Eddie Trunk's Essential Hard Rock and Heavy Metal

By Eddie Trunk and Rob Halford

A coffee-table style book from the Sirius XM host of Trunk Nation and VH1 Classic’s That Metal Show, the perfect gift for a heavy metal and hard rock fan.

Known as a leading expert on all things hard rock and heavy metal, Eddie Trunk has updated and expanded this book with even more on the subject. Eddie discusses his most essential bands, his unique personal experiences with them, his favorite “Stump the Trunk” anecdotes and trivia, as well as his favorite playlists. Whether you’re a classic Metallic and Megadeath metalhead or prefer the hair metal of old-school bands like Bon Jovi or Poison, this book salutes those who rock.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Apr 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781613121429

Book preview

INTRODUTION

About Me . . .

My first job in music was writing for my high school newspaper in Madison, New Jersey. It was 1981, and my music column was called Sharps & Flats. What was I writing about back then? The greatness of bands like UFO! (As you can see, truly very little has changed.) I started writing not because I thought I was a great wordsmith, but for the same reason I went into radio a few years later: to share the music I loved with others and to spread the word about all those underappreciated bands out there. It’s that same principle that’s driven me in everything I’ve done professionally, from radio to record label A&R to television.

Ace Frehley and Eddie at the Q104 Studio, New York City, 2009

I’ve lived my entire life in New Jersey and spent almost all of my years in love with rock music. When I was a kid, it was pretty much all I cared about (which was unfortunately reflected in my grades at school). I didn’t even go to college, other than a year at the local community school, because I landed a job in a record store, which was, at that point, my dream gig. Working in a record store for years was great. In order to sell music, you need to know about all styles, so I was forced to educate myself about pop, R&B, country, and more. People are always surprised when I throw out some knowledge about other genres, but even though rock and metal are my passion, if you want to work in music, you need to learn as much as you can about it.

When I got the record store gig, I found out my boss had an illegal radio station in his basement in Staten Island. He was into Top 40 and all the big-echo voice announcer stuff that I wasn’t. (For me, radio was never about how you sounded on the mic, but what you had to say and play—a platform to share and debate.) He could fire up the transmitter only at certain times of the day to avoid getting busted as a pirate broadcaster. The request line was the local phone booth down the street. But his station allowed me to make a demo tape that would land me my first radio job right out of high school at WDHA in Dover, New Jersey.

I’d grown up listening to WDHA, and I will never forget cracking the mic there for the first time. I was so nervous that my hands shook at the controls. I turned on the guest mic across the console by accident, and nobody heard my first-ever station break. Sixty seconds of dead air is how my career in radio started! Thankfully, they gave me another shot, and my show was born. Many believe the Metal Mania radio show in 1983 was the very first specialty metal show. I was able to convince the station bosses to let me play heavy metal only because I told them how many metal records I was selling in the shop across the street. I worked at WDHA on the weekends while working full-time at the record store for nine years. Since it wasn’t a major-market station, I couldn’t support myself on my DJ salary alone. (For a stint I was also vice president of Megaforce Records, the label that discovered Metallica, but more on that in the other chapters of this book.)

Dave Mustaine, Eddie, and Don Jamieson on the set of That Metal Show, 2009

Jake E. Lee, Ron Akiyama (photographer of this book), and Eddie, 1984

I had always dreamed of cracking New York City radio, the number-one market in the country. I loved WDHA, and it will always be a part of me, but when a classical radio station changed formats in 1992 and became Q104.3, New York’s Pure Rock, I dropped a tape in, hit Record, and sent in an air check (your resume in the radio world). I was shocked to get a call offering me the seven-to-midnight slot on Sunday. It was an honor to get the job and have the opportunity to broadcast into the tristate area—New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Suddenly, by making the short drive to Manhattan from New Jersey, I went from a local 3,000-watt station to 50,000 watts! While I never did my own programming at Q104, I was thrilled just to be a part of the station in the big city that played hard rock. The Pure Rock format was canned one year later, but I managed to stay at Q104 until 1998 as a classic rock DJ.

Then I got a call from the legendary New York City station WNEW. The management was making changes and hired me. I begged them to let me do a metal show, and my dream came true: I was on NYC radio, the biggest market in the country, saying and playing what I wanted. Suddenly, I had an audience and was known for something other than a nice voice between records. I stayed at WNEW until it folded in 2003, and that’s when Q104 saved me. The people at my old station had seen what I’d created in the four years I’d been gone, so they let me bring my specialty metal show to Q104 on Friday nights at eleven PM where it still sits today. At the same time, I got a call from an old friend from MTV and VH1, Rick Krim, who told me about a new VH1 channel called VH1 Classic and said I should audition to be a television host. Amazingly, I got the gig and became one of VH1 Classic’s first-ever hosts, playing metal, alternative, soul, and rock videos and interviewing artists from Carly Simon to Robert Plant on a show called Hangin’ With.

Tommy Lee, Eddie, Slash, Scott Ian, Rob Zombie, Ace Frehley, and Gilby Clarke at the VH1 Rock Honors show, 2006

Vinny Appice, Eddie, Rob Halford, and Geezer Butler, 2010

Eddie signing Ace Frehley with Marsha Zazula and Johnny Zazula, 1986

In 2002, I was also hired by XM satellite radio to do one of the few live shows on a music channel and spread my love of heavy metal music. Howard Stern has always been a huge influence on me, and even though I do a different style of radio, he taught me that it’s OK to be honest and have an opinion—everyone won’t always like it, but hopefully they will listen. To this day, thanks to the merger with Sirius, Eddie Trunk Live is on both XM and Sirius radio on Mondays six to ten PM EST on the Boneyard channel, and I am playing and saying what I want, just down the hall from Howard! It’s great to have this weekly live national platform to interview artists and talk to listeners who call in. In addition, my website, www.eddietrunk.com, has grown to become a major destination for news and information for the metal community.

I pitched having my own heavy metal TV show many times, and in 2008, after much development and delay, That Metal Show was born. I introduced my friends Don Jamieson and Jim Florentine, both comics, to the channel. Being friends, fellow metal fans, and frequent guests on my radio show, our chemistry was instant. I pitched them as my cohosts and away we went. At the time of writing, we have completed the sixth season of That Metal Show, which has been one of the most popular shows in the channel’s history. It broadcasts around the world, and I couldn’t be prouder to bring my favorite hard rock and heavy metal to such a huge audience.

About the Book . . .

This book touches on some of the bands that are most important to me. Some bands made the book simply because I’m such a huge fan or for other selfish reasons, and others because they were vital to the evolution of hard rock and metal in the ’70s and ’80s. It was very hard deciding where to cut off the list—every time I said I was done, another band would hit me, and I would say, They have to go in! Many bands I love are not included, but who knows, maybe I’ll get to write another book on them one day.

I’ve often toyed with writing an autobiography, and while this book isn’t it, I think you’ll see that it’s certainly autobiographical. I’ve loaded the chapters with tons of fun personal stories and photographs. While I didn’t rehash every gory detail of the times I’ve spent with these bands and of my years in the music industry, I have included much that I’ve never talked about before. Instead of dishing too much dirt, this book walks the line between insights and opinions, with a little band history and lots of suggestions for listening.

While I’m very aware of the many subgenres of metal (death metal, black metal, thrash metal, glam metal, etc.), this book focuses only on heavy metal and hard rock in the broader sense. Just like on That Metal Show, I distinguish between hard rock and heavy metal. While they are connected, they are different. To some, the blanket term heavy metal can mean Poison; to others, Slayer. To me, metal is darker and heavier in its sound and delivery—and even in the band’s look. Hard rock is loud guitars, but with a strong melody in place. Led Zeppelin = hard rock. Judas Priest = metal. Guns N’ Roses = hard rock. Megadeth = metal.

Please note that there were considerable space limitations for some of the aspects of this book. I felt strongly about including bands’ classic lineups, but I had to limit the number of key additional members mentioned, since some lists could go on for pages. Musicians who have contributed greatly to some of these bands are not mentioned simply because of space constraints, and I mean no disrespect to these band members. Similarly, I had to limit the number of songs on my personal playlists. I love many more songs from these bands, but I had to draw the line. The More Essentials chapter could be expanded into a book of its own, and many of the bands I include there could have received the same in-depth treatment as the top thirty-five bands covered, but again, pages were limited and it’s a reason to write a sequel. I listed the main studio discographies for the selected bands, along with a few live recordings that I consider hallmark records. I purposely left out bootlegs, most compilations, and live recordings that didn’t necessarily receive band support or that the label put out to make a quick buck.

I hope that you enjoy the photos (many of which have never been published before) and the stories, and that this book inspires you to take the time to discover some new artists or some new music from the artists who have the same songs (over)played on the radio. I do not go one day without realizing how lucky I am to have simply been a rock fan who found a way to make a living by sharing my passion for this music. I am truly grateful to each and every one of you for listening, watching, and now reading about the music that I love and for giving me such incredible support over the last decades. I look forward to many more to come.

—Eddie Trunk, 2010

Brad Whitford, Tom Hamilton, Steven Tyler, Eddie, Joey Kramer, and Joe Perry, 2006

Eddie and Mike Piazza, 2006

Eddie and friends with Eric Carr, 1983

Malcolm Young, Angus Young, and Cliff Williams at Roseland Ballroom, New York City, March 11, 2003

I grew up an hour from Seaside Heights, one of the major shore towns with a boardwalk in New Jersey (where Bon Jovi filmed most of their video for In and Out of Love), and went there every summer. Along the beach, there were stands with games where, for a quarter, you could spin a wheel. If it landed on the number you’d chosen, you would win a prize. Like a lot of bands I discovered as a kid, I first heard AC/DC after winning one of their albums playing this game on the boardwalk. I chose Highway to Hell the way I chose most of the records I won there—because I thought the cover looked cool. It showed a bunch of guys—one with devil horns coming through his hat—looking crazy and mischievous, which is all it took to win me over as a kid.

From the first thirty seconds of the album’s title track—that raw, dirty sound that I would come to know as unmistakably, certifiably AC/DC—I was a fan. Their singer, Bon Scott, had a sleazy snarl. He sounded like a guy you’d want to hang out with because you knew you’d get into trouble. Walk All Over You and Girls Got Rhythm are two more reasons why Highway to Hell is still my favorite AC/DC record.

Highway to Hell was AC/DC’s first inroad to success in America. As an Australian band, their build had been slow. Previous albums hadn’t done well (their first wasn’t even released in America), and when they’d played stateside, they were only an opening act. Highway was their last recording with Bon Scott, who died of alcohol poisoning in 1980.

When Brian Johnson replaced Scott as their singer, I—like most fans—was skeptical of whether AC/DC could carry on or have any level of success. Replacing someone as iconic as Bon Scott was no small task, but their fan base in America wasn’t yet so huge that losing him would be debilitating. To many in the mainstream, AC/DC was still unknown.

As tragic and crazy as it was, Bon Scott’s death brought AC/DC notoriety—and news coverage—that they didn’t have before. At the same time, they were writing some of their best material ever. They knew that if they were going to make a record that would honor their original singer, they had to come up with the goods! Obviously they did. Their next recording, Back in Black, remains one of the greatest-selling records of all time and made AC/DC a global success. They were launched to a whole other stratosphere.

I stayed with AC/DC through their future records but was never completely consumed by them the way I was with other bands. I enjoyed them, I saw them play, and I bought the new records, but they were never on my top-tier list, like Kiss and Aerosmith and Sabbath and Rush. I’m not sure why. As much as I love a lot of their songs and albums, I’ve never been a psycho fan, but I’ve always recognized their incredible importance to rock and metal. What they’ve created and what they continue to accomplish have transcended any tags or genres. They take very basic catchy riffs, a rock-solid simple drumbeat and groove, and wailing vocals and make loud hard rock that’s instantly catchy. AC/DC is almost danceable at times. Look no further than guitarist Angus Young’s constant motion onstage for proof. The minute AC/DC starts playing, feet start tapping. Some people call them metal, but I’ve always thought of them as a very loud blues-rock band.

There’s never been more of a recipe for if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it than AC/DC. Though some say they were bluesier and jammed a little more with Bon Scott, you always know exactly what you’re going to get with one of their records: gritty, mischievous, gargled-with-razor-blades vocals and that distinctive groove. Angus’s supercharged, heavy blues riffs are enormously powerful, and they are given exactly the space they need by the rhythm section of Cliff Williams and Phil Rudd—an overlooked part of the AC/DC sound.

Most attention certainly goes to Angus—who still wears his schoolboy uniform even though he’s pushing sixty—but without his brother Malcolm’s rhythm playing to hold things down, AC/DC’s sound wouldn’t be the same. The band’s backing vocals are also rarely talked about. Bassist Cliff Williams helps to create some of the best melodies, with sing-along choruses on songs like Rock ’N Roll Train. As in many bands, the guys from AC/DC who are rarely interviewed or on magazine covers are just as important as the guys who are always in the spotlight.

Brian Johnson and Angus Young at Madison Square Garden, New York City, July 12, 1991

Malcolm Young and Angus Young at Madison Square Garden, New York City, July 12, 1991

When I landed my first job as a host for VH1 Classic—way before That Metal Show existed—one of the interviews I was told I was going to do was with AC/DC. (Obviously, that’s a pretty cool first TV gig!) It was 2003 and they were being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Angus and Malcolm Young and Brian Johnson came to the studio to talk about it. All the members of AC/DC are known to be pretty short in stature, and I’m much taller than they are, so when we sat down to talk, it looked like I was a father with his three kids! We had to arrange boxes on the set to stagger our heights, because otherwise it would have seemed like they came up to my waist. They all chain-smoked in unison like I’ve never seen anyone do before or since.

Angus and Malcolm can be a little hard to understand—they have a tough Australian accent—and Brian talks like a pirate, but they are such nice and sincerely genuine people. One of the biggest things about AC/DC is the energy of their live shows—Angus, for instance, is known for his insane stamina while he runs and spins around the stage—but interestingly, off the stage they are just reserved, relaxed guys who like to sit back and enjoy a cup of tea with a cigarette.

We had a great time that day. I remember telling Brian—who was a lot of fun, with a great sense of humor—that I also did a radio show in New York and would love for them to come on the air. Everybody at every level of the media was trying to get them on radio and TV shows to talk about being inducted into the Hall of Fame, so when he said, Sure. I’ll see what I can do, I took that to mean, It’s not going to happen in a million years.

The politics of the music industry are such that if the lead singer of AC/DC does the Eddie Trunk show but doesn’t visit all the other rock stations too, people get pretty upset. Over the years, one of the biggest obstacles to getting AC/DC on my radio show had been Howard Stern’s perceived ownership of them in New York. In addition to being a big fan, Howard had featured the band in his film Private Parts, and he was known to get pissed if they did any other show. I’ve said many times publicly that I’m a huge fan of Stern’s and that he’s been my biggest influence as a radio host. I never thought I had a drop of the impact that he did, but when it comes to music, I have something unique to offer. Howard isn’t a huge music guy and doesn’t usually know everything in a band’s history. His interview would be pretty different than mine, and I think the guys in AC/DC recognized that. (Plus, I actually play their music all the time on my shows.)

The next afternoon, as I was getting ready to go to my radio studio, Brian Johnson called my cell phone. He said, Eddie, me son, which is what he calls everyone, tell me where I’m headed tonight. I’m looking forward to seeing you later. He skipped the handlers and publicists and came to my show, that night, on his own without an entourage. Brian was open and outspoken about everything. We had a great hour-long conversation on the air. He even called my show again the following week so that he could personally thank an Italian restaurant where he’d had dinner on Staten Island while in town. I mean, who does that? It was my first experience getting to know a member of the band, and I always look forward to talking to him. Brian is unlike any other lead singer, in that he is very unassuming about his role in the band. It’s like he still feels that he’s the new guy after thirty years! He is fully aware that the Young brothers steer the AC/DC ship.

Angus Young at Roseland Ballroom, New York City, March 11, 2003

Malcolm Young and Brian Johnson at Spectrum, Philadelphia, December 8, 1981

Brian is also so honest about his role in life and his opportunity to be in AC/DC. He told me that after he recorded vocals for Back in Black at a studio in the Bahamas in 1980, he walked