Allison Crowe is back in Nanaimo - and back performing - after walking away from a potential record deal in New York.

Allison Crowe's Christmas special Tidings that aired in December attracted viewers from across the nation.

But the star of the show wasn't one of them.

"No, I have a hard time watching myself," she said.

Crowe was even given a pre-screen copy of Tidings, her show broadcast on the Chum network at Christmas, but has yet to watch the tape.

"It still makes me nervous," she said. "I plan to one day watch the whole thing - by myself in the basement of my house with no one else around."

Crowe might still have the jitters for television performances, but her nervousness for performing has long since evaporated.

There was a long absence from performing last year, though, as she and her band got tied up arranging a record deal in New York.

It eventually fell apart, but for all the right reasons for Crowe.

 "There was a bunch of stuff I didn't necessarily agree with," she said.

Foremost was the label's desire that she get a new manager and band.

"They never came out and said it," Crowe said. "Just different things they'd say made it pretty apparent what they wanted to do."

The young Nanaimo singer and songwriter wasn't about to walk away from the people who had supported her. Instead she walked away from the record deal. Without regrets.

 "I'm very glad I did it," she said. "There are so many lessons. I don't look on it negatively. Even the bad stuff opens eyes to what's out there. Be careful, don't go with stars in your eyes."

With lessons learned, the trio of Crowe, Dave Baird and Kevin Clevette returned to Nanaimo to a large question: what next?

 "Our momentum was lost in the nine months we were dealing with those people," she said. "So basically we went back to doing what we were doing."

That meant a return to performing - and that means more chances for Nanaimo to see Crowe, including Friday's It Only Takes a Moment at the Port Theatre.

Crowe was asked by Bill Hicks to contribute to the Open Minds, Open Windows CD, and donated the song Fade Away.

She share the views of many of the other performers pitching in for the evening to address mental illness perceptions.

"I figure if you have the ability to do it, you probably should."

As well as releasing a Christmas CD, Crowe re-released her album Six Songs with the added track Lisa's Song. The combination is now a fundraiser for the family of Lisa Marie Young, the Nanaimo woman and friend of Crowe's who went missing June 30, 2002 and has yet to be found.

Then, of course, there's always plans for the next CD, incorporating a lot of Crowe's new songs.

The trio will be following the release of the new CD with a tour across Canada.

Allison Crowe is back in Nanaimo - and back performing - after walking away from a potential record deal in New York.

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© Copyright 2004 Nanaimo News Bulletin