Just Us Folk

When Alan Doyle looks back to his childhood growing up in Petty Harbour, his life at age 10 in 1979 wasn’t much different from his dad’s life in 1959.

“So I kind of had my father’s childhood,” he said.

That is until the cod moratorium in the early 1990s. The federal ban on commercial fishing off the shores of Newfoundland and Labrador meant losses of over 30,000 jobs, an exodus of people to other parts of Canada, and the end of a way of life that lasted nearly 500 years.

During his career as a member of Great Big Sea and now as a solo performer, Alan has sung about the Newfoundland of his childhood. But really, he had no idea if it existed anymore. To that end Alan travelled to the far corners of his beloved province to find out what’s really going on. Accompanied by his wife and their teenage son, he visited, and discovered, places that are thriving in locations you wouldn’t think possible.

He’s written down his experiences in his new book, The Smiling Land – All Around The Circle In My Newfoundland and Labrador.

“I wanted to see how these communities have paved a new way forward,” he said.

A prime example of forging a new path ahead was Port aux Choix, situated between Gros Morne National Park and the tip of Newfoundland. What he found was a bustling port serving offshore fishing boats, a cultural centre, a national historic site, and most importantly for Alan, an espresso coffee truck close by!

“It was thrilling to discover the resilience of the community,” he said.

There was also the investment by residents into their communities. The creation of the five-star Fogo Island Inn, highlighting local food, furniture and crafts, was the brainchild of a former island resident. The renovation of a cathedral in Harbour Grace into a destination resort is another example of the love and faith people have for their province.

“The sense of obligation we inherit from our parents and grandparents, from history and tradition, to preserve what we have is odd,” he said. “I love that it’s here.”

It’s an obligation that’s difficult to forget and one not always shared in more urban communities. From Alan’s perspective, it all stems from the point of view of having no expectations that with each new day things are going to be easy. Every day will be hard but it’s how you approach each day that defines who you are and what you make of each day.

“We are different. We have an odd set of characteristics that make us who we are,” he said. “That’s the biggest reason to come here and check it out.”

A big part of life in Newfoundland and Labrador, and in Alan’s life, is music. His latest release is the six song EP, Already Dancing. Written and recorded in various locations, it features a collaboration with The East Pointers who’ll be the opening act for the cross-Canada portion of Alan’s upcoming tour. Some songs were done in Newfoundland and Los Angeles with producer Greg Wells who’s worked with the likes of Quincey Jones, Adele, Katy Perry and more. The rest was finished in Calgary. Alan had a gig last year nearby with his band so afterwards they and Greg finished things up at the National Music Centre with Geoffrey Kelly of Spirit Of The West.

“It’s cool to do records while you’re doing other things,” he said. “They kind of end up getting done accidentally.”

The last number of years has seen Alan recording albums in a variety of ways. Whether it was remotely during the pandemic, gathering together in one space or in “fits and starts” as they say in Newfoundland, it all works.

“I’m just grateful to have the songs out there,” he said. “Whatever it takes to get done is fine with me.”

As if writing a fourth book and recording another album wasn’t enough to keep him busy, Alan has been involved in writing and starring in a musical which has been presented in Charlottetown and Toronto.

Based on the screenplay, The Grand Seduction, Tell Tale Harbour is the story of how a small town convinces a doctor to set up a practice in their community. Adam Brazier of the Confederation Centre of the Arts called Alan during the pandemic. Having seen the English and French versions of The Grand Seduction, Adam thought the story would work as a musical.

Initially submitting a couple of songs for consideration, Alan quickly came on board the writing team with Adam and Ed Riche while collaborating with Bob Foster on the songs.

Running from June to September in 2022, the musical set box office records in Charlottetown. The creative team from Mirvish Productions loved it so much they wanted to bring the show to Toronto. An updated version ran in Charlottetown last summer before moving to Toronto for five weeks at the Royal Alexandra Theatre.

Alan’s involvement in the show even extended to taking on a leading role. He’s acted in a number of films and television shows over the years, but he never thought he’d be in a musical.

“With apologies to all of my musical theatre friends who’ve dreamt their whole lives to do that, it never crossed my mind that I would!” he said.

While nothing has been announced yet, Alan foresees a continued life for Tell Tale Harbour.

Alan Doyle’s work in television and films has been both in front of and behind the camera. Through a friendship with actor Russell Crowe, he’s appeared in the movies Robin Hood and Winter’s Tale. Alan was also in episodes of Republic Of Doyle, Murdoch Mysteries and Hudson & Rex.

Alan’s scored the music for the CBC comedy, Hatching, Matching and Dispatching, the film Triffie’s Been Made Away With and an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and he collaborates with Keith Power for the CBC comedy Son Of A Critch.

It seems the only show Alan hasn’t been involved with is Allan Hawco’s new series, Saint-Pierre.

“Allan’s a dear friend,” he said. “Over Christmas I was giving him the gears about, ‘How come I haven’t been in this yet?’ It just hasn’t worked out yet, but I’d love to do it.”

Perhaps it’s just a matter of time since Keith Power and Allan’s older brother, Greg, score the music for Saint-Pierre.

“I always say I’m lucky,” Alan said. “The company I get to keep is earth-shattering to me.”

There’s an expression that says, if you want a job done, give it to a busy person. That seems to be the case with Alan. We haven’t even talked about his production with Cory Tetford of the 2023 Ron Hynes tribute album, Sonny Don’t Go Away. The album featured 20 of Ron’s songs performed by 20 Newfoundland and Labrador artists. Given the wealth of great songs by Ron and the plethora of great performers in the province, it easily could have been fifty by fifty.

Alan acknowledges he should take more time off now that he’s 56 years old, but he thrives on being busy.

“When you love your work, you don’t think of it that way,” he said. “It’s not like cleaning up in the crab plant when I was 16.”

For more on Alan Doyle and Already Dancing or The Smiling Land, go to https://alandoyle.ca.