susan crowe presskit 67 · 2009. 9. 29. · accompanied by john reischman’s mandolin and kevin...

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Marketing and Media Lynn Horne [email protected] T: 902.483.1965

Booking Bobbie Blue [email protected] T: 250.339.4705 F: 250.339.2903

Canadian Distribution Festival Distribution www.festival.bc.ca [email protected] www.susancrowe.com

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Canadian Distribution Festival Distribution www.festival.bc.ca 1.800.633.8282

BIOGRAPHY

Often described as a“writer’s writer”,

Susan Crowe hasemerged as one ofCanada’s mostrespected singer-songwriters in the folkgenre, a label thatbarely scratches thesurface of hercompelling andpolished approach tomusic. At oncecomplex, challengingand accessible, Susan’sintelligent and movingsongs have captivatedaudiences andreviewers from coast tocoast, continent tocontinent. Shepossesses, in the words of Britain’s Folk Rootsmagazine, “that rare ability of crafting a lyricthat bears scrutiny on its own terms.”That rare ability has earned her two Junonominations, nominations from both theWest Coast and East Coast Music Awards,repeat performances at all of Canada’s majorfolk festivals, and an invitation to theprestigious Kerrville songwriters festival in2000. Her finely crafted songs have earnedher places on several compilations,including the Kerrville 2000 CD. She hasattracted an ever-growing legion of

followers whoappreciate an artist whosteps well beyond folkclichés and predictablemelodies.In 1994, after beingaway from music formore than a decade,Susan began to writeagain. That led to herfirst album, This FarFrom Home, which waschosen by Vancouver’sGeorgia Straight as oneof the top albums of theyear. It wassubsequentlynominated for a Junoaward in the Roots/Traditional category.

Now established as a recording artist ofnote, Susan returned to the festival circuitand recorded a second album in 1996, TheDoor to the River, receiving more highpraise from critics. Dirty Linen magazinedescribed the two albums as “lyrically sparsebut telling, conveying a deep sense of emotion,very subtly but very powerfully…both arerewarding works, both strangely compelling inways that will move you.”Susan’s growing reputation as a recordingand performing artist was further enhancedin 1999 with the release of her third album,

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K E L L Y C L A R K F O T O G R A P H Y

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A Pilgrim’s Mirror, which received moreplaudits from the critics and a West CoastMusic Award nomination.Susan has twice toured the Czech Republic(2001, 2003) and spent last fall touring themid-Western United States. In 2003 SusanCrowe, Cindy Church and Laura Smith,together known as brava, delivered a seriesof sold out concerts throughout EasternCanada, culminating in last summer’s main-stage performance at the internationallyrenowned Stan Rogers Folk Festival.Susan’s work has been recorded by JohnReischman and the Jaybirds, St. John‘s choirCantus Vocum, Quartette and most recentlyby the internationally acclaimed AeolianSingers, for their A Woman’s Voice CD.Susan also makes a guest appearance on thisrecording of the Aeolian’s performance ofher original composition ‘When the Day isOver’.In October 2003, Susan Crowe released herfourth CD titled Book of Days (Corvus/Festival). Produced by Danny Greenspoonat Toronto’s Canterbury Sound studios,Book of Days features eleven new SusanCrowe originals, including a co-write withCindy Church and another with JohnReischman, both of whom appear on therecord. Book of Days has met with ravereviews across Canada and has garnered hernominations from the East Coast Music

Awards and the 2004 Juno Awards, for BestRoots/Traditional Solo Recording.In addition to recording and touring, SusanCrowe has been a resource leader for theSAC Power Songshop, a variety of othersongwriting and guitar workshopsthroughout Canada, and hosted theSongwriters’ Circle at the 2004 East CoastMusic Awards and Conference, Feb.12-15 inSt. John’s, Newfoundland. In March 2004Susan Crowe again joined forces with CindyChurch and Laura Smith, touring as bravathrough central and western Canada.The Georgia Straight described Susan’s workas offering “a sense that the singer has tappedinto the collective unconscious in a way thatwhat she is singing about is not only true for herbut true for all of us.”Adds the Vancouver Sun: “With one of the mostdistinctive voices in Canada today, she isdestined to become one of our lasting folkheroines.”Susan was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia,lived for many years in Toronto andVancouver, respectively, and once againlives in Halifax.

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CONTACTS

Media Contact &General Inquiries

Distribution

Contact Susan

Bobbie [email protected]: 250.339.4705F: 250.339.2903

Lynn HorneMarketing & [email protected]: 902.483.1965

Susan [email protected]

CanadaFestival Distributionwww.festival.bc.caT: 604.253.2662F: 604.253.2634Toll free: 1.800.633.8282

Booking Inquiries

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SELECTED APPEARANCES

Kerrville Folk FestivalKerrville, Texas

Winnipeg Folk FestivalWinnipeg, Manitoba

Stan Rogers Folk Festival(solo 2001, with brava 2003)Canso, Nova Scotia

Vancouver Folk Music FestivalVancouver, BC

Czech Republic Summer Tour(2002 & 2003)

Chan Centre for the Performing ArtsVancouver, BC

National Arts Centre, 4th Stage(with brava 2003 & 2004)Ottawa, Ontario

2003 International Women’s Day ConcertPier 21 (Special Guest with Aeolian Singers)Halifax, Nova Scotia

du Maurier Theatre (with brava)Halifax, Nova Scotia

2004 East Coast Music Awards,Host, Songwriters CircleSt. John’s, Newfoundland

Calgary Folk Music FestivalCalgary, Alberta

Edmonton folk Music FestivalEdmonton, Alberta

Lunenburg Folk Harbour FestivalLunenburg, Nova Scotia

Home County Folk FestivalLondon, Ontario

Filberg FestivalComox, B.C.

Black Sheep InnWakefield, Quebec

Centennial TheatreMiluakee, Wisonsin

Old Settlers InnMoundridge, Kansas

Folk Under The ClockPeterborough, Ontario

Margaret Greenham TheatreBanff, Alberta

St. Albert TheatreSt. Albert, Alberta

Great Canadian Theatre CompanyOttawa, Ontario

Beneath the ArchTurner Valley, Alberta

The Yellow DoorMontreal, Quebec

West End Cultural CentreWinnipeg, Manitoba

Frostbite Music FestivalWhitehorse, Yukon

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DISCOGRAPHYlatest release

Book of DaysJuno Award nominee

TRACK LISTING

DreamlessFell Back UpWhippoorwillDo You Think On Me Still KindlyLove’s Pure GoldAutumn Leaves Are BlueShe Said NoHigh StreetIf I’m SparedImmigrant’s LamentSame Old Moon

Corvus Records CR011Released in 2003

Released in October 2003, Book of Days (Corvus Records) is Susan Crowe’sfourth CD. Produced by Danny Greenspoon at Toronto’s Canterbury Soundstudios, Book of Days features eleven new Susan Crowe originals, including aco-write with Cindy Church and another with John Reischman, both of whomappear on the record. The CD has met with rave reviews across Canada, was thefocus of a recent region-wide CBC Atlantic Airwaves radio broadcast and hasgarnered nominations from the East Coast Music Awards and the 2004 JunoAwards, for Best Roots / Traditional Solo Recording.

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The Door To TheRiverReleased in 1996Corvus Records, CR003

This Far From HomeJuno Award nomineeReleased in 1994Corvus Records, RR001

A Pilgrim’s MirrorWest Coast MusicAward nomineeReleased in 1999Corvus Records, CR005

TRACK LISTING

Our Love’s ReturnThe First Lean Night In JuneAmaliaRemembering MeDo You LingerI Was Handsome, I Was YoungThe Other SideChainedWhen The Day Is OverYou Might Care To Know

TRACK LISTING

Your One And Only LifeStill, You Do Not ComeThe Door to the RiverI’m Not ThereIn Your LovelinessBlue DressI Stole Into A GardenIf Without Thee I Must DwellCome With MeWhere Our Currents Cross

TRACK LISTING

The Step Of A Long Lost LoveFaithlessOn Your Way To MarsAs I Come, As I GoI KnowThe Colour Of The SkyMy Mother’s GirlLet Me StayThis Far From HomeThey Used To Call This Sin

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CRITICAL PRAISE

cd reviewsBook of DaysRobert Reid, Kitchener-WaterlooRecord, 2003Susan Crowe’s gorgeously autumnal Bookof Days, the third release on her ownCorvus Records label, is my choice for bestCanadian folk album of the year. It’s thatgood in all respects. The songwriting ismature, intelligent and deeply felt. Everymelody sticks like maple syrup on a hotwaffle and the harmony arrangements byGwen Swick, who sings harmony withCindy Church and Liz Soderberg, are spine-tingling. Crowe’s voice has never been richeror more resonant.

Marke Andrews, Vancouver Sun, 2004Singer/songwriter Susan Crowe can chillyou with her lyrics. In the opening track,‘Dreamless’, she speaks for anyone who hasexperienced loneliness and separation (“Iwait for the frost to leave my window / I wait foryour step upon the stair”) her wordsaccompanied by John Reischman’s mandolinand Kevin Breit’s electric guitar. Sheconnects winter and emotional loss again on‘Autumn Leaves Are Blue’ and makes you feela sense of loss with ‘She Said No’ and‘Immigrant’s Lament’.

Musically, Book of Days resonates on thestrength of Crowe’s clear and tuneful voice,and the mandolin playing of Reischman.The two make ‘Love’s Pure Gold’ a heartfeltexpression of joy. ‘High Street’, with JohnSheard’s evocative piano, is reminiscent ofthe songs Joni Mitchell recorded on herclassic record, Blue.

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Crowe has firmly established herself asone of the leading mature voices inthe Canadian folk landscape.

Sandy MacDonald, Halifax DailyNews, 2004


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Sandy MacDonald, HalifaxDaily News, 2004Mention a Halifax–born singer whodeparted in frustration to establish acritically acclaimed music career inVancouver, and most would naturally thinkof Sarah McLachlan.Think again; think Susan Crowe, aJuno-nominated singer songwriter whorecently released her fourth album Book OfDays. The elegant acoustic album showcasesCrowe’s insightful writing, beautiful singingand impeccable production.Like many of her songs, Crowe’s own storyis one of early promise, frustration, partingand finally reconciliation. Crowe was raisedin rural Cow Bay, laying along the easternheadlands of the entrance to HalifaxHarbour. Growing up in a musical family,Crowe took early to playing guitar andwriting songs. Through the late 70s she wasa regular in the coffee houses and folk clubsin Halifax.But by 1980, frustrated with the stagnantmusic scene here, Crowe uprooted andmoved to Toronto for eight years, thenmoved further west to Vancouver. Sheabandoned her music career, workinginstead as a waitress, art gallery assistant,mail carrier and even a beekeeper.Then in 1994, Crowe was encouraged by avisiting friend to revisit her music, and shefound the spark that had long been missing.

She re-embraced her music, and went into astudio in Vancouver to record This Far fromHome, which garnered a Juno nomination asBest Roots/ Traditional Album of the year.Crowe released two more criticallyacclaimed discs in the 90s – The Door To TheRiver and A Pilgrim’s Mirror – both on herown Corvus imprint. Two years ago, Crowereturned to Nova Scotia, established a homein Halifax and has played a handful ofshows in metro.With the release of this substantial new disc,Crowe has firmly established herself as oneof the leading mature voices in the Canadianfolk landscape. Pegging her music to anarrow definition, though, does it adisservice. Crowe breathes in light jazz,contemporary folk, show tunes, acousticpop and trad country, then breathes out herown richly distilled sound.Her voice has a lush worldly authority thatconvincingly delivers her carefully craftedlyrics. Crowe brought aboard producerDanny Greenspoon (Great Big Sea,Quartette, Jane Bunnett) to pilot the album,and his understated production lets Crowe’ssongs blossom on the vine.Crowe opens the disc with the haunting‘Dreamless’, a stark tale of loneliness set in afrozen landscape, where “the north windreplies to each breath that I take.” Pushed along

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by John Reischman’s mandolin, theunderstated guitar of Kevin Breit and thelocked in rhythm section of bassist GeorgeKoller and drummer Mark Mariash, thetune is hypnotic in its urgency.Crowe can also deliver the pretty folkmelody (‘Fell Back Up’), the Appalachianinfluenced ‘Whippoorwill’, and the delicatepiano /vocal gem, ‘Do You Think On Me StillKindly’, with the McGarrigle sisters-inspiredharmonies. (Crowe enlisted Gwen Swick,Cindy Church and Liz Soderberg to singharmony parts.)This is subtle intelligent music that draws inthe listener with its alluring complexity andkeeps you listening for its rainy-afternoonbeauty.

John P. McLaughlin, VancouverProvince, 2003Following A Pilgrim’s Mirror from 2000,Crowe left Vancouver behind for her nativeNova Scotia but remains one of our nation’svital singer/songwriters no matter where sheis. Crowe at her best is like eavesdroppingon the internal dialogue of a literate andfundamentally loving witness to this deepvale of friggin’ tears. ‘Do You Think on MeStill Kindly’ is vintage Crowe, kinda formaland kinda naked, while ‘Autumn Leaves AreBlue’, co-written with her pal and harmonysinger, Cindy Church, is deliciously bleak.

However, for a real, beautifully crafted gemyou can’t beat the closing ‘Same Old Moon’.

Stephen Pedersen, Halifax ChronicleHerald, 2003There are at least three reasons to give alisten to Susan Crowe. Her voice is uniquelylow and soft, she writes appealing melodieswhich often imply a nostalgia that is notexplicit, and her lyrics are threedimensional.

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When she talks of ‘Love’s Pure Gold’ (the fifthtrack) she goes beyond cliché - the gold iscontrasted to the burning, blinding sun.Pure love, she implies, goes deeper thansearing passion. Not even the stars,(standing in for starry-eyed lovers) tempther, she sings. Something personal aboutlove rises like a magnetic field broughtabout by the opposition of these clichés.Love songs are usually less complicatedthan this. They are also more conventional.Love is a unique experience. But often itsinitially shocking energy is ensnared by theway our pop culture expresses it. Croweoffers a more ambiguous alternative. Notfirst love, perhaps, but love recollected intranquillity.That doesn’t mean love rememberedwithout pain. In ‘Do You Think on Me StillKindly’, Crowe asks, “Does a fire still glow /Does a light still burn / Have you placed yourworries behind you / Do You wait and watch /For your heart’s return / Does a gentle stirringremind you”Her low voice, and the simpleaccompaniments, beautifully recorded onBook of Days, are at the opposite end of thehowling, wailing vocalisms of pop love,tainted as they are by the hard-boiledcommercial strategy that exploits soft-pornand tormented vocal chords to sell CDs.


In other words, these are adult love songsand, like adult lives, not all about loveeither, though many deal with lonelinessand love remembered.The musicians are first rate, thearrangements having evolved naturally inthe studio as the musicians listened toCrowe sing.Guitarists Jason Fowler, Danny Greenspoonand Kevin Breit are supported by jazzbassist George Koller. Mark Mariash playsdrums, Dennis Keldy the Hammond organand accordion, John Reischman mandolin,with background vocals by Gwen Swick,Cindy Church and Liz Soderberg.A few of the tracks are for piano and voice,with just Crowe and pianist John Sheard.In spite of the large number of players, thearrangements on Book of Days areminimalist, more attuned to Crowe’s low-key musical approach than to instrumentaloverkill.

A Pilgrim’s Mirror“This hushed, affecting third album fromthe west coast singer songwriter quiterightly focuses on her earthy vocals andfoursquare songs…three cheers to theCanada Council for justifying its existenceby underwriting discs as worthy as this one.”The Record

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“The ten original songs on A Pilgrim’sMirror are like a chain of precious stones,each individually beautiful, yet all fittingtogether flawlessly”.Rambles

“Crowe has a powerfully subtle voice andwrites concise, traditional songs that soundtimeless.”Exclaim Magazine

The Door to the River“Crowe’s hushed and throaty voice willwash over you, until one day you realize hersongs have seeped under your skin. It’llhappen as easy as breathing.”Montreal Gazette

“Her voice is almost a whisper at times, herlyrics sparse but telling, conveying a deepsense of emotion, very subtly but verypowerfully...strangely compelling in waysthat will touch you”Dirty Linen

“…she possesses that rare ability of craftinga lyric that bears scrutiny on its own terms.”Folk Roots

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“Listening to Susan Crowe is likestumbling upon someone’s openjournal, her songs and singing markedby an intense, unguarded intimacy.”

Montreal Gazette


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“...a poetic songsmith with an evocative,expressive voice. The 10 original songs shepenned for The Door to the River ache withloss and longing...Crowe produces a seriesof deliciously sensual and dreamlike vocals.This is a beautiful recording.”Joseph Blake, Victoria Times Colonist

“Crowe’s music doesn’t just stand up torepeated listening, it begs for it. There seemto be endless levels to her songs, growingcomplexities in her lyrics, and music thatbrings me back like an addict.”Emma Kivisild, Kinesis

“Never one to shy away from the deep endof the thinking pool, Susan Crowe cuts andpastes a seamless landscape of beautifulsounds and spectral images on this long-awaited second album. Eternal love, loss, thetransient nature of reality and ever-presentsin are just a few of the stops along the wayon this tender journey.”Katherine Monk, Vancouver Sun,

performance reviewsNeptune Studio Theatre, Halifax, NS 2004Stephen Pedersen, The Chronicle HeraldSusan Crowe’s fans don’t just admire herlow voice, her striking turns of phrase, andher melodic subtleties. They are alsoaffectionate. It isn’t only that they love her.It’s that they all, to a woman or a man, thinkon her kindly.She has a sense of their feeling though herfear of puffing herself up would make itdifficult for her to admit it.But it’s probably what she means when shewrites about ‘Love’s Pure Gold’.It’s a rare kind of concert Crowe gives. She’snot at all about show biz. But she caresdeeply for her poetry, deeply enough topresent it simply and well.She doesn’t think she’s much of a singer. Butthe way she sings could not be better suitedto the style and import of her lyrics. Theycry out to be sung, with their patterns ofrepetition and their verbal elegance. Butthey don’t want to be driven. They just wantto be.Friday night in Neptune Studio Theatre,Crowe sang all but one of the songs on herfourth, latest and Juno-nominated CD, BookOf Days. It only took her one song,‘Dreamless’, at the top of the show, to create

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the ambience of intimacy in which her songsglow.Warm lighting, an attractive, symmetricalgrouping of instruments and players, and asound mix at the hands of sound-wizardDavid Hillier that was perfectly attuned tothe low resonance of her voice combined togive maximum play to Crowe’sphilosophical approach to song-writing.Though big, the band played lightly – thepure gold of Jamie Robinson’s guitar, thesubtle percussion colour of Don Chapman,the rock-like foundation of Ed Woodsworthon bass, pianist Kim Dunn’s lightly sketchedlines and rhythmic chords and JohnReischman streaking the mix with thepungent light of his mandolin.Crowe up front on a high stool with her ownguitar, which she plays well though laboursat tuning it, and next to her the final touch,and one of the prettiest, the honey gold ofCindy Church’s back up vocals.Crowe does not write messages into hersongs.But she has a knack of asking questions like“ this is your one and only life – what willyou do?” And can anything better expressthe anguish of a broken relationship than; “Iasked her ‘Do you remember when you heldme close?’ She said ‘No’.”It is little wonder the show ended in astanding ovation for Crowe and her band.

The Stan Rogers Folk Festival, 2003,Gregory R. McGuire, Antigonish CasketReaders of ’Acoustic Corner’ will be wellaware of the music of both (Laura) Smithand (Cindy) Church, but it was Crowe,making her 2nd appearance at the Festival,who will have opened eyes among thosewho may not be familiar with her work.Crowe will be releasing her 4th CD in acouple of months. This singer/songwritercontinues to impress. Each did separate sets,but it was when the trio performed togetherthat their collective talent truly made itselfevident. Three writers of beautiful tunes,beautiful harmony vocals and tasty guitarbrought things together rather nicely.

The Vancouver East Cultural Centre, 1996,Tony Montague, The Georgia Straight At a time when it seems any musician whocan wield an axe believes that he or she canhack out a ditty worth listening to, it’s arelief to be reminded by someone like SusanCrowe that there are songwriters out therewho take their audience as seriously as theirart.She has the true writer’s ability to go sodeeply into her particular experience that,paradoxically, she emerges with somethingthat is universal and accessible.Crowe’s songs, and her voice, are filled withemotional resonance —above all, with an


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“With one of themost distinctivevoices in Canadatoday, she isdestined to becomeone of our lastingfolk heroines”

Vancouver Sun

Financial assistance provided by the Canada Music Fund through the Music Section of the Canada Council for the Arts.

abiding sense of loss and gentle melancholy.But the sadness is tempered by anappreciation of beauty, and the feelings arenever self-indulgent or gushing...AndCrowe knows how to sustain a metaphorand draw out its symbolic value to the full.The pleasure and interest of the evening wasnot restricted to lyrics. Crowe, who playedacoustic guitar throughout, was backed upwith great sensitivity by a trio of AndreasSchuld on electric guitar, John Reischman on

mandolin, and Brent Gubbels on bass.Koralee Tonack, who provided additionalvocals, also gave a moving rendition ofCrowe’s ‘Come With Me’—apparentlywritten for a dying friend. For her encoreperformance of ‘In Your Loveliness’, Crowewas assisted by Roy Forbes. “It’s like beingqueen for a day” she quipped. Then, neverone to miss an opportunity for a self-deprecating remark, she added: “But thisqueen was vacuuming at four o’clock.”

susan crowe presskit 67 · 2009. 9. 29. · accompanied by john reischman’s mandolin and kevin...

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