Alberta & The Dead Eyes is the giant-sounding band that in reality is the majority work of one real-life carpenter, David Boone (or D. Boone as he often signs off, evoking another literal and figurative giant of musical history, D. Boon of The Minutemen.)

In fact, Boone’s songs contain that same ramshackle joy and conversational, inclusive tone that Boon’s do. It’s the sound of a natural talent letting it fly.

“I’m a carpenter by day and sometimes even by night,” Boone says. “A fine carpenter at that, but a better musician.”

You may want to leave the page now to find out more about Boone, but don’t bother. He made the right choice. The choice that none of us made and many wish we had. Boone is nowhere to be found on social media. 

He lets the songs do the sharing.

Alberta & The Dead Eyes will release its new 11-song album Give or Take on March 15, 2024. The album will be preceded by “Ghost Kitty,” a four-song EP of additional songs on Dec. 22, 2023.

The songs on Give or Take represent a man in withdrawal from a two-packs-a-day cigarette habit that went on for 15 years.

“Mama, did it fuck me up more than I expected,” Boone confesses. “I wrote the entire record pretty much curled up in a ball.”

Grieving his relationship with nicotine while composing, Boone kept company with his influences, numerous and varied. So numerous and varied that mentioning a handful isn’t going to help you any more than looking for Boone online will.

“I love Billie Holiday. And The Stooges. And The Band. And Outkast. And Duke Ellington. And Cole Porter. And David Sedaris. And Bill Watterson. And the Detroit Pistons. And John fucking Prine.”

Boone doesn’t mention The Minutemen, but likely would, if prompted.

“I mean Jesus, should I keep going?”

Get it?

The thing about Boone as musician that isn’t likely is how much Boone as carpenter makes it into his music. He doesn’t mention the Grateful Dead either, but the steadfast focus that underpins Boone’s freestyle nature is kinda Alberta & The Workingman’s Dead Eyes.

“I’m a complete ‘no one is coming to save you’ type of person,” he explains. “Keep your head down and
do your job. Musician schmoosician. Do what your supposed to fucking do. Write good songs. Play good
shows. Show up on time. Be humble and be fucking nice.”

A real-life carpenter keeping it real-life real. Refreshing.

It should be even less surprising now that musician Boone rejected Instagram squares for T-squares just like he painfully swore off smokes cold turkey for the clean lungs that arrived with the songs, or as Boone sees it, he arrived to them.

“The songs are just there, hanging out, waiting for someone,” he says.

Now that someone is you.

Alberta & The Dead Eyes will release its new 11-song album Give or Take on March 15, 2024, preceded by “Ghost Kitty,” a four-song EP of additional songs on Dec. 22, 2023.

Alberta & The Dead Eyes - So Cool

“Charleston is an amazing city in the middle of a remarkable renaissance,” guitarist and songwriter, Mark Bryan says of his adopted hometown. “I’m lucky to be part of its growth. There are dozens of acts coming out of Charleston that are worthy of national recognition. You can really feel it.”

If you ask anyone in the Charleston music community about Bryan, they'll say, “Oh, everyone around Charleston knows Mark!” In actuality, everyone around the world probably knows a little bit about Bryan, whether they know they know or not.

As the guitarist for the two-time Grammy winning, nearly 20-million album selling band Hootie and The Blowfish, Bryan’s guitar playing was ubiquitous in 1995, contributing to the biggest album sales of any release that year, and leading to what is now ranked as one of the biggest selling albums in music history. 

Of course, success at that level brings with it all sorts of pre-conceptions, so when first hearing the tunes on Bryan’s upcoming third album Songs of The Fortnight, (August 11th, Chucktown Music Group), listeners will be surprised at the down-to-Earth songwriting that plays as just-earnest enough to be relatable and believable, while also sounding like Southern hospitality.

It was after Hootie went on indefinite hiatus almost a decade ago that Bryan first went full-force into other areas of the music business beyond being a musician.

“I learned a lot about making albums over the years from the Dons: Don Dixon, Don Gehman, and Don Was,” he explains of the three production legends who worked with Hootie. “Through that, the idea of producing talented artists with great songs, and helping them make timeless recordings, was very appealing to me, and something I quickly became very passionate about.”

As Bryan began to amass production credits on dozens of recordings, he also started using his own studio and personal resources to record and release songs on the fly – first his own, and then those of other artists. 

This process eventually led to the launch of the “Song of the Fortnight” blog, where Bryan posted a new song of his own, or an artist he was playing with or producing, every two weeks, for three years. Eventually, there was enough material for an album, which are the 11 songs compiled here on Songs of the Fortnight.

The album features ten Bryan originals, and an opening cut that is another nod to Bryan’s ease at throwing the spotlight; a barn-burning cover of Scruffy The Cat’s college radio favorite “Mybabyshe’sallright” (featuring frequent REM collaborator Peter Holsapple on harmonica.)
 
The upcoming album functions as somewhat of a capper – the “Song of the Fortnight” blog could have continued indefinitely if Bryan hadn’t received an offer to work for the College of Charleston, but the opportunity was right in line with his interest and continuing passion for elevating the local music community.

Furthering his community efforts, Bryan also teamed up with the esteemed local venue, the Charleston Music Hall to launch a television show “Live at the Charleston Music Hall,” which recently won a regional Emmy for Arts and Entertainment in the Southeast, and he is also heavily involved in Carolina Studios, a non-profit recording studio that allows children in low-income areas to have a songwriting and recording experience free-of-charge.
As Bryan continues to lend his part in helping to build Charleston, South Carolina into a rightful music mecca, he is also continuing to do what he’s done since he was a teenager by writing songs and making music.

“I have been fortunate to get to pursue my passion throughout my career,” he says. “My father taught me from a very young age to make a living doing something you love. I’ve always taken that approach to songwriting and performing by giving everything I have.”

Mark Bryan’s third album Songs of the Fortnight preceded by the single “Forgetting About Me” arrives August 11th via the artist’s own Chucktown Music Group.

Songs of the Fortnight

Song of the Fortnight

Mark Bryan - If You Saw Her

Fanatic is a music marketing company established by Josh Bloom in 1997 to build fan-to-fan connections between artists and the media. For 25 years, Fanatic has continued to help launch and maintain careers through the strategic advocacy of creative talent.

Mark Bryan - If You Saw Her

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