The true test of the quality of a band’s songs is whether or not they can hold up without production, studio wizardry, or other instrumentation aside from the staples of a guitar and voice–without the help of bass, drums, and racks of amplifiers, the best songs should still send chills down your spine and have the same effect on you when stripped down bare.

Eric Clarke, who fronts and plays guitar for Edmonton’s Red Hot Daggers–formerly known as LIME–shares this sentiment exactly. Clarke also shares the stage at "Unplugged on Jasper," a showcase of some of Edmonton’s most well-known frontmen–including Nano Uribe of Storyboard and Chris Ruddy of Drive By Punch–who are all stepping away from both their bandmates and their otherwise loud live settings to play quiet, intimate solo sets.

"The hardest part is dynamics," says Clarke, regarding the somewhat difficult transition from band to solo. "The way you arrange it is to have a song that works, even if it’s not so aggressive. A lot of it’s in the vocals; with the band, it’s a lot more throatier, now it’s more melodic."

Clarke has also explored the use of different chord arrangements to adapt to the new live setting: whereas he can depend on the bass to provide the low end when playing with his bands, playing solo is a different story. Clarke has been experimenting as of late, trying to find new ways to play old chords to make songs sound bigger with less instrumentation.

"You pick a chord, and there’s four ways to play that chord," Clarke says. "You have to ask yourself, ‘Which one can have the most open strings and make the song sound bigger than it is?’ This show is mostly me playing old songs, so I had to do a bit of re-arranging since I can’t rely on anyone else."

Clarke isn’t alone in his need to re-arrange and revitalize old material for this show; some of Edmonton’s finest and well-known songwriters will be in the same nervous position, trying out new ways to make old songs sound fresh. "I’ve played a few songs on my own," Clarke admits, albeit at parties or for friends. "But all the stuff I’m really used to playing is written for the band."

He smiles, before sharing what’s really on his mind. "It’s funny," he says. "The best–and worst–part about playing solo is that now I can’t depend on anyone else to ‘cover my mistakes.’"