When Allen was playing trombone in middle school in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, he began finding a love for the drum section. With too many percussionists in the school band, he was forced to stick with the trombone. But this didn't stop him from teaching himself the drums on his older cousin's drum set, and he soon began forming his own musical groups.
During his freshman year of high school, Allen was able to try out for the High School drum line. By senior year he was the drum section leader and drumming in his own rock bands on the weekends.
In 2002, Allen decided to move to Orlando, Florida to get a degree in Recording Arts from Full Sail Real World Education. While in Florida he continued playing with bands in the area and performed many shows. After finishing his degree, he headed back to Cleveland to look for a studio job.
He began working at StrangeLove Recording as a studio engineer and doing drum session work when he met the guys in Dropping Daylight through a mutual friend. They had just parted ways with their previous drummer and were just about to go on tour with Taylor Hawkins' new solo project Taylor Hawkins & the Coattail Riders.
After going through a drum audition in Minneapolis, where the Dropping Daylight guys are from, Allen was chosen and after only a couple days to rehearse, they headed out on the road with the new line up. Playing almost every night has really built his confidence and playing ability as a drummer and the schedule won't slow down anytime soon. Dropping Daylight recently released their debut album Brace Yourself and the band is on this summer's Vans Warped Tour and then will go out supporting Breaking Benjamin.
