PHOTO CREDIT: Richard Beland
There probably isn’t an individual more excited that Canadian alternative-rock band Crash Karma is hitting the road for a few dates this month than the band’s charismatic lead singer Edwin — although we’re pretty sure the band’s fans are pretty stoked.
After a rough few months for he and his family in the wake of the loss of his older brother Malcolm after a valiant battle against cancer, the 46-year-old vocalist is looking forward to spending time with his bandmates and good friends as Crash Karma returns to the Merchant Tap in Kingston on Thursday, Aug. 13, followed by a date at Mavericks in Ottawa the following night.
“I think it would be good to get out on the road with them again – kind of cathartic actually. I have been doing a lot of studio stuff; going in and working with other bands, listening to tracks and doing background vocals and that kind of thing. I also lost my brother three months ago, so my whole family has kind of been in mourning and everything has been pretty low key since then. All that aside, I am very excited to see the boys again and do some shows and kick some butt,” he said, adding that he is glad that there is still demand from fans and venues to book the band, because he truly enjoys the comradeship of his musical pals.
“To this day it still blows my mind because I have been in many bands, as well probably all have been at some point in time, and we still like each other. We actually call each other and say, ‘hey, I miss you’ and we will hook up for dinner here and there when we can. And we always look forward to getting together to jam and make music. It’s just a good feeling that we have together and, to me, that is kind of different. A lot of times with the bands I have been in, when you’re done all your touring you don’t even want to see each other unless you’re working on something.”
While eschewing the term ‘super group’, that is in fact what Crash Karma is if you really think about it. Edwin is the former lead vocalist for I Mother Earth, singing on the band’s first two and most commercially successful albums, Dig (1993) and Scenery and Fish (1996). Behind the drum kit is Jeff Burrows of The Tea Party, a band that reunited a few years back to widespread acclaim and which will be releasing a 20th anniversary edition of its iconic 1995 album Edges of Twilight next month. On bass is the gifted, it not-as-well known, Toronto musician Amir Epstein, who formerly played in the popular band Zygote and has a burgeoning career in music management including working with dynamic pop artist Guinevere. The quartet is rounded out by founding Our Lady Peace guitarist Mike Turner, who is also the producer of Crash Karma’s two albums – the 2010 self-titled debut and 2013s follow-up Rock Musique Deluxe.
The band has garnered significant airplay for various songs from those two albums including Awake, Fight and On My Own from the first album, and Tomorrow from Rock Musique Deluxe. All three singles hit the top 20 on Canadian Rock charts with the first two cracking the top 10.
Edwin also said that the upcoming shows have spurred him to think about starting to write some new material for the band.
“I think it will be the spark to get my butt in gear and start to write the next record. We’re debating on whether to do another Crash Karma record, or just release a couple of songs. Or I may just focus on some solo stuff, although I think I am probably going to do both. I do believe we should bash out a couple of Crash Karma songs at least for singles. I don’t really want to make a whole record unless the singles are successful and it’s worth making a full album, because it takes a lot of money and a lot of time to make a record. If the masses gravitate towards the single then you know you should make a record, and then you put all that time and effort into all the tracks, otherwise you’re spending all that time making the other nine or ten songs that nobody wants to hear,” he explained.
On Aug. 7, Crash Karma is playing a rare gig on foreign soil, although it is just off Canada’s east coast. And, no, it’s not in the United States – it’s on the tiny islands of Saint Pierre et Miquelon, which is a self-governing ‘overseas collectivity’ belonging to France. The islands are hosting the first Rock et Rhum festival on Aug. 7 and 8, featuring, besides Crash Karma, Finger Eleven, Alert the Medic and more.
“We need passports and everything, and we have to fly there. They take the Euro and don’t even take Canadian money. I had to get my passport renewed for this gig. And any time I mention the place to anyone other than from Newfoundland or the Maritimes they have no clue, and neither did it. But it seems pretty cool,’ Edwin said.
“We’re playing on the first day and the promoters asked us if we wanted to stick around the next day, so we’re staying the whole weekend. I am not sure what there is to do there, but I am sure we can sit around a bit and relax. From what I have seen on Google, it seems pretty and very scenic.”
Edwin said he has been rehearsing for a couple of weeks with Turner in Turner’s studio, readying for when the other Crash Karma members can join them.
“We could have just said, ‘let’s just get together a couple of times before we do these shows.’ But Mike and I were talking about it and I said I didn’t want to go out there and just phone it in. I want to go out there and kick ass. So that’s why I have been practising with him. Jeff Is out of town [he lives in Windsor] and Amir is going to join us this week, and then we will be doing full-on rehearsals,” he said.
While still in mourning over the loss of his brother, Edwin said there have been some positive things to come out of the loss.
“I haven’t done a lot of writing or singing because we have all been pretty devastated from the loss. I just didn’t want to write songs because I didn’t want that vibe in all of them. As far as appreciating the little things in life, I like to think that I have always done that. I have always been one to be thankful for everything whether it’s the beauty of a glorious blue sky, or a nice moment with somebody. What it did change for me is that I am more family conscious and I have to admit that I have never been that guy. I was sort of the baby of the family, so I tended to be the least family oriented,” he said.
“But this tragedy did bring my sister and me a lot closer together and I spend a lot more time with my mother and other family members. And even my brother’s friends who are mourning seem to find comfort in my company. It’s all good; it’s all positive, and it’s just what it is.”
Crash Karma has always integrated songs from the catalogues of the various band members into their live shows, and Edwin said that will continue on this mini-tour.
“I think we will always do a tip of the hat to our former bands, or in the case of Jeff his other band. I don’t know if we’re going to dig too much into the deeper cuts, but we have done a few different cons from each of the bands. We always discuss that when the other guys show up as to what songs they want to do from their former bands. I mean, I can’t pick the Tea Party tune, we leave that up to Jeff,” he said.
“And actually the last time out we did an acoustic set and a couple of songs that we normally didn’t do. We did And You from my first solo album and we did 4 A.M. by Our Lady Peace and Heaven’s Coming Down from Tea Party.”
For more information on Crash Karma, visit the band’s page on Facebook or www.crashkarma.com.
For tickets to the Kingston show, visit the Merchant Tap itself at 8 Princess St., in downtown Kingston.
For the Ottawa show, go to http://www.mavericksbar.com/boxoffice.html.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
