Kathleen Edwards brings Canadian roots rock to National After knocking out splendid debut album in 2003 and following up with an equally stellar 2005 sophomore effort, Canadian roots rock singer songwriter Kathleen Edwards took a little time off from the touring demands of her play-for-pay routine to contribute vocals to pal John Doe"s latest release rediscover some old friends and discover the greatness of non-musical pursuits such as wine making, running and gardening. The 30-year old Edwards is convinced that, as a result, she"s a much better songwriter. "I"m the type of songwriter who really connects with people and people"s stories," Edwards explained over the phone from her Ontario home. "Being on the road is like living in a ziplock bag. You"re living in this vacuum world where your life is all bout sound checks and living in hotels and finding a place to eat. It"s not really a normal life." "I lost my connection with some of the people who were eventually were subjects of the songs or inspirations. You lose that connection with a normal life and one that has these special moments in them." Edwards has re-connected quite nicely as evidenced by her 2008, release, "Asking for Flowers". The stunningly quiet power of the title song is just reason that Edwards" latest is her greatest. " ‘Asking for Flowers" was a song I wrote for one of my closest friends who was going through a really hard time. I had an opportunity to time to spend some time with her and in discussing the demise of a relationship, she"s the one who said to me that you can't ask someone to buy you flowers, someone has to want to give them to you. That was such a poignant moment. If I"d been on the road, I"d never had a chance to have that conversation with her." Equally poignant moments can be found on "Alicia Ross", inspired by the violent 2005 murder of a 25-year old woman. "She was killed by her neighbor. I"d come off the road and found the story in the paper in Toronto. It was the first time I could really appreciate what it must like to bring a child into the world and spend your whole life protecting her and raising her and loving her and knowing that she died at the hands of someone who lived down the street. It"s really dark and a bit gruesome but it could have been me, it could have been my best friend. And it will continue to be people who we should care about more." Along with the serious subject matter, "Asking for Flowers" includes some splendid rockers ('The Cheapest Key" "Oil Man"s War") and the snide humor of "I Made the Dough, You Get the Glory", a tune which was completed late into the night with help of just a bit of wine. A bit of country, a touch of folk and a lot of rock, Edwards" brand of songwriting has two major influences. 'tom Petty is at the top of my list. I don't" know what it is, it just makes me happy. His songs are great songs and his career is a great one. He"s always stood up for himself. He believes in what does and sticks up to his convictions. Neil Young has put out a lot of records over the years. He has an extremely large fan base and fan base that doesn't necessarily connect with every album." At the end of the day, Edwards has just one goal for her writing. "My intention is to do something that"s true to me. Sometimes I hear a song that I know that it"s been written on a laptop at Starbucks. That annoys me and I try to stay as far away from that culture as possible." Bill Craig Richmond Times-Dispatch				Album reviews Feature articles Interviews Show reviews