I think it’s funny when I hear people refer to Eve To Adam as a “new band.” I guess, in all fairness, if you are hearing them for the first time then they are new to you. These guys have been busting their asses for right at 15 years with their first album Auburn Slip being released back in 2001. They say good things come to those who wait. Well, while these guys have been waiting, they’ve also been touring like madmen and establishing a reputation for one hell of a live show. Although discouraged at times, the guys have never given up.
The band consists of Taki Sassaris on vocals, Alex Sassaris on drums, Gaurav Bali on guitar, Luis Espaillat on bass and Adam Latiff on rhythm guitar. Powered behind a massive amount of determination, the guys released their latest album Locked & Loaded recently to favorable reviews from fans as well as critics. I got to sit down and talk to lead vocalist Taki Sassaris as the band was wrapping up rehearsals for a four week run with Pop Evil.
Hey Taki, how’s it going man?
I’m good man, I’m glad it’s Friday.
TGIF, what does that mean to a rockstar?
Well, what it means for rockstars and guys in bands is that when we don’t have stuff to do, we tend to get in trouble (laughs). So, we’re glad that we’re getting ready to head out on the road for four weeks with Pop Evil and we have some rehearsing to do first.
You know, we actually talked last year at The National here in Virginia when you opened for Halestorm and In This Moment.
Oh yeah, I totally remember that; you were there with your son. Cool man, it’s good to be reconnected with you again man, it’s really nice.
The cool thing about it was that you guys were in the writing and recording process of your new album. You could really tell that all of you were really excited about what you were creating. Now, that product has been completed and released and what a kick-ass album Locked & Loaded is.
Thanks man, I’m glad that you like it and you definitely do have an interesting perspective on how all of that evolved. You were seeing us at the end of that tour and we were getting ready to go out and do some writing with Dave Bassette. I remember telling you that we’re a band kind of in a do or die situation and our backs were against the wall. We needed to come up with the best album of our career with some great, stand out songs. I think we’re just that kind of group that when we’re put in that position, it’s a fight or flight kind of thing and you rise up. Personally, as a writer and performer, that’s when I do my best work. It’s been a very long year since we last talked and I feel like we’ve closed one chapter and we’re opening up an entirely new era with this album.
To me, the album seems a bit heavier and more intense. Is that due in part with the different producers and collaborators that you worked with this time?
On our previous album Banquet For A Starving Dog, we used one producer and we did all the co-writing ourselves. That album was a bit of us coming back from a bit of a departure for us. We had just gotten a new deal and our foot back in the door; so it had a bit of a learning curve to it. I think with this record, the live aspect was a big motivator. We wanted to have a record that we would enjoy playing live, night in and night out, with a lot more adrenaline to it than the last one did. That, plus all of our added life experiences and that fighting aspect that we have are all really captured in this new album. For all purposes, I looked at it as if it could be my last opportunity to ever say anything musically, so there’s no time like today if you’ve got something to say son.
You definitely came out swinging when the bell rang with the first single “Straightjacket Supermodel”, which you wrote with Eric Bass of Shinedown. You guys were very excited about the single last year when we talked and you said that you thought it was going to open a lot of doors for the band that had been closed up to that point. Did it meet your expectations?
Yes, I think so, despite there were some timing issues with the release of it. I wish the video would have been done closer to the time the song went to radio, but that really had nothing to do with the architecture of the song or its performance. It’s a lot of people’s favorite song on the record. I think it was a more modern song for us because we grew up on late 80s and early 90s rock and those influences were heard on our earlier releases. I think with this song, it gave us a chance to embrace a different sonic landscape. That was the cool part of working with Eric Bass on this song because he opened a whole new pallet of sounds for us and we were eager to jump in and do it.
Eve To Adam – “Straitjacket Supermodel” (Official Explicit Video)
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It’s a shame on the timing issue with the video because that’s an awesome video. You know, any video that starts out with a disclaimer is definitely going to get my attention.
(laughs) Yeah, the song was loosely inspired by the Showtime show Dexter and I’m a big fan of the show, so I just threw the idea out there. Why don’t we try to recreate one of those killrooms? Let’s make the focus of the songs a really hot chick with a really sinister, murderous side. I was joking about it at first, but then it really started to come around. I was always a big fan of rock and metal videos that had really attractive women in them. I think rock has become kind of boring lately. We took a chance with the video and some people loved it, but some people didn’t. It wasn’t a safe or obvious choice for a video, but we were ready to say something different and take some chances.
You must be peeking at my notes because I was going to bring up the fact that you guys seem to be bringing back some of those sexy elements that many labeled clichés of the 80s. I think rock’s become somewhat safe and it’s not supposed to be. You have two very sexy women in the video and the cover to Locked and Loaded is pretty hot as well.
I agree and I think that sexuality aspect has been missing. You know, I think it’s become a little too much of a sausage party with a lot of heavy bands screaming and moshing and a lot of dudes, but what about the chicks? I remember some of the best concerts that I ever went to had some of the hottest girls there as well. So, it’s a quest of this band to get some of those hot chicks to come back to rock shows instead of country or electronic or whatever. As for the cover, I was always a fan of the old James Bond movie posters and that loosely inspired the cover. I’m not afraid of that and I know some people think it’s cheesy or cockrock, but I think this needs to come back. That’s one of the reasons that I’m glad to be out touring with Pop Evil because they embrace it as well.
You guys did a 180 for your new video “Immortal” and it’s a straight up performance piece in a beautiful theatre of some type. Where did you shoot that one?
There were five dream theatres built here in the New York area in the 20s, so you’re thinking the Boardwalk Empire time. It’s an old theatre in Jersey City called the Lowes Landmark Theatre. It was saved by a community board in the late 90s because it was dilapidated and turned into some type of a crack house. A group of citizens stepped in and raised some money and renovated it. It’s not completely done yet, but the lobby is and that’s where we shot the video. It was Guarav’s (Bali) idea and the people there were really on-board with it. They loved the idea that we were shooting a video for a song called “Immortal” in a building that has stood the test of time and endured so many things to survive. It was a great meshing of all the energies of the song, its meaning and the history of the venue.
You also got the attention of Nikki Sixx who premiered the video on his Sixx Sense show. I love his show and he really gives some newer bands a chance to get some great exposure by featuring them on there.
I’ve always been a fan of Nikki’s and his talents and success are legendary. He’s been a big inspiration to all of us. We hit his radar when we released Banquet For A Starving Dog and he picked our single “Run Your Mouth” as one of his top picks. The timing just worked out for us because we were going out to LA to do some press as well as a show at The Whiskey. He asked our publicist if we could come in and do an interview and it was a huge honor for us. I agree with you, he’s done great things with his show by turning on so many people to so many different groups that otherwise may not have gotten any attention. It was a fun interview and at the end, he mentioned “Immortals” and asked if we had anyone to premiere the video yet and he said he would love to do it. You can’t ask for anything better than that right there; it was definitely an honor for us.
It definitely looks like things are going your way and it’s much deserved. You guys have been doing this for close to 15 years and you’re definitely not an overnight success story. Taki, I appreciate your time today sir and I will let you go enjoy your evening. Again, just to remind the readers, you guys are heading out for four weeks with Pop Evil and they definitely need to check out your new album Locked and Loaded.
Thank you Johnny for staying connected and it was great to talk to you again. Thanks to you and the fans for the continued support and we hope to see you guys out on the road on our run with Pop Evil.
