Interview: Leaving Eden

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today? Howdy, I am Eric Gynan co-founder of the rock band Leaving Eden Boston Massachusetts USA and nice to chat with you here. I can’t really imagine not being involved with music since I’ve been doing it since I could walk. I would probably be involved with movies videos etc.  at home we always had A keyboard so I would play that every day literally since I could walk. One thing led to another and I learned how to play the drums bass guitar and sing. Been doing it for a long time.  What do you like to do when you're not playing music and how does that influence your creativity? As one could imagine A band takes up so much time not just rehearsing or practicing but all the other stuff that goes into it from management to videos to websites social media in establishing contacts around the world. I guess I put my all into it but I’ll be relaxing with friends when I get the chance.  How long has your band been around? Leaving Eden has been around well over 10 years. Leaving Eden has toured the USA, UK & Canada sharing the stage with hundreds of the biggest national bands in the world including; Lacuna Coil, In This Moment, Black Sabbath (Heaven & Hell), Ronnie James Dio, Rob Zombie, Five Finger Death Punch, Disturbed, Marilyn Manson, Alice Cooper, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, Puddle Of Mudd, Korn, Killswitch Engage, Buckcherry, Jefferson Starship, Big Brother and The Holding Company, Country Joe, 10 Years After (40th Anniversary of Woodstock), Shinedown, Dropkick Murphy's, Alice In Chains, Papa Roach, Bret Michaels, Halestorm, Theory Of A Deadman, Avenged Sevenfold, Seether, HELLYEAH, Trapt, Dope, Soil, Fuel, Queensryche, Saving Abel, Hinder, Damage Plan, Sevendust, Sebastian Bach, Soulfly, Days Of The New, Nonpoint, Drowning Pool, The Misfits, The Butcher   Babies, Collective Soul, Mushroomhead, Mudvayne, Chevelle, Godsmack, Powerman 5000, 10 Years, Taproot, Gin Blossoms, Michael Schenker (UFO, MSG & The Scorpions) Herman Rarebell (The Scorpions), Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden), Kittie, One Eyed Doll, Uncle Kracker, Tremonti (Creed/Alterbridge) Lamb Of God, Slayer, Stone Sour, Motorhead, Blackstone Cherry, Hookers & Blow (featuring members of Guns ‘N' Roses, Quiet Riot, W.A.S.P.), Steven Tyler, Ted Nugent, Lita Ford, LA Guns, Trixter, Warrant, Apocalyptic Review (featuring members of Godsmack), Adelitas Way, Scott Stapp (the voice of Creed), Gemini Syndrome, Pop Evil, Ratt, Anthrax, Testament, Napalm Death, Nickleback, Skillet & many more. Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music? We are in New England USA I used to live in Boston and could see every Red Sox game from my apartment. I absolutely love the city. I think maybe the Boston attitude is reflected but our influence really comes in to play globally.  How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you. I get asked this question a lot and really looking at this whole planet as a garden of Eden being corrupt and full of deceit wouldn’t it be nice to go somewhere else. Now they talk about the general public going in the space on crafts. Funny.   Tell me about the best and worst shows you have played.  With the list above we’ve played many concerts so it’s so hard to pinpoint the best show. I think being able to play with Ronnie James Dio or dime bag before they passed is something that obviously could never happen again. I remember playing one show in the middle of the cold winter here in New England it was stormy out and I think two people showed up. We probably should’ve canceled but what a blast we had. There are some rock stars that are absolutely the coolest and so down to earth and then there are the jerks. Most are pretty cool though.  Tell me about your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you haven't already? There’s a lot of those as well. I like the casino ballroom in Hampton Beach New Hampshire because bands like Led Zeppelin Janis Joplin played there and the staff is all so cool and they know us well and treat us great. Would love to play Wembley!! If you could play any show with any lineup who would be on the ticket? I’d love to play with Kiss, not because I love them as musicians but because of their theatrics and larger than life persona.  What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band? Practice lots, many hours every day. Get out of the basement. Our motto is and has always been we will play anywhere anyhow anyways so long as we can. That has helped get us to where we are now. Take the gigs, don’t worry so much about the money. Don’t set your expectations to high, you may be dissatisfied. Be happy doing what you're doing.  If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be? Great question!  I would say definitely where to put my dollars. Lots of money wasted on other people who say they will do something and never come through, unfortunately. Lots of people like that in business.  Of your songs which one means the most to you and why? We have a song called carved in stone it is off of our between heaven and hell album. Not only do I like the music and the arrangement but it was written with my good friend in mind who is the head of our security and he passed away. If all a man has left to leave behind in this forgotten place is his name that lasts longer carved in stone than the memory of his face.  Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most? I always enjoy playing our new songs that come out on any given new album. I love playing our song passion and pain because it’s heavy. I enjoy playing the song tied and bound from our tied and bound album. I also enjoyed playing our self-titled song Leaving Eden which we get lots of requests for. We get lots of requests for the song hunting as well which we play often.  What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music? I try and get myself into a semi meditative state and try and connect with the universe. Just listening to what’s going on in your mind helps to Tap in. Sometimes I’ll be awakened by a song that’s completely produced in my minds eye. All I have to do is transfer it to a recording. I do get inspired by simple things like somebody mentioning something and I think that that’s a great concept so I’ll write a song.   What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music? Our music is based on reality could have something to do with myself or others around me or the world that we live in. Lots of it represents the struggle between good and evil. Life is not always blue skies sometimes we have to sail through  “Skies of a grey” one of our songs.  Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them? Sure, we discuss things, I always get everybody’s opinion on big decisions. I try and get everybody’s input. The key to any relationship is effective communication and mutual respect.  What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that's coming up? We have just released our newest album “The Agony of Affliction” released by Dark Star Records/Sony. The song will be in Massimiliano Cerchi’s movie Lockdown starring Michael Pare (The Philadelphia Experiment,  Eddie and the Cruisers).

Watch the Lyric video The Agony of Affliction:

We are excited about this new album not only because of the production value but the entire album will also be featured in a new fake reality comedy movie titled “The Nitwit”

Watch the teaser trailer For THE NITWIT MOVIE

Originally I had written this 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 Ray Van Blarcom and Matt Moody “production crew” 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. 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 then he also brought in Jordan Smith as his costar and the rest is history. We expect the movie to be released in 2020 by SGL Entertainment. For More Info on Leaving Eden goto: https://www.leavingeden.com