Facts: - instrument: singing accordion , bagpipes , low whistle , banjo , harmonica , , guitar , mandolin , concertina , saxophone bouzouki , fiddle , tin whistle , - website: -lsb- http://www.greatbigsea.com www.greatbigsea.com -rsb- - caption: hallett in 2012 . - birth name: robert bruce hallett - origin: st. john 's , newfoundland , canada - genre: folk-rock - birth date: 23 may 1968 - name: bob hallett - background: solo_singer - image: bob hallett in 2012.png - occupation: musician Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of bob hallett .
robert bruce '' bob '' hallett -lrb- born may 23 , 1968 -rrb- is a founding member of canadian folk-rock band great big sea .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 with a brother david hallett , and sister ellen wells , 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 sean 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 .as great big sea arrives at its twentieth anniversary as a band , hallett has transitioned from a clean-shaven look to a goatee and moustache .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 .