Allison Crutchfield one of the most well-loved staples of the DIY scene; her debut solo album allows listeners to get just a little closer.
You probably know Allison Crutchfield from P.S. Eliot, or Swearin', or maybe Waxahatchee - but with ‘Tourist In This Town' she's stepped away from her bandmates for a record that's a degree more personal.
Hey Allison, how's things?
I'm doing well! Currently drinking coffee at my parents' house in Alabama while the Today Show plays in the background; the Property Brothers are on.
What prompted you to go it alone for ‘Tourist In This Town'?
Well, I was on tour with Waxahatchee for all of 2015, and anytime I'm on tour I'm thinking about writing and making records. Swearin' ended early in the year, and so I envisioned this album as a solo thing pretty much as soon as I decided I was ready to make something new.
Have you found yourself writing about more personal or different topics with less input from others?
For sure. I think that's also something that prompted me making this record now; being in a band that operated as democratically as Swearin' tended to was sometimes daunting for me as a songwriter, mostly because of how close I was to everyone in the band. I think that made me feel inhibited and intimidated, and also I wanted to write songs that represented my band and that my bandmates liked? Writing this album felt natural and cathartic, I think because I could just write freely and not stress about other people hearing these songs in their infancy.
How did you find your time recording? Were you able to explore new ground?
I think the whole process was an act in self-invention honestly. This was my first time working with Jeff Zeigler, and my first time in a studio without Kyle [Gilbride from Swearin'] in the control room in years. And while I feel like it was maybe out of character for me (being a neurotic freak and all), I was immediately comfortable working in that environment, partly because he just rules and also partly because he's a sonic wizard and has an amazing synth collection. We clicked pretty instantly, and I think he just really got what I was doing and what I wanted, so we had a similar agenda early on. And he was excited about it! Which is not always the case, so I was grateful for that! Good vibes all around.
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Not really? I think that this record is pretty straight forward, but at its core, it's a feminist break-up album. That's what I wanted it to be, and I feel like that comes across. I hope people who hear it can find some comfort in that.
Yes and no. I think I had a really clear idea of what I wanted when I went in to make it, down to the track list. And the people who played on it were extremely rehearsed because I wanted to be prepared but it would be a lie to say that there weren't changes made or flare added in the studio because that's just what always happens. I would say all in all, though, this record has just been what it is from day one; it was a weird puzzle in my brain that I put together and then wrote down and recorded with the help of some friends. I was pretty obsessive about keeping it that way, momentary and true to life. Very autobiographical.
I don't know if being a musician means anything to me because I just am one. I think a lot has changed for me as a human since I started playing in rock bands, but I still just want to make music that I like, and that's kind of why I started.
Yes, I'm under contract.
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