Merry Christmas (Tour is Over)
We finished up tearfully at the Canal Room in NY last night. It was a packed house and I was thrilled to be back in New York, where I have played 7 shows in 2006 (counting multiple sets at Joe’s Pub.)
We had to give up the tour bus mid afternoon and frantically de-bussed our belongings on teeming Canal St as traffic cops hovered. In crowded Manhattan the poor bus driver clipped a car with the gear trailer. And the car turned out to be…. a Maserati! (He could at least have dinged a Ferrari, which would have given me something to sing about.)
It was a fun show. The ever present Stevie D was in the front row. He has attended 24 shows this year, travelling all over the US and he gets kudos for sure. Stevie, if you’re reading this, you’ve gone way beyond the call of duty and are straying into serious Celine Dion territory! Jordan Rudess was also there, one of the finest contemporary keyboard players. I’m glad I forgot he was coming or I would have been initimidated.
Also in attendance were my darling wife and 2 daughters, whom I’d not seen for a month. Harper (15) made an appearance on stage for ‘Europa’, but she hasn’t guested with me since the summer and I note she’s a little rusty. I played ‘Airwaves’ and we filmed it for a potential podcast episode. I also sang backup for BT on his anthemic ‘Satellite’. Both songs live IMO are better than their recorded counterparts.
I have a New Years’ Eve gig in Orange County with Blondie, Violent Femmes and others. 15k revellers are expected. That’ll be it for 2006, of course. I am totally exhausted and could easily sleep for a week. Thanks to my family for letting me do this. Thanks to my amazing crew for getting me to the gigs, and especially Lunesse for her stellar job on this website as well as all the merch and meet’n'greets. To my agent Rich Rees, my publicists at Conqueroo, and my licensing/distribution rep Lisa Klein. And thanks to everybody that’s read this blog, come to my gigs, and bought ‘The Sole Inhabitant.’ It’s been a fantastic year for me, and I’m so very grateful that the audience is still listening. I truly believe my best music is still ahead of me. In 2007 I plan to write and record a masterwork! Stay tuned.
Happy Holidays,
TMDR
Merry Christmas, Thomas. No one has earned time off quite like you have this year.
I’m very much looking forward to what next year will bring…I can’t wait to see you live again, that really touched my life this year. You are a real force of nature.
All the best to you and yours from me and mine.
Merry Christmas right back at you and your team. Wow. I got to bookend my year with you. I saw you in April and again in December, and even got to bring my young daughters to their first concert (yours). That’s all I can say. Wow.
With deep gratitude,
Rochelle
Merry Christmas to you and your whole family Thomas. i cant wait for what 2007 and what you’ll have in store
WE are thankful that you feel that you have more to say musically as your music has moved us (both emotionally and physically!) for so many years. THANK YOU for the wealth of time and energy you devoted to getting back in the game, meeting fans, and giving us a sign of things to come.
Best holiday wishes to you and your family, Thomas. Have a rockin’ New Years Eve (minus Dick Clark, I hope!).
Beech
thanks for everything, thomas. i got to catch your show three times, and it was better each time than the last. enjoy the well-earned break, and thank you again for entertaining us.
Stay tuned, Thomas? I can do nothing else but stay tuned.
My wife and I exchanged one gift each as midnight rang in Christmas Day. She got a Tiffany necklace, I got the “Goggles” Sole Inhabitant Tour T. I call it an even trade.
Thomas, take a very well-deserved breather and recharge with your family. Don’t worry, we’ll be right here when you are ready.
A very Merry Christmas to all!
Randy
Thomas,
Merry X-mas..Thank you for everything this year..Caught 3 of your shows in NYC. Looking forward to 07..if Karma is any indication of what direction you are going in I can’t wait for your new recordings. Go show K-Fed what a real artist does…
merry xmas thomas,it certainly has been a great year for you,and i think everyone here is made up we’re part of it.good luck for next year also.who knows the hammers may escape relegation,well, stranger things have happened! cheers geezer,david
A very Merry Christmas to you and all the fans out there!! May the New Year bring lots of great new music!!!
Roland
Merry Christmas, Thomas! Thanks again for a wonderful show and the inspiration that’s fueling my own music.
>I truly believe my best music is still ahead of me. In 2007 I plan to >write and record a masterwork! Stay tuned.
What can I say but Merry Christmas and a very very musical New Year!
Fighting talk if I ever heard it!
Best wishes to you and yours.
Jon in Helsinki
Merry Christmas Thomas!
I rushed home to Vermont for Christmas at 7am on the 24th, then I slept for 17 hours!
Thank you again for a Fantastic 2006! filled with mini vacations and excursions all over the country! I had a blast!
I also brought 14 people to your shows, turning on many new dolby fans. most of whom are happe to have the Soul Inhabitant cd and or dvd.
Thats cool Jordan Rudess was there. I’ve seen him play a couple times (yes I go to non-dolb shows… actually about 75 in 2006) at moogfest in NYC, Most recently playing MY new toy, the Little Phatty.
enjoy the holidays, and the break! and thank you so much again!
What a blast 2006 was thanks to you Thomas! After waiting 22 years to see you play live since your last performance in VA Beach in April 1984, I managed to catch 4 of your shows this year starting with the House Of Blues show in Anaheim back in April and ending with the NorVa in December. My friends and I have had a quite a time travelling to see your performances and it’s been a joy every step of the way. Even took my 20 year old coworker to the NorVa show (he has a band of his own) to see the magic of your live performance and he left feeling quite impressed! His favorites were “I Live In A Suitcase” and “The Flat Earth”, and he really enjoyed the Martin Luther King Jr. excerpts woven into the ending of the latter. So I would say mission accomplished in 2006-your core group of fans are as excited as ever and you’ve managed to reach out to the next generation of musicians and touch them as well. Thanks for all the great music and memories through the years and Happy Holidays to you and your family!
Thanks for again taking your music on the road to share it with us, and also sharing your ‘musicians life’ here in this blog. It was great to see you in 3 entire shows this year after your (long) break from playing. Your music continues to connect with me a profound level, and I am happy to hear you will continue composing new pieces in 2007.
Merry Christmas to you and family, and have a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!
Tom
Merry Christmas, Mr. Dolby. Thanks for taking 10min of your time in Dallas for our conversation and letting me Geek out. It really ment a lot to me. Lunesse was an angel to make everything happen. I’ll turn 40 on thursday, and I can check meeting my idol off the list of lifetime accomplishments. Have a great holiday season, and I look forward to hearing the new music. Thanks for everything.
Welcome back, Thomas. It’s great to see you again. Happy New Year to you, your family, and your crew, and thanks for the incredible show at the Birchmere (with BT) in Alexandria, VA, on Dec 22. We’ll see you next year (you promised, and so do we!). Enjoy your time off. Sounds as if you’ll need it. Anxiously awaiting the new material. See ya soon!
Bruce
Merry Christmas! And happy New Year as well ^_^ I’m glad you had a good tour, it’s so cool to see you performing again! I’m really looking forward to your future works, and your possibly coming back to Atlanta! (Hopefully next year.. and not in 18… ^_^)
I’m so happy you’ve recorded Airwaves! I hope it makes it to your podcast, it’s such a pretty song, and it was so nice live ^_^
Best wishes to you and your family.. and welcome back to the music scene =D
Thomas,
Hope you had a great Christmas Day and here’s to Boxing Day!!
Came to see you at the Canal Room. It was my first Dolby concert since, what, 1983? Fantastic to see you live again. The songs sounds new, revitalised somehow, which is great.
I came over from London to NYC to celebrate my birthday with my friend John, and you were playing…… best birthday present I could have got! We met Steve D (we were down the front with him throughout the set), not the usual fanatical fan you get down at the front, an very interesting fellow (now THAT’S your English for you).
Thank you for making my birthday the best!
Regards
Conrad
Hey Thomas,
The Canal room Great great capper to to a amazing year for me. Considering the fact that I had totally given up on ever seeing live, I never would have imagined that you would end up being the one I would see the MOST times. I saw you 7 times this year including the Scala. I still hear your new version “Airwaves” and the truly excellent “Karma” echoing through my brain. You really went all out despite your near exhaustion. I could see you were really knackered before coming back for the Encore. Also, you seemed to have developed that “Thick Skin” when things go a little awry with the gear you had that Mr. Spock one eye brow raised look of puzzlement. I could see those troubleshooting neurons firing in real-time.
) ! That was nearly as fascinating as the show! Again Thanks to everyone for making this the truly the year of TMDR for me! You have a huge feat this coming year to top this one.
Forever your die-hard fan!
James (SID)
Thanks so much for sharing your music with us!! Glad to see that everything (well, kind of) went well with your tour. Good luck with 2007′s projects: I’m sure that they will be kick a**!!
Take care,
Korky
P.S. — We miss you in the Northwest…come back this way when you’re well-rested!
May the new year be as joy-filled and rewarding for you as this one has been, Thomas! You worked SO very hard, and you know
You’re quite
I bet your gorgeous family are proud
we all deeply appreciate all that you do for us.
right when you note that StevieD went above and beyond, but
so did *you*! BIG time!!
of you, and so are we!!!
A masterwork in the new year…sigh…drool…may you have a
dream-easy time of liberating that meticulously-crafted music out
of your noggin.
Peace and warm-n-fuzzy wishes,
Kara
I think it was the estimable Johny Lennon that said…..”Tour is over….if you want it…” …so this is Christmas
Hey TD, congrats on another successful tour. We hope to see you up in Minneapolis/St. Paul again soon.
FYI, the local PBS station was just doing a promo for an upcoming Nightline show tonight, and the music they played underneat it was Pulp Culture. Hope you’re getting royalties!!
peace out
wfe
A sincere thank you Thomas.
Thanks for a second chance at seeing you first of all. Some twenty years ago I couldn’t make the gig in CT and figured, “Eh, no problem, he’ll be back next year.â€
Oops.
FF >> to Sellersville this spring, and it was well worth the wait.
Not many musicians are as open with their fans as you’ve been on the blog here, allowing a glimpse behind the curtain to see the Wizard as it were, let alone for free. From sharing behind-the-scenes tour moments to letting fans be a part of the shows to experimenting with us and the technology, I probably speak for more than a few loyal fans here when I say it’s certainly more than we could have asked for.
And we all thank you Thomas, you’ve really made the year for most of us. Anyway, as they say in this part of the world (or at leats I think this is what they say, forgive me for word order and spelling): ¡Feliz Navidad y Propero Año Nuevo!
Getting in here a bit late after riding out some puter probs over the holidays..
Hope your holidays are just fantastic for you & your family Mr.D !!
We’ll all be waiting in eager anticipation for a new master work & subsequent tour in 07… after waiting 15 yrs, this will be dead easy…
Atlanta Is Calling You Thomas !!
Sj
Happy and productive 2007!!
And big thanks for using my photos on “The Sole Inhabitant DVD” (2 pics during interview). Now I can say I have my small contribution on a Thomas Dolby release
Thomas, my lovely wife got the Sole Inhabitant DVD for me for Christmas—I, WE love it. It’s turning our sons into Dolby/keyboard fans. Thanks for the ’06 memories. Looking forward to new/re-released music.
Thomas, seeing you twice this year was, both times, wonderful. Thank you for your music, sharing it with us, and being such a force in music technology, and your great musicality.
I even gave my brother-in-law the Sole Inhabitant CD for Christmas. It turned out he loves your music and was so excited to get the CD. He couldn’t wait to get a chance to crank it up. He was so excited you’re back!
Happy Holidays to you and your family! Get some rest and enjoy your family! I hope to see you in 2007!!
TMDR: One last piece of useless information, but I completely forgot to mention that Maserati is owned by Ferrari. If it is a newer model that was hit, then your driver did in fact hit a Ferrari product. The engine below the hood was probably 100% Ferrari. I’m sure there is some sort of fun way to work that into your lyrics
Merry Christmas Thomas and all the Blog contributers!!!! A bit late I know, but I have been Partying and no where near a computer!
Thanks for being an inspiration to all of us Thomas; Musically, technically, socially, motivationally and any other lly’s i’ve missed out.
They’ve announced they will be building a huge wind farm in the thames estuary…ever thought about a Web gig in the middle of a wind farm?
Keep Rocking!!!
Wonderful – wonderful – wonderful. I can’t wait to hear the new album when it comes. 2006 was just brilliant — you and my two other favorite musicians, all rolled into one year (Kate Bush’s Aerial, and Danny Elfman singing on the Charlie &… soundtrack.)
I agree with funkydolby upthread — I come back and check this blog periodically and it always makes me happy. Your music makes me creative; it always winds up on the short list for listening when I’m deep in the process of writing a story — so it inspires me to watch the site and see your process here.
I think I stopped breathing for a bit when I saw the new Sole Inhabitant video of “Submarines” — it reminded me of my wonderful experience at the Portland show in April. I know you’re changing gears for recording, so this is just one more Northwest voice saying that however long it takes, when you come back around, we’ll be eager to listen, watch, and dance.
Happy New Year!
Merry Christmas and a fantastic and exciting 2007 to you and your loved ones.
Thanks for a personal highlight in 2006: Seeing you play live in NYC in September (after waiting for 21 years!) and getting to meet you after the show.
“I truly believe my best music is still ahead of me.”
WOW … your fans all over the world can’t wait. Thank you so much for your amazing music.
Kudos on what sounds like a great tour.
Wish I could have been closer to a concert venue to have attended, but we’re stranded in “flyover country”.
Perhaps with new music in hand, a 2007 tour will be a potential reality. Who knows? Will keep my fingers crossed just in case.
Take a rest, but keep us posted on how things are going in the coming year.
cheers!
Phil in Kansas City
.
Thanks for returning this year.
You’ve been on a great journey and taken all of us with you, with your Blog and FES forum. I have loved it all:- the preparation, the tour the DVD and CD.
Thanks for using my picture of you and Harper at The Wireless fest on the DVD interview. It was a great surprise to see my picture appear and really made me feel part of this whole journey.
I’m all fired up now and really looking forward to next year. I’m sure you’ll keep us all informed with progress of the new songs etc.
Fantastic, bloody brilliant and thanks again!
Adrian (Wireless)
Music to my ears man! Happiest of New Years!
Thomas, the most beautiful work of all is that of self expression through art; and nothing is more special than watching the artist right in front of you. thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving this gift to the fans, new and old. This is what music is all about, and I can’t wait to see what incrediblly awesome stuff you will do next year. Please keep the beat going.
Forever fan and (someday) fellow musician, Danny (OmniGeist)
The title of the blog made me giggle.
Anyway, I hope you have a wonderful holiday (what’s left of it, anyway), and here’s to (hopefully) seeing you anywhere remotely close to Iowa!
It’s a stretch, I know!
Have a good one!
-Melody (BlueSilver)
San Antonio next! Lot’s of Hot Sauce here!
Wait, nevermind. Get thee to a studio!
No wait, to a hammock!
Get the to a hammock!
Happy New Year!