Release (27.07.2001)

15 years ago to this hour, Allison Crowe, one of our truly great musical artists and live performers, in any genre, performed her first international concert with her own band. Allison’s rock-jazz+ trio comprised herself on vocals and keyboard (this was pre-guitar, fiddle and bodhran shows), Dave Baird on bass and Kevin Clevette on drums.

Allison’s combo launched the opening night of the WorldWide Jammer Convergence (WWJC) in Seattle, Washington – an event which brought together Pearl Jam fans from all across the USA and world. After a full set of her band repertoire, and a couple of encores – Allison came back to perform solo this Pearl Jam song, “Release”:

Release (Jammer Convergence - Seattle live) from Allison Crowe on Vimeo.

In 2001, cameras and portable devices were not the feature they are at concerts today, and we’re so fortunate that Jammer Pam Abramowicz Wolfers captured this musical moment in time. WWJC organizer and event MC Sandi Heinrich takes the mic for a final note to this historic night of rock and roll.

Unstable

Robert Plant, Janis Joplin, Grace Slick, Joe Cocker, Ann and Nancy Wilson (Heart), Eddie Vedder… visceral rock singers of legend.

 

Among Allison Crowe’s early studio recording experiences was a kind invitation from “Her Royal Majesty’s Records”, the label started by Canada’s own rock/punk/poet icon, Bif Naked. Naked’s manager and HRMR co-founder, music industry veteran Peter Karroll remarked upon first hearing the island-based musician: “She is reminiscent of some of the great women vocalists who shaped rock music in the late '60s and early '70s. Allison's emotional delivery is unique in today's music."

 

Here’s “Unstable” - one of the songs Allison Crowe performed in those days with her bandmates Dave Baird (bass) and Kevin Clevette (drums). It’s recorded in White Rock, BC’s Turtle studios by Larry Anschell (who’s captured music of Bif, Pearl Jam, Sarah McLachlan ++).

The accompanying visual is excerpted from an experimental 1928 film version of Edgar Allan Poe’s 1839 short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher”. Directed and photographed by James Sibley Watson, Jr. – it’s a cinematic adaptation Watson co-wrote with Melville Webber (who also designed the sets for this American avant-garde piece). An early scenario for the film was written by poet and essayist+ e.e. cummings.

Crayon and Ink - Allison Crowe's National TV Debut

This Winter’s been an epic adventure on a couple of fronts - digging out of snowdrifts, and rooting through musical archives to unearth audio and video gems.

A word-of-mouth sensation in western Canada since her teens, Allison Crowe made her first national television appearance on the Vicki Gabereau show in January, 2002.

Here's the live-in-the-studio performance that introduced a country to this amazing musician. Show host is Vicki Gabereau ~ Canada's "Queen of Chat" (northern counterpart to such American talk-show hosts as Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah Winfrey.)

Allison Crowe is accompanied on "Crayon and Ink" by bassist Dave Baird and drummer Kevin Clevette. The song appears on Crowe's debut EP, "Lisa's Song + 6 Songs".

Release (Jammer Convergence - Seattle live)

Rooting around, finding some of the stuff of dreams and lives – here, from the earliest-known international concert video of Allison Crowe – from Seattle, the home of Pearl Jam, with love... Play loud!


Release (Jammer Convergence - Seattle live) from Allison Crowe on Vimeo.

Allison Crowe trekked to Seattle, Washington in July 2001 to be part of the World Wide Jammer Convergence (WWJC) - a gathering of Pearl Jam fans (AKA Jammers) from over 30 U.S. states, Canada and other PJ-friendly locales.

(Eddie Vedder and PJ being major inspirations for Allison and her band, then also living in North America’s Pacific Northwest.)

An entire floor was rented in an historic downtown hotel, The Commodore, and, like a scene from Cameron Crowe's movie, "Almost Famous", with doors wide open, and a communal room for watching PJ videos, Jammers experienced music and friendship in the Emerald City.

Allison (vocals, keyboard) with Dave Baird (bass) and Kevin Clevette (drums) performed a welcoming concert ~ in a small, very warm, theater in back of another historic joint - Second Avenue Pizza.

After the band set and encores, Allison remembers a Pearl Jam song she wants to play – solo - "Release".

Pam Abramowicz Wolfers captured the intensity in all Jammin' beauty (in this, the earliest-known international concert video of Allison Crowe). Embracing Allison afterward is Sandi Heinrich, WWJC organizer and event MC.

The stuff that dreams and lives are made of...

http://music.allisoncrowe.com

"Scared" Not

In light of our news (media reports) being full of violence against women, one of the web’s original music bloggers, Muruch, tweets: “I was just thinking about lack of anti-violence songs & wanting @Allison_Crowe to record one. I'd forgotten she already did. :)”

Among her passionate expressions of life’s dimensions, Allison’s extraordinarily diverse song catalogue speaks to themes of abusive relationships, self-harm, suicide, societal pressures, and more...

Muruch specifically highlights a song that addresses a culture of abuse, shame and silence - “Scared”: http://www.muruch.com/2014/11/allisoncrowe-scared.html

 

In the video embedded by Muruch, Allison and bandmates Dave Baird, bass, and Kevin Clevette, drums, are seen in various locations on Vancouver Island, Canada – in Nanaimo and Victoria. The video-makers, Angela Kendall and Brian Dutkewich, would later make popular videos for a Canadian duo, Tegan and Sara. (For trivia buffs: in this vid, Allison’s father, Del Crowe, happens to drive by at one point, and, Allison’s longtime manager, Adrian du Plessis, is also caught, serendipitously, walking by as he waves to Del.) The song's audio is recorded by Larry Anschell of Turtle Studios, and features 19-year-old Allison Crowe and band.

Midnight + Swing Time

Allison Crowe's music + movies mash-up series takes another joy-filled turn in this homage to the 1936 b/w film classic, "Swing Time".

This "Never Gonna Dance" sequence features the immortal dancing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers - choreographed by Astaire and Hermes Pan. The film's directed by George Stevens.

The music soundtrack is "Midnight", a recording from Allison Crowe's debut CD - on which her voice and piano is accompanied by the bass-playing of Dave Baird and the drumming of Kevin Clevette.

Delay - Musical Decade Shines Still Brighter

"Once you’ve heard one Allison Crowe song, You’ve heard one Allison Crowe song," says Allan Showalter, the erudite mystery-man behind the enriching and entertaining Leonard Cohen-centric blog, 1 Heck of a Guy.

With the good doctor's observation in mind - here's another one from Allison:



This, a diamond mined 10+ years ago - and the musical equivalent to kimberlite pipes are richer than ever. The fuller origin story can be found on the YouTube page hosting "Delay".

Midnight Memories Ever-Fresh

When Allison Crowe and her then-trio, Dave Baird on bass and Kevin Clevette on drums, were starting to roll internationally – film director and Hollywood+ steadi-cam veteran Alex Postowoi offered to shoot a band video. The song chosen for Allison’s first, and only, “story” video was “Midnight”. Tami Mancey and Josh Dahling were the lead actors. Full credits and this charming video itself can be found @ Allison Crowe and the Midnight Video

   
To add to the aural fun, at White Rock, BC’s Turtle studios Allison’s trio was joined on mandolin by Robert Ford, of Canuck Celtic rock legends, The Stoaters, as well as Hammond wizard Darryl Havers (Ferron, Alan Doyle, Brickhouse, Raffi+). With some additional support from “One-take Eddie” Johnson, percussion, and Larry “Turtle” Anschell handling guitar and production – Midnight “The Single” was born. This (2002) was no longer the heyday of “music television”, but, it still was a place many bands and fans looked to connect. Canada’s counterpart to MTV passed on playing “Midnight” – deeming it “too country”.

With Allison about to join Karen Sparkes and Gerri Lynn Mackey, personable hosts of CFCB 570AM Radio, home to new and classic country music, for an on-air chat, the memory brings forth a chuckle :)

Grab a sarsaparilla and kick back - here’s “Midnight”, as performed by Allison Crowe and friends, sounding as fresh and invigorating as the day they all came together.

Seems some browsers and operating systems respond differently to things and, so, should you have any problem watching the "Midnight" video directly on the site of film-maker, Alex Postowoi, we've made this page on Allison Crowe's home-site which may provide additional viewing options.

Lisa's Song

"Lisa's Song" completes this EP/CD. In Summer 2002 Lisa Marie Young is abducted during a night out with friends in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Allison Crowe returns home from tour to learn her high-school friend is missing. (More on this tragedy @ Lisa's Page) Allison's trio are invited into Seacoast Sound where Rick Erickson records this performance ripped from the soul.

Philosophy

"Philosophy" is today's selection on "6 Songs". Fittingly, it closes that EP/CD - just as the song closed many a concert when Allison Crowe rocked out with her band. As the final song of a concert set or encore, Allison would often build to a coda of Pearl Jam's "Jeremy". It was all mighty frenzied. With bassist Dave Baird deep in the groove, drummer Kevin Clevette's drumsticks would splinter amidst the Bacchanalia.

Scared

"Scared" is our pick for today. "This song is about not being afraid to stand up for yourself and what you believe in, to speak out even in the most adverse of circumstances," says Allison Crowe. (On YouTube is a Scared music video - created by Angela Kendall and Brian Dutkewich of transmission2videos who've later made vids for Tegan and Sara, Death Cab for Cutie, Jets Overhead +)

Dark Blue

"Dark Blue" is today's song - from the "6 Songs" session. Once more, Allison Crowe (vocals, piano) is joined by Dave Baird (bass) and Kevin Clevette (drums) for this live-off-the-floor take captured by Engineer/Producer Larry Anschell (Pearl Jam's "Alive", Sarah McLachlan's "Gloomy Sunday" and mucho more).

Crayon and Ink

Song of today, from the "6 Songs" session, is an epic favourite of many - "Crayon and Ink". Recorded live-off-the-floor by Allison Crowe, and bassist Dave Baird and drummer Kevin Clevette. Artwork for this EP (Extended Play) CD, and its subsequent editions is by Allison, with the cover photo by Gord Christmas. Happy Sunday!

Midnight

Here's a song that's had several incarnations - this is the first. "Midnight", also recorded by Allison Crowe and trio (Dave Baird, Kevin Clevette) at Turtle, that afternoon in July 2001. Allison's songs are pretty much all autobiographical. Some, like this one, contain verbatim passages of her life :)



Allison Crowe, Lisa's Song, 6 Songs, EP, Turtle, Larry Anschell, Dave Baird, Kevin Clevette, piano, voice, drums, bass, rock, jazz, folk, indie, passion, Midnight, Pearl Jam

Fade Away

Background: On Allison Crowe's facebook Artist page, Turkish fan Furkan Sidar started things rolling with a song request, and it proved so much fun, I realized - there's over 100 songs released on Allison's seven albums and not everyone has heard all this music. Thus begins a series of a song every-day-or-so to bring all of this music to ears anew.

"Fade Away" on Allison Crowe's first release, an EP called "6 Songs", was written when Allison was 15. In July 2001 Allison and trio - Dave Baird on bass, Kevin Clevette on drums - traveled to Seattle, USA to join Pearl Jam fans for a "Worldwide Convergence". Stopping en route for a session at Larry Anschell's Turtle Recording Studios in White Rock, BC, they recorded six songs "live-off-the-floor". This is the first.

Do Look Back

Who Will Save Your Soul (Jewel)

As the release of “Spiral”, a new album from Allison Crowe, approaches, it’s fun to revisit where things began, with a pair of songs from among the earliest popular (i.e. not jazz or classical) songs and inspirations in Crowe’s repertoire.

Here’s Allison Crowe covering, live, a song that was a hit when she was 15 – "Who Will Save Your Soul”.

WWSYS is the lead off track on “Pieces of You”, the debut album of Utah-born, Alaska-raised, singer-songwriter Jewel (Kilcher). The POY album, (for which Jewel wrote songs alone, and together with wild-and-crazy Haligonian-at-birth Steve Poltz), has sold over 13 million copies worldwide. It’s an organic blend of songs recorded, (in the mid-’90s), live at the Innerchange coffeehouse in San Diego, and at Neil Young’s Broken Arrow Ranch studio in Woodside, California, sensitively produced by Ben Keith.

Jewel, via her “J-team”, has been kind to Allison Crowe, and especially supportive when Allison was first venturing out from her Canadian island to greet a larger world with her music.



Fade Away

Allison Crowe’s first public performance, at age 5 or 6, was singing the jazz-era hit “Ja-Da Ja-Da (Jing Jing Jing)”.
 

For the next decade, Crowe’s musical training hewed to jazz and classical, with Beethoven being a natural favourite. By her teenage years, this foundation enabled creative flight, further fuelled by such diverse influences as “The Little Mermaid”, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, and Chet Baker joining a new generation of bands, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Counting Crows, among them, and women in the spotlight – from Ani DiFranco, and Tori Amos, to Joan Osborne, Jewel, Sarah McLachlan and plenty more inspirations.

“Fade Away”, penned when she was 15, is the first song Allison Crowe wrote as a singer-songwriter.

On this recording, she’s accompanied by Larry Anschell, on electric guitar, Dave Baird on bass, and Kevin Clevette on drums. Recorded and produced by Anschell (Bif Naked, Sarah McLachlan, Pearl Jam), at his Turtle Recording studios in White Rock, B.C., Canada.



The photos of Allison accompanying these music vids are by the fabulous Billie Rocha-Woods

32 Flavors

Ani DiFranco ~ "songwriter, musicmaker, storyteller, freak".

In 1989/90, years before digital/online technology helped light up the terrain, Buffalo-based DiFranco was showing us how DIY is done. In creating her own label, Righteous Babe Records, and charting a path that includes loyalty and integrity as touchstones, "the little folksinger that could" - did!

"I don't think the music industry is conducive to artistic and social change and growth. It does a lot to exploit and homogenize art and artists. In order to challenge the corporate music industry, I feel it necessary to remain outside it. I could be selling a lot more albums. Life could be a lot more cushy. But it's much more interesting to try and hammer out an alternative route without the music industry and maybe be an example for other musicians. You don't have to play ball," notes Ani DiFranco.

Major inspiration to Allison Crowe, who created her own label, Rubenesque Records Ltd., (about to release a seventh CD/album since 2003), the music of Ani DiFranco is a cherished feature of Crowe's live performances.



Heres Ani's song "32 Flavors" performed by Allison (vocals, piano) and Dave Baird (bass), and Kevin Clevette (drums) live at Lucky Bar, Victoria, Canada in 2001. One of the earliest live recordings of Crowe, it's first captured by Condor, and later engineered by Welsh audio-tech David Powell.

The image of Allison Crowe is by the ever fabulous photog Billie Woods.

Creep - a rare boot'

The process of readying for new recording sessions, as Allison Crowe and fellow musicians gather next week at various locations on the Pacific coast, has unearthed some live recordings from Allison's earlier rock bands.

As a teenager in the '90s, living in Canada's Pacific Northwest, Allison Crowe gravitated toward the Seattle bands Nirvana, Pearl Jam - along with such other favourite North American musicians as Ani DiFranco, Tori Amos and Counting Crows. Across the pond, from the UK came the sounds of Radiohead.

Crowe and her bandmates, performing in Nanaimo, BC venues such as Katz and The Queens, included, alongside their originals, a pair of Thom Yorke-penned songs in their live repertoire - "Fake Plastic Trees" and "Creep".



This live recording dates to the start of this millenium, by which time Allison, on vocals and piano, was performing in a trio - joined by Dave Baird on bass, and Kevin Clevette on drums. (Thanks to audio archivists Condor and John MacMillan for preserving a rare track.)

"Creep" is a song that Radiohead stopped performing entirely for a few years, and brought back into the band's regular live sets in 2009. In recent times, it has been covered by a wide range of acts - Prince, Amanda Palmer, Brandi Carlile, Damien Rice, Korn, Moby, and Macy Gray among others.