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Eva Under Fire is a band on the rise. We got the opportunity to sit down with the members of the group before their sold-out show in Detroit, though we never did have all 5 of them in the room at the same time. Made up of Eva Marie (vocals), Rob Lyberg (guitar), Corey Newsom (drums), Chris Slapnik (guitar/vocals), and Edward Joseph (bass). They’ve been together since 2015 and are fighting their way up the musical ladder.
On September 23rd, their long awaited album Love, Drugs & Misery finally hit the airwaves. It is a “sheer relief” to have it finally out, says Eva, that there was “so much red tape and so many hoops” to jump through to make it happen. It has been 4 years of roadblocks and having their careers hang in the balance of the unknown. Songs like “Blow” have reached over 7 million streams since being released as a single in 2021. Their music is heavy but each of them is drawn to the heavy music for different reasons. Eva said playing heavy music causes her to be more authentic and emotional saying “it’s expected” in heavy music.
This album has a more focused sound than their previous two EP’s War and Anchors. Having producers this time around has elevated their sound and helped to narrow their sound, yet they haven’t lost the fluidity that makes them so versatile. While their label and producers work to make the music more commercial, the band worked just as hard to say what they want to say and still have their own voice in their music.
Eva comes from a background of psychology and psychotherapy. She says that music is her therapy and a way for her to work through things. The audience is singing her “journal” back at her.
Collaboration and communication are key within this band. The five of them kept coming back to these themes throughout the interview. Whether it is between themselves, industry people or fans, communication and truth are important to them.
There is no shortage of inside jokes and fun with this crew. They play off of each other and work together so seamlessly. Their personalities are different, but they compliment each other and make it all work. They were all focused until the drummer interrupted. Corey showed up 15 minus into the interview and made a grand entrance.
“Everyone’s gotta be a little bit nuts” ~ Rob Lyberg
Eva has had to deal with some prejudice as a female in the heavy music world, even mentioning that she often gets mistaken for the merch girl. Though, she does do that too, and values her time meeting all of the fans during the shows. Rock music is predominantly male still, but she sees a resurgence of female musicians in the underground making names for themselves in rock.
“Any woman that’s doing anything powerful is pretty much questioned” ~ Eva Marie
This is a band that thrives on live performance. They spend time at the merch booth meeting all the fans and treasure the connectedness among themselves and their fans. Their Patreon page is a testament to this, too. From behind the scenes pictures and videos to weekly live video chats, Eva and the guys do their best to turn listeners into fans, fans fans into family.
What do you want people to take away from your music?
“Permission to be you. We use this music as a version of expression for ourselves. When people relate and sing the words back to us. A shared energy and connectivity” ~ Eva Marie
When asked what is the best advice they have ever been given, we got a myriad of answers.
“Always have a backup phone charger” - Corey Newsom
“Backups on backups on backups. That goes for planning too. Just be ready to get derailed because everything changes” - Eva Marie
Music, fun, aquariums, food, heart and antics. That about sums up this group of humans.
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