Edwin Forms Band With Ex-Members Of The Tea Party And Our Lady Peace

[The Pagemeister]

Edwin Forms Band With Ex-Members Of The Tea Party And Our Lady Peace

If you could mash three popular Canadian '90s radio-rock groups into one, which three would you choose? For many Can-rock fans, I Mother Earth, Our Lady Peace and The Tea Party (sorry Moist fans) might be at the top of that list.

If so, this is their lucky afternoon, because singer Edwin (IME), guitarist Mike Turner (OLP) and drummer Jeff Burrows (TP) have formed a yet-to-be-named group with Zygote bassist Amir Epstein. They'll release their first album this summer, and Edwin thanks his publicist for the hook-up:

"He sort of wrangled everybody together and at first we were all like, 'Hmm… well if he's doing it, then I'll do it.' So it all worked out in a funny sort of way. It wasn't premeditated for any lengthy period of time, it just sort of fell together. And so far we've been making some pretty cool music.

"Out of all the songs we recorded, we're going to probably end up having 15 to 20 songs at the end of the day. And I'm sure not all of them will be stellar songs, but I know we can find at least nine or 10 really great songs to put on the record."

Edwin (named "Canada's Sexiest Musician" in Chart's October 1997 issue) describes the new band's sound as energetic and aggressive, with heavy guitars, big drums and ripping vocals. It's basically a continuation of the music each member made in their former groups before Raine Maida and Jeff Martin became hypersensitive pussies.

Turner is producing the album, and our favourite skyboarding vocalist only has positive things to say about his meticulous approach. Though he warns the album won't be for everyone, Edwin believes that the bands' pre-existing fanbases will get just what they're hoping for. Still, he knows better than to count his gold records before they sell.

"At this point, we're all looking at it like a pet project. It's a priority for all of us right now, and we'll see how it goes. It could just be one of those cool moments in Canadian rock history, or it could explode... you never know."

If it explodes, Edwin will probably have to give up his bartending gig at Toronto's Tattoo Rock Parlour. Until then, he'll be trippin' around the Saturday night shift, where you can hit him up for drinks and annoy him with Brian Byrne-related comments. Just tip generously.