DJ Interviews: Eden's End

Hello one & all it is I your friendly neighborhood DJ Dizzy here with an interview with a band by the name of  Eden's End,

How'd you get started in music?

Eden’s End was formed in 1985 purely out of a passion for alternative rock music and a desire to learn to play. It only took a few months to assemble a set of original material and the band began to play in local clubs around Calgary. Jack Goodwin is the only remaining original member. Ken Kittlitz & Tim Faunt joined the line-up in 1990. Greg Hamel joined in 1996.

Who are your inspirations or influences?

Our influences are many and it depends on which band member you ask although there are common threads.

Tim says musical inspiration = increased volume. Tim always cranks up New Model Army, Forbidden Dimension & every Foo Fighters / Dave Grohl song ever; especially the drum war with Animal. And Sarah McLachlan. Go figure!

Ken says many of his influences aren't alive any more. Amongst Ken’s influences are TheBeatles, The Clash, Joy Division, Led Zeppelin, Buzzcocks, Credence Clearwater Revival, The Church, GunClub, and Velvet Underground.

Greg echos Tim's sentiment by saying his key influence has always been volume, followed by beer, followed by trashy 80's rock  like Van Halen, Black Sabbath, and Sting followed by somewhat less trashy 90's rock such as SpinDoctors, Nickleback (yeah he actually said Nickleback) and Collective Soul. More recently it's classical and jazz influences like Jacques Loussier, Diana Krall, and more Sting… and whatever his son is studying in piano these days. "His pieces are much nicer than what I remember having to work with."

Jack pulls influence from all over the place. R.E.M. is noteworthy in terms of Jack's vocals and bass playing. Jack says he is generally influenced by artists that offer something unique whether it be guitar you feel in your gut, vocals that make you shiver, or unexpected melodies and/or arrangements. Some other influences include The Cure, 54-40, Ultravox, TheEagles, U2, Daniel Lanois, Keith Urban and many artists the other guys mentioned including Joy Division, Foo Fighters, The Clash, Sarah McLachlan, and Collective Soul.

What advice would offer aspiring performers?

Don’t take it too seriously. Do it because you love it. There are over 40,000 songs released every single day and getting noticed quickly is nearly impossible. If fame is what you’re after, you’re very likely to be setting yourself up for disappointment. Grow relationships with other artists and support them. If your music is good, your audience will find you naturally. Enjoy and celebrate the small wins along the way.

Also, aspiring artists should watch out for scammers. The internet is full of these people who charge artists money for followers & streams. They’re all fake and generated by bots. You’re throwing your money away. Real audiences take time to build, so be patient and keep working hard. There are legitimate people out there promoting music that don’t charge anything.

How do you set yourselves apart from other bands or singers?

We are at a place in our journey where we are simply satisfied to get together and play. We haven’t actually seen a stage for 25 years. We don’t aim to fit a specific genre and we certainly don’t write love songs or aim for the pop scene. It’s all about pure creativity. We just let our music become whatever it becomes. We hope people like it. Those who follow us on social media will probably know that our guitar player Tim was diagnosed with Glioblastoma Stage IV (terminal brain cancer) this year, so we are honestly just grateful for every minute we get to hang out together and jam.

Any new gigs or albums in the future?

We released 2 singles in 2019; Diamonds are Forever and The Cat on the Runway. Both of these songs will be included on an upcoming album. Tracking is about 80% done, but we have not yet formalized a release date. Not long after that we have another 7 songs written for the next album & we also plan to release some of our back catalogue as well. The band isn’t a full time activity, so we’re often struggling with scheduling challenges.

Special thanks to them for doing this interview & until then I'll catch you on the flipside! Stay awesome & rock n roll!