The new venue didn't quite seem fit for a rock concert, nevertheless the band performed well. The sold out show drew an intense crowd into the mosh pit. Midway through their set, lead vocalist, Edwin apologized for his scratchy voice due to a recent cold. The guitar rifts of Jagori Tanna along with the complex rhythm of drummer/lyricist, Christian Tanna levitated the audience. Bassist Bruce Gorden performed the melodic grooves that further completed the distinctive I Mother Earth sound.
The band entertained the audience featuring songs from both their albums, "Dig" and "Scenery and Fish". A cover of U2's "Exit" complimented their encore which was followed by an extended version of "Rain Will Fall".
I Mother Earth is currently enjoying waves of success and is performing to growing audiences south of the border.
The Hamilton Spectator
Nick Krewen
October 3, 1996
However, he'll make an exception for the MuchMusic Award for Favourite Band Of The Year the band recently captured for its video One More Astronaut, taken from their current album Scenery And Fish.
"That one does mean something," says Edwin recently from his Toronto home. "It's a people's choice award, and we were elated that it was actually voted on by the fans. That's who we do this for, not a panel of judges locked away in some dark room."
The band was also awarded the MuchMusic Multimedia award for the enhanced CD portion of Scenery And Fish, and the 31-year-old Edwin figures I Mother Earth should reap the benefits of the wins over the next few weeks as it headlines a cross-Canada tour with Stabbing Westward.
"The exposure will hopefully encourage a few people to check out our shows. Once we get them in the building, we'll take care of it from there."
It seems I Mother Earth has had little problem in the past of attracting the attention of the masses. Co-founded and consisting of Edwin, the Hamilton-born brother combo Jagori and Christian Tanna respectively on guitars and drums, and bassist Bruce Gordon, I Mother Earth's winning mixture of heavily-textured rock and percussion-heavy instrumental passages has struck domestic platinum with their debut album Dig, while Scenery And Fish has sailed past gold and is well on its way to similar sales levels.
Formed in 1992, the band was co-signed by record company EMI's U.S. and Canadian arms with a few demos under its belt and even fewer gigs.
"It happened quicker than we expected it to. We made the demo tape, it caught fire and pumped us with sunshine."
The band took a year to write and produce Dig, but came into the Scenery And Fish sessions with two years of road experience and no finished songs.
"We were worried about starting from scratch and working to deadline," he admits. "And we were really concerned about writing a great album."
Happily complicating matters for Edwin was an offer from Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson to participate in his solo project, Victor. Those sessions coincided with I Mother Earth's pre-production schedule, resulting in gruelling eight-hour vocal sessions for Edwin. But he wouldn't have missed it for the world.
"That was a dream come true. Having someone in Rush thinking enough of your talent to ask you to be involved was great.
"I was only supposed to sing one song, but Alex liked everything so much that it turned out to be six. That really gave me a lot of confidence."
Edwin feels that the heavy concentration of work improved his performance on Scenery And Fish.
"I wanted to be more of a singer than a screamer for this album. I found that I wasn't labouring so much, and that for the Victor album, I'd get it in the first few takes, which had never happened to me before. It took me to a whole new realm."