2008. Jen and I were newlyweds. A few people had told us that it was the best wedding they’d ever been to, including some Record Store party people. I will take partial credit for assembling some killer tunes, but the truth is we did a cool mixture of traditional and unique. We don’t play by the rules and that’s what our wedding was like. For instance, I was told that I had to stand at the front of the church and wait for people to arrive, all serious and stationary. Screw that! I joined the ushers and I greeted people at the church door as they arrived. I mingled, I chatted, and I had fun. I made sure the guests did too. Later on, the reception was off the hook.
The glow lasted weeks. Jen and I were the “new couple” and we basked in it a while. Soon, however, we had to pass the baton on to the next couple. Some old school friends of Jen’s were tying the knot in Toronto that fall. While Jen and I still felt like the gleaming new couple, this time we were just guests. It was kind of a cool feeling. We were dressed up nicely, but since we were just guests, I didn’t bother with a tie, and I felt way more relaxed.
I didn’t know this couple, but they were very nice and made me feel welcome. That was difficult, since the guests were almost entirely old highschool friends that I didn’t know, and they’d all break into inside jokes and stories that left me feeling like a 13th wheel.
There was one guy who was definitely not one of their old schoolmates. Dressed in suit and tie, this man was 10 or 15 years older than us. He had long black hair specked with grey, in a ponytail, and a fancy goatee. He sat in the chapel, in the row in front of us.
“Who’s that guy?” I asked somebody.
“Their weed dealer,” came the surprising answer.
“Cool,” I said. They invited their weed dealer. Nothing more to add.
The bride entered, the ceremony began, and I sat quietly in my seat. Then, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye.
Movement where there should be no movement…in the drug dealer’s hair.
I watched with mouth agape as the tiniest spider crawled up and down a thread of silk in the man’s hair. Up and down, up and down. I could not believe it. I whispered to Jen.
“Jen…look at his hair…”
It took a moment, but when the spider scooted down his silk fireman’s pole, she saw.
“Oh my God!” Jen has a fear of spiders.
I just laughed behind my hand.
We may have had a unique wedding, but we definitely didn’t have any hair spiders. That was something I’ve never seen since. The happy couple is still together today. As for the dealer…I do not know what happened to him, but I pray that Shelob never had a meal of him!
No show tonight, as Martin is off and the rest of us need a break.
Having these shows on Wednesdays all winter really did me a lot of good. It gave me something to look forward to in the middle of the week during the cold dark months. Now that summer is arriving, I cannot say what my involvement will be in the future. We haven’t discussed a topic for next week yet, and there is the question of how many more album cover topics there are, that are both interesting and allow for a large panel. We’re also losing a couple cast members for the coming weeks, as John Clauser is on hiatus and another is taking a break.
Stay tuned… we’ll see what next week brings! In the meantime, why not check out one of these cool subjects below?
I don’t pretend to know about bands with whom I have only scratched the surface, so here are some basics on A.F.I. I always considered them to be a punk emo band. A.F.I. (A Fire Inside) are fronted by Davey Havok and have been around for almost 35 years now. In 2003, they were new to me. Working at the record store, some of the younger cooler employees put on A.F.I.’s new album Sing the Sorrow, and I immediately liked it. It had a lot of metal riffing, and I dug Davey’s vocals. I was an instant fan of the disc, and I played it regularly while it was charting in 2003. I still spin it today, and though I’m not a pierced up record store guy with eyeliner anymore, I still dig A.F.I.
Sing the Sorrow was the band’s first big mainstream album after several punk/horror oriented releases. One look at the back cover, and you know it’s going to sound amazing: Produced by Butch Vig and Jerry Finn. The front cover is striking, minimalist and classy. All told, Sing the Sorrow is dark, but with spotlights of bright illumination. Let’s give it a listen.
One thing immediately obvious is that A.F.I. like their grandiose song titles, and so the opening piece is called “Miseria Cantare- The Beginning”. Very Ghost today, no? This keyboard and industrial inflected piece begins with percussion and shouting: “Love your hate, your faith lost, you are now one of us.” And then comes Davey Havok, with soothing melodic and smooth vocals, delivering the melancholy hooks. It’s hard to call this a full song as it’s more an intro, but it’s Davey that reels you comfortably in.
“The Leaving Song, Part II” (again with the pompous song titles that I love so much) is the first real song. Based on a cool bunch of guitar notes and a couple catchy riffs, A.F.I. open not with a blitzkrieg but with a slow and determined dirge. The choruses are gang vocal heaven. This song acted a second single for the album, hitting #16 in the US. Only Davey Havok could make these words sound positive: “Break down, and cease all feeling, burn now, what once was breathing.” Somehow his voice gives hope.
Paces accelerate with one of the best tunes on the album: “Bleed Black”. This one should have been a single. In my ears, this album has nothing but singles, and “Bleed Black” is chief among them. “If you listen, listen, listen…listen close, beat by beat, you can hear when the heart stops, I saved the pieces when it broke, and ground them all to dust.” Yet it sounds like a celebration of defiance, not a dirge of defeat! The chorus is layered with alternative band/Davey vocals, and it’s like crowdsurfing on a cloud. Then, A.F.I. take out the acoustics and go full dirge, but back to the chorus again before it’s too late.
“Silver and Cold” was the third single, a dark and slow tune with industrial effects and subtle, quieter sections and bigger bombastic choruses. Mournful, but powerful too. Tempos bounce back on “Dancing Through Sunday”, fast through and through, with incredible hooks from Davey and the band singing backing vocals. Some cool and prominent bass work, some hammer-ons with the guitar, and we’re not far from familiar territory, but hold on – is that a guitar solo? Yes it is, a full metal guitar solo by Jade Puget, with tapping and fancy fretwork, in the middle of this punky album! And it’s the only solo too, one and done. Talk about using that space effectively!
“Girl’s Not Grey” was the big first single, and it’s all tension and hooks. “What follows has led me to this place, where I belong will all be erased.” Is doesn’t sound like a hook, but that’s the magic of Davey Havok. The guy turns a sentence like that into an anthem, because this song has anthemic qualities. It’s all good, and the drumming is exceptional during the quiet section in the middle. These guys just learned to cross genres in the best way, taking the things that work and using them sparingly and effectively. And man, can Davey deliver hooks.
Dark lonely bass opens “Death of Seasons”. Then, enter Davey, screaming as if in pain. The song then shoots off into a punk rock sprint, but still with a chorus that delivers melody and more hooks. The track ends with Davey declaring that “all of this hatred is fucking real,” before falling screaming into the background while mournful violins sing the last notes. Really haunting stuff.
Guitars fade into “The Great Disappointment”, layered and ringing a haunted chord. The bass indicates that there are still hooks ahead, so stick with it. This could be considered the first ballad on the album. A power ballad – power combined with pain. It’s bleak.
“Paper Airplanes (Makeshift Wings)” is another notably dramatic title, with a punky blast of a song behind it. This track allows you to climb back into the light. With Davey combining his shouting voice with the clean singing in the same lines, it’s a great fun track to headbang to for a while and forget the misery. Pay attention to the drums and percussion, as it’s not all simple bashing. This band, with Hunter Burgan on bass and Adam Carson on drums, can play!
One of the biggest songs in terms of memorable melody is “This Celluloid Dream”, which is a great deep cut and easily could have been a single. The tempo’s not too fast and Davey continues to deliver the goods vocally and melodically. Same with all the backing vocalists: they deliver. Everything sums together like mathematics. 1+2+3=hooks. Among the best songs on the album, and one that deserves some serious listens.
Remember way back when the album began, and we heard Part II of “The Leaving Song”? Now we finally get to Part I, as second last “track” on the CD. This quiet dirge begins with just some bare guitars and Davey singing mournfully. “Leaving” seems to be a recurring things on the album, as “This Celluloid Dream” also uses the word. Though sad, it’s a beautiful song. I suppose you could consider the outro guitars here to be a “solo”, but that would be pushing it.
The album really goes out in a dramatic fashion. The final track on the CD is a 15 minute bulk consisting of three actual pieces of music, two of them “hidden”. “…But Home is Nowhere” is something of a return to form, with the tense guitars hammering out a stuttering riff while Davey delivers the mournful hooks. “This is my life, this is eternal!” goes part of the anthemic chorus.
“The Spoken Word” is untitled in the CD booklet, but its lyrics are included. After a silent pause we are greeted by piano and a creepy child’s voice. This goes on a while, like an Alice Cooper interlude. Then we get to the final real song, “The Time Imperfect” which is bare guitar and vocals, much like “The Leaving Song” at first. Then the drums and bass come in to complete what we’ll call a ballad. There’s one final blast of heavy as we drift along towards the end, followed by creepy, atmospheric reversed guitars, into the dusk.
Sing the Sorrow could not have been more accurately titled. This album is an expression of pain, solitude, loss and also victory. The victory is in the survival of it, and turning it into art. Each chorus allows you to release pain. Beyond that, it is clear that A.F.I. created a sonic painting here. It is an album that takes one on a journey, and features no boundaries to its creative expression. Special credit must go to guitarist Jade Puget who refuses to play it simple, safe, or uninteresting, but never puts the hooks second.
There we were, three men in our 50s, sipping hot drinks as old men do. One of us is bald now. One of us has grey, stringy hair. The third one, perhaps having sampled the powers of longevity from the One Ring itself, had barely aged a day. There he stood, tall and red: the legendary Bob.
“What’s your drink?” I asked, having ordered a large coffee for everyone.
“I only drink tea,” he explained. “I’ve never drank coffee actually.”
“I did not know that,” I replied. You learn something new everyday, even about the guy you grew up with.
And so, Scott Peddle, myself and the legendary Bob gathered over hot beverages to catch up. For Bob and I, it had been only a year and a half since the last funeral at which we reunited. Lately, it has only been funerals. For Scott, it was their first meeting since 1989, when Bob graduated highschool.
We smiled, we reacquainted, and we laughed. It was good to be together again. Our small trio was only a fraction of the old neighbourhood gang. George, of course, is 10 years gone now.
“So I have to know, do you still listen to music? And do you listen to the old stuff?” I asked Bob.
“Not so much; my kids like the current music. One of my sons likes the old rock.” I smiled. Someone was continuing the legacy.
Scott then showed off his magnificent Kiss tattoos. Both of us still love Kiss. Some things have never changed. Bob still has some of his old Iron Maiden picture discs.
Talk soon focused on the old neighbourhood. The late George was older, and always a bit of a pervert. He had no problem telling us what dirty song lyrics were really about. “Let me ask you something,” I queried Bob. “Did you know what a ‘love gun’ was? Or did you think it was something else? I thought it was like a gun that shot love potion, like in stories and movies.” Bob agreed. It didn’t occur to us that Paul Stanley was singing about his wiener. Our innocent minds interpreted the lyrics innocently.
I remember a conversation with George about the Kiss song “Under the Gun”. I assumed the song was about cars. “Let’s hit the highway doing 69!” sang Paul Stanley.
“That’s not about driving,” said George, but declined to elaborate. He was always the one with the dirty mind.
Coffee with Bob and Scott was probably the fastest two hours I’ve ever spent. We spent just as much time talking about the past as the present. What are you driving? More like, what is your son driving? Remember that time that Mike threw a lawn dart and hit Mrs. Reddecopp’s car? Bob and I agreed to cover for me by blaming it on George. It was the only time George was innocent, but got the blame anyway. Most of the time he was the guilty party. Not always. We reminisced about all sorts of activities that we got into in the 80s. Speaking from my own perspective, I think we felt entitled to own those streets as kids. Cutting through a private parking lot to get to the mall quicker? That was OUR route; we beat that path into the grass with our own feet, week after week. How dare they fence it off! What rebels we were.
Walking to the mall and Short Stop on a Saturday is a memory of something I miss. Short Stop in those days was like a different store. No liquor, but loads of comic books and magazines, candy and kites. When we were young, we’d walk or bike and buy a comic and a candy bar. When we were older, it was a rock magazine and a bag of chips. We were, literally kids in a candy store, but the candy store was way better.
Conversation drifted back and forth from family to vehicles to work, but always circled back to George; the tie that still binds us.
I noticed something interesting. Within the microcosm of our small suburban neighbourhood, there were subdivisions. Scott Peddle was part of the “Secord Gang”, consisting of himself, George, and Sean and Todd Meyer. I was in the Owen Avenue Gang, which featured George, Rob Szabo, Bob and his brother. George’s house was the dividing line, thus he was in both groups. Further down, there was the snootier Halliwell Gang, and so on. These groups didn’t intermingle much, even though they were only meters apart. When you’re a kid, meters may as well have been miles.
Before too long, two hours were behind us, and other duties beckoned. We pledged to reunite again soon. And we will.
Some things are as temporary as morning mist, others last a lifetime. It’s a comforting thing to know.
I received my first comment on a video made almost a year ago, with over 1200 views! Please welcome @tcconnection to the show! They took offense to my looping of Sebastian Bach’s amusing laugh in the video at bottom.
The ironic thing about @tcconnection is that they have none – zero, nada – videos on their channel, but still had the balls to post this.
The other ironic thing is that I have, in fact, made videos that benefit society. Check out Adventures in Epilepsy for example.
How much do you wanna make a bet that @tcconnection never replies, and never makes a video of their own?
50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 11: Somewhere In Time
With special guest Peter Kerr
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #101
Exit Pharaohs…enter synth!?
Please welcome Peter Kerr from Rock Daydream Nation to this epic episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden. Now that we are done with the 100th Episode festivities, we can get back to celebrating the 50th anniversary of Iron Maiden. After the lengthy Powerslave tour and resultant live album Live After Death, one member of Iron Maiden was completely burned out. The new album would be the first since The Number of the Beast to lack a Bruce Dickinson writing credit.
Not that this major detail held anything back. Bruce’s singing was still lung-burstingly powerful, and the band were writing amazing songs…this time with guitar and bass synthesizer. It was a controversial decision, but our panel was not phased. Check out what we have to say about all eight tracks, and all four B-sides.
We also take a serious deep dive into the album artwork, without any help from Wikipedia or other sources.
As usual, we close the show with Harrison’s deep dive into the tour (Somewhere On Tour) and setlists.
Scream for us, YouTube, and enjoy this comeback episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden.
Airing Friday May 2 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube.
A second album in 1977 for Sammy Hagar! Swiftly following his self-titled record, Sammy was back with another collection of originals and covers featuring Bill Church and Alan Fitzgerald. New to the band this time out were drummer Denny Carmassi, and Gary Pihl on guitar. With Denny on board, it’s Montrose without Ronnie.
This review is based on my notes for an excellent episode of Tim’s Vinyl Confessions, and so does not follow my usual review format. By all means, check out his Sammy Hagar book Red On Black for more details. Let’s take ’em all track by track.
1. “Turn Up the Music” (John Carter, Sammy Hagar 3:35)
One of the Sammy songs I have known for ages, being on a 1989 “special markets” compilation called Turn Up the Music! Very cool intro guitar lick, one of Sammy’s catchiest solo tracks. Cool lyrics referencing the working day, and shouting out to past rockers like “Johnny B Goode”. An ode to music making you feel better, helping you get through the day. “Heavy metal music, oh that feels alright.”
2. “It’s Gonna Be All Right” (Hagar 4:11)
Laid back with cool synth riff by Fitz, and great punchy horn section. Catchy and fun. Youthful. “We may be young, but we are strong, we can’t be wrong. We’ve only just begun to be right!” I remember feeling that way! The horn section really gives the song a unique flavour for hard rock, and it just blasts!
3. “You Make Me Crazy” (Hagar 2:47)
Lovely little ballad with great keyboards and female backing vocals. Very mellow in a 70s sense. I picture a wintry chalet with a fire roaring. Tommy Bolin vibes, circa “Sweet Burgundy”. While it doesn’t really fit the Hagar oeuvre (especially on an album featuring the lyric “heavy metal music”), I do like this song. Maybe it would be called adult contemporary in some circles…but not mine.
4. “Reckless” (Hagar 3:32)
One of Sammy’s heaviest! Smokes from start to finish. Guitar/organ riff is killer. Heavy metal music indeed! A true head banger. Primitive Hagar music, with all the punches intact.
5. “Try (Try to Fall in Love)” (Norman Des Rosiers 3:11)
A cover of a sappy piano ballad. Full of strings and adornments, flutes, and woodwinds, but a bit too mushy. No rock. Very lush, and Sammy attempts a nice falsetto, but it’s not a favourite. And that song title? It reminds me of “Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You (Tonight)” by Spinal Tap. Why “Try (Try)”? Why? Oh that’s too much now.
6. “Don’t Stop Me Now” (Carter, Hagar 3:12)
Back to form, thankfully! Nice crunchy simple riff here, and catchy guitar licks. Punchy, simple and crunchy. Nice chorus. Listen for “red” reference – “I’m turnin’ red.” This one strikes me as Kiss outtake quality. Think Simmons’ Vault.
7. “Straight from the Hip Kid” (Liar cover – Norman Tager, Paul Travis 3:09)
Funky clavinet is a nice touch; thanks Fitz! This is a cover tune by Liar, a contemporary 70s band who put out their own version of the track two years earlier. Hard rocking, but with a slight touch of funk.
8. “Hey Boys” (Hagar 2:50)
OK song. Light but not particularly memorable. Chorus feels like it doesn’t fit. Good keyboard solo work, very atmospheric. “We’re all playin’ musical chairs, of but a change is gonna come,” lyric comes from this song. Nice light rock. Yacht rock?
9. “Someone Out There” (Hagar 3:01)
Enjoy the upbeat rock stylings of this song. Light background organ is very nice.
10. “Crack in the World” (Hagar 5:11)
Slow rocker. Goes epic in a soft kind of way, but the chorus doesn’t quite fit, which is a problem plaguing this record. Good keyboard and guitar solos for what it is. Kind of ends prematurely.
Not a spectacular album, with only two real serious rockers. There are a few good light rockers too, but fans expecting the “Heavy Metal” Hagar will be sorely left with something they won’t understand.
A fun topic this week with a lot of variation: album covers featuring timepieces of any kind! Though a challenge at first, it became easier once I allowed myself to think outside the box a little bit. Unfortunately Peter Kerr cannot join us this week, and John Clauser is now on a sabbatical, so it will be a smaller group tonight.
I’ll be ready. What time is it? 7:00 PM EST!
THE CONTRARIANS – Rock Out With Your Clock Out! – Wednesday April 30 – 7:00 PM EST
RECORD STORE TALES #1185: The Worst Weather, and the Best Weekend! April 2025
We had a busy weekend lined up, but we were prepared for the worst – and the best! We got a bit of both, but our spirits have never been higher. Let’s rock this spring 2025!
Preparation is always key. We left town at 8:30 AM, bound for Toronto. It was time for Jen’s annual face-to-face with the neurologist, but traffic was light. Apparently it was quite busy the day before, with Metallica in town playing Thursday for the first of their no-repeat weekend. That was a stroke of luck, but then we hit a second one just as we arrived. Our appointment was for 10:00, and the 9:30 had cancelled at the last minute. That means we got seen early, and we got to the lake early too!
The doctor was happy with Jen’s progress, and is increasing a couple medications that seem to be have a positive effect. Good appointment, and we were back on the road.
The music to Toronto was Live-Loud-Alive by Loudness, and the music to the cottage was the brand-new Dreams On Toast by the Darkness. The Darkness album is easily their best since Last Of Our Kind, and will warrant a lengthy review over its 29 combined tracks.
We had a second pleasantly uneventful drive up, arriving in Kincardine at 2:00 PM. We made our first stop of 2025 at our butcher, the Beefway. There we picked up two beautiful T-bone steaks, some assorted bacon ends (applewood smoked), and some pickerel, pickles & pies. In and out in under 10 minutes.
Friday afternoon was a weird one. It was cold, then it rained, and then got warm and humid. I took a stroll and found the last patch of snow left on the beach. I attempted to make a snowball, but the snow was not good for packing. It was dark all day, and I set up on the front porch to rock the music. The first album of the year was Combo Akimbo by Blotto, since the guys have been so cool to me this year. Always a fun record. Around “Metal Head”, I decided to try flying my drone. Just as I got it in the air, it started raining. No flying on Friday. The rain did not hamper the 100th episode of Grab A Stack of Rock, which broadcast from the porch as planned. Even Broadway Blotto came to check out the festivities.
We were indoors for the rest of the weekend, but the pickerel and steaks were sublime. The sun did finally come out Sunday morning, which enabled me to take the first real flight of 2025. Nothing fancy, but plenty of beauty. I think I need to start flying less as a pilot, and more as a cinematographer. Maybe that will be part of 2025’s goals. Improve the drone videos with better, smoother shots. I may have something in the works there.
I always like to do something every year at the lake that I have never done before. Here are three for this weekend alone:
First time seeing snow at the cottage this late in the season.
First time barbecuing Spam. (Frying pan is better for Spam.)
Took the drone a teeny bit further this time and got a look down the river.
The music home was, of course, Iron Maiden! There is no rest for the wicked, nor for 50 Years of Iron Maiden. Fear of the Dark is next up on the recording schedule.
It was such a packed weekend that I slept for 13 hours on Sunday night.
We’ll be back soon. The April showers will bring the May flowers.
This fun short video features Harrison walking us through his very first CD collection photo. You can see Young Harrison was already into Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden, but why, and how? Harrison walks us through them all in this fun nostalgia (and metal) filled episode.
mikeladano.com 