Unless you were in a cave somewhere in the 1990's and early 2000's you know I Mother Earth, Our Lady Peace, and The Tea Party . Take three elements from those bands, add a crafty bassist, and you have Crash Karma. Comprised of singer Edwin (I Mother Earth), guitarist Mike Turner (Our Lady Peace), drummer Jeff Burrows (The Tea Party) and bassist Amir Epstein (Zygote).

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine caught up with Edwin in Toronto recently. Having just released their self-titled debut album, and we are told the band came together through some sly manoeuvring on the part of Epstein.

"Through a mutual friend of ours he met with me because he wanted to co-write some music with me. As we were talking he got this brainstorm of, wouldn't it be cool if we got Jeff Burrows from the Tea Party and Mike Turner from Our Lady Peace in a band? I was sitting there like, uhhh yeah, I don't think so. I thought it was kind of cool but didn't think it would come to fruition," Edwin explained.
"So Amir went to Jeff and told him Mike and I would be interested even though we hadn't confirmed. Then he told Mike that Jeff and I would be interested even though we had at no point confirmed that with him. Next thing you knew we were all sitting in Mike's studio facing each other going, so how did this happen? To make a long story short, we decided it was pretty sneaky of Amir, but now that we were all there why didn't we see what we could do?"

Once they got together, things seemed to come naturally.

"We had all enjoyed each other’s company that first meeting and thought, this could be kind of cool if we could come up with the right music. Amir had written some rough incomplete songs and he played them acoustically and we were nodding our heads and going I can get into this. We didn't have to jam for three weeks to come up with song ideas, because there was something we could sink our teeth into from the beginning, it eased us into working together. We weren't battling from the very first riff of what the song would be, it was we like this idea lets work on it. Before we knew it we were three songs into the recording process and we listened to it and went this could be kind of cool. Within that couple of weeks span we recorded 11 tracks of drums, before we finished writing the songs, and then we built the songs on top of the drum tracks we had."

It was a long process as the guys worked on the record when they could find time amidst other projects and jobs.

"It was a lot of work, about a year and a half in its process. We had no record company, we were doing it ourselves with some private money we got together. So it wasn't a 7 day a week job, we worked on it when we had time outside of our regular lives. It just snowballed, we enjoyed working together, there were no egos involved, everybody was very supportive of each other. We were all fans of each other’s previous projects, so we knew what we were getting involved with and we also were excited about it. I have always loved Jeff's drumming, every time I watched him play with the Tea Party I realized he was one of my favourite drummers in the country. To be in a band with him is amazing. Mike Turner's guitar flavourings, tasty licks and the great tones that he gets, I have always been a fan of that. Putting that together in one big stew, instead of outshining each other, it compliments it and next thing you know we have a Crash Karma record."

The first time the band played live was a new challenge for a number of reasons.

"We recorded the record and had never played together! We didn't even know if we could play the record. We had to go and learn it and get it tight and as good as it could be. Our first show was at Jeff's drum marathon. He had been playing for 23 hours straight by the time we got on stage so he was hallucinating by the time we got there. It was quite funny, but that was our first time and it felt really great. Since then we have had some pretty good shows, we've opened for Stone Temple Pilots and Puddle of Mudd, and done a handful of our own shows. Honestly, every show it gets better and better. We are really looking forward to this tour because we will be in a great groove and nail it every night hopefully."

The band has embarked on an extensive cross-Canada tour, which brings them to several Alberta spots including Cold Lake, Red Deer, & Grande Prairie. They play The Rusty Cage Central in Calgary on March 29th and Whisky Jacks at West Edmonton Mall on March 31st. Hitting the small markets and venues is important in growing a fan base, Edwin explained.

"This will be our first cross-Canada tour and we are pretty excited about it. I always wanted to hit what is called the secondary markets. I've discovered over the years that you can play your big markets, Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, etc. When you play, the secondary markets don't get to see bands very often they really appreciate it. They are not a jaded audience like in Toronto, who sees a million bands a year and stand there with their arms crossed going, ok impress me. When you go to places like Cold Lake, they are like, wow you came to our town! They come out and support you, appreciate that you thought of them to come play for, and they remember that over time. You'll come back in six months or a year or two and they will tell you about this show that they were at that meant so much. It is important when you are building a band to not forget the secondary markets. Sometimes it is just that there is a venue or a gig that pays well enough that the tour doesn't lose money. A lot of our population is in the secondary markets and it is good to show those fans that you appreciate them."

In their respective bands, each member has played every type of venue from arenas to clubs. The intimacy of being within inches of each other has a unique appeal to both artist and fan.

"It is fun to walk into a stadium or arena with 20,000 people there, I am never going to knock that. At the same time I like playing a bar as long as there are people there. If the bar is packed and there is a great energy and a buzz around the show, that is just as good to me. As long as there is energy in the room and an audience that is excited to see the band I am happy. It doesn't always have to be the greatest venue with the nicest dressing room. I just want to play for people that either we can win over who haven't heard the band, or play to the converted and just rock out with your fans."

When an artist goes solo or forms a new band, it often becomes a difficult balancing act. From an artist’s perspective, they are presenting a new and different side of themselves. Fans however still often want to hear the hits associated with their previous band. Edwin is confident that on this tour, Crash Karma will do well at balancing the two.

"We realize that going out and playing an hour’s worth of music that people haven't heard before, whether it's good or not, you are going to lose the audience at some point. We do have this great pedigree of hits between the three of us so we will give them some of that along the way. We infused a song from Our Lady Peace, I Mother Earth, and The Tea Party into the set to tip our hats to where we came from, and if any audience members don't realize who is on stage that may help them. It helps the show itself because you give the crowd the familiarity of the songs and gets them into the show more. It has been working very well."

Vocally, Edwin is very different from OLP's Raine Maida and The Tea Party's Jeff Martin, another interesting challenge in adding songs from those bands.

"We tried many different songs to see which ones we do best, because we do want to do the songs justice we don't want to hack them. Raine Maida's styling is very unique to him. It is hard for me to go and sing aye-e-aye-e-aye without sounding foolish or too much like I am trying to be somebody else. So I don't do those songs. We carefully picked songs that I can represent really well but not sound like I am trying to be the other guy. For the guitar playing, the IME stuff, Mike's got his work cut out for him but he has been rising to the challenge. Jeff in my opinion can play anything. The songs we chose are the ones that we feel we represent really well and sound really good."

Now in their 40's, touring presents a different challenge then when the band members first achieved success almost 20 years ago.

"Funny thing you should mention that. I went skiing the other day and I haven't been skiing in 20 years. I noticed that I am better now than I was 20 years ago, and I was pretty good 20 years ago. I don't know how I got better, it doesn't make any sense, but I did. I feel the same way about everything, physically I am probably in better shape than I was when I was 20. The only difference is the abuse that you take in the travelling, the bouncing around, the different bed every night, it takes its toll on your body. I do some yoga, stretch, and try not to swing from the rafters if I think I am going to fall. We are all still young enough to be as energetic as we want. I probably won't swing my head around as much because my neck can't handle it the way it could when I was 20, but other than that, the rest of it we feel pretty good."

Touring is not the only thing different. When I Mother Earth first broke through in 1991 there was a label bidding war for the band. How the music industry, especially in Canada, supports its artists has changed drastically in 20 years.

"With the internet, the whole entertainment business has changed. There was a time when IME was getting signed and in its heydey, record companys would always have a career plan, a three album plan. We are going to build the fanbase and tour, and by the third record we expect you'll be huge. Those days are gone. Now they want the one record off the top and if it doesn't reach the anticipation in the sales department you are pretty much shafted, the odds of getting a second record are slim and none. The companies used to just want the record, you could have your publishing, your live shows, your merchandise. Now the record companies want 360 deals where they want a piece of everything because nobody buys records. People are downloading them, getting them for free, etc. The money isn't there that used to be so they are trying to make up the revenue in other areas."
Financially it is more difficult for the artist as well.
"You used to get these huge signing bonuses that you could live off of for a year or two while your band is building its popularity. Now you are lucky if you get a few thousand dollars to pay the rent, and the first single better be good or you aren't going to get any more. The internet has changed everything. In some ways it is positive in terms of reaching people, crossing international borders, the mass people you can reach is a great tool. At the same time you are trying to sell something that people can get for free, that is really difficult."

The internet is not entirely a negative. The band utilized MySpace initially to start a buzz on the web, which has intensified as the album release approached.

"It has been a big influence. We put the MySpace up and threw some songs up there and there are a lot of hits on that site. A lot of people listen to the songs, we have a lot of comments and positive feedback, with the exception of people who are just bitter, which are few and far between. It has been a great tool for creating an awareness for this band. We didn't have a record deal and big machine behind us, we are doing everything ourselves. We each take our responsibilities with the band, whether it is Amir doing the MySpace, or Mike producing, etc, we all had our little responsibilities. It lets people know when and where the shows are gonna be. It is stuff a lot of bands do. It is nice that you have that tool and don't have to spend a lot of money to get that awareness out there. It has worked really well."

Their first single Awake has spent 14 weeks on the Top Ten Canadian Rock Chart. What is interesting is often times the hit single can turn into something hated by the singer.

"A lot of times the song that gets picked by the record company are not the ones you would have picked as an artist. It is because it is the catchiest or simplest, a commercial for the record. A lot of times it is the song you feel is the sell-out song, or the it doesn't show your skills song. You've had it in your head for a year and a half while making the record and lost all enthusiasm for that song, but that is the one that becomes the big hit. It is just murphy's law that you have to play it every night and everyone wants to hear it. You don't regret the song because it fuels your career and is a stepping stone to get you to the ultimate goal, so to speak. But you have to bite your tongue and grin and bear it because that is the song that people want to hear. It has happened that way for me in the past, and every artist that has had a few hits along the way has had that scenario. I don't know why it is that way."
Such is the case with Edwin's biggest solo hit, Alive from his 1999 album Another Spin Around The Sun .
"I liked Alive at first and then got over it. Then it became a big hit and I had to sing it every night. As much as I appreciated the song I did resent it quite a bit for a little phase there. That is my experience with it. I am not saying anything negative about it, it has been great for me and the fans were very supportive of [the song]. It isn't the song I would have picked, I argued with the record company and they won, obviously. I had to go out and sing the song every night and some nights I really didn't want to. It has worked out really well for me, so you know, bitter medicine."

When Crash Karma hits Calgary and Edmonton, expect to see in full effect, all the elements that made their past projects so awesome. Jeff Burrows is arguably one of Canada's greatest drummers, Mike Turner is an incredible guitarist, and Edwin has always had the ability to captivate and connect with fans as a front man. The whole new album, phenomenal in itself, will be performed live.

"I feed off the audience energy. I am a completely different person offstage then onstage. Well not completely, it's not a Marilyn Manson type transformation. In my mind I am a different person, I let myself go onstage to the point where I lose myself into the music, the energy in the room, and the eyes of the people in front of me. I feed off of that and it is a trade-off of energy. The crowd makes the show, I have always said that - the band is just the conductor of the show. If the crowd is into you and singing along it will push you from good to really good with your performance. We have this energy exchange so by the end of the night people walk out either singing the songs, or waking up and going wow that was a great show last night. That is the goal. There is no formula, I just lose myself in the music, [otherwise] I couldn't do it to be honest. ...I think that is why you have enjoyed the performances because I am really feeling it, not just going through the motions or phoning it in; I am there. You can expect to hear the whole new record and some songs from our previous bands, and [we will] put on the best show that we can. We are going to rock out with our fans and have a good time, get everyone singing along as much as possible."