Rock Of Ages - kathleen Edwards According to Kathleen Edwards, a photo shoot with Emmylou Harris became an unexpected test of "how completely in check" her ego really is. "We went to lunch the day after the shoot, and the woman who served us in this restaurant around Union Square was a big fan," Edwards explains. "She was very sweet and said, 'Oh, Emmylou, I'm such a big fan of yours,' and she started talking about music and she named off every contemporary roots female singer. She said, 'I love Neko Case, I love Tift Merritt, I love this person and that person,' and Emmylou goes, 'Oh, this is Kathleen Edwards.' And the woman was like, 'I have no idea who you are.' I tried not to burst out laughing." Edwards, who'd never met Harris before the shoot, says there are certain musical heroes of hers who she's not sure she wants to meet due to the letdown that occurs when heroes sometimes turn out to be creeps. Happily, she found Harris surprisingly sane. "Over time, people [in the music business] can lose a little bit of their sense of reality," Edwards says. "And for somebody who's as talented as Emmylou is and has been through as many crazy stories and musical relationships that probably weren't always easy, she's always maintained an amazing level of gracefulness and integrity. "And then there's the amount of songs that she knows and can sing better than anyone else. That's the part that really blows my mind. With Emmylou you can name any song and she's sung it at some point. And not just half-assed; she's sung it and it's been amazing." Despite the lunchtime ego boost, Edwards is undoubtedly a rising star among young female Americana singers. After more than a year on the road promoting her acclaimed 2003 debut, Failer, and its 2005 follow-up, Back to Me, she says she now needs to go home, gear down and start thinking about writing the songs for her next record. Her plans for the near future include renting a practice space, setting up her guitars, buying a piano and letting the muse find her. "[I need to] just play music on my own when there's no time constraints, no clock running, no mikes up," Edwards says. "Just play stuff and become a better guitar player, work on my chops and drink some wine." Wine? "I love wine but I can't drink it on the road," Edwards admits. "It throws my voice off. I don't know if that's scientifically possible but if my voice is a little stiff, I find that a shot of bourbon helps. It helps me with the stage banter too. I feel a little less inhibited to say something if I've had a few shots." One sure change in Edwards' future is what her songs will be about. The most frequently heard knock on her first two records was that the songs talked too much about relationships. Aware that she may have acquired a reputation for writing sad, even angry songs about love and revenge, Edwards says she has some new ideas for her lyrical gifts to chew on. "I'm still writing songs that are extremely personal on a certain level but I'm naturally moving away from that. I feel a little tired of that kind of song. The songs that I've written so far have nothing to do with that." Robert Baird harpmagazine.com				Album reviews Feature articles Interviews Show reviews