Just try not to label her as 'country' Poignant and political, but there's no twang Sometimes when you call to connect with an interview, it's a corporate liaison on the line conferencing the call. Then there are those moments where a kindly voice says, "Just a minute dear, I'll get her." "Yeah, I'm at home at Mom and Dad's," says Kathleen Edwards. "I haven't seen them in a while, so it's nice to have a chance to visit for a bit." "This is the season of having to play one event and then hopping a plane to go to some other one that's 5,000 miles away the next day." A seasoned veteran of Glastonbury and South By Southwest, the Ottawa valley singer-songwriter says that it's been a mellower summer than previous ones. So far she's performed at the Ottawa Blues Festival -- which appears to have very little in the way of blues -- and the Winnipeg Folk Festival. The Pemberton Festival is her one big rock event this year. "OK, that's not exactly true. I did play a Swedish festival where Rage Against the Machine was headlining. It was pretty weird. "Pemberton will be a great time because there are so many acts on the bill who are friends of mine who I haven't seen in a while, like the Hip." With her latest CD, Asking for Flowers, the striking strummer is breaking down the last vestiges of the alternative roots label that may have once pigeonholed her genre-speaking. Not that she ever saw herself as primarily a singer-songwriter with more twang than kerrang. "It's a constant source of frustration to me that I am so often lumped in with country artists. Playing the Grand Ol' Opry was incredibly cool, but that designation is the most alienating thing in the world for me. I sing Toby Keith when I'm with friends and want to embarrass myself at karaoke; otherwise not at all." Merely look over the thank-you's on her new CD and it becomes obvious that she's running with a classic-rock crew of Los Angeles' finest, including the Doors' John Dinsmore and X bassist John Doe. The L.A.-recorded Asking for Flowers benefits from the mixing and matching of Edwards' crack band of Jim Bryson, Bob Glaub, Colin Cripps and Don Heffington with the likes of ace session pedal-steel wiz Greg Leisz (Beck, Wilco, Sheryl Crow, Avenged Sevenfold) and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' Benmont Tench. "So much of this record was recorded live off of the floor, but when you work with players of this experience level, you can really just get right into playing your songs. Most of the takes were once-through, so the end result is something unforced and natural and that's amazing. "I went to L.A. and made a record with session players and that was a concern for me until I realized that these guys come to the table with a reputation for a reason - they can make the music happen." What happened was a far more focused collection of songs from her that frequently hit upon political topics. Case in point, the obviously titled "Oil Man's War" and "Oh Canada," a pointed condemnation of her homeland's failure to tackle a growing trend of serious violence against women, which mentions murder victim Alicia Ross, whose case was in the media spotlight in Ontario. "Being on the road for a long period of time and then coming home to something like that can really leave a strong impression upon you. There's also me just getting older - sage old me - and wanting to say something about it." The sideline benefits included getting to know John Doe well enough to appear on his latest solo album and get together for a tour later this year. Unfortunately, no Canadian dates are lined up right now. Stuart Derdeyn The Province				Album reviews Feature articles Interviews Show reviews