It's been a year of highs and lows for Emerson Drive.

You could say it's been a year of ups and downs for Emerson Drive, but that'd be a bit of an understatement.

After scoring a career high last year with their first No. 1 single -- the ballad Moments, in which a man is convinced not to kill himself -- the Alberta quintet was sidelined by a case of life imitating art.

In August, Emerson bassist Patrick Bourque quit the band. A month later, he committed suicide in his Montreal home.

"The irony of that song, and what we all went through back in September -- I still shake my head," Emerson frontman Brad Mates says. "It's like, now, instead of just being the band who plays that song about suicide, we have this story that proves we've been through it, too."

Mates and his bandmates have since been inundated with fans' stories of depression and loss. He says the feedback has helped validate the difficult decision to keep playing the song, despite its sensitive subject matter.

He's not the only one happy with that decision. After sweeping the major categories (group, single and video of the year) at the Canadian Country Music Awards and nabbing a Juno for country album of the year in 2006, the bandmates were nominated for their first Grammy, for best country performance by a group or duo, for Moments.

They might have a hard time making it to the ceremony, however. After their tour with Big & Rich -- which stops at MTS Centre next week -- they're playing a Caribbean cruise. And after that, there's the matter of a new album, which Mates says represents a "step up" from last year's Countrified.

"It really has been a roller-coaster year for us, so far. The highs have been the highest of highs, and the lows have been the lowest of lows."