We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Casey Allen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Casey, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

Many questions related to an artist’s career aren’t possible to be answered truthfully with a simple yes or no. This question is no exception. Ultimately, yes, I am happy as an artist. However, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have my days that I spent wondering what I’m still doing shooting for a creative career in an overly-saturated field as I’m approaching my mid-thirties. I often get jealous of those who have a dream job, can obtain a degree or whatever training necessary to achieve said job, and then obtain said job.

As an artist, having the skills and talent necessary is the absolute bare minimum. There are so many other aspects at play, as well as a good chunk of luck, that all have to align in perfect timing to even get a shot that STILL isn’t guaranteed. Many times, one streak of good luck or a “big break” isn’t enough to create a sustaining career. You need that lucky break, and then you need a few more lucky breaks down the road that keep compiling.

All that being said, music is one of the biggest things that bring me a burning passion and a sense of home and purpose. I’m not very good at many other things. I feel a deep calling to keep pursuing music as long as I’m breathing, That ultimately makes me happy as an artist, and makes it all worth it. If I absolutely had to pick a different career…hmm. Maybe an EMT? I’m not sure. I just want to help people and be there for people. I try and do that with music.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My parents bought me a drum set for Christmas when I was 11 years old, and honestly, the rest is history. I immediately fell in love, and that escalated into voluntarily practicing anywhere from 4-6 hours daily after school. I eventually took lessons with Ivan Hampden (Luther Vandross/Usher/Beyonce), and soon after, joined my first band – Embracing Goodbye. We went on to sign to Driven Records (Korn/Brian Head Welch), where I gained years of performing experience behind the drums.

During that time, I also picked up piano and guitar. I wanted to learn how to write songs. I tried learning a few covers at first, but I’d get bored quickly and wanted to write something original instead. I’ve never been much of a cover musician, outside of a few random clips to feed the social media machine. I also began teaching to earn some side cash during that time in 2009, and learned quickly that I enjoyed teaching. That blossomed into an entire teaching career that I’m now doing full-time. I offer drum/guitar/piano/voice/production/songwriting/and theory lessons.

After Embracing Goodbye, I became 1/2 of folk pop duo Season & Snare. We wound up becoming one of the first live-viral videos online, gained attention and support from Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul, and eventually won a Shorty Award from Al Roker at the Times Square Center in NYC.

I’m now pursuing a solo artist career, and I just released my second single under my own name, Casey Austin Allen. It’s called Calming Myself Down, and it’s available to stream everywhere.

While I’m very proud of these accomplishments, I’m mostly proud of anytime someone reaches out to me telling me that my music meant something to them. That’s all I’ve ever wanted, and that’s always my highest accomplishment as an artist. My biggest goal is to make you feel something meaningful.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Social Media and the current state of the music industry is trying to make music more disposable than ever. We can’t let that happen. We have to keep the value of music alive, which can mean a lot of different things. Ultimately, if the demand for new music keeps on at this rate solely to make an algorithm happy enough to push you out to more people, the quality of the music will die, and reaching more people will be pointless when you sacrifice a good song and treat it as nothing more than a product. The algorithms have to change. Keep sharing our music and telling the world about us if you love us – that part hasn’t changed, and it does more for our careers than you will ever know and realize.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

“The Creative Act” by Rick Rubin should be every creative’s bible. It perfectly puts into words how we think, create, feel, and it dives into our methods that we often use on a subconscious level. It feels nice to see those parts written out into conscious thought. I even recommend that book to non-creatives. It will help you understand the mindset of us crazies.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.caseyaustinallen.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caseyaustinallen/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA4nsJEdxvW4b3foOOJ_5VQ
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@caseyaustinallen

Image Credits
Aliyah Fowlkes, Austin Spruill, Clint Hughes, Kevin DeYoung