He's a musician, a producer, a journalist, a husband and father of three children. With all these roles, you'd think Dave Allen would have enough things to do. His solo project has just released a new record, The Clutter of Pop; he runs an independent label (World Domination Records) and has a CD Rom in the works. All of this should be enough to keep any one persons hands tied.
But, this British born and raised artist just has to do more than humanly posible. He is in one way or another involved in all the bands that are signed to his label. He helps run a print publication, Clutter and has an extensive WWW page for World Domination. Yes, he is a fouding member of Gang of Four, Shriekback and even a sleeper project called King Swamp - and yes, he's a bass player. But for too long, these have been the only ways in which the media has seen fit to describe this talented writer, producer and composer - and it's time to set the record clear (yes, clear, not straight).
Dave Allen is just one of those people who have that quiet confidence that you either admire or are jealous of - because no one should be that together. It's rare to capture so many talents and use them to their fullest potential. He is a man without pretention, a man with a mission, a message. What does he have to say? A lot more than most of us take the time to conceive. Consumable Online caught up with him in a phone interview recently.
Consumable: You seem like a very focused and succesful individual. What helps keep your goals in sight and your life on track?
Dave Allen: I've learned to use all the resources at hand. With a tight knit staff of fourteen, it's become very easy to delegate. Everyone is really great and that helps the end result. For example, I'm involved in a print magazine called Clutter, a music magazine with a lot of essays and artwork. I take care of the editorial and publishing responsabilities. But as far as the layout, artwork and printing, a very talented woman named Ofelia Chong is in charge. Also, the fact that I have a very positive, confident outlook helps - if you start with that, you can make anything happen.
C: It seems all the articles I've read have been focused on the fact that you are no longer playing bass. For instance, in a record review in Raygun for the first Purejoy cd it stated: "This is Allen's first official stint as frontman..." What do you think of this?
Dave: I would call that lazy journalism. It's very easy to focus on a person's past activities. It seems that people are only allowed to do one specific thing and when they're done, just go away quietly. There doesn't seem to be any room for anything truly expressive or artistic. If anything creative or intellectual is presented it doesn't seem to have a ground to fall in. I'm out there attempting to fight the prejudice.
C: Let's talk about the record. When I listened to it, my first thoughts were towards the Velvet Underground. But after a few plays other influences came through. What would you say it's reminiscent of?
Dave: Actually your first instinct was not too far off. I would say it is more like Lou Reed than Velvet Underground; Lou is just great. You always know you're getting something good if you get any of his records; he really cares about the creative and production process. It's basically all about attitude. You take a three or four chord song, present something interesting lyrically and there you have it. Like Jonathan Richman as well, he's not too serious. But dig into his lyrics and he starts to get serious.
C: Now, about your Internet involvement. How did the ball get rolling for all the web and Internet access to come about?
Dave: It was a bit of a fluke. I was interested in letting people know we were out there. Around two years ago, a man named Charles Como of an organization Boxtop contacted me and asked if World Domination wanted to be on the Web. Jason Fiber, a guy on staff (at World Domination), was the key person in making it happen. I was interested in making World Domination as accessible as possible. If you go into the page you'll notice that not only is there information on the bands, but also a way to contact us. Whether it may be by phone or e-mail, people can experience what we're all about.
C: Who maintains your Web sight?
Dave: A guy named Zack Zalon from an organization called The Factory Network. He's doing a great job. He comes into the office and then shows me what he's doing. I get final say on what actually goes out. It's really simple actually.
C: How did the idea for the CD-ROM come about?
Dave: Well, Scott Blum of an orgnization called IMUSIC (based in Seattle) first approached me with the idea. The concept is an interactive talk radio station - actually, it's several stations. Each one of them will have a theme. For instance, there's one station called KNRA. An announcer will talk about different bills being considered and let the user select a track. According to whatever track they choose, consequent reports will be given by the announcer on the state of affairs according to their choice. If a bill was passed to give 15 year old kids the right to own firearms without a permit, a report will state some sort of mayhem due to this. I want to illustrate that everything you do in life is a choice, and everything that happens around you is a choice. Even if you choose nothing it will still affect the outcome.
C: As the main voice for World Domination Records you have stated your intention on releasing 20 more cd's in the next ten years. How do you plan to go about it?
Dave: Well, if you think about it, I've already released the first two (The Elastic Purejoy's The Clutter of Pop and The Harvest Movie Soundtrack) and two more are due later this year (CD-ROM and a new one by Low Pop Suicide). So actually, I'm due for some time off.
If anyone deserves a vacation, it's definitely Dave Allen. When I mentioned this, he very nonchalantly commented how nice of an idea that was. According to him, family provides all the vacation he needs and he's very happy working to accomplish his goals. "I'll rest after the 20 releases." I have a feeling he'll find another nemesis to keep him from getting that rest.
If you'd like to experience World Domination on the Web they can be reached at http://underground.net/Worlddom/worlddom.html/
