Raspy and unpolished -- words used by country music artist Gary Allan to describe his voice. "I have no idea why people would want to hear it," he joked, adding, "It has a lot of character. There’s a lot of different nuances in my voice."

Indeed, the cracks, breaks and other imperfections in Allan’s voice are relentlessly compelling, scattering syllables and bending notes, ultimately trapping listeners in landslides of emotion. Blend Allan’s evocative vocals and his "I’m just here to have fun" stage act with the spare, high-amp, honky-tonk style known as the Bakersfield Sound and you’ve got a combustible mix potent enough to burn down all those roadhouses and backwater bars that nurtured Allan, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and countless others.

Allan grew up in a musical family in Whittier, California and his talent was evident at an early age."My mother was my biggest supporter," Allan said . "It doesn’t take much to squash a kid when they’re learning."

His mother insisted that the family guitars stay in plain view, believing that if put away they would be forgotten. Whenever Allan picked up a guitar to practice, his mother quietly went about the house turning off radios and television and blocking out other distractions so she could listen to her son.

Allan’s father also nutured his son’s talents. "I played bars with my dad from the time I was 13," Allan said. Offered a recording contract at 15, Allan and his parents turned it down.

Developing a Style

"People say you need to play bars to kind of find yourself. My dad just really felt like I didn’t have a distinctive style when I was that young. He always said you need to play for the people that love you, the people that hate you and the people that could care less and you’ll find yourself in there somewhere."

Allan played the California fighting and drinking circuit for several years before discovering his style. "I can remember the year that it happened. I was 22 or 23 and suddenly everything just came together, what I liked, what I wanted, the music. There was a definite style to it."

The rise of the Bakersfield Sound in California during the 1950s, 60s and 70s paralleled the rise of the Nashville Sound emanating from Music City during that same time period. The two sub-genres of country music stand in stark contrast to each other. The Nashville Sound was the country music industry’s attempt to survive the threat of rock n’ roll. It was a lush, loose, pop-oriented sound, born in studios, and aimed squarely at a middle class audience. Background vocals and overdubbing were standard fare and instruments included acoustic guitars, pianos, strings and horns.

The Bakersfield Sound was also a response to desperate times but on a more individual level. The migrants from depression-era Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas who came to California found hard times, back-breaking work, and deprivation. The music, born in the honky-tonks and bars, through trial and error, was designed to provide escape and relief from the harsh realities of daily life. The blue-collar sound was noisy, twangy and beat-driven, utterly lacking in pretense.

Allan’s style places him squarely in the middle of the Bakersfield Sound, both stylistically and developmentally. "I grew up playing stuff that I thought would go over great in the clubs, that had a lot of energy or had an instant message. Something that moves you, makes you laugh, makes you cry, pisses you off. I think the sound I try and go for is something you’d listen to and say, ‘Man that was the greatest bar band!’ It’s not slick and it’s very energetic."

"During the week, if you’re a bar band, you’ll have nights where people all leave early because they have to work and, I think that’s what my dad meant when he said you learn to play for yourself. Just play stuff you like to play, and no matter what’s going on around you, it’s fun. Even in the worst shows, I like ‘em, I have fun."

Walking the Traditional Line

Allan continued, "We could never play the Top 40 bars (in California) because we wouldn’t play that type of music. We always played stuff we’d written and old stuff. Allan and his band, the Honky Tonk Wranglers, always packed the venues they did play and promoters often tried to move them to larger clubs. Allan remembered one encounter with a would-be promoter, "I had a lady come in once and tell me I had to fire Jake (Jake Kelly, friend and lead guitarist), and we had to cut out a lot of the George Jones. I remember just laughing at her and saying, ‘yeah, just remove all the soul from what I do and I can play for you and you can have a cut.’ "

The folding of Allan’s label, Decca Records, and his subsequent move to the parent label, MCA Nashville, left Allan’s second CD release, It Would Be You in limbo. Singles released to radio have had mixed success because, much as it would have in an earlier era, his style places him at odds with the country music sound produced in Nashville today.

"It wasn’t until I came to Nashville that I heard, ‘Is this commercial?’ Or, ‘will they play this on the radio?’ Sometimes I have a hard time getting on the radio and I think it’s because of where music is at today. In trying to make sure that I get traditional stuff on the radio, sometimes I walk a real fine line."

Allan has no hard feelings toward those who produce the more successful pop-oriented records, figuring that the more listeners brought to radio, the more people that will have a chance to hear his music. Yet....

"They definitely need to always play the traditional music. Otherwise it (country music) will keep sliding because a lot of the soul’s gone right now. I think country music used to be about what happened during the week and rock n’ roll used to be about what happened on the weekends. Now, a lot of the country stuff is in the same vein (as rock n’ roll)."

Cutting a New Album

Allan is currently working on his third CD, to be released in September. The first single, "Smoke Rings in the Dark," goes to radio stations July 8. Allan previewed rough cuts of new songs at his Fan Fair fan club party in Nashville last week.

"Yeah, I’m not weird about stuff like that. It is what it is. It’s either going someplace good or it’s not. I thought it was fun. For the fan club party I always try to do something that nobody else will get and that way it was worth them coming. They got something special for their support." Numbers such as "Crying for Nothing," "Cowboy Blues" ( in which Allan makes his whistling debut), and "I Suffer" (which has an Elvis kind of vibe) should assure listeners that Gary Allan has stayed true to his musical style.

"You’re supposed to try and land about 10 songs on the records. So far, I’ve got 14 that I want on there, so something has to go. What I look for in an album is different pulls of emotion. I want the album to take you different places. I always try to make sure there’s a couple songs on there that you don’t get the first time you hear. They kind of creep up on you."

Allan mentioned that Ernest Tubb was one of the older artists he’d like to cover in future albums, "Ernest Tubb, he was my first concert when I was in the 7th grade. I think 'Thanks A Lot' would make another great hit today."

Allan finds material in many different places, laughingly recalling, "There’s a tape I recently found of songs I’d written when I was around 12. I’d recorded them in the bathroom because of the reverb and the tape has 9 songs on it. I get pitched a lot worse stuff than I was writing when I was 12." He goes to those around him first for material, "Odie Blackmon, Jake, my guitar player, Luke Reed. I definitely go to my friends."

Allan also thinks it’s important to keep a good relationship with the publishers. He noted he has to dig harder for songs than would someone who had a triple platinum record. "I go through literally glad bags full of tapes from people and I’ll just sit there with a couple six-packs of beer and listen until I’m worn out," Allan said. After starting with thousands of songs, about 25 make the first cut, "I’ll just put them on a tape and I’ll just wear that tape out. Some of them shine and some of them don’t. Then I start thinking about my album, how I want it to feel, how I want it to sound. Picking and choosing I just try to find great songs."

When his stay in Nashville is over, Allan can see himself following the same route as Buck Owens, "If I didn’t have a deal, I’d be playing in some bar. I’m not enchanted with the whole business part, so when it’s over, when I’m older, I’ll have a little bar down at the end of the street and I’ll play there on Saturday and Sunday. "

Smoke Rings in the Dark CD Review
Gary Allan at Zanie's Comedy Club (Fan Fair 2000)

Mountain West Music 2002