News/Thoughts

The Boxcar Junkies

Although Brandon Allen, songwriter and lead vocalist for the Boxcar Junkies, hails from Indiana, his nomadic mind set has led him in many directions throughout his career, influencing not just his songwriting, but his view of life as a whole.

He had extreme hearing loss as a child – not exactly someone you’d think would end up with a career as a singer/songwriter. But the chance to play drums and bass in his family’s band set the foundation. After receiving his first acoustic guitar at the age of 12, Brandon immediately gravitated to writing songs, and quickly found his voice and passion in life.

That passion eventually led him to win Best Rock Vocalist at the Los Angeles Music Awards as well as Songwriter of the Year, Breakout Artist of the Year at the American Christian Music Awards, and Song of the Year at the Paramount Music Awards. He then signed a label deal with EMI, creating quite a buzz as an independent musician.

The path with its bumps and bruises along the way took its toll though, and wore Brandon out. “A lot of people don’t realize how easy it is for circumstances to overwhelm you,” Brandon said. “Going from where I was, having what I felt was a degree of success, to nothing again, really put a perspective on my life of just how fragile our infrastructure can be.”

Eventually he found himself again along with a renewed focus. He’s now dedicated his life and his art to being someone who tells the stories of the forgotten people he met along the way. “I wanted to do something with music this time that really mattered,” he said. “It’s a great tool and a platform to talk about things that people are dealing with everyday that you might not think about.”

He and his band, The Boxcar Junkies, just released a new EP produced by Derek Hames. “My hope is that I become invisible and that people focus on the message.”

To find out more, visit. www.boxcarjunkies.com