Historic Cassidy Inn Disappears in Ring of Fire

The historic Cassidy Inn, where Clark Kent / Superman (Henry Cavill) was bussing as Allison Crowe performed "Ring of Fire" in a bar scene for the 2013 Hollywood blockbuster, "Man of Steel", has played its final note in a blaze. The entire building is now ash following a July 4th inferno.

Cassidy Inn inferno, July 4, 2016 - Nick Boyle Photography

The Cassidy, located just south of Nanaimo, BC, Canada was originally a coal miner's hotel, and, in later years, a biker bar, and, lastly, a movie set. Photos and more history of the building and MoS can be found in Allison's "Man of Steel" gallery @ https://www.facebook.com/23720081675/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10151670513006676

Hollywood movie director Zack Snyder talks about filming an scene in the historic Cassidy Inn with musician Allison Crowe – for “Man of Steel”, the 2013 reboot of the Superman film franchise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKhcg6tLYLY

Last night, July 4th, the Cassidy, a coal-miner’s residence and biker bar before it became an Hollywood movie set, vanished in a giant ring of fire. Word on this news story is @ http://www.cheknews.ca/fire-damages-cassidy-inn-195684

Now - Allison Crowe and Band - Heirs + Grievances

Dynamo Allison Crowe appears as a singer in Cassidy’s bar in director Zack Snyder’s epic Superman reboot “Man of Steel” notes Mike Devlin, veteran music scribe for The Times Colonist (The Daily Planet of Victoria, Canada), in the paper’s latest “Scene and Heard” column:
http://www.timescolonist.com/entertainment/music/hermann-s-hosts-bluegrass-stars-bob-moses-returns-to-canada-1.2260599

Crowe’s cameo in the 2013 Hollywood blockbuster finds her performing in a north woods road-house where Clark Kent toils bussing while Lois Lane tracks the elusive hero. In creating the visual album for this year’s debut release from Allison Crowe and Band, “Heirs + Grievances”, it’s a natural to look to Lois & Clark for footage that fits “Now”:

Now - Allison Crowe and Band - Heirs + Grievances from Allison Crowe on Vimeo.

Come Fly With Me Behind-the-Scene

In Hollywood, not too long ago, movie director Zack Snyder was putting together the soundtrack for his cinematic take on the Alan Moore-penned comic series “Watchmen”.

One particularly noteworthy scene played out to the sound of Allison Crowe’s much-loved recording of “Hallelujah” – the Leonard Cohen classic that’s been expressed in most ways imaginable. (This artistic association ultimately led to the director flying Crowe across the continent to cameo in his reboot of the Superman movie series, "Man of Steel".)

Considering the "Watchmen" scene was meant to be awkward and ironic, Snyder drew another breath and concluded Crowe’s performance was “too beautiful”, “too romantic” and “too sexy” for the film – replacing her version with Cohen’s original.

Allan Showalter, the ever-mysterious-and-curious eminence grise behind “Cohencentric: Leonard Cohen Considered" revisits that movie moment as only he can:

http://cohencentric.com/2015/08/13/leonard-cohens-hallelujah-mood-music-for-watchmen-superheroic-sex-scene

There Is

Superman - Clark Kent, a joint creation of great friends, Toronto, Canada-born illustrator Joe Shuster and American writer Jerry Siegel (born in Cleveland, Ohio), entered our public universe in 1938 - via Action Comics #1

The mythic character, able to leap a tall building in a single bound, first took flight in fabulous,1940s cartoons made by brothers Max Fleischer, animator and director, and Dave Fleischer, producer.

The brothers' Fleischer Studios produced nine Superman classics - animated shorts - in 1941- 42. (Over the following couple of years, also for Paramount Pictures, another eight episodes were made for - these by Famous Studios. All 17 Superman cartoons are now in the public domain.)

For this, the first episode of a two-parter in "16 Songs", Allison Crowe's "There Is" provides the soundtrack to an excerpt from "The Mechanical Monsters" (one of the earliest of Superman's animated adventures - released November 28, 1941).

There Is from Allison Crowe on Vimeo.

The Man of Steel mythos brightens our world still today.

Brought to life on the big screen as a science fiction spectacular in Summer 2013, Krypton and the Earth of Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Perry White and all denizens includes musician Allison Crowe - as the "Singer in Cassidy's", a road-house in the great North woods where Clark is employed before taking on the mantle of Superman.

The Cassidy Inn is an actual, historic, bar/hotel on a stretch of highway on Vancouver Island, Canada about 10 minutes drive south of where Allison was born. Originally, and for decades, it was home to miners in this coal-rich area. More recently it became a rough-and-ready “biker bar”. The Cassidy fell into disrepair and closed before Hollywood set the scene with its epic, modern, production involving DC Entertainment, Syncopy Films, Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros.

The opportunity to work with Director Zack Snyder, Producer Deborah Snyder and the entire, truly stellar, production+ team, cast and crew of "Man of Steel" proved more amazing and fun than imaginable, and will forever rock Allison Crowe's daily planet.

"There Is": Allison Crowe - vocals, piano, engineer, producer; Del Crowe - guitar; Dave Baird - bass; & Laurent Boucher - percussion.

#5 of 16 Songs

        

It's a bird, it's a plane... it's Allison Crowe

Krypton Chronicle’s Rennie Cowan today posts to DailyMotion her interview with Allison Crowe from the red-carpet World Premiere of “Man of Steel” – which happened at New York City’s Lincoln Center in Summer 2013:

 

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x25f6ii_man-of-steel-world-premiere-interview-with-allison-crowe-by-rennie-cowan_shortfilms

 

 

MAN OF STEEL WORLD PREMIERE - Interview with Allison Crowe... by rennie-cowan

 

The chaotic fun of that adventure is well-captured in Rennie’s clip.

 

The genuine kindness and support of Hollywood film director Zack Snyder, producer Deborah Snyder, their super-professional team, and the many good folks we met at every stage, still lifts us up! Up! And away! 

Lights, Cameras... Cassidy

“Man of Steel” director Zack Snyder discusses action of the newest Superman movie shot inside the historic Cassidy Inn pub on Vancouver Island, BC. Allison Crowe, in a role very familiar to the Canadian musician, appears in this scene with Henry Cavill (Clark Kent / Superman), Ian Tracey (Ludlow), Carmen Lavigne (Chrissy), Howard Siegel (Weaver) and other members of the cast – actors whom it was a delight to meet and an honour to work alongside. Same goes for the privilege of working with the film’s amazing crew and production team - a stellar family of professionals united in creativity.

The Blu-Ray edition of “Man of Steel” released in late 2013, includes a feature called “Journey of Discovery”. Zack Snyder and many of the people involved walk us through the making of MoS from pretty much every angle. It’s extraordinary, and, rather than taking away from the movie magic – the explanations of how the science fiction epic comes together leave you more enthralled. It’s super – and fun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKhcg6tLYLY

"Something to Crowe About" Sings Telegram

Allison Crowe - detail of photograph by Cory Hurley in The Western Star / The Telegram

"Something to Crowe about" sings The Telegram - sharing word of the discerning culture blog, Muruch , naming two of Allison Crowe's albums among the best of 2013 and one of her new original songs its top pick for the year.

The newspaper notes:

"The West Virginia-based Muruch placed Crowe’s album “Heavy Graces” at No. 10 and “Newfoundland Vinyl” at No. 2, second only to “Pure Heroine” by Lorde. The blog also selected Crowe’s “Words” from the “Heavy Graces” record as the top song of the year for its annual list of the 50 best songs of the year, which also found room for three cuts from “Newfoundland Vinyl”: “Black Velvet Band” (No. 12), “Men Who Die for a Living” (No. 18) and “Skipper Billy’s Wake” (No. 28)."

The Telegram is Newfoundland and Labrador's major daily newspaper. Pioneering website Muruch has been sharing favourite albums, live performances, films and literature online since 1999. The full article can be enjoyed @ http://www.thetelegram.com/Living/Entertainment/2014-01-02/article-3561458/Something-to-Crowe-about/1

Song of the Year, Top Albums Nods for Allison Crowe

“The difficult I’ll do right now, the impossible’ll take a little while”. That’s pretty much always been the way of musician Allison Crowe.

This year proves ”weirdly typical” as ever for the amazing bi-coastal Canadian artist - to quote a phrase from one of 2013’s fine reviews.

In it, Crowe’s released three peerless albums (“Newfoundland Vinyl”, “Heavy Graces”, and the compilation “Songbook”), musically directed a hit theatre show (TNL’s “Newfoundland Vinyl”), saw one song recording used brilliantly in a trailer for a major independent motion picture (“Hallelujah” w. “The Pardon”), and appeared, pretty much as herself, in one of the year’s biggest Hollywood blockbusters (“Man of Steel”).

Now ‘Top Song of the Year’ nod for Allison Crowe's "Words" comes from the annual list of Muruch, the passionate and uncompromising culture blog that’s been sharing favourite albums, live performances, films and literature online since 1999.

“Words”, from the album “Heavy Graces”, features, for the first time, Allison playing her Great-Grandfather’s fiddle (along with her singing, playing guitar, arranging, engineering, producing and all those things she regularly does!). A trio of songs from her "Newfoundland Vinyl" album, also released this year, are found in the Top 50: "Black Velvet Band" (12); "Men Who Die for a Living" (18); and "Skipper Billy's Wake" (28).

Artists joining Allison Crowe in the top ten picks are: Alice Boman; Trent Dabbs; Lorde; Vienna Teng; Foxygen; Imagine Dragons; MS MR; & Janelle Monae (feat. Erykah Badu). Enjoy videos and music – of “Words” and all of Muruch’s ‘Top 50 Songs’ @ http://www.muruch.com/2013/12/muruch-2013-top-songs.html

The West Virginia-based blog follows the song list with its Top 25 Albums – and Allison Crowe’s two new albums this year both land in the top ten. Remarking: “The top three are really interchangeable, they are far too brilliant and too different from each other to truly rank”, Muruch slots Crowe’s “Newfoundland Vinyl” second, book-ended by Lorde’s “Pure Heroine” (#1) and Foxygen’s “We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic” (#3).

Crowe’s tribute to songs of her Atlantic home region contains traditional tunes, such as “Black Velvet Band” as well as interpretations of such modern classics as “The Mobile Goat Song”, (a Tom Cahill-penned hit for Joan Morrissey), Gary O’Driscoll’s elegiac “Men Who Die for a Living” and Ron Hynes’ anthemic “Sonny’s Dream”. This set, released on vinyl, “plays like a lovely, vintage collection of traditional Irish and Canadian folk ballads, lively sea chanteys and drinking songs, parlour songs and country tunes with surprising retro, girl-pop harmonies woven throughout…full of dazzling melody and such a unique charm…Allison’s voice is so strong and spectacular,” says Muruch. “It has the timeless beauty of a classic folk album.”

“Heavy Graces” combines Allison Crowe’s newest original song recordings with singular covers of Leonard Cohen (“Famous Blue Raincoat”) and Pearl Jam (“Better Man”) – and this album occupies the tenth spot on the albums of the year list, as described by Muruch: “what a lush piece of work…a touch of Celtic folk in the instrumentation, haunting backing vocals and a slow building, seething tension until Allison unleashes her wail”. The complete list of top album picks – which also includes this year’s releases from Elton John, Molly Drake, Hem, Steve Martin & Edie Brickell, Janelle Monae and more – is available @ http://www.muruch.com/2013/12/muruch-2013-top-albums.html

Here’s to a very happy, healthy, New Year – one and all!

Superfun Year

To quote a phrase, it’s been a “weirdly typical” year for musician Allison Crowe – who’s released three peerless albums in 2013 (“Newfoundland Vinyl”, “Heavy Graces”, and the compilation “Songbook”), musically directed a hit theatre show (TNL’s “Newfoundland Vinyl”), saw one song recording used brilliantly in a trailer for a major independent motion picture (“Hallelujah” w. “The Pardon”), and appeared, pretty much as herself, in one of the year’s biggest Hollywood blockbusters (“Man of Steel’).

Allison's recording of "Hallelujah" is soundtrack to trailer for "The Pardon" - starring Jaime King and John Hawkes

Of the latter experience, super-fun was also had by Allison when she was invited by “Man of Steel” director Zack Snyder and producer Deborah Snyder to New York City in June for the premiere of the epic science-fiction adventure movie. Newly-posted video from the Lincoln Centre red carpet chaos captures arrival on the scene of: Rebecca Buller (Jenny Olsen), Cooper Timberline (very young Clark Kent), Allison (about one minute in), Daniel Dae Kim (Hawaii Five-O), Zack and Deborah Snyder, Superman himself, Henry Cavill, with his family, Bill Nye “The Science Guy” and more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjQ7BdacR3Y

Arrivals for the red-carpet premiere of "Man of Steel" in NYC 

Allison Crowe in Be-CREATIVE: Found in Translation

Italy’s Be-CREATIVE has Allison on its cover this month - http://be-creative.lifestylecommunity.it/3 - and, now, the feature is translated for us all by the fine Italian hand of Rhonda C.

“Allison Crowe: La Sua Voce Ha Stregato Anche L’uomo D’acciaio,” says the publication’s cover - "Allison Crowe: her voice has bewitched even the Man of Steel" – and, here’s the rest of the story:

Allison Crowe, originally from Nanaimo, (November 16, 1981), is a Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist. She records for her own label, Rubenesque Records Ltd.  Her first albums, Secrets and Tidings, were published in 2004, while the double album Live at Wood Hall, recorded live on tour, was published in July, 2005.  She also produced a DVD containing live in-the-studio performances made during the recording of Tidings, in November 2005.

Of Irish, Scottish and Manx descent, Allison grew up listening to jazz, classical, and rock, and under the influences of musicians such as Ani DiFranco, Pearl Jam, Tori Amos, and Counting Crows.

Her music is the result of the union of all these genres, and the uniqueness of her voice has such force that it has been compared to that of Mahalia Jackson.  She usually accompanies herself with the piano.

Her percussive style, characterized by a great physicality, was often associated with the pioneers of R&B and rock and roll like Fats Domino. She perform as a soloist, and has also been a part of musical bands, specifically a trio known as the Allison Crowe Band (2000-2003).

One of her songs, Whether I'm Wrong, composed in early 2003, was selected for the initiative endorsed by UNESCO, New Songs for Peace.  However, she is also very popular for her interpretations of songs by other authors, from Jerome Kern and Pearl Jam, through to John Lennon, Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen. Her interpretation of the song Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen) was named Record of the Week by Record of the Day (UK) in August 2004, and again in November, 2005.  Towards the end of 2005, she held a series of concerts in Europe, with stops in Dublin, London, Monaco, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, and Paris.  In the spring of 2006, Allison Crowe made a coast-to-coast tour of her own country, making most of the journey by VIA Rail Canada Company.

In October 2006, she released her new album, This Little Bird, and subsequently held a series of concerts that have touched England, Ireland, and Scotland. On March 17, 2010, she released the album "Spiral".  Recently, she has also performed in Italy, specifically in 2010, and 2012, at the Teatro del Sale in Florence. In 2013, she appeared in a cameo role in the film "Man of Steel" directed by Zack Snyder and released in Italian cinemas on June 20.

Q: Hi Allison, how are you?  Singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist: with which of these roles do you identify most?

A: I'm doing great, thanks! I don't know if there is one thing that I do that expresses myself the best - I'd have to say it's likely a combo of all of these things! I'm always wanting to learn new ways to express myself and explore new things, and they sort of all work together in that way.

Q: In addition to having made several albums, you also really love the connection with the audience, and the thing that is more amazing is that your voice is as beautiful, and vibrant live as on CD.  How important is it for you the relationship with your fans?

A: I think my favourite part of what I do is the live performance and getting to interact with a live audience, and see and hear how they respond. My relationship with my audience is incredibly important to me, as the energy I get from people is energy I put in to doing what I do.

Q: Where do you prefer to perform: in large concert halls, or in a more intimate environment, perhaps with fewer people?

A: All of the different types of venues all have great features! A smaller, cozier show is nice because everyone is up close and it's such a nice feeling, whereas a larger seated theatre show is maybe more dramatic and theatrical - due to the various circumstances that come with that. (lighting, seating, etc.) - and outdoor shows are big, fun and lively events with lots of energy. They are pretty much all good, in their different ways!

Q: From where does the  inspiration for your albums come?

A: I get inspiration for writing from different places for each album - a lot of it has come from my past relationships with people or the world around me. This new album (Heavy Graces) is more to do with my relationship with myself, than anything else, and how I go about dealing with and viewing that, from both in and outside of myself.

Q: Your slogan is “Why music?  Why breathing?”. With this phrase it is as if you want to say that music is life, energy for your soul. True?

A: It is! I find if I go too long without music, in one way or another, I feel like something is missing - especially live performance. It's just who I am

Q: You recently loaned your song “Snow” for a dance performance - Ellipses Dance Company’s debut on video of a work entitled “The Writer”.  How has this experience left you?

A: It's very cool to see a song I've written be used for dance - I love dance (and I wish I could dance like that!). I love seeing someone's interpretation of what I've written through movement, and they've done such a wonderful job!

Q: You recently participated in the film “Man of Steel” about the origins of Superman. How’s it to play "yourself", a singer, in such an important movie?

A: It was such a cool experience being in Man of Steel - just to see how everything works, and what everyone else does in making a movie, and how good they are at what they do! For me, playing a singer in a bar definitely wasn't a stretch, and is something I've done for a very long time, so it felt pretty natural.

Q: Plans for the future?  Maybe a visit to Italy for your concerts?

A: My new album, Heavy Graces, was released on October 15, and I will be in Europe for a tour in 2014, in the Spring, and hopefully in Italy soon.


Nota Bene: Allison Crowe anticipates at least two European tour visits in 2014

To the Be-CREATIVE collaborators we say grazie!! Buon Natale – to all! :)

Fun Universe Brings Allison Crowe’s Music Home this Holiday Season

How does one of the world’s great musical voices, and most independent artists on the planet, land amidst a face-off between man and Superman in an Hollywood blockbuster?

“I’m a big Johnny Cash fan. And I’m a big Allison Crowe fan. So the combination to me seemed like an awesome opportunity if we could make it happen,” explains “Man of Steel” Director Zack Snyder. “Allison and I had talked about trying to get some of her music in one of my movies whenever we could – and I thought, well, if I just put her in the film then there’s no way that it won’t work. So, that’s where you get Allison from.”

The film-maker, along with his stellar cast and crew, deliver insights into the production of this epic science fiction adventure, in “Journey of Discovery”, a just-released special feature of MoS in Blu-ray edition.

“(Zack) keeps trying to get me into movies and it’s amazing,” responds Crowe in the feature. “I first kinda met Zack over the internet about songs online... I think about four or five years ago the first one would have been the ‘Watchmen’ and he was looking to do ‘Hallelujah’. And then the second one we were looking at another song for ‘Sucker Punch’ and so now we have Johnny Cash’s ‘Ring of Fire’ and the altercation ensues…”

Allison Crowe with Zack Snyder on "Man of Steel" set - photo courtesy Clay Enos / Warner Bros.

The movie itself reveals how all the pieces fit – and it’s an exhilarating ride and humbling experience for the Canadian singer-songwriter. And it’s all inspiring.

“In an entertainment world that increasingly genuflects at the altar of instant fame, Crowe seems an anomaly, building her career slowly and carefully,” commented Times Colonist newspaper scribe Adrian Chamberlain some years back. Fine-tuned at the keyboard in arts reportage, (and an r’n’b combo), the writer noted how the “Nanaimo songbird seems uninterested in celebrity and its trappings”.

The universe is ever-expanding for the now Corner Brook, Newfoundland-based, Vancouver Island-born, Crowe, still her goals and values are constant. "Soulful. Alive. Joyous. Grievous. Real, true, music is what I want to make," she’s said. More than a dozen years along the road less-traveled, she succeeds like no one else.

From attending the red-carpet premiere and festivities of “Man of Steel” this Summer, she traveled from New York City to Cow Head, NL to musically direct the hit stage show “Newfoundland Vinyl”, a production of Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador at the Gros Morne Theatre Festival. Her LP/album of the same name, joins her latest, “Heavy Graces” among 2013’s best new releases. Crowe’s third album out this year, “Songbook”, is an oeuvre-spanning 22-song compilation.

People everywhere can enjoy the music – and folks in Allison Crowe’s hometowns can join in “Tidings”, a celebration of music for the season and all-time, happening:

Nov. 30 – Arts and Culture Centre, Corner Brook, NL

Dec. 7 – Fairfield United Church, Victoria, BC – to aid Artemis Place and HepCBC

Dec. 12 – Real Food, Old City Quarter, Nanaimo, BC – Community Sing-along to aid Haven Society

Dec. 14 – St. Andrew’s United Church, Nanaimo, BC – with guests: Chelsea Peckett; Daniel Knapp; Melissa Kahan; Taylor Johnstone; Raymond Salgado; & Josh Holloway - to aid Woodlands Secondary Band and Basketball

Concert and community sing-along details coming soon.

Up, Up and Away... Man of Steel flies into home theatres

Allison Crowe has a cameo in "Man of Steel" - the highly-imaginative, epic science fiction adventure featuring Superman.

In this Hollywood blockbuster, directed by Zack Snyder, Allison appears as a singer/musician in Cassidy's Bar where Clark Kent is working incognito. She performs "Ring of Fire", a song penned by June Carter and Merle Kilgore and made legendary by Johnny Cash.

The movie, a tremendous international hit, is out now on DVD and BluRay.

Allison Crowe "At Home Here" on Sea and Be Scene

Allison Crowe is featured in Sea and Be Scene's "At Home Here..." series. SABS, created and produced by Halifax, Nova Scotia-born Stephanie Beaumont, musical performer, broadcaster and more, is a magazine-style website that celebrates Canada's four Atlantic provinces.

Musician Allison Crowe - photo by Billie Woods

Enjoy Allison's "Cool People Profile" @ http://seaandbescene.com/2013/09/allison-crowe-at-home-here-in-newfoundland-labrador and discover some of the things that make her home in Newfoundland & Labrador so special.

Allison Crowe in Triple-Bill of Summer Hits

Movie, stage show, and vinyl LP find Canadian musician flying high in unique style

“Weirdly typical” is how the dean of Canadian rock music critics, Tom Harrison, describes the newest album from Allison Crowe. That fun billing aptly suits the approach Crowe’s taken to establishing herself as one of the great voices in popular music – as singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, live performer and more.

The 31-year-old bi-coastal Canuck celebrated in New York City earlier this Summer at the red carpet premiere of “Man of Steel” - the epic new Superman movie directed by Zack Snyder in which Crowe cameos as “Singer in Cassidy’s” – the bar where Clark Kent busses. MoS tops Yahoo!’s “Ultimate Summer Movie Poll”, (in this, Hollywood’s highest-grossing Summer ever), via its fresh science fiction vision crafted by a stellar cast and crew. The Warner Bros. mega-production has now grossed over $650 million at the global box office.

Allison Crowe flew directly from festivities in NYC to rural Newfoundland for the release of her newest album – a collection of traditional tunes and vinyl-era songs of the region on which she provides all voices, instrumentation and production. “Newfoundland Vinyl” finds its name and inspiration in TNL’s hit musical show that’s delighted audiences these past two Summers at the Gros Morne Theatre Festival.

And the recording’s struck a chord ’round the planet. Muruch, on its own site and the No Depression blog, was first to rave: “It has the timeless beauty of a classic folk album." The Celtic Music Fan blog, calling it an “one-of-a-kind must-have album”, says “There is something about this album that makes the songs become the soundtrack of your life.” The Province newspaper’s Tom Harrison off the top underscores the quirky nature of things – selecting the album “CD of the Week” and noting it’s not a CD: “Crowe’s ninth record is weirdly typical of her in that it defies convention, stick-handles around the pop idiom, shows imagination and daring, and opts for vinyl.” East Coast Kitchen Party, an hub for Atlantic Canada’s arts, entertainment and lifestyle news, points to the distinctive kitchen party-type approach to creation: “It seems simple, but it really is a classic treatment of the classic songs that are performed by Crowe. She has renewed with stylish vigor traditional songs that deserve new life and interpretations.” ECKP offers: “This record was made for sitting back in the big chair while relishing a favourite drink. Maybe Screech. It will probably bring a tear to the eye of a few. It’s that good.”

(Screech, a potent mainstay of Newfoundland life and lore, is an island tradition since the days when salt fish was shipped to the West Indies in exchange for Jamaican rum.)

“Newfoundland Vinyl”, Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador’s GMTF stage production, has just wrapped its two-month run. Allison Crowe, the show’s song curator and musical director, is home in Corner Brook, NL readying a panel presentation for the geek and nerd-fest that is Atlanti-Con 2. Atlantic Canada’s colourful convention celebrating sci-fi, fantasy, comics, gaming, anime+ happens September 28 and 29, 2013 at the city’s Sir Wilfred Grenfell Campus, MUN.

In dog-eat-dog entertainment world, Canada's Allison Crowe dishes unique success - pictured here, Allison's friend, Link

This time last year Crowe was preparing to rejoin Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet for a second engagement performing songs of Leonard Cohen on-stage with the company’s amazing dancers. The RWB, inspiring and vital as ever, will mark its 75th anniversary in 2014. Right now, a very different sort of institution, also high-flying and one with which Allison Crowe’s honoured and delighted to meet and experience in collaboration, turns 75. To salute Superman reaching the milestone, Canada Post and the Winnipeg-based Royal Canadian Mint this week issued philatelic and numismatic tributes. The Man of Steel leaped onto the world stage in Action Comics #1 – a joint creation of great friends, Toronto, Canada-born illustrator Joe Shuster and American writer Jerry Siegel (born in Cleveland, Ohio).

In a recent feature, “Canadian Music Rocks the Global Stage”, Epoch Times’ nation reporter Justina Reichel tells readers: “Singer-songwriter Allison Crowe is well aware of what it takes for a Canuck to achieve commercial success internationally.” The uber-independent musician’s choices on “the long road to success” are, indeed, weirdly typical – and, for her, an artist of supreme talent and integrity, the only way to fly.

Empire State

“Man of Steel”, the Zack Snyder-directed Superman epic, tops Yahoo!’s “Ultimate Summer Movie Poll” as audience “Favorite Summer Movie”.

The film opens today, August 30, in Japan – and it’s super-fitting our friend, photographer, Amy Neufeld shares this new pic of Allison Crowe on her own epic adventure, earlier this Summer, in New York City for the World Premiere.

Allison is here seated in the lobby of the Hotel Empire, moments before joining the red carpet ceremony at NYC's Lincoln Center.

Amy Neufeld photo

"Canadian Music Rocks the Global Stage" reports Epoch Times

Journalist Justina Reichel keys on the Canadian music revolution in The Epoch Times. US-based blogger Muruch recently commented: "I’m starting to think Allison Crowe’s DIY folk style is Canada’s answer to Ani DiFranco..." and in this new feature article Crowe reveals her recipe for success.



B.C. musician Allison Crowe with Hollywood director Zack Snyder on the set of "Man of Steel" in Cassidy, B.C. Canadian music is becoming more popular and lucrative around the world, according to the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada. (Courtesy Clay Enos/Warner Bros)

Above - as pictured and reported in The Epoch Times feature: "Canadian Music Rocks the Global Stage" - click on the photo or newspaper and story titles for links to reach the full, in-depth, news reportage. Or, or use this URL below:

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/244344-canadian-music-rocks-the-global-stage

Hail Atlanti-Con! Fantastic Forum Coming Soon to Grenfell

Allison Crowe is super-delighted to join the line-up of Atlanti-Con 2 – a fabulous convention for fans of Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Gaming, Comics and Anime that takes place September 28 and 29, 2013 at Grenfell Campus, MUN in lovely Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada.

“Our ever growing list of awesome just got longer!!!!!” says Jeff Keeping, Co-Executive Director of Atlanti-Con, in announcing: “So this past Summer, Man of Steel made a killing at the box office and we are lucky to be joined by singer / songwriter ALLISON CROWE who appeared in the film with Henry Cavill (Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman)!!” http://www.atlanti-con.com/guests.aspx  +  http://www.atlanti-con.com

Musician Allison Crowe with Director Zack Snyder on the set of "Man of Steel" - photo courtesy Clay Enos / Warner Bros.

Crowe’s singular vocal, musical and song-writing powers are known all over this planet. Something more of her secret identity is a passion for gaming – a theme, perhaps, for a rock opera (esp. considering her 100% achievement in Oblivion). Stepping into a phone-booth recently, following the red carpet premiere of the Zack Snyder-directed epic, “Man of Steel”, in NYC, Crowe revealed to Superman Homepage’s Steve Younis:

“I also play a lot of video games. (I played World of Warcraft for years - (Human Warlock, for what it's worth) and Elder Scrolls Skyrim and Oblivion... I love the Sims games... I just finished playing through all the Mass Effect series (SO AMAZING... I was really sad when it was over) ... also Bioshock Infinite is awesome as is the new Tomb Raider - I hope to start playing the Last of Us soon!)” http://www.supermanhomepage.com/movies/movies.php?topic=interview-allisoncrowe

(btw, Henry Cavill, Superman for this generation, is an avid gamer as noted in various articles eg. http://m.ca.ign.com/articles/2013/04/30/superman-star-talks-skyrim-world-of-warcraft-and-bond )

Atlanti-Con 2 guests already announced include: actor Robert Maillet (“300” – another Zack Snyder blockbuster, “The Immortals”, “Sherlock Holmes”, Guillermo del Toro’s just-released “Pacific Rim”, and more); Modern Fantasy Art Muse, and Cosplayer, Drakaina; raconteur Fat Apollo (of “Geeks Vs. Nerds” comedy show); artist / illustrator Kevin Kendall; authors Krista D. Ball, Darren Hann, and Charles O’Keefe; plus the cast of “Star Trek Reliant” – the fan-made YouTube web-series, created in St. John’s, NL.

(Brains and brawn aplenty in this Atlantic line-up joins a plenitude of pulchritude piled on with a pair of Haligonians in attendance. Drakaina’s role as international model and muse will meet with another legend – the too-sexy-for-his-gloves Fat Apollo – who, in a readers’ poll in Coast magazine, ended the seven-year reign of actress Ellen Page as “Sexiest Person in Halifax”.)

Feel like letting my geek flag fly...

"Newfoundland Vinyl" Revolution at GMTF - July 12 - August 30

The hit stage show that's inspired Allison Crowe's newest album, (and vice-versa), opens tonight at the Gros Morne Theatre Festival in lovely Cow Head, NL. Written and Directed by Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador's Artistic Director Jeffrey Pitcher - with Musical Direction from Allison Crowe - 'Newfoundland Vinyl: The Flip Side" plays from July 12 through August 30, 2013.

For insight into this creative revolution, CBC Radio's Weekend Arts Magazine, with Host and Producer, Angela Antle, announces that Allison Crowe's coming up this weekend on "Liner Notes" - which you can catch on air, and online @ http://www.cbc.ca/wam/liner-notes/2013/07/12/wam-july-13-14-liner-notes---allison-crowe

Here on the west coast of the country, we've barely had opportunity to chat with the amazing artist since she returned to Corner Brook, Canada from New York City and the red carpet premiere of "Man of Steel" - the Zack Snyder-directed Superman epic in which she appears performing "Ring of Fire", a song made famous by another iconoclast, Johnny Cash. In between the intensive rehearsals, she has tweeted a little - so we know for certain: "The NL Vinyl band is awesome" - and Allison is "So proud of everyone involved! :)"

Mussel boil beach fire - Cow Head, NL - Canada's Gros Morne National Park

The theatrical and musical cast that, starting tonight, is bound to delight music-and-fun-loving audiences all Summer comprises: Jennifer Furlong, Elena Claire Hewlett, Brad LeRiche, Amelia Manuel, Marquita Walsh - and, as the two Eds, Adam Brake and Stuart Simpson.

On the production side, making it all happen, are: Stage Manager, Courtney Harris; Set Designer, Derek Butt; Costume Designer, Lindsay Code; Original Sound Designer, Dirk Ave; Sound Coordinator, Ryan Borshuk; Lighting Designer, Johnny Cann; Tech Director/Crew Chief, Lisa Lahue; Head Scenic Painter/Asst. Carpenter; Natalie Tsang; Asst. Stage Manager, Stefanie Power; plus Production Assistants Dustin Payne and Jerry Combdon.

Direct from GMTF's 2013 Program, here's what's in the grooves:

DIRECTOR'S NOTES

How could we resist? While putting together last year's show of hits of the 1960's, 70's and 80's by Newfoundland's biggest recording stars we quickly realized there were enough hits for two shows, or three or four! An added fascination for me is what drove our singer/songwriters from Newfoundland to Toronto in the 60's in the first place? Was it fame and fortune? Was it about finding an audience in Toronto? Or was it something inherent as an artist being born and raised on an island that inspires him/her to test the waters in foreign lands? I believe those questions are answered in the song writing. So sit back, relax and listen to the songs that Allison chose tonight - I believe they reveal a whole lot about who and what were in the 60's. It's also particularly rewarding to have Allison Crowe, one of the most compelling and talented singer/songwriters in Canada working and living here on the west coast of Newfoundland. This is very much her show - her sound! Let's spin a few! ~ Jeff (Pitcher)

MUSICAL DIRECTOR'S NOTES

I am SO excited to be able to work again in beautiful Cow Head, NL this summer at the GMTF with TNL - I love it here, and I can't wait to get started! (I'm also admittedly pretty pumped for Lobster Festival.) My task this year was to find another great batch of songs, from or made popular in Newfoundland and Labrador, for this, newest incarnation of Newfoundland Vinyl - The Flip Side. And find those songs I did! There is an overwhelming abundance of beautiful music and wildly-talented musicians in Newfoundland and Labrador, and we are lucky to be able to hear them together. Interpreted tonight by some incredible and talented musicians and actors, each song has its own story to tell, heart to break, laugh to incite, thought to spur, and memory to recall - so please, enjoy the music and feel free to sing along! ~ Allison (Crowe)


And, of course, what happens on stage is possible thanks to the efforts of the stellar TNL/GMTF Front of House staff: incl. Kristi Caines, Tiffany Payne; FOH Manager, Ruth Payne; Box Office Manager, Dawn Payne; Head Usher, Deanna Hutchings; Box Office Attendants, Jodi Payne and Savannah Smith; and Ushers, Shellden Biggin and Vanessa Brown - together with volunteers incl.: Claudine Brown; Nancy Brown; Rachel Hutchings; Bill Payne; Freeman Payne; Loretta Payne; Marjorie Payne; Norma Payne; and Peggy Wheeler.

Overseeing the hugely successful annual festival be: TNL's General Manager, Gaylene Buckle; Production/Company Manager, Denise Dolliver; Artistic Associate, Sara...h McDonald; Assistant Administrator, Natasha Butt; and Financial Admin., Cynthia Harris.

For ticket info and other details on "Newfoundland Vinyl: The Flip Side" and all the great shows happening this Summer at Gros Morne Theatre Festival - visit TNL's official website @ theatrenewfoundland.com/gmtf.html  +  telephone (709) 243-2899 or toll-free 1-877-243-2899.

Slainte mhaith!!

"Man of Steel" Set Pics

Allison Crowe on the set of "Man of Steel" with Director Zack Snyder.

A dream come true

Another image premiered on the Superman Homepage - here's a still of Allison Crowe from the movie scene in "Man of Steel" in which... you have to see the movie!! It's a wonderful, exciting, and uplifting film feast!

Just off the Island Highway, between Ladysmith and Nanaimo, BC, Canada is the Cassidy Inn. The fabulous cast, crew, and team creating the movie "Man of Steel" dropped into the Cassidy to make magic - and Allison Crowe joined in the fun.

Here's a pic shot on location by MoS Unit photographer Clay Enos - whose wide-ranging portraits and other images can be seen @ http://clayenos.com

This brings it all back home

Image premiered on the Superman Homepage - cheers to Super Steve Younis!

Photos courtesy Clay Enos / Warner Bros.

Superman to Super Songs: Allison Crowe Changes Tack as "Newfoundland Vinyl" Sets Sail

"Newfoundland Vinyl", the newest album of music from Allison Crowe, is out now on Rubenesque Records.

The limited edition, 180 gram vinyl, LP is available in Canada at Gary Bennett Music in Corner Brook, NL, Fascinating Rhythm (Nanaimo), Lyle's Place (Victoria), and Salt Spring Sound (Salt Spring Island), BC, Canada - and online, worldwide, in digital formats @ allisoncrowe.com, on Bandcamp, iTunes and more.

As Musical Director for TNL's production of "Newfoundland Vinyl: The Flip Side" at the Gros Morne Theatre Festival, the Canadian musician, born in Nanaimo, BC, on the Pacific, is active now in her Atlantic setting, curating and arranging songs for this Summer's GMTF cast.

It's a rich and varied collection harvested from the island region's popular music and oral traditions. The album's 10 tracks traverse parlour songs to country tunes and folk favourites, songs of land and sea that share the strength and the struggles, the joys, heartbreaks and the humour of people.

As well as being a premiere songwriter, musician and performer of original material, Crowe's recognized as one of the great modern interpreters of song - via her internationally-acclaimed and much-loved versions of songs by Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, The Beatles, and plenty more greats - Allison Crowe's singular performances deliver familiar and much-loved songs afresh and with renewed joy.

Crowe's just returned to her home in Corner Brook, NL, after attending the World Premiere in New York City of "Man of Steel", the Zack Snyder-directed Superman epic in which she has a cameo. MoS is currently the #1 box office draw on planet Earth. (Had things not gone so wrong on Krypton, it'd surely be a smashing success there as well.) Next she rolls on to Cow Head, in Gros Morne National Park -- and says:

"I am so grateful to have been asked by Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador, two years in a row, to put together songs and musically direct for a show called 'Newfoundland Vinyl'. As part of the Gros Morne Theatre Festival, I get to work with extremely talented and fun people each Summer in a gorgeous setting - Cow Head, NL. From the vast and encyclopaedic sea of beautiful music to come from, and out of, Newfoundland and Labrador, here is a collection of some of the songs from this year's show."

The GMTF season runs May 31 through September 14 - and "Newfoundland Vinyl: The Flip Side", written and directed by Jeff Pitcher, is on the boards July 12 - August 30, 2013!

http://music.allisoncrowe.com/album/newfoundland-vinyl

http://www.theatrenewfoundland.com/gmtf.html

"Newfoundland Vinyl" - Allison Crowe's newest music release on the record rack at Lyle's Place, Victoria, BC, Canada

Here, now, is Allison Crowe's take on these songs that, over 200 years, come from, and out of, Newfoundland and Labrador - with ageless melodies and meaning:

BLACK VELVET BAND - lively traditional song recorded on both sides of the Atlantic, including a version by the legendary 'His Nibs' Harry Hibbs

EASY - penned by Terry Skinner and made a classic radio hit by country star Eddie Eastman

MEN WHO DIE FOR A LIVING - Gary O'Driscoll, award-winning songwriter and producer from Bay Bulls and NL's southern shore, wrote this potent elegy "for the miners here and gone"

CLIFFS OF BACCALIEU - Jack Withers sea-faring song has previously been sailed by such distinct voices as Anita Best, Louise Morrissey and Stan Rogers

SKIPPER BILLY'S WAKE - songwriter Ellis Coles' jaunty mix of moonshine, Screech and more was well popularized by Dick Nolan

SONNY'S DREAM - Newfoundland's "Man of 1000 Songs", Ron Hynes, created this anthem of the heart and home

TINY RED LIGHT - a traditional Newfoundland song revitalized in the vinyl era by The Dorymen (popular east-coast combo founded by John Drake and Tom Rose - a pair of lads out of Fortune Bay communities Belleoram and Bay du Nord)

THE MOBILE GOAT SONG - composed by St. John's Tom Cahill, frequent collaborator with "Newfoundland's First Lady of Song", Joan Morrissey, who released this cheerful romp on her 1973 LP "Home Brew"

SEVEN OLD LADIES - a bawdy song which musically plumbs a 1700s nursery rhyme, ("Johnny's So Long at the Fair") - and a tune also recorded by the great Joan Morrissey

SWEET FORGET ME NOT - first published in 1877, this tender tune by Bobby Newcomb was the first single, and a vinyl hit on the mainland as well, for Cape Shore's Eddie Coffey and his Coffey Mates


Songs performed, arranged, engineered and produced by Allison Crowe - home in Corner Brook, Newfoundland.