Click here for a personal message from Alan
Born Alan James-Carr and raised in Dublin, Ireland, Alan was a major player in the Irish showband scene for many years. These bands traveled the length and breadth of Ireland, the UK and Europe including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Paris, Frankfurt, and Madrid, The Canary Islands and many other places to numerous to mention. Alan first played B-flat cornet(smaller version on a trumpet with a slightly different tone) with the Blanchardstown Brass Band in the early 1960's. The Blanchardstown Brass and Reed Band 1961.
 At the ripe old age of fourteen he got his first taste of "rock n' roll" when he abandoned the trumpet(temporarily) and took up the guitar and put his first band together, The Silver Clouds with three of his friends, Leslie Norris on drums (Leslie sadly passed away Feb. 15, 2006 in the South of Spain), Bernard Fagan on guitar/vocals and Shay Martin on the bass guitar. The Silver Clouds 1965 - 1968
.  After a taste of life on the stage, Alan was hooked. He went to see some of the leading showbands of the day and recalls saying " some day I will do that", what an under statement that was. So while going to school, learning a trade, racing ten speed bikes and cars and playing gigs, he did manage to find time to practice his music and hone his craft. By the late 1960's Alan had established himself as a professional musician, playing with several well known national showbands, including The Sahara Showband 1968-1970.  The Victors 1970 - early 1973.  Art Supple and The Victors toured throughout Ireland, England and Germany. In 1973 Alan would finally join forces with one of the country's msot popular lineups an up and coming super-band called Stage 2. Stage 2 1973 to 1977.   Because of its heritage, Stage 2 is a band that holds a special place in the annals of Irish showband history, and Alan played an important role in Stage 2's popularity. The band originated from members of one of Ireland's most famous showbands, The Dixies, who enjoyed years of success with a string of hits in the mid to late 60's, sung by Brendan O'Brien(Brendan sadly pasesed away from a heart attack at his home in Cork city in 2008). O'Brien and drummer/comedian Joe McCarthy headed out on their own, forming the split from The Dixies and aptly naming it Stage 2, the second part of thier musical journey. The members of the band were, Brendan O'Brien (vocals), Joe McCarthy (drums/vocals), Des Hickey (lead guitar/vocals), Pat Fortune(bass/vocals), Ray Cliffgord (keyboards/Sax), Dermot Ryan (saxes/flute/vocals) and of course Alan on vocals and trumpet.  Originally, Stage 2 leaned towards a heavy brass sound in the genre of Chicago, Blood Sweat and Tears, but they found it was not the best dance music for the ballrooms at the time, so they switched back to the Top 40 of the day , a mix of pop and rock n' roll. This got the dancers back on the floor and the band played to thousands every night for many years after that and became one of the top five lineups in the country. They had a major hit with "Beautiful Sunday" sung by Brendan O'Brien. In 1973. Alan stepped up front as lead vocalist in 1974 and in 1975 they released "You've Grown Up" written by Mr. Sean Sharkey of Dublin's Television Club fame, which had great success on the charts and kept the fans flocking to the ballrooms in their thousands. The band toured throughout Ireland, England and Scotland, they had a huge following and played to packed houses every night. The bumper stickers which were handed out after their dances read "All the Worlds a Stage 2" and another which read "Come Dancing with Stage 2", you would see them on thousands of vehicles all over the country. This band left an indelible mark on the Irish showband scene.  The End of The Showband Era: Yes it came to pass, the days of "Send Them Home Sweatin" (a good book if you ever come across it) were on the decline. What with hotels and pubs getting their closing time extended and their licenses changed to "cabaret" it became increasingly more difficult to fill the huge alcohol free ballrooms and maintain the larger six-plus piece showbands. In 1976 Alan left for Canada, a very hard decision for a well established musician, the band split not long after and all went their separate ways, but oh what a time they had and will never forget. So began a new adventure for Alan on the music scene in North America. Arriving in Canada in 1977, Alan very quickly established himself throughout the music industry in Vancouver where he became the lead vocalist with his new house band "Tara" at one of the busiest night clubs in Vancouver(it still is to this day) "The Blarney Stone" in Gastown. Tara 1977 - 1979  Line-up cahnge for Tara 1980-1981  In 1987 Alan formed a new company named Alan James Entertainment Services(AJES) hence the name change to Alan James. As his Canadian experience grew, he contracted with companies such as The Cloudio Group in Alberta and the Coast Hotels and Resorts throughout BC creating one of the most successful single entertainer circuits(piano bars)in North America for a period of approximately 14 years. For the past ten years now Alan has called Red Deer, Alberta home, where he enjoys the people and the pace of life. He sees Red Deer as a very central location from which to travel and share his love of music.
From 2007 to 2009 Alan managed country singer/songwriter Kym Simon. They achived a lot in those two short years, Alan was successful in having Kym perform at The Canadian Country Music Awards in 2008, something Kym had dremed about since she wa a young girl. Alan entered Kym's songs into many world wide songwriting writing contest with great success, the highest honor of which was winning the 2008 Nashville Music City Songwriters Award with her song "Easy Way Out". To see the video taping the song for The Great American Country T. V. Show in Nashville click here (background music will stop, you can restart this at any time with the player in the left bottom of page). The Kym Simon Band 2007 - 2010  Alan put a wonderful power-house band of very fine musicians around Kym for her live gigs for two years and they sounded fantastic, she made him very proud. Alan tells us that Kym is a very talented singer/songwriter and that it was a plaesure wotking with her and he wishes her every success in the future.
Alan had been missing the stage for those couple of years so he got together with now music partner Will Hamm and hit the boards one more time and says he is enjoying every minute on stage with Will, he referes to it as "a new lease on life". Will lives not too far away just outside Carmona, a little north west of Calgary, Alberta. They play casinos throughout North America as well as many dances, conventions and private functions calling their full production band “ The Alan James Project”. Click here to view a slide show of The Alan James Project.  Alan also works in at his home studio where he produces and arranges music for his own use and for several music companys in the U.S. which takes him south many times a year. Will is a world class luthier, making various beautiful stringed instruments, to see his website click here . The lilting and powerful tenor voice of Alan James, combined with his Irish charm and their broad musical repertoire creates treasured memories for guests of their performances. Their exciting and varied programs include a vast number of Irish songs of course, country, rock ‘n’ roll, along with blues, rhythm and blues and many beautiful love songs. They bring fun, laughter, good times and a personal energy to every performance making them a draw for any venue. In short, they are both very talented musicians and entertainers who play guitars, piano, trumpets, pedal steel guitar, bouzauki and of course Alan's most valued instrument - his voice. Their level of entertainment is not often experienced outside of the larger centers and you can be sure that everyone will walk away from their performances with big smiles and happy memories that they will treasure for a very long time. The Alan James Project will create a musical event to rival any, weather convention, private party, dance or musical production, they will include songs to be remembered and memories will be created for everyone who attends to take away and share with others.   |
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