Well into December, as the calendar year 2014 somehow is almost behind us all.

Where did it go?

I know I flew to Australia in January and played a few concerts and recorded some songs with some very talented people from all over the globe. In February, I remember writing and recording in Nashville and Los Angeles and speaking at the Hospitality Newfoundland conference in Gander. Wasn’t there a wicked jam in Toronto for a fundraiser for The Company Theatre, and a songwriters circle with Steven Page and Lindi Ortega in a beautiful room with leaves on the ceiling?

April found me in Ridgeway Ontario with the amazing Tawgs Salter making music in the coolest backyard studio. I have a foggy memory of a boys trip to Pittsburgh to help a pal celebrate a Bday around then, too. In May I played gigs in Parry Sound and few other places and turned half 90 years old. In June I had a grand time in Fredericton with the band but July started with a bummer when Stanfest was cancelled. Thankfully the month was saved by grand gigs in Huntsville, Meaford, Jackson Triggs, and Cornwall.

Pretty sure August came in with a bang with fun gigs with Blue Rodeo in Sydney and PEI. I might have had the best gig of my life on George Street before having my first ever author interview in Woody Point. Then wasn’t there a triumphant return to London, UK and Tonder Festival in Denmark. Yep, August was wicked.

September found me finishing the CD and October kicked off with pics for artwork and a music video with the awesome Scott Grimes and Jess Macallan. The bulk of the month and into November was spent promoting a book as close to home as Petty Harbour and as far away as Seattle.

And, quick as a wink, we find ourselves here in the twilight of 2014. A bit of a transition year for me as the GBS Mothership tied up the hiatus dock for a while after our glorious Twentieth Anniversary Year. This year I officially became an Author. Thanks to kind folks like many of yourselves, I became a Bestselling Author for frig’s sakes. Amazing. I have to say I’m very grateful for Nita and Scott and all at Random House Canada for holding my hand through the whole book thing and showing such faith in a novice like myself.

This year also marked a bit of a musical awakening as well. I’ve made a solo cd before with the Boy on Bridge project. That whole deal was as much a physical journey as a musical one. As much a pilgrimage to the backyards of my musical friends as an honest to God presentation of me and my own influences. This years musical pursuit which culminated in SO LET’S GO due out in January, is really a reflection of me dragging the influences of my own backyard into the writing and recording studios of the most successful modern music makers I could get to work with. It’s filled with big production pieces that are wrapped around a guy and a folk instrument. The title track is a good example. Big song with a dude whistling and playing the mando. Check out the tune and video here.

Likewise the tune that rolled during the curtain call for the amazing run of Republic
of Doyle on CBC:

Hope you all dig the tunes and the whole CD. As always I’m equally excited and nervous about the CD launch. You’d think I’d be over the butterflies of releasing new music and launching a new project, but I can’t help it. Fingers crossed.

Getting ready to hit the road hard in 2015 to play tunes from my two solo CDs, the GBS catalogue, the Crowe/Doyle Songbook, and a few other songs from movies TV shows etc. And what a gang of Beautiful Gypsies I’ve got coming along for the ride. Kendel Carson, Cory Tetford, Kris Macfarlane, Todd Lumley, and Shehab Illyas will be amongst the folks you’ll see at the gigs, which I am delighted to say are selling very well. A few are sold out already and they are not even happening till next year!

Love to see you at a show or two.

Check here for a date near you.

Hopefully you’ll spend the next week or so the way you want. Whatever that means for you, I hope you get to do it.

As for me, I suspect it will be much like it is right now. As I type, I am helping the Prince and one of his buddies are put together a Lego set as big as a refrigerator. In other words; perfect.

Happy Christmas Everybody.

Cheers,
Alan

Enjoying a bit of down time with the family after a fun and busy time promoting the book and finishing the music, art, and video for the So Let’s Go CD. What a few weeks it has been.

The book dropped just over a month go. In the three weeks that followed I’ve done a day, or multiple days in Toronto, London, St. John’s, Petty Harbour, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, New York, Boston, Denver, Seattle, Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg. I really enjoyed the whole experience chatting about the book to media folks, and people at signings and events.

I found the whole trip a little odd for two main reasons. First, because the hours of a book tour are almost perfectly opposite of a music tour. Just about every day on the run started with a 4 or a 5 as the first digit in the alarm clock. Travel and morning TV commitments meant early rises, which I am used to for band travel, but this was different. Not only did I have to be awake at an ungodly hour, I had to be clean and washed and alert and engaged and not all together smelly, and hair brushed and be clean clothed….none of which I am used to. And, of course at the other end of the day, a similar unfamiliar phenom occurred, where I was often done the days commitments by 9:30 pm…just when I’m used to being most awake and heading to work.

Secondly, I often found myself at 10 pm in a hotel alone. Like wise on morning airplanes or in taxis. This might sound strange to you, but I have almost no experience travelling alone. I would venture a guess that before this book tour, I had spent less than ten nights in a hotel where I was the only one in the party. Whether with music, or production, family travel, or acting, or just plain fun trips, I’ve so rarely found myself alone on the road.

So strange for me to be in a hotel room at 10:30 pm, with no one up or down the hall from me to get up to mischief with. On this recent trip I was made more aware than ever that I am so lucky to be so often just one in a gang of likeminded fools. What a better way to criss cross the globe than with a built in party of gypsies.

Not that I’m complaining about the book tour. Quite the contrary. I sincerely enjoyed every second of it all and remain really grateful to Scott Sellers and all at Random House Canada for their time and effort in the whole deal. Not to mention their investment and confidence in me and the whole Where I Belong project.

There may be one more book signing just before Christmas in St. John’s. Keep you posted. Thanks for all the support for the book. 5 weeks on the Bestsellers List. Wicked.

Back to my night job as a musician now. Yesterday I gave the nod on the Final Master for the SO LET’S GO CD. I am super excited for you all to hear it. The title single is getting great reviews and thanks for getting it on iTunes and requesting it at your fave station.

Get ready for the video, which is to be released very soon. Its really fun. Thanks to these two amazing actors. Scott Grimes and Jes Macallan are amazing talents and I’m so grateful to them for giving me their time and energy. I am literally not worthy.

I’ll have a lot more to say about the tunes on the CD and the Tour to support it in the coming weeks. Many of the dates in the new year are near Sold Out, so I’m very thankful to all for picking up tix. Should be fun nights out. I’ll have a cracker band playing songs from my CDs, GBS catalogue, Crowe/Doyle songs, and a few others.

Check out the dates here. Love to see you if you can make it.

I’ve been on a wee three day holiday with my wife and a few friends. Luck found us a golden chance to be in Scotland together and explore Edinburgh and Glasgow. I’ve been to both cities a few times, and this was a treat to play tour guide to some newbies. I LOVE Scotland. The anchor event for two of the three nights was a concert with The Once and Passenger. Really loved Passenger and how he commands the room with nothing but a guitar and a song. Well done. But, of course, our hearts were set on the crowd from Home and watching The Once win over huge unsuspecting crowds was a thrill to behold. I’ve been lucky enough to have someone from Newfoundland walk up to me after a Mainland or European gig and tell me they were proud of us. But I confess I never quite understood what they meant till these past couple of nights. Geri, Phil and Andrew certainly don’t need me to be proud of them and all they’ve done, but I am. I can’t help it. I certainly couldn’t help it in Glasgow and Edinburgh as they had thousand of Scots singing songs from Newfoundland. One of the coolest travel moments of my life. Well done, our crowd.

Stay tuned for more info on all that lies ahead.

Cheers,
Alan

A beautiful day in Newfoundland afford an amazing view of the South Coast of the Island. I’ve been to Bay D’Espair once with GBS years ago, but have not yet got to full explore what looks like one of the most breathtaking parts of our Province.

Big day for me today. My first book, Where I Belong, published by Double Day and Random House in Canada hits the shelves and digital shelves today. I’ve mentioned it may times here but for those hearing of it for the first time, the book traces my young life in Petty Harbour, Newfoundland up until the lucky day when I got the chance to be in Great Big Sea. So far, readers seem very happy to have read the tales of garbage bagged guitars, saltwater goalie pads, altar boy antics, cod tongue cutting superhero fishermen, and all the rest of it. I am so grateful to everyone who’s helped me make the book possible. If you don’t mind, I’d like offer thanks to them all, publicly, here.

First to editor Nita Pronovost, who convinced me I had a story worth telling and held my hand and walked me through the steep learning curve of telling it.

Michael Levine got this whole thing started as he connected me with Nita and Scott Sellers and many others at Random House Canada. Michael’s got a keen eye for stories and I’m grateful and honored to be amongst his long list of clients, literary and otherwise.

A few select people read advance drafts of this book and their comments were invaluable in its completion. Dawn Chafe, along with husband Karl, Murray Foster, Kerri MacDonald and my brother, Bernie Doyle were all kind enough to wade through early drafts and helped me make it better with their input.

Victoria O’Grady did some early leg work for this book, compiling, copying and editing photos and blogs. I am grateful to her for this and so many other things she’s done to keep my work and home operating smoothly.

The photos in this book were taken or scanned and reproduced by the amazing Brian Ricks. I am grateful to him and all the folks, especially Margaret Walsh, who so generously made their photos available.

I discovered I knew none of the mechanics of writing dialogue. I explained my problem to my neighbour Ed Riche as we met one morning while putting out the garbage. He set me straight. Helps to have internationally successful writers in the ’hood.

Louis Thomas, my manager, somehow never blinks when I come to him with any crazy interest of mine, from music to acting to public speaking to writing. His administration and advice in this project have proved as beneficial as ever. Likewise all the gang at Sonic Entertainment in Halifax.

The cast and crew of Great Big Sea remain at the helm of the Mothership, and I could not have done this without their support.

My Mom and Dad, sisters and Brother gave me not only their stories and permission to use them but also the cheers and praise I needed exactly when I needed it. As always.

Finally, My wife, Joanne, and son, Henry, frequently stood patiently in the porch as I asked them to wait one more minute for me to email a chapter to the Editor or read a suggested revision. I cannot imagine how many times they have had to say my name more than once before getting my attention during the many stages of this project. Their support and encouragement is what I live for.

And Finally, Finally, thanks to you Dear Readers of this Blog. Truth be told, it is this space that tweaked the interest of the Publishers. And it was here I’ve been unknowingly training for the chance to write a book. Thanks for sticking with me here for so long. More to come.

You can get the book just about anywhere books are sold in Canada, and online world wide. The store page will show you where to go.

There’s a whole pile of press and events and public appearances in Canada and the US coming up in the next few weeks. Check out the tour page or Follow @alanthomasdoyle on Twitter for info.

Cheers,
Alan

p.s. Also happy to report the finishing touches on the Second AD Solo CD are being done as I type. First single should be ready to go in a week or so and the full CD in January just before a big North American Tour. Keep you posted on all. Fun Stuff.