Eva Under Fire is a rock band based in Detroit, Michigan that was formed in 2015. The band consists of lead vocalist Eva Marie, guitarists Rob Lyberg and Chris Slapnik, bassist Ed Gawlik, and drummer Dave Miller II. Their sound consists of notes of heavy-hitting punk, pop, and classic rock.
When the band first got together, they released their debut self-titled long-player and 2 EP’s. Their music was well received, and they went on to sign to Better Noise. They then spent the next few years working on their sophomore album, Love, Drugs, & Misery. The sound of the album was finetuned with the help of BJ Perry from I Prevail and Escape The Fate, and John Pregler.
Eva Under Fire recently supported rock groups Pop Evil, BUSH, and Bad Wolves. They have performed at music festivals like Welcome to Rockville, Blue Ridge Rock Fest, Inkcarceration, and Upheaval. They are set to perform in 2024 at Sonic Temple and just played Welcome to Rockville this weekend.
The band is still working on recording and creating new music, but hopes to have something to release by the time summer rolls around. Eva announced a song called “Lighthouse” with LYELL and Hyro the Hero in early April.
We talked with lead vocalist Eva on ShipRocked about last year’s festival highlights, her surprise performance with Halestorm, and her dream collaborations.
I saw you for the first time at Inkcarceration. Any great festival highlights from the summer?
Inkcarceration was crazy. I got tattooed there, which was dope. I was floored when they were asking me for interviews and I was like, ‘Can I get a tattoo instead?’ So, they did rock n roll hands. I got some devil horns on my calf and it says underneath it ‘Rock and Roll Soul,’ which I love so much. It was actually my first tattoo that was rock music related. It was really special.
We had a blast. We loved Inkcarceration, and as a matter of fact, we saw BUSH there. I hadn’t seen BUSH in like years and years. Gavin looked great, everybody performed amazingly. Then we landed the BUSH tour, which was super dope. We got to hang out with those guys. The Bad Wolves guys were all great people. We had a great time there. There were a lot of friends made on that tour.
Are you a Lions fan?
Yeah, which is wild, right? I think it’s ridiculous when people say the coach was making terrible calls. He’s made risky calls the whole time. That’s how they got there. So, I get it. I’m heartbroken too. The Lions had not done what they did this season for my whole life. I walked away with hope. Now all of a sudden we’re going to the freakin NFC championship game. Are you crazy? What happened?
Everybody else watching the Lions and watching their own teams fall, they were still cheering and rooting for the Lions. It’s such an underdog moment. I think most other football fans, no matter what team you cheer for, kind of saw that as a moment to be like, ‘You know what, this is cool for them.’ I think there were a lot of people that were rooting for them in the end. I hope that continues. I think that next year is just going to go further. When someone is doing something special, you have to give them credit. That’s what happened this year.
What’s your perfect day in Detroit?
You have to go to Mexicantown and you have to go to Evie’s Tamales. Xochimilco’s is also pretty dope, and Los Galanes. Those are the top four Mexican places down there. Probably take a walk on the water somewhere. You would probably just go down to Detroit for food. There’s some cool stuff to see down there. The DIA is pretty dope.
You can come down the river afterwards to Wyandotte, Michigan. It’s 15 minutes from the city; that’s pretty much where we’re from. You would walk down the boardwalk and they’ve got little shops. Very quaint little town. Lots of bars and nightlife down there. I would say that’s probably a pretty good time in Detroit.
I saw on Instagram you were in the studio. When can we expect new music? What’s inspiring you to write right now?
Everything. We wrote the first album prior to COVID. By the way, fans that are listening, thank you a million times over that one album cycle lasted this long. It was pretty crazy. We’re excited to be back. We have a lot to say. We were in the studio with John Lundin from Point North. He’s on the ship, too.
What can we expect from the new edgy music?
I don’t think we’re going to be ready to release anything until summer. We’ve had one writing trip so far, so you’re catching me early. I don’t have titles and I don’t have timelines, but I can tell you the moment that we got in the studio and we sat down and we were out with John, it was like one of those magic moments where you just know where you’re supposed to be is right where you are.
I think that was the magic that we responded to. We’re very excited to continue that process. As a matter of fact, I think right after we get off the ship, we’re just going back for more. We’ll be in the studio again. We basically took a studio break to come to ShipRocked.
I love your voice. How do you keep your voice healthy on the road?
So much water and so much sleep. Thank you for loving my voice, I appreciate you. When we got to open for Lzzy Hale, there were a couple of really cool things. I asked her, ‘What do you do?’ I mean, she’s freaking Lzzy Hale. She just wakes up and sounds like that. She’s like, ‘You have to prepare the night before. The best warm up happens the night before the show. Lots of water, lots of sleep. Make sure you rest.’ It’s done me well.
What’s your craziest tour story?
Probably the day when we were opening for Halestorm. I’ve been trying to get them to tour with us, and she’s down, but we just have to get the suits to talk. So, manifest that for the following year. We just opened for them on a one off. We didn’t know them, they didn’t really know us, but they played a super long set and they included “Rock Show”, which is my favorite Halestorm song.
I walked out during soundcheck and was losing my mind. Just soundcheck. It was just me as an idiot in the crowd. They knew that I knew the whole song. They brought me out that night when they performed it, to sing. It was totally unplanned. I saw Joe, their guitar player, from side stage and he just looked at me and gave me a head nod, and I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ And he locked eyes again and did the head nod thing like, ‘Get your butt down here.’
It was crazy. I ran past security. Security tried to tackle me because nobody knew I was supposed to be there. I didn’t know I was supposed to be there, and I sang “Rock Show” with them. It was wild.
What are your must pack items for the road?
Endless amounts of yoga pants and tank tops. You know, they’re tiny, they’re easy to roll. Maybe two hoodies. I’m a snack person, I snack all the time.
What are your must have truck stop finds?
Goldfish. It’s just salty goodness all day long. Actually, this is a hack that I’ve taught myself because I like cold coffee and nobody just wakes up and has cold coffee anymore. So, I like the refrigerated ones. The Starbucks ones. They got the double shots, so I’ll steal those, and then I’ll just put them in my little hotel room for the next morning, so I can wake up in the morning and have a coffee.
You were announced for Sonic Temple. It’s a great festival. What are you most excited about? Any festival season highlights?
Everything. Welcome to Rockville was insane last time we played it, and we’re doing it again. I honestly think Inkcarceration was one of my favorites. But the other highlight was Upheaval. We’re from Michigan, so being at Upheaval was super special. They put us on that damn hilltop stage, the Lookout stage.
I tried to walk it once, and that’s the only time I’m ever going to do that, because that was a whole workout. You have to have a cart for that. So, they carted me up there and I didn’t really know if people were going to make it to the top of that hill. I got on stage and it was like 3:00 in the afternoon. It was pretty early and I looked out and everybody was up there. The whole hill was covered. It was pretty awesome.
Who’s your dream collaboration?
Brent Smith. Shinedown. Hit me up. He’s just so powerful. I caught Keith Wallen yesterday. I get to play with him and Stowaways, by the way, which is super rad. His voice is killer. I’m so glad that he’s releasing his original stuff because he has that soulful power as well. You know, I might just add Keith Wallen on my dream collab list.
What would be your dream vacation or road trip?
I have been told that I have to go to Croatia because it’s gorgeous. Most of the time now I have to think about it because we get to see so many places on tour. I would love to actually go on vacation to Croatia. Since we’re missing Grand Cayman this trip, that would probably be the other one.