January 3, 2006 - Holiday Post

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the holiday season. I’m not sure exactly why they call this time Christmas holidays because most of the time is spent running around, stressed out buying gifts, cooking and cleaning. Next year I vote for cash gifts and Chinese takeout. It is great to be back though. I spent the first week home on the ranch writing. It was the only place I could turn off my cell and escape distractions for a little while. Although I got some writing done I also spent a lot of time just going through old photos, scrapbooks and school projects. Sometimes I think everything happened so fast I didn’t really get a chance to adjust. I kind of imagine myself on this crazy ride and as soon as I go home everything will return to normal-but that’s just not the case. Funny how you spend your whole childhood trying to grow up and the rest of your life wishing you hadn’t.

One thing I am really looking forward to is leaving New Years day on a family trip to the Caribbean. There are 25 people going – extended family and friends. I can’t wait to just lie in the sun and drink….umm… “Kool-Aid”. The great thing about this trip is that there will be six of us all around the same age. Hopefully we’ll leave some of the island intact.

After a week on the beach my sunburn and I will be flying back to Toronto and reality. The plan is to finish up writing and get in the studio as soon as possible. Writing has been going well but it took a while to figure out the direction of the album. The last album was quite diverse and this time around I will be looking to create a unified sound of my own. I think we are on the right track. Most of all I can’t wait to get out on the road and see everyone again.

As we enter the New Year it is impossible not to look back on the past year and wonder what we could have changed or improved. I remember walking on stage New Years Eve, 2004 in Kitchener Ontario for my first performance to a crowd of thousands. Man - that night I was one scared little “Hobbit”! Now sixty or seventy shows later I feel like I have learned and grown more than I could have imagined. This year will always go down as one of the most exciting, terrifyingly “cool” years of my life and I want to thank all of you for being a part of it. Over the past few letters I have attempted with varying degrees of success to express how thankful I am for your support. I feel like I am repeating myself and I’m never sure if I’m getting across to you how truly thankful I am. In such a fickle industry it is amazing that a year and a half into my career you are all still behind me 100%. I want to thank all of you who helped organize the charitable donations on my behalf. I would also like to say a huge thanks to those who sent gifts, cards, letters, and prayers while still finding time to request and vote for me. I am humbled and honored to have you as fans. Hopefully my new album can be a small offering of my gratitude. Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year.

Kalan