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Available only via Randy’s website, the 11-song album is a deeply soulful and accomplished
work. It showcases McAllister’s solid talents as a singer/songwriter/producer and musician,
as well as the talents of the skilled musicians contributing to the work. It’s exactly the kind of
album that has the chance of breaking through without a lot of money behind it. I highly
recommend seeking out this album and adding it to your acoustic blues collection
(https://Randymcallister.com/).
I asked Randy McAllister to tell me about his life, career, and his new release titled Power
Without Power. This is what he told me …
LL: Would you paint us a picture of the family you grew up in and your hometown?
RM: My parents, Jack and
Linda, were blue-collar, hard-
working people that had a
loving relationship. I grew up
with two younger sisters - Kelly
and Lisa. My hometown is
Novice, Texas. Less than 100
people when I lived there. (See
picture below) There were two
convenience stores that were
about 5 or 6 miles in different
directions. Other than that, no
retail.
One of the stores was the
Faught Store. It was run by Mrs.
Nance, who always wore a
bonnet and was willing to let
you have things on good faith
credit. There was a small lake behind our house, and I spent a lot of time fishing there.
LL: What was it like having a father who was a fireman? Was it scary?
RM: My father was a fireman when I was very young. Too young for me to comprehend what it
was about. My biggest memory of his fire department days was the reason that he said he quit.
He was part of call where a tragedy involving kids occurred. He went on to run a machine
shop.
LL: What kind of music did you grow up listening to?
RM: I listened to everything - blues, rock, soul, country, jazz, zydeco and anything in between.
But started listening to more blues than other forms around 15. The band my father was in
played all the popular music of the time. So, his band and his record collection influenced what
I listened to.