Narrow talks to Joseph Allen! See him live @ High Dive, Wed. 4/21

Q&A With Joseph Allen
By Alec Kissoondyal

Your first passion was motocross. Are there any aspects of that discipline that you bring into your music career?
Yeah, I think the biggest thing is not being scared. In motocross, it's life and death. You have to face that every time you go on the track. Every time you go on the track, there's something that could kill you, and you have to make a choice. Are you going to be brave enough to do it? You can either back down and not do the thing you have to do, or you can go out there and have a blast.

You got into making music during your college years, and now you're about to perform in Gainesville, which is a college town. Is there any nostalgia that you feel when you're about to perform in a venue similar to the places you started off?
For sure! That was the biggest thing. Making that connection with an audience I can relate with. I think a lot of my music translates really well to being a young adult. I think it's going to feel really good being among people that feel similar to the friends and the people that helped to get me acknowledged.

Is spreading that positivity among that age group--or anyone in general--the thing motivates you?
You've got to inspire people. That's the big thing. To show people how lucky I got, and if they want to be lucky, you have to put yourself in the right position.

After your time on America's Got Talent, you had several offers for record deals, and you turned them all down to do your own thing. How is that going, and how have you been able to find your own success?
I love it, man. It puts no pressure on the music. I have fun with it. I'm working on a new album right now, so I think that the decisions I made allowed me to build a life that I'm really looking forward to. [...] It's about family and friends, and creating a life that provides the freedom to really leave the impact that you want to leave. I feel like I've played my cards the right way so far, so I don't burn myself out.

How do you handle the balance between spending time with your loved ones, being on the road, and putting in the work?
It's all balance. It's like that with anything though, whatever your priorities are. Some people say their priorities are family and friends, but when time runs out and we look back, we'll see where we actually spent our time. Right now, I'm not in a position where I have kids or anything like that, so it's not too difficult.

Do you have any upcoming projects?
I have a project that I plan to release this summer. So we'll see what I'm able to do in the studio and if I can make something that will exceed expectations.

Joseph will be performing live on Wednesday, April 21 at the High Dive.
Doors open at 8pm and the show starts at 9pm. Tickets available at highdivegainesville.com.