Edward Shimborske III

Edward Shimborske III (born September 21, 1970) is an American record executive, music producer, singer/songwriter, graphic artist, journalist/author, radio personality, lyricist and voice-over artist. Shimborske, noted for creating Sin Klub Entertainment in 1992, is perhaps better known for his work with the celebrated industrial-metal duo the Thessalonian Dope Gods, which also features Warren, Ohio native Randy K. Wilson.

Personal
Born in Warren, Ohio, Shimborske’s parents are both former high-school teachers; his father being a published artist and his mother a published photographer. His brother, Micah Shimborske, is a guitarist and songwriter with The PB Army (formerly of Chicken Dog). Shimborske graduated from Warren G. Harding High School in Warren, where he was awarded two Gold Keys in art, and later attended the University of Toledo, where he served as a radio personality, a journalist and a music-director for WXUT. He currently resides in Ottawa Hills, Ohio, with his wife and four children.

Upon earning his BA in English, he was awarded a scholarship for his Honor’s Thesis and began work on a Master’s Degree while juggling his musical endeavors. Eventually, he began instructing Composition, Creative Writing, film-related courses and Humanities at both the University of Toledo and Owens Community College (with a brief stint as the Education Director for Sylvania Community Services). He currently instructs at Owens and is independently contracted by various organizations regarding online business.

Publishing career
In the mid-1990s, after working as a journalist and music-editor for several newspapers, Shimborske began publishing The Glass Eye, a monthly music and entertainment magazine that lasted well into 2006. Like a counter-culture version of Entertainment Weekly, Shimborske’s highly praised ‘zine featured lengthy interviews with musicians, novelists, actors, adult-film stars, boxers, directors, rappers, professional wrestlers, models and witches. Readers were never surprised to find pieces on Zamboni-drivers next to reflections from cast-members of the Wizard of Oz. In fact, the small publishing house printed pieces on everyone from Ozzy Osbourne and Vincent Bugliosi to Kid Gavilán and Catherine Bach to Rudy Ray Moore and Bernie Wrightson. Shimborske’s work also appeared in national publications like Gig Magazine, Cornerstone, the College Music Journal, and Cultcuts.

Music career
Though Shimborske’s work in entertainment had already progressed, it was at WXUT where he met Michael Seday. The two formed Sin Klub Entertainment and began issuing a series of critically-acclaimed releases from regional favorites like Environmental Hazzard (Cleveland), Section 315 (Pittsburgh), False Face Society (Toledo), The Vagiants (Winnipeg), Bleed For Me (Buffalo), Chicken Dog (Toledo), Dead Heroes (Detroit), Geminus Sect (Hickory, NC), Crashdog (Chicago), and Five Horse Johnson (Toledo). The two entrepreneurs later formed Grappler Unlimited with Cleveland International mogul Steve Popovich, issuing CDs by Bunie Jambo (Pittsburgh), Porn Flakes (Toledo) and Thieveland (Cleveland) while traveling the world. Never breaking out of the region or merging with a bigger company, Shimborske’s labels remain cult-favorites in the Midwest underground, having graduating many musicians into bigger projects. And while the labels worked with countless promoters, distributors and media-outlets in the tri-State area, the main thrust was Shimborske’s strong work ethic and charismatic personality.

Despite the lack of prominence, Shimborske and his various labels possessed a penchant for working with many major artists at a grassroots level – prior to stardom – and many artists lost in circulation. Through comps, cameos, and production, Shimborske has worked with Kid Rock, Consolidated, Dan Hicks, Neal Fallon (Clutch), Ron Holzner (Trouble), Sage Francis, Nash the Slash, Gwar, Damien, Agony Column, Nitzer Ebb, Barry Henssler (Big Chief, The Necros), Pro-Pain, Lucky Boys Confusion, Bizzy-Bone (of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony), Speedball, Mickey Raphael (Willie Nelson), Yukmouth (of Luniz) and more. At current, after 50+ releases, Sin Klub sits inactive, with Shimborske now using the moniker ‘Good Eye Shimmy’ to issue releases. In addition, Shimborske originated the legendary “All Freaks Ball,” a Halloween-themed tattoo convention that primarily showcased Sin Klub bands.

A longtime music fan with wide-ranging tastes, Shimborske -- who was trained on piano, clarinet and guitar -- initially became involved in the music scene in the mid-1980s after forming an early version of the Thessalonain Dope Gods with close friend Randy K. Wilson. The group released its debut recording in 1994, appeared on a handful of comps, and has since issued two more full-length recordings. The duo currently own Ape Studios in Toledo and are responsible for several video-game soundtracks (including Spider-Man 2 for Gameboy Advanced), many remixes and recordings by Evolotto, The PB Army, Mobile Death Camp (a Gwar side-project), and Chrome Helmet.