INTERVIEW WITH EDDY NUMBSKULL FOR THE EIY HANDBOOK

EDDY NUMBSKULL, Old enough to be your uncle. (Berkeley/Oxnard, CA)

PROMOTER
 YEARS IN MUSIC: 21
 ON THE WEB: akpress.org // numbskullshows.com

CURRENT PROJECT: NUMBSKULL

ROLE: Don

WHO FIRST GOT YOU INTERESTED IN MUSIC AS MORE THAN JUST SOMETHING ON THE RADIO? My mom would play Elvis and Motown records incessantly when I was a kid. When I was 13, my brother took me to see The Clash and that changed everything.

DO YOU REMEMBER THE MOMENT YOU FIGURED OUT WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE? I wish I could recall a certain moment, but there really wasn’t one. I have an enormously unhealthy music addiction. Sometime in my late teens, I had to figure out a way to feed this addiction without filing for bankruptcy… so I decided working in music was the only way this was gonna happen.

WHAT WERE YOUR GOALS WHEN YOU FIRST GOT STARTED? My goal was to provide a platform for local independent fringe artists to showcase their talents and not lose my ass doing so. I was 18.

HAVE YOU ACHIEVED THOSE GOALS? Numbskull has exceeded every imaginable goal, and then some.

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS NOW? HOW HAVE THEY CHANGED? Our mission is still the same. I want to continue to keep the culture of independent music alive.

WERE YOU ALWAYS ON THE PATH THAT YOU’RE ON NOW, IN THE INDUSTRY, OR DID IT TAKE A FEW DIFFERENT PATHS TO FIND WHAT YOU LOVED TO DO? Oh it took eons. I tried my hand at everything: freelance writing, radio, record labels, marketing, booking agent, tour managing… I even did quality control at a record pressing plant. All of the above became too specialized for me. I wanted something that incorporated every facet of music, and I needed that immediate gratification. Promoting shows did exactly that.

WHAT HAVE YOU HAD TO SACRIFICE ALONG THE WAY IN ORDER TO DO WHAT YOU LOVE? Sleep, and interacting with loved ones a regular basis.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU ON A DAILY BASIS? My son. My Mom. Music.

HOW MUCH OF YOUR SUCCESS HAS COME FROM LUCK? TALENT? HARD WORK? Honestly, I think it was a combination of all of the above. It’s goddamned hard work putting on shows. It takes a special demented individual to deal with all the finances, municipalities, band egos, suits, concerned parents, media, spectators, etc. I am a glutton for punishment, so maybe my talent is a high pain threshold. I was fortunate enough to be immersed in punk rock culture before it got mainstreamed. I was lucky enough to have those bands that we helped establish in their fetal stages remember where they came from and take us along for the ride.

HOW HAVE YOU MEASURED YOUR SUCCESS THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREER? Oddly enough, I go by the fun factor. If I experience a whopper of a story or get to meet and work with a punk idol of mine, than I am content. The other day I went record shopping with Henry Rollins — talk about unreal. I was in “pinch me” mode.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS? If you are content with your effort in obtaining your goals. It’s not if you win the game, but how you play it.

DO YOU HAVE ANY REGRETS SO FAR? I regret not archiving our immense history in an easily obtainable fashion. Shit is just piled in storage spaces. I also regret not keeping regular journal entries, not taking more pictures or videotaping. So many life-altering moments, now just living in memory banks and not immortalized on film or in print!

DO YOU THINK THE BEST BANDS IN THE WORLD TEND TO GET FAMOUS, OR TEND TO STAY UNDISCOVERED? These days, if you are doing something significant, someone is going to find you. Everything is just so accessible.

DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVORITE (as-of-yet) UNDISCOVERED BANDS? I have been in love with Nathaniel Rateliff & The Wheel all year, but they just got signed. So I guess that doesn’t count. There is this face-melting metal quartet out of Denver called Taun Taun that I dig. The Ragged Jubilee are these kids on the Central Cali coast doing this swampy bluesy punk sludge. It’s truly awe-inspiring. Stop Breathing is the new band featuring ex-Missing 23rd members. They are so full throttle.

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Read Eddy’s answers to 50 questions about music and the music business in the EIY HANDBOOK, available in print or eBook version at www.earnityourself.com

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