Ever since Eddie picked up a guitar at age eleven, it has been all about music all of the time. He made his way to the glitter of L.A. by way of Ontario, playing clubs, bars, and back alleys in the hopes of making a name for himself. After seventeen years of hitting the grindstone, Eddie has made a comfortable niche for himself. His albums, "Fight this Town" and "1321" both released when he was with Beggar's Ball have been critically acclaimed and released worldwide. Eddie can claim production, mastering, and engineering credit for both works.

Today, Eddie wears multiple hats, sometimes producer, sometimes writer, sometimes guitarist, sometimes percussionist, proving whatever the occasion demands of him, Eddie is ready. His collaboration efforts with Snakepit's, Rod Jackson, show Eddie's impeccable diversity and visionary style. In the midst of his collaboration, Eddie has managed to break out into his own and create a solo work that has far surpassed his own ambitions.

His latest effort is a solo instrumental album called "Beatitude" where Eddie has laid down the majority of the tracks. And I mean nearly all the instruments were graced by Eddie's hand. The release is slated for the Spring.

We caught up with Eddie for an antiMusic exclusive.

antiMusic: You've played in original and cover bands and now you are doing solo stuff. How have these experiences shaped your music? And shaped you as a musician?

Eddie: Well, to me music has been kind of like a never ending school as far as discovering what you can become capable of doing. As a kid learning cover tunes and what have you, you get a taste of what others in the past have achieved and in doing so, soak up all of that game and add it to your own repertoire. I started writing my own music as soon as I picked up the guitar, but the more great music and artists I became aware of the more interesting my material got. Also by discovering what's out there and playing in many different types of situations you learn more about yourself, what turns you on and what you don't care for. I've become more and more defined as a musician and an individual because of it.

antiMusic: You have worked with a number of musicians in former Beggars Ball incarnations but have expressed unhappiness with them. Can you talk more about the dynamics, why you didn't enjoy being in a band with them, how your vision differed?

Eddie: Well, that whole thing basically fell through because our vocalist D.K. wasn't willing to put in what it took to make a successful unit work together. He was off on his own trip. He didn't even live in the same city as the rest of us! It was really hard for me or any of the other guys to relate to his behavior or what he chose to write and sing about in our songs. He was in a totally different world and it just clashed and didn't feel right anymore. It's all for the better though. I'm proud of what we did together, although clearly it was best that we move on. There were no hard feelings or anything that I'm aware of.

antiMusic: You've said that you wanted to write and sing lyrics that were about more than getting loaded. What has been your message?

Eddie: I'm not knocking party rock or whatever; it's just not my thing. I guess the fundamentals of what I personally portray though my music would be Freedom, Peace, & Love.

antiMusic: Talk about your relationship with the lead singer of Blessid Electric. Have you resolved your differences?

Eddie: I guess you can say so... I don't think that whole thing is going to come together after so much time going by. I haven't spoken with him in some time, though I am planning on catching up with him soon. It's nothing personal between us at all, but I think our ideal of what we were trying to achieve was just too different from each others to work out in the long run. We did have some solid material going for a minute there and I'm proud of it regardless. Though we had some differences, I've always had nothing but respect for Mizzy and learned a lot from him in our time working together; as did he I'm certain.

antiMusic: Was it difficult working with Rod Jackson on "A Change is Gonna Come?" I've been told that you didn't think Rod worked at the level you needed him to; can you talk more about this?

Eddie: That particular song was actually very painless and fun to do. I had originally laid down all of the guitar, bass and drum tracks as well as some organ and horns then had Kevin and AJ do their thing on it. By the time Rod had heard it, it was all pretty much good to go. He was familiar with the song enough that all I had to do was smoke him out and stick the mic in front him with the lyric sheet. At the time he was stopping by my place on a daily basis just hanging out. Once you got him singing there was no problem getting a song out him, I'm mean the guy never misses a note. He's one of the most talented singers on the planet. On the other hand, getting him to focused enough to sit and work on something was often difficult being how he is a very high strung individual.

antiMusic: Talk about your collaboration project with Rod Jackson?

Eddie: It's kinda strange how it all came together. I would run into him quite often in my neighborhood here in Hollywood over the past 7 years or so. I would always see him and his manager Jim out front of their studio on Sunset blvd and Seward Ave where they had been working on Rod's solo stuff. They started inviting me up to hang here and there and got to know them a bit more. This past year the run-ins with Rod became more frequent, and I had invited him over to my studio to show him what I had going on. Turns out he lived a block away from me the whole time. Go figure. He seemed to be really impressed with my music, production style and playing and seemed very excited about working on some stuff together. From then on he was at my place just about every day for a few months, chillin', telling his crazy stories, and layin' down vocal tracks over some of the recent material I had written. A lot of it turned out amazing, right off the bat. We have a good amount of songs demo'd that when finished I'm certain will be some very strong, classic material. We did some rootsy acoustic style stuff, some old funky style stuff and some real heavy rocking stuff as well. I'm excited to see how it will all turn out. At the moment we've been taking a breather from the project and finishing up with our solo projects so that we can eventually give this project the attention and focus it deserves.

antiMusic: Do you still talk with Luciano and Jaanus?

Eddie: Yes I do as a matter of fact, both of them are good friends of mine and I'm still in contact with them on a regular basis. At the moment I'm actually helping Luciano get his own project off the ground which he's been recording demo tracks for at my studio here in Hollywood. Jaanus is also involved with the project. I can't see ever not being in touch with J-Dogg, he's as solid as they come both as a person as well as a drummer. The three of us still get together from time to time to play shows around town doing our instrumental Sabbath/Zeppelin homage band Zappada for fun.

antiMusic: It seems like you demand a lot from your bandmates in any incarnation and they weren't able to deliver. Talk more about this?

Eddie: Well, I guess maybe I do... because I demand so much from myself. I've dedicated a good part of my life to playing and writing music. It's against my nature to be slowed down or stifled in any way by any individual that may not be quite as dedicated to their art or way of living as I am. I'm much more willing to take risks on many levels than most musicians I've worked with in the past. Should I have chosen to stay in a particular "box" or "way of thinking" that any of these particular individuals felt comfortable with, I would be holding back my full potential and not allowing myself to grow or evolve.

antiMusic: Do you think you take creative risks? How? What was the riskiest move you've made as a musician?

Eddie: Well, I'm always following my intuition when it comes to what kind of music I want make and just I assume taking risks comes along with the territory. One day I wake up and feel like doing an acoustic mellow tune, the next day I'm doing Hip Hop beats and the next a Hard Rock tune... I'm not really afraid to show the different sides or aspects of me or my playing, regardless if anyone out there with a limited of a point of view wants to judge or criticize me. I think the riskiest move I've made to date is the one I'm making right now, putting together this new record together without having anyone sing on it and having very few other people involved in it at all. I'm very confident with how it's turned out though regardless.

antiMusic: Your newest project features you on most of the instrumental work. Can you talk more about this project, who you brought in to work with you?

Eddie: Sure. Creatively speaking, 2009 was most certainly the most productive year of my life to date. I spent a good part of it in the studio working on material that I wasn't yet aware of what it was going to be used for. I was in the habit of writing and fully recording a song a day for the better part of the year, so you can only imagine how many songs and ideas I had recorded. At least over 200... Which as I mentioned earlier range all over in style and if I have to "label" it for description you could say there's some classic rock kinda stuff, mellow acoustic stuff, old school funk style stuff, west coast hip hop kinda stuff, heavy rock and even metal stuff... all over the place. Having all of this material I was sitting on, I decided to select the best pieces of music that worked as instrumentals and compile them for this record. At the moment I've narrowed it down to 20 songs. Most of the stuff was completely recorded by me, guitars, bass, drums... everything, though I do have some guest appearances by Jaanus & Luciano and a few other friends who are contributing in different ways. There were also many songs I wrote during that time that were intended to have vocals and everything, those of which I'm planning on using to collaborate with various singers and friends of mine in the near future. That'll probably be the next thing I put out.

antiMusic: What have you found to be the best part of working solo?

Eddie: Freedom.

antiMusic: Talk about the songs on your album? Background? Inspiration? Is it harder to write for an instrumental album than a lyrically based one? What are the differences?

Eddie: All of the songs were sort of just born out of following my intuition and just doing the work and laying down the music I was hearing in my head on to tape... or to computer rather... while I was feeling it. I don't use any pro tools trickery or any bullsh*t like that. It's all straight live takes of me just doing my thing. The trick is setting up your life to where you can just do that whenever it strikes and just having that kind of freedom. It wasn't any harder writing an instrumental piece rather than a lyrically based one per say, it all just depended on the vision I had for each particular song and doing my best to execute it tastefully.

antiMusic: What songs do you prefer to play live?

Eddie: I don't really have a preference when it comes to performing, I love playing solid tunes as well as more avant-garde freeform kinda stuff. I guess both styles kind of balance out for me.

antiMusic: What's your favorite track?

Eddie: It's really hard for me to say... the whole record in general really represents what I'm trying to express as a whole. I kind of see it all as one giant piece...

antiMusic:: What's important to you as a lyricist? As a musician?

Eddie: Working with a lyricist now a days, one would really have to inspire me or compel me in some way. When someone can look at something that may have happened in their life, maybe something that can be perceived as a negative thing and see what it had to teach them and find a good way to tell that story in song. That would be an example of something I look for. As a musician, the most important thing I think is raw talent. When someone can just bust out at full potential at any given time and in any given situation. Whether familiar or foreign. You'd be surprised at how many people who claim to be musicians can't do that. It's sad.

antiMusic: What's your vision? Where are you hoping to take your instrumental work?

Eddie: In doing this instrumental record, it gives me a chance to showcase a lot of things that I haven't been able to express in the past. I'm hoping to gain more respect in the industry as an artist and a producer. Should the opportunity arise to tour for this record I would love to put a suitable band together to recreate the sounds and vibe of the record and take it around the world. I've got all kinds of crazy ideas for the stage design and everything. Aside from that, if it leads to more opportunities to make instrumental music for various things like movies & tv stuff or whatever I suppose that would be a good thing. I'd also like it to lead to opportunities to work with other well known musicians and artists I grew up listening to or that inspire me.

antiMusic: Where do you see yourself headed musically?

Eddie: The top. Wherever that is... I don't know. All I can tell you is that I'll always be making the kind of music I'm really feeling and believe in. Whatever that may sound like from time to time.

antiMusic: Are you thinking of reforming a band and if so, what do you expect from it?

Eddie: Yeah, ideally I'd like to put something together once the record is done to recreate the vibe as much as possible. It'll most likely involve me on guitar, though I may jump around a bit... I'll also have a drummer, bassist, and someone ripping on the organ, & also some congas and percussion. I haven't put much thought into putting it together yet, once I'm finished with mixing and figuring out how I'm going to release record, I plan to start putting more energy towards putting it all together. On a separate note, Rod & I have also talked about putting something together in the future... only time will tell.