Kathleen Edwards CR: You have just arrived from Dublin, and it's near the end of the tour so you must be pretty tired? KE: It has been pretty tiring yeah. And after the gig last night we did a TV show too so we haven't had much sleep for past few days! CR: You moved around a lot as a child, does that give you a taste for travel or make you sick of it? KE: I'm not fed up of it yet. This is our last week on the road before we all go home, so we're all desperate to get back but we've had some amazing experiences. We've done some really great shows, most have been really busy and it's amazing to leave our own country and come here to play to so many people. I play to as many people here as in Canada. CR: On the subject of CR:owd size; you've supported some major acts, did you have to change things for the larger CR:owd? KE: Well what happened was that I played a large show in Toronto (SARS concert), so the truth is I played at one or two o'clock and they played at ten! But this year we've opened for Willy Nelson and Bob Dylan. We don't really change the way we play, but we change our set for most shows anyway. CR: How did you get started in music? KE: I always loved listening to bands and songwriters, and I got a guitar in my early teenage years and loved to play. After a few years of playing I was working in a coffee shop and hearing all kinds of music that other kids weren't into and I was meeting people in the local music scene. Not just singers but people like recording engineers who had home studios. So I became part of the music community and started writing and recording my own stuff. My first album was more like a demo, I probably gave away as many as I sold, but it was great experience. I try to write what I want rather than reflect my influences. CR: You said 'Failer' exposed your past, is your own experience the basis for all your songs? KE: I think so... The songs are fictional but the characters and places are from my life. I always try to put an element of reality into things but at the same time the idea of writing stories and songs that CR:oss over the boundary. I think putting my own experiences in makes the song more believable. CR: Are Canadian artists overshadowed by America? KE: Oh for sure. America is such a big market that it dominates North America. A perfect example is Sony shut down their Canadian office, which was doing good work with Canadian artists just because it wasn't making the kind of money the Americans thought was acceptable. I actually get more radio airplay in America than Canada but that's probably due to the larger audience. CR: How important is the media for you? KE: Organisations like the BBC and CBC are extremely powerful and they defiantly support things at grassroots level. I'm not interested in playing Top of the Pops; I think that's kind of flash in the pan stuff. I'd rather be playing to 200 in Glasgow than 20,000 after my first album because where do you go from there? CR: You've started doing videos now, is that something you enjoy? KE: No, it's pretty much something I have to do. In Canada we get funding from the government, as Canadian TV and radio has to fulfil a certain quota of local artists. And it is great exposure, but I hate videos. You have to end up following some director's lead, and it feels like making a commercial. CR: The 'Back To Me' video featured John Doe; he's playing here tomorrow night. KE: Ah fuck, we keep missing him. We played Dublin the night after he did. He played my boyfriend/father in that video! He's a really sweet guy. CR: What is it like playing in a band with your husband? KE: It's honestly been amazing, I feel very lucky. We rarely disagree, so there are never many problems. But it can be hard sometimes writing songs, if I'm writing about something raw and personal I wonder how he'll react. CR: A lot of songs on Back To Me sound emotionally bruised, will it be harder to glean material now your happily married? KE: A few songs were happy! Summerlong and !X!X!X! were happy! But if you think about Dylan he was married early on and he still wrote great songs. I'm going to enjoy the challenge of writing songs like 'Instate' as well as relationship songs. CR: What are you doing after this tour? KE: We're going to take some time off, and relax and hopefully start writing for the next record. CR: One last question; what has been your best show? KE: I played my hometown a few weeks. I hadn't played there in a while and it was amazing. Everyone was really supportive and it was nice to have people rooting for me, like I'd root for them. benston smithy crookedrain.co.uk				Album reviews Feature articles Interviews Show reviews