Newfoundland Vinyl Rolls on the Rock

Allison Crowe takes on a different role this Summer - off-stage - as Music Director of "Newfoundland Vinyl", one of this year's productions in the Gros Morne Theatre Festival (GMTF).

Written and directed by playwright Jeff Pitcher, Artistic Director of Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador (TNL), the play revolves around the classic "songs of A Frank Willis, Roy Payne, Joan Morrissey, Rex Hemeon, Dick Nolan, Eddie Eastman and more".

Allison reports she's "super-pumped" to be working with the talented cast of "Newfoundland Vinyl" - TNL's rollicking spin through popular music's coming of age on "the rock".

GMTF - an annual festival - is presented on the northern peninsula of Newfoundland in the community of Cow Head, at home in Gros Morne National Park, one of Canada's most beautiful, natural, locations.

There's more to come on this fun production as it gets rolling. The show opens July 13, 2012.

"Newfoundland Vinyl" - disc logo designed by Ed Hollet 2012

Free to Fly

It's four in the afternoon and not raining. Not in Baltimore. Not in Cleveland where the world's first rock concert happened - sixty years ago this weekend.

In 2006, the wonderful songwriter and jug-band-Jedi, John Sebastian, told The New York Times: "The (record) industry has been in the corporate noose for so long, it doesn't even have a leg jiggle left. There's no one left saying, 'Wait, we want to make art'."

Keith Richards' tranfusion at a Swiss clinic is urban legend. The new cultural blood that's coursing through our digital world is ready to become truly legendary. A force :)

It's a fantastic voyage from the "Moondog Coronation Ball" to now.

Among this week's way-stations, we hear from the newest blogger to enter ourstream: THW - the UK music blog of The Human Wreckage - very kindly features Allison today, and says: "In a nutshell; Allison Crowe is what is missing from the music industry. She has a strong mind, follows her heart and just oozes talent." With Allison blazing her own path, and such pioneers as Ani DiFranco and Janis Ian showing what's possible, making music stronger than the corporate establishment, these are the best of times for music-makers andmusic-lovers!

Sister THW blog - Forget the Freak You're Just Nature - presents Allison's captured-live-in-the-studio performance of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah".

And the buffet is laid out at Muruch - enriching blogger on music, literature and film, and a site familiar to fans of Allison Crowe. Muruch premieres a new recording of "Disease" - an exciting early listen to "Tidings Live" :)



Tough Mama. Katey Sagal and the Sons of Anarchy.

Allison Crowe, with Zimmy's "world of illusion" at her feet, is free to fly. "Free to possess truth in one soul and one body".

The Liebster Awards - Allison Crowe Picks

It’s with great delight, cheery pride and warm thanks that Allison Crowe, this here blog, this weekend received a prestigious Liebster Award from “1 Heck of a Guy” - everybody’s favourite blog written by a psychiatrist that is rife with Leonard Cohen-based hilarity, love stories, essays on broomcorn, and proposals for a county seal featuring Dick Tracy.

In something of a reverse engineering feat to the drummers in Spinal Tap spontaneously combusting, the recipients of a Liebster Blog Award spontaneously come together. It’s a fun way to share passions, and introduce more people to singular blogs – Liebster being a German word for dearest, beloved, or favourite.

Being an award sparked by humanity, and non-corporate in nature, there’s not a lot of red-tape to the proceedings. Still, we learn from Dr. Heck, aka DrHGuy, aka Allan Showalter, blogmeister of “1 Heck of a Guy”, for recipients there is some form to keep things functioning:

“1.. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog.
2.. Link back to the blogger who awarded you.
3.. Copy & paste the blog award on your blog.
4.. Reveal your own 5 blog picks.
5.. Let them know you chose them by posting on their blog.”

(Dr H further advises: “The policy indicates that blogs selected should have fewer than 200 followers, but this appears to be uniformly ignored.”)

Now, following a vegan drum roll, here are the five recipients of the Liebster Blog Award, as so bestowed by Allison Crowe:



Heather on a Rock - Acting, physiotherapy... These are just a a couple of the many things that my über-talented friend Heather Rumbolt can do! Add writing to that list - you can now check out her humorous and incredibly honest blog, Heather on a Rock (Warning: contains some strong language and adult themes - and total hilariousness.) Here are two posts to get you started on your road to Heather: Half-baked Recipe for a Happier You + Flamin’ Hot Yogi Ready to be Lululemonated

the little red chicken - Another of my super-talented actor friends, (she's touring right now with the NL play "Tempting Providence" all across Canada - to rave reviews!), Willow Kean’s passion for food is legendary - and now you can learn her ways through her blog! Willow's fun and charming stories create the perfect setting for the delicious recipes within!

CornerBrooker.com - Corner Brook super-citizen Tom Cochrane, (a writer and photog, among many, many other things!), created this blog originally as a site to keep us up with the local happenings in and around Corner Brook, Newfoundland - and it has done an AMAZING job of doing just that! It's now exploded on to the scene with multiple talented writers, photographers - you name it, they've got it. Way to go Tom!

Post Punk Kitchen - This is my go-to site for looking up what I want to have for dinner. Isa Chandra Moskowitz is a super-vegan extraordinaire! Her book "Veganomicon" has become a vegan kitchen staple - among her many other books - and she is kind enough to share her recipes with those of us who turn to her online. She is always willing to help out if you have a question on her facebook page! - thank you Isa for all that you do!

Chocolate-Covered Katie - So much delicious, delicious chocolate - and many other delicious desserts - and all of them good for you! Katie posts super-often, which is great, because I am always waiting to hear what genius healthy dessert she's come up with now! She's always willing to help out if you have a question as well - which is fantastic - and you can LITERALLY have your cake and eat it too. Her larabar recipes are to die for - and seriously, try the cookie dough dip - made with chickpeas! It blows my mind. (don't overblend it though!)

Enjoy!!!!!

Rock Liebster - 1 Heck of an Award

Capping a week of fresh delights, I woke this a.m., St. Patrick’s Day, to find Allison Crowe’s blog, for which I serve as caretaker, is a recipient of the prestigious Liebster Award.


I learned this by visiting “1 Heck of a Guy” – everybody’s favourite Leonard Cohen-centric blog written by a psychiatrist and “featuring song, dance, snappy chatter plus notes on prose, poesy, love, lust, life, and beyond."

There, the erudite blogmeister Dr. Heck, aka Allan Showalter, reveals the exceptional roster of blogs upon which the Liebster's bestowed. He explains the nature of things, especially fitting on this day for pledging fealty to friendliness - with or without a Guinness in hand.

Even the name of the award brings forth cheer, musically echoing, as it does, this German-language performance by the Fab Four - Sie Liebt Dich:



together with this also fabulous recording by T. Rex – Jeepster:



(One of today’s bands, The Black Keys, say, seems a natural to update Marc Bolan’s lyrics for the digital age: “Girl, I’m just a Liebster for your blog”.)

In handing out a Liebster to Allison Crowe's blog, the always entertaining, (and, to some, mysterious), Dr. Heck, says:

“Allison Crowe’s official site not only offers information, videos, and music about the next Canadian singer-songwriter but not infrequently issues a shout-out to other artists that have left an impression on Ms Crowe, including Leonard Cohen. In any case, Adrian du Plessis, who serves both as Allison’s personable manager and webmaster of the site writes prose that is entertaining, informed, and, on occasion, not unlike pirate lingo.”

Allison and I have savoured drinking in the history and import of this charming recognition. Thank you, danke, merci, grazie, and more, Dr. Showalter!!

In the spirit in which it’s delivered, and, further, to fulfill the duties and obligations of accepting a Liebster Blog Award, over the coming days, we shall choose other blogs to so honour in kind.

Stay tuned...

Sláinte mhaith!

Dear friend, theatre and musical artist Tanisha Taitt kindly celebrates St. Patrick's with Allison Crowe's acapella live performance of "Believe Me If All (Those Endearing Young Charms)". Wishing you good health, peace and love!!

Tidings - twin docs for eyes and ears+

Here's a real treat. Can't rightly call it a sneak-peek, yet, as the experience is auditory. There are twin "Tidings" documents in the works - film-maker Peter Buckle's video-documentary, and audio-engineer/producer Brad Graham's live concert album. Both exciting projects will be released later this year. Right now, we have here a recording of "Disease". A lot of people ask for the "Tidings" version of this Allison Crowe song. Here it is :)

There's a bird that nests inside you... - Counting Crows cover tribute

If you know Allison Crowe, you'll know this is about love and dreams. "It's the heart that matters more". In tribute to Adam Duritz, Counting Crows, who set Allison on the path of being a singer-songwriter, she's posted a cover of "Raining in Baltimore", performed live - to a cool CC contest that is being judged by the band itself. For the pure fun and joy of it all - give a listen. Vote, if you like, and you, too, believe in magic.



(On the page linked here, Allison's CC song is on the right hand side, at the bottom of the right column. There's another song page - and it's easier to find the song on this page, but, it's not always accessible. So, whatever works!)