The following is a candid interview between Séan McCann, co-founder of iconic Canadian band Great Big Sea, and Shawna Percy, Founder of Life Voice Canada.
Séan is now an independent singer/songwriter. Séan’s is currently on his fifth solo album. The following speaks to his experience with alcohol, sobriety, child abuse, and how music has given his life new purpose.
Concerts are Séan’s “meetings”, and he has lots of meetings coming up. To see where Séan will be touring click here.
Séan McCann, Photo credit ©David Howells 2017
www.davehowellsphoto.com
Shawna (Life Voice): WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT YOURSELF AND ALCOHOL AS YOU’VE JOURNEYED THROUGH SOBRIETY?
Séan: You can overcome alcoholism. Sobriety is achievable for everyone who is willing to do the work…if you’re prepared to help yourself, which is what I advocate. What the work entails in my mind, what I’ve learned myself, is that the work entails facing the truth. Most people use drugs because something bad has happened to them. People end up in addiction because of an incident. Curing it means addressing the unfortunate truth. That is the key to success in my case.
Shawna (Life Voice): WHAT SURPRISED YOU THE MOST ABOUT SOBRIETY?
Séan: Surprise? (pause) We’re stronger than we think. Resilience. We’re fearful and angry. We’re an animal with mixed emotions. But at the end of the day we’re tough. The secret is exposed and that’s empowering to me. If the guy from Great Big Sea can do it anyone can. I’ve been sober for almost 7 years.
Shawna (Life Voice): SOME WOULD SAY THAT ALCOHOLISM IS A SLOW SUICIDE. WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THAT STATEMENT?
Séan: I would think it probably is. It’s an unconscious lack of a will to live. When you’re addicted you’re not really living. You’re a slave to a harsh master. You’re probably longing for death because you’re not really living. You’re killing yourself.
Shawna (Life Voice): LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR SONG, “TAKE OFF MY ARMOUR” FROM YOUR ALBUM “THERE IS A PLACE.” CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT THAT MEANS TO YOU, TO TAKE OFF YOUR ARMOUR?
Séan: Armour is an enemy. It’s like anger. I’ve had the benefit of music as a weapon. But, the truth is not something you can arm yourself against.
Shawna (Life Voice): IN YOUR SONG, “TAKE OFF MY ARMOUR” THE MUSIC VIDEO LISTS SEVERAL STATISTICS. SUCH AS:
“1 in 6 Canadian boys will experience an unwanted sexual act. For girls the number is 1 in 3.”
“4 out of 5 incidents of sexual abuse will occur before the age of 18. 60% of all reported sexual assaults are against children.”
“70% of people in detox programs have a history of child abuse.”
“Victims of child abuse are 4x more likely to self-harm and have suicide thoughts.”
DID YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY IN YOUR CHILDHOOD TO TALK TO A TRUSTED ADULT IN YOUR LIFE ABOUT THE SEXUAL ABUSE YOU EXPERIENCED?
Séan: No. That opportunity was not there.
Shawna (Life Voice): WHAT DIFFERENCE DO YOU THINK IT WOULD HAVE MADE IN YOUR LIFE IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH AN ADULT IN YOUR CHILDHOOD?
Séan: It would have made a huge difference. My family was under doctrine in the Catholic church. The Pope was seen as infallible. We need to educate, not indoctrinate people. Empowering human beings with divine power is dangerous. There was no option for me. Me telling a priest or a parent would have been met with complete disbelief.
©David Howells 2017
www.davehowellsphoto.com
Shawna (Life Voice): AS A MAN WHO WAS SEXUALLY ABUSED WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE #METOO MOVEMENT?
Séan: I think it’s great. I think it will help curb behaviour. There is an unlevel playing field of power that has been male dominated against women. But the truth is abuse exists everywhere. Statistics show that. And the concept of “stranger danger” is wrong because abuse happens with the person we know.
Shawna (Life Voice): AS YOU SHARE YOUR STORY, AS EMPOWERING AS IT IS YOU GIVE A LOT. AND THERE ARE NO DOUBT MANY STORIES THAT ARE NATURALLY TOLD TO YOU THAT MAY BE HARD TO HEAR. WHAT DO YOU DO FOR SELFCARE?
Séan: Selfcare for me is music. I create some piece of music which is therapeutic. Every concert I do. Every talk. These are my meetings. These are my A.A. I applaud anything that works. What works for me is being on stage, singing my songs. I do one every week. I make sure I’m busy. I’m addicted to work. I’ve learned from my friend Clara Hughes that movement is medicine. I walk the dogs. I walk. I run. Physical activity is really important to me. Outdoors is helpful. Screens are a real problem. It’s so easy to fall into that. There’s nothing really good. There’s the promise of social connectivity, but it’s really social isolation, which is the last thing an addict needs. It’s all about making you feel good right now. The first sign of addiction is behaviour you can’t control.
~Séan is currently on tour.
To learn more about Séan and to see where he’ll be singing next please see the press release below.~
PRESS RELEASE
Séan McCann Hits the Road for his
2018 North American Tour
– Séan McCann marries his message and his roots on his fifth solo album,
There’s A Place –
– Tickets to all 29 North American tour dates available here –
Séan McCann, Photo credit ©David Howells 2017
www.davehowellsphoto.com
listen/look/friend/follow:
seanmccannsings.com
youtube.com/GreatBigSean
facebook.com/GreatBigSean
twitter.com/seanmccannsings
OTTAWA, ON (January 29, 2018) – Séan McCann, acclaimed singer-songwriter, JUNO Award nominee, and mental health advocate, is taking his music and his message on the road. As a founding member of internationally renowned folk group Great Big Sea, Séan chose to forge his own path five years ago and use his music to help him heal from an alcohol addiction that masked his secret of sexual abuse during his teens. In 2018, Séan will play a 29 city tour supporting his fifth solo album, There’s A Place, that sees him taking another step forward in his recovery, but a step back to his traditional musical roots.
Séan’s musical message is now more than just notes and melodies. There’s A Place is a cleansing of sorts. His last two solo albums, Help Your Self and You Know I Love You, were a large musical departure from his Great Big Sea beginnings, but in his latest release he brings together his roots and his message on 11 beautifully crafted tracks sung by a man who knows his purpose, who embraces his past, but refuses to let it define him. Séan also worked with artist/designer Jenna Gregory on There’s A Place: A Colouring Book Companion, which accompanies the album as an interactive creative outlet for fans.
“I believe that a secret can kill you but that a song can save your life,” said McCann.“Music is my religion and it has helped me survive through some very hard times. Today I want to share my story and my songs to help others to “help them selves”.”
At 50 years old, Séan is now a sought-after speaker and mental health advocate. Séan celebrated six years of sobriety in November 2017.
For more information about Sean’s 2018 North American Tour, click here.
More about Séan McCann
Séan McCann bought his first guitar in 1989 that he affectionately calls “Old Brown”. Old Brown has been around. He was there for the first song Séan ever wrote. He was there as Séan founded the acclaimed and multi-million selling band that would change his
life. He was there to hold Séan up as he struggled with alcohol addiction, and he has been there to help guide Séan out of the darkness with music as his medicine.
John Lennon once sang “You can live a lie until you die. One thing you can’t hide is when you’re crippled inside.” After exiting the internationally renowned folk group Great Big Sea and publicly admitting a secret past in which he used alcohol to mask the pain of
sexual abuse by a priest; Séan stopped lying to himself and found his truth and his own voice. With the release of his fifth solo album, There’s a Place, he continues his journey as a singer, songwriter, and now a sought after speaker and mental health advocate with Old Brown by his side and a simple message: “You are not alone.”
His 2014 album Help Your Self was a battle cry; a line in the sand. It announced that he was ready to change and resonated with people in a way Séan could never have expected. It helped him understand that he wasn’t alone and that telling his story could help others as much as it helped him. You Know I Love You, released in 2015, was inspired by the love he found in sharing that story and an attempt to find a new and real connection in a world that had turned inward to its smart phones. Now comes There’s A Place – a collection of songs from a man who is trying to keep his head up when the temptation is to keep them buried in a screen; it’s the story of a man no longer held
back by a lie and has changed his narrative, and never forgetting…that he is not alone.
Séan McCann 2018 Tour Dates:
February 28 – Portland, OR @The Old Church Concert Hall
March 1 – Seattle, WA @ Ballard Homestead
March 2 – Coquitlam, BC @ Evergreen Cultural Centre
March 3 – Chilliwack, BC @ Arts and Culture Centre
March 4 – Vernon, BC @ Powerhouse Theatre
March 5 – Kelowna, BC @ Rotary Arts Centre
March 23 – Windsor, ON @ Olde Walkerville Theatre
March 24 – Fergus, ON @ The Grand Theatre
April 6 – Hamilton, ON @ The Pearl Company
April 7 – London, ON @ Aeolian Hall
April 8 – Trenton, ON @ The Old Church Theatre
April 13 – Athens, ON @ Joshua Bates Centre
April 26 – Okotoks, AB @ The Rotary Theatre
April 27 – Canmore, AB @ Artsplace
April 28 – Kimberly, BC @ Kimberly Arts Centre
April 29 – Castlegar, BC @ Old Theatre
May 2 – Winnipeg, MB @ Park Theatre
May 3 – Regina, SK @ Artesian
May 4 – North Battleford, SK @ Dekker Centre
May 5 – Saskatoon, SK @ Bassment
May 6 – Virden, SK @ The Aud
May 17 – South Pomfret, VT @ Artistree Community Centre
May 18 – Brownfield, ME @ Stone Mountain Arts
May 19 – Portsmouth, NH @ The Music Hall
May 20 – Boston, MA @ Club Passim
May 31 – Saratoga Springs, NY @ Caffe Lena
June 1- Sellersville, PA @ Sellersville Theatre
June 2 – Annapolis, MD @ Rams Head
June 3 – Vienna, VA @ Jammin Java
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For more information:
Email: Matt Wells Phone: 416.573.9629