Evil Eddie does it his way

Booking out an empty slot in his employer’s gig list in jest turned out to be a lucky break for contemptuous Brisbane rapper Evil Eddie.

“It started off as a joke,” Eddie said.

“No one figured it out for ages — each booker thought the other had placed the gig.

“By the time they realised it was me, it was too late to get anyone else and they held me to it.

“But I had been playing in punk bands and such for a while, so it wasn’t a big deal to pull something together.”

The musician, who went under the moniker of Butterfingers in a previous life, now performs solo as Evil Eddie and this summer is touring his new album Welcome to Flavour Country.

Released on October 26, Eddie made the album independently, with the help of Pledge Music, an initiative helping artists to release work without relying on the input of a multi-national record label.

Going through a crowd-funded pledge scheme gives artists the opportunity to keep their work their own, and means pledging fans play a huge part in supporting their favourite acts.

This means album releases can take a bit longer, but the end result is true to the artist’s vision.

The first single from Eddie’s album – Queensland — was released in 2010 and while the artist conceded it was a long lead time, he said it was extremely well worth it.

“It was never the plan to take this long, but I wanted to release it on my terms,” he said.

“I wanted to keep everything in check — you don’t let someone else gamble with your work, your livelihood.

“I’m a bit of a control freak like that I guess.”

Evil Eddie tours nationally this summer and plays at the Prince of Wales Hotel on December 15 with a full rhythm section.

Tickets are on sale now, so don’t miss out.