As I shuffled into the back of multi-purpose room at Western Washington University, I scuttled to a chair to catch the last few minutes of Allen Stone’s sound check. I knew I was in for a good show later that night. That man can sing.

After meeting him for the first time, we engaged a little chase around the university, trying to find a suitable location to conduct the interview. While cursing off misleading elevators and walking through countless doors, I noticed something about Allen. He’s a gentleman. He’s sincere. And he has a passion for what he’s doing, and doesn’t want anything to corrupt or taint that. We at last settled into his new touring van, and had a pleasant discussion.

SOTS: How are you? How’s it going?

Allen Stone: It’s going good, man. How are you?

SOTS: You know, it’s going pretty well. It’s been a long day though. Are you excited to be performing here at Western Washington University?

AS: Totally, man. I love college gigs. I’m excited. But sometimes college gigs are hit or miss. But last time we played Bellingham, the kids turned out in well form and fashion. I think it’ll be that way tonight.

SOTS: You’ve played in front of many varying crowds and to quote the event blurb written by the university’s AS Productions site, “From backwoods barbecues to community gatherings.” What kind of venue is your favorite to perform at? What kind of audience is your favorite?

AS: Um, any audience. For me, I love singing, and it is very therapeutic for me, so any chance I get to do it in front of people — obviously people who are attentive are more pleasurable for me to sing in front of but I don’t necessarily have a favorite group of people or size of venue or situation to play in. I find it right for every situation.

SOTS: Alright, cool. Seattle has been coined as a “Mecca” of music over the decades. Do you feel pressure as a Seattle musician to perform or write music in a certain way?

AS: (Smiles) Yeah, kind of. A little bit. But it’s a good pressure. Because a lot of incredible, groundbreaking musicians come out of Seattle and Seattle I believe has always been on the conscious tip of the musical side and the music that gets noticed out of Seattle is typically very well-written. It has something to say. But I think that’s a good pressure. I think that living in a city where there’s pressure to write good music is only good for you as an artist and as a listener.

SOTS: You’ve got an easily recognizable look with that Sonics jersey. How has living in the city of Seattle influenced you as a person and as a musician?

AS: I mean, Seattle’s great. I grew up in a really small town where everybody knew everybody else. You kind of had to watch your back, watch what you did around people. And then I moved to a gigantic city where nobody knew me and I could do whatever the hell I wanted. The culture and outlook in Seattle is pretty vast. There’s a lot of perspective in Seattle. I think that the best thing that I would say came from coming to Seattle was opening my perspective of the world from the little conservative, small-town church boy to who I am now. I would definitely say that Seattle is a beautiful place to be because that worldview of perspective and understanding of life is always being challenged. So I end up growing a lot when I’m back in town. My friends look at me and say, “Man, you’re an idiot and don’t grow up at all. You just sit and watch TV.” But I believe that Seattle is a great way to be challenged in your mental understanding of you who are.

SOTS: Do you write the majority of the music or do you collaborate with a band?

AS: Well, my first record, I wrote it all by myself, except one song. This next record, I did quite a bit more co-writing with different artists and producers. I really love co-writing because it regiments my writing. It’s less of an inspiration and more of a “You’re going to in, write a good song, if you’ve got a good song when you’re done you might use it. If not, you don’t” approach. I really like that about co-writing. But, it’s about 75% — well, 60% to 40% would be about right with 40% co-writing with other people.

SOTS: How does it feel to know that you peaked at #2 on iTunes’ R&B/Soul charts? What does that show to you?

AS: I don’t know. Don’t get me wrong, it’s flattering as hell, that the purchase of the record made that happen. But charts these days aren’t what they were. If you were number #2 on any chart back in the 70s, you were moving some records. Nowadays, it’s not the same. It’s flattering that people are buying up the record enough for it to reach that high on the charts. The people that are around on the charts are people that I’ve looked up to for decades. It’s shocking too because the first record I came out with, barely anyone knew about it. And the second record, people knew about it and wanted to pick it up and are interested in what I am doing. It’s really overwhelming. It’s flattering, but overwhelming too. It’s like “Oh shit, what have I got myself into?” (laughs). People are actually listening to what I’m doing.

SOTS: Do you plan on signing to a label or continuing to self-release your music?

AS: I’m not sure. I’m not opposed to a label. No label has come to me with any deal that has made me perk my ears up. I’m interested for sure, but none of them have really shown me something that would make me want to not own everything. Because when you partner up with a label, you’re really partnering — it’s a partnership — and they tell you what to do, how to look; they basically have an opinion on everything you do. And that’s fine, if that’s what you’re looking for, but I’ve heard too many horror stories about bands and artists being involved in labels and getting screwed. I’ve worked so hard that I’m extremely reluctant to do so. It would take a the right deal for sure.

SOTS: What draws you about R&B/soul music? Why do you like to perform it?

AS: Oh man, that’s just the music that I grew up with. I grew up wanting to be like Stevie Wonder, sing his songs. I think what draws me to it is the emotion of it. The emotion of the soul songs that have something to say. There are a lot of soul songs where you’re like “Eh, soul is soul” because it’s in that traditional form. But there is some soul music, like when Al Green sings, “I’m so tired of being alone, I’m so tired of on-my-own”, you can just feel like what’s inside of him. It’s really like it’s releasing this bondage inside of him. I think that that’s what draws me to it. The emotion that can be captured in soul music. I mean, emotion can be captured in all music, but there’s something beautiful about it. But soul music to me has, like when sings ‘Try A Little Tenderness’, it’s like he’s bleeding, like he’s dying by the sound of his voice. That’s what really pulls me initially. And what makes me want to perform it is when I’m on stage and I believe what I’m saying, I believe in my message it’s, like I said, very therapeutic for me. I just have to get that out.

SOTS: Anything you’d like to tell fans before we end?

AS: Thank you for being my fan, if you are. For your support and your love and like I said, the last six months of my life have been crazy. I feel so fortunate, so incredibly fornunate to have the people around me, the bands around me that support me. I don’t deserve it, but it’s an amazing gift that I love. Tell them thanks!

Interview conducted by Jacob Price

Allen Stone’s Official Website