Radio Interview by Ian Schrank and Jimmy Drenovsky

https://soundcloud.com/marquette-radio/crystal-bowersox-interview

“American Idol” runner-up Crystal Bowersox will play new music at Colectivo Coffee on 2211 N. Prospect Ave. Thursday, March 3 at 8 p.m.

The Nashville based singer-songwriter is taking the road with a bunch of new material in preparation of recording a follow up to 2013’s “All That for This.”

“I’ve been writing a lot,” Bowersox said in an interview with Marquette Radio. “Maybe 80% of the show at Colectivo will be new material that I’ve been playing for audiences. I’m trying to gauge where my people stand, what they like and not.”

She said that much of her work comes from her own experience, and that she hopes to use empathy to write compelling songs from other perspectives. Bowersox also said she thinks that being a mother gives her a new, more mature perspective.

“My first album was a lot of songs I had written even as a teenager … I think just my level of life experience at that time, it wasn’t as rich as it is now,” she said.

Bowersox spoke about her influences such as Amos Lee, and, surprisingly, cited doom metal band Type O Negative as one of her guilty pleasures.

She first entered the national spotlight when she came in second in Season 9 of “American Idol,” drawing praise from everyone from Simon Cowell to Ellen DeGeneres.

Bowersox, who used to live in Chicago, has been to Milwaukee a couple of times.

“I have been to Milwaukee and it’s a cool town,” Bowersox said, “I have not been to Colectivo Coffee though, so I’m looking forward to meeting some new people.”