John Allen

Tweet

by Deb Rao
Staff Writer

The Baltimore based band Charm City Devils are getting ready to release their debut album Lets Rock – N – Roll on Eleven Seven Music on May 26. Charm City Devils will be appearing at Crue Fest 2 this summer and also will be appearing May 17 at Rock On The Range.

Vocalist, song-writer and founding member of Charm City Devils, John Allen has checked in with Hardrock Haven for this interview on the unveiling of Lets Rock – N – Roll and the signing of Charm City Devils to the prestigious Eleven Seven Music. John spoke to Hardrock Haven Correspondent Deb Rao regarding Exclusive details regarding the release Lets Rock – N – Roll and Crue Fest 2 Tour.

HRH: John, Charm City Devils are getting ready to perform at one of the largest festivals this year Rock On The Range on May 17. Are you looking forward to performing at this event?

JOHN: “We are very excited to be included in the show this year. Last year, I saw it on Pollstar and saw these great bands that were playing. I was sitting at home finishing up our record that comes out May 26 and it is called Lets Rock – N – Roll. I was so envious that we couldn’t be there last year. But when the label called and said we got you a slot on Rock On The Range, I flipped out. I was so stoked that we are playing that show.”

HRH: Tell us how the Charm City Devils came to fruition? How long has the band been together?

JOHN: “This line-up has only been together for two years in August. I really kind of started the band in sort of my own little project recording the drums and demoing songs in my basement with the studio I built here. I played the drums and a lot of the bass tracks and most of the guitar tracks on the original stuff that I did. I didn’t have a live band first then slowly as I put the band together I called up old friends and that is how it came up to the line-up of the band as it stands now.”

HRH: Actually you began your career as a drummer in the band SR- 71. Was it hard making the transition from drummer to singer?

JOHN: “Well, I had always sung from behind the kit, most of the time in a back-up role. It definitely is a different experience. When you are back there behind the drums, you are in your little protected area there. Going out front, you have different amount of space to work with. Stages are different shapes and sizes in different venues that you play, so you have to contend with that. Frankly, you are a lot more naked when you are out there in front of the crowd. You are up close and personal with the audience. So it is a different thing. It was a challenge. It felt like it was something that I will learn how to do. I definitely have embraced it. I had a really great time on the last on the couple of years doing it now.”

HRH: It is exciting to that the band hails from Baltimore on the East Coast. Do you think that Charm City Devils have that working class vibe to their music? With so many musical trends coming and going, it is exciting to see a band that hails from the East Coast make such a prominent impression on fans across the country.

JOHN: “Everybody in the band is pretty much from a blue collar background. I think that the music definitely identifies with the town and the nose to the grindstone sort of mentality.”

HRH As you mentioned earlier, Charm City Devils are getting ready to release your debut album on Eleven Seven Music on May 26. Tell us a little bit about the writing process for this album.

JOHN: “A lot of the tunes like I said, when I started this project I was still the drummer in the band that you mentioned before SR – 71. The first song I wrote was ‘Burn Baby Burn’. That song is on the record. I made a little demo and played it for the singer in SR -71 and he said,” This is good, this is really cool.” I thought maybe I was on to something. I wanted to get affirmation from somebody. He said Yes, I played it for a couple of other people in town and they said it was cool. This one song grew into three songs, and then three turned into six. I was like yeah know what? I almost have a record here. I am just going to keep going, and I just kept writing songs. Pretty soon, I had a record worth of material. A lot of it is about life experiences that I had. A lot of the songs on the record are autobiographical in some form of fashion. It has been a fun thing to learn how to use the studio thing as I was writing the record. Becoming a producer, singer and song-writer all at the same time.”

HRH: Especially today with Pro Tools a band can make their own album in their own studio. You don’t need to go to someone else’s studio to have a quality production. It is very convenient.

JOHN: “It really is. The other plus is you are not worried about watching the clock and saying Oh my God, this is costing me a 100 bucks an hour or whatever the studio charges. You can sit there and be relaxed in an atmosphere and give your best performances at the same time.”

HRH: How did Charm City Devils get signed to Eleven Seven Music? It is kind of like the fairytale music story of the year.

JOHN: “It has really been a surreal year and a half for myself. We were playing a show here in Baltimore and a music director from 98 Rock and saw the band. He thought the band sounded really great that night and wanted to add us to the play list next week. I said that is cool man. I have been in the business quite a bit, and sometimes it is kind of rare when people do what they say they are going to, yeah know? Sure enough, next week he called me up and said I need you to do me a favor. I thought oh geez what favor does he want me to do? He said I need you to get me a copy of Lets Rock – N- Roll we are going to add it this week. I was like Dude that is not me doing you a favor; you are doing me a huge favor. So I got him the copy, he put the song in rotation. He called me up a few weeks later and said,”Hey man this song is doing really great.” I don’t know if a lot of your readers know that a lot of radio stations do what is called Call Out research. He said the research is coming back really strong. I don’t have any official word yet but it is doing really great for this station. So we got the final numbers in and we researched really great with all theses bands on major labels with video productions and we just got our grassroots going on in our hometown with no money behind us or anything. I am like how can I take this to the next level? I sent out a couple of emails out to friends in the industry and didn’t hear back from anybody. But I sent a blind email to Eleven Seven Music, and the next day I got a phone call from them from New York saying,”Hey we really like what we heard. We want you to come to New York for a meeting. I am like,”This doesn’t happen. I thought it was my friends punkin me.” I went to New York and they said,” We want to do it.” I was talking to NIKKI SIXX on the phone. It was just one thing after another. Last month I got up onstage with Motley in CT. A couple of days later I was onstage again at Madison Square Garden. It is so surreal. It is like some kind of crazy dream.”

HRH: What can the fans expect to see from Charm City Devils at Crue Fest this summer?

JOHN: “We are so excited about being included on Crue Fest. For the people coming out, I hope they come out early to check out the set. It is a high-energy rock and old school rock and roll show in your face. For the time we are allotted, we won’t let up. It is a total high-energy Rockfest.”