Alan Doyle discusses new book in Calgary

An iconic Canadian rocker is out with a new book.

A very busy guy, Alan Doyle is not only a founding member of the band Great Big Sea, he just launched his third solo album and has both produced and acted in television and movies.

However, he was in Calgary Tuesday as an author.

Doyle appeared at Wordfest discussing his new book “A Newfoundlander in Canada,” described as a hilarious, heartwarming account of leaving his home and discovering the rest of this country for the first time.

“I thought that my discovery of Canada was a unique one and that people might enjoy seeing what Canada looked like to me when I was in my early 20s, kinda for three reasons,” he said. “The first one, of course, is that my lens is weird for Canada because I’m from the very edge of it. As far as you can go that way, that’s where I live. And so I’m from the extremes of the country. Then, secondly, I’m in the political and historical reality of people my age: I’m a first-generation Canadian.

“My mum and dad weren’t born in this country. They were born in a different country. They were born in Newfoundland and my grandparents were born in the Republic of Newfoundland and then the vote came in the late 40s to give away our independence or not. So, the reality for me as a kid is that I knew I was a Canadian and that was great with me.”

However, he admitted he didn’t know a lot about Canada.

“I grew up in a little fishing town where nobody in my family knew anything about the country. My grandparents barely identified as Canadian at all and my parents and stuff didn’t know anybody from Canada. I never met anyone from Calgary or Winnipeg, I mean, where would I meet someone? So it was a mystery to me. And of course, the third thing, when I finally did get to discover Canada, I discovered it through a unique lens, and that lens is the window of a band van,” said Doyle.

“So I thought, when you think about those three things, it might make for an interesting view of the country.”

His new book is out now, along with his new album A Week at the Warehouse.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today