It Felt like Christmas to me!

Christmas has flown by this year. Mind you, it always seems to. I know I'm a big kid but I always miss it when it's gone and all the decorations come down and only highlight how boringly drab your living room was before! Anyway, it comes round every year and I mustn't wish the days away, since there's always so much to get done in a year.

Even though Christmas went by quickly it's been really lovely. One particular event really helped to create the festive spirit... United Voice's concert "It Feels Like Christmas!" 

Well it really did feel like Christmas. My choir, United Voice North West took the the stage at the Temperance Institute Ballroom again, this time with a seasonal repertoir, including many UK Christmas number one hits and some of our favourite traditional songs.

They put on a great show and I know from feedback that the audience had a fab time. The evening had a great mixture of good music and laughter and the choir and soloists were on top form.

The Mayor and Mayoress of Sefton were in attendance again after enjoying our summer showcase so much and we even had them joining in with the daft actions we had the audience doing for "The Christmas Alphabet" song!

A great time was had by all and it really gave our Christmas a magical start... oh and most important of all... my stained glass windows turned out great. (Thanks for your help Dad!)

Really proud of everyone. Thanks for all who helped make the event a big success!

My lovely Mother in law with the President of the Southport and District Temperance Society and the Mayor and Mayoress of Sefton:

The Ensemble sings "I Have a Dream" - 

Take note of the brill stained glass window! :)

Bit blurry, but here Kermit the Frog makes an appearance, as we sing "It Feels Like Christmas" from the Muppet Christmas Carol:

Lots of fun as we even get the Mayor and Mayoress doing actions for "The Christmas Alphabet!" Think this was "S" for "Santa" :)

Jim (Fran's Dad) has always wanted the Temperance's windows like Harrods'. This year he got his wish!

Out of sync, but well worth a mention...

Back in September, our good friends Dennis and Sally DeFord, from Colorado, came over to the UK for a vacation. I was so much fun for Francesca and I to be able to take some time off ourselves and join Sally and Dennis as they explored some great places on our lovely island, which we definitely take for granted.

It's funny how you notice and appreciate everything around you so much more when you have guests to show around.

below are a few nice pictures we took along the way, but click (here) to read Sally's blog entry. She has managed to nicely and concisely capture the main highlights of the visit. (I would ramble on for hours!)

There was one particular highlight that I must mention though. I was so glad that we were able to organise a musical fireside while Sally was over. (For those who don't know what that is, it doesn't involve a fire at all, it just means a gathering where there is some sort of inspirational presentation. I guess back in the day, the pioneers would have sat around a fire, so there ya go!)

The fireside took place at the Stake Centre over in Chorley and the place was chock-full of people. It was a lovely evening. Sally shared inspirational stories and background on some of her music, with performances by the Chorely Stake choir and myself.

It really was a very moving presentation, especially with the audience being so eager to join in with the songs they were involved in. One particular moment that I won't forget in a hurry though, was when I sat back down after a song, with what I thought was only my lyric sheet and left Sally with no notes and a perplexed look. I of course, rather than quietly handing the notes back, broke the awkward silence with "oh, sorry luv. Here ya go!"... trust me!... She's such a good sport!

It was a real pleasure to sing beautiful songs like "Whole Again,"   "I Have Not Seen, Yet I Believe," "If the Savior Stood Beside Me," and "For Me Alone" live and be accompanied by the composer herself.


The very grand Bath Abbey:

Roman Baths. This was very cool... can't beat a bit of geothermal heat!

The very impressive Circus and Crescent below it.

It so difficult to show how impressive they are on camera:

The amazingly untouched quaint village in Castle Combe:

Had to have a photo of this. A resident of Castle Combe, selling cakes outside their house, 

with a little sign saying "please just post payment through the door"

I love it! Why can't things be like this everywhere. So glad some people still trust their neighbours :)

Fireside Sunday,Sep 13th 2009

Drum roll...

Hi everyone!

Thanks so much for your nicely impatient nudges about my next CD release!

I've received some lovely feedback since the Christmas CD was released - I had to laugh when someone said "James it's about time you brought out your next CD, I've been playing your Christmas one all summer!"

I'm soooo bad at juggling things, hence the long space of time between blog posts!

I've been working away busily, via emails (isn't technology fantastic!) with composer Sally DeFord, to put the finishing touches on my latest album, which I recorded the vocals for in Colorado Springs this last summer.

Well, I'm very excited to announce that... my new album "How Can I Keep From Singing?" is now available!

It was so much fun recording the vocals and working on the fabulous arrangements by Sally. I also had the pleasure of recording two duets with LDS singer Allyse Smith Taylor over at Soularium Studios in Alpine, Utah.

The CD also features some wonderfully talented instrumentalists. They include Pianist - Marvin Goldstein, Woodwind player - Daron Bradford, Cellist - Ramona McConkie and Violinist - John Leavitt.

It was so much fun working on this project and I'm really pleased with the outcome.

"How Can I Keep From Singing?" is now available at www.jamesloynes.com and if you are in the UK is also available at the Latter-day Book Stores in either Chorley or Godstone.

Also, Anne Bradshaw (Famous Family Nights) is doing a "CD Give-away" on her blog that gives you a chance at winning the new album!

http://annebradshaw.blogspot.com/2009/11/give-away-james-loynes-latest.html

Good luck! 

:-)

Songs from the Heart - Video

Quick post just to let you know that the show "Songs from the Heart" which was last Friday (11th Sep) was recorded on video in High Definition, so I'll be posting clips on my website and here on the blog when they are edited.

I had great fun performing in "Songs from the Heart." It was a real relaxed evening of live music and comedy, with Kevin Cookson and his band Koo°ler, singer Joyce Kearton and Comedian Don Banks.

Will keep you posted as to when you can see those clips :)

UV Summer Showcase was a hit!

On the 29th August, my choir United Voice North West performed their 'Summer Showcase'. The concert was a mixture of songs they have performed in past concerts and things they have been looking at and working on at weekly workshops (which take place at 7pm, Thursday nights at the Temperance Institute, 65 London Street, Southport... Quick shameless plug there!)

The show was a resounding success and everyone there left feeling uplifted... music just does that doesn't it! (well... some music anyway!) 

The Mayor of Sefton, councillor Alf Doran and the Lady Mayoress, Councillor Gillian Cuthbertson were both present. After the Concert, the Mayor gave an extremely complimentary speech saying "as Mayor, I am invited to attend many events, but I can honestly say that this has been one of the best musical events I have been invited to."

He then went on to thank the choir and request two encores, one of which was a favourite of his "Unchained Melody". (They really did do it well, I loved it!)

The entrance and foyer of the building had a revamp and looked great in "Roasted Red" (I'll put some pictures on of the new look and the concert with this post later)

I was so pleased at how well the evening went. The choir was wonderful, the soloists were wonderful and the acoustics in the Ballroom at the Temperance Institute were just brilliant.

As usual, I'm very proud of everyone involved, well done folks!

(Don't forget... 7pm, each Thursday, Temperance Institute, Southport! - All welcome)

US trip Part 3... Ghost towns, Lobsters and a whole lot of fun!

Well, it's been such a busy time recently that it looks like I have a few updates to do at once. So firstly, the last part of our US trip... Our last port of call was with the DeFord's in Colorado Springs. It was wonderful staying with the DeFord's, they're such a great family. Sally and I worked on new arrangements and recorded my vocals for my next album, which will be available in the next month or so (Watch this space). It was so nice to be able to spend a whole month there and not just live out of our suitcases, and to know that we weren't moving on straight away to the next place. Fran and I had amazing fun... in fact what's actually amazing is that Sally and I managed to get any work done because we all had so much fun whilst we were there. 

We got to see Garden of the Gods and during a trip to Blanding, Utah where Sally and I were scheduled to do a youth fireside, we all got to see Black Canyon, St. Elmo's (a ghost town) and Mesa Verde, where we saw amazing abandoned ancient Native American settlements, which were actually built into the rock face, sometimes 200 feet up the rock face. That was really cool! One of the best parts of the Blanding trip though, was Daniel (Sally and Dennis' son) having us in stitches of laughter with funny games and conversation. Award goes to Danny for most entertaining traveller on our road-trip! 

I noticed Sally wrote in her blog:

One highlight of their visit was July 4... Independence Day... and to honor, er... honour the occasion, they regaled me with our national anthem. It was something quite out of the ordinary to hear "...and the rockets' red glare... the bombs bursting in air..." done in proper British accents by singers costumed for the occasion... a red, white and blue tiara, bow tie, socks... I have pictures, but I think I'll let James decide whether or not post one lest I leave myself open to retaliation. 

It's true, we did! Below is a picture of the lovely get-up we donned for the occasion (it was first thing in the morning before we were truly awake and showered!)

It was also Fran's birthday the next day and so I planned a surprise trip to a very beautiful hotel complex called the Broadmoor in Colorado. It's a lovely place and the food was fantastic. We both decided to try something we hadn't had before. Fran wasn't so keen on the pheasant, though it was done well, but I loved the Steak and Lobster which I ordered... however I mistook the Price for an order number and won't be having lobster again until our bank account recovers!

But of all the eating places we visited, the most frequent was our new found love... the Rumbi Island Grill, a Hawaiian themed restaurant. We have lamented regularly since getting back home that we don't have Rumbi here... we miss their sweet potato fries... mmmmmmmm

It was a fantastic visit and we're so grateful to Sally, Dennis, Danny and Jen for making us feel so incredibly welcome in their home.

P.S. we also miss being honourary members of the Colorado Springs Academy Ward Choir :-(

We'll be back!

Garden of the Gods and the balancing rock (Held up by Fran!)

In the 2nd Picture also: Dennis and Daniel DeFord

Trying to get a stamp at the post office to no avail 

(At the St Elmo Ghost town)

They also had humming bird feeders outside the gift store, (I managed to get one mid-flight) and you could feed the wild (well... tame now) chipmunks.

The amazing Ancient Native American settlements at Mesa Verde:

Me visiting Boulder... well, actually 'on' a boulder at Arches National Park in Utah.

And my favourite "falling of the cliff" picture which Dan and I staged (Sally was sat in the car, otherwise I don't think we'd have gotten away with it!)

Waiting for the fireside in Blanding:

The beautiful Broadmoor hotel complex and the slightly pricey Lobster tail... Not at all slimey like I thought it would be :)

4th July and all dressed up... (We'd only just got up, so we look rather disheveled!) 

And the stack of games that proves how much fun we had and how remarkable it is that we ever got any work done! :)

Our favourite place to eat in Colorado springs (Rumbi):

Duets, Donkeys and Diners!

The second part of our US trip took us to Utah. We stayed with friends in Pleasant Grove and South Jordan. It was great fun visiting friends. There's something so cool about knowing people on the other side of the Atlantic! It really is a small world. :)

Then we travelled to Soularium Studio in Alpine, where I worked on a recording project with LDS singer Allyse Smith Taylor. It was great to be invited over to record two duets with Allyse. They will both feature on Allyse's CD, which will be available sometime in August and my own next album which is due for release in September/October of this year.

We all had a lot of fun at the Studio. My very good friend composer Sally DeFord was there (she wrote all of the songs on the Album). Also involved were LDS pianist Marvin Goldstein, Violinist April Moriarty and Wind and Reeds player Daron Bradford. I also had the pleasure of meeting and working with vocal coach and talented performer Sam Payne and the owner of the studio Dan Carlisle, who has worked on such projects as "The Work and the Glory."

Also on a side note, between the restaurants 'Blue Lemon' and 'Kneaders', lunch time was a big hit. They both make fab soup and sandwiches!

I'll keep you updated on the albums, when they are to be released and where you can buy them. :)

Last year we visited a little eating place in Lehi called Porter's Place (a saloon type restaurant which tributes Orin Porter Rockwell, bodyguard of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young). Here we encountered drinks like "snake venom' and a burger like no other. We had to laugh at it's name (The Destroying Angel!) That was until we saw it and realised just how big this burger was. What was more concerning was just how easily I ate the whole thing, the potatoe wedges and it's side order of barbecue beans! When the waitress brought the burger over, she said "don't worry, I'll bring a box for you to take away what you don't eat" and when she returned: "wow, I don't think I've seen anyone eat the whole thing before!" So of course this burger is now to become a tradition. Below is a picture of the beast :)

As if the names of the meals in the menu weren't funny enough, the meal was brought to a unique finish when we stepped out of the door to a sight you don't see everyday... A man and wife walking their dog and... donkey! Ha! We couldn't help but laugh, to which the lady smiled and said "we're only walking the donkey"... brilliant! 

Our final destination was with Jay Richards and his wife Carri in Logan. We had a lovely time visiting with our friend Jay who is a producer and director over in Logan with his own company Music Theatre West, who perform at the beautiful Ellen Eccles theatre. Jay gave us our own private tour of the theatre and rehearsal rooms. They really are fantastic, only strengthening my dream to one day own my own theatre. Back in October 2008, Jay produced and directed his musical production of the Louisa May Alcott novel Little Women. The songs are beautiful and his orchestrations are wonderful. I'm still hoping to direct a UK premiere of Jay's Little Women early 2010... so watch this space.

This time round we weren't able to fit a visit to the Salt Lake temple into the trip, so we were thrilled when Jay and Carri took us to see the Logan temple. It really is a wonderful building. It's castle like architecture holds such history and we were treated to some fascinating stories Jay and Carri recounted to us of the temple the couple were married in.

Utah was great. Watch out folks... we'll be back! 

Dan Carlisle and Sam Payne at the controls in Soularium Studio, Alpine

Me in the booth!

Allyse Smith Taylor and I after recording

For a monster meal, vist...

Yum!

Walking the Donkey! :)

The beautiful Logan temple