With his debut album recently released, and a tour across the nation kicking off just last week, Evil Eddie is gearing up for one hell of a pre-new year celebration.
The witty Brisbane emcee has spent the last 12 months in his Queensland lair carefully concocting his special batch of funky, rocked-out hip hop, Welcome To Flavour Country, on his every growing fan base.
However, Evil Eddie is not letting anything get in the way of his mischievous plan going off without a hitch, even admitting to “taking it easy” on the eve of the album release.
“We had a party a few weeks back, put on some beer, and launched the album. The last few weeks I’ve been preparing for the tour and taking it pretty easy really,” admits the emcee.
Eddie was clearly excited about being a part of Australia’s biggest exclusive hip hop festival, Sprung, which attracts some of the biggest hip hop acts in the country. The Queenslander couldn’t wait to hit the Sprung stage:
“Well, we start the tour this week, we start touring Wednesday and go until mid-December. Sprung festival [was] an obvious highlight for me; [it’s] pretty massive being an all Aussie hip hop festival.”
Even more so due to the fact the Brisbane festival would be the only hometown appearance for Eddie, which no doubt attracted fans from all reaches of the hilly costal city.“Well, I gave away my whole beard. It’s been packaged into little baggies. 30 people have it.”
Not giving away too much, Eddie gave an insight into what to expect from his stage presence during the tour, “I’ve got a visual element to go with the tour this time,” he beings.
“You’re going to hear tracks off the new album as well as some old stuff, and a few Butterfingers tracks (the rapper’s old ensemble), and really, it’s just going to be a party.”
This time round, the live routines will feature an exclusive visual element, showcasing Evil Eddie’s passion for completely unique performances. Speaking of his creative visual side, the emcee gave credit to his co-creators and provided a sneak peak on what to expect.
“I’ve got a few friends working on it with me,” he says, “songs that don’t have clips will have some random visuals to work with the themes of the songs. Just matching up to the beat and, you know, making it look cool. I’ve always wanted to do it, I’ve just never known how.”
The new visual element of his show is to keep it from getting stagnant: “Just a DJ and an emcee can get really boring; it can get visually dull quite quickly. But I’m not saying that goes for everyone.”
Mr. Evil references fellow act Funkoars as a point of reference, “they have three emcees out the front and that’s enough to keep the crowd entertained,” he explains. “But when it’s only me out there, I feel a whole band brings more energy to the stage,”
Wanting to share some of the onstage ecstasy, Eddie confesses his love for his on touring henchmen, who provide the musical support for the poet on stage:
“To play an iPod as your backing track and to rap over it, it’s a bit lame, especially for a whole tour. You don’t really get the camaraderie of travelling with people and doing it up with a band. It makes it much more fun on the road.”
It seems the Queenslander’s fascination with a live band setup is a by-product of his earlier musical ventures, with Eddie confirming some of his youthful musical love affairs.
“I’ve never strictly been into hip hop; I’ve always listened to all types of music, and my first instrument is guitar so before I rapped I was playing that,” Eddie says. “I guess that was my primary musical talent. When it comes to playing live, it’s always been in a band format. It’s always been live drums, live bass.”
When it comes to churning out the killer lyrical lines Eddie frequently provides, he admits that “not a lot has changed” since going lone ranger from his days with Butterfingers, but admits a satisfaction in having the ultimate decision making power. “I guess the biggest difference is it’s not a democracy anymore; I get to say how it is, and, well, that’s how it is! I must admit, it’s nice to have final say”.
It’s evident that Eddie draws influences from almost everything he listens too, whether it is rock, funk or even metal. Citing hip hop influences however, the Emcee has acknowledged some of the 90s’ best (“Beastie Boys, Cypress Hill, NWA…”) as his primary rapping ignition, though it’s not always “specific” as he puts it. “I kinda go around in a circle. I go ‘I need a little bit of this influence’ then sorta go off it for a while.”
However, hip hop wasn’t always a part of Eddie’s musical arsenal. With Australian hip hop relatively undiscovered in Eddie’s earlier days, the youngster was introduced to the genre by a schoolyard accomplice.
“I clearly remember when hip hop came along into my circle of friends. I pretty much just listened to metal and grunge, but a new guy came along to my school and showed me some Beasties Boys, NWA, and I immediately switched and sold all my metal albums – which I regretted a few years later – but I honestly stopped listening to metal almost completely and got straight into hip hop. But there wasn’t really any Aussie hip hop around back then”.
When the first taste of Australian hip hop came on the scene in the late 90s, Eddie was captivated with the vibe. “When Def Wish Cast came along, that blew me away; it really impressed me. Rapping with that Aussie accent was really something that changed my hip hop outlook.”“I’ve never strictly been into hip hop; I’ve always listened to all types of music…”
The latest Evil Eddie instalment, Welcome To Flavour Country, was financially assisted by fans through crowd funding tool, Pledge Music, sourcing financial assistance in exchange for exclusive perks, such as early access to the album, signed merchandise or special ‘money can’t buy’ experiences.
Using Pledge Music went “really well,” says the emcee, “we got our target, which is what you want. I found the process really beneficial. I was kind of desperate for ideas, then someone suggested it to me, and looked into what (Dresden Doll and crowdsourcing solo artist) Amanda Palmer did.”
The response was overwhelming, with punters more than happy to support the creation of Eddie’s new release; in quick time too.
“It got to 100% within the first week and half or something,” he trumpets. “I do wonder though how long it will last, but I dunno if it’s just kind of a fad and will wear off after a while and people will stop pledging as much.”
In true Evil Eddie colours however, the emcee took the ‘money can’t buy’ concept to a whole new level, giving some lucky (or is it unlucky?) pledgers a sample of his very own beard, fresh from the chin.
“Well, I gave away my whole beard. It’s been packaged into little baggies. 30 people have it. I’m not even sure they want it, but they’ve got it. There is a way of preserving it. I remember people cutting off their dreads back in the day and they still have them. Maybe the beard will last that long”.
Agreeing that these days, the use of tools such as Pledge and other social media is making it much easier for people to break out and be recognised, the freshly shaved lyricist did admit that it still comes down to overall talent, not just an over exaggerated social media fan base.
“I think, if you wanna make it, people have to wanna listen to your shit. I guess people have more of a chance these days to get their stuff heard, which is obviously the first step, due to social media. But at the same time, it’s so flooded; it’s getting tougher to stand out,” he says.
With such a busy touring schedule ahead, the word ‘relax’ seems unheard of the Brisbane rapper. “Relax? At the moment!?” he says with a laugh. “I’ve been so busy, there’s so much to do, but at the end of the tour I’m going to go overseas and just chill. Maybe I should put myself in a coma; there is no more relaxed state than that.”
What music will he have on his iPod to unwind? “Well, I’m actually listening to my own record, trying to learn the words before the tour.” Clearly the result of a brain overflowing with creative juices.
Welcome To Flavour Country is out now through Bewilder Beats. Evil Eddie is currently on tour with dates around the nation. Full dates and details here.
