing and hissing filled the air. Even if I could forget this one, the boys will make sure that I don't."
---- October 16, 1998 Newsletter
After an invitation to visit them in Newfoundland,
Alan: "You can all stay at Séan's place. He's got two bedrooms.
Séan: "And a futon."
---- New York, NY, November 21, 1998
Alan: "Yeah (some hockey player named ed?) is a good friend of ours, and he's here tonight. Thanks for coming out (said name). And Madonna! Hey. And Lionel Richie.....Hall and Oates might be coming out later cause they're really good friends of Bobby's here."
---- Philadelphia, PA, November 29, 1998
Alan: "I apologize now because this is our last show of the tour and we are off early so if you see us out and about and we look lost, please direct us to our hotel."
Séan: "We have our names and hotel written in our mittens so if we look lost, please help us out."
---- Portland, ME, December 5, 1998
Giving the history of the band, answering the two most common questions:
How did the band get started? Alan: "Well. Bob and Darrell can actually play and Séan is gorgeous and I had a van.”
Their ethnic background: Are they Irish? Alan: "In truth, we are one half Scottish and one half Irish which means one half of us wants to get drunk all the time while the other half doesn’t want to pay for it!"
---- Alexandria,VA, March 25, 1999
(talking about visiting the swag table)
Alan: “What a bargain! I do believe 9 dollars US is getting to be worth more in Canadian dollars everytime! We’re selling t-shirts."
Séan: “Nice t-shirts for those who don’t want to dress like Alan.”
Alan: "Hats, even socks, really thick ones, a real bargain. Oh and inflatable dolls of the band... but Séan is sold out."
---- Alexandria, VA, March 25, 1999
Alan: "We're all in our early teens."
---- TV interview in Minnesota, April 28, 1999
Alan is telling the general story of the song I'm a Rover….
Alan: "Not surprisingly, this is sung by Séan. The McCann clan is well-known in Newfoundland for their window tapping."
Séan: "Also for falling out of windows."
---- Buffalo, NY, June 24, 1999
*after General Taylor*
Alan: "Séan McCann! He plays the drum as well. The Sexiest Bodhran player on the planet, Séan McCann! Everybody, everybody in the house put your hands in the air. Put your hands in the air. Oh yeah! Everybody in the house give it up 'cause we got Séan McCann in the house. He's playing the bodhran in the house. Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Everybody, everybody, everybody in the house say Way Oh! Word up in the house. How 'bout a Newfoundland traditional song? *while laughing* A staggeringly one-dimensional Newfoundland traditional song."
---- Toronto, ON, July 10, 1999
Alan: “We’re going to be playing for an extra 3½ hours this evening.” Cue enormous cheer from the crowd. “That’s frisbee. We’re going to be playing frisbee for 3½ hours. After the show, if everybody would just line up by that brick building over there, we’ll have ourselves a game. I believe Darrell is the reigning frisbee champion after the Guelph Picnic. And he, uh, he apologizes to the twelve-year-olds he, uh, well that he violently assaulted with the frisbee. It should be fun."
---- Toronto, ON, July 11, 1999
Alan: "Ryan [of Guster] still has not been kissed by a Canadian woman. I have volunteered to kiss him myself, but he has declined, strangely. So if any of you would like to oblige him, so that I am not left as the sole representative of the female population of Canada...”
---- Toronto, ON, July 11, 1999
Alan dedicates Boston to St. John's to a certain someone special.
Séan: "Why thank you, Alan."
---- Victoria, BC, October 27, 1999
Alan: "I’m glad to see they spelled our name correctly this time. It’s quite different from the first time we played in Ontario. The place we played, it had one of those signs where you slide the letters in, and the ‘G’ and the ‘R’ had fallen off. So the sign said, 'Tonight, Eat Big Sea!'"
---- Toronto, ON, November 27, 1999
Séan: "The show can’t be sold out. Some guy outside tried to sell me tickets. I thought that was pretty nice of him."
Alan: "Yeah, a guy on the corner tried to sell me tickets. I told him the band sucks!"
---- Toronto, ON, November 27, 1999
Alan: "We're going to do a song for you now... *pause* ...as opposed to doing magic tricks!"
---- Ann Arbor, MI, January 29, 2000
Alan (arms raised in triumph): “This is not just an evening of fun, this is an evening of love. I can feel the love!!!”
---- Toronto, ON, July 11, 1999
And there are plenty more on
ofina.tripod.com/gbs/quotes.html
Hope you enjoyed them as much as I did!
Séan: "I wanted to call it 'Séan McCann and his buddies', but the guys didn't go for that at all."
----Oakville, Ontario
Alan: "People say 'How do you often decide on your music?'. Well, we fight, actually. Arm wrestling is an age-old tradition that Great Big Sea has gone back. A lot of times, we'll do a two-on-two ball hockey game."
Bob: "Snakes and Ladders too."
----@ music interview
Séan: "Do we know any more songs Alan?"
Alan: "We know several million. And we intend to play them all."
---- Ottawa, Ontario
Alan: "Oh, McCann, you are a girly man. You are nuttin' but a girly man."
---- Vinny's
Séan: "We're not that fast."
Alan: "Easily distracted."
*both get distracted by something in the background*
---- MuchEast 98
Alan: "The biggest instrument in the house is 14,000 screaming people who we're going to get to sing along with some Newfoundland traditional songs."
---- BC Interview April 1998
Séan: "So, this is a song about how to bury a dead person. I'm great fun at parties, folks. Anytime."
---- Devon, England, August 6, 1998 during intro to General Taylor
Alan: "Historical terms, it was actually used as an instrument to scare away British people. So if there's any British people driving home, don't be alarmed, this is just a demonstration."
---- CISS FM interview talking about the Bodhran
Alan: "Rant and Roar just went Tinfoil in the US!"
---- New York City, NY, September 16, 1998
Alan: "While in Germany, and struggling to speak Deutsch on stage, I introduced myself by saying "Ich bin ein Neufundlander", which I thought meant "I am a Newfoundlander". It actually means "I am a Newfoundland dog" - a popular breed in Germany."
---- October 16, 1998 Newsletter
Alan: "Oh, that I could forget this one. While on stage in Dublin, I announced that "it's great to be here in the U.K.". Angry booing and hissing filled the air. Even if I could forget this one, the boys will make sure that I don't."
---- October 16, 1998 Newsletter
After an invitation to visit them in Newfoundland,
Alan: "You can all stay at Séan's place. He's got two bedrooms.
Séan: "And a futon."
---- New York, NY, November 21, 1998
Alan: "Yeah (some hockey player named ed?) is a good friend of ours, and he's here tonight. Thanks for coming out (said name). And Madonna! Hey. And Lionel Richie.....Hall and Oates might be coming out later cause they're really good friends of Bobby's here."
---- Philadelphia, PA, November 29, 1998
Alan: "I apologize now because this is our last show of the tour and we are off early so if you see us out and about and we look lost, please direct us to our hotel."
Séan: "We have our names and hotel written in our mittens so if we look lost, please help us out."
---- Portland, ME, December 5, 1998
Giving the history of the band, answering the two most common questions:
How did the band get started? Alan: "Well. Bob and Darrell can actually play and Séan is gorgeous and I had a van.”
Their ethnic background: Are they Irish? Alan: "In truth, we are one half Scottish and one half Irish which means one half of us wants to get drunk all the time while the other half doesn’t want to pay for it!"
---- Alexandria,VA, March 25, 1999
(talking about visiting the swag table)
Alan: “What a bargain! I do believe 9 dollars US is getting to be worth more in Canadian dollars everytime! We’re selling t-shirts."
Séan: “Nice t-shirts for those who don’t want to dress like Alan.”
Alan: "Hats, even socks, really thick ones, a real bargain. Oh and inflatable dolls of the band... but Séan is sold out."
---- Alexandria, VA, March 25, 1999
Alan: "We're all in our early teens."
---- TV interview in Minnesota, April 28, 1999
Alan is telling the general story of the song I'm a Rover….
Alan: "Not surprisingly, this is sung by Séan. The McCann clan is well-known in Newfoundland for their window tapping."
Séan: "Also for falling out of windows."
---- Buffalo, NY, June 24, 1999
*after General Taylor*
Alan: "Séan McCann! He plays the drum as well. The Sexiest Bodhran player on the planet, Séan McCann! Everybody, everybody in the house put your hands in the air. Put your hands in the air. Oh yeah! Everybody in the house give it up 'cause we got Séan McCann in the house. He's playing the bodhran in the house. Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Everybody, everybody, everybody in the house say Way Oh! Word up in the house. How 'bout a Newfoundland traditional song? *while laughing* A staggeringly one-dimensional Newfoundland traditional song."
---- Toronto, ON, July 10, 1999
Alan: “We’re going to be playing for an extra 3½ hours this evening.” Cue enormous cheer from the crowd. “That’s frisbee. We’re going to be playing frisbee for 3½ hours. After the show, if everybody would just line up by that brick building over there, we’ll have ourselves a game. I believe Darrell is the reigning frisbee champion after the Guelph Picnic. And he, uh, he apologizes to the twelve-year-olds he, uh, well that he violently assaulted with the frisbee. It should be fun."
---- Toronto, ON, July 11, 1999
Alan: "Ryan [of Guster] still has not been kissed by a Canadian woman. I have volunteered to kiss him myself, but he has declined, strangely. So if any of you would like to oblige him, so that I am not left as the sole representative of the female population of Canada...”
---- Toronto, ON, July 11, 1999
Alan dedicates Boston to St. John's to a certain someone special.
Séan: "Why thank you, Alan."
---- Victoria, BC, October 27, 1999
Alan: "I’m glad to see they spelled our name correctly this time. It’s quite different from the first time we played in Ontario. The place we played, it had one of those signs where you slide the letters in, and the ‘G’ and the ‘R’ had fallen off. So the sign said, 'Tonight, Eat Big Sea!'"
---- Toronto, ON, November 27, 1999
Séan: "The show can’t be sold out. Some guy outside tried to sell me tickets. I thought that was pretty nice of him."
Alan: "Yeah, a guy on the corner tried to sell me tickets. I told him the band sucks!"
---- Toronto, ON, November 27, 1999
Alan: "We're going to do a song for you now... *pause* ...as opposed to doing magic tricks!"
---- Ann Arbor, MI, January 29, 2000
Alan (arms raised in triumph): “This is not just an evening of fun, this is an evening of love. I can feel the love!!!”
---- Toronto, ON, July 11, 1999
And there are plenty more on
ofina.tripod.com/gbs/quotes.html
Hope you enjoyed them as much as I did!
