Big Dave McLean
Canadian guitarist and harmonicistWikipedia
18
MENTIONS
3
EPISODES
3
PODCASTS
Search complete. 18 mentions across 3 episodes found for "Big Dave McLean".
Oct 27, 2026
Irvin MillerGUEST
I would even say one of the most premier in North America.
Irvin MillerGUEST
And on Sundays, every Sunday for the last 35 years or so, they've had a continuous blues jam hosted by one man, Big Dave McLean.
Irvin MillerGUEST
He's one of the greatest blues musicians and maybe the most influential in Canada.
Irvin MillerGUEST
and he has hosted it for 35 years consecutively and so when i first moved to winnipeg obviously this was a bucket list that i had to uh check off and and at first when i i played it the first time terry and i bombed it it sounded awful i couldn't keep up i was so nervous and it was it took a long time to regain any sort of reputation from that but i remember one time i sang one of my favorite tunes of all time And this was the first time I sang in that room.
Irvin MillerGUEST
But I really did figure it out with the guidance of Big Dave McClain and the rest of the crew at Times Change, you know, John Scholes and all the musicians that hang out there.
Irvin MillerGUEST
They've all been incredibly influential to me.
Irvin MillerGUEST
and or influential for me rather and and big dave mclean is sort of at the lead of that where i have a lot to owe to him and a lot to thank of him because he uh he ushered me forward and he gave me a an opportunity to play every weekend and a platform to share my ability and i i thank him dearly for that
Terry EvansHOST
and he's a really good friend to david gogo that's how i know big dave mclean and they played yes
Colin JamesGUEST
Well, I met Dave when I was eight years old.
Colin JamesGUEST
So me and Dave go back so far.
Colin JamesGUEST
When I was around eight years old, he played the festival.
Colin JamesGUEST
And I was always drawn to the blues and the gospel.
Colin JamesGUEST
I like Celtic music, and don't get me wrong.
Colin JamesGUEST
I played Celtic for quite a number of years before I played blues.
Colin JamesGUEST
But Dave was always kind of that... kind of naughty kind of a little more dangerous uh uh aspect of folk music you know and uh but i remember him saying uh going backstage and going could you teach me how to go you know and he would
Grant StovallHOST
It's a very, very rare thing to be a double platinum selling hit maker and also a legit blues artist who's dug in deep into the tradition and acknowledged as a full-blown blues great within that community.
Grant StovelHOST
As a little kid, he'd be jamming with adults on acoustic Celtic tunes to the break of dawn.
Grant StovelHOST
And as we'll hear, that precocious, prodigious talent would serve him well when, as a kid, he met blues greats like Winnipeg's Big Dave McLean and Brent Parkin, who would both prove colossal influences on his entire trajectory, alongside members of Brent's old band, Hound Dog, like the brilliant harmonica player Gord Kidder.
Grant StovelHOST
In this conversation, Colin gets into his inspiration for writing this book and his passion for reading in general.
Grant StovelHOST
Despite all those tales of being a mischievous dropout in school that he tells us, he reflects on special family times in his early years, including a sprawling three-month Greyhound bus trip across North America that his free-spirited mom took him on when he was just in his early teens, and how some of his best-loved songs can be traced directly to experiences and events that happened to a young Colin on that trip and during other formative early times.
14 MINS LATER
Colin JamesGUEST
Yeah
Grant StovelHOST
... along the way, but lots of mentors in life, and in music in particular.
Grant StovelHOST
And, and I'm such a fan of so many of the people that you cite here, like, I mean, the great Big Dave McLean, Brent Parkin.
Grant StovelHOST
I mean, absolute heroes.