Kathleen Edwards modest about her success Ottawa native Kathleen Edwards isn't convinced she'll draw a big crowd to her April 7 show at the Mod Club Theatre. Despite being a critics' darling in the U.K. and the U.S., her last show in Toronto had to be cancelled. The 26-year-old raven-haired, alt-country, singer-songwriter moved here two years ago to be with husband-guitarist-producer Colin Cripps. "I haven't played Toronto in a long time, so I'm looking forward to seeing if anyone's going to come," says Edwards recently while chowing down on lunch at the Rivoli pool hall on Queen St. W. "My last show here - at the end of my last tour in 2003 - I had to cancel 'cause no one bought tickets. And you know what, I was so exhausted, I was actually kind of relieved." Edwards, who released her sophomore album, Back To Me, on March 1, is currently in the midst of a similarly hectic schedule. In addition to the Mod Club show, she's got a Live At The Rehearsal Hall special airing tonight (Bravo, 8 p.m.), which features a guest appearance by Blue Rodeo's Jim Cuddy. "I actually met Colin through Jim Cuddy," she says. "He plays in Jim's solo band. I opened years ago for Jim Cuddy's solo band up at The Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield, Que., and that was the first time I think I was in the same room with Colin, probably incapable of speaking to him at the time. If you don't know him, he seems kind of quiet and hard to approach. He's also gorgeous, so I was, like, 'I'm just some geeky girl. I can't go up and talk to him.' " Now, Edwards says there are major advantages to having her hubby on the road with her. "I'm so spoiled - it's fantastic, " she says. "I can't imagine getting married and then leaving my spouse behind. Colin and I were working together long before we hooked up. That came first and the love part came second." In the next two weeks, Edwards plays shows in Nashville, Austin - at SouthBySouthwest - and L.A., including a March 23 appearance on The Late, Late Show With Craig Ferguson before she heads back to Europe to perform. Following the critical success of her 2003 debut, Failer, many were predicting a big breakthrough for Edwards, who has been called Canada's Lucinda Williams, among other things. "I love Lucinda Williams," she says. "I think she's fantastic, but my influences are way more male than female. I think my record is a total rip-off of a Tom Petty record. I've barely even seen Tom Petty's name mentioned." But since Failer sold only 20,000 copies, a commercial breakthrough never materialized, especially at home. 'There are many exceptions to this, but it's been very hard to prove myself in Canada, and a lot easier to prove myself outside of Canada," says Edwards. "And I hope I don't come across as bitter 'cause I'm really not. I don't think people should automatically love you just because you're from here, but I think there's 'The Canadian syndrome,' and I think everyone else is catching on to it - that we don't appreciate our musical acts until they do well somewhere else." For example, the day of Back To Me's release, Edwards appeared on David Letterman for the third time in her short career. "He's been great to us, but there's no big hang (afterwards,)" she says of the experience. "I'm sure with some people that he knows well, there is." Previously, Bob Dylan - who was another major influence - asked Edwards to open two shows in Jackson Hole, Wy. "I never met him," she says. 'The opportunity was certainly there, but I didn't really feel like there was anything constructive I had to say to him. The only thing I could think of to say to Bob Dylan was, 'Hey, man thanks for getting us to open for you,' but you know I prefer to respect people's space and privacy." The same rules didn't apply at SARS-Stock in 2003, when Edwards opened for headliners AC/DC and The Rolling Stones in front of almost a half-million people at Downsview Park. "I was hanging all over (AC/DC lead singer) Brian Johnson," she freely admits. "Dylan's different from AC/DC, I can tell you that much. C'mon, guys who write songs about venereal diseases? I think I can go up to them." Jane Stevenson torontosun.com				Album reviews Feature articles Interviews Show reviews