Big business leaves a impure and putrid taste in countless mouths across the post-industrial revolution world. Whatever industry is brought to the table, there will be vocal dissenters (whether employees, customers, or stockholders) who see the unavoidable problems with Technicolor accuracy. As in any human institution, unavoidable problems arise in the business world; stocks plunge, mergers unwield their tools of change, and many workers are left to collect the crumbs falling from the table. The entertainment industry is no different from the other counterparts. Perhaps the largest change in the music industry happened with the Seagrams buyout of last year. Billboard and other publications reported on the buyout and indicated that several musical acts were without a home as Seagrams bought several of the world's largest record labels and did some housecleaning. Individual labels lost their own creative mark. The music world was forever changed.

Certainly the music industry has been on a rollercoaster of change since its inception. In the '50s, bands cut singles and put a B-side on them. Soon rock and roll musicians would be cutting complete albums. In the process of growing in size and stature, the collective wallet of the music industry turned obese. Today, that fat billfold still expands as companies find new ways to market music and develop successful advertising campaigns. Unfortunately, many artists on record company rosters fall through the cracks.

David Eugene Edwards of 16 Horsepower has ridden the record company roller coaster ride. A Denver music scene staple, 16 Horsepower found a home with now defunct media giant A&M Records, former home of such esteemed acts as Janet Jackson, Sheryl Crow, Supertramp, The Police and Styx. In 1995, A&M released Sackcloth 'n' Ashes, an album destined to change the sound of modern popular music. Combining elements of folk, country, rockabilly, and pop, dressed in a Violent Femmes/Tom Waits wardrobe, 16 Horsepower presented a sound and direction unlike anything that had the promotional push of a major record label behind it. Still, with the backing of A&M, Sackcloth 'n' Ashes failed to garner enough sales for the label to keep the band. So like many others artists, Edwards and bandmates Jean-Yves Tola, bassist Pascal Humbert and guitarist Steve Taylor, became the next victims of the record company roster X-Acto knife.

One relationship that seems to be lasting is the band's affiliation with Monterey Peninsula Artists, a booking organization known for their work with successful touring bands. While the band is without the funding and support of a large record company, they can rest assured that their concert scheduling is in capable hands.

'We work with a guy named Frank Riley (at Monterey Peninsula Artists) and he's a big fan of the band,' Edwards mentions. 'He does some really good things for us. Anytime we need to tour, in any part of the United States, he puts it together quickly and we usually play pretty good places. They've been great to us.'

Part of Frank Riley and Monterey Peninsula's work with the band involved a recent, short tour of the West Coast which the band recently completed. Edwards and band plan on touring again soon. Right now, they are concentrating on their new album, Secret South, which will be available in the U.S. this March on a yet-to-be-decided independent label.

'We did it on our own, which is something we hadn't done,' Edwards explains regarding the new record. 'We did a few singles and stuff like that by ourselves, but this is the first record we did on our own. We rented a lodge in the mountains in Blue River, Colo. and took all the equipment up there. We were there for about three and a half weeks. We just did it all ourselves with a guy named Bob Ferbrache who engineered it all. It was different recording in the lodge. It was fun. The lodge had a real '70s look. It had shag carpet and orange couches. There was just one main room with a kitchen off of it. We just used that room. It was fun just being there and living there, and just recording whenever you wanted to, not worrying about time or money either, which is always the case with studios.

'There was no producer. We like working with producers, but there's always stuff you don't end up doing that you want to do. This time we were able to do all the things that we wanted to do. We just made sure we were happy with everything. Each record we've done so far establishes a different sound. This one was no different. It's still undeniably 16 Horsepower.'

As on past material, 16 Horsepower employed the use of a wide, if unusual, variety of instruments.

'We used organ on this record,' Edwards says. 'We have some piano on it as well. Finally, there's different types of violins, like a different one called a nickel harp. It's kind of between a violin and a hurdy-gurdy. We also used cello and more percussion.'

With a new album, full of instruments not normally heard in mainstream music and their trademark, unique approach to music, 16 Horsepower is on their way to satisfying long-term fans and establishing new ones. The future looks good, and Edwards is content with whatever may come.

'I feel like God will do what he wants to with it, no matter what big plans we have for it. If he wants it to crash and burn for his purposes, then, good. I don't really care what happens. I'm not the business part of the band at all. Jean-Yves, the drummer, is pretty much the brains behind this band. He takes care of all of that. He's very intelligent and conscientious. He takes care of us well.'

While 16 Horsepower has Jean-Yves, many bands do not have someone watching their business interests so closely. Edwards has some pertinent advice for them.

'Hold on to as much of what you have as possible without having to give it away,' he recommends. 'The reason people give it away is because they get money in advance. You give away your publishing because publishing is going to give you a certain amount of dollars up front. If you're able to survive without doing that, and you do well, you'll do better because all the money is coming to you and not to them.'