By Chuck Darrow
To those who remember when singer-songwriter John Eddie regularly played up and down the Jersey Shore, his April 27 gig at Resorts Casino-Hotel may not seem like a particularly big deal. But seeing the Cherry Hill-raised musician on the Superstar Theater stage will actually count as a rare sighting.
“We stopped playing, obviously, during COVID; I hadn’t played until last summer,” offered Eddie during a recent phone call to his Nashville home. “I did a couple shows at [Asbury Park’s famed Stone Pony] and one in Philadelphia and one at Ram’s Head [in Maryland] and that was it.
“I love playing, but it’s a different beast for where I’m at in my life now than it was when I was younger. So, I’ve only played four gigs in the last four years.”
What’s also different, he continued, is the musical marketplace. When he said he always looks “at the writing on the wall,” he was referring to the tribute-band explosion of the past decade or so. Whether the venues are theaters, clubs or casinos, acts that recreate the music of a specific band or solo artist tend to take up large chunks of the performance schedules.
“The tribute bands are really killing it,” he noted, using the verb in positive way. “I do a couple of covers in my shows, but it’s mostly original [material]. It’s not like it was back when we first started [in the early 1980s]. Everyone was trying to be in original bands back then. But now people want to hear songs they know.
“I’ve seen some of these tribute bands. It used to be you’d look down on them with disdain, but they’re really good and they really put the work in. I’m just like another audience member when I go see them; I want to hear a song I know too. So I enjoy seeing them. It’s just not something I’m good at.”
As it turns out, Eddie–who has gained a loyal cult following with his gritty, roots-rocking music and from-the-heart lyrics that are often tinged with a sly sense of humor–had another, far more glamorous excuse for cutting back on his musical performances the past few years:
In 2023, Netflix streamed 10 episodes of “Agent Elvis,” a for-adults animated series in which Elvis Presley is portrayed as a super-spy working for the U.S. government. Eddie created and developed the show—whose original pitch was “Elvis Presley directed by Quentin Tarrantino”–with Mike Arnold (a writer for the FX series, “Archer”) and The King’s ex-wife, Priscilla Presley, whom he first met some 20 years ago when Eddie was the opening act on two tours headlined by Priscilla’s late daughter, Lisa Marie. The star-studded cast included Matthew McConaughey (as Elvis), Kaitlin Olson (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) and Don Cheadle. Despite receiving generally good critical and Internet buzz, the series was not renewed for a second season.
“I was co-show runner and co-head writer,” he explained. “So that was a pretty heavy workload. We were working like 10 hours a day for three years on it. I was blessed to have it during COVID because I didn’t have to play” to earn a living,
While Eddie is likely disappointed that “Agent Elvis” wasn’t renewed, he certainly appreciates what a huge accomplishment was the “crazy idea” he initially pitched Priscilla Presley back in 2012. “It would blow my mind when they’d go, ‘We sent the script to Matthew; he wants to do it.’ And I’m like, ‘Really? Matthew McConaughey wants to be in this first thing I’ve ever done for TV?’”
It’s not that working with Priscilla Presley and the “Agent Elvis” cast was Eddie’s first time rubbing elbows with big-time celebrities. On multiple occasions through the decades, he has been joined onstage by Bruce Springsteen. The first time was in 1982 at Big Man’s West, the Red Bank nightclub owned by the late Clarence Clemons, the E Street Band’s beloved saxophone player.
As he recently posted on his Facebook page:
“42 years ago today…it was Easter Sunday…the first time Bruce jumped up on stage and played with us…there were like 11 people in the audience…I was 22 years old and the guy who changed my life at age 14 with his words and music was standing next to me singing with me and my band… we played ‘Long Tall Sally,’ ‘Rockin All Over The World,’ ‘Proud Mary’ and ‘Carol’…the next day my face hurt…I couldn’t figure out why…then I figured it out…it was from smiling so hard the night before…thanks for the kickstart Bruce…I was so much older then I’m younger than that now…”
While Eddie, who has had his songs recorded by the likes of Kid Rock, Sammy Hagar and Keith Urban, has severely cut back on performing and is mustering most of his time and energy for future TV projects, his fans needn’t worry they’ve heard the last of him, musically speaking.
“I still write, and I’m planning on putting out a new record,” he promised. “I have no thoughts that I’m gonna have a hit record, but I write songs for myself that aren’t good for pitching to other artists.
“So I’m gonna put out another record once I figure out what songs I want to put on. I’m blessed. I still write; I could never stop writing music, even if I wasn’t putting it out. My phone has 3000 songs on it that I wrote. I’m not saying there are 3000 good songs. But I have 3000-plus songs on my phone.”
TV tie-in 1
Resorts Casino-Hotel has obviously found success with its series of interactive comedy-murder mysteries based on popular television series staged by Philly-based Without a Cue Productions. The latest offering is “A Dundie Demise: An Office Whodunnit,” whose setting and characters are taken from the brilliant workplace sitcom, “The Office.” The program, in which audience members solve a homicide committed during the annual Dunder-Mifflin interoffice awards ceremony, debuted last Saturday, and will be repeated April 27, May 4 and 18 and June 1 and 8. For tickets, go to resortsac.com/entertainment-and-shows.
TV tie-in 2
Atlantic City has a hometown entry in an upcoming episode of “Guy’s Grocery Games,” hosted by celebrity-chef (and AyCee casino restaurateur) Guy Fieri. On April 24, Leslie Daniel, executive chef at Kuro, the Asian-focused eatery inside Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, will be competing for the $10,000 grand prize on the Food Network cooking competition series.
The show airs at 9 p.m.
