Brian Wallen is a busy man. With ten CD releases, including a DVD project, and
close to 100 shows last year, (including a July performance on the plaza at the
Ryman Auditorium in Nashville) he would be. What makes it so
extraordinary is that Brian is only 17 years old. You see, Brian isn’t
your average teenager. He picked up the guitar at age 10, an interest
perfectly natural for a young child. But it’s when he
started picking up everything else that it became clear that he wasn’t
exactly average. Brian plays 9 instruments, which he says is, “quite a
few, I guess”.
What’s more remarkable is the fact that he hasn’t had
any formal instruction. But it doesn’t stop there; Brian isn’t just an
instrumentalist; he’s also a singer, songwriter, and record producer.
He has his own studio, where he writes and tracks the latest chapter in
his musical journeys.
That chapter includes those aforementioned eight album releases over the
span of two and a half years.
How do these projects stand out from the crowd?
Brian articulates, “I really feel like these albums are an expression
of me.” A big part in this has been Brian’s songwriting. He explains,
“a song that’s already been done has a predefined sound. With an
original song, the door is wide open to just about any possibility. The
same goes with recording in your own studio, on your own time. I take
literally months of time to create my albums, so when I record it’s not
like I’m going into an environment where I’m being forced to create. I
did it exactly how I wanted it to be done.”
Brian arranged, performed,
recorded, produced and mastered everything you hear on his projects.
Every vocal and instrumental part has been deftly shaped to his
standards. You won’t hear anything that isn’t uniquely, and completely
Brian.
So has Brian succeeded in his goal of carving out his own niche in the
musical world? The answer is yes. Take a listen to one of his projects,
and you’ll find Brian at the peak of his creative force, standing out
from the crowd of singers, instrumentalists and artists that came
before him. To sum it up, Brian states, “I’m not your typical teenager,
but I’m fine with that…I wouldn’t want to be anything else than what I
am.”
