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Mike Allen

After listening to the new album from Mike Allen called "Texas Soul" this is where it's at my music friends. I really enjoyed his last album and this one triggered something in my musical pallet...

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Hometown	Orangevale, CA
Genres	Country, Americana / Alt Country
Band Members	Mike Allen - Vocals, Guitar
Achievements	» more
Upcoming Shows	None

Contact Information:	Artist / Band Member Mike Allen mikeallensongs@gmail.com 9169882404
# Years Experience Performing Live:	41
# Live Perfomances Past Six-months:	6
Market Draw:	Clubs: 76-100; Festivals: 800+
Venue History:	Riverstock Music Festival - Warrensburg, NY Nicholsons Musicafe - Folsom, CA Acoustic Den Cafe - Roseville, CA Tx Pub - Porter, TX
Opener Experience:	Toby Keith; Dixie Chicks; Gene Watson
Similar Artists:	Chris Stapleton; Guy Clark; Hayes Carll
Performing Rights Society:	ASCAP
Discography:	Texas Soul LP—2017; Pieces Of Me LP—2016; A Mile Of Bad Track LP—2014; Good For Something LP—2000

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About the Artist

Mike began his odyssey as a professional musician in 1976 at only 16 years old. A Texas born singer/songwriter, Mike has a strong background as a lead guitarist in Blues, Southern Rock and various forms of Country and Country Rock. Performing with or...

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Music

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Achievements

Roots Finals Grand Prize Winner January 2020

Roots Finals Grand Prize Winner October 2019

Folk Winner, January 2020

Roots Finals Grand Prize Winner January 2020

Roots Finals Grand Prize Winner October 2019

Folk Winner, January 2020

Folk Winner, December 2019

Folk Winner, November 2019

Folk Winner, October 2019

Folk Winner, September 2019

Top 10 in Folk, March 2021

Top 10 in Folk, February 2021

Top 10 in Folk, January 2021

Top 10 in Folk, December 2020

Top 10 in Folk, November 2020

Top 10 in Folk, October 2020

Top 10 in Folk, September 2020

Top 10 in Folk, August 2020

Top 10 in Folk, July 2020

Top 10 in Folk, June 2020

Top 10 in Folk, May 2020

Top 10 in Folk, April 2020

Top 10 in Folk, March 2020

Top 10 in Folk, February 2020

Top 10 in Folk, August 2019

Top 10 in Folk, July 2019

Top 10 in Folk, June 2019

Top 10 in Country, December 2018

April 2017 Judging Excellence

Top 40 in Folk, May 2022

Top 40 in Folk, April 2022

Top 40 in Folk, March 2022

Top 40 in Folk, February 2022

Top 40 in Folk, January 2022

Top 40 in Folk, December 2021

Top 40 in Folk, November 2021

Top 40 in Folk, October 2021

Top 40 in Folk, September 2021

Top 40 in Folk, August 2021

Top 40 in Folk, July 2021

Top 40 in Country, July 2021

Top 40 in Country, June 2021

Top 40 in Folk, June 2021

Top 40 in Folk, May 2021

Top 40 in Country, May 2021

Top 40 in Folk, April 2021

Top 40 in Country, November 2020

Top 40 in Country, October 2020

Top 40 in Country, September 2020

Top 40 in Country, February 2020

Top 40 in Country, January 2020

Top 40 in Country, December 2019

Top 40 in Country, November 2019

Top 40 in Country, July 2019

Top 40 in Country, June 2019

Top 40 in Country, May 2019

Top 40 in Folk, May 2019

Top 40 in Country, March 2019

Top 40 in Country, February 2019

Top 40 in Country, January 2019

Top 40 in Country, September 2018

Top 40 in Country, August 2018

Top 40 in Country, July 2018

Top 40 in Country, April 2018

Top 40 in Country, March 2018

Top 40 in Country, December 2017

Top 40 in Country, May 2017

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Press Coverage

Songwriter Mike Allen on Staying True To Your Self by Jacqueline Jax host of A.V.A Live Radio
GETTING TO KNOW MIKE ALLEN by Jacqueline Jax host of A.V.A Live Radio Social media… Everything. It’s completely changed the game. In the old days, if you weren’t getting airplay you were always pulling into cold towns that didn’t have a clue who you were. It would take 2 or 3 return trips to start building an audience. Now, with Facebook, Twitter, Reverbnation and the rest, you have people all over the world who are already listening to your music and asking you to come play. I have a guy in South America that stumbled across my music on Facebook and went nuts over a song of mine called The Ballad Of Brushy Bill Roberts. The music goes from a Spanish feel in the verses to a Country Rock on the chorus. Thanks to him turning all his friends onto my music and them sharing it with theirs, I have a ready-made audience down there. Challenges that you’ve had to overcome… Just the normal. Finding like-minded musicians, Finding stations where your music would fit, finding people that will play it and not just scalp you for large fees. It’s always a struggle, but it’s worth it. Singles vs an album… It goes both ways, depending on the medium. If you are pushing for mainstream radio, a single is the way to go to get your foot in the door and get people listening. But it’s hard finding a station that will play someone new and indie except for one spin at 3am lol. I think the biggest medium has turned into internet radio. Reaching an audience that’s not listening to mainstream: colleges, traditionalists, Americana audiences, that’s the way to go. You have a broader listener base that’s world wide and the DJ’s will play favorite cuts from the whole CD and give the audience a broader scope of what you do. Singles are kind of unnecessary. I would love to have 5 minutes alone with… So many, but I would have to say Guy Clark. He has always been idol and inspiration when it comes to songwriting. To say so much so simply and be able to make everyone see and feel something completely different from the lyrics within a single song is what we all aspire to. I’d love to pick his brain lol. Music trends.. I will NEVER be accused of being trendy lol. I guess I’m old school, but I believe music should mean something to you or won’t mean anything to anyone else. Not only should the words affect people, but they should walk away humming the melodies. When every song is about trucks, drinking and sex at the river, why would they remember your song over the 100 just like it? I try not to repeat myself too heavily and go for a different feel. Seems to be catching on. I am most afraid of… I guess just being stagnant. It’s too easy to look at all this as a giant staircase that you have to climb. If all you see is the top, it’s a long way off. If you just keep looking at the next step, it’s alot easier to keep moving. My personal definition of success is.. Just staying current. It’s a challenge to stay true to your music and style but continue to grow. Alot of artists sound nothing like they did 5 or 10 years ago and alienated their old audience. Alot of artists sound EXACTLY like they did 20 years and their audience gets bored with the same old thing. You have to learn how to stay current, let yourself grow but not outgrow your audience. George Strait has always done it and Blackberry Smoke is doing it from album to album. I have a DJ in New York that has been a steadfast supporter and pushes my music. I gave him the new CD and he went nuts. I was a little worried I had overreached on this one because the was a lot more rock than the the other 2. He told me that I had really captured myself this time and didn’t sound like anyone else. Doesn’t get better than that. My over all goal for my life & career is… Sustain myself. My long term goal is to be a songwriter. I have my own publishing house and I’m pushing my songs to other artists. I want to keep myself viable and play my music as long as I can, then continue to have my songs recorded. 3 Ways that I challenge myself… 1) In my writing I try to always tell a story that is relatable to what others may be going through. Never lose sight that if something hurts you, no matter how small it’s probably happened to a few hundred other people too. There could be a good story in there. 2) My playing, where I started, is my main focus as always. To stay current and still sound accessible. I love lead in all styles, acoustic fingerpicking, slide, lap and blues dobro, mandolin and TRYING to learn harmonica. 3) To keep my music fresh. If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing and believe in what you’re doing, no one else will. Music business… That’s a tricky one to answer. I love music, writing, performing, but the business side…not so much. It’s all become corporate and a business and very little about music. Bands that you hear in mainstream are manufactured and disposable for the most part. There’s very few that anyone will remember and be listening to in 10 years like the old artists that everyone loves still. Pros and cons have you experienced… A lot of everything from both sides lol. The pro side, I’ve gotten to play all over this country and in Canada and Mexico and do what I love. I’ve met most of my heroes from Stevie Ray, BB King and Albert Collins to Johnny Rodriguez, Toby Keith and the Dixie Chicks. I love it! The con side…I’ve been in music for 35 years, so I’ve not only been screwed in all the traditional ways, I’ve had promoters and agents think up some new and inventive ways lol. But all in all I still love it. Not everyone gets to make a living doing what they love. Hurdles and pitfalls… You just keep pushing forward. You have to realize that the people running the business side of things are not about the music and their opinions don’t matter. Just because they don’t like your music doesn’t mean it isn’t good, it just means they can’t mass-market it to their particular audience. If it’s good, it’ll sell. You just have to find your audience. I was surrounded by music… from an early age. My mother always had the radio on and watched all the Saturday night country music shows: Porter Waggoner, Buck Owens, Hee Haw… and my brother and sister were always playing CCR, Cream, Rolling Stones. I was getting everything all at once. I originally wanted to play piano like Jerry Lee Lewis or Elton John, but for financial reasons I got an acoustic guitar for Christmas when I was 14 lol. I fell into Jim Croce and soon moved on to electric when I got into Clapton, Allman Brothers and Skynyrd. I started gigging and went to work for the Little Walter Price Blues Band when I was 16. Barroom Hell … It’s a pretty traditional-type Country song, which I love. There are thousands of drinking songs and tear-jerkers, but they are always from the point of his fault or her fault. I wanted to go a little different. I did it from the perspective of the bar trapping you once you start, which happens in a lot of cases. You start drinking to get over something and you keep going so you don’t have to deal with anything. I am an observer. An eavesdropper is probably a better word, but observer is nicer lol. I get most of my song ideas in clubs watching people and listening to conversations going on around me. You can pretty much figure out a person’s story just watching them for a little while. (Support the artist, Buy the song: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/MikeAllen5 ) I wanted to do something completely different with this CD… I wanted to showcase a little of everything I do and write, which I hadn’t done before. My first CD, Good For Something, was a Texas Country album. All electric and bouncy. My second, A Mile Of Bad Track, was an acoustic album that went in more of a country/folk direction. I wanted to do one that had a little bit of everything. Acoustic ballads, straight-up Country, Southern Rock and some Blues. Everything you’ll hear at the shows. I’m always proud of the new baby, but I really feel this is the best work I’ve ever done. Greed Is The Devil’s Handshake is a song I co-wrote with Nashville songwriter Bobby Keel ( Hank Jr’s Whiskey On Ice and Confederate Railroad’s Time Off For Bad Behavior). It was funny because we got into a political argument as to which side is more crooked, Democrat or Republican ( as we do a lot lol) and he came off with that line. When I agreed, he challenged me to write a song with that title. The song isn’t political, but it’s fun with a story. I live in Conroe, Texas… about 30 miles north of Houston. It was a great scene around here when I was growing up. I mean, you had from ZZ Top Top to Gene Watson coming out of this area. But it’s kind of stagnated lately. My wife and I are talking about relocating to the San Antonio or Austin area. We have a local club in the nearby town of Cleveland, TX called Buffalo Too that all the local bands work to get into. Fun music venue. Well, not that we have gotten to lately, but my wife and I both love to go camping. I want to take her down to South Texas and camp out in Big Bend National Park and explore the old Indian caves, which she hasn’t gotten to see.

Have It All by Steven F. Adams
Well, for the last week I have been listening to the artist named Mike Allen and his album called "Pieces of Me". The first song sounded very familiar, almost reminding me of the song of the 70's called "Good Time Charlie's got the Blues", by singer songwriter Danny O'Keefe, however, Mike Allen does his own spin on his song called "Barroom Hell" and is a great song that opens the CD with a warm and friendly sound. The second song called "Greed is the Devils Handshake" and this song rattles the speakers on the wall and adds to the complete package of this great sounding album. The sound that Mike has this album is really catchy, and on the third cut called "Have it All" showcases his fancy guitar work and has the lyrics that match. On this particular song you really feel the actions of the slide guitar and is warm and friendly. The next track called "I Gave until it Hurt" Mike has a vocal ability that hints of Bob Dylan, but has the barroom feeling and emotion that go with it. This track tells of the person going through a the pains of a relationship and where one gives until they hurt, and the guitar works you can really feel the fret work on the slide guitar and is a good sound that I really enjoyed. The next song called "I just can't get over you" has a real country flare to it with the steel guitar playing throughout adds that strong element of a good old country breakup song. "I'm your Huckleberry" starts out loud and smashes with the guitars flaring and fancy ripping work that brings this great album to life, there are keyboards in this song, but blended in nicely that add that bluesy feel to the song. Next song called"old Enough to Know Better" just a really good example of good songwriting and Mike conveys this through his continual musicianship and and I really had a groove going with this song. The song "Tail lights" is a really catchy and a piano based song that just keeps the energy level going and utilizes his Mike Allen fused voice that adds to the fun and pure enjoyment of this album.Track number nine called "The Light" has real feel of country and adds that complete sound of this album and it really showcases Mikes consistency throughout this wonderful album.The last song on this really enjoyable album is called "Wrong Again" and this really plays into the message and singer songwriter that Mike Allen really is. I will hope to have the pleasure of seeing Mike Allen perform Live and that would have the ability to have that complete sound. I want to thank Mike Allen for his tremendous talent and bringing my ears attention to his gift of music, and I will be following his journey as he moves past into the next wave of his career.

FEELING IT, TEXAS STYLE by Steven F. Adams
After listening to the new album from Mike Allen called "Texas Soul" this is where it's at my music friends. I really enjoyed his last album and this one triggered something in my musical pallet. I have a good ear for music, in general this album really has that "Texas Soul" feel to it. The album starts out with a song appropriately called "Texas Soul" Mike brings that sound into your speakers this song has a bluesy feel to it and I really got into it right away. Mike has that hometown feel to his music but has a strong lyric ability that tells you a story and what's on his mind. The next song called "Always & Forever" is that kind of song that allows you to feel the powerful lyrical content that Mike presents in all of his songs and throughout this great album. As I listened on to the album the next track called "The Man You made of Me" is just that, where Mike lives on with his honesty and forthright feelings through his wonderful gift of writing a song that we all can relate to. The song "A Song For the Cowboy" Mike pays tribute to the cowboy and shows his story telling ability throughout this song. On the next song called "The Keeping Kind" Mike warns you about the woman that steals your heart, and has no future with you and is just not the "Keeping Kind". Damned if I Do" is just another showcase of Mikes song writing ability and lets you know what it is to feel in that relationship that uses that continual verbiage throughout one can't ever argue, cause your "Damned if I Do" "She Loved to Dance" Mike once again brings out his story telling ability through his tremendous gift of song, this song really brings out who Mike Allen is. A singer songwriter that just sings about what's real and heart felt melodies throughout. The song " A Little to Late" Mike brings out the blues and this song really showcases a side. I heard that down & grinding sounds of blues that was a memory of mine, when I first started listening to the blues, and the guitars in this song assist in telling you the song, In addition to Mikes gravely vocals really add truth and validity to the song. The next song called "The Ballad of Brushy Bill Roberts, Mike once again brings in his strong arm of writing ability to the song, and has a flamenco flare and adds a fresh sound to the album, and shows and allows Mike to be vulnerable, but made the song have a real feel that you were right there. I really enjoyed that song it's actually probably one of my favorites on the album. The last song called "The Game" Mike brings in his gravely vocal range and finishes his album out with that down & story telling ability, where throughout this whole album you really have to sit down and listen and then and only then you will discover what an incredible singer, storyteller and songwriter Mike Allen really is. My thanks to Mike for his gift of song and allowing me to be on his musical journey with him. I look forwards to hearing more in the future from Mike Allen.

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