Her band, Weeping Tile, may have lost their Warner Music record deal, but they are reveling in their newfound freedom.
"It was a mutual decision," says Harmer, laughing out loud during a telephone interview from her home in Kingston. "We didn't really make them a lot of money."
Harmer says the three-year, two album relationship soured because the label was hoping for a more commercial pop sound.
And Weeping Tile was not able to do that. "For us (Warner) was a bit limiting. Now we are free."
Their last Warner album, Valentino, was not even released in the U.S. But Weeping Tile still spent a year touring across Canada (and a few U.S. stops) to promote it.
Last May, the touring took its toll, and the band returned to Kingston.
"We've been able in the last couple months to do some things locally," says Harmer.
"(We've done) a lot of small acoustic benefit shows. It's been really nice to be back in the community for a couple months and be off the road."
Now, after taking their much-deserved break, the band plans to start recording a new album.
The band has been working on some new songs and plan to start recording at Harmer's home sometime in August.
Of course, they will be doing it without the financial aid of their former label.
Although recording sessions can reach as high as $1,500 a day, Harmer says they will be doing it as cheaply as possible.
"It's inevitably going to cost money. And it's always good to know people with money that can front you some.
"But we're not planning to do a big elaborate rock-opera record. It's going to be pretty intimate."
Harmer plans to focus on mostly acoustic, country-based songs(in the style of old bluegrass and Johnny Cash, not "New Country").
"For this recording, we're going to set up on the back porch and get back to the basics."
She says the album will have more in common with the quartet's first release, eepee (which featured a different line-up), than their more recent rock-oriented albums.
Although she says she likes to "rock-out," Harmer also says it's nice to "hear yourself singing live without too much volume getting in the way."
To get their new material into the hands of their fans, Weeping Tile is even considering starting their own record label.
"That's a pretty huge commitment. But in Canada anyway, it is feasible," says Harmer.
"We've toured six times across the country. So we know how to distribute and market a record."
But before Weeping Tile gets too involved in the "unplugged" music making process, the band will exorcise their rock 'n roll demons at Saturday's Stardust Picnic.
"We have a pretty wide open horizon at this point. Whether we put this record out on our own label or look for a distribution or record deal elsewhere is still up in the air at this point.
"But it's exciting for us to have our options open."
