Welcome everyone to the new website and Facebook and all that. You’ll still be able to find this blog as you always have, at www.greatbigsea.com, but it will be here as well and I’ll link it to my Twitter stuff, @alanthomasdoyle.

Exciting times. Boy on Bridge is to be released on May 15th on Universal Records in Canada, at Redeye in the US, and on iTunes everywhere. The first single, “I’ve seen a Little”, is going to radio this Friday the 23rd and will be available for purchase on iTunes on Monday, March 26th. I’ll be shooting a video for the single in the coming weeks and in both cases, I’ll be asking/begging/pleading for you to get it, request it, share it etc. You know the whole deal.

I really hope the Single does well. I wrote it at a shack in Nashville with my friends Gordie Sampson and Troy Verges. Here’s me and Gordie at the shack learning to play it. Cool.

I’ll keep you posted about the press events around the date of the launch as I suspect I’ll be showing up in a few places here, there, and everywhere flogging myself and committing shameful acts of self promotion.

Stay tuned as well for details about a tour of smaller venues that is to start on May 22nd in Western North America, and proceed East till the second week of June. It will be me with a great group of musicians featuring tunes from the CD and a bunch of other fun stuff. Tix will be limited compared to some of the bigger GBS gigs, so I hope you all get in quick. Thanks so much in advance.

In the GBS Camps, I think we are a couple of days away from finishing the bonus material for GBS XX. I really think you are going to dig the new traditional, original and cover tunes we’ve prepped for the release slated for late 2012. We are all very excited about our first Australian trip coming up in just a week or so. Really looking forward to sharing the stage with so many awesome acts at the Byron Bay Festival. Sydney and Melbourne folks should get tix if they want to see the club shows as they are both very near sell outs.

Again, welcome to all the new social media spots. I’ll do my best to keep up with it all.

Many thanks for all the excitement in advance of the Solo CD. Keep you posted.

Cheers,
Alan

Tour Diary — February 11, 2012 — AC Flight 1197 YYT-YYZ

It’s a day of beginnings and endings. I am enroute to Toronto to start rehearsals with my new band as we prep for a CMT Taping Wednesday night.

This is to be the last thing we film for the Boy on Bridge Film, a documentary we’ve been shooting around the crazy making of this Solo CD. I look forward to seeing the finished product a few months from now, but in many ways, I am sad to see the filming come to an end. The Director and Producer and their gangs have become such a part of this process that I’m going to mss their constant company. Somehow they’ve managed to document this entire thing and not only stay out of the way, but have actually added to the vibe and creative process. Having them around made my music better, I think. Amazing. Once again I find myself more lucky and grateful than I ever expected.

This is also to be the first gathering of what I hope forms the nucleus of a touring band that I hope to take on the road in the spring. I look forward to the first handshakes and hugs of amazing musicians I’ve been fortunate enough to meet along the way and have agreed to join me on this project. By way of introduction, these are the guns you should see and hear when the CMT special airs later.

You’ll know some of them very quickly. Kris Macfarlane, as you all know has been GBS’s musical anchor for almost decade. He’s sat behind me for close to a thousand concerts, I’d say. Can’t imagine doing it without him. Cory Tetford, you’ll recall was one of two singers and guitarists in Crush, an awesome rock band from Newfoundland. I’ve known Cory and admired his playing and incredible voice for over 20 years. Always wanted to play with him. Kendel Carson is a wonderful fiddler and singer who you may know from either the Paperboys, or the Dustin Bentall Outfit or as one of the three beautiful gals for the trio Belle Star. Again, I met Kendel many years back when was riding around in the Paperboys van playing with GBS in the US or Germany or somewhere…not sure to be honest…those were hazy days. Todd Lumley, aka Mr. Lonely, has been Hawksley Workman’s right hand for along time playing piano or drums or whatever Hawksley was not playing at any given time. And again, I met Todd a thousand years ago when he was touring with one of my Fav bands of all time, the Walton’s out of Regina. And last but not least, Derrick Bradey, who has played bass with Hawksley for a long time and is a fixture around the Toronto music scene. I met Derrick when Hawksley brought him on board to record some songs for this cd about a year ago. He is an awesome musician and fella.

If all goes as planned you might see a special guest or two on the CMT Show. Keep you posted.

So a little bit of finishing an a little bit of starting on this trip. Fun stuff.

Just finished recording a new GBS track as well. We have gathered our list of tunes for the GBS XX collection and now have two new pieces of music to add to it. We are also finalizing a few big Summer Tour dates and of course tweaking the schedule for the Twentieth Anniversary Tour which will should take up the last few days of 2012 and pretty much all of 2013.

Did I tell you I got my Million Miles package from Air Canada a while back? Sorry, I can’t recall if I’ve mentioned this here before. Yeah, a shiny box with a model airplane and golden luggage tags came in the mail. A letter of Congratulations from the head of the Airline was included. I am having trouble finding words to describe my mixed emotions upon receiving this box in the mail. First of all, it felt cool to know that singing songs has afforded me so much travel and a chance to see the world while working. What a treat. Then I started thinking about how many hours and days all that must add up to, and how much of my adult life I’ve spent sitting in a metal tube in the sky. Then I didn’t feel so cool. Then I went, ’Shag that, you spoiled bastard, you got to sing your way around to half of planet Earth. That’s awesome.’ Then I felt cool again. I was going to put the trophy plane up on the shelf in the house, but it felt kind of wanker-ish, you know? It felt a little too ‘hey look how important I am.’ Then I did not feel cool. Then my little fella came up and asked if he could have the fancy model airplane use it as a play toy. I said yes as quick as a blink. He put it next to his Spy Jet from Cars 2. Then I felt cool and left it at that.

Stay tuned here and on Twitter (@alanthomasdoyle) for more announcements about release dates for the CD and Film and hopefully touring dates as well.

I hear landing gear. Hello Toronto.

Cheers,
Alan