Allan Thomas
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Allan Thomas

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"Allan Thomas 'Making Up For Lost Time' CD review 3/11/08"

3/11/08 - Rock'n'Reel, a British music magazine reviews 'Making Up For Lost Time' in their 'Shorts' column:
Allan Thomas, a native of Brooklyn, NY, now resident of the Hawaiian island of Kauai, reflects the mood of the latter with 'Making Up For Lost Time', his fourth solo album. It's a slick, lushly instrumented blend of West coast singer-songwriter meets soft rock with Thomas's eloquent vocals bringing to mind James Taylor. Elements of lightweight funk infuse the more upbeat 'Laid Eyes On You', whilst the delicate picking of 'Leap Of Faith' and the complex rhythm of the title track suggest there's more and better yet to come. Graham Nash and Tris Imboden of Chicago guest, by the way.

- Rock'n'Reel


"Allan Thomas 'Making Up For Lost Time' CD review 2/1/08"

Fourth solo album since 1971 for Thomas. Great things take time and there's no use in rushing things when the end result is as satisfying as this. Getting a vocal assist from Graham Nash and featuring some top session players Thomas offers up an album of new originals. Using an atmospheric backing sound with acoustic underpinnings this one is easy on the ears and yields some memorable songs. He's been around for a long time, mostly behind the scenes and has been involved in many projects in a forty year plus career. Like James Luther Dickinson he steps behind the mic for himself once and a while.

www.villagerecords.com

http://www.villagerecords.com/product_info.php?products_id=4720 - Village Records


"Allan Thomas 'Making Up For Lost Time' CD review 3/3/08"

3/3/08 - ..."This new effort declares in an instant Thomas' own stylistic affiliation opening with Ray Of Hope, a duet with Graham Nash, that it does once indeed bring nostalgia for the California of a time...Clean voice, almost continuous use of slender tones, and of the falsetto, kind sounds with an already felt mix of folk and jazz that creates in some passages as Laid Eyes On You or the title-track the most interesting moments of the disk. Making Up For Lost Time is in fact an impeccable product played by musicians of value". 6 out of 10. http://www.rootshighway.it/Shortcuts/short.htm - Nicola Gervasini

- Roots Highway Italy


"Allan Thomas 'Making Up For Lost Time' CD review 1/29/08"

An older, wiser Jack Johnson?

In the wake of Johnson’s surf tinged laid back offerings several soundalikes have crested (Newton Faulkner anyone?). Proving there is more to the 50th state than sun kissed dudes on the beach here is an album that is more suited to late nights in, sheltered from the elements. Allan Thomas is a veteran of Greenwich Village folk days who has resided in Hawaii since 1983 and by all accounts remains an active surfer despite almost qualifying for a bus pass. With a recording career dating back to 1971 he’s been around a bit.

Past collaborations with Donald Fagan and Graham Nash give an indication of what’s on offer here. Ten songs with a silken sheen, tasteful guitar licks and a vocal that is part Ben Sidran, part Steve Miller. To continue the Miller connection there’s a little bit of latter day Boz Scaggs in here also.

The songs are unrushed, laid back, jazzy soul confections with the standout being “Old Dog New Trick.” “Rapture in the Rain” veers uncomfortably close to Blue Nile territory but is a good pointer to the general feel of the album.

Thomas comes across overall as a laid back feller who has found his place in the world and has the time and inclination to share this with the listener. On his fairly extensive website he seems to have packed a fair bit into his time, have a look and say aloha.

Date review added:  Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Reviewer:  Paul Kerr
Reviewers Rating: 
7 out of 10 - Americana UK


"Allan Thomas 'Making Up For Lost Time' CD review 1/26/08"


"When in the late 50's Allan Thomas started singing along to Sam Cooke's 'You Send Me' on his dad's car radio, it was already too late to stop the music bug. In that moment, he began a musical journey which would have brought him from vocal groups, to folk music, to the current mix of all the influences he has been absorbing along the way. 'Making Up For Lost Time' is Allan's fourth album and a wonderful collection of songs put together with the care of the craftsman and the heart of a man who is making music because he loves it.

Kauai resident since 1983, Allan beautifully blends together his early soul influences, songwriting skills, shades of Steely Dan and the energy he gets surfing the Hawaiian waves. Featuring Jimmy Johnson on bass (James Taylor), Tris Imboden on drums (Chicago), Michael Ruff on keyboard (Bonnie Raitt) and three talented guitar players (Bryan Kessler, Ken Emerson, Kirk Smart), the music is rich and sophisticated, creating the perfect environment to Allan's poignant lyrics and poetic watercolors.

The album opens with 'Ray of Hope', an excellent blues/jazz number featuring Graham Nash on background vocals. It is Thomas' take about the troubled times we are living and about the turbulent waters we all have to get across in our own personal lives. Lyrically the song sets the tone for the entire album, an adult look at what we have done and at the road ahead: 'Remember the Best', 'How Long 'Til Light', 'The Real Thing'. It is all here: our vulnerabilities and wishes, the good days and the bad times. Allan is brave enough to reflect upon his life with depth and sincerity, and while he brings us on this ride through the ten songs of the album, it soon becomes clear we all have a chance to make up for lost time."

- Francesco Lucarelli

- California Stars 'N' Bars Revue - Italy


"David Crosby Quote about AT"

David Crosby has this to say about Allan Thomas

"Allan Thomas is a singer and a songwriter, but he's more than that... He's an Islander, he's a Windrider. He's been there in that sun and in that sea, long enough to have soaked it up into him, into his heart... and it comes out in his songs. He's a really fine songwriter!"
- DAVID CROSBY, NOV. 1996 - David Crosby


"Allan Thomas 'Making Up For Lost Time' CD review 11/16/07"

"Making Up for Lost Time" by Allan Thomas; Black Bamboo

# Genre: World music,

# Distinguishing notes: Allan Thomas is a Hanalei, Kaua'i-based music industry veteran with Mainland credentials and ties to the Island scene.

Like others in the biz, Thomas taps his pals to sit in on this recording, so Graham Nash (Crosby, Stills & Nash) and Tris Imboden (Chicago) on the national scene and Bryan Kessler (Hawaiian Style Band) and Ken Emerson and Michael Ruff on the local front chime in.

Thomas' work is comforting and assured; his storytelling shines and is best demonstrated on entries such as "Leap of Faith," "How Long Till Light," "Ray of Hope" and "Rapture in the Rain," the last tune traced to a wet season in Ha'ena.

The song orientation is mainstream pop for a global audience. All but one song was written by Thomas on Kaua'i from 1988 to 2006, so it's not unusual to read a local temperament in the compositions; he likes to think he's providing R&B with an Island (read: tropical) spin.

The session was recorded at Kilauea, and the CD packaging is filled with Hawai'i elements, including a painted cover with surf and palms.

# Our take: Make an effort to spend "Time" with Thomas.

Wayne Harada - Honolulu Advertiser


"Allan Thomas Interview 11/21/07"

80's Metalbands such as Vixen, Aloha, Hawaii, Sharx and musicians like Michael Furlong (Tom Petty clone thesedays), Michael Ruff and Allan Thomas are the only names that pop into my mind when you ask me the question if i knew any acts from the sunny Hawaii island.

Furthermore i have to honestly confess i know little or nothing when it comes down to sum up more who hail from this surfers paradise.
These days I'm a little older and so much wiser, so i kinda forgot those 80's hairmetalbands but still prefer (as so many of you) classic west coast acts like Nielsen/Pearson, Player, Sneaker, Eagles and/or the Keane bros.

Well in case you (just like me) still rate those high in your list, make sure to not overlook the recent Allan Thomas release "Making Up For Lost Time", only his third solo release throughout the years but very high class well made. It sounds a bit like the solowork of Donald Fagen meets Nielsen/Pearson with the voice of a Randall Bramblett, in fact let's put it this way ..... how much more west coast can you sound if you operate from Hawaii ?

Any questions about this guy? With the following interview i did he revealed a lot about his past, present and future .....

Making Up For Lost Time" is a brand new (as we call it) fantastic
West Coast album, but only your third solo release after "The Island"
and "Coconut Culture" which was released in '96. 11 years to wait and
hold on if you are a Allan Thomas fan, can you tell us fans and readers what youve been up to in those 11years ?

Allan: Well, besides working on my cutbacks and bottom-turns in my daily dawn surf sessions, I have been writing new tunes, and delving further into the realms of alternate tunings on my guitar. I have also learned how to record and edit using Pro Tools software, and have produced and recorded several artists on Kauai.

When I started writing songs in 1967 I wrote about 12 songs a year, I guess you could say a lot of them were throwaways in today's
standards, though each one was a ladder to the next and hopefully better song. Nowadays it takes me months alone to write what I consider a keeper.

With this album I had around 30 songs to choose from that were written in the last 11 years or so, and out of those came these ten.

Another part of the reason for not recording on a regular basis is the kind of producer/engineer I like to work with (Stephen Barncard - Mike
Shipley) is not always available or affordable to me for years on end, and that is why I finally decided to produce and record it myself, not because I wanted to but because I had to, or the record would not have been made at all. So it's taken a while to get to this point of release, but I feel I have learned a lot in the process of taking over the helm and getting the job done.

During this time between records I also had the great pleasure of working with one of my inspirations, Donald Fagen of Steely Dan, for
two months as assistant engineer in the recording of his last solo CD 'Morph The Cat'- which was a dream come true, and an unparalleled learning experience. It also afforded me the wherewithal to upgrade my recording rig and begin the process of recording my new release.

In the middle of working on 'Making Up For Lost Time' I wound up with a near fatal infection in my leg that put the album on hold for eight
months while I recuperated. After the experience of working with Fagen, followed by the whole brush with death deal I was pretty fired up about finishing the record. So the record took almost three years from start to finish.

I actually have enough material for another record right now, but I'll have to wait until I've given everything I have to getting this new
record out there. In these days an artist who is unsigned and independent often has to wear the hat of the writer, artist, producer,
engineer and record promoter. It has only become possible for an artist to do this kind of thing of late. I'm glad I stuck with my music these forty years now, to have seen a time when it is so opportunistic for an unknown artist to get his or her music heard
anywhere in the world. As I said I would rather not have to assume all these rolls, especially as my own producer and engineer, so as to have
more time for writing, recording and touring, but you do what you have to do.


Its amazing how many well-known studio musicians you have as friends, Tris Imboden, Jimmy Johnson, Graham Nash, Michael Ruff, Kirk
Smart, Ken Emerson.... Did these guys become friends throughout the years by touring and playing in clubs? Or do these guys love to visit
some days on the Island of Hawaii?

Allan: Yes I feel very fortunate to have worked and become friends with these
great players and people. These incredible musicians came into my world as a result of all of them living here on Kauai, except for Jimmy Johnson, who flies in to record from time to time with Michael Ruff and Tris. Graham Nash has had a place here since the seventies, and I met him and his family in '83. Half the guys on the record are surfers, and we have that water connection as well as the music. All of us, including Graham, have gigged together in some combination or other either at
clubs, or concerts over the years. The respect we all have for each other's talent is immense, and our friendships grew out of years of
musical contact with each other. Ruff started recording with me in 1987, so most of us go back a long while now.


How did you manage to get Mike Shipley to mix and master this recent product of yours?

Allan: Well all I had to do was ask him and he readily agreed. We just had to
wait a minute for Mike to find an opening in his busy schedule, which luckily didn't take that long. Mike and I go back to 1991 or so. He has been visiting Kauai for many years now, and has been a champion of my music since the beginning of our friendship, always believing in
what I had to offer, and inspiring me to just keep writing and working on my craft. Mike produced, recorded and mixed my third and previous CD 'Coconut Culture'. It was his idea to do it too. He was on a break/sabbatical after having mixed Shania Twain and the Def Leppard
projects. So he came to Hawaii for a year of rest and recuperation, but he's the kind of guy that needs a project even when he's on a
break! So he asked me if I wanted to do an album with him. Before you could blink an eye I had answered in the affirmative.

On this record nobody had heard the tracks except for the musicians involved, and about three quarters into the recording I asked Mike if
he would mix. He asked me to send him some rough mixes and after listening to them his reply was very positive. He was very excited and
told me the record had a really good vibe. Only then did I realize I might have something here. You get so deep into your thing sometimes
you don't even know if what you have is something worthy or just another artistic piece of crap. I knew I could trust Mike and his very
capable assistant Brian Wohgemuth to mix the record in LA while I remained in Kilauea. I listened to the downloaded mixes daily in my
home studio, and made suggestions through instant messaging and e-mails - gotta love these modern times for high-speed communication. It was pretty intense there for a little while as the mixes came in and I had to make major decisions and ask Mike and Brian to change this or that, small tweeks, but in the end it was worth anything to have the music come out sounding as it does, with Shipley at the helm.


Besides you and Michael Furlong I know no one on Hawaii who's a brilliant musician .... any others we should remember if their name (s) pop by ?

Allan: Well of course we have the brilliant Michael Ruff, who has lived here full-time for at least 15 years, and who is now producing himself and other artists in his home studio. Then there's Ken Emerson, the
masterful slide, and lap-steel player who plays blues, rock and Hawaiian with amazing energy and skill. Kirk Smart is a wonderful guitarist, mandolin and lap-steel player who people will be hearing more about. He also plays in a quartet in Italy near Lake Cuomo a few months out of each year. Bryan Kessler, my long-time friend and song writing partner who lives on Oahu, one island over to the east, is a tremendously gifted guitarist with the ability to play jazz, blues and R&B equally well. He co-founded the Hawaiian Style Band, an immensely successful group in Hawaii in the early nineties. He is threatening to record a new solo album soon. The amazing harmonica player on the title track is JP Allen. JP moved here from Austin Texas a few years ago, and blew my socks off with his tasty licks. Tris Imboden the current drummer for Chicago, and past drummer for the likes of Michael McDonald and Al Jarreau lives here part time, and is a monster player, surfer and really upbeat fellow. Anjela Rose, who sings backup vocals on the new record - is one to watch. She is a singer/ songwriter and very beautiful and warm-hearted woman with a voice full of character and soul.

Others to know about would be John Cruz, and Makana, awesome singer/songwriters and slack key guitarists from Oahu. I'm sure there are many other noteworthy players here in Hawaii on the other islands, but as I live on the north shore of Kauai, rarely leave, and haven't been traveling that much, I don't really know who else is out there, except for maybe Jake Shimabukuro, the virtuoso ukulele player from
Oahu, who is heavy indeed.


Have you actually ever heard before of Michael Furlong?
Allan: Not till now!

You are a native New Yorker, lived on the West coast for a while (Malibu), and now Hawaii, so I assume you have to leave the island all
the time to play gigs with other musicians or do you never leave and play in Hawaii all the time with your own band?

Allan: Actually I rarely leave Kauai to play gigs with bands elsewhere,
something I am hoping to change with the possibilities this new record will present. When I do venture out to the US mainland I usually play gigs solo, unless Mike Ruff or Ken Emerson happen to be at the same place at the same time; a rare thing indeed.

Even here in Hawaii I rarely get to gig with bands save for the occasional concert or private party. We just don't have the venues for
bands here that exist in the bigger cities. So you see you really do have to pay a price for living in paradise. On the band gigs that do manifest I try to get Ruff, Emerson, Kessler and/or Kirk Smart, or some combo thereof to play with.

About a year and a half ago, just after the 'Morph The Cat' sessions, Donald Fagen invited a number of Kauai players to play in his backup band for a benefit concert. In that ensemble were Ken Emerson, Kirk Smart, Tris Imboden and myself, among others, and that was a huge blast. We also backed Todd Rundgren as well that night.

So even though I mainly gig solo here in the islands, I always record with a band when making an album, and relish the few band gigs that do
come along.


This new release of yours is heaven for music lovers who have the solo albums of Donald Fagen and Nielsen/Pearson high in their ranks, what is your musical taste from the past and in today's world?

Allan: Growing up in New York afforded me the wonderful opportunity to hear a lot of different kinds of music live and on radio. At first when I began singing with doo-wop vocal groups in Brooklyn, I was way into the black R&B groups like the Drifters, Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions, and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. When I ventured out and became a solo vocalist my hero's were Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and lesser-known NYC cats like Chuck Jackson and Freddy Scott. All these guys were soulful singers that I resonated with and sang along to their records till I had every lick and nuance down, though
at that young age I for sure didn't have the grit and soul of their voices, but at least I learned something about breathing and phrasing,
singing from your gut, and being believable in your portrayal of the words.

Later, when I became a songwriter and guitarist I was greatly inspired by Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Crosby Stills and Nash, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, and Jackson Browne. Later still it was artists like Peter Gabriel, Van Morrison, Steely Dan, and the jazz masters Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane and Miles Davis. Though I had opened for some key elder bluesmen in the seventies like Arthur 'Big Boy' Cruddup and
Bukka White, it wasn't till I was a DJ for Kauai Commuinity Radio - from '98 to 2004 - that I really got into some of the seminal bluesmen like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. There I also discovered African musicians like King Sunny Ade and Ali Farka Toure. Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell, and songwriter Antonio Carlos Jobim have long been big influences on me in the melody and rhythm department since the late sixties as well.

Today I still find great inspiration from artists like Donald Fagen, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, as well as jazz players like Michael Brecker, Pat Metheny and the Yellowjackets.


You wrote most songs by yourself with the exception of one song
with guitar player Bryan Kessler, does this mean to say that you prefer to write on your own instead with someone else?

Allan: Actually I love to write with a co-writer but due to my being on one
island and my main co-writer living on another, it's not often we get the chance to write together. Even with Mike Ruff who I have written
several songs with, and lives close by, it's difficult to get together as he has a very busy life with raising children and writing and recording his own and others music. So I manly just write by myself. I always have written mainly by myself. It takes a lot longer to write
solo, but that's just the way it is.


Whats your favorite song that you wrote on this new album and why?
Also whats the best song, according to you, that you ever wrote in the past?

Allan: That is a very rough question. I have no one favorite. But I can tell
you that I've gotten chills listening to 'Rapture In The Rain', and 'The Real Thing', and that I can't stop my foot from tapping when I hear 'Old Dog New Trick' or 'Making Up For Lost Time'.

As far as best song I have ever written - out of three hundred or so - who knows? I certainly don't. I can say that the song 'The Navigator'
from the 'Coconut Culture' CD with Graham Nash singing backups is pretty high up there on my own personal favorite compositions list, as well as 'Ray Of Hope' on this album also with Nash.


Can you make a good living out of living in Hawaii releasing one album every once in a while and being a studio musician?

Allan: Well the short answer is no. But I solo gig at least three nights a
week, and teach guitar to a few students also on a weekly basis to keep things rolling. There is also income from my recording studio, CD
sales, which continue to grow, and the dribs and drabs of radio songwriter royalties, which also help. So as you can tell I am not buying land or taking over the financial world here on Kauai, but I am making enough of a living to reside here in this heaven on earth and
pursue my dream as a working songwriter/recording artist, gigster and rabid surfer and windsurfer. I've learned how to tighten my belt when times are tough and money is lean; as long as I can be creative in the world of music and play in the Pacific I am pretty darn happy. There is a lot of fruit you can pick right off the trees here, and I know a lot of fishermen as well so food is never really an issue, but finding suitable housing for a recording artist is, and the search goes on. Money has never been a big issue for me - though I would like to attract a lot more of it - it is the pursuit of art that in the end
gets me through the day.


Your voice makes me remind on Randall Bramblett, the guitarplayer who toured with Steve Winwood for a while and released several
terrific solo albums, are you familiar with his work ?

Allan: No I'm not, but now I will check him out. Some people say my voice is reminiscent of Steve Winwood however. There is some air in our voices for sure.



What is the best and easiest way for our readers to obtain your new
album?

Allan: I have no distribution for the record in Europe as yet so one can
either go to www.novatunes.com - www.cdbaby.com - www.amazon.com and iTunes, or they can get a CD directly from my record company Black Bamboo Recordings
info@allanthomas.com . They can also listen to whole tracks
from the record at www.myspace.com/allanthomas2 .

Thanks Rick for the opportunity to let your readers know about the new
record, and I promise it won't be ten years before the next one!
Aloha and over and out. AT


by Rik Huisseune

www.melodic.net/interviewsOne.asp?interviewId=203
- Melodic.net/Sweden/Rik Huisseune


Discography

I have recorded four albums of original material:

1971 - A Picture - produced by Richard Gottehrer on Sire Records.

1989 - The Island - produced and mixed by Stephen Barncard on Black Bamboo Recordings.

1997 - Coconut Culture - produced, recorded and mixed by Mike Shipley on Black Bamboo Recordings.

2007 - Making Up For Lost Time - produced and recorded by Allan Thomas and mixed and mastered by Mike Shipley on Black Bamboo Recordings.

Radio News for 'Making Up For Lost Time'

March 2008:

3/3/08 - DJ Gerrit Vermeij whose show Muziek Venster, of The Dutch National Radio station Beverwijk, has added 'Remember The Best' to it's March playlist. http://www.muziekvenster.nl/

3/11/08 - DJ Sylvie of Canberra Australia's Community radio station 2XX, has added 'Old Dog New Trick', 'Butterfly Jesse', and 'Leap Of Faith' to her show, and will do a phone interview with AT later this week.

3/16/08 - DJ Peggy of Fayettville North Carolina’s WFFS-FM is playing tracks from new CD.

February 2008

2/1/08 - Peter Holmstedt of Hemifran in Sweden has posted 'Making Up For Lost Time' as album of the week, and included Italy's Francesco Lucarelli's CD review. http://www.hemifran.com/album.html

2/1/08 - 'Making Up For..' is now available through Village Records. http://www.villagerecords.com/product_info.php?products_id=4720

2/2/08 - DJ Doug Young of KRCL-FM in Salt Lake City Utah, has played 'Ray Of Hope' and 'The Real Thing'.

2/2/08 - DJ Eclectic aka Ajay Chandriani of the live365.com show Mixed Bag Music out of Rosemont Pennsylvania, has also started spinning the track 'Making Up For Lost Time', in addition to 'Remember The Best'. http://www.live365.com/stations/djeclectic

2/10/08 - DJ Jeff Wignall of WPKN-FM in Bridgeport Connecticut, will be featuring tracks from both 'Making Up For Lost Time' and 'Coconut Cutlure' CD's on his February 19th show @ 2:30pm.

2/12/08 - Dagensskiva.com, one of the most important "entertainment sites" in Scandinavia, gives a short "news flash" about 'Making Up For Lost Time' with a link to AT website. "A great mix of blues, jazz, latin and more..." http://dagensskiva.com/2008/02/12/postboxen-2008-02-12

2/16/08 - Massachusetts - Marthas Vineyard radio station WMVY-FM has added "Leap Of Faith" to the playlist of their non-commercial web-streaming Local MusiCafe Show. http://www.mvyradio.com/local_musicafe/

2/18/08 - www.Rootsy.nu a Scandinavian Americana Website has listed 'Making Up For Lost Time' as one of it's top five CD's this week. From Peter Nordgren, one of Sweden's premier "roots-rock" writers: "...with a laidback feel; a lite Steely Dan sound of a single songwriter with supreme musicians in competence."
http://www.rootsy.nu/medarbetare.php?id=38

2/22/08 - DJ Big Al Watts of Melbourne Australia's Progressive Broadcasting Service, has been playing tracks from 'Making Up For Lost Time' on his blues and roots show Rhythm Roundup - http://www.pbsfm.org.au/Documents.asp?ID=651&Title=Rhythm+Round+Up

January 2008

DJ Roel Stabler of the Dutch radio show 'Country File-Rootsy Flavored' @Havenstadt-FM Netherlands recommends 'Making Up For Lost Time' as one of the top five best CD's for the first week of January 2008 to Euro-Americana Chart and Freeform American Roots Chart. Roel is still spinning 'Remember The Best'.

The Dutch Americana CD review website 'Hanx' reviews 'Making Up For Lost Time'.
http://www.hanx.net/recensieimg/december07/mannen.htm

WVGN-FM Public Radio in the Virgin Islands is playing tracks from 'Making Up For Lost Time'.

The Dutch Roots Radio show 'Songriver' hosted by Berrie Koetsier in the Netherlands has added the song 'Ray Of Hope' to its playlist on 1/4/08. And on 1/11/09 Berri added the song 'Remember The Best.
http://www.dutchrootsradio.com/songriver.htm

The Dutch website 'The Country Startpage' - which features many US Country and Americana artists - has added 'Making Up For Lost Time' as a CD to watch out for.
http://www.countrystartpage.com/

Freddy Cellis very cool Belgian Americana/Roots website 'Rootstime' has reviewed 'Making Up For Lost Time'. http://www.rootstime.be/

Ron Wiley DJ at KQNG-FM Kauai has been playing 'Ray Of Hope'.

1/14/07 - Launch of new internet based music download site Nova Tunes, featuring a 7 song downloadable version of 'Making Up For Lost Time' with artwork and a three minute music video shot by Jim Shea. Other artists on site include Graham Nash and Jackson Browne. www.novatunes.com

Blues Deluxe - the syndicated blues radio show out of Arlington Texas - adds the song 'Everybody Gets The Blues' from the 'Coconut Culture' CD to the playlist for the week of January 27th to February 2nd. Broadcast to over 103 stations nationwide, and on the internet @ http://bluesdeluxe.com/_wsn/page2.html
www.rootsmusicreport.com

Takashi Ito of the 'Westcoast Music' website 'Adult Contemporary Music In Japan' has recommended 'Making Up For Lost Time' as one to get.
htt

Photos

Bio

Thomas's musical adventure began in Brooklyn NY when, at age 12, he joined an A Capella vocal group, performing at local events. At age 18, he signed his first solo record deal with noted producer Huey P. Meaux, who released Allan�s first single on Scepter Records.

Becoming a songwriter at 19, Thomas soon played the coffee house circuit in Greenwich Village, and in 1971 Sire Records released his first album of original songs "A Picture" produced by Richard Gottehrer. To support the album he toured the US opening for acts such as Weather Report, Richie Havens, Taj Mahal, Dion, Bill Monroe, and elder blues men Bukka White and Arthur Crudup.

In 1972, Thomas was invited to improvise vocals on the Cannonball Adderley Quintet song �Behold� which appeared on the groups �Soul of the Bible� concept album featuring Cannonball and Nat Adderley, and George Duke. Allan also sang improvisational vocals with the quintet at the Troubadour and Lighthouse clubs in Southern California.

Allan was a staff songwriter for ABC Music in the late seventies, and moved to Kauai in 1983. He released his second album �The Island� on his own Black Bamboo Recordings label in 1989. The CD was produced and mixed by Stephen Barncard, and featured Russell Ferrante of The Yellowjackets on piano and keyboards.

In 1997 AT released his third album �Coconut Culture� produced, recorded and mixed by industry veteran Mike Shipley, featuring a duet with Graham Nash of Crosby Stills & Nash on the song �The Navigator�. On this record Allan begins using several alternate guitar tunings that were gifts from David Crosby.

From 1998 to 2004 Thomas moonlighted as a DJ at KKCR Kauai Community Radio.

In 2005 Allan was assistant engineer on Donald Fagen�s (Steely Dan) third solo CD �Morph The Cat� which earned Fagen a 2006 TEC award for outstanding creative achievement for best record production album from Mix magazine, and a Grammy for best surround sound CD. Thomas also played rhythm guitar and sang backing vocals for both Fagen and Todd Rundgren in a benefit concert in March of 2005.

In September 2007 Allan Thomas released his fourth album �Making Up For Lost Time� joined by Graham Nash singing backing vocals on the song �Ray Of Hope�, along with James Taylor�s bassist Jimmy Johnson, and Tris Imboden of Chicago on drums. The CD also features Kauai musicians extraordinaire Ken Emerson on slide guitar and lap-steel, and Michael Ruff on keyboards and backing vocals.

David Crosby has this to say about Allan Thomas: "Allan Thomas is a singer and a songwriter, but he's more than that... He's an Islander, he's a Windrider. He's been there in that sun and in that sea, long enough to have soaked it up into him, into his heart... and it comes out in his songs. He's a really fine songwriter!" DAVID CROSBY, NOV. 1996