Allen Stone has a captivating look, with his long blonde hair, big white American teeth and his colorful jumpers he is hard to miss when he walks onto a stage or into a room.
The most entrancing bit of Allen Stone though are his pipes. With a voice that is comparable to some of the greatest soul singers of our time. Think Stevie Wonder. Think Marvin Gaye.
Stone’s praises have also been sung by just about every critic and reviewer in his homeland for his 2011 self-titled release through ATO records (his third discounting two smaller releases, though his major label debut), with MTV proclaiming he had “the best effing voice” they’d ever heard, while the New York Times likened him to 70s soul-songwriters like Bill Withers and Donny Hathaway.
On the eve of him flying out to Europe for a few weeks of touring, Stone grabbed a few minutes to catch up with Tone Deaf from a bar in Santa Barbara, California.
It was hard to tell if the 25 year old musician was more excited about being the upcoming tour or simply being with his friends to hang out without gigging for a moment.
“Yes, I am in a bar!” he bleats, “I just finished a songwriting session and I am hanging with my mates here in California. We just came down from Seattle and we head over to Europe tomorrow.”“I saw that a song could change an individual’s morning, day, mood, or even their outlook on life.”
“We are very excited about getting over there,” he confirms. “My friends are in a band also and they are really cool, you should check them out. They are called Tommy and The High Pilots.”
Stone has been on the move with his music from a young age. His very early years were spent in his Dad’s church in a small town in Chewelah, Washington.
Bordering on the ski fields of the Northwest and Glacier National Park, Stone commenced singing at 3 years old. Long story short, this was where he started to realise his voice had some power.
“I discovered my voice singing in the church and I noticed that it could really have an impact on people,” he explains. “I observed this fairly early on. I saw that a song could change an individual’s morning, day, mood, or even their outlook on life and I thought that this was a pretty powerful ability.”
One listen to his voice today and you can only imagine, even if it was still growing and changing, what it might have sounded like to the congregation of a small town in America. They may have thought they were witnessing a miracle.
Stone eventually left the town and church when he was 18 after becoming disenchanted with religion and that motivated him to take his music to Seattle.
Did his parents throw him out of the home when his views were not aligned? “Well no, my parents did not disown me or leave me walking on the side of the road or the railroad tracks when I decided to move on… And I have no disrespect for the church because I do believe they do have some good moral beliefs there, but I had to find my way.”
“My parents come from a place where they believe that each individual has to find their own way and they have been supportive about that,” continues Stone over the clinking of beer bottles in the background.
With his eyes still set on performing, he took off for the great wide open. “My manager discovered me playing in coffee houses and it was a positive experience for both of us. He heard something there that he thought was special and we moved forward with pushing it ahead and it has been a very surreal experience over the last couple of years,” Stone describes.“…The one that rates the highest was opening for Al Green. When I received that phone call I was certain it must have been a joke.”
How surreal has it been? He was called by Darryl Hall (of Hall & Oates fame) to come sing with him on his internet show Live From Darryl’s House (a webcast worth checking out if you have not seen it already).
“Darryl Hall had discovered me via a YouTube clip and that led to the invite to do his show and I was just over the moon,” he details. “I am sure people could see it in my face during the recording.”
Through his performance on Hall’s webcast, he ended up doing some live shows “under the banner of the Nu-Soul Revue with Hall and the amazing Sharon Stone,” Stone relates. “They were fabulous moments.”
“That was surreal, but the one that rates the highest was opening for Al Green. When I received that phone call I was certain it must have been a joke,” says the singer.
“I did not get to sing with him, but opening for that man and his voice and his history, well, yes that was surrealism at its truest form,” Stone concludes with a hearty laugh.
Stone himself provides the perfect label for his music, self-described as a ‘hippie with soul’. His presence and his positive energy and enthusiasm is self-evident, and with his self-titled album due for local release in Australia on March 14th, his debut Australian tour couldn’t see him better poised for success.
Allen Stone plays Byron Bay Bluesfest 2013 this Easter Weekend, and two headline shows in Melbourne and Sydney, see below for details.
ALLEN STONE AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2013 DATES
Tickets on sale now
Thursday 28 March – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne
Tickets available via www.northcotesocialclub.com or 1300 724 867
Saturday 30 March – Blue Beat Live, Sydney
Tickets available via www.bluebeat.com.au or (02) 9328 4411
Bluesfest 2013 Tickets & Dates
Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, Byron Bay
Thursday March 28th – Monday April 1st, 2013
Tickets: www.bluesfest.com.au
ph: 02 6685 8310
