4/6: BACK FROM PORTLAND & SEATTLE, ACE, HOF, TMS, MORE
Just back from a busy weekend in the Pacific NW with Don & Jim doing our live stage show. These are so much fun and it’s been great to meet so many TMS fans as well as fans of my radio shows. We each do 20 minutes on stage of stories and comedy, then a Q&A with the audience, then a little live trivia with prizes. Usually bands play when we are done. Saturday in Seattle we had a sold out crowd 700 strong at Studio 7. Michael Wilton and Parker Lundgren of Queensryche jumped on stage with us for some Q&A as well. They said the name decision with the two bands is very close to being announced. Last night was another great gig in Portland at Tonic Lounge. Smaller club but also a great turn out and tons of fun with some cool local live acts after we left the stage. Thanks to all who came to these gigs. We have more being added based on our schedule. They are listed on the home page under Appearances as they are confirmed. Remember NONE are TMS tapings. Special thanks to promoter Tony Lopez for taking good care of this on this latest run. Next up, this weekend, we come to Mexico City and Puebla! Mexican fans so supportive of TMS so can’t wait. Dates on the home page.
Tons of pro photos will be posted soon from my recent hosting of the MOR Cruise. Some already on the site in news.
Thoughts and prayers to my friend and guitarist Karl Cochran. Karl is an old bud from NJ and a talented musician who has worked with Ace Frehley, Joe Lynn Turner and many more. Was stunned to hear the news he was stricken with a serious stroke. Get well Karl!
Thanks to all for the kind words about the season finale of TMS last night. That was the last of our 12 episode new season and many felt it was one of our best seasons yet. VH1 Classic decides when and where we do season 14. Likely not until the Fall from what I am hearing with location and details TBA. I’ll keep you all posted. Most of the Spring and Summer will be a reshuffle of many repeats so a good chance to catch shows you may have missed. Thanks to all our great guests for being on and all of you guys for watching. Can’t wait to start again but VH1C makes all the calls as to when. Also please note I do NOT control where the show airs outside the USA and how it can be accessed online. I also have nothing to do with TMS merch. Please see the merch I do have for sale on this site, including the all new just released “That Eddie Trunk/ Stump This” shirt!
I will be live on SiriusXM tomorrow 6-10P ET on channel 39 TRUNKNation (Hair Nation). Ace Frehley will be in studio around 6:15PM ET. MUCH has gone on around Kiss and the HOF induction which is this Thursday. We will get into all of it. So much has been said from so many sides last couple months. Sucks as Kiss fans waiting so long for this not only are we getting no performance but the sniping has really been pretty brutal. Today’s NY Post story with Paul the latest example (in the News section). Not sure any band has gone into the HOF with this much drama before. Hopefully at least for a few minutes they can stand at the podium and make their speeches and then be done with this. It has certainly not been the celebration Kiss fans have hoped for fighting to finally see this day. More to come no doubt and we will discuss with Ace and let you speak with him as well tomorrow on Eddie Trunk LIVE TrunkNation!
Have some cool new announcements coming for more upcoming gigs and hosting events. Keep an eye on this space, Twitter and the Appearance section.
Finally if you’d like to see Iced Earth in NYC at Best Buy Theater 4/18 email me through the site with “Iced Earth Tickets” in the subject line. Include your name and address in the email. You will get a confirmation email if you are a winner. Please only send one email. YOU ARE ONLY A WINNER IF YOU GET AN EMAIL SAYING YOU ARE IN, OTHERWISE YOU ARE NOT ON THE LIST. THANKS.
For all the folks that have posted about Eric Singer & Tommy Thayer being “imposters”…how about Peter Criss accepting a credit on Unmasked?…or Ace being on the front of Creature of the Night?…two albums that neither of them played on…
You are kidding right? Accepting a credit?? Kiss did that so people didn’t think they left the band to sell records and do damage control! It was a contract issue! You honestly think they were leaving the band and asked for that? Please know your history! Even when Vinnie was touring they put out a release saying he was “temporary” when Ace was long gone. I have it!
Eddie, no disrespect…I do know the history, as much as I can over the past 35+ years…all I was getting at was that it “feels” like a lot of people are ragging Eric & Tommy for being professionals…and calling them imposters…when, throughout Kisstory, there have been many times that other members of the band were presented in a light that wasn’t completely true…I’m a fan of all the line-ups but would prefer the original line-up to be left as a memory now…If the original 4 got back on stage to play, it wouldn’t be the best memory to leave us with.
If they would just give Eric & Tommy their own makeup designs it would solve all these problems, all the fans that are angry would probably go back to buying their stuff and attending the shows…it amazes me that Paul and Gene can’t see that they’re only hurting their sales by doing what they’re doing. I think the early 80’s scarred them mentally and they think if they give the new guys new makeup it would be a repeat of that time period, but they are dead wrong. Compare the sales of the Kissologies to the sales of the last two records and you can see the difference it makes when you have the ENTIRE fanbase onboard and not just the Tommy/Eric supporters.
Ed,
I say this with “peace and love,” but haven’t you – to a degree – contributed to the drama surrounding the HoF? It’s great that you express your strong opinions on the matter, and that you create a forum on your site for fans to voice theirs (although some of it has crossed the line from passionate debate to vicious slandering). Where I feel you cross the line between critique and bashing is when you repeatedly refer to Eric and Tommy as “imposters” and seem to take “sides” between the original members. While you have extended the invitation to Gene/Paul to respond, can you blame them for declining? Would Aerosmith be willing to come on your show to “debate” you if you repeatedly denigrated their new music as “inferior” to their older output (which, in fact, many feel it is)? It’s great that you’ve been invited by Ace and Peter to the HoF induction, but it’s also one more clear signal (right or wrong) to Paul/Gene that you’re not exactly objective in your position. While I wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to be there either, it does seem (at least to me) that you appear to be injecting yourself into whatever beef there is between the original members. As a 30-year fan of both you and KISS, I say this with “peace and love, peace and love….”
If Tommy and Eric are not impersonating (IE imposters) what are they doing? By definition they are impersonating what someone else created. What else would you call that? Why is it never pointed out all the positives I say about them constantly in that role? As for your comparison with Aerosmith you must not have heard my recent interviews with them where I discuss my distaste for albums like Just Push Play and others and we have an objective dialogue. Kiss seems to be the one band you must like ALL or nothing..
Oh, and peace and love to you also fellow Stern fan!
I agree that I for one will be glad once the HOF ceremony has concluded. What I dont like is that HBO is not airing it until the end of May. Hope you will keep us in the loop with goings on at the HOF. As far as the in fighting with Gene and Paul, I think it really is childish and it has become tiresome. I often wonder where Kiss would be had they never did the reunion and put the makeup back on. Would Kiss as a band survived?
Believe me, I understand the concept of less money on not the biggest station, but when I wear my TMS shirt I always get good feedback. People are always going “Cool!” and they vary in age from one end of the spectrum to the other. It just seems common sense that if this show is clearly gaining viewers by leaps and bounds, you would want to make more to keep the momentum going, I,E., more $. It will now be that time for me to send tweets once again to VH1 classic. But this makes no sense, If you want to make more money, you’ve got to spend some….. I know I’m preaching to the choir
The show is amazingly popular and I am grateful considering the restrictions we have, but the simple truth is VH1C is a very limited network budget wise.. Thanks
The problem is many people get on here constantly complaining about KISS (A band I have never cared for even back in the day), but the fact people keep talking about them is exactly what they want. Bottom line and I am not trying to be rude, but if you hate what they are doing so much stop giving them your money and stop talking about them. Many fans complain about the band, but if they came to your city or put out a new album, you would still buy it. KISS basically knows they can treat the fans any way they want and people will keep coming back. That has been proven too many times.