Leaving Eden Lineup: Eve Lead Vocals, Alyssa Bailey White Keys and Vocals, Jake Gynan Drums, Eric Gynan Guitars and Vocals, Rich Chouinard Bass and Vocals
Can you start by stating your name, roll
in the band, and the last person you texted?
Hi, I’m Eric Gynan, Cofounder of the Rock band
Leaving Eden from New England USA.
Last person I texted was Gerg from https://www.indiesceneradio.com/index.html
What do you think separates you guys
from other bands?
I think the songwriting is different as far as
lyrical and musical value goes. The live show is full of energy and a unique
connection with the crowd. I also think
that much experience playing many huge concerts gives us more tools which help
to improve our craft over the years.
For those who have never heard you guys,
how would you describe your sound?
I consider Leaving Eden a multi Genre band
branded in Rock/Metal, we also have folk, pop, alternative, progressive music
that really tends to blend paired with lots of energy and a connection to the
crowd. I always say Leaving Eden is best seen and heard live. Eve has a way
with people that is intriguing. Lots of melody/harmony with hooks and lyrics
that are based on reality to a certain extent.
How did you guys come up with the band
name?
This whole planet is like the garden of Eden
so to speak but now it’s corrupt and full of deceit and wouldn’t it be nice
just to get away for awhile somewhere else?
I look at us like being in a fishbowl we can’t get out but we can see
there’s a lot out there that we'll never be able to touch.
How did you guys meet?
Myself, Eve and Rick were in a band previous
to leaving Eden. Alyssa was at a gig and she wanted to play keys for us. The
drum slot became available and Jake asked for it. I think every member of
Leaving Eden are really top-notch musicians.
Do you remember the first show you ever
played? What happened
Well I was a Youngin. It was at a place called the rocky club in
Lawrence Massachusetts. I mean we played parties and stuff like that before
this but 300 people came and we kicked some ass!
Are you guys working on any new releases? If
so can you tell me about it?
Leaving
Eden New Album - Dream With Me
Photo
by Mark Weiss
Dream With Me is Leaving Eden’s 7th Album to
be released world wide and distributed by Dark Star
Records/Sony/Universal.
Inside
artwork - Find hints of song titles
Photo
by Mark Weiss
Myself and friend Dana Anderson brainstormed
Album art concepts agreeing on having all the titles to the songs kind of being
hidden in plain site throughout the Album Art.
It's fun, some stuff is blatant, but some stuff is a little more
difficult to pinpoint. It’s a very good
reason to buy the CD instead of just streaming the music or downloading
it. To
me, having the physical Cd in hand gives the listener more of a
connection to Leaving Eden and when you come to a show, you get it signed by the
whole band, a cool memento so to speak.
Song
list
Photo
by Dan Johnson
Dream
With Me Official Video
(in a
time of the CoronaVirus)
By
Leaving Eden
House
of the Rising Sun Official Video
By
Leaving Eden
How has your sound evolved and what inspired
this new album?
One hopes that each new album builds upon the
last. Dream With Me is a rock album. I think as we connect more and more with
the universe so to speak, the stream of information is more clear. Crafting the song writing process becomes
more efficient. Also in this album Alyssa and I co-wrote the title track “Dream
With Me”.
Can you describe what went into the making of
this new album?
In this album we got the best of both worlds,
where again like our last 2 Albums, we were able to take all the time necessary
to record and produce “Dream With Me” in Leaving Eden’s Studio. But then, to
have One of the best Rock Engineers in the world as far as I’m concerned,
Grammy Award Winning Engineer Johnny K. (Disturbed, Staind, Finger Eleven, 3
Doors Down, Megadeath, Sevendust, Plain White T’s, POP Evil, Trapt, Drowning
Pool, Alien Ant Farm, and many more) for Final Mix and Mastering is my dream
scenario! I love working With Johnny,
he’s a genuine connoisseur of great music with so much talent, it’s such a
pleasure to call him my friend. We’ve worked together on other albums but this
one, to have the freedom to dig deep and experiment with my own unique
recording techniques and then to have Johnny put his final touches on it was a
real treat!”
What is one song that you wish you had
written?
The Boxer by Simon and Garfunkel. Love the
melody, love the harmony, love the music and most of all love the vibe of the
lyrics.
If you could be anyone, who would you be?
Tough question because why would you ever want
to be anybody else but yourself? That
just opens a whole door to what self value really means. It’s so funny because
in a time of the coronavirus, you kind of see a leveling of the playing field
in terms of how these superstars are just like me, they live just like me. I learned that a long time ago but some
people have not and they end up worshiping these people who are only human
after all. So if I may, I wouldn’t want
to be anybody by myself.
What is the craziest thing you’ve seen while
on stage?
Hmmm… I can’t think of anything crazy. I’ve
seen the topless stuff.
What do you love, and what do you hate, most
about being in a band and playing shows?
Music is my life and performing live is one of
the rewards. I get to travel and see places that I’ve never possibly would’ve
seen, meet people that I never possibly would’ve met and some of these people
have become my really close friends. I love writing and recording, the final
product. What I dislike is a lot of snakes in the business. Also, when
traveling it can get monotonous. Lots of hours just driving.
What's the largest show you have ever played?
Photo
by Dana Anderson
Well, hard to say considering Leaving Eden has
toured the USA, UK & Canada sharing the stage with hundreds of the biggest
national bands in the world including; 10 Years, 10 Years After (Woodstock
Reunion), Adelitas Way, Alice Cooper, Alice In Chains, Anthrax, Apocalyptic
Review (featuring members of Godsmack), Avenged Sevenfold, Big Brother and The
Holding Company (Woodstock Reunion), Black Sabbath (Heaven & Hell),
Blackstone Cherry, Bret Michaels, Buckcherry, Chevelle, Collective Soul,
Country Joe (Woodstock Reunion), Damage Plan, (Featuring Dimebag & Vinnie
Paul) Days Of The New, Disturbed, Dope, Dropkick Murphy's, Drowning Pool, Five
Finger Death Punch, Fuel, Gemini
Syndrome, Gin Blossoms, Godsmack, Halestorm, HELLYEAH, Herman Rarebell (The
Scorpions), Hinder, Hookers & Blow (featuring members of Guns ‘N' Roses,
Quiet Riot, W.A.S.P.), In This Moment, Jefferson Starship (Woodstock Reunion),
Killswitch Engage, Kittie, Korn, Lacuna Coil, LA Guns, Lamb Of God, Lita
Ford, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Marilyn Manson,
Michael Schenker (UFO, MSG & The Scorpions) Motorhead, Mudvayne,
Mushroomhead, Napalm Death, Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden), Nonpoint, One Eyed Doll, Papa Roach, Pop
Evil, Powerman 5000, Puddle Of Mudd, Queensryche, Ratt, Rob Zombie, Ronnie
James Dio, Saliva, Saving Abel, Scott Stapp (the voice of Creed), Sebastian
Bach, Seether, Sevendust, Shinedown, Slayer, Soil, Soulfly, Steven Tyler, Stone
Sour, Taproot, Ted Nugent, Testament, The Butcher Babies, The Misfits, Theory
Of A Deadman, Trapt, Tremonti (Creed/Alterbridge), Trixter, Uncle Kracker,
Warrant, ZZ Top, Nickelback, Skillet & many more
But I would say 20,000 people.
what goes into getting ready for a show for
you guys?
I guess the normal stuff, showing shaving when
you can on the road. Sometimes we might rehearse on the road acoustically while
we’re driving. The girls of course do the hair and make up. We set up our own
equipment so we’d like to get that done as early as possible with a sound check
so that we can chill out and relax maybe have a drink at the bar eat some food.
What is one inside joke your band has?
Well we were in Sturges, USA and basically out
in the desert. We had a tent set up and there was an area where you could
shower. So I showered and I came out in a towel. Eve had asked me to do
something but I was still wet and my balls were wet so I said “but my balls”.
Everybody laughed and since then, that has still stuck and every time
somebody’s asked to do something the response is “but my balls”.
Looking at how far you’ve come, how does that
make you feel, and where do you expect to be in 5 years?
Well I am a voting member of the Grammys so it
would be great to get a Grammy but other than that just wanna continue playing,
recording and touring. All of our dates are canceled right now due to the
coronavirus so I’ve been recording and writing.
What first made you wanna get into music?
What advice would you give to someone who is
thinking about joining their first band?
You would think it’s obvious but practice a
lot. I didn’t just wake up one day and become a musician overnight. We’re
talking about hours upon hours every day for years and years alone. I guess
what I’m saying is some people think that they can get away with less work and
more benefit but it just doesn’t happen that way. Also, be respectful to
everybody you meet because if you are successful coming back down the ladder
you’re going to see those same people. Watch out for the snakes do your
research. Finally get out there and play as much as you can. We have a motto
and that is that we will play anywhere, anyhow, anyway, so long as we can. You
never know who you might meet or what connection you may find playing some
shitty show far away from home, with no pay. I’ve had a lot of those. I’ve also
had a lot of success with some of those shows so stay humble and put everything
you got into it. One of the biggest problems I see is sure shoot as high as you
can but be happy with where you are and what you’ve got now. A frustrated
musician has a frustrated life. I live in the moment and am grateful for each
and every show we get to play.
If you could go back 10 years and give
yourself a message, what would it be?
Buy Amazon stock? Probably, I would let myself know who the
snakes in the business are and to avoid them.
If you had to quit your band tomorrow, what
would you remember first, and how would you describe the experience?
I’m not sure if I totally understand the
question however, I think the experience of quitting the band would be
terrible. As I said, music is my life. And I mean that, it’s not just words but
I decided a long time ago that this is what I am about. You decide what you’re
going to do in life and you do it. Try as hard as you can to make sure you’re
happy doing it, otherwise you’re not doing the right thing. I would remember
all the concerts that I played and all the fun that was had.
If you could press the delete button on any
one thing, what would it be?
Again it goes back to those snakes. There’s
certain people that I paid good money to that didn’t earn it. You try to have
faith in people, and you try to believe in what they have to sell. You put your
best foot forward and you trust. When you get screwed it hurts. I’ve learned to
accept it as a lesson and move on.
What advice would you give to someone who’s
suffering from anxiety or depression?
Hey they say that weed helps, I don’t
know. I know that meditation works for
anything like that. Self awareness brought to light. I think a lot of people
have seen that with this whole coronavirus those little problem seemed to just
disappear and didn’t really make much sense. Worry about the big things and
don’t sweat the small things. As the French say, c’est la vie, such is life.
What advice would you give to a fan who says
they're being bullied?
Try to outsmart the villain by effectively
communicating with them. Defend yourself if need be. If you don’t know how to
defend yourself, learn to.
How's the music scene in your area?
I’m close to Boston Massachusetts, USA and
regionally speaking I think the scene is great. We are booked through November
however all gigs are canceled currently. But yeah man lots of people go out and
I think when this all gets better, it may be slow but I think that people are
gonna want to go out and let their hair down. Cabin fever.
Favorite songs to play?
For our songs, the self titled Leaving Eden
song is fun. I enjoy playing the song
Haunting, Passion and Pain and Out if the Ashes. We do play some Number one hit
songs like Whole Lotta Love by Zeppelin, some Hendrix, even some Fleetwood Mac.
Are you guys planning any events?
Tracks from Leaving Eden albums will be
featured in Massimiliano Cerchi’s movies: Painkiller, Mayday, Lockdown and
Penthouse starring Michael Pare (The Philadelphia Experiment, Eddie and the Cruisers). And Bloodthirst.
“We are excited about this new album also,
because the entire album and lots of tunes from our previous albums will also
be featured in a new fake reality comedy movie titled “The Nitwit”
Watch the teaser trailer For THE NITWIT MOVIE
Website:
Originally I had written The Nitwit movie
script loosely based on real life events with the intention of having Leaving
Eden’s music throughout the movie and procuring other pros to make the movie.
Where Leaving Eden has been involved with having our music placed in different
movies and TV series this simply made sense. While in Iowa after wrapping up on
a shoot I sat down with Nitwit Movie Producer, Ray Van Blarcom and Actor, Matt
Moody over a scotch and threw the script down on the table. They started
reading it, thought it was hilarious so we decided let’s make the movie. For me
being the director of several music videos it was a very simple transition to
direct The Nitwit Movie. Finally, I was intrigued by Matt Moody’s experience
not only in production but as an actor. Ironically Matt fit the leading role as
The Nitwit perfectly. He then brought in
Jordan Smith as his costar and Nitwit Movie Producer, Fran Huges, the rest is
history. We expect the movie to be released in 2020 by SGL Entertainment. Many concerts have been scheduled so we’re
hoping that things start to shape up around here. Being isolated during the
coronavirus is a very tough thing for most people so we definitely do wish for
everyone’s safety.
Are there any other releases that fans should
check out?
Any cool Merc fans should check out?
Leaving Eden Facegear.
Closing
Any bands you wanna give a shout out too?
There’s so many cool vans out there man way
too many to list.
And you can close by saying whatever you want,
I'll add links to spotify bandcamp ect.?
Please see https://leavingeden.com
For all information regarding Leaving Eden
It has been great chatting here and I wish you
health and safety.
