Award-winning extreme rockers Leaving Eden have toured with all manner of artists and played some of the best festivals and venues in the world. We caught up with guitarist, bassist and vocalist Eric Gynan to see why he thought that his band is worth a listen…

So, who are you?

Hi! I’m Eric Gynan, co-founder of the band Leaving Eden! It’s my pleasure to talk to you today. By the way, I had a band called High Wired before I was in Leaving Eden…

Where are you from?

Boston, MA in the USA.

How long have you been together?

Leaving Eden has been around the block now for well over a decade. Lots of ups and downs but we always forge ahead!

How long have you been playing music?

Myself, I’ve been playing since I could walk. I started on an organ and moved on to guitar. I do play keys, guitar, bass, and drums, but my speciality is the guitar.

Why should people listen to your band?

Because it’s fresh, full of energy and best heard and seen live. Although a lot of our songs are heavy, we do play acoustic stuff and beats you can dance to. The production is really good, especially the last album and our new album soon to be released.

What is your ideal touring line-up?

We’ve been fortunate and humbled to have had the opportunities to share the stage with some of the greatest bands out there. Leaving Eden has toured the USA, UK, and 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, ZZTop, Puddle of Mudd, Korn, Killswitch Engage, Buckcherry (Jefferson Starship, Big Brother and The Holding Company, Country Joe, 10 Years After, 40th Anniversary Woodstock), Shinedown, Dropkick Murphy’s, Alice in Chains, Papa Roach, Bret Michaels, Halestorm, Theory of a Deadman, Avenged Sevenfold, Seether, Hell Yeah, Trapt, Dope, Soil, Fuel, Queensryche, Saving Abel, Hinder, Damage Plan, Sevendust, Sebastian Bach, SoulFly, Days of the New, NonPoint, DrowningPool, The Misfits, The Butcher Babies, Collective Soul, MushroomHead, Mudvayne, Chevelle, Godsmack, Powerman 5000, 10Years, 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 GUNS N’ ROSES, QUIET RIOT, W.A.S.P. Members, Steven Tyler, Ted Nugent, Lita Ford, LA Guns, Trixter, Warrant, Apocalyptic Review (featuring members of Godsmack), Adelitas Way, Scott Stapp (of Creed), Gemini Syndrome, Pop Evil, Ratt, Anthrax, Testament, Napalm Death… and many more. I would say we would love to tour with Fleetwood Mac. They fill arenas and have so many hits.

What does music mean to you?

Where music is considered the universal language, it means so much to me. It’s all based on vibrations. Just last week we were at a show and the speakers were hanging up top and we were outdoors. As the music was playing I looked up and saw a group of mosquitoes dancing around the speakers just right in front of them. It was probably 15 of them jamming to the music. Animals love music, I couldn’t tell you how many times my cat for instance just comes to hang out as soon as she hears the music. So it’s like everyone and everything catches “the vibes”. Music is there for you when you need it most. It’s the one thing that can help you at any time. It’s also a great means of communicating what you feel and saying what you want to say as a songwriter. For me, it’s really the only thing that makes me happy.

What was the first record you bought when you were younger?

I didn’t really have the money to buy records so I would record stuff off the radio. I would buy songbooks and learn as many songs as I possibly could.

What artists first inspired you to start playing music?

I was turned on to Black Sabbath at an early age and would just lay with my head next to the speakers as loud as possible. Probably not a good idea in retrospect. Then later, getting to share the stage with Black Sabbath (Heaven and Hell) and Ronnie James Dio before he passed away was quite surreal.

What’s the most aesthetically pleasing album cover that you have in your collection?

I think I’m going to go with our soon-to-be-released album, titled Descending. All our albums portray “EVE”, our lead vocalist. Descending has her descending with arms pointing up and hands trying to pull her down with an apocalyptic background.

What kind of movie genre do you think your music would best be the soundtrack for?

Good question. I think any movie with high energy or movies that require some good acoustic tunes.

Recommend us a record, a book, and a movie…

Well, I’m not a book reader. I read way too many in college. I got a couple of degrees so I vowed I would never read another book again. I like Five Finger Death Punch’s production. For movies, the older the better. I like the fact that there are no special effects, just good actors and good scripts. For newer movies, I like anything involving the supernatural.

Any last words for the readers of Highwire Magazine?

Sure! If it wasn’t for our friends, we’d be nothing so that we appreciate them so much! Here are some links for more info on Leaving Eden. Also with streaming platforms such as Spotify, people can listen to bands and every play the artist gets paid something, not much, but imagine if there were millions of plays a day. It’s one of the best ways to support any band while being entertained and it costs nothing to the listener unless they are paying for premium service. Have a great day and thanks very much! Peace…

WWW.LEAVINGEDEN.COM
FACEBOOK
YOUTUBE
INSTAGRAM
TWITTER
SPOTIFY