That Metal Show - VH1 with Eddie Trunk

I thought it was really cool to see an actual performance on TMS with the Michael Schenker/Kirk Hammett guitar thing. Too bad it wasn't done when they had drummers on for the commercial breaks instead of another guitarist.

 

Yeah that was cool.

I think Michael Schneker is a great guitarist but I don't get why Eddie loves UFO so much.

 

I do.

 

Yeah, me too.

 

Episode with Mark Farner and Ace was really good. They are doing a really good job of it this season so far...Farner telling the story of why he is out of Grand Funk was the kind of detail this show can give us that no one else does. The guitar player was really, really good too, no gimmicks, just cool riffs..

 

Add another one. Schenker and UFO Rule!

 

Eddie Trunk is pompous, annoying, and constantly name dropping BUT there is no other outlet for hard rock and heavy metal on mainstream television. Where else are you going to see Armored Saint interviewed one week and Rick Neilsen the next!? So, I have a love/hate relationship with Trunk. BTW, his podcast is nothing short of amazing. You just have to skip the first 15 minutes to get past his bragging and self promoting.

 

I don't think he even does it on purpose. It's just his personality. He likes knowing all those people. Ace did come to his wedding. I wish I could say that.

 

I would not say "fan" , i tune
in if there's someone i like
or am interested in , last one
i watched was Geddy

 

I reluctantly agree. Uli Jon Roth flies in from Germany just to do this show-and they don't even talk to him the whole time! This guy has had like a 40 year career for Heaven's sake! And there are other times they have had huge stars in, booked with a second or even third guest.

I do like the relaxed, friendly style though. I guess it's really more like conversation, not interviews.

 

Bragging and self-promoting are part of the business. They all do it in one form or another. You'd never have the opportunity to hear his podcast if he never self-promoted it- otherwise it'd be one of the thousands of podcasts recorded weekly that fall on no ears. I've never heard him brag to the extent you imply- he has to promote to further the audience of the show- you have to admit, he's done something right to get a show about hard rock and metal on a cable network instead of a cable access channel.

 

Superstars get more time, like Geddy Lee did a few weeks ago. While some may recognize Roth as a great guitarist, the vast majority of the audience might say "who?" when you mention his name, as you have to admit that Roth is not a well known rock star in the big picture, not on the level of Nugent, who is a "name-artist." In this day and age, you have to consider the "ADHD" effect, where if a viewer becomes disinterested, they more likely switch channels than stick with the show to see what happens next. While many might like more time spent with their favorite artists, we also have to consider that many don't care for that same artist, and conserving time for each guest is the only way to make all viewers somewhat happy.

 

Yes, I suppose that is true. But it was weird the dude flew all the way across the Atlantic, wasn't even promoting anything, and is moved on from after 15 minutes. The other part of it was kind of corroborating the charge about interviewing-somehow, I felt lacking. Nice story about how he felt doing Tokyo Tapes, but felt kind of shallow.

 

I feel like some guests interviews seem too short, but it's always someone I like or am interested in, never a turd- those interviews take forever, lol. I think it's partly because we rarely have gotten to hear some of these insights and backstories from the artists mouth before, and we want more badly. I mean, I'm totally certain that Alice Cooper could sit there for an entire hour and just tell stories of his career, and I would love it. But do I really want an hour of Vinnie Paul talking about his strip club? Zzzzzzzzz....but remember, it started out as a half hour show so it was even worse back then, so we're just lucky to get what we get now, I guess.

 

I hear you what you are saying. I worship Uli, but most people have never heard of him. I guess we are lucky to get anything at this point.

 

That's back to the theme of how good is the interviewing. A good interviewer I guess could take anyone in the business and extract interesting information. I saw Anthony Bourdain in Tokyo talking to MerginMoon and it was interesting.

Eddie kinda complains that Ritchie Blackmore doesn't want to talk about Deep Purple or Rainbow, but good grief, there would still be a lot to talk about depending how we parse that (How did you become interested in guitar? Did your parents support you? Why did you decide to chuck rock music? Why did you decide to move from acoustic to some electric? And question about his guitar technique-not in technical depth, more like "What do you think defines your playing/sets you apart from others?"

Hey, maybe I should be on the TMS panel

 

I feel the "interviewing" is just fine. They have never indicated that they are professional, journalistic-type show hosts with interview skills. Trunk has multiple times indicated that the idea for the show is a bunch of regular guys sitting around and talking about the music they love. I would expect exactly what we get from them- jokes, raving about songs/albums they love, adoration of artists, off-color jokes, inside jokes, gags and a feeling of "this is fun". People keep knocking Trunk for his lack of interview skills, but frankly, do we REALLY want a saccharine interview like we see from corporate hacks like Fallon, Conan, Seth Myers- would you want Carson Daly to host a show like this? A bunch of guys who wouldn't step on any guests toes or be controversial out of fear of commercial rejection from sponsors. Worst thing that could happen to a show like this is to get a huge corporate sponsorship that forces content control more than they already have. I'd rather have what already exists- 3 guys from Jersey ragging on one another, talking about music, on a show that no other network has anything even remotely close to. Trunk asks the questions in his own way, and has gotten significant inside info on many topics- stuff like the Queensrhyche breakup squabble was excellent-he got both sides of the story. He got the L.A.Guns fight from both sides too. But he can only get that if the guests agree to appear, and frankly, I'd be shocked if Richie Blackmore would ever appear on a show called "That Metal Show" given his current interests. And while a discussion about guitar technique in technical depth may be interesting to you, overall, it would lose the audience quickly- imagine giving Yngwie time to discuss his guitar technique- he'd never shut up! You have to remember that the segments are fairly short, unless you are an elite guest. and they have to pack in the usual things that the audience expects, like "put it on the table." Doesn't leave much time for technical discussions.

 

Bummer!

A message to the loyal fans of That Metal Show from Eddie, Jim & Don:

We are sorry to report that VH1 Classic will not continue to make any new episodes of That Metal Show. It has been an incredible run of eight years, roughly 125 episodes and some really cool specials. The global response to TMS has been simply amazing, and we will be eternally grateful for the support from the rock and metal fans that have showed us so much love. We truly would have never made it as long as we did without you! A huge thanks also to the great crews we had over the years both in NYC and Los Angeles, to our producer Jeff Baumgardner, and to all the executives at VH1. And finally, thanks to the hundreds of artists that joined us on our set, had fun with us, shared their stories and many, many laughs. From the biggest names in rock history, to the up-and-comers: we thank you all for being a part of it.

Of course we very much want to keep That Metal Show alive, and with the blessing of VH1 Classic, we’ve got the keys to the show and are currently searching for a new home. We’re not sure where we’ll land, but we hope to be back in our studio and your living rooms as soon as possible. In the meantime, keep an eye out for us on the road and come say, “Hello.”

Thank you for watching all these years, and we’ll keep you posted as soon as we have news to share.

 

I wonder what happened

 

My guess is that VH1 Classic is very cheap.

 

man wtf.

 

They probably realized they were actually producing a show about music...gotta kill that one for more reality TV pronto!

 

VH1 classic used to be good. No reason to watch it anymore. They will prob start showing wrestling.

 

It's all about money and ratings, period, trust me...

 

Is there anything else on VH1 Classic even worth watching? For years they kept showing the same moves on Friday nights over and over. I rarely ever tune in to the channel any more.