Eden On Fire will perform Friday at the Beer Snob. Submitted photo

Amy Gould is not afraid to let her voice be heard.

When she is singing her original songs while fronting Eden On Fire, you can bet people pay attention.

For Gould, her songs are therapy.

“I’m not sure that my songs are meant to teach anyone anything. They are more like therapy for me. I am writing my thoughts and feelings. That said, people have told me that they are really relating to our first single, Fallen, which was really just completely unexpected. There is something very transformative about being able to reach people like that with your music,” Gould said.

Eden On Fire is scheduled to perform at The Beer Snob Friday.

Based in Erie, Pa., Eden On Fire consists of Gould, keyboards, lead vocals; Rick Knapp, lead guitar; Scott Hagerty, bass guitar; and Michael Calabrese, drums.

The band’s name originated in a rehearsal space where members brainstorming ideas. Gould said, at one point, even a name generator was used.

“We had a couple different ideas with Eden in them and a couple with Fire, and we ended up liking those together. Being a female-fronted band, I also liked how Eden had a feminine feel to it. And everyone seemed to agree. It all works,” Gould said.

The keyboardist said that when writing orginal songs, relationships serve as her inspiration.

“Typically past or sometimes current relationships with others give me the emotional drive I need for lyrics, and really overall feel of the song. And it’s not just romantic relationships but interactions with people in general, though you will see a theme with me,” Gould added.

According to its website edenonfire.reverbnation.com, the band was the brainchild of Gould who began songwriting in her home studio during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. After having self-published several songs to YouTube and other platforms, she began to venture out for band members once the world began to reopen. Gould first began working with Hagerty and the two published a handful of songs together. Soon after, they met Calabrese and the trio began seeking additional members. After having auditioned a few different guitar players, Knapp joined the band helping to complete the ensemble in 2021.

Gould said in the past she would present new songs to the band, and together they would work out the arrangements. Now, she said, there is more collaboration.

“When the band was formed, I already had a repertoire of songs ready to go. So I pretty much gave them (members) the pre-recorded MiDi versions of those and said ‘Have at ’em!’ Nowadays, I bring them (songs) to rehearsal, unfinished, more like ideas and starting points and we collaborate. Or I will send things in advance to our guitar player, Rick Knapp, who will then take what I’ve done on piano and work with it on guitar. Then we collaborate with the rest of the band at rehearsal to make it a song. Writing is very much a joint effort in our band now,” Gould noted. On June 7, Eden On Fire released a new single “Listen To Me.”

Music is also very cathartic for Gould. Merriam-webster.com defines catharsis as a purification or purgation of the emotions (such as pity and fear) primarily through art, and a purification or purgation that brings about spiritual renewal or release from tension.

“As I mentioned, music is my therapy. I find that when I have intense feelings, that is when the lyrics and melodies hit me the hardest. And when I’m done, it is like I let the cap off the bottle. It’s how I get that stuff out,” Gould said.