Marty Allen: Rockabilly Revivalist Stays True to Roots
By David DeRocco
For a rockabilly revivalist weaned on the likes of Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis, just making the trip to 706 Union Avenue in Memphis – address of legendary Sun Records – is like travelling to Mecca. However, for a truly religious musical experience, you’d have to try recording an album there, knowing full well that the ghosts of the artists dubbed “The Million Dollar Quartet” were hanging around listening to you play. Just ask MARTY ALLEN, a Niagara rockabilly musician who was lucky enough to record an album at the studio that launched the careers of his musical heroes.
“We were doing a Sun Records tribute, a musical play portraying all the artists,” said Allen, recalling the events that led to the release of his album, Sun Sessions. “I really got into it, and did some more reading about it. I found out you could record there, so I booked a date and went down there. It was so cool. I remember opening the door, it was like getting electrified. Just being in that little place where it all came from. It was phenomenal.”
His trip to Memphis has been just one of the many musical highlights Allen has enjoyed while channeling his love for American roots and rockabilly music into a professional career. With five similarly-themed independent releases to his credit since 2000 including the aforementioned Sun Sessions, Allen has earned his reputation as an authentic local caretaker of this influential hybrid of early rock’n’roll and country music. It’s a passion he was bound to develop given the musical influences with which he grew up.
“No one played music in the family but it was a big part of the family back then,” said Allen, who can be found playing in venues across Niagara with his band, The Cadillac Cowboys. “My mother and dad loved music, especially the early Sun stuff, Elvis and Marty Robbins. We had a record player, which was the format of music at the time, and my mother liked it cranked. She liked it loud. I grew up with a lot of that music.”
Receiving his first guitar at age eight, Allen quickly found musical mentors in the form of his Uncle Jack and neighbour Russ, both who regularly contributed music to the family’s outdoor parties. He dabbled in music lessons till age 14, got a taste for the blues around age 18, and then kind of lost interest in playing for a while. That changed in 1993 when Allen got his first paid professional gig, using the new role as part of a house band in a downtown St. Catharines bar as a springboard to his eventual solo career.
“It was the old Venice Café on James Street,” said Allen. “I think it was called Downtown Charlie Brown’s at the time. We were a house band on Friday nights. We played there for a stint and then shortly after I hooked up with some guys to form a country band called Highway 11. We played at the Duck (Golden Pheasant) once a month, and a country bar on Hartzell Road. We did that up until ’99, which is around the time I started performing as Marty Allen. I just wanted to have some longevity in the name. Bands change and member change. I just wanted something people would remember.”
What Allen remembers most about his two biggest musical heroes – Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings – is their rebellious spirit and the way they carved their own paths musically. It’s something Allen strives to do with the music he performs, despite the inevitable pressures from those who suggest he keep with the times by performing more popular music.
“I just go with what I love and what I love doing. I’ve heard people say before that you should play what the audience wants to hear. I totally disagree with that. I’m going to do what I want to do, and I do a lot of obscure stuff. It’s been really good. We play a lot for people who only do what they want to do. People ask us to play weddings. I tell them flat out we won’t learn any of the new songs they want. This is what we do, and we do it because we love it. And it comes across like that. I won’t even go out and see much live music because I don’t want to hear pop music or Top 40. I want the B-side, I want the obscurity. I can listen to a band that plays obscure, because I just want to hear good music. That’s the way I roll with it.”
For more information, visit: http://www.martyallenband.com/. Upcoming gigs with Marty Allen and the Cadillac Cowboys:
- Friday Jan 25th – Jordan House 9-12
- Friday, Feb 8th – Grantham Lions Club
- Saturday, Feb 16th – Puddy’s Bar & Grill
- Saturday, Feb 23rd – White Oaks Resort
- Saturday, March 23rd – Merchant Ale House
