Crystal Bowersox is cool. She is honest and vulnerable, you don’t have to worry about any gimmicks with her. In many ways, she reminds me of a contemporary Janis Joplin: a female powerhouse vocalist set on authenticity.
Bowersox may be known for being the runner up on the ninth season of American Idol, but since then she has released three solo albums, is a huge advocate and role model for Type 1 diabetes, and rocks it as a mom in Tennessee. Bowersox recently sat down with the B-Side and chatted about her new tour, music, and what she is hoping to accomplish in the future.
So you just started your Spring 2018 tour, how is that going?
So far so good! Started out in Seattle at the Triple Door; had a great turn out, great show. And then last night (4/19) we played in Portland, Oregon, where I used to live. Saw a lot of familiar faces and it was just magic energy, I love it there. And tonight (4/20) we’re in Eugene. So… all is well. Loving it!
What is your favorite part of touring?
It’s getting to meet fans after the show. I love hearing their stories and how they interpret my songs, how it plays into their lives, and what it means to them. I think that’s really my favorite part; that’s really the whole reason I do this.
Is there anything that particularly excited you about this tour?
Yeah! Getting to be on the west coast! I love it out here. I just bought a place in Nashville (Tennessee), but I feel like I’m at home out on the west coast, especially in the Northwest.
How has Nashville influenced your music?
Well, it’s like being a kid in a candy store as far as songwriters go. There’s such a concentration of talent there. I just feel really blessed to be surrounded by and get to work with so many amazing people. And… I mean the food there is really good. Plus, my son loves it there, we got a nice community and I don’t know, just feeling like I’m in a stable place that I can call home really helps me to focus my creative and artistic energies. I’ve gotta be able to find my happy place in order to be able to do what I do, and I’m pretty happy there.
What musicians challenge or inspire you?
I think my band mates, really. I’ve learned so much from them every night when we’re on stage. Derek Lewis is my drummer, and he works his tail off. I’ve got Andrew Brown on bass, and they’re both Nashville cats and they’re both great. Artists that I really look up to… I watched the career of Mark Price and my friend David Lennek. He’s in Northern California. I really really enjoy his music. I don’t know, just watching my friends rise to the top. A fella named Devin Gafiliean, watching him, he’s been touring with Anderson East, and ya know, he waited on me backstage, he was a waiter at City Winery in Nashville just like five years ago. And now he is opening for bands at the Red Rocks so you know… It’s great. It’s great to watch my friends rise up. they inspire me every day.
Your music is extremely personal, do you ever find being this vulnerable a difficult task?
It’s terrifying, ya know? Being so open. But I think the world needs more truth and safe spaces for people to come and feel like they can cry, and that they can laugh, and just be free to express themselves, and hopefully leave the evening feeling lighter and not feeling alone. We all have things we struggle and suffer with in our lives and I’m not a fan of of superficiality and trying to put on a happy, strong face for the world. We have emotions and they’re meant to be expressed. That’s what I do. For me, it’s cathartic, it’s my therapy session, and I hope it’s mutually beneficial for folks who come to the show.
With that being said, your music is very unique from most of today’s singer-songwriters, have you found it hard not to conform? How do you stay true to yourself?
No, it’s not hard really at all. I figure if I just keep doing what I do, eventually, what I’m doing will become popular and come around. Trying to write for any kind of formula is tough for me. I want to be honest and true for what sits well with my spirit and just hope that people like it. Fans have been loyal. It has been eight years, nine years, whatever it is after my time on television, and fans still show up to my shows. I’m blessed to get to do what I love for a living.
So obviously being a Type 1 diabetic has influenced you in a lot of ways, can you discuss how it has affected your music, if at all?
It definitely has. If my bloodsugar is elevated before a show, it affects my energy level for the evening. I’ve had lows on stage, and when your bloodsugars high, it can be a cyclic depressive thoughts and things like that. Sometimes we internalize a bad day of bloodsugars, and feel like I’m bad rather than my glucoses is high. It’s made me stronger and it’s presented challenges while touring, but it’s like anything else: you get through it and take care of yourself. I really have been focusing on that; like yesterday, I went and got a massage because I needed it. It’s also hard as a mother too, to make that a priority when I feel like I need to care for everything else around me. But still, I got to take care of me.
Looking to the future, what do you hope to accomplish? Both creatively and personally.
Sure, as a musician I want to expand my connection network with other musicians and I just want to continue making music for my entire life. Personally… right now I’m writing a play, live theater, that’s been something I’ve been slowly raising money for. I want to do good in the world. And obviously, keep raising awareness for Type 1 diabetes. I wear my OmniPod on the outside and make sure people can see it.
And finally, what advice would you give to someone who looks up to you?
Stay true to yourself, and believe in yourself. The reality of words and thoughts that are in your head, we are who we think we are. Think highly of yourself and never give up.
Written by Makaila Heifner