Alan's From the Road
2011
Tour Diary -- October 30, 2011 -- Home
7:15 am. Currently sitting at the head of the table at our family cabin. The Prince is constructing a gravity defying Hot Wheels track while his Mom enjoys a well-deserved sleep in. He eats his Oh’s while I type and gaze over the laptop at the far reaches of Placentia Bay and the hills of green turning orange turning yellow. Molly the dog, star of the Captain Kidd video, you may recall, is not as young and feisty as she once was, but looks comfy enough in the old armchair by the window. She raises her head occasionally when H celebrates a race victory; otherwise she lies quietly drifting in and out of doggy dreams. Pretty good way to start Sunday morning, even for a Lucky fella like me.
Glad to have had this chance this past few days to put in some Family time as the week ahead has very little of it.
I have a couple of recording sessions tonight and Tuesday with Sean and Bob as we tweak a new entry for the GBS XX project. We hope to add 2-4 new pieces of music to our Traditional and Original Favorites collection to round the new CD.
On Wednesday, the whole GBS Camp reassembles in Toronto to film a CMT Christmas special with BareNaked Ladies, and a few others. The following evening, by the way, Sean and the Committed, play a gig in Toronto. They are at the Dakota, I believe, but check here for the details, www.greatbigsean.com.
On Thursday I fly to Edmonton to join the Gold Medal Plates gang. This is the organization that raises money for Olympic Athletes in conjunction with the Country’s biggest Culinary and Wine competition. There are cool high-end events in most Canadian major cities and myself, Jim Cuddy, from Blue Rodeo and a few others sing a few tunes.
On Friday we all head to Vancouver to do another event, and in the daytime I hope to hook up with Russell and his crew as he is there filming a new Blockbuster Superman movie. Could end up writing or recording or singing anywhere in the city late that night. You never know. Should be fun.
On Saturday, there is a Gold Medal Plates event in Saskatoon, which as you may know, is one of my favorite places in the Country. I love the people and the River walks in that town. Really wish I could jog or run, as Saskatoon could be the best city in Canada to do so. The mending back is not ready for such a beating, so I’ll have to be content with walking or mountain biking. Is it too cold for mountain biking in Saskatchewan now?
Back to Vancouver on the Sunday to record some stuff with Russell. Hoping to put a couple of the Crowe/Doyle Songbook tunes on my Solo CD. Not totally sure which ones yet, as we may write a new one between now and then. Again, you never know.
Monday I head to LA to write with a couple of friends. Hope to come up with songs either for my CD or for a TV show or two they work on.
Wednesday and Thursday will either be in LA or back in Vancouver for more Russell recording. Not sure yet. Check out @alanthomasdoyle on Twitter for updates. In either case, I have to fly east on the Thursday night as I have to be home for a cool event on Friday November 11th.
On Remembrance Day, I sing with some friends in Cantus Vocum, a local choir in St. John’s. I do a few tunes, and it should be a lovely event at the Kirk at 7:30 Friday November 11th. Never done anything like this before, so it will be a fun new experience, I hope. You can get tix at Fred’s Records on Duckworth Street and Coffee Matters across from the Sheraton Hotel. Come out if you can.
How’s that for a busy week? Jaysus. Should be lots of fun times in there, so I expect the travel will be well worth it.
Perhaps next Saturday, I’ll sleep in. Perhaps not.
There goes the Eagle. If you are up early enough here at the cabin, you’ll witness a morning fly by of a young bald eagle who’s taken up camp somewhere down the bay. I doubt he’s as excited to see me and the Prince as we are to see him, but I feel pretty lucky nonetheless.
Happy Hallow’een everybody.
Cheers,
Alan
Tour Diary -- September 26, 2011 -- St. John’s to Nashville
Up long before dawn this morning to catch a powerful early 5am flight to Toronto and make a decent connection to Nashville. If all goes well, I’ll be there before 11am local time. I should get time to check into a hotel and have a workout before starting work this afternoon. And I’m hoping to pack in a lot of work between now and the middle of next week.
Today, I should meet up with Gordie Samson, a native Cape Breton chap who has relocated to Nashville and firmly established himself as an A List writer and producer who works with the likes of Keith Urban, Faith Hill, and Bon Jovi just to name a few. I’ve known Gordie since he played guitar with and co-produced Ashley MacIsac back in the early 90’s. You may recall I nipped down to Nashville in the early 2000’s to write with him and we penned three songs in a couple of days. I believe we wrote Walk on the Moon, Let it Go, and Lucky You, all of which eventually made it on to GBS recordings.
Gordie is anchoring a week of writing and recording with me this week that should lead up to three days of recording early next week. In a perfect world those days should produce the next to last block of songs for the Solo CD/Film project due out in early 2012.
We are writing and prepping to record on Monday Tuesday and Wednesday next week. Should be an All Star cast of Nashville Studio Catz in the mix. All really good players, and they should be able to nail whatever we ask of them. But of course the trick is to take a bunch of great players and make a band out the whole deal…really quickly. Many’s a mediocre song has been recorded by Session Catz looking at their watches, so I suppose my job is to create an environment where everyone feels invested in the song… even though they’ll most likely never play it again. Interesting challenge. Never done it before. Let you know how I make out. Fun stuff all the same.
Much ado in the GBS Camp as we continue to plan and scheme for GBSXX and the World Domination 20th Anniversary Tour. Christmas songs, B sides, the whole she bang. But immediately we are all scattered doing our own things. Spoke to Bob on Friday night and he was off to do a writer gig in Halifax then back home to produce a CD for a friend of ours. He is also working hard behind the scenes with The Once, the soon to be critically acclaimed Folk Band out of St John’s.
Likewise Sean is busy as a beaver with his Solo Tour. Sean McCann and the Committed hit the road today in Philly, I believe. Check out the shows if you can. All the details at GreatBigSean.com.
I see the plane pulling into the gate here in YYZ. Hope it all goes well in the Song capitol of the world. Hope. As I type I am reminded of hearing a gent on the radio yesterday. A playwright, I believe… let me Google… yeah Tony Kushner, a brilliant sounding gent who won the Pulitzer Prize for a play called Angels in America. Apparently the play is about struggles and victories in the early days of the AIDS Epidemic in the US. I never read or saw the play, but hearing him speak on the CBC was pretty cool as I drove through rural Newfoundland. He got on the topic of Hope. He said, as I recall, that hope was not something that some people passively have and some do not. Rather, that hope is a choice. Moreover he insisted that hope is a moral obligation. Something we must constantly do. To choose to not be hopeful is a social injustice, or a disservice at least. Interesting. Stuff like that keeps me up at night. I’ve never met the man, but I’d love to have a chat with him about this topic.
Let’s hope it all goes well this week. Let’s hope GBSXX leads us to our best run ever. Lets hope Sean and the Committed Tour goes well. Let’s hope Bob and his endeavors are successful. Let’s hope the Habs win the Cup.
Let’s Hope.
Rock On.
Cheers,
Alan
Tour Diary -- August 28th, 2011 -- Niagra on the Lake -- Hotel
Quite an amazing finish to the Safe Upon the Shore Tour in Buffalo last night, with almost 6000 lending voices. I’m not sure how many shows we’ve done since the CD came out in July of 2010, but I’m grateful for every one of them. Incredible to have our most successful tour ever in year 18, and last night on the Waterfront was a joyous sing-along for sure.
I’m grateful for all your help singing along, by the way, as it is tough to walk up to a microphone that was just occupied by Martin Sexton and not feel intimidated. His amazing voice is quite a tool and he applies it to his songs and show so appropriately. Trust me, if I could sing as well as him, I’d be a total wanker. Quite a treat to have uber songwriter Chris Trapper in the house as well. Grand times.
Now onto all that lies ahead. GBS gets to work compiling music and B Sides and lost gems, along with recording a new tune or two for what I’ve been calling GBSXX, our 20th Anniversary Box Set. In just a few days we hope to gather in a spot in Newfoundland to film a very intimate DVD portion, and Bob is hard at work gathering written material for a printed aspect of the whole deal. Can’t wait to see what shape it takes but we hope it to be a grand celebration of two decades of being the luckiest dudes on the planet. Thanks to you, of course.
Sean is hitting the road later in September to promote his second solo CD Son of a Sailor. He’ll be in the Northeast US doing cool rooms with his compadres, Kelly Russell and Craig Young; Newfoundland Instrumental God, and Nashville Shredder respectively. Check out the dates for Sean McCann and the Committed at www.greatbigsean.com. Go Magoo.
Bob has got a million irons in the fire as well. Perhaps the most exciting stuff is his collaboration with a band called The Once. Bob an his business partner Shelley look after this heralded folk act from Newfoundland and the advance plays of their soon to be released second CD have been jaw dropping. All hands hoping for big things to come. Go Bobber.
As for me, I’ve got a week of holidays left and then I’m off to Nashville to finish my solo CD, slated for release in early 2012. Keep you posted here and on Twitter with updates. Looking forward to getting back to work on it, as I’ve left it unattended over the Summer shooting TV shows, scoring a CBC Documentary and releasing a set of songs from the Crowe/Doyle songbook. Grand times indeed.
As I type I am awaiting a ride to Jackson Triggs winery in the Niagra region of Ontario. I am sharing the stage with the lovely Kim Stockwood, the awesome Matthew Barber, best singer in the world Barry Canning, and one of my musical heros, John Mann. Collectively, along with host Seamus Oregan, we are doing a Song Circle benefit for Warchild. Should be a good time for a good cause.
Again, much Love to everyone who made the Safe Tour our most successful to date. I am forever grateful for the lives you have given myself and all the cast and crew of GBS. We could not do it without you.
Stay tuned.
Cheers,
Alan
Tour Diary - June 22, 2011- Nashville, TN, Hotel
I am officially back to work. I have been slowly easing my way back to normal duties over the past 8-10 weeks since my wee episode of nip and tuck but this week marks my return to travel and concentrated songwriting, recording, and performing.
Currently in Nashville where songs are made and sold. Lots of songs. Seems everybody here has a song to sell. I’ve never really thought of a song as a buy and sell commodity kind of thing, but they do here. Songs and the Publishing of them is big business in this town and they take it really seriously. I was worried that I would not enjoy the environs of such a commercial approach to music. But I am really digging the energy of the place and the concentrated effort to make something great. I am hoping to walk away from here with 3-5 tune possibilities for my solo project slated to be released in early 2012.
Many cool things coming up for me and GBS.
In a few days, GBS plays its first gig in nearly three months. That’s a long hiatus for a working band like us so I’m really looking forward to getting on stage in Banff this weekend. We are also playing for Will and Kate on Canada Day in Ottawa. I wonder if I should mention that the last time we did that gig we played for Will’s grandparents. We have a cool run coming up in Colorado as well. Can’t wait to get back in the saddle.
I bolt from the stage in Ottawa to get an overseas flight to Croatia where I’ll join Ron Maclean and the Gold Medal Plates team for a week on the Adriatic Sea. Should be awesome. I am to do a solo concert or two along the way down the coast. What a time it should be. Lucky me.
It looks like the Wolf man is returning. I’ve been growing my actor beard back as rumors abound that Wolf Redmond, the prisoner character I played on the TV Show Republic of Doyle last season, coming back this year. Can’t say much about it yet, but if all goes as rumored, it will be a big TV event, not to be missed. Keep you posted.
Also, remember I had to go to Albuquerque a while back to record a tune with my friend Oscar for a new film he was shooting. Oscar played King John in Robin Hood and we wrote a few tunes together and sang many a late night singing session. If you recall, I dropped in on the filming of the feature Ten Year, to record a song for the shoot. Oscar’s character sings the song in a scene in the film so we had to do a rough pre-recording session. In any case, the film should be coming out soon and the tune is featured prominently, I’m told, so I’m pretty excited to see the final cut. Congrats to Oscar.
There are a few more irons in the fire and I’ll keep you in the loop here and on Twitter.
Back to work. It feels good. Thanks to all for the kind words and get well wishes etc.
See you around this Summer.
Cheers,
Alan
Tour Diary -- April 25, 2011 -- Home
‘Pace’ and how different folks measure it has always fascinated me. How one person measures the busy-ness of his day compared to the next dude varies so much, I’ve come to notice. I suppose my recent imposed state of comparative immobility has caused me to consider things like this a little more closely than usual, but in truth, I have always been keenly interested in what a person considers to be a full and happy day.
Why are some of us not at all content unless we can rest our heads at night with a checked list of duties or accomplishments to show for the day? Meanwhile, others seem delighted to go with the flow and just live in the moments of the day and refuse to let some grocery list define their satisfaction.
I have many Artist friends who’s satisfactions stems from the fact they spent a day pursuing what they love to do most. They are not at all driven or motivated by getting a job done and moving on to the next one. Still I have other Artist friends, some very close to me, who’s biggest thrill is in a deadline and getting a job done in the time allotted and not a second more. The thought of lingering for weeks or years over a single project would horrify them.
Who’s right? I don’t know. But I confess that my recent pace does not do it for me. I’ll do my best not to rush, but I can’t wait to resume business as usual. I am not wired for this slow a gear. And trust me, I am not judging those who are. Quite the opposite. Many days these past few weeks I envy them.
Been keeping somewhat busy writing songs and recording demos for the solo project. Hoping to get back to work recording and filming stuff in June. I hope to spend the bulk of May slowly but surely bringing my broken bits back to full working order. GBS has a gig in Western Canada later in June, so I hope to be in some kind of game shape by then.
In the mean time, I encourage you all to check out Sean and Jeremy Fisher’s Tour. The guys are playing a bunch of dates in Canada. It should be a grand night as the boys have of cool tunes to sing and stories to tell. Check out www.greatbigsean.com for details.
Stay tuned here and on Twitter for more announcements about cool events in the Summer and Fall.
Cheers,
Alan
Tour Diary -- April 5, 2011 -- St. John’s -- In Bed
OK, it’s day 5 of lying in bed and the novelty has worn off. Who knew that lying down for this long could be so exhausting? Might as well make the best of it. This repose affords me an opportunity to comment on things that I normally go unnoticed by Yours Truly.
For example, I have watched more daytime TV these past few days than all the previous days combined. Regis and Kelly have a great chemistry. Regis I particular is the last of dying breed of Entertainers. Not hosts, or singers, or actors, or reality show celebs, but Entertainers. That guy could keep a show or concert or event moving smoothly along during a volcano. Cinders and ash could be running down the steps of the studio or theatre and that guy would still drop a funny one liner while singing a song and interviewing a kid with a dog doing stupid pet tricks. Truly old school in the best way.
I wish the Ladies on The View would not all talk at the same time. Eva Langoria is on there now. I shook her hand at the Robin Hood premiere in Cannes. Is it unfair that some people are just better looking than everyone else?
Ellen is really funny and quite possibly the best comedian on a regular scheduled show. Very appealing attractive person.
Every news show and talk show today has done an extended segment on Dancing with the Stars. Wow. This bed rest should give me a chance to listen to radio, watch TV and read magazines to catch up on pop culture. Dancing with the Stars defies me. I should say that I have never watched that show. Now, not like a singing or a music Idol show, where we “cool” folks like me won’t admit to watching it, but secretly have opinions about who should win. I mean honestly, full disclosure, I have never seen Dancing with the Stars. It comes on opposite hockey or something, I guess. There are many shows and bands and forms of thrill seeking and entertainment that I do not enjoy that others love. But very few that completely elude me like this program, while the rest of planet Earth is fascinated with every second of it. I can only assume that there is something wrong with me.
Can someone explain it to me? If you like dance shows, wouldn’t you watch really good dancers dance? Is there something thrilling about watching otherwise not that busy celebs compete at something they are not really that good at? Is t like attending a Charity Hockey game where musicians play against the pros? Is it a voting show? Is that it? People dig it because they are involved in the outcome some how? Fascinating to me. I would love to speak to a single person who likes this show. And I should not have to look very far as it is one of, if not the highest rated show on Earth.
Oops, back to the View. Who are the Real Housewives of New York? A reality show? They all talk at the same time too. Is that a pre-requisite for The View? Hmm.
Enjoying the Canadian Election coverage, I must say. Though, unlike the US, Canada is seriously suffering through a drought of Political Stars. You know, dudes like Cretien or Trudeau, or Obama, or Mr or Mrs Clinton. Not one of the leaders of either party up here have the Star Power to take the country on his back. I miss that. I know I should be mature enough to vote for a party or a leader and his or her policies. I know I’m supposed to be smarter than to vote for a clever talker with a quick wit who smiles at the right time for the camera. But I can’t help it. These dudes bore me a little bit.
Hey, how about Regis for Prime Minister.
Cheers, Alan
Tour Diary -- April 1, 2011 -- Home
I am quitting music to pursue a career in Politics.
April Fools.
Everything else in this blog should be somewhat accurate.
Thanks for the great Sold Out closing show in Colorado Springs. Such an awesome way to wind up the whole Safe Upon the Shore Tour.
Currently, resting at home and not doing a whole bunch of anything. As some of you know, I re-injured an old chink in the armour early in the last tour.
The result is I have get a wee bit of maintenance on the old back and rest and rehab for a number of weeks. The biggest reason I mention all this here is that a few shows and events will be affected. And I’d feel terrible if any of you folks made plans assuming I’d be somewhere, when in fact I knew I would not. That would be uncool of me, so here’s a list of proposed and in some cases advertised public appearances that I, with apologies, cannot attend.
I am supposed to play tonight at a Fundraiser in St John’s for The Children’s Center but I cannot make the call. Likewise the Company Theatre Fundraiser in Toronto in early May will have to excuse me.
My biggest regret is that I’ll have to bow out of the proposed shows in May in LA with Russell and a host of others. I was looking forward to that time especially as we’d get to share some tunes from the Crowe Doyle Songbook in some cool and intimate environments.
The sum total of it all is that I have to lay low, professionally speaking, for the entirety of April and May. The maintenance I spoke of is quite simple, as far as back stuff goes, and there is every indication that I should be better than ever by the month of June.
As the old Skipper in Petty Harbour always said, when asked about his health or the weather or any general stat of affairs,
‘Could be Worser’.
Thanks for your patience and understanding in all of this. I look forward to the GBS dates coming up in the Summer months. More than ever.
Cheers,
Alan
Tour Diary -- March, 22, 2011 -- Tucson, AZ -- Rialto Theatre
Thank you California. Like wise to Kelowna, Seattle, and Bend.
Grand few shows so far on this run. I feel like I am just recently beginning to understand the population and economy of California. In my mind, California is a country. There may be more gigs to play in California than all of Canada. Not that I would ever prefer LaLa Land over the True North Strong and Free. Quite the opposite, but strictly speaking from a touring musician’s perspective, California is ideal. The weather is rarely impassable, the drives are short between cities and despite the glum economic statements, Californians have lots of money to spend on entertainment. And they love to sing and dance.
A little look at the Internet tells me that Los Angeles County has just under Ten Million people. I think that’s more than live in the Eastern half of Canada. I’m pretty sure that a healthy adult could ride a mountain bike around Los Angeles County. If I left my house in St. John’s and started travelling West, I wonder where I would pass my Ten Millionth person? I guess it would be somewhere in Western Ontario or even Manitoba. Amazing.
Had two days off in Vegas. ‘Nuff said.
Currently in Tucson awaiting a gig at the really cool, Rialto Theatre. I really like this town. One of my favourites in this part of the US. It still has that South Western charm that I saw in the movies when I was a kidd. Congress, the main street is long and narrow and is very much a modern commercial automobile route. But it still looks like some dusty dude on a horse could ride up any second and tie the beast on to a watering station, before he busts through two Saloon doors and shouts ‘Whiskey’ over the shoulders of a few hop alongs bent over the bar. You can feel the past in the streets and store fronts here, and I dig this place because of it.
Four more gigs to home. And I can’t wait. I don’t ever remember finishing a tour without some kind of second thoughts about having the road life give way to the domestic home life. But I, hope you don’t mind if I confess, I am ready ready ready to go home. I think this week, we’ll pass the 150 shows mark on the Safe upon the Shore Tour, if we have not already. I have enjoyed the whole run, but am longing for some home time now. Might even do something crazy like stay home for a full month. Jaysus.
GBS up for a Juno this weekend. We’ve lost a dozen or more of them in the past, but this one is ours for sure. We are up for Group of the Year. Let me check who are competition is…Jaysus. Arcade Fire just won a Grammy amongst other global conquests and were voted by one industry mag as the best band on earth. They are one of, if not the biggest concert draws in the free world. Hmm. Broken Social Scene are no slouches either. Maybe we’ll spilt the vote! Yeah that’s it. We’ll sneak right up the middle for the win. Then we can finally take ‘Juno Nominee’ off our posters.
Or not.
Four more shows. Thanks everyone for coming out.
Stay tuned here and on my Twitter Feed for information about some shows in May with Russell in Los Angeles. Should be fun.
Cheers,
Alan
Tour Diary -- March 7, 2011 -- Home
What a fun time I had last week. As many of you who keep an eye on me on Twitter are aware, I spent the week with the Sean Panting Band in Don Ellis’ home studio in St John’s. The boys are fantastic. It was quite a thrill.
Sean is an all around amazing Artist who’s been a big part of the local music scene for more than two decades, despite the fact that he is younger than me. He’s had several great bands including, Drive, The Planks, and a few others over the years. He’s a great writer and guitarist and I’ve always been a fan of his music. He’s also a very successful actor and has contributed to some of the best Theatre and TV that this place has to offer. Recently he starred in the Critically acclaimed Oil and Water musical that showed to sold out houses here in St John’s for two straight weeks. Republic of Doyle followers will know him as Jake’s lawyer friend Walter.
Don Ellis has been an audio guy, music producer, musician dude in St. John’s for my whole adult life. Again despite he fact that we are about the same age. He’s an amazing player and singer, but one interesting fact stands out about Don’s contribution to the local music scene. If you scan the best Newfoundland CD’s that have come out in the last decade and a half or so, you’ll notice that more than half of them have Don’s name on there somewhere. Check out The Once, who’s recent recordings have made them critics darlings around the National Trad scene. How about Collen Power’s awesome CD Lucky You Are, an awesome genre defying collection of a punk princess. Don has pretty much done it all.
So, with Adam Staple on the kit and Paul Kinsman manning the Hammond, we recorded three tunes for the AD Solo project. I played loud electric guitar on all three tracks and even got to do a tiny solo while the boys wailed. Jaysus, it was grand. Thanks Gents.
Check out my Twitter place for some pics and vids from the sessions.
So, GBS is now hours away from Birthday Number 18. We’ll be in Kelowna BC, on that night and I can t wait to raise a special glass of Okanagan Wine in celebration. Is it bad that I’m really proud of each GBS Birthday? I can’t help it. I’ve become increasingly aware of how fragile the life of a band can be. How the slightest breeze of circumstance sends many a band toppling in the first week or month. But GBS stands solid and we have not let our many, many missteps stop the ship. Maybe I’m a jerk for smiling about it, but I really can’t help it. I hope that’s OK.
I am grateful to Bob and Sean for a partnership that’s approaching two decades. I’m really grateful to the folks who’ve come to shows and dug the music. Ultimately you are to thank for this whole deal.
Happy approaching B-Day to GBS and GBS Fans.
Cheers,
Alan
Tour Diary -- February 15, 2011 -- White River Junction, Vermont
The day after Valentine’s Day. Should this day have a name for itself? You know like Christmas Day and Boxing Day, where you give Christmas gifts then box them up. Should it be Valentine’s Day and Indifference Day, where you give a day to those you love followed by a day for those people on whom you have little or no opinion? Sounds callous, I suppose, but is a hell of a lot better than Love Day followed by Hate Day, or something like that. Perhaps I just have too much time to kill today.
What a grand time had by all on the Cruise. Many thanks the BNL Gents for having us along again. I had a blast, myself especially getting a chance to sing Jane with BNL and recording a song with many of the folks on the boat. A few people have posted clips from each of those events on YouTube if you want to check it out. I posted a snippet from the Mutiny on the Dawn song, recorded by a cast of thousands on the Norweigan Dawn. Check it out here;
http://mp3twit.com/8iS
It was cool to see such a great turnout at Sean’s CD launch. For those who missed the announcement, Sean’s second solo CD is now out and it is awesome. You can find it anywhere, especially at
greatbigsean.com
Really cool to hear Little Sis Michelle sing with Magoo. Many folks have asked about finding recordings of hers. You can download one of her CD’s here;
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/MichelleDoyle
We’ve gone from beach to snow in one drive. On Sunday we were on the beach in Florida. Today, Sean and I walked through the snow and ice to get to a swimming pool in Vermont. I may be a pansy, but I am cold today. It is lovely here, though. White River Junction appears to be a town that live and died with the railway station here in town. It appears to be having a bit of a cultural resurgence since the US Highway system supplanted many railway towns as folks seem to be moving back here and investing in the local buildings and businesses. Looking forward to the gig tonight.
We roll North till we hit the border then a gig in Moncton and Halifax before I rest my head on my own pillow and make a snowman with the Prince. Rock on.
Thanks to all hands who joined in on the cruise and the recent gigs.
Grand times.
Cheers,
Alan
Tour Diary - Feb 4th, 2011 - Home, but on the way to the airport
We are about to embark on another journey that spans most of the
East Coast of the Continent and beyond in a little less than two weeks. Without
the aid of air travel. Sound outrageous, doesn’t it? But it is so.
Some time next week, I’ll be on a boat in Cozumel, Mexico. That boat will carry us all North as far as
Miami, Florida.
After we disembark, the GBS Cast and Crew board a bus that takes us
North to Ft Lauderdale, and continues up though Florida and the Eastern
States. Five or six days later we will
cross the Canadian border and into Moncton, New Brunswick and finish in
Halifax, Nova Scotia.
It even seems impossible to accomplish, typing it here. If you draw a straight line from Cozumel to
Halifax on Google Earth, the total Kilometers is almost 4,000. And trust me, we won’t be travelling in a
straight line.
The forecast temperature for Cozumel is 26 Celsius, and in Halifax
it is Minus 6 Celcius.
This tour could be called, ‘Flip Flops and Skidoo Boots’. ‘Sunscreen and Scarfs.’
Really looking forward to this boat excursion. My wife and sisters and a few other friends
are along for the ride, so I’m hoping it will be a cool working vacation on the
boat. Along with the GBS gigs, I hope to
help Sean out with his CD launch. Likewise, I hope to sing a song or two with
the BNL and Guster guys. A songwriters
circle is always a good chance to sing something new, and who knows what I can
recall for the ‘Songs Unsung’ gig.
As alluded to above, Sean is set to release his second solo CD. I worked on a few of the tracks and have
heard the final mixes of the whole shebang.
Well done Magoo. I loved the
tenderness and personal stories of Lullabies, and that stuff can still be found
on this Son of a Sailor CD. But you also
hear some of the coolest folk songs on this CD.
There are a few songs on this CD that ring of some of Sean’s biggest influences,
Stan Rogers, John Prine, and Christy Moore just to name a few. The CD drops this week while we are aboard
the ship. Congrats to Sean for another
collection of awesome tunes. Glad he is
on our team.
As some of you know, I have jumped into the present, after a long
and lovely flirtation with the past, by starting a Twitter Account. To be honest, peer pressure has a bit to do
with it, but I think the biggest reason on jumped aboard was the feeling that I
was out of the loop. And that I could not
speak a language that more and more folks around me had turned to.
So you can Follow (sorry, I don’t love the terminology…sounds kind
of Religious…but it was not mine to choose) me on Twitter@alanthomasdoyle. Is that how you say it? Or Alan Doyle on Twitter, who’s account is
alanthomasdoyle? Not sure. In any case, I’ve enjoyed the first few days
and hours in the Twitter world, and I’m grateful for those of you who’ve signed
up to…ugh…Follow me. I have a few
interesting and unusual happenings coming up I the months to come, so the Twitter
platform should prove useful to keep everyone up to date and involved.
Speaking of involved…would you like to sing on my solo CD? I have an idea for a song that I want to
record on the Cruise ship. And I want
everyone to sing along. I will record
you at the gigs, or I might even set up the recording stuff on the deck of the
ship some afternoon and grab folks as you go by to join in on the choruses, the
shouts, the claps, or whatever you like.
Would that be cool? I think it
would be awesome, especially if we got it done by Friday and played a finished
mix on the morning announcements before disembarking. A song written and
recorded on a cruise ship, about a cruise ship, and sung and played by folks on
the cruise ship. C’mon that would be cool wouldn’t it?
I’ll Tweet out the lyrics and where’s and when’s if you want to be
involved. Fun stuff.
GBS is doing a private gig tonight in Waterloo, Ontario. We rendezvous with our friends and fair ones
in Toronto airport tomorrow and off we go.
Grand times.
Keep you posted.
Cheers,
Alan
Tour Diary - January 13, 2011 - Flight AC 1039 Toronto-Denver
Once again, Happy New Year everyone. I hope everyone had an enjoyable Holiday Season. I sure did. With the exception of very brief 26-hour jaunt to Niagra Falls for New Years Eve, I have been home steady since GBS played the last chord of the Smilingland Gig on December 5th, I believe. Almost six weeks in a row.
It was a magical time at home with a Four year old over the Holidays. It was easily the most satisfying Christmas morning of my life. I am truly a blessed person to have it so good. Lovely wife and family home for the Holidays. Who is luckier than me?
I’d like to say thanks to those of you who made it to the Great Big Christmas show in St. John’s over the Holidays. Looks like we raised over 100k for the construction of Newfoundland’s first Ronald MacDonald House. It think this year marks the 15th or 16h time we’ve done a Great Big Christmas show. It is always a great rallying point for people to gather over the Holiday Season. Like playing in front of the annual high school reunion. Grand times.
Off we go now into 2011. It should be an interesting year. A little unpredictable, at this point, which is fine with me. I recall entering 2010 and looking at a calendar that was already planned and booked. If memory serves right, the immediate job at hand at the dawning of the year was to return to New Orleans to finish the GBS CD. Then a trip to Australia to work on some music with RC, followed quickly by the Olympics, which led directly into the Juno’s. Shortly after that, the Robin Hood Team were assembled for press in LA and Europe and a trip the Cannes Film Festival. Though, perhaps the most memorable moment of it all was busking on the Spanish Steps in Rome with the Robin and the Merry Men. Oh Yeah, the Vatican was really cool, too.
The band went to Grand Cayman sometime in there to film a video for Nothing But a Song, then it was home for a brief stop before Safe Upon the Shore hit the shelves and debuted at #2 in the country. Somewhere in the late summer, I filmed an Episode of Republic of Doyle, but more about that down below. The entire second half of 2010 was consumed with GBS Touring, which as mentioned above, went right till the dying tick of 2010.
Yes, in hindsight, it was one of the busiest years of my life. But oddly enough, it was not chaotic at all as it was all pretty much planned well in advance. Every date on the GBS Tour was booked before 2010 even started. Likewise the Robin Hood Junkets were conceived and marked on the calendar. (though the pesky volcanic ash episode found is in LA instead of England).
So, you get the point. 2010 was really busy and loaded with travel and work, but it was almost all completely pre conceived and scheduled. Not so for 2011. There are huge chunks of the schedule that are open to imagine whatever. So here’s my wish list.
I hope to spend a hell of a lot more time at home this year, as I’d love to sleep in my own bed more often that not for most likely the first calendar year in my professional life.
I hope to record some of the first Alan Doyle solo songs. I may or may not get around to completing a conventional CD, but I’d love to record some of the tunes I have kicking around and even write some new ones just for me. Call it a belated 40th Birthday present. Next week, I hope to start the first block of recording myself and Hawksley Workman are retiring to his Northern Escape to collaborate on a few tunes.
I hope to record some new GBS material as well as we all have our eyes on the quickly approaching year 2013, which I hope will be a year long celebration of GBS’ 20 Years together. Jaysus. 20 Years.
I hope to see the completion and fruition of a couple of Film and TV projects that have been floating around for a while.
I hope to teach the Prince to skate and swim. Almost there with the swimming, but a long few strides to go on the ice.
There are a few other stargazing wishes, but we’ll see how they develop or don’t. The world has been throwing me a few pleasant, yet unpredictable curve balls already this year. Which explains my presence on this flight. I got a call about two days ago to come to New Mexico to help record a song I co-wrote with a friend for a film that he is starring in. I had two days available and really want him to be happy with the effort, so I gladly obliged. I’ll let you know more details about the what’s and when’s of this tune and film when it comes closer to release.
Then it will be quickly back to Toronto to do some press for the upcoming Episode 2 of Republic of Doyle. Some of you recall a blog about this from late summer. I had a blast working with Allan and Perry and the whole Doyle gang. I am so proud to be a little part of their massive effort. So next Wednesday evening on CBC, check out the show and you’ll see me in a small role as a prisoner. And yes, I got to punch Jake in the face several times. Awesome.
The plane is dipping or Denver, then a quick connection to Albuquerque and a whole new experience. I’ve never been a fly-in on-set music producer before. I know only one person in this entire production. That’s what New Year’s are about, I suppose. New hands to shake. New Jars to be raised. New glasses to clinck. New experiences to be had. New challenges to be faced. Some met and some failed. But at least they should all be new.
Why does the mere mention of Albuquerque bring a smile to my face? Was there some famous Bugs Bunny sketch about taking a ‘left toin at Albacoikee’. Jaysus. I gotta get more sleep.
Thanks so much to all of you for a great 2010 and last Time, I promise;
Happy New Year All.
Cheers,
Alan
Tour Diary - January 12, 2011 - Home…for a few hours
Happy New Year All!!!
I am travelling tomorrow and I’ll get a chance to tell you all about some exciting stuff to come. So apologies for this quick and dirty blog. Maybe I should get a Twitter account?
Just wanted to remind everyone to tune in to the Season Premiere of Republic of Doyle tonight on CBC TV. Yours truly makes a Guest appearance in Episode 2, airing next Wednesday. Just wanted to give you all the heads up and wish you a Happy New Year.
More in a day or so.
Cheers,
Alan
