With a career spanning thirty years, Eddie Trunk is the most trusted source of information when it comes to Hard Rock and Heavy Metal music. Now the host of "Friday Night Rocks" on Q104.3 and "That Metal Show" on VH1 Classic, Eddie can now add "author" to his list of accolates. This Friday at 7PM at Time Square's "Hard Rock Cafe", Eddie Trunk will host his first signing for his first book, Eddie Trunk's Essential Hard Rock and Heavy Metal.
I had the privilege of interviewing Mr. Trunk to learn more about the event, the book, and his long, illustrious career.
What’s more difficult writing a book or running a radio show?
I don’t write the radio show. The radio shows totally free form so there’s really not any great planning in that beyond booking guests. Doing a book is a lot more of an undertaking because there’s no spontaneity in it. One of the things I love so much about doing radio is when you do something it’s so immediate a couple of seconds after you say it people hear it, respond to it, and now in the world of social media it goes all over the world pretty quickly. Doing a book is very time consuming and there’s editing involved and there’s other people involved that are just trying to get it out there. There’s photo’s involved and clearances for that. That whole process from start to finish took a couple years. So to finally have it out is really exciting but it takes a lot of work and it took a lot more work then I ever anticipated it being.
Can you describe your writing process?
The way it worked was I initially started writing everything myself. Everything was purely off of memory. As I started to get into the specific bands more and more things would just come to me. The other thing about books is theirs editing involved because things can only be so long. Especially the type of book mine is which is a cross between a photo book and a textbook; it’s about 50/50 so I had to make sure there was some balance. I would set aside a good three hours at least two or three times a week to focus on getting the text out. And I did that two ways: I did it myself just sitting at a computer and typing it and then sending it off to a woman named Andrea Bussell who helped me on it. She would fix my grammar and help with the format and all that but then because I’m not real good at typing and I don’t know the proper way to type, it was starting to get real fatiguing just physically writing all the words on a keyboard that’s where Andrea really started to help out and actually started taking dictation from me. She and I spent a good amount of hours on the phone where I would tell these stories to her and she would write them down and put them all into her computer and then at the end sort of interview me and ask me questions on things she found interesting and wanted more content from, not whatever band we just did, and then she would include some of that. She was very helpful in the whole process. It’s all my words and my stories but she shaped things and get some extra things out of me that were relevant to the artists I was working on.
Did you have any music on in the background while you typed?
No. I didn’t. When I really need to work and focus, as much as I love music, I try not to because I find that it can be a distraction and disrupts my focus on what I’m trying to think of and write about as opposed to what song is playing or what melody is going on, so I prefer it to be as quiet as possible when I really have to focus on something.
Can you talk about some of the material that didn’t make it into the book?
Well, if you have a copy and look in the back there’s a couple of pages that says “More Essentials” and it’s just maybe fifteen bands and just a paragraph of text and no photo. Every one of those bands had full chapters done for them but the book had to be cut down. One of the really appealing things about the book is the incredible quality of the printing and the book itself and also the price point, which is listed at $19.95 and at many places they are selling it for much less than that. So, when you realize the quality of the book for that amount of money it’s pretty remarkable and in order to keep that price point it could only be a certain amount of pages so without it blowing up into a lot more money and pages we kept it at that level of $19.95 and we had to trim some stuff back. So for every band in that “More Essentials” page there were full chapters done for them that had to be edited. The only other major revision that came into play was that the chapter on Ronnie James Dio was written when Ronnie was still alive and then when he passed away and I was asked to go out and be a part of his memorial service, obviously coming back I had to revise and rewrite that whole chapter which was pretty difficult to do but is one of the more fresher chapters in it because it had to be completely redone once that happened.
At Friday’s launch, will there be copies of the book available for purchase?
Yeah. This Friday is the first ever book signing at 7pm at the Hard Rock Café. Books will be sold there and I’ll be sitting there signing them. There’s a bunch of other book signings coming up which are listed on my site (Eddie Trunk.com) and they’ll all be selling the book the as well. I know that some of the bookstores, unfortunately, are going the way of the record stores. They’re not all that accessible. I would tell anybody that’s having trouble buying the book in a traditional store to just buy it online. Amazon has been selling the book for $10.95 over the last month, all over the world, and it shows up on your doorstep in a couple of days and it’s less than list price. It’s great if you can come to the stores, it’s great if I can do a signing in your area, which I would love to do but obviously it’s not possible to get everywhere so it’s really helpful if you just go to the online outlets, Barnes and Noble.com and Amazon.com. You get a great deal and get it in a couple of days. Some of the stores where I’m doing the signings have online stores as well. For instance, a week from tonight I’m doing a signing at a store in Mendham, New Jersey at Mendham Books. If you purchase the book, wherever you are in the country, from their website they’ll have me sign it when I’m there.
I’m going to move into a couple of questions about your career. What, in your opinion, was one of the biggest mistakes you’ve ever made in radio?
Jeez, that’s really hard to say. You learn from every mistake. I’ve certainly made some. I think the greatest mistake I’ve ever made in radio was the first time I was ever on the radio, which talked about in my book. I was so nervous I turned on the wrong microphone during my first break. I thought I pushed the button for the microphone right but instead it was the guest microphone facing the opposite way. So I did this huge break only to find out nobody ever heard it because I turned the wrong microphone on. That one lived with me and it was a long recovery because I didn’t ever thing I’d get a second chance on the radio. But, I’m still standing here thirty years later.
Was that during college?
No, that was on my first station in New Jersey, WDHA. No, I meant in commercial radio because I’d never really done college radio besides a brief run in my hometown while I was still in high school. It was really my first break on radio that was broadcast anywhere.
I hope I phrase this correctly. With the advent of Satellite Radio listeners of a specific style of Rock can find it on a specific channel where as on commercial radio listeners receive a variety of genres on their local Rock station. Do you think that this has shrunk a listener’s musical world? Or has it expanded it? (That came out terrible)
No, I completely understand what your saying. I think that satellite radio has certainly expanded, without question, the amount of artists that can find airplay. There are a zillion formats and, as you mentioned, channels or spinoff channels that have all given artists a national platform to be heard if you subscribe to satellite radio. It really comes down to, I think, how adventurous the listener wants to be. If you’re talking purely about satellite radio and you like a lot of different styles of music then you can put ten different formats on your preset and jump around and experience so much more then you could anywhere else. As far as FM terrestrial radio is concerned those play lists are a lot tighter. There are very few Rock stations that are getting all that adventurous, especially if you’re talking about Classic Rock radio which is really restricted to certain artists and certain songs from those artists. It really comes down to the audience being adventurous and wanting to explore whether it’s for CD’s or downloads or clicking around and sampling other satellite radio stations. But really, on the FM side of the band, it’s a little harder to explore because your limited to whatever station’s broadcasting in your area and if that’s all your exposed to it can be pretty limiting.
You mentioned this on Monday’s show. Someone called in asked you about obscure bands that you liked but you had trouble playing or spotlighting on “That Metal Show” because of the networks want the most popular bands to reach the widest audience. Would you care to name a few for people to look up?
Not really because there’s way to many to even begin to talk about. I mean there are literally thousands and it’s subjective to what bands you care about that didn’t make it. Everybody has countless bands that they love that no one else cared about. In their world those are important bands but to the mainstream, ninety-nine percent of other people, they’ve never heard of them. So, it’s completely subjective. I have my bands that I feel that way about but I rarely, if ever, play them on the radio because I know there’s a difference between listening to something in your car that you cared about and also trying to gain an audience and get a large people listening and watching you’re doing. It’s a very, very fine line. A very important line. You want to live in the underground world you can do that all you want and I’ll give you all the credit in the world but you’re going to have a hard time surviving. I actually am considered to be EXTREMELY deep rooted in the music I do currently play. That’s what’s funny about it. But the audience that I have they think “oh he plays this and that,” they’re comfortable and knowledgeable and care about the stuff I already play but to a mainstream programmer, I’m out of my mind. The stuff I play or the stuff I say they wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot poll. You don’t need to look any further then the radio station I’m on in New York City. Sure, I play AC/DC and they play AC/DC but the stuff I play they don’t play on the regular format so it’s all a matter of perspective. I think it’s very important and one of the things I do is try to create a balance and walk a line between making sure there’s something that’s digestible to a good amount of people but also not play the stuff that everyone’s heard and is tired of. And on the TV side it’s even harder. TV is driven by ratings and if you don’t bring something to the table, you want to go put a bunch of obscure bands on your TV show, your show isn’t going to last seven seasons, which is how long “That Metal Show” has lasted. There are people who are critical of it who are like “They’re not pure Metal. They’re not this. They’re not that.” That’s B.S. we’re doing a TV show and we find our angles. All three of us (Eddie, Don Jamieson, and Jim Florentine) have stuff we love to death but a network is not going to green light for television because they want the most eyes possible on the screen. What’s going to get that a band that draws twenty people at a club or a band that draws twenty thousand? It’s simple logic. I care about a lot of these bands that no one cared about. I’ve done everything I can to support them but if you don’t know where the line is, if you don’t know how to create that balance, your not going to last very long whether it’s TV or radio or anything else. I think we do a pretty good job, especially on the TV side, of giving people a little taste of someone you’d never see on TV in a million years like Uli Jon Roth and also of course bringing out the heavy hitters.
Would you ever consider doing a blog about your favorite underground bands?
There’s only so much time and only so many things. There is a blog on my site called “Trunk Report” that’s about what I have going on. I’ve recently found Twitter to be extremely useful. Simply because I can do it on the go, from my phone, quickly and easily, and get stuff out like ideas and news or thoughts and what’s going on and that leads over to my Facebook. When I have a second and I think about something I’ll blast out a tweet about a band that I love that didn’t make it. So, I would encourage anyone to follow me on Twitter @eddietrunk. You’ll get a dose of that stuff from time to time. There’s a lot I’d like to do with the website it’s just a matter of time. At the end of the day I have to make a living and support a family and, quite honestly, online stuff really costs money more than it makes and to put more time into it then I already have is going to be asking a lot because it takes time away from other things I need to be doing. Maybe someday that will evolve and I’ll do more of that but again it’s that word balance. I’m a one-man operation. TV show, a couple of radio shows, a book, a website, I’m blessed and thankful to have all of it but it’s a lot of work running around and a lot of work to manage and keep up with so I try to find things I can do to make sense and maximize it. There’s actually a section on the site that I haven’t updated in a long time called “Eddie’s Favorites” and it’s some of the things that I really love. There are a bunch of records and artist on there that I don’t talk about all that much but I love, so that might be of interest to people.
I discovered Icon on there.
There you go. There’s a perfect example. Trying to find that stuff is a whole another story as well but fortunately with the Internet you can pretty much find anything.
Did you ever consider starting a label?
I worked for Megaforce Records from ’86-’90. That’s talked about in the book as well. I have not considered it. There’s a certain part of me that misses what I did for a label, which was mostly A&R work, finding new bands and working with the artists to shape their records. There’s a side of me that does miss that and I actually, very recently, was approached about doing some work in that area again. But, if I were to get back in that area it’s no secret the record companies are in a bad spot right now. Artists generally, even major artists, are not selling records. So, if I was to do it again, in anyway, it would have to be with the right agreement, right understanding, right support system around me because I wouldn’t want to put my name on anything unless I truly believed in the artist. That I believed they had a fighting chance to get marketed. I’m looking at some stuff along those lines right now, whether it comes off or not I don’t know. Funny you asked that because I was actually approached about it as recently as yesterday.
In your opinion do you think records (albums) are going to be given away on the Internet and the money will come from touring? Or do you see people still wanting to buy a CD?
Without question I think that the biggest revenue stream for artists these days certainly seems to be touring. Records are almost an afterthought. But, I’m not ready to put a final nail in the coffin on CD’s I’ve seen some encouraging things lately. I think people are kind of intrigued with vinyl again. Which is interesting. I went to a store I grew up going to in New Jersey called “Vintage Vinyl”, I’m doing a book signing there a week from Saturday. I went there on a Sunday and it was great to see people flipping through the bins and buying CDs and the owner telling me business was decent. I was in L.A. a couple of weeks ago at Amoeba Records and the place was packed with people loading their carriers with CD’s. I’m not ready to say it’s completely gone I just think that the way it’s structured is completely done. In other words, the royalty situations, the way albums are distributed, the record deals in general, everything is being changed. You can even make an argument that the standards for what a Gold and Platinum record could certainly be adjusted. I’ve heard that a lot it’s a valid point. 500,000 copies, an insane amount to sell now, back in the mid-80’s it was really not that big of a deal. That’s what it takes to get a Gold record, so there’s an argument to drop the standards to 200,000 to get a Gold now. I don’t know. Those are all minor things. I think in the bigger picture there will always be some market for people wanting a physical product of some sort.
For Friday night, other then a signing what else is happening at the book launch?
Nothing. I hate to shatter people’s dreams of some sort of major event but it’s just a book signing. There’s really nothing more going on than that. There’s a private reception before hand for some media and friends and family that were invited. That’s just going to be drinks celebrating the release of the book. I find it funny because in talking to people about this and mentioning it on the air there’s this assumption that it’s going to be some major event happening there and I wish I could tell you that’s the case but if there is I don’t know about it. The night is about the book and the people who worked so hard to make the book happen. That includes me but also the publisher, the photographer, and the people that worked behind the scenes. So, it’s a celebration for the release of the book. I’ve gotten a lot of people saying to me “who’s going to be there?” well I’m going to be there and people who worked on the book. It’s not about anything more than that. I know that usually when I do events it is and it’s about bands and things like that but this is about the release of the book. Whether some of my friends in bands choose to show up, I don’t know. They’ve been invited. The night is about the book and the people who made the book happen. It’s not about anything else whether anybody shows up or not.
What tour are you looking forward to the most this year?
It’s not a tour yet but I think The Big Four (Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, and Megadeth) in California, the one show in April, I think is real interesting and I’d be real curious to see if that becomes a tour. I don’t know if that will or not but I’m looking forward to that one show for sure. Outside of that I haven’t heard a full schedule that’s knocked me out. The usual suspects are going out this summer. Motley (Crue) and Poison is certainly a good package but both bands are fairly active same with Def Leppard. They’re fairly active almost every summer. A lot of these bands that go out almost every summer because of what we talked about, their records don’t sell so much and that’s a big revenue stream. But there hasn’t been, at least announced yet, something that I’m like “oh my God, I’ve got to see that.” There’s one off shows but not full tours.
I’m sure you get asked this one a lot but I’ll throw it out there anyway. What reunion are we more likely to see, Skid Row with Sebastian Bach or Guns N Roses, the full “Appetite” line up? Which one has a greater chance of happening?
Oh man…a greater chance of happening would probably be Skid Row but the greater demand many many times over would be Guns N Roses. As much of a Skid Row fan as I am, a Skid Row reunion is not an arena situation. It’s a theatre; it’s a few thousand people. It’s not going to set the world on fire, at least here in America. It’ll do a hell of a lot better business then either of them do I think individually but it’s not going to be this massive event. Guns N Roses is a massive event, a completely different animal. I think that, for both of those reasons and because the dynamics are a little harder to pull together with Guns. Quite honestly, I don’t see either of them happening anytime soon. I think Skid Row has a little bit more of likelihood to happen if it was to happen. But I don’t think it is nearly as big as Guns N Roses. The demand, the outcry, for Guns is much bigger.
In your opinion, why is it that Hard Rock and Heavy Metal is bigger over in Europe then it is here?
I honestly don’t know but I also think that some of that is a little bit of a misconception. It’s almost kind of like when artists say they’re big in Japan when they’re really not. There’s this perception that Europe is this place that you go and every record store and every store you walk into is blasting Metal. People that have ever been there know that’s actually not the case. I used to always think England was this Metal haven. You’d go there and it was all Rock and Metal. I’ve been to England many times and guess what? There’s a ton of dance music. There’s dance music everywhere you look. There’s a big perception about that which I don’t think is completely valid. It is in a festival setting. In the case of festivals it is because there’s a lot more of them and the bills they put on are extremely diverse. In that regard, I don’t know if it’s so much that it’s bigger but I think that people are a little more open minded to the different genres of it and a little more open minded to how they support it. In certain areas it’s certainly bigger but it comes down to what these bands mean or what their draw is. If you’re a fringe band that didn’t have a hit in the eighties that reunited and you’re trying to tour in 2011 and no one liked to see you and didn’t care about you in your prime, why would you think your going to have an audience now? There’s this perception that some of these bands think there’s an audience out there for them, and there is not and they find out the hard way. Yeah there is twenty people in a nightclub somewhere but it’s not going to sell tickets. Point being, perception and reality are two different things. And yes in certain parts of Europe, because of festivals, bands do a lot better touring but it’s pretty balanced. Here in America, AC/DC is still going to sell out an arena or stadium because it’s AC/DC and people are still going to want to see them. But if you have a very fringe band that was never successful to begin with, I don’t care where they go, they’ll tell you all they want that they’re bigger in another part of the world to make it sound better but in reality their not. If you buy the British magazines and look at the places they’re playing their five hundred seat clubs. Same places they play in America. So, there’s a perception and a reality and I think it’s a little bit blown up that Europe is this haven for all things Rock. It’s really not; it’s just as much dance music and pop music that goes on there as anything else.
Do you think that when a band says they’re big in Japan to a casual fan in America, the casual fan is likely shrug their shoulders indifferently?
Sure. What does it mean? It only means something to people in Japan and to the artist if they truly are big because they can go over there, sell records, and make a living. The one band that truly is big in Japan that has sustained popularity their entire lives through it is Mr. Big. That’s a band that here is a club act but in Japan is an arena act. They truly are big in Japan but for a lot of bands it’s a cliché at this point.
So Spinal Tap was correct on that one.
Yeah.
Just a reminder, Eddie Trunk will be hosting his very first book signing for Eddie Trunk's Essential Guide to Hard Rock and Heavy Metal, Friday night at the Hard Rock Cafe in Time Square. For more information and further book signings go to Eddie Trunk.com.
A big thank you to Eddie Trunk for taking the time to speak with me.
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