Gary Allan talks about Kings of Leon, musical influences and being a country heartthrob
Country music star Gary Allan will play a sold-out show Saturday night at Norman’s Riverwind Casino.
Judging from my past experience seeing Allan playing live, the crowd will include many fervent female fans thrilled to watch the tattooed honky-tonk heartthrob.
In a recent phone interview, the California native said he doesn’t dwell on his sex symbol status.
“Well, I guess you just get by every day. Don’t ever feel sorry for me,” he said with a laugh. “No, I can’t think about things like that. That’s comical. That’s like reading your own press.”
The singer-songwriter last week released his eighth studio album, “Get Off on the Pain,” which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Albums list, behind Lady Antebellum’s chart-dominating sophomore effort, “Need You Now.”
Allan’s most apparent musical influence is the outlaw country of the likes of Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, but hints of gospel, classic rock and alternative rock can be heard on “Get Off on the Pain.”
“I think I’m influenced by everything that I listen to, constantly. That’s what keeps it evolving for me,” he told me.
Lately, he has been listening often to alternative rockers Kings of Leon, which includes two Oklahoma City-born members.
“Those guys work for me. It’s just, it’s fresh,” he said.
“I listen to a lot of alternative stuff and a lot of very old country music,” he added. “If you were in my iPod, it would be Kings of Leon mixed in with some (Merle) Haggard and some (George) Jones and Waylon.”
“Get Off on the Pain” closes with the powerful stripped-down ballad “No Regrets,” which Allan co-wrote about the lasting grief over his wife Angela’s 2004 suicide. The star did few interviews in the years after his spouse’s death but decided to break his media silence in promoting “Get Off on the Pain.” He said he has found healing in writing songs about the tragedy and he is “in a good place with it.”
“I think it’s just I felt good enough to do it,” he said. “It’s good to let people you know that you’re OK. … I don’t really do a lot of meet-and-greets anymore ’cause I hear so many suicide stories. So, it’s good to get it out that you’re OK.”
- BAM
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