Allen McKenzie

Allen McKenzie (born January 1, 1960) is an American rock musician who is currently the bass guitar player for the rock band FireHouse.^[1]

Allen McKenzie was born on January 1, 1960, in Columbus, Ohio, and spent his formative years growing up in rural Jackson, Ohio. He married his wife Tina on Oct. 8, 2005, and together they live in Ohio with their children, Bryan, Breanna, Brandon, and Allen's son Daniel who lives with his Mother. Allen moved to Akron, Ohio in 1977 with his family, and upon graduation from Garfield High School in June 1978, joined the U.S. Army that September, serving the next three years in Landau, West Germany, and the following three stateside as a reservist in Akron. After leaving the Army in 1984, he almost immediately involved himself in Akron's then burgeoning music scene, a time when local music was thriving. Allen played in mainly cover bands, until a chance meeting with future bandmate Dave Jackson in the rubber refinery where they both worked led the two to form Foxx, which went on to become one of the area's most popular hard rock bands.

Foxx released two albums, "FOXX"(1989), and "STICK IT OUT"(1991), and toured extensively until the band's demise in late 1992 (Foxx's material is available today at www.retrospectrecords.com). Allen then shifted musical gears in 1993 and joined Cleveland progressive rock band Quest. Prog rock has long been Allen's first love musically, so this was his chance to dabble in that style as a singer, keyboardist, and songwriter. Quest released the critically acclaimed "OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE PICKET FENCE" at the end of 1994, but at the height of Alternative Nation, the disc was doomed to failure, so Quest went their separate ways in 1995, but not before a high profile show opening for Yes at Blossom Music Center in the summer of 1994.

Undaunted, Allen returned to the bass guitar and joined the highly diverse hard rock band Peacetree, whose strength was not only the musical diversity of its members, but also the songwriting and vocal prowess of frontman Elijah Black. Peacetree released three discs, "INSENSE"(1996), "WONDERFUL DAY"(1998), and "NICE TO MEET YOU"(2000), the latter earning Peacetree a Best Hard Rock Band nomination at the 2000 Cleveland Free Times Music Awards, and regional as well as national exposure opening for several national acts(most notably Mötley Crüe, Styx, Cinderella, and Neil Young), and even an appearance on the Jenny Jones Show.

By the end of 2002, Peacetree had called it quits, with members splitting off into different projects. Allen settled into playing with local classic rockers The JAK Band(which he still does on occasion), and was also rehearsing with Elijah Black's new band when he was approached by Warrant singer Jani Lane to perform on his solo tour to support his album "BACK DOWN TO ONE". A brief stint with Lane followed, from Oct. 2002 to Mar. 2003.

Allen McKenzie joined FireHouse on Oct. 23, 2003, at the recommendation of his Jani Lane bandmate, guitarist Billy Morris. In the subsequent years that followed, FireHouse has toured the USA, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Japan, India, Brazil, Spain, Italy, Greece and the UK, contributed to "MONSTER BALLADS XMAS"("Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"), the METAL MANIA STRIPPED ACROSS AMERICA DVD("Don't Treat Me Bad"), and Allen, Michael Foster, and Bill Leverty lent their talents to Canadian hard rockers RocKarma, led by guitarist/singer Damon Kelly, on their 2005 debut release, with Allen on bass, Michael on drums, and Bill handling the production end of things.

With 2009 and beyond approaching, Allen plans to "keep playing; as long as I'm still physically capable, and as long as it continues to be a rewarding and enjoyable experience. For right now, all of the above apply. I feel like I've still got plenty of gas left in the tank".

References

External links

• FireHouse website
• Allen McKenzie on Myspace