5/20: DIO WEEKEND, ROCKLAHOMA, MERCH SALE, NIKKI SIXX, PODCAST, MORE

Back from LA and a great weekend supporting the Dio Cancer Fund. It was an honor to host all the events and if you check my Twitter timeline or FB you saw some great photos from all the activities. My bowling team consisted of Jeff Scott Soto, Tom Morello, Jack Black, Nuno Bettencourt, Brian Tichy and Josh Todd. We had so many fans and photographers crowding the lane it made it almost impossible to bowl! But it was a blast and for a great cause and I thank the guys for joining my team. The public memorial Saturday was very similar to when RJD first passed five years ago. It featured performances and speeches but at Wendy’s request was a bit more celebratory of his life. Still it was very tough for me to open the event coming out of a photo montage (some of the photos I was in with RJD) while This Is Your Life was playing. Heavy stuff and the sense of loss was tough in that setting. But the event went well and lasted nearly 4 hours. It wrapped up Sunday with a barbecue and motorcycle rally that also had performances and more. So far the fund has raised over a million dollars for cancer research. It has been great to help out and host these events in Ronnie’s name when I can. Thanks Wendy for having me and for the great honor.

One sad note from the weekend was the stunning news that Dean Schachtel passed away. Dean worked for Wendy and was very close to Ronnie. He also did social media for a number of bands and had a long history in the music business. I spent the entire weekend with him at the events. Dean died suddenly Monday morning at 49. Just horrible news to hear when I landed in NJ. Condolences to his family and friends. I will miss working with him and seeing him at Dio events.

Many have called my attention to a tweet Q&A where Nikki Sixx mentioned he won’t come on That Metal Show because he feels the “environment is goofy” and he invited me to come to him. Nikki is a friend and totally entitled to his opinion. TMS does have a level of goofing around. The network wants it that way and in all honesty it’s one of the things that makes the show successful, especially to non hard core music fans which is important. It’s loose and we have fun. We have had countless iconic artists on the show in our history that have had no issue with the vibe of the format, including two members of Motley (Tommy was also on but from a UK special). Nikki did invite me to come to LA and do a special for TMS. I would be there in an instant if it was up to me. But it is not. As I have said many times I do NOT control where, when and if the show shoots. If VH1 wants to do it (and I hope they do!), I’ll be there in a second. But one of the things that makes TMS for so many are the features and live studio audience that comes with our regular shows on set. We’ll see what the future holds going forward.

My new podcast for the week posts tomorrow with guests John Bush and Joey Vera. Upcoming guests include Michael Schenker, Mark Slaughter, Jay Buchanan from Rival Sons and Billy Sheehan. New every Thursday and free via www.podcastone.com or Itunes.

SPECIAL SALE NOW HAPPENING IN THE MERCH STORE ON THIS SITE. NOW THROUGH MONDAY ALL MERCH IS 15% OFF! NO CODE NEEDED. GRAB SOMETHING FOR YOU OR AS A GIFT AND THANKS FOR SUPPORTING AND REPRESENTING!

I’m off to Oklahoma tomorrow. Rocklahoma is here! I’ve hosted this event since it started in 2007 and psyched to do it again. If you are going I will have T-shirts for sale at the band merch booths all weekend. Follow on Twitter for photos and news from the event @EddieTrunk . Then it’s off to Vegas for Metal Meltdown 5/30 at the Hard Rock, then live gigs with Don & Jim in Seattle, Portland and San Jose. Please see the home page for all appearances and new ones as they come in. Have a great Memorial weekend. My FM radio show this weekend will be an all American hard rock/metal special. Premieres Friday 11P ET on Q104.3 NYC and WAAF Boston. Both stations stream free.