Kathleen Edwards—the Canadian singer-songwriter who recently released the critically-acclaimed “Total Freedom,” her first album in eight years—discusses writing the new song, “Who Rescued Who,” and the dog it’s an elegy for: Redd.
This story includes recognizing her relationship with the Ontario-based golden retriever rescue, Golden Rescue, for which she had agreed to foster Redd. That became a glorious “foster fail,” he was a magical presence and mentor to another of her dogs, Penny, and while Redd is no longer with us, he’s immortalized in various ways, including the trailer adjacent to Edwards’ coffee house, Quitters, dispensing Redd’s Ice Cream. She recounts how the song was really a product of being urged by her producer to write a short, “feel good” song to complete “Total Freedom—and “Who Rescued Who” poured out of her quickly. We also touch on the inspiration for another new animal song of sorts, “Birds On A Feeder,” really 
more of a celebration of solitude, which prompted Edwards to share her joy in observing birds gather in her yard, and in some cases, flying by on a migration route—and displaying the expertise of an aspiring birder. More broadly, she shares the story of the confluence of factors that led her to set aside her music career and open Quitters, largely the by-product of being a longtime aficionado–seeking out a good cup of coffee each morning of all those tours–and having training as a barista from a stint working at Starbucks. She says she loves interacting with Quitters customers, and making their coffee drinks—even the intricate, kooky ones (provided there’s no pumpkin spice involved). Edwards explains that it was an inquiry from Maren Morris about collaborating on some songwriting, which she agreed to do and really enjoyed, that revitalized her interest in writing and making her own music. The result, ultimately, was “Total Freedom,” which she notes she’s looking forward to touring behind, when the time comes when conventional touring can be resumed. (https://www.kathleenedwards.com, https://www.instagram.com/kittythefool/, https://www.facebook.com/kathleenedwardsmusic)
ALSO: I spoke briefly with Clearwater photographer Carol Moorhead, who will be photographing local dogs for a forthcoming book, “Tails Of The Suncoast,” that will also serve as a fundraiser for Pet Pal Animal Shelter. Moorhead explained that each dog in the book will be featured in a double-page spread and story, and that she anticipates “Tails Of The Suncoast “ will present 40-50 pooches, noting about half of those slots are already spoken for. Owners who would like to add their dog to the book need to register and that when they pay the registration fee, half of it is earmarked to benefit Pet Pal. (https://www.dog-tog.com/book-registration, https://petpalanimalshelter.com)
COMEDY CORNER: Brian Simpson’s “Missing Pets” (https://www.instagram.com/bscomedian/?hl=en)
MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” Kathleen Edwards’ “Who Rescued Who,” instrumentals
NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Baha Men’s “Who Let The Dogs Out”
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