I am sure there is a rule about bloggers writing when they're angry and they should sleep on things before posting because they might regret it but I don't think this is going to happen. I am sure there will be fans (and a few artists and musicians) jumping up and down when I announce that this will be my last post on this blog.
Yesterday I read an article in my Twitter feed about the increase in panhandling or begging in downtown St. John's, Newfoundland from CBCNL and some of the problems it was causing. Canadians down on their luck being forced to ask strangers for money because they can't make ends meet and who are often homeless. Panhandling or begging is a problem everywhere including the city and country where I live. I have a lot of empathy for people genuinely down on their luck and who are homeless who have to ask strangers for money to get by.
But there is also an increase in panhandling from Canadians who are young and think they're entitled. For those fans who don't know @stewanddana2019 (Dana McKinlay and Stewart Dowd) on Twitter, they are not down and out homeless people living on the streets of a modern day Canadian city. They are two young, able, white, middle class, attractive, thirty somethings living in a nice apartment in Calgary who decided to get engaged after being together for seven years. They decided they wanted to have someone famous sing at their wedding for free in September 2019 and spend their engagement tweeting musician Alan Doyle. They decided to tweet him every day sharing photographs of their lives and their alleged 'love' of his music and the music of Great Big Sea.
After Alan Doyle's recent support, likes and responses on his official Twitter account to the recently engaged @stewanddana2019 begging him to play at their wedding because they are allegedly huge fans and fans of Great Big Sea I have decided enough is enough. For me if it doesn't sound true then it really isn't. And after five months and post after post of trip ups there is little evidence to support their cause. I was also blocked by them after I suggested early on after fans started to badger Alan Doyle after six posts to play at their wedding that there were more deserving fans and fans who were fans and tweeted Alan Doyle for nothing in return.
There were many trip ups. One post @stewanddana2019 described how they had difficulty sharing their access for Alan Doyle's music on Spotify when Dana travelled to the US. They obviously hadn't bought an online album. In another recent post they tweeted about having found speakers in a lost suitcase returned to them so they could crank up Alan Doyle and GBS. For a couple who tweeted photographs of people at their endless kitchen parties and listening to Alan Doyle and GBS in their new Calgary apartment wouldn't they already have speakers? Irrelevant that cranking up their music in an apartment building would certainly piss off other residents. In another post from their travels overseas they referred to their group of friends as a 'band of gypsies'. Most fans know that Alan Doyle's band name changed a long time ago for cultural reasons that were explained by Alan on numerous Twitter posts. Despite being fans they seem to have missed this discussion. Stew and Dana also didn't know Alan Doyle's birthday even though he was the only one they were following when it was his birthday in May and he thanked everyone for the birthday wishes. For his birthday he wanted people to join his charity. So they are clearly not even paying attention to his posts.
For those of us fans who are not young, pretty and slim like Dana, who sends Alan Doyle photographs of herself in her bikini, her trip home to get her wedding dress, holidaying around the world, drinking and partying with her partner of seven years Stewart and many, many friends only one or two seem to have active Twitter accounts due to the absence of likes and who doesn't seem to have a job of any kind, we are ignored on Alan Doyle's social media sites for the most part. Unless we tweet during an official question and answer session which I have never done.
@stewanddana2019 have been acknowledged more times than me and certainly a lot more than other mature age women fans who have more years as fans and definitely bought more merchandise and concert tickets than these two. Some fans who have bought tickets and merchandise have not been tweeted for over four years. There are those who support his charity A Dollar A Day and have to the best of my knowledge never been acknowledged by Alan on Twitter. Others only on official question and answer sessions. Me, I haven't been acknowledged for at least a year and a half. Not that I have asked. I feel like a total idiot. So as a consequence directly for his support of @stewanddana2019 I unfollowed him on Twitter last March and I have decided to give away most of my fan stuff including CDs and merchandise.
@stewanddana2019 in the five months since they started tweeting Alan Doyle have had a happy birthday, been given a shout out at the concert in Calgary and had over 20 likes on their posts. They have also managed to get others including Newfoundlanders who hardly knew them to tweet and contact Alan Doyle on their behalf. Other fans with requests for anything including interviews or attendance at personal events are directed to contact his management. Even though their wedding is over a year away they have never been referred to his management for an official response.
In the 180 or so daily tweets from @stewanddana2019 there is no evidence they are fans. There is evidence that they listen to Spofity as against buying music, been to one concert in Calgary this year after they decided they wanted Alan to sing at their wedding and bought one tshirt. They have also told various stories but not shown any evidence of purchasing tickets or others purchasing tickets on their behalf. So easy to print off a ticket these days and share via social media.
There is no evidence @stewanddana2019 have bought music online, or a CD or book or any kind of merchandise over the years despite their declaration of being fans. Despite their declaration of love for Alan Doyle and Great Big Sea music and their extensive travel they have never been to Newfoundland and never been to a Great Big Sea concert in the 20 years they were together. Most fans listen to their favourites music because they like it not because it will convince them they're fans and to sing at their wedding.
Despite searching Stewart and Dana's Facebook and Instagram pages where most of the photographs they include in their daily posts to Alan Doyle come from there is absolutely no evidence they are or have ever been Alan Doyle and Great Big Sea fans. There is no mention with the photographs posted on Facebook and Instagram of their love for Alan Doyle and Great Big Sea music. If it was true then wouldn't there be some kind of record on their social media platforms?
But what gets to me about Alan Doyle's support of @stewanddana2019 other than their begging is that they send lots of posts with photographs of them drinking sometimes quite excessively. They seem to spend a lot of money on alcohol, funding kitchen parties and supplying alcohol to a range of people and quite proud of the fact they are drinkers and the amount of drinking they do all with Alan Doyle and Great Big Sea music in the background. They say they're fans yet I don't see them offering to support Alan Doyle's charity A Dollar A Day that helps mental health and addiction issues.
On their Twitter account there is no retweeting of Alan Doyle's posts from his own Twitter account, no responses to his posts no interaction other than to tell him something about their off topic lives often accompanied by recycled photographs. They have limited interaction with other fans and only tweet them about their posts. There is nothing about anyone else or anything other than themselves.
For fans on social media who follow Alan Doyle knows he grows tired on fans who constantly badger him for anything and has endless patience when it comes to ignoring fans. I doubt very much he will sing at their wedding due to other commitments in September as there are a lot of music festivals around that time.
What a waste of an engagement period and they will be constantly reminded of the musician who didn't play at their wedding. That is if they actually do get married or rather the opportunity to fulfil a scam for Alan Doyle to play for free a gig in a place of their choice.
@stewanddana2019 ignore others who make any kind of alternative suggestions. Fans like me who made the suggestion that they go to a concert during their honeymoon or instead of presents from family and friends who attend donate to Alan's charity were blocked. Other fans who suggest they pay for it themselves were ignored. There is no reason they can't set up a GoFundMe page for family and friends interested in getting Alan Doyle to play instead of presents but they seem to want him to perform for free.
There is no evidence @stewanddana2019 have bought music online, or a CD or book or any kind of merchandise over the years despite their declaration of being fans. Despite their declaration of love for Alan Doyle and Great Big Sea music and their extensive travel they have never been to Newfoundland and never been to a Great Big Sea concert in the 20 years they were together. Most fans listen to their favourites music because they like it not because it will convince them they're fans and to sing at their wedding.
Despite searching Stewart and Dana's Facebook and Instagram pages where most of the photographs they include in their daily posts to Alan Doyle come from there is absolutely no evidence they are or have ever been Alan Doyle and Great Big Sea fans. There is no mention with the photographs posted on Facebook and Instagram of their love for Alan Doyle and Great Big Sea music. If it was true then wouldn't there be some kind of record on their social media platforms?
But what gets to me about Alan Doyle's support of @stewanddana2019 other than their begging is that they send lots of posts with photographs of them drinking sometimes quite excessively. They seem to spend a lot of money on alcohol, funding kitchen parties and supplying alcohol to a range of people and quite proud of the fact they are drinkers and the amount of drinking they do all with Alan Doyle and Great Big Sea music in the background. They say they're fans yet I don't see them offering to support Alan Doyle's charity A Dollar A Day that helps mental health and addiction issues.
On their Twitter account there is no retweeting of Alan Doyle's posts from his own Twitter account, no responses to his posts no interaction other than to tell him something about their off topic lives often accompanied by recycled photographs. They have limited interaction with other fans and only tweet them about their posts. There is nothing about anyone else or anything other than themselves.
For fans on social media who follow Alan Doyle knows he grows tired on fans who constantly badger him for anything and has endless patience when it comes to ignoring fans. I doubt very much he will sing at their wedding due to other commitments in September as there are a lot of music festivals around that time.
What a waste of an engagement period and they will be constantly reminded of the musician who didn't play at their wedding. That is if they actually do get married or rather the opportunity to fulfil a scam for Alan Doyle to play for free a gig in a place of their choice.
@stewanddana2019 ignore others who make any kind of alternative suggestions. Fans like me who made the suggestion that they go to a concert during their honeymoon or instead of presents from family and friends who attend donate to Alan's charity were blocked. Other fans who suggest they pay for it themselves were ignored. There is no reason they can't set up a GoFundMe page for family and friends interested in getting Alan Doyle to play instead of presents but they seem to want him to perform for free.
