The last two years haven’t been easy for Adam Kavanagh.

The Eppiphane singer-guitarist spent much of the time in his basement, grieving the loss of his bandmate and friend, Craig Cameron, who died suddenly in November 2006 in the midst of the band's tour.

Cameron, the lead guitarist, fell into a coma and died shortly after with an inoperable brain tumor.

“For a while I was scared of everything,” said Kavanagh.

“I was just sort of messed up. I got nervous when my parents went on an anniversary trip. They didn’t go far, but I was still worried the whole time.”

“There was the initial shock but I hadn’t felt it yet, not until after,” said Kavanagh. “It’s almost like you have this adrenaline rush that goes through you and you’re able to take care of what you need to. As soon as things slowed down, I had time to think about it.”

It took Kavanagh two years to get his life back on track.

“I think I’ve accepted it a little bit more,” he said. “I’m still recovering from it . . . but I think I’ve had enough time to feel sorry for myself and be scared.”

After a period of reflection and recovery, Kavanagh and Eppiphane are back with a comeback show at Capital Music Hall on Dec. 5.

Tickets for the 19-plus show are available at Ticketmaster.ca.

“In hindsight, after two years, it’s almost like starting over again,” said Kavanagh on re-forming the band.

The new lineup consists of longtime members Kavanagh and Alex Mastronardi (bass) paired with newcomers Andre Doucette (lead guitar), Eric Disero (keys, back-up vocals) and Dylan Roberts (drums).

"I’m really excited about the new band," said Kavanagh. “We have a little bit more edge and our ballads have a bit more feeling. We’re just a bit more rounded.”

EPPIPHANE DOT COM

Overcoming the death of a friend is hard enough, said Kavanagh, try finding his replacement in a band.

“We really wanted to keep going in his name,” said Kavanagh, “but it’s hard to replace someone when they never really quit.

“He was the butter; he was the gravy.”

Despite their best efforts, the band fell apart shortly after their tribute show to honour the guitarist's life.

“We tried so many times to put the band back together but we didn’t really try,” he said. “I wasn’t ready.”

Kavanagh and Mastronardi have decided to again give it their all, setting a timeline of 13 years to “make it” before throwing in the towel.

“We have something we think is great and if we didn’t try, we’d always regret it,” said Kavanagh.

Rebuilding the band wasn't easy, he said, first struggling with a rocky roster and then website issues.

Shortly after Cameron’s death, the band stopped paying for its website (www.eppiphane.com).

When Kavanagh tried to buy it back this year, in preparation of the band's rebirth, he found someone else already owned it and wanted a lot of money for it.

“They wanted $1,500,” he said. “I tried to tell them 'Do you know what we've been through?'”

There’s no way anyone would legitimately want the domain for any other reason than to make money, he said, since Eppiphane is a word he made up – which has since come to ironically mean “really fake,” the rough definition in Latin.

For now, until Kavanagh can work out a deal with the website's owner, visit the band at www.eppiphanemusic.com.