Allison Crowe is waiting for us when we walk around the corner to Virgin Records. She’s leaning as close to the wall as she can without melding into it completely, and as we approach she looks plaintively in our direction. I’m immediately worried about her, the sap that I am. Is she one of those lovesick types, all forlorn and woe-begotten? Does she settle the singer-songwriter stereotype? As soon as she says hello, I know that there isn’t anything farther from the truth. Allison Crowe is warm, affectionate, and generous in the way she treats us. It strikes me that Allison Crowe is just like her music -- both deep and accessible, equal parts stirring and fun. As soon as she senses a mood is about to settle, she breaks it with an earnest laugh. You may not know her or her music yet, but soon you will. And when you do, you can remember that you once rode in her van and shared her food. Oh, wait, that was me.

Kaitlin: So what CDs are you going to get?
Allison: I don’t know. Usually I go right to the P section.
K: Because?
A: Pearl Jam. I’ve been a fan since I was 10 years old.
K: Do you think they’ve influenced you at all?
A: Oh yeah, definitely. Hmm, and I want Ben Harper.
K: Mmm, Ben Harper.
A: But he’s far away from here, in a different section... I like Counting Crows too. I’m looking for Tori Amos too... I’m also looking for Ani DiFranco.
K: There are a lot of artists releasing new material soon.
Trevor: Yeah, like Sean Desmond.
A and K look stupefied.
K: Are you in this store?
A: I don’t think so. We’re in HMV though.
[looking for her CD]
K: So are you here? Did you look?
A: I doubt it. Sheryl Crow...Crowded House...Nope.
K: Does it weird you out when you see your stuff on shelves like this?
A: (nods vigorously) Yep.
T: I haven’t seen the CD cover...is there a picture of you on it?
A: No there’s a sun, surrounded by black.
K: I read that you are the feature artist on Jewel’s website. Did you play with her?
A: Adrian, my manager, hooked up our web managers and I guess she heard our stuff and liked it.
K: So after the live album, what’s next?
A: Well, we want to do a whole album, but it will take some time and some money, so we can’t really do it yet.
K: What do you want to happen?
A: I wish I knew. I just want to be able to keep doing this. And if I can live during that, I would be pretty happy.
K: It’s really busy in here.
K: Country and folk, right here.
T: How do they classify folk?
A: Good question. All I know is that Ani DiFranco is usually over here.
K: So I wonder how this interview would be different if we went to a strip club?
A: I’d probably be more afraid.
K: You’ve never been? You’ve never partook, Allison?
A: No. I have friends that go all the time.
K: Male friends, or female friends?
A: Female friends.
K: Do they go to the male strip clubs or the female ones?
A: We don’t have male strip clubs in Nanaimo.
K: Well, that answers that question. So, are we meeting up with the guys [from the band] later, or...?
A: Well, they’re picking me up, but I don’t know when or what they’re going to do.
K: How long have they been part of Allison Crowe?
A: The drummer, Kevin, I’ve known him since grade ten. We’ve been in and out of bands together since then. Dave has been a part of this for two and a half years, but I’ve known him since I was five years old.
K: Does that make it harder?
A: It’s actually better. If you didn’t know a person, it might make it harder, in a way.
T: Do you do most of the songwriting?
A: I do all of it. I pretty much write a song, then I’ll take it to them. I don’t tell them what to with it, though.
K: Do you ever listen to yourself?
A: I don’t listen to myself.
K: Not at all? How does that work in a studio situation?
A: It’s very difficult. That’s another part of the studio situation I don’t really like. I sort of have to be able to listen constructively, and separate myself from it, so I can be like, ‘okay, that was a screw up. I have to do it again.’ But then if I did that for every single part I’d be there for two years.
[In the movie section]
T: Kaitlin, I think you should buy this.
K: "Nude on the Moon"..."Astronauts discover a nudist camp on the moon". Gee. "Warning: This video contains graphic nudity."
T: Well, we certainly aren’t purchasing it now.
K: What’s your favourite movie?
A: Oh, Lord of the Rings. I’ve got the DVD. I’ve watched it 12 times.
T: There’s a music section for DVDs too. Let’s go there. Have you made any videos yet?
A: Yeah, there’s one for "Midnight". I believe...oh, I don’t know if I’m supposed to say this...
K: Come on Allison, you can tell us.
T: Hide the tape recorder!
A: Well, they might play it on MTV Canada. Like those guys standing outside, who are like, ‘wanna come be on MTV Canada?’, and I’m like, ‘I am, next week’...Ooh, look, the Lord of the Rings cartoon!
T: Is that the 1977 one?
K: You’re such a nerd. That’s really geeky. Tremendous.
T: So what’s your video about?
A: It’s sort of a performance video, with this storyline around it of this relationship.
T: Was it your concept?
A: Well, I sort of tossed a few things around, but in the end it would have cost probably a million dollars. All of this stuff that would be visually hard to pull off.
K: Is it really important for you to be involved in every aspect of what you do?
A: Yes, I’m pretty picky.
K: Did you do the CD as well?
A: Yes...
K: If there was a question of you being able to go to this next level towards being more recognized that meant giving up that creative control, would you give it up?
A: No. I’d accept help, because I’m sort of just making this up as I go along. Not taking over and doing it though.
K: Is there a stigma attached to being a singer-songwriter?
A: There probably is, but I try not to think about it too much.
K: What comes to mind for me is Dashboard Confessional. I mean it’s really only one guy, but he took the name to help him out career wise. Would you ever do something like that?
A: Actually, we tried to find a band name, but we used my name basically just because we couldn’t think of anything else.
K: Do you find that that sort of makes people ignore the fact that there are those other two people with you?
A: Well, no, because it is only three of us. It’d be hard to lose any of us.

(Suddenly Trevor spots Prevail from Swollen Members in the CD section)
K: (Walks over with little prompting, drooling)
K: Hey Prevail.
Prevail: Hey, how are you?
K: Good.
P: What are you up to?
K: We’re just interviewing Allison Crowe.
P: Dope.
K: I saw you last year...I worked at Arts County Fair.
P: (recognizes her) Oh, yeah!
K: What are you picking up today?
(Prevail displays his choices)
K: Ohio Players!
P: You like Ohio Players? That’s dope.
K: Well, have a good day, I’ll leave you be.
P: No worries. Have a good one.
(K walks away)
K: Heh, heh...free interview.
(We go outside, and an MTV guy asks us to go to the taping.)
MTV guy: Today is One Ton, and next week is Sum 41.
K: Who’s on after that?
MTV: I don’t know.
A: (tentatively) I am.
MTV: You are? Who are you?
A: My name’s Allison.
MTV: Well, I’ll be out here getting people to come to your performance. (Leaves)
K: Well, I guess he doesn’t care.
A: Whatever, crazy lady, sure you’re on our show...
(Random guy walks by)
Random guy, to Allison: Shut up, bitch.
A: That’s nice.
K: Oh, downtown. Once a man told me he was going to eat my first born child downtown. That brings me to a good subject.
A: (wide eyed) What?
K: Are you in a relationship right now?
A: Yeah. Steve. We’ve been together for four years now, since I was 16.
K: Wow! Do you ever get the sense that he thinks it’s hard for him, since you’re gone a lot?
A: Probably. But he does his own thing too.
K: Hey, Allison, what’s your favourite episode of Who’s the Boss?
A: Hmm. You know what one’s really sad? The one where Mona gets sick, and she’s in the hospital, and her dead husband comes to see her and you’re like, what’s this? Mona’s being serious. This isn’t right.
K: So how old were you when you wrote your first song?
A: I was 13 or 14., but I wrote poetry before that.
(Allison’s band shows up.)
K: I get to drill you guys now.
Kevin: (sarcastically) I don’t do interviews.
K: Is it hard being in a band with these people that you’ve known forever?
David: No, it’s easy because it’s only three of us. You can keep one eye on each of them.
K: Doesn’t that make you go cross-eyed?
D: Sometimes.
A: [Kevin’s] the badass, and David’s the mod. He’s a Beatle.
K: Which Beatle are you?
D: All of them.
A: Mostly Ringo. Actually, you’re more like Paul.
D: He’s annoying though. Have you ever seen him in interviews?
T: He never used to be that way. He once was cool.
(We get into the band’s van.)
A: Hey, Dave, did you smoke that scary joint you found on the ground?
D: (pauses) Yeah.