10 Questions with ... Kathleen Edwards

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Voyageur, the new record from acclaimed musician Kathleen Edwards, will be released January 17th on Zoe/Rounder/CMG. Produced by Edwards and Justin Vernon (Bon Iver). The 10-track album includes the driving "Change the Sheets," a track that feels both familiar and fresh. Voyageur is Edwards' first full-length album since 2008's acclaimed release, Asking For Flowers.

BAND LINEUP:

• Jim Bryson (guitar and keyboards)
• Gord Tough (guitars)
• John Dinsmore (bass)

DISCOGRAPHY

• 2003 Failer (Zoe/Rounder)
• 2005 Back to Me (Zoe/Rounder)
• 2008 Asking for Flowers (Zoe/Rounder)
• 2012 Voyageur (Zoe/Rounder)

1. What prompted you to want to have career in music?

Bad grades in high school and a love affair with songs

2. What have been some of the highlights in your career so far?

Getting to make a fourth record, singing with Willie Nelson, every hometown show.

3. Who/what are some of your biggest musical influences?

Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Tom Petty, Amiee Mann, Whiskeytown and Gillian Welch ... most recently, the Long Winters and The National.

4. Voyageur is a musical evolution for you. What happened to make you want to try something a bit different?

That it was time to make a record that was a better expression of all the musical influences I have, and to set myself apart from the work I've already done.

5. Tell us about the recording process for the new album.

That's a very, very long story ... like, a three-year answer. But picture someone trying to break a horse. And that horse is the record I made. It threw me off a lot before I finally got it right.

6. Where did most of the inspiration for your news songs come from?

Sex and geography (Canadian mostly).

7. Which songs are you most fond of on the new album?

I can't answer that openly because if another one of my songs saw that I was playing favorites, they'd be pretty hurt. Also, if I didn't like the song I probably wouldn't have put it on the record ... not playing favorites.

8. Tell us about your recent tour with Bon Iver. You played in their set as well as your own, right?

No I just opened. Great audiences. Tons of very young people who are passionate about really challenging music (meaning Bon Iver). It made me feel very optimistic about the music fans of the future.

9. Touring plans for the New Year?

Take a calendar, fill in as many cities as possible between now and the summer.

10. What advice would you give to young musicians just starting out?

People come, people go and careers swell and careers fade. Do it because it's the only thing that you can possibly imagine dedicating your life to and realize that it's a long, long journey. And tour buses aren't as great as Kid Rock makes them seem.

Tell us about the Canadian National Parks project you were involved with.

Let the video tell you.... www.nationalparksproject.ca