It was August of 2005 when Leaving Araby got together for the first time. With only a vague idea of where they wanted head with the music, singer-songwriter Justin Reynolds, vocalist Chad McIlvenna, and drummer Zach Neal gathered in a small basement to discern if they could work together. That day proved that they could with out a doubt, make meaningful music together. After many long discussions and dead ends about where to get a bass player Chad mentioned his long time friend and former bandmate Derek Amos. Since Derek was already playing with another band at the time, there was little chance that Derek would be intrested. Regardless, Chad went ahead and asked Derek to give it a shot. Derek obliged and shortly after joined the group completing the lineup. Now that they had a completed lineup with members who had all had significant stage time with other bands, it was time to write more music and get to recording. So with the help of Producer and Engineer Patrick Rives Leaving Araby put out a well done first effort with their EP, Slightly South of Scene. Soon after the release of the EP the guys starting touring locally and regionally, and of course with time comes growth and maturity. So in early spring of 2006 they realized that they were growing past the songs on the first release and were itching to get back into the studio with new material and so they started the writing process again. With aspirations of doing another EP the guys wrote about two EP’s worth of songs only to discard most of them so they could concentrate on making a sound that they were all proud of and could agree on. “We just want to be a rock band. One that regardless of what is happening with the industry currently, we could still have a sound that is not cookie-cutter and overdone. Our influences are broad so we want our music to reflect that diversity amongst us," according to McIlvenna. Leaving Araby would entrust the production of the new EP to former Audio Adrenaline guitarist Barry Blair. Zach commented, “We had listened to a lot of Barry’s recent projects and loved the sound he was getting and we also liked the subtleties that came across in his work. For me it was all about a great drum sound and I believe that is what we got! We were actually more than pleased with all of the sounds and production. He was just a great fit for what we wanted to accomplish.” The follow-up of their first EP would be called "@ &/ Or" and was released on Jan. 16th 2007 and their first single "God & Politics, Pt. III" will be hitting radio in late Feb. 2007. Leaving Araby in their short existence up to this point have shared the stage with bands such as: Kids In The Way, FireFlight, Wavorly, Hight Flight Society, and Taking Lottie Home.

Go request our new single "God and Politics, Pt. III" on The Effect Radio Network!

Please Post Our Banner On Your Page