Bryan McPherson

Bryan McPherson’s songs are full of urgency.  His Boston charm woos while his voice punches neatly woven words into existence. He sings with eyes wide open to the world around him and is a first class singer-songwriter.

I met Bryan McPherson at Campfire Fest, just after he moved to California. The first time I got to play at 924 Gilman in Berkley, Bryan was there rocking the house as well. We’ve connected tours in Ohio and he recently came through KC.  His straight from the heart, punk influenced folk is poised to take on the world.

Bryan is currently on tour opening for The Dropkick Murphys. I recommend you swing out early to one of the shows and get a great spot right up front.

Bryan’s song “Upon An Open Road” is on our kickstarter mixtape.

Learn more at BryanMcPherson.com

Here is the teaser for his new album Wedgewood:

Kickstarter Launch

Welcome to our pre-order/fundraiser for Take Out The Trash, the debut album of my new project, Nate Allen and The Pac-Away Dots. Since 2006, I’ve been touring the US as Destroy Nate Allen. Take Out The Trash marks a new season and direction for my music. These 10 vulnerable and explosive songs will have you humming all day long.

Take Out The Trash has already been recorded, mixed and mastered. Your help is needed to finance the printing of CDs and 12″ vinyl records. Our goal is to have every prize delivered in time for Christmas, with the exception of the vinyl which takes longer to produce.

One of our core values is COMMUNITY, so we put together a mixtape of over 30 bands! The independent artists on this playlist represent different genres and ideals, but the one thing that they all have in common is that they are friends of mine. Every reward package will include a download of this playlist. One package even has it on an actual 90 minute cassette tape.

Each day, I will be blogging on iamnateallen.com about a different artist on the mixtape. I’m hoping you discover a new favorite band while I’m at it. The first blog is about Bryan McPherson.

Please go watch our video and share our project with friends! 

Below is a glimpse of some of the fun ideas we came up with for the Kickstarter as well as more information about the album!

This is shaping up to be a fun month.

Nate Allen

Laser Etched Mason Jar

The album lyrics “I want to be open to everything but I don’t want to be broken” are being laser etched on 16 oz. glass mason jars by Tom Butler at Flying Eagle Gallery. Available individually and set of 4.

Greeting Cards

Nate has designed four original greeting cards with lyrics from the album printed on post-consumer recycled paper. Each card comes with an envelope and link to download the referenced song.

Some useful words about Take Out The Trash.

In 2013 Nate Allen found himself fresh off a long tour, unemployed, in his early 30’s, married and living in his parent’s spare bedroom. Everyone’s dream …

His plan was to take a sabbatical from touring, get an “after college job” and let life reassemble. Instead, wrestling with how blind he had been to the racism all around him, he accidentally wrote and recorded an album documenting his process in that tenuous season of life.

What started as an acoustic solo project turned into a full band recording channeling the sounds of Social Distortion, Old 97’s, Johnny Cash, David Bazan, Bright Eyes, The Pine Hill Haints, Against Me!, Violent Femmes, Larry and His Flask, and Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, to name a few.

In Memory

In Memory from Nate Allen on Vimeo.

For my Uncle Ron. May you Rest in Peace.

Ronald LeRoy McKinnis died August 8, 2014 in Springfield, Oregon at the age of 67. He was born February 19, 1947 in Eugene to L. B. and Charlotte (Rardin) McKinnis. He went to Oakridge High School and Eugene Bible College. He married Jane on September 15, 1973 in Rogue River, Oregon and was married for 41 years. They had a son Rick and a daughter Robin. Ronald was in the army and worked as an auto mechanic, a police officer and hobby machinist. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, and was a slot car enthusiast. Ronald is survived by his wife Jane, son, Rick McKinnis and daughter Robin(McKinnis) Brey and a sister Shirley Sehorn of Eugene, three grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren A Memorial Service will be on Friday, August 15, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. at Lane Memorial Gardens. Arrangements entrusted to Lane Memorial Funeral Home.

5 Things I Love About Kansas City

royals-300x198 (1)I moved to Kansas City, Missouri from Portland, Oregon with some hesitancy. I’d never lived in the Midwest before, we didn’t know many people and our shows here over the years had rarely been amazing.  But a chance to have our own apartment and enjoy a change of pace helped motivate us to pack our vans and head east. After about 10 months  Kansas City has grown on me in surprising ways.

Here is my list of 5 Things I Love About Kansas City.

1. This is sports town. I get to go to Kansas City Royals games for a reasonable price. I can’t think of a better way to relax after a long day than watching a baseball game. I hope I can make opening day 2014.

2. The art scene is very vibrant here, more than I ever imagined. There is a lot of fine art (world class ceramics, free museums – the Nelson Atkins Museum) and the music scene is small enough that is easy to get to know people.

3. Our friends in Bent Left said this is a town you can make things happen in and I agree. If you want to build something in Kansas City you totally can.

4. There are two quality Ms. Pac-Man machines with-in walking distance of our house (Open Fire Pizza / Art Closet Studios & West Port Coffee House).

5. There are several good places to play in Kansas City less than a mile from our house @ Riot Room, Vandals (formerly known as Black and Gold & the News Room), Art Closet Studios / Open Fire Pizza (all-ages), Blarney Stone, Mustache Club, Mills Records, ect.

6. It’s centrally located for easy weekend tours and travel like this one:

pacawaydots (1)

I am doing a full band tour as Nate Allen & The Pac-Away Dots. The set will consist of mostly non-Destroy Nate Allen songs. I’ve never done this before. It’s exciting and scary. The songs I’ll be playing can be described in part as bluesy, folk-punk with a heavy dose of honesty, introspection, and accessibility. They have more of a straight ahead rock n’ roll feel than anything I’ve played in a long time.

March 29th @ Solace Music Venue – Joplin, MO 7 PM $5 all-ages.

March 30th @ OBEC – Springfield, MO 7 PM $5 all-ages

March 31st @ Vandals in Kansas City, MO 8 pm $5. 21+

So We Moved To Kansas City

Hi. My name’s Nate.

I’m a husband, communicator, teacher, consultant, musician and extrovert who just moved to Kansas City from Portland, Oregon. This is my new website. When it’s done it will look very different. Check back often for updates. If you want to collaborate on a project  or have me play a solo or duo show (as destroy nate allen) drop me an email. Until then here is a song I played a few times in Portland.