INTERVIEW WITH MUSICIAN ALLIE CRUMMY

 

JR: Welcome to the blog, Allie! How did you become a Christian, and what got you interested in music?

AC: Hey! I was raised in a Christian home, and my faith became more and more my own as I got older, especially once I started college. I’m like most musicians I know - I was drawn to music from as young as I can remember!

JR: Your web-site tells us you “studied Music Education at Drake University, where she received a classical, conservatory-like education in vocal music.” What differences are there between those approach to vocals and what is typically done in popular music? Also, do you have any classical composers/singers/songwriters/rappers/Disney characters that have inspired you? 

AC: At Drake, I mostly sang in opera style (that’s not what we called it, but it usually conjures up the right image in peoples’ minds). The main differences between that and how I sing now would be how much vibrato I use and how high I’m singing. Although I don’t sing like that anymore, I do draw on the techniques that I learned at Drake; I’ve found that it is helpful to learn to sing in that classical style as a foundation for breath control, resonance, and vocal flexibility. I often draw on my classical training if I want to tweak how I’m singing something. 

My favorite classical composers are Beethoven and Liszt. I have lots of songwriters that I like, but since we’re talking about classical training, I’ll mention how much I love Chris Thile - both as a solo artist, and as a part of the bands he’s in, especially the Punch Brothers. The Punch Brothers do a masterful job of blending classical ways of thinking about composing and arranging into a modern setting. The best example of this is their album, “Punch” from 2008. 

JR: I got hooked on your music immediately when I first heard “You Won’t Ever Abandon Me.” But that’s not your most recent release – I believe you have two (at least) since. Would you be interested in telling us about those songs? 

AC: Yeah! “You Won’t Ever Abandon Me” was the first song I released from my album, Earthly, which came out in full in September 2023. Then in October 2023, I released the single, “Daylight Saving”, kind of on a whim. I released “Lift Up the Lowly” in November 2023, also kind of on a whim. And last month, I released “Caving In” and “Go Along”, the first two singles from my upcoming album, Henny Penny, which comes out in full on June 28th! Earthly is all about the human side of being a Christian - learning to relate well with other human beings, dealing with anxiety and hardship, and giving voice to our confusions and disappointments. Henny Penny is a concept album based on the folktale of the same name. 

JR: Your web-site also includes blogs, the most recent (at this moment) being “Holy Saturday.” What is “Holy Saturday?” How did it relate to you, and do you think it applies some to the American Church?

AC: Holy Saturday is the day between Good Friday and Easter, and it was originally the title for my album Earthly. Also known as “Silent Saturday”, Holy Saturday is a day where we don’t know much about what God was doing. I like to think back to the original Holy Saturday. Jesus had just died but the resurrection had not yet happened. How do you make sense of what you see happening in your life or in the world when it is very different from what you expected? How do you make sense of what is going on when you had expected God to act very differently? These are really important questions, and I believe that God wants us to wrestle with them. 

As for the American Church, there’s a lot of variety so I don’t want to say that everywhere is like this, but the church environment that I was in for many years was not one that encouraged wrestling with your faith. Some questions felt very off-limits, and were often met with cliches or oversimplified truisms that shut down further conversation, and in some cases, straight up bullying! In that environment, people who are trying to grow deeper in their faith are chased away, and ultimately, a more shallow way of thinking is encouraged. The beauty of Holy Saturday is that it is followed by Easter Sunday, and the beauty of Easter Sunday is that it’s something that has already taken place. So it’s good to question and it’s good to wrestle, and we can also have confidence that God’s plans are not fragile; they are not put in jeopardy by our honest questions. 

JR: Thank you for your time. How can we keep up with what you’re doing? Also, do you have any closing comments?

AC: Thanks for reaching out! The best way to keep up with what I’m doing is to join my email list: https://www.alliecrummy.com/email-signup. From there, follow me on the streaming platform of your choice (Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7vOwHOhPxqJHT0TScAkuBB?si=2eWNsoXATxWRV4JJpMzmhA) and on social media (Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alliecrummymusic/, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alliecrummymusic/, and YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/alliecrummymusic).