Ben Allen Hosts Nashville Songwriter Event

Ben Allen’s only regret about Thursday’s Nashville Songwriters in the Round event at Ben Allen’s Backyard is that more people couldn’t enjoy it.

"I just wish we had room for five times as many people,” Allen said, "because we certainly would have been able to sell the tickets. I would have been able to share this with more people.”

Allen, who was a Top Five finisher on “The Voice,” was performing original songs exclusively for the first time ever.

"I’m going to do several original songs,” Allen said before going on stage. "This will be the first time I’ve done all originals like this. A lot of times the band wants to keep the people dancing and everything. This is about stop everything, listen to the words we’re saying to you. When it’s words that you’ve written, that’s when you feel really vulnerable and exposed. In a certain way this is more of a scary thing to do than going on national television. It certainly is. I’m a little nervous. But it’s kind of good when the nerves buzz in a little bit.”

Allen was joined by two Nashville songwriting veterans, Wynn Varble and Gary Hannan, both with number one hits on their resume.

Varble’s hits include “Have You Forgotten,” “Waiting’ on A Woman” and “I’m a Little More Country Than That.” Hannan’s hits include “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off” and “Back When I Knew it All.”

“I’ve been very fortunate,” Hannan said. “I’ve had a couple of number one songs. A lot of cuts by different artists.”

Nashville veteran Hannan said achieving his first number one hit, “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Come Off,” by Joe Nichols, was very emotional.

“I cried like a baby,” he said. “I got into the business late. I was 42 when I had my first number one. I was a soldier in the Rhodesian Army before that. A commercial diver for years after that. I never expected to make it as a songwriter. But I got lucky and got a break.”

“Ben and I have written some songs together,” Hannan said. “We have a lot of conversations about the music industry.”

Varble just had a song released on Thursday.

“I just got a new kid out of Nashville,” Varble said, "Troy Cartwright. He just put it out today. It’s called “Breaking Every Heart in Texas.” I’ve been almost 30 years in Nashville.”

Varble had to think a minute when asked about his best song.

"It’d either be “Waitin on a Woman” by Brad Paisley or “Have You Forgotten” by Daryl Worley. Or, I had a number one called, “I’m a Little More Country Than That.”

Varble grew up a country music fan.

“I grew up down in Georgia,” Varble said. "About the time I could make a few chords I started writing songs. I’m a big Hank Williams fan. I didn’t even know you could write songs for a living. Then I saw an Austin City Limits episode and it looked like the funnest thing ever. And I decided right then that’s what I wanted to do."

Varble would like to bring funny country songs back in vogue.

“I write a lot of funny songs,” he said. "I’ve got one, “I’ve Got Wood and She’s Sawing Logs.” Those songs never get cut any more. Nobody’s having fun in country anymore.”

Varble thinks Allen has a chance to make it big.

“If Blake likes him,” Varble said, "I’ve known Blake a long time. And he’s got Gwen. So, if he’s got them, he’s got something going on. They ain’t no hacks picking him. I could tell during the soundcheck he’s got a heckuva voice."

Allen said he’s been looking forward to the songwriters in the round show.

“I’ve been looking forward to doing this,” Allen said. “Songwriters in the round is something I’ve done very little of. It gives me a chance to do a different kind of show. And these guys came down from Nashville to help us out. These guys have some famous songs, they really do. Big names have sung their songs for many years."

Allen reflected on his life since his successful run on “The Voice.”

“It’s been good,” he said. "The band has been busy. It’s been one of the happiest times of my life since then. I feel I have balance in my life with where I’m at, and what I’m doing, and where I’m going. I just want to be able to have longevity, and performing for people, and seeing people smile when I take the stage. That’s what you want. It’s been a blessing.”

Allen encourages Southwest Floridians to download his latest single.

“I’d love for people to go on iTunes and download “We are Americans.” That’s the new single we released two weeks ago,” Allen said. “It’s meant to be a patriotic song. Bringing people together on that core level. On 9/11, the country came together as one. I’d just love to see the country come back together like that."