BIO
~ William Shakespeare
Allan James, singer-songwriter, guitarist, musician, recording artist and producer lives in a small town in Northern Virginia, where he writes, composes, records and produces music from his home studio in the Shenandoah Valley. Although known for his creative and diverse style of guitar playing, Allan is also an award-winning singer-songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist, which includes keyboards, bass and drums.
A little history:
A self-taught musician, Allan started playing guitar & singing and writing his first songs when he was 8 and loved performing his songs for family and friends. Then in his early teens he began recording his original songs & performing at local schools, dances & charities.
At age 15, while living in Iceland, Allan was asked to perform on his own half-hour TV show on American Armed forces TV. He also performed one of his original songs on Icelandic TV with the most famous rock band in Iceland at the time. He then returned back in the U.S. to record his 1st single, becoming a favorite in the Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC. The single was played on the famous DC101 FM rock radio station.
Allan has performed & recorded for several years as a solo artist and has released 7 albums and several singles. He was also the leader of some successful rock bands in the DC area and was the founding member of popular rock band “Arc of Light” which toured the East Coast & released 2 albums, some singles and several music videos. They also performed on TV and at some great venues such as The Bayou, Maxims, Louis Rock City, The Library, The Wax Museum, and others.
Growing up Allan was influenced by some great artists in several genres, though his own sound & approach to writing and recording is unique & original. He has developed into an extremely creative & versatile musician, singer/songwriter. His music has been described as unique, deep, meaningful, melodic, emotive, atmospheric with a rock edge, while being favorably compared to music such as Pink Floyd, Moody Blues, U2 & Coldplay.
Tools of technology:
Allan has always been at the forefront of utilizing the latest technologies with music and on the web & multimedia, being one of the 1st within the DC area for streaming his songs & live shows via webcasts. He then built his own webcast and recording studio in his home. As the internet began to explode, Allan saw the immediate potential and opportunities that allowed musicians and artists to get their music out to the world without having to be signed to a record deal. He also has used the power of video to create music videos and promos.
Composing Music for others:
Allan had received interest, great feedback and direction from some big record companies, including Island records to pursue creating music and soundtracks for movies, videos, websites and other media. Allan has composed and recorded music for several projects and organizations such as The Vietnam Memorial Wall, The Women’s Museum of Art in DC, Dr Boutros and The Eye Center, ROLM corporation, IBM, Siemens corporation, NIH and NOAA to name a few. He more recently has composed and recorded some music for a new documentary film called “Worries and Warriors”, about living life with Parkinson’s Disease. A great new film directed by Thad Reid.
Signing a new record deal!
In 2015 Allan was signed to a record deal with But! Music Group with the famous “Man in Black” Jamesie (Allan James), who has worked with several famous artists/bands, such as Elton John, Deep Purple, Bryan Adams, Annie Lennox, Joe Walsh and many more. Since his record deal, he has released 2 more albums and several singles and music videos.
Charity work:
Allan has also provided music and songs to help several charities, and most recently his song “Our Dreams” was chosen to be on a popular charity album called Numberella Charity Album 2022. which as released in June 2022.
The future looks bright:
Allan continues to build a very strong fan base of several thousand fans around the world. With the success of his first international album release “Doors to Somewhere” on the new record label, music videos, a new single and upcoming live performances, his music career and future looks very bright.
He recently released his latest album “TRAVEL ONWARD” in July 2021. There are a couple singles from this album and music videos. You can view some of the videos from both these successful albums here, or on the Allan James YouTube Channel.
For more information, booking and promotion:
Management and Record Label: Contact Jamesie at (BUT! Music Group) butgroup.com
Feedback from fans and music industry ~
Perry Howard said “Allan’s songs are great” and production wise to quote “With the likes of Jeff Lynne, George Harrison and Steely Dan”.
— Perry Howard
President, BMI America
“Allan is amazing! Doors to Somewhere is his best yet. Love it.”
— Derek Sivers
Founder, CD Baby