Search - Allan Thomas :: Making Up For Lost Time

Long-time singer/songwriter and Kauai resident Allan Thomas releases fourth album 'Making Up For Lost Time'. Featuring Graham Nash of Crosby Stills and Nash. The CD was produced and recorded by Allan on the North Shore of Kauai. Allan Thomas - Vocals - Guitar - Percussion. Tris Imboden - {Chicago/Al Jarreau} Drums. Jimmy Johnson - {James Taylor} Bass. Graham Nash -{Crosby Stills & Nash} Backing Vocals. Michael Ruff - {Rickey Lee Jones/Randy Brecker} - Keyboards - Accordion - Backing Vocals. Ken Emerson - {Jackson Browne/Todd Rundgren} Slide Guitar & Lap Steel. Kirk Smart {Donald Fagen} Guitar/Mandolin/Lap-Steel. Bryan Kessler - {Hawaiian Style Band} - Guitar. Anjela Rose - Backing Vocals. JP Allen - Harmonica. The record was mixed and mastered by Mike Shipley who also mixes for Maroon Five, Shania Twain, Joni Mitchell, Tom Petty, Def Leppard and Aerosmith. The songs were written on Kauai between 1997 and 2006, with the exception of Rapture In The Rain, which goes back to 1988. The grooves on the CD reflect Allan's love of rock, blues, R&B, soul and jazz. Thomas' early influences include Sam Cooke, Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles and The Drifters. Later influences were Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Crosby Stills & Nash, Steely Dan, Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, The Yellowjackets, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Van Morrison & Peter Gabriel. Thomas musical adventure began in Brooklyn NY when, at age 12, he joined an A Capella vocal group, performing at local events. 1966, 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 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 was 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. 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 . The CD also features Kauai musicians extraordinaire Ken Emerson on slide guitar and lap-steel, and Michael Ruff on keyboards and backing vocals.