MIRP: First I want to say thank you for taking the time to do this interview. I am sure you have been super busy since you guys are currently on tour with the Texas Hippie Coalition. How has the tour been so far?
ETA: The tour has been fucking AWESOME!! Great mix of hard rock and heavy metal, don’t think there is a better bang for your buck this summer than the HIGHWAY ROBBERY Tour.. I think the sonic differences between ETA and THC make for an eclectic hard rocking, ass kicking, whiskey drinking, weed smoking…good time.
MIRP: Even though Locked and Loaded doesn’t come out until September, are you guys playing many songs from the new album while on the road?
ETA: Yes we certainly are..We are taking this opportunity to play a majority of the songs on “Locked and Loaded”. There is no substitute for playing new songs in front of an audience. This is where you see what works and what doesn’t.. There also is a challenge playing a set where the majority of the songs are unfamiliar to the audience…We are enjoying that challenge every night.
MIRP: If so, how are the fans reactions to the new tunes?
ETA: The reaction thus far has been super positive! After twenty shows in, the band is firing on all cylinders…It has been a blast finally getting to play the new tunes.
MIRP: How does Locked and Loaded compare to previous albums you have released?
ETA: First off, the production and sound quality of this album is by far the best thing we have produced as a band and we are super proud of it. Through course of our career we have wanted to work with a monster producer, and our management and label were able to bring us to the doorstep of fucking badass famed producer Michael “Elvis” Baskette. While touring with Creed last summer, we bonded with Mark Tremonti, and after hearing his solo album “Tremonti” on the tour bus, we were floored by the production, and asked Mark…begged him really, to hook us up with Elvis, and he did just that. Mark is truly a bad mofo on the guitar and an excellent human being. Elvis took us under his wing and spread his magic and production expertise throughout the fibers of the album. “Locked and Loaded” also afforded us the opportunity to collaborate with Eric Bass from Shinedown as well as David Basset, both being super talents and monster songwriters, who’s contributions really make “Locked and Loaded” a standout.
MIRP: First single is called Straitjacket Supermodel. Have a bad experience dating a super model or just find them to be crazy?
ETA: Ha ha…The original inspiration for the song when we were writing it with Eric Bass, was what the serial killer “DEXTER” from the showtime series would be thinking as he was about to exact his special brand of justice on his victims.. The song is really about being out of your fucking mind, and enjoying every second of it.
MIRP: Locked and Loaded is pretty straight forward while the band’s name is not. While Eve to Adam seems like it is religion based, you have stated before that you are not a Christian band. Does the name come from the stories of Adam and Eve or something totally unrelated?
ETA: The name of the band comes from 17th century author John Milton’s epic poem “Paradise Lost”. It is an exchange where Eve laments to Adam about the apple and the garden of eden.
MIRP: You have toured with many great bands and have done many festivals. Is there a specific tour or festival that stands out?
ETA: It is true that we have been blessed being able to share the stage with many incredible bands an artists. Standouts would certainly be the fifty shows we did as direct support for CREED last summer, that took us to some of the best venues in these great United States. It was truly a great learning experience seeing a band that sold over 30 million albums night in and night out. I would also say that our fall winter tour as support for In this Moment and Halestorm was a mind numbing, unforgettable experience, sold out every night, and what more could you ask for than getting to share the stage with two bad ass ladies tearing it up every night. Lastly, playing the jager stage last year at ROCK on the RANGE was fucking killer!
MIRP: What would your dream tour be? Whether you as headliner and finding supporting bands or you going as support on somebody else’s tour.
ETA: Dream tour would be EVE TO ADAM, ALICE in CHAINS and ALTER BRIDGE
MIRP: Where would this dream tour take place?
ETA: All over the WORLD
MIRP: What’s it like having your brother in a band with you? Any of those typical sibling fights ever get in the way of band productivity?
ETA: My brother is an asshole….That being said, I love him dearly, and this band would not have survived as long as it has had he not been with me through thick and thin, traversing the vapid wasteland of shit that is the music business. Watching him beat the fuck out of his drums every night really helps me break on through. One of the best shows eve to adam has ever played was after a fist fight in the parking lot between us, moments before we went on stage…a little bloody, a little bruised..nothin a shot of whiskey can’t fix.
