Sin Embargo: former drummer Ed Stark

former Sin Embargo drummer Ed "Eddiebaby" Stark (1997, 1999-2003)
Ed Stark live at Rubble's, 12/1999.

Eddiebaby at Eric's wedding reception - 6/21/02

ABOVE LEFT: Ed "the MAN" Stark laying down a monster beat at Rubble's in Mt. Pleasant, December 1999. (Photo by Becky Volrath.)
ABOVE RIGHT: Eddiebaby looking at YOU from Eric's wedding reception, June 21, 2002 (Photo by Rob Newman.)

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Blending such diverse percussion influences as John Bonham (Led Zeppelin), Neil Peart (Rush), Carter Beauford (Dave Matthews Band), Keith Moon (the Who), and a myriad other progressive rock/metal and jazz drummers, Ed laid down the hard-to-reproduce percussion half of Sin Embargo's rhythm section on and off between January 1997 and August 2003. Being the only person to ever be in Sin Embargo TWICE, Ed was Sin Embargo's 5th (and 7th) drummer along the group's long and winding road through local music-dom. Ed returned to the band after the sudden departure of his replacement Chad Calton on March 16, 1999. Kyle and Eric decided to have Ed rejoin Sin Embargo a few days later since he was a grand drummer, a really nice guy, and made the job of keeping Sin Embargo rockin' and rollin' a hell of a lot easier. Ed originally joined Sin Embargo in January 1997, succeeding long-time member Jason Hofer. In December 1997, however, Ed decided to move to Hilton Head, South Carolina for a "change of scenery". But, Ed's plans for Hilton Head did not work out as he had originally hoped, so he returned to Mt. Pleasant in June 1998. After returning to Mt. Pleasant, Ed remained a strong Sin Embargo fan, and even sat-in on a couple of Sin Embargo gigs that Chad Calton was unable to play at in August 1998 (Columbiaville Days) and January 1999 (New Moon Records in Mt. Pleasant). After being in Sin Embargo for about 5 years, Ed's drumming finally appeared on a studio recording - namely the Sin Embargo/Dirty Money "split" CD Blowin' Mud, which was released in October 2002.

Ed, the "elder statesman" of Sin Embargo, was born on August 24, 1972, and was raised in Oil City, Michigan, before graduating from Bullock Creek High School (near Midland) in June 1991. Ed began playing drums at the age of 10, when his parents bought him a crappy off-brand drum set at his insistence. Ed served in the US Marine Corps From June 1991 to March 1995 - mainly being stationed in Japan - and began attending Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant in August 1995. He started out as a percussion major, but switched majors a couple of times before transferring out in December 1997. Ed played in the CMU marching band, as well as some other school bands during his first couple years there, and also taught some percussion workshops during the summer of 1997. Ed returned to CMU for the Fall 1998 semester as a foreign language (French/Spanish) major. Ed graduated with a B.S. in Secondary Education, majoring in Spanish and minoring in French, in December 2002. In August 2003, Ed landed a full-time teaching job in the Walled Lake School District (teaching middle school foreign language classes), which required his full attention. So, Ed decided to leave Sin Embargo to focus on his new teaching career and explore other, more diverse, musical interests outside of rock 'n roll. After being involved with Sin Embargo on and off for nearly 7 years, Ed's gnarly drumming has certainly been missed. Though the musical connection has subsided, "Eddiebaby" still gets together with Kyle & Eric to hang out every so often.

Ed used to play a Yamaha Stage Custom 5-piece with a red finish and Paiste/Sabian overhead.

During January - May 2003, Eddiebaby also played percussion in "Los Drogas", the backup musicians for Kyle's solo act KK Dirty Money.

Ed's musical tastes include Rush, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Dave Matthews Band, Blues Traveler, Metallica, Queensryche, several jazz groups, and any other band with a kick-ass percussionist. He is also into playing various styles of blues, swing, opera, and jazz.

For the JASON HOFER-to-ED STARK-to-CHAD CALTON-to-ED STARK Story (Fall 1996 - Winter 1999), click here.

Ed can be contacted by e-mail at eddiebaby72@hotmail.com

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Last modified on February 3, 2008.