Last Friday night, the 17th, at 6 PM, the first The Wikimetal Happy Hour , a series of conversations on Instagram created by Nando Machado , one of the founders of Wikimetal. To start off on the right foot, the first guest of the series was journalist, presenter, and radio host Eddie Trunk . Check out below how this incredible interview went:
The conversation started with a lot of laughter because Eddie, despite being a great communicator, had never done a live stream on Instagram, and he went through some difficulties before finally managing to talk to Nando on the Wikimetal profile .
When asked if he was bored during quarantine, Eddie denied it; on the contrary, he'd never been busier. The reason? Having to record and edit all his weekly shows (eight in total) by himself, including those for the radio and a podcast. Trunk has a daily show on the satellite radio station SiriusXM, where he interviews various personalities from the world of rock and metal. Unfortunately, he says that this segment isn't available to Brazilian listeners, but he transforms many of the interviews into podcasts, and some listeners upload the content to YouTube, which makes him happy because it allows the show to reach several countries.
Regarding That Metal Show , the iconic interview program that has been off the air for five and a half years, Eddie expresses gratitude for the fans he has in Brazil thanks to the segment, and clarifies to Nando about the possibility of the program returning, “The important thing for people to understand is that the program isn't actually canceled, but the entire channel that produces the program no longer exists. So the channel is no longer on the air (…) It's difficult because doing the program the way we were doing it takes money, and I would only want to do it again if it could be at least as good as it used to be.” Eddie explains, emphasizing that even with many ideas from people about the program, no TV channel has shown interest in producing That Metal Show again, but that he misses the segment very much.
AC/DC album , and recounts that before the pandemic, there was a movement around commercial spaces being explored by an American marketing agency regarding a "new AC/DC product," which most likely refers to a new album, but the announcement was suspended due to COVID-19.
When asked if he had the opportunity to see AC/DC with Axl Rose , Eddie said no, but that he spoke with Axl before the announcement, and that the legendary musician revealed he was living a dream by being able to participate in the band. However, Trunk said that the replacement of Brian Johnson should have had a little more time and respect for the incredible work the musician did in AC/DC, but that it's all business.
Grab a pen and paper and take notes, because Eddie recommended bands, series, and movies that he's currently enjoying. Regarding music, the host admitted to being very excited about the rock scene right now, and praised the bands Rival Sons , Dirty Honey, Like Machines , The Struts , Likes Machine , and an artist called Tuk Smith .
Regarding TV series and movies, Trunk says his favorite content format is documentaries on any subject, but especially music. He praised the famous Tiger King and Don't F**k With Cats . As for series, he loves Homeland, Better Call Saul, Billions , and is curious to see an Amazon series called 000. ZZ Top documentary , to which he replied yes, and mentioned that the documentary's director, Sam Dunn , is producing a documentary about the Canadian band Triumph , and even interviewed Trunk for the production about six months ago at his home.
In one of the coolest parts of the conversation, Nando asks Eddie about some albums he's selected for the interview. The first, Alive ! by KISS , means "his whole life" to the host, stating that it was because of the band that he started working with rock, even though Destroyer was the first KISS album he ever heard. Second, Master of Puppets by Metallica makes Eddie reflect on his career, as he worked with the band's record label, was one of the first to play Metallica on the radio, and because he helped the band become a hit, Trunk got a job at the record company.
Regarding Metallica, Nando states that Eddie must have seen thousands of the band's shows, which he confirms, adding that he even saw the band with Cliff Burton Dave Mustaine 's last show with the band in New York, and the first with Kirk Hammett in New Jersey, in a place that is still there today, but has become a strip club.
The third album Nando showed was Iron Maiden's classic, * The Number Of The Beast *, one of the best albums ever made, according to Eddie. He says that seeing albums and listening to music from that era reminds him of the beginning of his career. Eddie even shows a copy of this album autographed by Steve Harris and Bruce Dickinson , a gift given to Eddie when the album was released, back when he started working in radio, because the band wasn't very famous and wanted their music played. About this, Eddie laughs and says, "I'm old, but I've seen some pretty cool things!"
Hold Your Fire , by Rush (or as Nando ironically describes them, a small band from Toronto), is the fourth album he showed Eddie, adding about the sad passing of the band's legendary drummer, Neil Peart , earlier this year. Trunk says that the news of the musician's death was shocking, even for him who has so many contacts in the music world; he knew the artist was ill, but not that it was so serious. Eddie also shares that he had the opportunity to interview Peart for VH1 before That Metal Show, and that after the show they hung out together for about two hours; Trunk describes him as a "wonderful guy".
Regarding Neil and Rush, the presenter believes that we will truly never see the group again, as they had already broken up before Peart's death. And about the album Nando played, he prefers Rush's older discography, and more specifically, the classic Permanent Waves and earlier albums.
The last album Nando played is none other than perhaps Eddie Trunk's favorite album, Strangers In The Night by UFO , one of the best live albums of all time. He also adds that Steve Harris might not be a musician if it weren't for this album, highlighting that Iron Maiden opens their shows with the track "Doctor Doctor" by UFO.
Regarding UFO, Nando recommends the band Madre Sun , formed by Michael Schenker from UFO, Tyson Schenker , and Brazilian musicians Eduardo and Matt Cavina and Flipi Stipp .
Towards the end of the interview, Nando asks some questions from fans watching the live stream. The first is about whether the host has any news regarding Eddie Van Halen , and Trunk replies that unfortunately not, that along with AC/DC, Van Halen is one of the most private bands in the rock world. Recently, he was in Los Angeles at the Alter Bridge and spoke with Wolfgang Van Halen , the musician's son, but didn't think it was the right time to ask about his father's condition. Furthermore, Trunk says he hears various things about his father's health, but doesn't know which information is true.
Asked about The Dead Daisies ' new song , featuring Glenn Hughes on vocals, Eddie stated that it might be one of the best things the band has ever done, affirmed that he's a big fan of the members, and even though the band recently changed its lineup, he emphasized that Glenn is incredible and that he'll be talking to him soon on his radio show.
At the end of the interview, to close with a flourish (or, I mean, a gold record), Nando asks Eddie to show something on his walls that he thinks is cool to share with the fans. Trunk explains that it's in his basement, where he records his shows, and first shows the equipment he uses for that. Then, he moves on to the That Metal Show logo, made in an unusual way: on a tree trunk, which was a gift from a fan, followed by the first gold record he received, Pride by White Lion , which also has a platinum version of the same album, which Eddie helped promote.
In another room, Trunk shows a guitar that Michael Schenker from UFO gave to the host as a gift, signed by the musician, a bass that Billy Sheehan gave him, another bass from Rex Brown of Pantera , another guitar he received from Leslie West of Mountain Lzzy Hale 's guitars , who was on his show recently, and he swore to her that he was going to learn to play.
That's right, even with so many fantastic instruments, Eddie, in a very good mood, admitted that he doesn't know how to play absolutely anything. In fact, he even hoped to have time to take some online to learn some chords, fulfilling his promise to Hale, and also to hang these great gifts on the wall, but he's super busy.
Eddie also shows off an unusual gift: the Metallica devil doll sent to him by Kirk Hammett, which references the That Metal Show .
Before concluding the interview, Nando asks Trunk if he would be in favor of a possible Pantera reunion with Rex Brown and Phil Anselmo , even knowing that Vinnie Paul was against it. Eddie believes that if it were a Pantera tribute band, called Cowboys From Hell, it would be cool, but otherwise he doesn't know how the fans would react and if it would be fair to call the band Pantera without Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell . However, he thinks it's great that the remaining members of the legendary group are still active playing the band's classics.
At the end, Nando and Eddie talk about the importance of rock and metal journalism, and Trunk emphasizes that he would love to return to Brazil when COVID-19 allows. He even notices that the series is called The Wikimetal Happy Hour , but nobody had any drinks! Therefore, he explains that he will have to come to the country to drink with Nando. What a fantastic guy, what a legendary interview!