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His thought at the time was maybe he'd become a pastor, but he soon moved away from the church, becoming disillusioned with the corporatism of institutional religion.Īfter putting a couple songs up on his MySpace page, Stone was contacted by Seattle-based producer Brandon Bee, who wanted Stone to cross the Cascades to cut a record. He first took a half-year recording class at Spokane Falls Community College (one he says he still uses lessons from to this day) before enrolling at Moody Bible Institute. Eventually his parents' prodding to do something led him to relocate to Spokane in 2006. Still, those dreams didn't translate into immediate action for Stone, who admits he was fairly stagnant immediately after high school, half expecting someone to just show up at his Chewelah doorstep with a recording contract. I've just always been such a way bigger dreamer than a realist." I would have never had as much foolish pride and foolish dreaming if it wasn't for seeing somebody who I knew do it. "That was truly the catalyst towards me even having this stupid bonkers dream.
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"I remember sitting in Red Robin down by Riverfront Park, and they had TRL on. "And I was just like, 'Wait, what?!' We didn't realize she had gone from singing songs really well in our living room to now she was on the radio? What was that leap? And how did that happen?"Įven when Orrico unsuccessfully attempted to make the nearly impossible crossover from Christian music to mainstream pop, Stone saw it as something to aspire toward. She's only 13 years old, Stacie Orrico,'" recalls Stone. "We're driving down 395, and I remember the radio DJ on the local Christian station going, 'And now a new artist out of Seattle, Washington. From a distance, he watched a friend he'd met at missionary school become a teen star in the Christian music scene. I just got so obsessed, man."Ī big moment for young Allen's recognition that music could be a viable career path came via his peer group. "And then (around age 15) when I came upon Stevie and Aretha and Donny Hathaway, it was like, 'Oh, I want to sing.' What a blessing to have found it in that time in my life. I was really into hip-hop, and went through that white boy jam band phase - you know, Dave Matthews and Phish and Jason Mraz," Stone says. "My folks let me put in a little tiny studio in my room. His older brother bringing home albums from bands like Cake gave him a glimpse into that world, before a deep dive into Stevie Wonder turned him into a music obsessive. Stone always leaned more toward the funky side of the musical spectrum rather than sinking his teeth into something like Seattle grunge. Stone not only sang in children's programs at the church but also traveled and performed with his family in churches or even street busker-esque settings in places as far flung as Ukraine. His father's ministry led the family to being musical world travelers. And then it came into the blues and soul." "If you really get into the fine print of American musical lineage," he continues, "the good parts come from African American churches. I love leading people in a musical experience, and if I can get everybody to sing along or everybody to participate, that's when it becomes like a high. "That's where I first found a love for singing with other people, which is still sort of where the invigoration of music comes from, for me personally. "Anybody who is familiar with church, music and service go hand in hand," Stone says. His father, Danny Stone, was a minister at Addy New Life Christian Center near the family's hometown of Chewelah. That vocal power may not have been present for all of the 35-year-old's life, but singing in one form or another has been a constant.Īllen Stone's musical journey began at church. Whether plying his trade on national television, a local club stage or merely singing karaoke, when Stone sings, people stop and listen. Everyone has their own musical tastes, so it's not super often you come across talent that is objectively undeniable.Įven if the Spokane singer-songwriter's fusion of R&B and soul sound isn't your jam, the pure radiance of vocal cords when they're hitting their peak can send a shiver up almost anyone's spine. Allen Stone has soul, but he's not a soldier.