Street Sorrows: An Interview with Austin Davis and Joe Allie

               Arizona natives, Austin Davis and Joe Allie's haunting poetic/musical collaboration, Street Sorrows, is an intimate and empathic howl of an album of, and for, the voiceless of America. Austin recounts here the daily sorrows and struggles of those living on the streets of Phoenix, accompanied by Joe's powerful and intuitive musical score. We talked with Austin and Joe recently about the album, their collaboration, and how "the most valuable thing we can do for another person is show them we care." 



AHC: Can you tell us about the origins of this project? How did it first germinate for you? Did you write these pieces especially for a musical project or were they selected after the idea for this collaboration came about?

Austin: I’ve had a lot of difficult, scary and painful experiences with people on the streets. I’ve seen dead bodies. I’ve seen overdoses and heat strokes. I’ve seen people stabbed and beaten and bloody. People have wept in my arms and told me they want to kill themselves. I’ve known friends who’ve died. 

I needed to process all this heartache, so I started to write about it. Early on, I would cry and cry for hours in my car and scream at the top of my lungs for it to all stop. When I started writing these poems, it felt like I was draining my brain of some of that pain and putting it down on something tangible that I could feel in my hands and share with the world. 

I was set to read some poems on Desert Spotlight, a really cool AZ arts show, and I asked if we could collaborate with a jazz musician for the show. That’s how I was introduced to Joe. I felt like our artistic chemistry was born instantly, and that show with him was the best performance I’ve ever done. On this show, two of the poems I read to Joe’s guitar playing were about homelessness, and I felt like those were the most powerful moments of the episode. 

After the show, I asked Joe if he’d be down to create an album together about homelessness and he was all in. The poems on this album took a long time to write, but we recorded the record all in one night at Joe’s house. The amazing Brent James produced this project and really brought my words and Joe’s sound to life. Brent was such a huge part of this project, and I feel eternally grateful. 

AHC: I was struck by the deep level of direct, unadulterated empathy and listening to the pain of those around us that these pieces represent and speak to. Can you tell us some about the people that we meet in these tracks, and your work within this community? Have they had an opportunity to read these pieces or hear these tracks yet?

Austin: All the people on this record are based on real people and real moments I’ve shared with these people. I wanted the songs on this album to shape a world, to allow the listener to step into these lives that may feel so separate from theirs, but are also so connected to them by our shared humanity and vulnerability. 

Phoenix is made up of lots of little scenes. I vividly remember seeing people splash around in a lake to cool off from the heat. On one winter evening I found a couple holding each other on the sidewalk for warmth and comfort, and I was stopped dead in my tracks from the supreme sadness I felt. Last summer, a woman I knew had to pee in the bushes because there were no public restrooms that would allow her in. This poem is a message to our city and elected officials. 

Leo & Hazel is about a specific evening I spent in “The Zone,” which is the central tent city in PHX, and the area that I go to almost every day. This is one of the areas where I know almost everyone living there. In some poems, we use memory as a stepping stone to create a story, but with this piece, I really just wrote down what happened and how I felt in the moment. We were sitting on their cooler talking about the past and the good times they had had before they were sent to the streets. The sun was setting in brilliant colors and I felt it juxtaposed with all the suffering around me. 

In Pennies, we meet Roy. The silent killer of people on the streets is loneliness, and I don’t feel like that’s talked about enough. It can get really lonely experiencing homelessness, especially when you’re doing it alone. I knew I wanted to write about this loneliness, but I didn’t have a vision for what I wanted to say until I met Roy. I met Roy outside the mall I went to hundreds of times as a kid and teen. We talked about mental health and loneliness and he told me how much it means to him to feel he has a friend, to feel cared for and valued, at least for a moment. We talked about what he misses from the past, what he’s afraid of, and all the scary thoughts we try to hide from the world. 

To answer the second part of your question - yes! I’ve shared these tracks and my poems with some friends on the streets and I’m even planning on picking up some folks around town on the night of our album release show because they want to come watch us perform live. 


AHC: The location is very much its own character in this project. Phoenix, a thing in your blood and soul, I imagine. It sounds like the pain and desperation in that area is palpable. Not everybody takes it upon themselves to stop, lend a hand, listen to a story of where one has been, and try to make a small difference. What would you like people to know who are disinclined to do so, what small thing might they do that matters to those who need it most? What first called you to do so?

Austin: The city of Phoenix is as much a part of me now as my skin or hair or eyes. I feel connected to these people, like we do with family members or old friends. We’ve experienced a lot of pain and loss together, and in a way, that brings us even more together. I often tell people “It’s all love,” when they thank us or hug me or ask why we do what we do. 

One of the most valuable things you can do for another person is show them you care. If you see someone experiencing homelessness on the side of the street or outside a grocery store, it’s so valuable to just stop for a few minutes and talk and ask how they’re doing. You might just save a life. That’s how I started this work. I began by meeting people and hearing their stories and developing friendships with them. Eventually, I couldn’t stop thinking about the streets and I felt I needed to do something more. 

AHC: Where can people get a copy of this excellent album, and are there any organizations you'd like to tell people about that help these communities and that people can donate to or help spread the word about?

Austin: “Street Sorrows” will be out on Apple Music, Spotify, iTunes, and all major streaming services on July 30th. I hope that this record will make people look at the homeless with a little more empathy. These people deserve love, respect and dignity, just as much as you or me. The program I run in Arizona is called AZ Hugs For the Houseless, which all the proceeds from this album will be going towards. Here in AZ there are lots of great groups to donate to and get involved with like Feed PHX, The HOPE Project, the ARA Water Foundation, and more. If you want to get involved in your area, you could start by simply grabbing some friends and freezing some water bottles and hitting the streets to talk with folks!

***

AHC: What was your musical process like collaborating with Austin on this really profound and powerful record? 

Joe: The musical process working with Austin was very open ended. There were no hard rules or requirements I needed to fulfill which made the whole thing very creatively freeing. We did go back and forth on a couple of poems that I would read over, and then we narrowed down our first performance off the poems we all agreed upon. On my own, I would read the poems and focus on dissecting the feeling and emotion in each poem. This all helped me make my musical decisions.


AHC: Your music on each of these tracks feels very intuitive and I can feel and hear the very soul of Phoenix, and of the people in these pieces, coming through in your compositions. There is a sorrow that the notes draw up, but not a sorrow of resignation or defeat, and I noticed something else, also, as I was listening, a kind of gentle tap on the shoulder. I was struck by the power of your musical accompaniment: as Austin's pieces are all about accompanying those around him, in pain and in need, your score accompanies Austin and the people in his pieces in a very similar (empathic) and direct way. What are your thoughts on that? How did Austin's pieces, and the stories embedded in them, move you as you wrote the score for each of these?

Joe: I am an Arizona native of 26 years. I was born and raised in various parts of this state. It was pretty easy honing in on the feeling of each poem because these are all things I have witnessed in our home. These are all things I have felt to some extent; Austin just does a really good job putting it into words. I tried my best to stir up those emotions and support the message of each of these poems through the music, but Austin and I found our common ground through Arizona and from our shared experiences of this place.


AHC: What has been your musical philosophy, your guiding principles of sound that you've carried with you in your toolbox over the years? What have your teachers or inspirations taught you that you try and hope to teach others about the power of sound?

Joe: One of the biggest lessons that I have carried with me throughout my musical journey is to learn as much as you can from others. Whether it's taking lessons or learning your favorite songs, there is a lot that you can get out of learning other perspectives. It provides you with other tools that you can combine with your own to create something better. As far as what I have learned from my teachers, the main takeaway is the power of listening. When you are first learning an instrument it is easy to get carried away and only focus on what you are playing; not what you are contributing. It's tough though because you really just need to be able to play the instrument before this task can be achieved with ease. Learn to listen first before you speak. I believe this lesson can be applied to much more than just playing music.

​