I landed in Rwanda late in the evening not knowing what to expect. It was dark and the fatigue from the flight subdued me temporarily. Within moments of taking my first breath I felt excitement and sleep became the last thing on my mind. I settled into my room and shuffled a bit in bed. When I woke up I looked out my bedroom window to see the most beautiful sight of a city called Kigali. A city built into a thousand rolling hills, bright green trees and grass contrasted by warm red soil. The sky was covered in graceful hawks and a slow stir of people shifted the mountain mist.

I truly was not expecting such beauty and it changed my whole perspective. My personal purpose in Rwanda was to take on a new experience, meet new people and show a positive side of a Country torn by Genocide just fifteen years ago. The group that put the whole trip together is called Song For Africa and it should be noted now that my experience would not have been as rewarding without every person involved. Please check out songforafrica.com.

We visited a memorial our first day, which opened my eyes to the brutality of what had happened and we had a personal look into the experience from our guide. It shook me up quite a bit and set a tone for the rest of the trip. You may think it was a negative feeling but on the contrary it showed me a hope for this country and I got the impression of strength within the inhabitants. The most overwhelming thing I experienced was a feeling of safety and friendliness everywhere we went.

The biggest feeling I could fail to describe was our trips to the country. We were greeted at every turn with excited children, curious teenagers and educated and hard working families. I never saw a hint of what I expected to. I thought I would see so much sadness and despair. I saw nothing that made me feel that things were not okay. So many people we met have made huge strides in creating economies that are based around helping communities as opposed to individuals. I felt we could all take a lesson from the way these communities worked for themselves and for each other.

Now I did hear some incredible stories of woe and at times it was hard to believe the person who had such horrifying experiences was standing right in front of me. I could see sadness in their eyes and it reflected back in mine. Where I saw strength was in the fact that each one of them had the power to stand up and tell their story, not only for us, but also for our camera crew and in front of the whole community. That to me is real strength, when you can share and relive your deepest hurtful feelings so others can gain perspective on the brutal reality. These people opened up their lives to us and for that I would be forever grateful. I wanted to feel sad but I could only feel proud and happy for where they were now. I guess the greatest thing to take from that is how resilient people can be and how important it is for everyone, everywhere to have a consciousness about what goes on in the world and make sure as people we never let another genocide happen again.

Through our trip we were blessed with many musicians who came into our studio and worked with us to create a cross genre album of all different styles of music. From traditional Rwandan groups to solo singers, hip-hop artists and even a choir graced us both in our music video and on the album. Also working closely with Dav Doyle, Sarah Slean, David Bottrill and Steve Bays was a humbling but gratifying experience. Some of my favorite moments came from us sitting and talking about what we experienced in Rwanda but as people from the same part of the world. Like I said one of my goals was to meet new people and I would call each one of them my friend.

On the final day we visited a site where over 55,000 people were killed. Up to this point I had a perspective on things. When I was sixteen I visited Auschwitz, the holocaust memorial site in Germany. As it has been so long I forgot how viscous and deliberate people could be. All of those feelings of anger and hate came back into my life. Seeing the skulls of so many laid out in front of you with clear markings of the tools that lay beside them will give you a chill that never quite goes away. I felt sick and really just so mad! As I tried to get my bearings we went on a tour of mass graves. Here is where I heard men tell me real stories of surviving the genocide, watching their families die in front of them, helpless. The sounds and sites were unimaginable. Then a single translation came from our guide. The only way to move and recover is to forgive and move on but never forget. These words made me feel so selfish and spun me into an emotional ride that I will be on for some time. How could I, someone who heard these stories of terror have so much hate and a person who lived and breathed a genocide of his own family have forgiveness in his heart. The only answer is strength, power and resilience. That is the main reason why I left with a positive feeling, the simple words, “lets forgive, move on but never forget”.

As I adapt back to my life here in Canada I realize it is so different here and not necessarily fair to compare but in my own personal life I will never be the same. Thanks for reading about my experience and I hope when the album we recorded gets released you find a way to it. All money made from this venture will go to Song For Africa and the Rwandan musicians who worked with us. Until the next life changing experience…

Tim Edwards – Crash Parallel

Live’N Loud sits down with Crash Parallel vocalist Tim Edwards and pianist Rob Bezanson, to their second full length album, upcoming tours and more.

In the interview, Tim enthusiastically speaks about pianist, songwriter and their newest member, Rob, who gave the band an entirely new sound. Tim and Rob also discuss ‘Sunset in Reverse’, its themes, sound and release date and, on a more sentimental note, the band’s involvement with the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Welcome to the newly redesigned Crash Parallel website! To celebrate their upcoming release 'Sunset In Reverse', we're bringing you the one-stop destination for all things Crash Parallel.

Check out the videos page to watch "Changing The Weather" or catch some exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, find out where to purchase their new "Changing The Weather" single on the music page, or download some wallpapers at the extras page.

After recently completing an extensive tour of over 160 dates, Crash Parallel is set to hit the road again in October, this time with Collective Soul!

Tour Dates:
Oct 7th - Montreal - Club Soda
Oct 9th - Toronto - Phoenix Concert Theatre
Oct 11th - Thunder Bay - Thunder Bay Community Hall
Oct 12th - Winnipeg - Burton Cummings Theatre
Oct 16th - Saskatoon - Saskatoon Prairieland Exhibition
Oct 19th - Calgary - Flames Central
Oct 20th - Medicine Hat - Cypress Center
Oct 22nd - Kamloops - Interior Savings Center