Meet Davey Allen of Davey And The Midnights in Westside/El Segundo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Davey Allen.

Davey, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I grew up in northwest Indiana near Chicago. I was drawn to music and performance from an early age. I was leading the church choir by 16. I saw the world through the lens of melody rhythm. During the summer months, I moonlighted as announcer for the 2nd longest-running water ski and stunt show in the world.

Fast forward to 2012, when I finally made my way west. My partner and I made the trek together. She was born in East LA but had been in Indiana since the age of 10. We landed on the floor of her sister’s dining room in the Fairfax district, eventually moving to the westside to be close to her graphic design job in Lawndale. We struggled. And then we struggled more. It was a time of personal growth. The kind where you have to pull the weeds and make everything bare. Seeing yourself at the dirt level in order to make something, ANYTHING grow.

I worked for a medical supply company delivering wheelchairs and hospital beds to folks across South LA. I was thankful for the work but it was demanding. I spent my few days off criss-crossing the southland blues jams, making friends and sharpening my skills.

Eventually, after a few false starts, I was able to land a spot as keyboard player in an established band. It allowed me to quit my job and make the leap to full-time musician. Between solo weekday gigs, weekend touring slots, and teaching lessons, I was barely treading water but for the first time, I felt in charge of my own destiny. I found personal and artistic freedom that I had never had before. The grind was worth it yet it wasn’t sustainable.

Luckily, after a few years of this routine, I was blessed with the opportunity of a lifetime. Just a handful of days before my 30th birthday, I was contacted by the management of Eric Burdon (of Animals and War fame) with a request to audition for Eric’s band. We assembled in an Ojai studio and recorded three songs. I only remember one, Ledbelly’s “In The Pines”. It was a religious experience. I cried and shook as we played. After we finished Eric asked if we’d like to accompany him on a tour of Australia. Within a few short months, we were celebrating Eric’s 75th birthday in Australia, headlining historic venues and an outdoor festival with 30,000+ in attendance.

The next four years included much of the same with Eric. I took so many mental snapshots! I’d pinch myself constantly. It was so special. I traveled and experienced more than I had my entire life. I feel lucky and grateful for every minute on and off the stage with Eric and the band.

The last few years have been filled less with Eric and more of my own band, Davey And The Midnights. It hasn’t been an easy transition. It’s humbling but I wouldn’t trade it. It’s another challenge and it takes a different skill set. Less plane rides and more hours driving. Less bottomless green room wine bottles and more late nights arranging meals and accommodations for the band. It’s MINE but of course that means the buck stops with me.

Since the coronavirus everything as changed. Canceled tours, closing venues, the unknown. I like it. Not the virus or the loss of jobs but the shakeup. Turn the damn thing on its head. The whole fucking world. CHANGE! I love and embrace that. Radical change.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Rarely a smooth road but I want to first and foremost recognize my white privilege. Even if it was at times difficult the road has been paved for me in a way that it was not for my P.O.C peers.

My childhood was troubled. My father battled mental illness and addiction. My mother drank to cope. Things were violent. They divorced. There was jail and mental hospitals. It wasn’t pretty or easy. Things got worse and then stayed the same. It made me stronger.

Can you give our readers some background on your music?
I specialize in flow. I believe we all possess the ability to achieve flow. For some folks it’s athletics, or dancing, or visual art, or writing, but for me it’s music. There’s a time when I’m performing when my mind goes blank and I’m simply existing in that moment. I’m completely in control without having any control whatsoever. I trust myself completely in that moment. It’s the absolute sum of all my experience, preparation, and soul. That moment is infectious and the unseen micro-vibrations that are sent out are priceless.

I’m most proud of my latest solo release “May Day”.

I was able to donate the online sales to the Dolores Huerta Foundation.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
It’s not about being in the right place at the right time but rather being everywhere, all the time.

Luck is where opportunity and preparation meet.

You never know when a small interaction could change everything.

Luck is constantly being in the moment.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.daveyallenmusic.com
• Phone: 5748701161
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: Instagram.com/davey_allen
• Other: www.daveyandthemidnights.com

Image Credit:
Photographers: Michelle Shiers, Abigail Cortes, Kaelan Barowsky

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