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Hi Scott, welcome to VENTS! How have you been? Been a busy beaver. It’s album release week!
So your new record June draws so much from personal history, memories, family, and significant moments with other people. When did you realize these stories could become the foundation for an entire album?
I am a sentimental person, and reminiscing is my way of holding cherished memories. Songwriting is the perfect tool for this, as well as for letting my loved ones know how much they have affected my life. Making these stories into songs was the intent from the start.
The album moves through different musical eras, with “Wool Hat” reflecting the pop sounds of the 1960s and songs like “Finally Here” and “Funny Little Spaceman” pulling from the sounds of the 1970s. What attracts you to revisiting those particular musical periods? I think that era of artistic expression, as well as pop culture, were some of the most interesting and influential times in American history. The Civil Rights Movement, Feminism, protest music – cultural America moved mountains with that stuff back then. Some of my favorite music comes from that era. I believe that contemporary music has been shaped immensely by the artistry of that time period.
“Wool Hat” was written following the passing of Michael Nesmith of The Monkees. How did Nesmith’s music and legacy influence the song, and what was it about his passing that made you want to respond through music? Mike spoke to me through music. I wanted to thank him in kind! He made me want to be a musician when I was only four years old! “Someday I’ll get my turn, and some big sideburns!” Beyond the storyline, there are many subtle easter eggs in Wool Hat, beginning with the song’s opening floor tom hit. My Monkees bobbleheads sit on a shelf above the console in my writing studio. Akin to my tendency to reminisce, The song Wool Hat is my origin story as a musician. I’m not old enough to have seen The Monkees on prime time tv. I discovered them after the show was syndicated and re run on Saturday mornings, alongside some of TV’s greatest kids shows. They all had catchy songs as part of the plotlines. The Monkees’ songs were written by some of the best contemporary composers on the planet.
You have mentioned family as a major source of inspiration, with “Made of You,” “Some Rainy Day,” “June,” and “Finally Here” all connected to meaningful family experiences. Was writing these songs more about preserving those memories for yourself or sharing them with an audience? I believe that “sharing them with audiences” is a really cool bonus for having written them. I actually wrote those songs to tell those people what they mean to me. A personal Halmark card! My mother Donna believed in me long before I did. Patrik Tanner, my friend, producer, and bandmate, doesn’t want me to say what my songs are about. He wants to have his own relationship with the stories. I think that’s a really cool way to adopt a song and a good test of a song’s effect on others.
The album’s title track, “June,” is rooted in family experience, and the cover art is also connected to those memories. What does the month of June represent within the larger story of the album?
I crafted the lyrics to have double meaning. I wanted them to be relatable to a broad audience of those who love summer. The month of June in Minnesota is a period of growth in nature, and I am hoping that my songwriting has progressed in this way as well. Green leaves, bright blue skies that can turn into a rainstorm and back to sunny skies in a matter of minutes. Truth of the matter… June is actually my sweet grandbaby, of which I have 3. She is the toddler on the cover, peering out the window of her playhouse. Her brother Marco, and sister Brynn both aided art designer Clay Williams by contributing artwork for the album jacket and platter design. (as well as being the cover models of my previous 12 song release, “My Own Grown Eyes”) I could write an entire album about what each one of those kids mean to us!
You work as a sound engineer, so you come to the recording process with a different perspective than many songwriters. How does your technical understanding of sound influence the way you write, arrange, and ultimately hear your own songs? Well… an understanding of signal processing equipment allows me to record my song demos, EQ things, separate instruments, etc. without having to fight the gear! I can produce some pretty hifi song demos and demonstrate to my producer what I want to hear in the final recording.I had a long standing career as a live sound tech, mixing club and tour sound. I have forged personal relationships and interacted with thousands of players and songwriters. Those relationships have had more of an effect on my own artistry than my ability to build a coherent audio mix. When it comes time to track my albums, Patrik’s vast experience in his own studio is a masterclass in engineering. I stand back and let the producer produce. My ears come back in play when we mix the songs. June was recorded and mixed by Patrik Tanner and mastered by Tom Garneau. Tom’s own studio resume with Prince and Paisley Park studios is the envy of all who mix sound!
June has been described as melodic rock ’n’ roll with sophisticated lyrics and arrangements, while still drawing from the pop craftsmanship of the ’60s and ’70s. What makes a song catchy and memorable to you without sacrificing the depth of the writing? Hooks and melody! I put an enormous amount of focus on vocal melody and just the right amount of repetition without over-redundance. The middle 8 section of “Sweeter Than before” holds the recipe. “A driving melody, a hook and some clever analogies…”
“Wool Hat,” “Suspend the Pending Rendezvous,” and “Burlington 614” stand out as some of your own favorite tracks. What is it about those three songs that make them particularly meaningful or satisfying to you? They represent significant, personal life-changing moments. I described Wool Hat as my musical origin story. “Suspend” was penned in response to health complications following a life-threatening medical issue I had survived back in 2023. It was a plea to my maker to let me stay around for a while. Burlington 614. My childhood home ran adjacent to the railroad tracks, near a busy intersection. Back then there were no stop arms, nor did the trains follow local speed limits. One day, at age 7 while playing in the yard, the limits of human mortality were made clear to me. “automobile vs locomotive steel. Freight train will not yield”.
The album features an accomplished group of musicians and was produced by Patrik Tanner in Minnesota. How did the other musicians’ contributions expand what you originally heard in these songs when you wrote them? Sometimes a song ends up pretty close to my original demo session recording. A lot of the time we break it back down to basic chords and build it back up in the studio. This is where other players lend their influence. Patrik, in his role as producer and with his multi-instrumental talent, has the most profound influence over the final product. We brought Riley Helgeson to track horn parts. We enlisted Swedish sax player Per Thornberg and engineer Carl Persson to give the song June it’s unique and beautiful twists. List drummer Kirk Hall wrote the unique intro and re-into rhythm parts on Burlington 614. JJ Benson wrote a unique bass line on Finally Here that completely transformed the song’s original groove. Edie Rae Baumgart lent her vocal chops with us on several tracks, while The List band, JJ Kirk Xenia and Patrik, also has the daunting task of reinterpreting these recordings for performance as a 5 piece guitar band!
June seems to be as much about preserving moments and people as it is about making music. Now that these stories have become an album, what does this record mean to you personally, and what kind of story do you want to tell next? June is now a calling card, a personal memoire, and a thank you note to everyone in those stories and to those who have supported us! We already have some new material that has yet to be recorded. Next, we’re going to harness the collective power of The List band, in our live show format, to record that collective energy we pulled together over 4 years of performing together! Look for another EP from us soon! Thank you for the interview! – Scott Allen
SOCIAL MEDIA
• Website: https://scottallensongs.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scottnann
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scottallentunes
• Spotify: https://open.spotily.com/artist/509SyT734cs50TqxrCbzI4
• Apple Music: [https:/music.apple.com/us/artist/scott-aller/1652106163]https:/music.apple.com/us/artist/scott-aller/1652106163
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@scottallen1720
• Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/us/artist/1095930
• Bandcamp: scottallen2.bandcamp.com
