Joe Daly of The Weeklings spoke with our very own Eddie Trunk. Portions of the interview appear below.
The Weeklings: This season is number lucky thirteen for That Metal Show– what have you got in store?
Eddie We’ve had three episodes already and this weekend we’ve got Ted Nugent on for the full hour. The biggest difference is that for the first time ever, we’re doing the episodes on a weekly basis. We used to fly out to L.A. and do two shows a day, which VH1 would then roll them out over the course of a couple of months. Now we’re taping every Tuesday night and people are seeing them that Saturday, so they’re very fresh to air. The other big difference is that we’re doing it in New York City, where we started.
The Weeklings: The last time that we spoke, you had begun pushing the show’s boundaries past pure metal, into other areas like rock and alternative. What’s the plan for this season?
Eddie: The big thing is that we’re now really all over the map. At its core, the show is still a classic rock, hard rock and metal show but there’s a lot of variation going on now. We have this segment that we call Metal Modem where we have the artists in via Skype and we talk to them for a few minutes. In those segments we’ve had Amon Amarth, Halestorm and Ben from Dillinger Escape Plan–artists who we wouldn’t necessarily have sitting on the set with us the whole time because they might be a little bit newer or outside of the world that the channel focuses on, but we’re able to give these artists a platform and that’s been a good thing.
The Weeklings: What sort of non-metal guests might we expect this season?
Eddie: We’ve got this one thing that just came together where we do a full-on classic rock episode where we’re going to have Leslie West (Mountain) and we’re going to have Mick Jones from Foreigner. In this week’s show, we have Alter Bridge, and we also have a guy by the name of Matt Nathanson, who is not a metal artist at all—he’s a singer/songwriter whose connection is that he’s a huge metal fan and we found out about him because he performed on Jay Leno wearing a That Metal Show t-shirt. So he got on our radar and VH1 Classic approached us and asked if we’d have this guy on because even though he doesn’t play metal, he’s such a fan of it and of the show that it would be fun to do, so we’re spreading out for sure and taking some chances. We’re even having some non-musicians on, like Morgan Spurlock and some comedians who are fans of the music.
The Weeklings: I know that this is always a popular question for you, but with each season you seem to scratch a few names off, so who’s left on your hit list of guests you’d love to have on That Metal Show but who haven’t appeared yet? Who’s your top five?
Eddie: Wow. So many. Well, Eddie Van Halen would be one. I only interviewed him once, around the time of Van Halen III, and it was on the radio, and I’d love to really get into an in-depth discussion with him. Of course, we ask every season and they pass every season because he doesn’t want to do press. Another guy that’s heavily-requested is James Hetfield. He’s come up to me personally and said that he loves the show and he watches it and he feels that it’s important, but he’s not personally that comfortable about doing a TV interview. We’ve had Lars (Ulrich) on twice and we’ve had Kirk Hammett on, and he kind of leaves it to those guys to do that sort of stuff for the band. We’d love to have Ozzy, but Sharon (Osbourne, his wife and manager), won’t let him do it. We’d love to have Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley from KISS, but they won’t do it because they don’t like me or us or things that we say, so instead of coming on and debating and discussing it with us, they just choose not to come on. Those are the top guys.
The Weeklings: Of all the up-and-coming acts, what’s the best album you’ve heard in recent memory?
Eddie: Well, the band that comes right off the top of my head is a band from Texas called Scorpion Child. I recommended them a couple weeks ago on the show. Very big riff-based hard rock and great vocals, and those are the things I really like.
Read more at The Weeklings.
16 Responses
That Metal Show is my favorite show on TV. Like the discussions and guests , great to show respect to the music we all love. Eddie, just wondering if you heard about a new project featuring Tod Howarth and John Regan called Four by Fate. Looking forward to hearing this new band! Loved their work in Frehleys Comet.
You want Gene and Paul showing at TMS? Make that episode a Pay-Per-View one and affer Mr Simmons 85% of the proceedings. He will agree in no time, yes siree!
*offer
Gene: “Ask me anything”. I don’t think it would happen.
So you want Gene and Paul to come on your show so they can discuss all the crap that you’ve been talking about them? That is hilarious. Hey guys, reward us for all the garbage we said about you by coming on our show. The arrogance of some people is amazing. Hey Eddie, if I keep talking crap about you will you have me on your show? Then we can discuss why you can certainly be a dick to certain bands when they don’t do the things you want them to.
When did I say I wanted them on? The FANS ask us to see them and according to them isn’t it about the FANS? And as far as talking “Crap” I guess that would be your way of interpreting my honest OPINION when asked? I guess talking crap means 30 years of airplay and support of ALL ERAS of the band? Doing a yearly special dedicated to their music? Being the only one who plays their music in the number one market in the country? I am so evil… STUNNING how misinformed some people are and the conclusions they can reach. I’ll try and lie from now on when asked a question about Kiss or any band just so it’s not so tough on you..