Deciding to make a “record” of the music I had composed turned out to be huge fun and a wonderful justification for buying a bunch of new music toys.  I can hack at keyboards and drums, but guitar has for decades been my main instrument.

In my head I could see various characters singing these songs that seemingly came out of nowhere, but how to connect them together with a story that made sense? . . .

I knew several fellows with great narration voices, but they all had Downeast Maine accents! As much as I love my home in Maine, the “ayuh” factor was not going to cut it for this production. Someone overheard me say that I was looking for a narrator with a rich voice and recommended Ralph Morse…when I heard his voice on the phone, I knew he was the right man for the job. He had been a CBS newscaster in Boston and a Shakespearean actor . . .

I discovered that God loved me first.  Me?  Yes, even me!  Un-done.  How could I not love Him back?

With this, my life began to change so fast that many around me were simply not able to comprehend what had happened to Alan.  As my studio partner said, “this is not the man I grew up with.”  This was a very good thing.  My then wife figured that my change was just another “phase” to grow through.  Wrong.  When she realized the change in me was genuine, she left. . . .

A powerful lesson spelled the end of touring for me. I got a call letting me know that Molly Hatchet wanted me to join them to play slide guitar. Our bands had the same agent at the time and I turned them down, because I thought our band had more potential. Six months later, my band, Iron Horse, had dissolved. Six more months and Hatchet had their first mega-hit record. I had a very sour taste in my mouth and a lot of bitterness toward the bandmates that had let me down (in my eyes). I saw this as a cruel twist of “fate”. . .

Today is ground zero on "Conversations From The Bus Stop". This will be the first in a series of rants detailing the origin and the long strange path that this musical has taken in its journey to fruition. Many unusual things have occurred along the way that can only be seen as God-incidences (not coincidences). If I had invented some of this, even I may not have believed it…