RECORD STORE TALES #1092: Grab A Stack of Rock (Recap 3)
A recap of all our shows to date as we gear up for the first anniversary

Recap 1:  Episodes 1-10
Recap 2:  Episodes 11-20

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Show #21, May 26 2023 was chock full of guests!  I had more scores from Max the Axe’s Trillion Dollar Treats to show.  John Snow, Tim Durling, Harrison Kopp, Jex Russell, and Dr. Kathryn (via video) all had new stuff, including brand new releases and rarities. This was a cottage show once again, and plenty fun one at that.

Show #22, June 2, 2023, was one we did for ourselves.  My wife Jen has found Lego to be helpful in her healing, and so we have started to buy Lego again.  With that in mind, Harrison, Rob and Dr. Kathryn came on board to show off Lego and toys.  Jen returned as well, with her Spice Girls Lego set!  Dr. Kathryn revealed the secret to identifying Lego blind minifigure packs, though this is now obsolete due to Lego transitioning to boxes.  This show was tremendous fun despite the limited appeal.

Show #23, June 9, 2023 happened at the cottage!  For that reason, my co-host Jex and I decided to do a special list show.  After many comments and requests, the Nigel Tufnel Top Ten lists were back.  With Rob Daniels sending in a list via email, Jex and I counted down the Top 11 Albums to Play at the Cottage! Jex debuted his new moustache for this episode, giving Harrison a run for his money.  “We’re back, baby!” I announced.  This popular show proved that lists were still a viable way to go forward, and they would be critical for the rest of the year.

Show #24, June 16 2023, almost never happened.  Jen had a bad seizure and face-planted on the sidewalk.  Her entire face was black and blue (and not like the rock band).  “The show must go on,” she insisted, and so it did.  A huge thank-you to Aaron and Harrison for carrying the show that night.  Jex Russell did a brief cameo to show off some rarities, but otherwise the topic was one of our most popular historically:  Iron Maiden!  We looked at rarities, vinyl, bootleg CDs, beer and menus!

Jen needed some time to recover.  Her face was a total mess.  The community came together with support and eventually her beautiful face returned to its normal colour.  No broken bones.

Show #25, June 23 2023, was another very special one with a brand new guest.  I wanted to talk about my new favourite band, the Arkells!  What’s an Arkell?  Watch this show and find out.  Live from the cottage, Aaron and I were joined by megafan Nurse Kat.  She saw the band in four different countries 13 times in just 18 months, and has since added many more concerts to her resume. I provided a Nigel Tufnel Top Ten Arkells tracks list. With Kat’s concert footage and fan photos, this was a night to remember.

Show #26, June 24 2023, was the second show in one weekend!  A morning show at that!  Jex Russell joined me to look at a giant box of cassettes that I found in my parents’ basement.  This turned out to be a popular one with the physical media crowd. Inside that box were a number of store-bought cassettes, and ones that I had recorded with home made cover art.  It was a real trip of discovery, and only one cassette was destroyed in the process.

For laughs, we parodied a former cast member at the start of the show.  All in good fun.  Strippers are people too.

Show #27, June 30 2023, we celebrated Canada Day at the cottage with Jex, one day early.  We chose our Nigel Tufnel Top Ten Canadian bands that are little-known outside of Canada.  This turned out to be the most popular non-heels episode we’ve ever done. It is certainly an episode that I am very proud of. The Spoons, Varga, Teenage Head, National Velvet, the Beaches, Kick Axe, and more. This is a show you definitely want to catch up on if you missed it the first time. I even created a graph for it.

After that much activity, I took another break on July 7, but only to gear up for another busy week!  I had a taping with Tim’s Vinyl Confessions on the 8th, with Rob and Jex.  On July 13, I did a show with Grant Arthur on the Stone Gods and Hot Leg for Grant’s Rock Warehaus.

Show #28, July 14 2023, was a brand new thing for me and something I had been wanting to do a long time.  For the first time ever, Harrison was host as I took the night off for the first “LeBrainless” episode!  Harrison and Jex Russell tacked their Top Five Alice Cooper albums, a well-overdue list show.  They did a great job without me, and it was a joy for me to just watch Grab A Stack of Rock for a change instead of hosting it.

Show #29, July 21 2023, was back at the cottage!  We had Tim Durling, Grant Arthur, and Aaron KMA on hand to celebrate the birthdays of Harrison and Mike.  I showed off my massive birthday hauls and recent arrivals. I also ran a fun slideshow of old birthday party photos from the 70s to the 90s.  This was the first birthday show since 2021, since by this time in 2022 I had quit live streaming.  A wonderful way to have a birthday party with friends far away.  Tim Durling played guitar for us!  We also unsealed the new Grab A Stack of Rock 7″ picture disc by Tee Bone Erickson, from vinylart.co.  Tee Bone’s first ever music on vinyl!

I took Friday July 28th off to do a super-secret taping with Peter Kerr of Rock Daydream Nation.  This ended up to be our “rock court” episode on Vinnie Vincent, with Reed Little as judge.  A very rewarding show that led to more tapings in the coming months!

I wanted to do something special for Show #30, which I called “The Dumbest Thing You Will See on YouTube.”  Why?

Show #30, Aug 4 2023, featured me breaking the seal for the first time on my Metallica Master of Puppets box set, purchased four years earlier and still sealed. This was something I wanted to do on camera, because it’s not every day that some idiot unseals a box set that goes for up to $1600 online.  We also looked at new arrivals in stickers, vinyl, and Alice Cooper deluxe CDs.  Max the Axe attempted to drop in, but was thwarted by technical issues.  We’ll try again one day.  Perhaps the coolest thing about this episode was showing the brand new Paul Shortino cameo for Grab A Stack!

To be continued…