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

Alright, Cole thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The project that I am most excited about is the current project I’m undertaking. I’m currently working on two separate concept albums. It has always been a goal of mine to complete a concept record, and I just figured now was as good a time as any if I was going to get it done. I have released three projects in the past up to this point. The first one, Sabine River Blues, was my first one. It was just an album of songs. The second one, Regular Guy, was my sophomore album, and had its ups and downs. Some people really like it, but some people also think that cucumbers taste better pickled, so you never know. The third one, Dry County Culture, was my “personal album”, which to most people means boring. It has some good stuff on it, but it’s not very fun. For these new records, my goal is to make fun music.

The first album I’m writing is a rock ‘n’ roll album about Tex-Mex. I’m tired of the singer-songwriter bit, and I’ve always been pretty passionate about Tex-Mex and Mexican food, so I am using it as the main theme to tell a story. There are songs about pickled jalapenos, expired sour cream, chicken thighs, a discussion on the phrase “whole enchilada”, El Gringo Del Norte, etc. It should be a good time.
My forte as a songwriter is storytelling. Even though I am unknown, I’m most known for my murder ballads. The problem I have with murder ballads is that you have to spend half the song building the characters so that the listener cares about who is getting killed. I thought it would be much more efficient if I used characters that people already knew. I thought about using characters from other songs, but most of them had already been killed once, some twice. Most of my fans are people that I know or have come to know. A lot of my fans are from the same area and know each other. So for my next concept record, I decided that I’d write an album of murder ballads, but for the characters, I’d use actual people that I know. As the idea fermented, it morphed into an apocalyptic battle royale between me and 11 of my friends. It’s like a B-team version of the Hunger Games. I don’t want to give away too much, but it should be pretty obvious that I win.

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

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Cole Allen and I am a musician, one-man-band, and songwriter who performs under the name “Cole Allen”. I came from humble beginnings after being born in a town. When I was younger I had aspirations of becoming a professional athlete. I was the 2005 Texas Class 3A #1 ranked bass fisherman and had full-ride D1 scholarship offers from numerous universities. During the state tournament my senior year, I threw out my wrist trying to make too long of a cast and couldn’t compete anymore. I had to have multiple surgeries and I cut bait on any hopes of becoming a professional angler. In the downtime following my injury, I found solace in music and songwriting. The mystique of creating something from nothing reeled me in and reminded me of casting out into the water not knowing what was underneath. Once I was healed up enough to play guitar, I was hooked and haven’t put it down since. Following graduation, I began to play some shows at the local restaurants, patios, and bars. I began to realize that I was near the ceiling of my music career if I didn’t leave my hometown, so in 2007, I bet on myself and moved to Nashville. I was a fish out of water in the big city, but I wasn’t about to give up the ship. I had a face for radio and a voice for print, so the odds were stacked against me. I kept at it and ended up signing a writing deal to help pay for my sardines and crackers. I eventually had mild to moderate success depending on whose scales you are using. Around that same time, I started getting caught up in the East Nashville scene. They were an eclectic group with much different interests and habits than the folks I ran with back home. My music career changed course during this time after I experimented with DMT at a friend’s house one afternoon. I had an extremely vivid trip of traveling to the crossroads in Mississippi to meet the devil in an attempt to sell my soul to him to become a great songwriter. I figured if he’d do it for a guitar player, he’d surely do it for a songwriter. The devil basically told me that I was of no use to him because he already had popular culture in his grasp and because he didn’t want anything to do with country music. He considered it beneath him. We talked a little longer and ended up sort of coming to an agreement before the end of my trip. When I came to, I didn’t know if what I had experienced was real or just a really weird trip. After that though, I began writing and writing and writing. It was as if the pen was moving in my hand and I was just a vessel channeling the words and melody. I began to fear that I may have actually made some sort of deal in my altered state. I began to get some songs picked up by some more popular artists and I had a few hits. I had some critical acclaim and began to collaborate with many notable artists, painters, sculptors, musicians, poets, writers, dancers, and architects. The royalties started coming in one tenth of a cent at a time. As happy as I was for my new success, I began to wonder if it was worth the cost? Should I be proud of my accomplishments, or should I be ashamed? Am I able to take credit for what I’m creating? I began to devalue myself and hate the art that I was creating- the art that I once loved. I wasn’t sure what the return policy was for souls, and I didn’t think I could beat the devil in a fiddle contest, so I felt I was a lost cause. So I quit. The moment I resigned from my writing deal, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. I moved back home and started working a regular job, and eventually, the joy of playing music came back. I began writing for myself and not trying to write for radio anymore. That’s what I have been doing for the past 10 years or so. When I’m not playing music, I enjoy spending time with my family and giving back to the community through my efforts.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I was from the social media generation that started out with Xanga. I never had a Xanga account, but early on I equated all the subsequent social media services with it. It was a bunch of pre-teens pouring their heart out onto an online diary for the world to see and I found it extremely bizarre and not really my thing. Facebook came around during my time in Nashville. I didn’t have an account for a pretty good while because of my preconceived notions and because I’d heard the internet had viruses and I wasn’t really into all that. Even as Facebook and Twitter became more popular and were being used to promote music, I was holding onto my pride and wasn’t giving in. Around this time, my buddy Billy gave me some advice that changed my stance on social media. In regards to having a social media presence, he said, “If you don’t take yourself seriously, no one else will.” Billy was an idiot. He loved giving advice and had probably seen that on a motivational poster in a gas station bathroom or something. I figured there might be some merit to what he had said though, so I humbled myself and got on the Facebook. I have a different approach than most people when it comes to building a social media presence. Instead of maintaining a constant presence and trying to build an audience, I tend to sink back into the shadows and only emerge when I have something important to tell everyone. Instead of paying for promoted ads, I try to make my posts entertaining enough that people want to see them. If any of those starting out need some advice on building their social media presence, hit me up, and I’ll connect you with Billy. I’m sure he has some advice for you.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

In regards to a book that has influenced my thoughts on management and entrepreneurial philosophy, I’d say “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” by Dee Brown. Society in America tends to approach views on management and entrepreneurial philosophy with a Western perspective. It doesn’t have to be that way. Less can be more. My entrepreneurial philosophy faces east. Billy once told me that if I wasn’t content with what I have, then I wouldn’t be satisfied if it were doubled. I’ve learned to be content with what I’ve been given. My music career is way too far down the totem pole of what is important in my life to be able to give it the attention it would need to be “successful” from a western perspective. A dedicated fan base is earned through a commitment to touring. Hard pass. Critical acclaim requires a significant down payment. Hard pass. Creating music costs nothing. Creating music is what I love to do. The songs may not reach the masses and I may not get to play my own songs to a packed house every night, but if I did, I’m sure I’d get tired of that too. My time in Nashville has me jaded toward the business side of music. There is a freedom that comes when you separate business from music. If I want to write a Tex-Mex themed rock ‘n’ roll album, for better or worse, that’s what I can do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.coleallenmusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coleallenmusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coleallenmusicpage/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/lca05003

Image Credits
Travis Perkins Lucas Green Charlie Haskins Andrew Raiford