James Alphonse – DREAM TOUR

In this Dream Tour segment, the electropop artist, James Alphonse, reveals who he would want on his ultimate tour lineup. You can check out their picks, after the break.

When asked about my dream tour before, I’ve given an answer that seems to shock most people. I love music, in fact, most people find it odd to know that I find myself listening to rock, classic, metal, pop (yes Justin Bieber and the Jonas Brothers too), soul, dubstep, folk, R&B, jazz, nature sounds, country and more. Where does that leave me as an artist? Well, for one thing, I love a good blend of music, and I doubt that many people would say they don’t as well. So, the first thing that I have to say to preface my dream tour, is that the genre doesn’t matter. What would matter is the listener experience. I would want to know that the attendees leave with a smile and a unique experience, but this still isn’t the most shocking part of my response regarding my dream tour…

To me, people are the centre of music. My team and the people who have invested in me are most important and I want to bring them into my experience. I want to celebrate their talents and share them, but how do you do this? I’m going to tell you, but, to start, you have to know that my dream tour involves sharing the stage with other new acts. I’ve been very blessed to receive mentorship in a variety of ways from people like Mark Daum (inventor of the piantar), Nick Blagona (Deep Purple, April Wine, the Police, etc.), Andre Kaden Black (Francesco Yates, Fefe Dobson, etc), Tal Vaisman (TV writer, Kadeema, the Ascot Royals), Scott Anderson (Finger 11), Mike Northcott (music supervisor at Corus Entertainment, Franklin theme song) and Duncan Coutts (Our Lady Peace). Each of these people invested in me when I was nothing. As incredibly successful, busy, talented human beings, they took time and invested in me. Moreover, there are incredible companies and people like Digital Tour Bus, Brian Peel, and Johno, who try to help musicians like me by shining some spotlight on them. I can’t begin to express how much their time means to me, and I feel a compulsion to pay this forward to them and other new artists. Now, for the question of how to do this…

For my incredible writing team and music consultants, if I had some sort of connection to a massive tour, I’d love to collaborate with other artists that they are working with. In this way, I could share the amazing work that they’ve done and help to contribute to their success. They’re amazing people, and I need to show that to the world. Some people who come to mind are Riley Michaels, Abby Hall, and Christine Pallazolo (Christee Palace). These are individuals who dedicate their time to their craft, write amazing music, and have worked with my team. This is part one of my four-part plan…

Next, I’d want to reach out to up and coming artists. To me, these are others, like myself, who needed someone to believe in them and to offer their time. In the same way that others offered their time, I’d aim to follow the ethos of my previous mentors to pay homage to the great things they’ve done for me. To this end, I’ve really enjoyed the work of Sam Magliazza (Sam Louis), Spencer Heslop (Taabu), and Graham Ko. They’re three incredibly talented individuals that give their all and write great songs.

After, I’d need a headliner to help bring a crowd that is representative of the tour group and their dedication to their craft. I’m democratic, so I’d like the tour team to reach a decision together. I’m also pretty nerdy, so a research-based approach would be part of that democratic approach. It would be one that considers the interests of the people that are involved. (Oh and I love supporting local, so I’d prefer a Canadian).

Finally, I’d have to make shout-outs to the amazing people that supported me along the way and I’d ask my tour group to join me in doing that. This means shout-outs to Brian, Johno, Digital Tour Bus, and anyone else who played a role in my success. I may be sounding overly positive/brown noser-ish here, but it really isn’t about that. Take a second to consider the busy, daily lives of these people. They have full-time jobs, families and even pandemics to worry about. What do they do? They take their time to write about musicians with dreams… They offer consultation to new artists… They believe in you and take time on you. If you can’t understand how amazing it is that they take time out of their day, you’d never understand me and why my perfect tour involves a structured way to thank them from the bottom of my heart. This is my dream tour. These are incredible people. They deserve more than just our thanks. Their vision at one point was me as an artist. If I ever become that vision, you better believe that I’ll be thanking them any way I can.

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