The members of Cowboy Junkies are Holiday Inn people.

"...it puts more money in your pocket," said Margo Timmins, lead vocalist.

The run-of-the-mill choice of hotels illustrates the modesty of the band members, which, according to Timmins, is one of the reasons the band has been together for almost 25 years.

"Our goal in music was never to become famous," Timmins said. "That was something that never really interested us. Our main thing was playing music. Of course we would like to sell records, but if we don't, too bad, we'll still make music. And I think that's still our goal."

Music was never Timmins' original career choice. Out of six children in her family, Timmins was the shy one who stepped away from the spotlight.

"I have two very beautiful, beautiful sisters that from the age of two wanted to be models or movie stars, or something famous ... and I just wanted to make the beds with mom," she said. "I was not someone who was center of attention, I mean, even in the family, at family dinners, I'd be the one in the kitchen cooking and cleaning ... being onstage is not my place, I did not want that."

But that's not the way it turned out for Timmins. It was her brothers, Michael and Peter, who encouraged her to sing after their band before Cowboy Junkies dissolved. At first, Timmins was hesitant.

"I wouldn't sing in front of the boys, I'd only sing in front of Mike," she said. "And if I was really bad, he'd tell me. Because again, I didn't want Mike's music to get hurt, I knew how important it was. I guess I passed the audition.

"One thing leads to another thing and it all inspires something else and you begin to develop your sound. And it took me a very, very, very long time - long after Trinity Session - before I actually considered myself to be a singer.

Trinity Session is the band's sophomore album. It was recorded in Toronto's Church of the Holy Trinity with one microphone in one 14-hour session, and cost $250 to record. It is one of the Junkies' most notable albums and produced its best-known song, a haunting cover of the Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane."

"'Sweet Jane,' to us, is one of the ultimate pop songs. It's a pop song that can be done a gazillion different ways — even Lou Reed has covered it and recovered it — because it's a great little song and it can be done any way and work ... that way it doesn't feel like a cover, because of the nature of the song."

Originally released independently, Trinity Session was released in 1988, then picked up and redistributed by RCA after the album started getting serious buzz. From there, Cowboy Junkies started making headlines. The band was picked up by a major label, landed in magazines, and Timmins even made it onto People magazine's annual 50 Most Beautiful list, to which, Timmins calls "God's irony."

"My sisters were great, always," Timmins said. "Especially in those crazy days when I was in all those magazines and stuff. They were always supportive. Though, how they felt in their hearts, I'm sure there must have been times of envy — why wouldn't there have been? - but they love me and I love them, this just wasn't something I was doing to them, it was something happening to me."

Timmins recalls the times the band got so big that she had to check into hotel rooms under an alias.

"[RCA was] really pushing for us to act like stars - I don't know how to put it any other way - but sort of be aloof, untouchable, and they used to have all this security crap and I would have to book into a hotel with a different name ... I'm not Madonna, there aren't wacky people after me ... All of us really struggled against that."

In the late Nineties, Cowboy Junkies left the major labels and went back to its independent roots. Timmins says everyone has to work harder - she is currently in charge of making sure the band has enough merchandise - but the band has the creative freedom it has always valued.

"Our goal was always just about the music, and we've kept that forever. Even the times when we were on People Magazine, it was very important to us to protect the band, the four of us."

Part of that creative freedom comes in the form of its live shows.

"For us, playing live is the reward for everything else - it's the fun part of our job... Every night is different, we always mix up our sets ... and I think that's why a lot if people come back, because they know they're not going to get the same old show they got last year, or even last month, or even last night."