by Duane Wells
Grammy-nominated songstress talks about gay marriage, her new album, wrestling the Nashville star-making machine and her childhood memories of singing harmony with Shelby Lynne in the boonies of Alabama.
Moody country: That’s probably the phrase that best captures the vibe of singer-songwriter Allison Moorer’s introspective and reflective seventh studio album, Crows.
Some may know Moorer for her Academy-Award nominated contribution to the soundtrack of the Robert Redford-directed drama, The Horse Whisperer in “A Soft Place to Fall.” Others may know her for her debut album, Alabama Song or her Grammy-nominated song “Days Aren’t Long Enough,” co-written with her husband, singer-songwriter Steve Earle. And still others may simply know Moorer as the sister of country phenom Shelby Lynn. But no matter how or why Allison Moorer is known, her latest album reintroduces the singer in way that defies categorization.
Pink: How was making this album different from your past albums? The sound is very different—less country twang and more torchy smolder. The sound is actually hard to categorize—it has elements of country, rock, pop, and even classical.
Allison Moorer: The music I like tends to be hard to categorize. I like the things that fall between the cracks. I was very relaxed about the process this time, and I didn’t do any forcing. I wasn’t under the gun in any way. I didn’t even have a label when I wrote this record, so I was just following my heart. Feeling so at ease, I think I wanted to make a quieter record.
Although you were originally marketed as a country artist out of Nashville, your music has always been a bit left-of-center.
I knew I was an odd duck in the country music world. I just wasn’t going for what the mainstream artist was going for. For a while, I asked myself, “What is it that’s making me so different?” I thought, “Well, obviously, they went to Big Star School, and I didn’t get in.”
When I put out my first album, I was 26 and really cute, but I knew then that it was going to be hard for me to put a dent in the system. Even though I had great support from the label, it just wasn’t a good situation for me to always be comparing myself to other artists. I’m a girl with a guitar who writes her own songs and goes out and sings them. This is my art, this is my blood. I didn’t want to sit around a conference table talking about it. Since I’ve left that situation, I’ve been at labels where art is a priority.
Of course it’s great for an artist to be able to make the kind of music they want to make. But did you ever also want to be a big star as well?
Everyone wants to be appreciated and recognized; otherwise you’d never crawl upon a stage. I’m not denying that I like getting attention and praise for what I do. I also know that in certain circumstances, you have to get honest with yourself—is it really worth it if 25 people show up for a place that holds 200? But I just can’t “not” do this. Sure, I want to be as “known” as I can. I’ve always wanted to be as successful as I can be doing the music I’m proud of.
The songs you’ve written for Crows explore parts of your voice that has never heard before. It’s like discovering a whole new artist.
I’m someone who hates the American Idol-ization of music where singing has become like spinning plates. Singing is very mysterious to me. Part of singing is thinking about what you’re doing, and part of it is letting go. There are so many ways you can go with different songs, and I’m really interested in writing those kinds of songs. I had my days where I played the electric guitar and belted it out.
I’m in a different place. To me, singing is about conveying a feeling to someone who’s listening that they didn’t know they had. There’s a great quote I read once that a great singer is one that sings our silences.
You’ve written songs about your childhood before, particularly about losing your mother when you were a young girl. There are two songs on Crows that draw on your childhood memories of her.
Obviously, I draw on my childhood a lot, and it has provided me with a lot of inspiration for what I do artistically. But I wanted to write something that reflected a sweeter time. The truth of it is that my childhood wasn’t all bad. I did have this amazing mother that I wanted to pay tribute to. I also wanted to write about my relationship with my sister; we’re very close, and we always have been. We were really all the other one had. We lived out in the sticks, and we’d always entertain each other, singing songs together.
Speaking of your sibling, I imagine most of your fans know that your sister is Shelby Lynne. Have the two of you ever thought of doing an album together.
We’ve talked about it, and we continue to talk about it. We also talk about going out and doing some dates together. It’s something that people have really wanted to see. We’ve talked about maybe doing some dates in the fall, a few months after I have the baby.
Are you conscious of having a gay fanbase?
You know, I was sitting at a meeting at my label, and I was asked the question, “Who is your audience?” If I ever figure that out, I’m dead. I never want to be pandering to any one group.
When I look out at my audience, I see everybody—young, old, straight couples, gay couples. And I’ve definitely met plenty of gay fans when they’ve come up to me at different times, like outside the tour bus. They tell me how my music has helped them. It doesn’t matter who you are—I’m like, ‘Come on. The more the merrier.’
What are your thoughts on gay marriage?
I’m open to most things, particularly when it comes to love. I mean, I live in the West Village in New York City. I’m right in the middle of it all.
www.myspace.com/allisonmoorer
