OUR OWN EDDIE TRUNK DISCUSSES PODCASTING, U2’S FREE ALBUM, THE “IS ROCK DEAD?” CONTROVERSY AND NEW BANDS THAT HE LIKES
Juan Hernandez of the Dateline Downtown spoke with Eddie. Highlights from the interview appear below.
DD: You are one of the few personalities that have been in the radio business for over 30 years, alongside Howard Stern and Opie & Anthony. Did you ever think that doing a podcast would help bring in a bigger audience, knowing that you had helped build your own audience for the past three decades?
ET: I resisted a podcast for a long time just because I thought it would be redundant with two radio shows a week that I do. But, the company I am with, Podcast One, really sold me on the idea and fans kept asking. What I liked is that it was free, worldwide and on demand whenever you wanted it. The one downside of so many great radio things I have done over the decades is that unless you caught it over the air (or someone posts it on YouTube) it has a short shelf life. Podcast are archived so many last and grow as people discover them. That is exactly what has happened and the response has been great so far from iTunes and Podcast One.
DD: Living in the digital age, what are your thoughts on how U2 released their latest album Song of Innocence for free on iTunes? For anybody that has an iTunes account, the album was already pre-loaded onto their mobile devices, and was widely criticized.
ET: I love physical format. CDs are still my favorite way to get music. I also grew up working in a record store and miss them greatly. I know things chance and evolve but it sucks how free and disposable music seems to be now. U2 reinforced that with what they did. I get it was a huge marketing thing, but it sucks that a band that could have sold a rock album reinforced the idea paying for music is not a priority.
DD: You recently addressed a comment that KISS Bassist Gene Simmons made stating that “Rock is Dead,” and made it very clear that rock is not dead. Given the state that the music industry is in terms of album sales, touring cycles and the rise internet streaming, do you feel that rock will once again come back to mainstream audiences like it had been in the 1980s? Is social media an important tool now more than ever?
ET: I have no idea what the future holds for rock. But it is not dead. It is not as big as other genres of music but rarely has it been. I am very encouraged by the new bands out there right now with a focus on great riffs and vocals. Hope one breaks through. But the mega rock bands will always draw. AC/DC tours and everyone will still go. The question is when those bands end who fills the void?
DD: What are your plans for the remainder of 2014, going into 2015?
ET: I’m coming off my busiest travel summer ever. So, hopefully, wind down a little toward the end of the year outside of some scattered appearances. I will keep up with my radio shows and podcasts and then start looking at booking TMS end of the year for when we start up in 2015. I also want to develop something new for TV if I get a chance. I will always do TMS as long as VH1 wants to, but need to do more and have many opportunities. Just need the [right} partner to make it happen. Every day is a new adventure so that’s always cool. Never know what will pop up.
DD: Houston has grown into a very diverse city over the past couple of years. Any new bands or new music that you can recommend to our fellow Houstonians that you are currently listening or have listened to?
ET: Farmikos is my favorite new band. It features Joe Holmes who was with Ozzy. Also love this new band called Kyng. Those are two good new things I like.
Read Eddie’s entire interview with Dateline Downtown by clicking here.
source: datelinedowntown.com
U2 got paid a rumoured 100 million dollars from Apple. How is that devaluing music? If anything it teaches new bands that they have to find new ways to get their music out there. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and the band seized the moment.
U2 is in the same position that any legendary 30+ year old band is in–a large number of people don’t care about their new music– they just want to hear the hits. But if those people would just take the time to listen to new releases by legendary acts, they would realize that these 30+ year old acts sometimes have at least a few great tunes on each new release. Is the new U2 album the Joshua Tree or War? No. But check out songs like “Iris” about the death of Bono’s mother when he was 14, it’s as good as any 80s era U2. Check out “The Wreckers” or “BU2B” from Rush’s last album, I put them up there with anything they’ve ever done.
So is rock dead? Hell no because people like Eddie Trunk are help keeping it alive.
Yes, they got paid – but by a huge corporation, not legions of consumers around the world. I do feel like it supports the view of many that they don’t need to, and shouldn’t, pay for music. There are very few artists that the corporate world would be willing to do something like that for, and they’re already going to be big “A-list” artists.
Side note, I’ve heard a few tracks from the new U2 on my wife’s iPhone, and there was at least one tune that kinda rocked. California Road or something like that. I Like some of their old stuff now, hated them back in the day.
First off, this whole “rock is dead” debate needs to die. It’s so annoying when this subject is brought up almost on a daily basis, whether here on this site or on Blabbermouth or wherever. Enough already.
As far as U2 giving away their new album on iTunes, you all realize Apple paid a whopping $100 million to the band. U2 didn’t “give away” anything. In fact, they made far more money with this distribution deal than if they had sold the album the conventional way. You talk about music today being disposable and no longer a priority paying for it? Guess what, it’s been like that since the birth of Napster almost 20 years ago! The music industry as we once knew it is dead. Artists do what they have to do to survive and prosper. U2 hit a home run with Apple with this deal. I’m sure all those bitching and moaning about U2 “giving away” their album would had agreed to the same deal had Apple approached them first. Yes Apple and U2 botched how the album was distributed. It should had been up to the user to decide whether they wanted to download the album or not. Other than that, I have no problem with U2 and THEIR decision as to how to distribute THEIR new album.
I am sure it was a great deal for U2. I just think it was pretentious as hell to think everyone would want their garbage music on everyone’s iTunes library.
U2 hasn’t put out anything good since about 1987, yet people still treat thyme like deities. Makes me sick they get that sort of treatment when I can think of 100 bands WAY more deserving of the attention and money than those 4 crackpots.
U2 didn’t put their album into everyone’s libraries – Apple did, after they paid the band $100M for the rights to do so. Figure the cost per unit of the album at $10, either physical CD, or download. That means Apple paid for the equivilant of 10M units sold – 10x Platinum. NO ONE sells that many copies of anything these days. So I really don’t get this complaint that “U2 devalued their music” – they sold it at a premium to Apple, who then devalued it, by giving it away. Then they further devalued it by assuming everyone would want it in their libraries, when of course not everyone did, which drew negative feedback to both Apple and U2.
We’re all waiting for the next hugh rock band. The one that explodes on the scene, grabbing the industry by the scruff of the neck and shaking it.
The ones we still listen to haven’t produced anything new in years (most bands only have 2 or 3 Great albums in them). Nowadays they are just recycling themselves and newer bands are just copying the old ones.
Pop music is just studio production that’s why it has no lasting power-Top 40 from the 60s is still the best in terms of talent, songwriting, production & variety of music styles.
Recent Country music has co-oped rocks riffs and presentation. Twenty years ago they would be in rock bands, now they are hybrids of both styles-sadly, true country artists can’t get air play because they are squeezed out by this bro-country crap (all of which is the same act).
But, hopefully somewhere, right now, there is a kid with a guitar in a gargage……..
….writing one catchy song….that he posts on youtube….that everyone gets for free….because there are no more major record labels….because its not profitable to put out new music…..so they rehash the old stuff…..cause people aren’t buying full albums anymore……
Sorry if I’m not going to be profane or insulting but yes rock is dead. I’m in my late 40s and grew up in the golden age of rock and metal. I work with a lot of younger people , in their teens and early 20s. None of them even remotely like anything what would be considered “rock”. In fact two seventeen year old lifeguards told me they had never heard the songs” freebird” or “stairway to heaven”. Someone above mentioned slipknot reached a high position on the charts with their new album. Many rock groups do (such as Sabbath’s 13) but they quickly fall off the vine and receive no radio play. Someone someday will come along and reach a wide audience and appeal to all demographics. But until then enjoy the older bands when you can because soon this will all be gone.
Yeah, I’m a long time Kiss fan too.. Sometimes I wish Gene (and to some extent Paul) would just shut up and play… Ted Nugent also, I don’t want to hear it.. I just want music, period…I really don’t care about their politics or opinions…
first of all rock is not deadthe legacys live on 2 u2 can go rot the greatest irish band is thin lizzy,so go away u2