Gary Allan Brings on the 'Pain'

The story of how Gary Allan began to heal after his wife committed suicide proves that when people care enough to listen, other people heal. Does the pain go away? No but the memories, good and bad, don't go away either.

Gary Allan Brings on the 'Pain'
Posted Mar 8th 2010 4:30PM by Donna Hughes
"'Cause I love the long shots, and the left out lost causes, hanging out in the back of the pack with the dark horses, I ride the wrong road just as fast as I can, God knows there's no one else to blame, sometimes I think I get off on the pain."

Those are the relatively autobiographical lyrics from the title track of Gary Allan's new album, 'Get Off on the Pain,' out this Tuesday (March 9). Gary, who relocated from California to Nashville several years ago, says the song describes his life, both on a personal and professional level.

When The Boot sat down with Gary to talk about his new album, he appeared happy, relaxed and most importantly, at peace. In 2004, Gary's wife Angela committed suicide, and the devastated widower poured his heart, soul and pain into his 2005 release 'Tough All Over,' with songs such as 'Life Ain't Always Beautiful' and 'Puttin' Memories Away.'

On 2007's 'Living Hard,' a change occurred with a few songs of reflection, introspection and wistfulness, including 'Watching Airplanes' and 'Learning How to Bend.' He wrote several songs on that album that he said brought more truth to what he was singing, since he tends to write from personal experiences. Some of those personal experiences can be found on the new album, as well, in songs like 'No Regrets,' which is a tribute to his late wife. Gary has come out on the other side of tragedy and loss with a strength and sense of hope, due in large part to the therapy of making music.

During our interview, Gary also chatted about the healing process he went through, writing songs with one of his daughters, his all-or-nothing attitude towards love, recent troubles with a stalker and what he learned from touring with Brooks & Dunn.

Given all you've been through these past few years, is it therapeutic for you to put your thoughts down on paper?

Absolutely! Gosh, when my wife passed, that's how I got through it. Having your friends come over and kicking around every emotion, just turning it over from every angle really gives you a peace. For a while, I wondered what that was, but I recently met somebody who went through the same things that I did with family members and if anybody mentioned anything about it, they were a mess. And you wonder what that's gonna get you -- the therapy and all the things that you do -- but that's what it gets you is you're able to talk about that and live with it in a comfortable place, instead of just falling apart at the mention.

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Gary Allan Brings on the 'Pain'