Bob Hallett
Encyclopedia
Bob Hallett is a founding member of Canadian
folk-rock band Great Big Sea
and continues to play with them today.
Hallett was born in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
on May 23, 1968, making him the only native St. Johnsman in Great Big Sea. Born to a musical family, Hallett learned to play the saxophone
while in school, and taught himself guitar
and tin whistle
while a teenager. He would later learn to play both the accordion
and the fiddle
.
Hallett attended Memorial University, where he met Séan McCann
, with whom he founded the Newfoundland Republican Army, an 8-man musical group. After this group collapsed, he and McCann founded a pub act called Rankin Street. After the band's split-up in 1993, it evolved into Great Big Sea, in an attempt to bring more of a Newfoundland sound to their music.
Hallett has also produced a handful of recordings by other musicians, including Vince Collins's "Lifting Out the Stove," and Shanneyganock's "Fling out the Flag". He has also produced an album for the Moncton-based band, Banshee, and Janelle Dupuis, another Moncton based artist.
Bob writes a semi-regular blog on the band's website called "Bob's Journeys". With the rest of Great Big Sea, he finished working on their tenth recorded album "Safe Upon The Shore", released July 2010. He was seen at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia; at the Victory Celebration on February 26, 2010, Great Big Sea headlined Newfoundland-Labrador Night.
Hallett has authored several books before under various nom de plumes; however he recently produced a memoir under his own name entitled "Writing Out The Notes: Life In Great Big Sea", which was released on October 9, 2010.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
folk-rock band Great Big Sea
Great Big Sea
Great Big Sea is a Canadian folk-rock band from Newfoundland and Labrador, best known for performing energetic rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs including sea shanties, which draw from the island's 500-year-old Irish, English, and French heritage...
and continues to play with them today.
Hallett was born in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
on May 23, 1968, making him the only native St. Johnsman in Great Big Sea. Born to a musical family, Hallett learned to play the saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
while in school, and taught himself guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and tin whistle
Tin whistle
The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, English Flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, Tin Flageolet, Irish whistle and Clarke London Flageolet is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the recorder, American Indian flute, and...
while a teenager. He would later learn to play both the accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
and the fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
.
Hallett attended Memorial University, where he met Séan McCann
Sean McCann
Sean McCann may refer to:* Sean McCann , Lieutenant General and Chief of Staff of the Irish Defence Forces, succeeding Dermot Earley* Sean McCann , Canadian television actor...
, with whom he founded the Newfoundland Republican Army, an 8-man musical group. After this group collapsed, he and McCann founded a pub act called Rankin Street. After the band's split-up in 1993, it evolved into Great Big Sea, in an attempt to bring more of a Newfoundland sound to their music.
Hallett has also produced a handful of recordings by other musicians, including Vince Collins's "Lifting Out the Stove," and Shanneyganock's "Fling out the Flag". He has also produced an album for the Moncton-based band, Banshee, and Janelle Dupuis, another Moncton based artist.
Bob writes a semi-regular blog on the band's website called "Bob's Journeys". With the rest of Great Big Sea, he finished working on their tenth recorded album "Safe Upon The Shore", released July 2010. He was seen at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia; at the Victory Celebration on February 26, 2010, Great Big Sea headlined Newfoundland-Labrador Night.
Hallett has authored several books before under various nom de plumes; however he recently produced a memoir under his own name entitled "Writing Out The Notes: Life In Great Big Sea", which was released on October 9, 2010.