4/12: HAMMETT, SCHENKER, ACE, FARNER, TMS, DEF LEP CRUISE, Y&T IN FL THURS, MORE
Thanks for all the great response to this weeks new TMS with Lzzy Hale, Zakk Wylde and Kerry King! 4 more new episodes to come in our current season 14. Because I am on the Monsters Cruise next week we tape the next two weeks worth of shows in one day this Tuesday, and what a double dip it is! In one show Kirk Hammett of Metallica is back with us, and in that show Kirk’s guitar hero Michael Schenker as well! Michael and Kirk will both be interviewed and may also do a guitar dual to end the show! Damon Johnson is the guest player from Black Star Riders. In the other show Ace Frehley returns to our set and for the first time ever Mark Farner from Grand Funk Railroad! Nita Strauss from Alice Cooper plays guitar. Can’t wait to shoot these new episodes this Tuesday in NYC. Photos and info on my Twitter as always as it happens @EddieTrunk
Michael Schenker in studio with me tomorrow live 6-10P ET for TRUNKNation SiriusXM 39.
Congrats to my ticket winners for many recent coming shows and M3 as well. Be sure to visit ETs Box Office on this site to win tix to many events!
I’ll be in Largo FL this Thursday night at The Cultural Center hosting Kip Winger & Y&T. I will be in the lobby pre show selling and signing both of my books. And of course hosting Monsters Of Rock Cruise once again leaving this Saturday. I am also honored to announce I will be the host for the first ever Def Leppard “Hysteria On The High Seas” cruise next year as well as the coming Monsters Of Rock West Coast run! All appearances on the home page as they are confirmed.
Eddie just wanted to say I can’t wait to see Mark Farner. I am a huge Grand Funk fan and wish he was still playing with Don & Mel. Ask him if he still has the Messenger guitar he used on the bulk of the early albums. Great that Ace is on the same show, and Nita is amazing. Looking forward to it!
Thanks for what you Don and Jim do!
Hey Eddie, great to see there is going to be a west coast run of the MOR cruise…wife and I went last year but going out to Florida from CA was just to much to do this year. Can’t wait, we will be there!! Any dates confirmed yet?
Great job Eddie! I’ve really liked the shows this TMS season and the variety of guests has been very interesting and entertaining. Last week’s show was my favorite so far. Zakk tore it up on guitar, just like everyone knew he would. He has one of the most instantly identifiable guitar sounds ever. Kerry was great. He can sometimes come off like an arrogant jerk, which I guess he can be at times, but he’s really a great guy. Lzzy is awesome! She’s smart, confident, talented and gorgeous. And last, but certainly not least, let’s have a round of applause for Mrs Trunk for “Stumping The Son”! Now as for this week’s episode, I cannot wait! Being that I’m a guitarist, this episode is custom made for guitar geeks like me. I’m so jealous of Kirk Hammett because this is the second time he’s been on the show and sat next to one of my all time heroes: Uli Jon Roth and now Michael Schenker! But I’m a fan of Kirk’s playing also, so there should be some great guitar oriented discussion as well as UFO/Schenker worship and what’s going on with Metallica. Then there’s Damon playing on the platform…Hell yeah! He’s a badass, classic sounding and playing guitarist and I love Black Star Riders. It’s great that band is out kicking ass and I’m most happy for Scott Gorham.
Rock on Eddie!
Eddie,
Got some Rush related questions for you and a couple of comments and suggestions.
1. Are you going to be doing anything special on your show to mark their (41st Anniversary) show at either the Prudential Rock in Newark or the MSG show? Like maybe an entire dedicated night kind of like you did for Christmas but maybe get some influenced guys as guests in there like you did with Portnoy a few years back?
2. I know you have zero control over what VH1 Classic does but you are credited as a Producer on the show and I love the idea of maybe while Rush is in town that the TMS crew films Don and Jim down there like you guys did with the Van Halen MSG show years back.
3. In off camera discussions were you able to get any convo with Geddy about Terry Brown ever working with the band again? He is NOT retired. If you go to his website he is currently working on multiple questions. Since you are a huge fan of the Brown era I figured it would be a question you would definitely want the answer to as well.
4. Do you ever notice when guests who are asked about influences never name drop Rush but you know they are? It was pretty telling with Billy Corgan who gushed all over the band in Beyond The Lighted Stage and didn’t even name them in his influences when asked and he rattled off like 5 or 6 bands.
5. I grew up in South Florida. Saw Manson perform everywhere from warehouses to high school parties to local clubs with friends bands opening for him and the Spooky Kids. Next time he is on TMS you have to ask him about his love for Rush as well. He lost his virginity to Moving Pictures. Again, I am not quite sure why so many musicians I know refuse to name drop Rush. Still an afterthought after all these years.
6. I am not sure if you have your questions all lined up for Kirk Hammett or not but he is an enormous Alex Lifeson fan. Would be so cool to hear more of his thoughts on Alex since he is NEVER included in any serious discussions and Kirk raves about him as well in Beyond The Lighted Stage. I think a top 5 for Most Underrated Rock Guitarists is long over due.
7. In 14 seasons neither Jim, Don, or yourself has ever worn a Rush shirt. Do you guys not own one or do you need them sent to you? If so…give the sizes and we’ll get you some.
8. I listened to your show right after Geddy was on and totally agree with you. I have been a fan since 1980. Been a long time historian of the band and people better get the freaking memo…no more big tours. I see MSG is sold out, Austin sold out, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Columbus, both Toronto shows are sold out. People are going to seriously kick themselves when they see that there isn’t a 2nd leg added in 2016 to what would be their 42nd year and make absolutely no sense to do an anniversary show 2 years after the fact.
Rush has NEVER in their history said the words “last major tour”. Never. If you have any decision in pick of the week you should pick the R-40 blu ray/dvd box set and seriously let your thoughts be known that if your show isn’t sold out in your area…who cares if it is only an upper deck seat left…do not miss legends giving a last huge send off like this.
This is not to say Rush won’t hit the festival circuit during the Summers in the future. As a matter of fact that is what I am hearing they are leaning towards as it will allow them to keep open schedules year round and they can pick and choose which ones they want to play. Over the last 5 years they have played a number of huge Canadian outdoor festivals packing 40,000 at one and over 80,000 at another in Quebec.
They have offers to play various rock festivals around the globe every year and settle on keeping close to home and North America. Going the festival route will allow them to do Rock In Rio and festivals in Europe and pick the ones for North America.
Peart has said the completion of Vapor Trails that they send it off and say “We’ll never see a dime back from that!”, but they still love creating music. The fact that Geddy has his own studio, Alex has his own, and Neil has a studio he uses in Burbank carte blanche…I bet we see at least 2 more records from these guys before all is said and done. Play a dozen or so festival dates or a string of dates at Radio City Music Hall for a week like they did back in 1983…things like that will be in their future. Promoters know Rush fans will travel from around the world to the show wherever it is and will have no problem giving Rush an up front check for half a million or so to come play for a few hours and fly back home. Add in merch sales, a live blu ray of the show and audio companion….$$$.
My non-Rush related suggestion is more guest related and I KNOW you always say you guys have asked for this person and of course you considered so and so etc….but just curious if you could just answer with one of 2 words to the names below: Asked/Didn’t Ask
1. Andy Summers
2. Stewart Copeland
3. Les Claypool
4. Page Hamilton (Helmet)
5. Anyone from Yes Past or Present
6. Tom Scholz
7. Pat Benatar/Neil Giraldo (They watch the show I told them they need to go on at a meet and greet)
8. Rick Springfield (Another one who watches the show and has a lot of love for hard rock and classic metal)
9. Lou Gramm
10. Voivod
11. Trans Siberian Orchestra/Savatage
12. Anyone from Bon Jovi past or present
13. Kansas
14. Alan Parsons (His Beatles/Floyd discussions alone would be fascinating never mind his own stuff)
15. Taylor Hawkins
16. Neal Schon
17. Neil Peart
18. Carl Palmer
19. Faith No More
20. 311
21. The Killers (Again…they watch TMS and fans of the show)
22. The Cars
23. 3 Doors Down
24. Kid Rock
25. Steven Wilson (Solo/Porcupine Tree/Blackfield) – AMAZING
Thanks for your time!
Wow, no time to get into this at the moment but maybe others can engage with you on it. As for TMS guests I’ve covered how the process works many times. Thanks
Neil Peart really doesn’t do appearances, meet & greets, etc. Personally, I was surprised he was so prominent on the Sam Dunn doc.
Hey Eddie, you might want to ask Damon (great guy) what he thinks about the War Eagle Supper Club closing for good later this year. The Club is an ancient dive bar at Auburn University, it’s where Damon and Brother Cane were first discovered by a Virgin Records A&R guy.
I’m here to tell you, that was the only Virgin ever to set foot in the Supper Club…
Will try, thanks