Growing up on the Southern Shore, John Curran was steeped in Irish music
By Patrick Newhook/January 13, 2022
Across the coasts of Newfoundland and along the sea of Labrador, music is a predominant aspect of everyday life.
The town of Ferryland, a small community of 414, is among the more prominent when it comes to music and breeding musical talent.
Among that pool is John Curran, a founding member of The Masterless Men, one of the most well-known acts in the province. He was raised and lived in Ferryland until he graduated high school. Growing up there, Curran describes it like any other bay town.
“I say it was like any typical Newfoundland outport community. I loved it, I have many memories of growing up in Ferryland, from going to school to playing sports, to playing softball, going to church,” said Curran.
Curran’s father was a fisherman and his mom worked at a local store, and both played music and sang.
Curran recalls his childhood as being surrounded by music. Being around it so much encouraged him to start playing.
“Music was always a major part of our family. There were many parties at our house, I remember watching and listening to guitar playing and singing when I was young and I remember being made part of it as I got older and it was always there,” said Curran.
Curran said the Southern Shore has having a distinct sound when compared to other areas. He would describes the style as ‘Irish.’ Growing up there played a big part in defining Curran’s taste and style in music.
“There was always Irish music in our house, on our record player, on our cassette players,” said Curran. “It’s just what we did, so growing up in Ferryland, on the Irish Loop, Irish music was a major influence…it was just what we grew up with.” When looking back, Curran isn’t sure he would be the same type of musician if he had been raised somewhere else, allowing every part of Newfoundland has its own unique preferences.
“Oh, I would say definitely not. Our band, The Masterless Men, we started off as Colcannon some years ago. We’ve traveled fairly extensively as a professional band. We’ve been to the West Coast, we’ve been to the various bays and peninsulas in Newfoundland. Different styles are very obvious. Like I remember we went to Wesleyvill and I remember being backstage, for instance, and some guy said, ‘Which one of you plays accordion?’ and we said we don’t have an accordion and he was appalled. He said, ‘What, no accordion in your band?’ Every bay, peninsula, segment of the island for sure has a different style of music.”
Even the names Masterless Men and Colcannon have a Southern Shore flavour. The Masterless Men is based on stories of early settlers who rebelled against the strict conditions imposed by their employers and bosses on the coast to fend for themselves as masterless men inland. Colcannon, meanwhile, is a popular term of describing vegetable hash.
Curran visited Ireland once, and when there he noticed how similar it is to what he grew up around.
“I’ve always wanted to visit Ireland and I did with my wife and my sisters a few years back and I was amazed at how similar Ireland was to where I grew up,” he said. “I sang some of these songs with the place names in the songs. We went to Athenry or wherever, and it was like ‘Oh yeah, I’ve been singing that song for 25 or35 years.”
The band turned 30 years old in 2021. For Curran, it’s been an honour to see younger generations enjoying the same songs he grew up listening to.
“I’m 57 now, and I started the band 30 years ago. It’s so encouraging to be on a stage whether it’s at an Iceberg Alley, or O’Reilly’s Pub or the Arts and Culture Centre or George Street Festival wherever it may be,” said Curran. “You look down at the front of the stage and you see people who are in their 20’s or barely in their 20’s singing the words to songs that I’ve been singing for 30 or 40 years, and you’re saying, ‘Sure that person’s only 18 years old and they know all the words.’ That’s fantastic. I think It’s encouraging to see lots of the younger generation who have latched on to Irish and folk music.”
