Interview '08 - Erik Leonhardt
05.27.08 - Tuesday
Recently Erik took time out to talk with us about Fosterchild and their debut release, thoughts on the "rebirth" of Tantric, Playing live shows with 2 different set-lists and much more. Uncorked, Unedited...Pure Fun!
Erik strives for a challenge and in return he's found the best time of his life......
Photo By Geoff Blake
Erik: Well it all came about when I met Brian Quinn (Fosterchild guitarist) about 6-7 years ago when he was playing in Octane (Philadelphia based band), I used to go out to philly and see them play and we used to sit at the bar and drink an over abundance of whiskey and say" dude we should get a band together" HAHA, a couple of months later I get a phone call saying that he is starting a project with Kevin Miller formally of Fuel ....next thing I new I quit my day job and my old band and driving out to PA all the time to write and record pre-production...... eventually got picked up by our record label SMG/ILG warner and went into the studio to record Fosterchild's first CD Independence day .... a short time after that Kevin was in a side project with Hugo from Tantric called State of the Art....long story short .. as Tantrics record label folded and they lost there management and whatever happened between those guys (none of my business) Hugo was left without a band , so he incorporated all the members from State of the Art over into Tantric which then Hugo asked Kevin if he new any bass players that could sing and fit the part.... so I get this phone call from Kevin ..."Dude you are the new bass player for Tantric , call you later.."HAHA and hung up.. HAHA at the same time our record label picked up Tantric and there I was back in the studio again recording The End Begins.........not to long after that our label decided to put both bands on tour together ...... I really cant complain ... just love playing music and what better way is there.
Island:
This band features a unique lineup that comes from some
very impressive rock backgrounds. With you being a part of Fosterchild
and Tantric and drummer Kevin Miller had an impressive resume with his
work with Fuel. It says on your biography that all four of you knew
where you didn't want to become but had no idea what direction you
wanted to go in... Did that make the creative process more exciting or
more challenging when it came time to work on original material for the
album?
Erik: There
was no rule of thumb when we wrote Independence day ... it was whatever
we felt that day .. we really had no idea where we were heading but once
we started writing we couldn't stop HAHA... we have about 35-40 songs
and all of them are diff in there own way. From ballad to sing along,
southern rockish to completely head bangin' metal ....we had a hard time
choosing what songs to put on the CD..... don't get me wrong there were
a couple of days were we couldn't come up with anything and would get
frustrated and wound up at Kevin's lake on his property Fishing, one guy
at each corner of the lake with a couple bottles of whiskey, that was
the Fosterchild cure for writers block .. but for the most part it was
pretty easy writing with these guys...we all came from diff backgrounds
so it was interesting picking there brains during the whole writing
process.
Island:
The album "Independence Day" was released in March 2007,
and features a collection of hard hitting in your face metal material in
vain of FireHouse, Motley Crue and GNR. Of course we can dive into the
songs on a personal level and catch a glimpse of what they mean as far
as our own interpretations. But what about the album title itself? The
most obvious is that the band was formed on the 4th Of July, but is
there a deeper more personal meaning to "Independence Day"?
Erik:
The title track came mostly from all of us getting
together to do this project and also our first gig together was on 4th
of July... So we felt it was the right name for the album.
Island:
Moving forward to Tantric's "The End Begins", the only
original member remaining is lead vocalist Hugo Ferreira. What are your
general feelings on the rebirth of Tantric? As we said in our review of
the new album, we feel that some fans may pass this disc off as no good,
before even hearing a note. That would be a massive mistake in our
opinion as the material truly speaks for itself.
Erik: The rebirth.. as an old Tantric fan myself. I think it is
great that Hugo kept the name, even if I wasn't in the new line up I
would think the same... Hugo worked ass off getting the name to where it
is today, would have been foolish to change the name. And as for old
Tantric fans, I think you will enjoy the new CD even though there is a
full time violinist, it still has that old Tantric vibe to it...
Island: The new Tantric lineup wanted to bring back producer, sixth band member, Toby Wright. Was his involvement something that made the band breath a little easier or did you find it to be even harder in terms of stress when making the material?
Photo By: Mark Menghi
Erik: Toby Wright is def the sixth member of Tantric, at first he scared the shit out me HAHA he has worked with some of the GREATEST musicians.. I was intimidated at first....here I am some dude from the armpit of new jersey walking into the studio and Bam!! There he was ...HAHA. I was like Holy Shit, that's Toby Wright.....Working with him was amazing, he def beat the shit out of me in the studio but well worth it, he def brought stuff out of me that I would never have thought of doing, especially with melody lines ... we became great friends during those bunch of weeks out in the Poconos where we recorded.. I was just out in LA hanging with him..... Great dude cant wait to work with him again..... actually he has no choice, HAHA we will definitely have him do the next record.
Island: Not only are you are looked as a great bassist but a wonderful vocalist. So technically you are doing Quadruple Duty, playing bass and singing in both bands. Assuming you were given the opportunity to pick one or the other in terms of singing or playing bass. Which would you choose and why?
Erik: I love both bands equal .......I don't see me leaving either band .....both bands are on the same label ..there will never be double bookings cause of me and Kevin being in both bands ... .... I have a feeling that Fosterchild and Tantric will be on the road together for a long time ... it is definitely an amazing show and it is working out quite well specially that we share the same bus and the same crew ...and we all have been having a blast on the road together, its like one big happy family ....and I am sure the label don't mind cutting the cost for 2 bands in one bus and crew HAHA.
Island:
"The End Begins" contains a bunch of amazing tunes. Any
personal favorites that you have off the album? Which are your favorite
to play live? And recording wise, what was the most difficult tune to
lay down?
Erik:
I would have
to say my Favorite songs are Love Song and Monopoly, they got great
grooves and I sang my ass off on them, we definitely took sometime in
the studio with those 2 songs.
Island: Again, you are a member of 2 bands, doing 2 shows a night, playing 2 different set lists... When you start the night with one band, giving your all, then walking off the stage to get ready for the next show, one has to wonder about the energy level. How do you conserve enough energy to be ready for the next set-list with the next band? What do you feel your greatest challenge is since you are splitting your time/talent between those two bands?
Erik: Both bands have there own energy.. FC is def in your face whiskey drinkin up-tempo rock n roll ... while Tantric is a little more intricate and I sing a lot more .... the hardest thing I am having on the road is trying not to blow my voice out.. thank god for Rock Doctors HAHA. prednisone and steroid shots do wonders HAHA we have been playing six days a week so it gets a little rough sometimes, I just got home from our first leg of the tour.. the last 18 days of the tour we did 16 shows and 22 interviews and 14 acoustic shows... we have 2 weeks off then we go back out for like a year... but I cant complain, I am having the time of my life.
Island: As this interview comes to a close we'd like to thank you for taking the time out to talk with us. We look forward to hearing more from Fosterchild & Tantric! Are there any final thoughts, words of wisdom or anything you'd like to mention to our readers, your fans?
Erik: To Our Fans - Thanks for
everything and all your support, we wouldn't be here without you........
again thanks see you out on the road!!!!............................Dig
It!!!!!!!!
Erik Leonhardt
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