After going through the usual line up changes of any bands early days for a couple of years, Birmingham’s EofE have now found their feet firmly on the ground with a settled line up and are now preparing to take on the road. With their energetic mix of anthemic hooks and larger-than-life guitars.
2014 was a turning point for the five piece, not only did they complete their line up, they went out on their first headline tour and even supported pop “supergroup” McBusted. But don’t let that fact put you off EofE as songs like ‘Bridges’ show they are certainly a rock band, one that neatly combines classic influences with a modern twist. They’re going to be heading out on tour with Glamour Of The Kill alongside The Hype Theory and Ashes in the coming months.
Before the turn of the year, we spoke to the band to find out more their background, their recent UK tour, future plans and those shows with McBusted.
Already Heard: Hi. First of all can we have your name and role in the band?
EofE: Nicky Waters – Drums
Dan Bremner – Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals
Reece Luke – Rhythm Guitar/Backing Vocals
Luke Bradley – Bass
Tom Harris – Lead Vocals
AH: Let’s kick off with an easy one. Bring us up to speed on the story behind of EofE?
EofE: We’ve been a band for a couple of years now but only since September in this final line up. Well, hopefully the final line up. Ha. Tom and Dan met through mutual friends, then luke (a childhood friend of Dan) joined soon after. Nicky joined in February this year through mutual friends, and in September Reece joined through a night out with Nicky.
AH: You probably get asked this a lot but what does EofE stand for?
EofE: EofE used to stand for East of Eden from the old James Dean film but we were unfindable on Google due to the film and also a band from the 70’s so we changed it and the logo looks cool and you can find us on Google now.
AH: For those who are unfamiliar with EofE, how would you sum up the bands sound?
EofE: The sound of EofE is powerful, punchy modern rock with big catchy choruses.
AH: From hearing your recent single, ‘Bridges’, it has a straight-up hard rock vibe. As a collective, what are your influences?
EofE: Yeah we are really proud of ‘Bridges’. We recorded it at the Motor Museum Studios in Liverpool with engineer Al Groves and producer Dave Jones. They really helped us capture the sound we were after. We all have similar rock tastes such as Led Zeppelin and Guns N Roses. Then we have our individual influences, Dan loves The Beatles, Reece loves the Chilli Peppers, Nicky loves Deftones, Tom loves Maroon 5 and Luke loves Oasis.
AH: You recently finished a lengthy headline UK tour. How was it?
EofE: Our headline tour was amazing. We’ve been a ‘support’ band for so long it was great to be top of the bill and call the shots. It is one of the most humbling feelings in the world to have people travel, sometimes 4 hours on a bus, to come watch us. We had some amazing support bands which always helps massively, we all got on great and had a few messy nights out. Can’t wait to do more headline tours in the future. Watch this space.
AH: Early last year you supported pop-rocker “supergroup” McBusted on their arena tour. How did it feel to be playing such big venues?
EofE: The McBusted tour was an unbelievable experience. We never dreamed of playing such iconic, huge venues at such an early stage in our careers, and it was a massive tour which really got us gig and industry hardened and that is very important. It was mind boggling to play venues like the LG Arena for us all, as that is the big one in the area we’re from and we’ve all seen some of our favourite bands playing there. A huge privilege.
AH: With some areas of the rock community looking down on McBusted as a pop act, what was the reaction when you announced you would be playing alongside them?
EofE: We had a really positive reaction to announcing the McBusted tour from all our fans, they have been really supportive throughout anything we’ve done and we’re lucky to have such a dedicated fan base. #EofEarmy
AH: Has it been difficult to prove to some that you are a genuine rock band rather than a heavily pop rock group?
EofE: I don’t think we need to prove anything, we are what we are and we all like not being pigeon holed. We all like the rock side of music more and I think our music is progressing more towards that than anything, which is all our main influences. But I’d definitely say we aren’t pop.
AH: 2014 is coming to a close. How would you sum up the past 12 months in one sentence?
EofE: We’ve had amazing experiences that we thought we’d never have, new friends and contacts and a relentlessly loyal fan base.
AH: Going into 2015, what’s the plan for EofE? I understand you’ve recently been in the studio?
EofE: We’re currently writing this in the Motor Museum studios in Liverpool, recording our new single (with engineer Al Groves and producer Dave Jones) which will be released early next year. We are hoping to have an album out at the end of the summer with a tour after that. So we’re really excited going in to the new year. Keep an eye out on our social media.
EofE links: Website|Facebook|Twitter|Tumblr
Words by Sean Reid (@SeanReid86)
