Record Store Tales

#1178: Kitchener Blotto

RECORD STORE TALES #1178: Kitchener Blotto

There’s an old saying; I think it goes back to Aristotle.  It goes, “Never meet your heroes.”

I think we can prove that wrong, right here.

Quick recap:  I first heard Blotto’s song “Metal Head” as a young kid.  Not sure what to make of these guys, I filed it away as “interesting” but never had the opportunity to hear more through my younger life.  I even worked at a used CD store from 1994-2006.  You know how many used CDs by Blotto came in during that 12 year span?  Zero!  Not a one!  I started to wonder if they were a real band.  Fortunately, along came the internet, confirming that my memory wasn’t playing tricks on me.  Some of the core Blotto members first assembled in the early 1970s, as the Star Spangled Washboard Band.  They had albums and singles.  Yet, up here in Kitchener Ontario Canada, nobody I knew had the record, heard the record, or knew where to buy the record.  It was frustrating as hell, but I never forget the name “Blotto” nor the song “Metal Head”.  The music video was indelible.  The singer had charisma!  The band looked unique.  One guy was bald (a rarity in 80s rock bands) and one guy had glasses and wore a tie!?  What was with that?  In the 80s, we had Revenge of the Nerds and I couldn’t help but wonder what this band was about, because visually, that was what I was seeing!  A nerd with a guitar?  It made no sense to 13 year old me.

But I never forget.

Fast forward to 2018.  My pal Aaron and I had this summer ritual of hitting Toronto to go record shopping.  This trip almost never happened because Jen’s mom was dying of cancer and we only had so many weekends together left.  However, she ordered me:  “Mike, go with your friend.”  And so, first thing in the morning, we embarked.  The first store we hit was BMV and there it was:  Combo Akimbo by Blotto, featuring the song “Metal Head”.  Flip the record over.  There was the bald guy, and the guy with the glasses!  I snapped it up immediately.  It went under my arm and stayed there until checkout.  There was no question I was getting it.  The whole trip was documented on video, including this find.  In the video, I was delighted to find the guys all had “Blotto” names:  Sarge Blotto, Bowtie Blotto, Broadway Blotto, Cheese Blotto, and Lee Harvey Blotto too.  I got the gag, and all my hopes were confirmed when I dropped the needle on that record later that night.

Fast forward again.  We lost Jen’s mom, and I started writing again.  My Blotto reviews were spotted by drummer F. Lee Harvey Blotto himself, who contacted me in gratitude.  He even sent me a shirt, while defending their cover of “Stop! In the Name of Love” which I wrote slightly negatively about.  “What a cool guy,” I thought to myself.

I wore that Blotto shirt with pride until it pretty much wore out.  I also emailed F. Lee in 2019 when Sarge passed away from cancer.  What shitty disease it is.

I continued to listen to and love my Blotto albums over the years.  I purchased the Collected Works CD which has most of their studio material.  The rest of their discography eluded me, at least at prices that Jen won’t smite for me.  And finding Blotto, in the wild, in Ontario?  Not frequent, or I would have had an album sooner than 2018!

I’ve lost a lot of weight since then!

Fast forward again!  It is now 2025, and to my delight, I discovered that a Blotto documentary film was coming!  Hello! My Name Is Blotto – The Movie, directed by Rob “Bert Blotto” Lichter will premier April 12 at the Cohoes Music Hall.  I asked for any band member to come on my show Grab A Stack of Rock to talk about it.

A day or two later, F. Lee emailed.  “Why not!” he said, and offered the whole band and director Bert too.

And so we did the interview, and it was a lot of fun and hopefully gained the band a few new fans.  I know that among many of my regulars, particularly in Australia, it was their first time hearing and seeing Blotto.

What was really cool was the pre and post-show chat when we weren’t recording.  Bert was first to arrive in the virtual studio, and his passion for Blotto was only exceeded by his feelings of camaraderie with them.  We chatted a bit, and then Bowtie arrived.  He was curious about me, so I told him I was from about an hour west of Toronto in a place called Kitchener/Waterloo.

Without pause, Bowtie said “We played there as the Star Spangled Washboard Band in the early 1970s.  1975 or so.  We also played Guelph and Richmond Hill.”

My jaw must have dropped at that moment.  Guelph is pretty obscure even among Canadians.  And Bowtie pronounced it right, which most people don’t do on their first try.  He said that Broadway Blotto would remember.  I speculated that they might have played at the Coronet Club, not far down the street from me.  They were known for their regular-hours lunch menu, and strippers and rock bands at night.  That was the kind of place that Blotto would have played up here, as Bowtie and Broadway confirmed.

Also confirmed by F. Lee:  There are lots of Blotto live collections up on Spotify waiting to be streamed.  Lots more music for me to hear, right at my fingertips.

At the end of the show, the Blotto guys thanked me for my support over the years and said some very kind things about my writing.  I’ll tell you, there is nothing better than when someone whose art you admire, tells you that they also like what you do.

Broadway called us “kindred spirits” which I find very flattering, but this is where it gets really cool.

He asked me to choose my own “Blotto name”.

I thought about it, and I played with Hoser Blotto for a little bit.  I ultimately decided on “Kitchener Blotto”, because that really identifies me.  Maybe there are lots of fellow hosers who are Blotto fans, but I hope when Blotto hears the word Kitchener, they think of me.  And the strip club.

Thank you guys.

Don’t meet your heroes?  Pfft.  Choose your heroes wisely, I say.

Kitchener Blotto

 

 

#1177: Snowpocalypse Now!

RECORD STORE TALES #1177: Snowpocalypse Now!

I haven’t been writing much lately, which is a choice I made in order to avoid the burnouts of the past, and to focus on giving 100% to 50 Years of Iron Maiden.  Doing this series has been a healthy and rewarding experience.

In the last week, my town has been hit with roughly 70 centimetres of snow.  I had not seen snow like this since the 1990s.  It’s quite remarkable!  On Saturday morning, Jen and I went out on a junk food run to stock up for the holiday weekend.  (The junk food lasted about 36 hours.)  We noticed that a lot of the snowbanks were taller than the humans on the sidewalks.  That was before we got hit with another 40 cm.

But here I am, sitting indoors and just marvelling at the winter wonderland.  That is where we break this story down into a mental health detour.

I had to find a new counsellor again, which sucks.  I really like my counsellor now, but she has another maternity leave coming, and it is hard finding a good match.  I did however find a new counsellor earlier this month that I think is going to work out.  I am optimistic.

Perhaps because of that optimism, I had a revelation the other day.  It goes back five years, to when Covid began.

We were all forced to adapt.  We were all stuck indoors.  Some of us had to work from home.  Everyone bought webcams.  Anyone that could work from home during that time, probably did at least once.  Now, working from home policies are pretty standard.

And thus it occurred to me:  storms like this don’t have as big an impact on me anymore, because I can just stay home and work.  That is a game changer as far as my winter disorder goes.  I don’t have to go fight the roads just to get to work alive.  I can stay home, and eat pretty much anything I want to.  That’s thanks to Covid.  So there you go.  Perspective.  Five years ago I said I’d have loads of perspective.  There’s one angle.

Of course, for me, working from home recently meant a drop in creativity.  One of the cardinal rules of working from home is:  “Thou shalt not use your creative space as your work space.”  It’s just not good for mental health to mix the two, but I have no choice.  So, as a result, when I’m done sitting in this chair for eight or nine hours of work, I don’t choose to sit in it again for an hour or two more.  It’s not healthy.

I will say one thing, which is that I bought a disappointing Rod Stewart CD this past weekend that I should have spent more time reading the sticker.  You’re In My Heart:  Rod Stewart with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.  Cool, Rod with a symphony.  All my favourite songs like “Reason to Believe” and “You’re In My Heart”.  New versions, I assumed.  Unfortunately, I discovered it’s just another Drastic Symphony.  Except for two new recordings, it’s just old Rod classics with strings dubbed in, just like Def Leppard.  Disappointing!

So, writing hasn’t been a priority when I have this stuff going on, but not everybody watches YouTube so it’s nice to touch base like this once in a while.  Hope you’re doing well.

#1176: End of Isolation

RECORD STORE TALES #1176: End of Isolation

I’ve been in isolation nine days.  A positive Covid test and some weird symptoms have kept me house-bound, and of course Jen was only a few days behind me.  She tested positive with symptoms about four days later.  The true test of a marriage is if one can survive Covid isolation together, twice.  I am happy to announce we are still married!

On Thursday January 23rd, I started feeling an irritation in my throat.  I went home early.  I recorded a 50 Years of Iron Maiden episode with Harrison and Melissa Nee, feeling absolutely wiped out by the end of it.  I went straight to bed.  I woke up the next morning knowing I would not be going into work.  I felt stinky rotten, but without a cough or congestion.  Just my throat, a lot of body pain, a foggy head and fatigue.  I tested myself, and you know how that went down.

While it was longer and harder than my first fight with Covid, it never turned into anything serious.  Fighting the fatigue was the hardest part.  I started working from home on the Monday, putting in full days, but delaying my recovery by not resting enough.

My experience with Covid was not just different physically this time.  Mentally, the toll was different.

During my first round with Covid, I was dreading working from home, but gradually warmed up to it.  On my second round, I was looking forward to working from home, but tired of it quickly.  My lack of enthusiasm might be due to feeling worse this time, but I spent my time differently.  I didn’t listen to any music, at all, while I worked.  I didn’t do any easy chores like laundry while I worked.  All I did was cook the odd meal.  A lot of Spam.  I’m into Spam now.

I didn’t do anything creative for that whole time.  Physically, I didn’t want to continue sitting in that chair (as comfy as it is) any longer once my work day was done.  I did do a quick video with Dan Chartrand on both our YouTube channels – check it out.

It was just a bummer of a time otherwise, as Jen and I learned how to navigate her personal space clashing with mine!  The monotony of the food too; that was starting to wear.  We ordered in a lot.  I had a McBreakfast one day (I ordered so much that it did last the full day).  We tried ramen for the first time.  We got a pizza.  The days blur together.  After I wound up each work day at 4:30 PM, I hung out on the couch for a while, but was starting to feel tired by 5:30.  It was a struggle to stay awake, and I didn’t want to go straight from work to bed.  It is hard balancing what one wants to do, with what one needs to do.

Because I wasn’t able to do much creatively (and also because our next guest also has Covid), Harrison and I paused 50 Years of Maiden.  I think I’m ready to jump back in, but already the show schedule is daunting.

Today I’ve sat down and listened to music properly for the first time in nine days.  I chose the debut by Rose Tattoo, a band we’ll be talking about very soon on Grab A Stack of Rock.  But I’m nervous; nervous that I won’t be able to keep up or maintain my motivation.  I have the Contrarians, Grant’s Rock Warehaus, and Grab A Stack all in the coming week.

Feels good to be negative though.  I plan on going music and Lego shopping today.  Otherwise taking it easy.  Writing this is my creative endeavour for today.  Let’s enjoy the rest of it.  Allons-y!

 

 

#1175: Tie Dye

By request of Dan Chatrand from Off the Charts

RECORD STORE TALES #1175: Tie Dye

Bob Schipper was the instigator.  He was always the one with the creative ideas.  From making our own spiked wristbands from juice tins and black electrical tape, to sketching our own original video games, he was usually the one with the kernel for the idea.  I provided the energy, and was able to spin his ideas off and expand them into entire universes.  On this day in question though, Bob had the idea that we could make our own tie dye T-shirts.

I don’t know where he got the idea.  Probably someone from school.  There was one hippy kid in his grade that I would later work with at the grocery store.  Massive Grateful Dead fan.  The idea probably came from him.

In our world, tie dye wasn’t big.  Metal bands rarely wore the stuff, and we didn’t go back to Zeppelin.  Our horizons were much more recent.  In my world, wrestlers like Superstar Billy Graham were my inspiration.  He was known for his tie dye, and he looked incredibly cool.

We were not able to make tie dye as fancy as Superstar’s.  We were only able to mix a couple colours.  Our methods were simple.  We went to the local Zeller’s store, bought a few colours of fabric dye, and four of the cheapest, plain white T-shirts we could find.  Then, we would walk home and set up in my mom’s basement.  With no regard for other people’s clothes or the mess we were making, we dumped the dye into the big basement sink, and mixed it up. Then, we carefully twisted the shirts up, trying to create a spiral effect.  Once satisfied, we fastened everything with elastic bands, and dipped the shirts spiral-side down into the dye.  We repeated the process with another colour, and let everything dry.  Of our shirt experiments, maybe one out of every two attempts turned out.

The dye started to wash out after two washes.  The shirts wore thin and ripped easily.  One evening, Bob and I were wrestling in the park, when he grabbed and lifted me, and my favourite tie dye shirt ripped.  I had no choice but to finish the job.  “Rip it off like Hogan!” encouraged Bob.  With a roar, and a lot of effort, I ripped the shirt off my body and threw it to the ground.  “Raaaah!!”

Meanwhile at home, Mom was trying to get splashes of dye off of every surface in the basement.  She was absolutely furious with us.  No wonder Bob wasn’t allowed to do stuff like this at his house!

 

#1174: Big Feelings & Why I’m Upset With the Arkells

RECORD STORE TALES #1174:  Big Feelings & Why I’m Upset With the Arkells

I bought my first Arkells album High Noon back in 2017, but I really fell hard for the band in 2023.  The Canadian pop rock quintet hadn’t put out any songs I disliked, but in 2023 a combination of personal drama and a need for Canadian tunes led me to dive into the band all the way.  It was May, and in less than a year I had acquired all the albums.  That is a short period of time to absorb so much new music, but I did, and I loved virtually all of it.  There are actually few bands I love as much as the Arkells, and only a handful that I fell for so quickly.

I love their lyrics, from everyman tales of not being able to pay the rent, to social discourse and critique.  Singer Max Kerman was a Poli-Sci major, and also has his finger on the pulse of the youth.  This results in some pretty cool lyrics.  As for the band, their musicianship is top notch.  Drummer Tim Oxford is in my top Canadian drummers of all time, and you know that’s an elite list.  I’m also a big fan of bassist Nick Dika, who always has deep tones and fabulous bass melodies.

Shortly after I went all-in, the band released a new album called Laundry Pile, an acoustic affair with melancholy feelings.  A bit of a slow burner, but a brilliant album.  This was followed by the 2024 all-covers LP, Disco Loadout.  I enthusiastically went bonkers for it, and got it on CD and signed vinyl.  Their eclectic set of tunes, from Abba to Whitney interpreted by the rock band, satisfied deeply.  They threw in a couple rock tunes by Springsteen and Hall & Oates, and I just liked the whole album.  Could I fall in love any more with the Arkells?

Full stop to the summer of 2024.  So soon after the Disco Loadout album, Arkells announced the release of a new single called “Big Feelings”.   “It came together quickly,” said the band. “It started with a bold drum loop that Tim made, and was quickly arranged when the band assembled for a session in February.”

A few weeks after Aaron and I visited Sonic Boom records in Toronto, the Arkells announced an appearance at the store.  They brought with them 150 copies of “Big Feelings” on 180g clear vinyl, hand cut by Red Spade Records in Calgary, Alberta.

150 copies were all that were made.  And they sold out that day.  No copies have ever shown up on Discogs.

And this is why I’m upset with the Arkells.  I had just been to Sonic Boom a few weeks earlier, and there was no way I could make it down for that store release.  Trying to get there early enough to get one of the 150 copies…being in a crowd like that…no, no thanks.

I guess you could say, “Why are you upset, Mike?  It’s on you that you didn’t go.”

Sure, that’s true.  However, I think I’m on record for despising these kinds of releases that I’ll never get my hands on physically.  Maybe I’m not mad at the band; maybe I’m mad at the practice.  However it is the band that I have taken it out on.  “Big Feelings” remains the only Arkells song I don’t have, because I refused to buy it on iTunes.  I haven’t even put a “like” on the music video. Oh sure, I’ll probably give in eventually.  It just really bugs me that a band of Arkells’ stature, with thousands of fans who value physical media, would only release 150 copies in such an exclusive way.  Some might see that as indi-cool.  I don’t.  Arkells aren’t some garage band.  They have fans, and I feel a real disservice by this release.

Call me a curmudgeon, but that’s how I feel.

#1173: I Like Iron Maiden…A Lot

RECORD STORE TALES #1173: I Like Iron Maiden…A Lot

In 1984, I “rebooted” my musical taste and started from ground zero.  Out went Styx for almost two decades.  Out went Joey Scarbury, and Kenny Rogers.  In came KISS, W.A.S.P., and of course, Iron Maiden.  I don’t think there was ever a time that Iron Maiden were my #1 favourite band, because Kiss almost always held that spot.  It is safe to say that Maiden were always in the top five.

In grade school, I rocked Iron Maiden while being scolded by Catholic school teachers for doing so.  It didn’t stop me.  Through highschool, I proudly had their posters in my locker.  It didn’t matter that Maiden weren’t hip with the cool kids.  I was never cool, and never really intended to be.  I was happy to be one of the Children of the Damned, not having to fit my personality into any particular shoebox.

There was a time I wavered, which I shall now admit to you.  There was one Iron Maiden album that I didn’t intend to own.  I reversed my decision within four months, but it was in the fall of 1990 that Iron Maiden may have faltered in my eyes.  The album was the “back to basics” No Prayer For the Dying.  My favourite member, Adrian Smith was out.  I loved Janick Gers’ work with Bruce Dickinson, but I don’t think he quite fit with Maiden immediately.  I also didn’t like the growly, un-melodic way that Bruce Dickinson was singing.  I thought maybe this time, I would just buy the CD singles, and not worry about the album.  I came to my senses.  No Prayer wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the return that we hoped for.  I didn’t really want Maiden to get “back to basics” but was willing to go along for the ride.

My enthusiasm returned in 1992 with Fear of the Dark, a partial return to form with some solid tracks.  It could have been better, but I was happy.  Then the roof fell in.  Suddenly, Bruce Dickinson was out.  Meanwhile, the entire world had been sent into a grunge upheaval.  Bands like Iron Maiden were dismissed as irrelevant in this new angry world.  Bands who played their instruments with seasoned pride were being replaced by groups with punk aesthetics.  Maiden seemingly had no place in this new world, and now the lead singer was gone.  Just like Motley Crue, who were suffering a similar fate.

Blaze Bayley was the audacious name of the new singer, from Wolfsbane, and a different one he was.  A deep baritone, he was little like Bruce.  Immediately, I loved The X Factor.  My girlfriend at the time ridiculed me by telling me that Iron Maiden would “never be cool again”.

Oh, how wrong she was.

By the year 1999, Bruce was back.  And so was Adrian.  Maiden have never been bigger.  They have continued to issue albums, never being shy to play new material and deep cuts live.

That’s why I’m telling you this story.  2025 marks 50 Years of Iron Maiden, and there will be a lot happening.  2025 will launch the Run For Your Lives tour, and Bruce has promised that they will play some songs they’ve never done before.  It will also be the debut of new drummer Simon Dawson, from Steve Harris’ British Lion.  Nicko McBrain, on the drum stool since 1983, has finally taken a bow from the live stage.  It can’t be easy doing what he does.

2025 will also mark the launch of a new Martin Popoff book on Maiden (more on that in the coming weeks) and most importantly…tomorrow, January 10, Harrison Kopp and I will launch our own video series, 50 Years of Iron Maiden.

I have “only” been a fan for 40 years, but I’m all here for it.  Up the Irons.  Let’s give ‘er in 2025!

 

#1172: Top 5 Storeplay CDs – A Personal List

A sequel to #167:  Top Five Albums That Got Us In Shit At The Record Store
and #27:  Store Play

RECORD STORE TALES #1172: Top 5 Storeplay CDs – A Personal List

Let it be said:  The Beat Goes On had a lot of rules about what could and couldn’t be played in store.  You couldn’t scare off Grandma, shopping for the new NSync CD for the grandkid.  Therefore, Metallica’s Black Album was banned from store play.  Musicals, classical, and a large chunk of rap (language!) was banned.  Certain bands were banned outright:  Kiss & Rush.  (Tell me that wasn’t personal against me!)  Therefore, any time I could break the rules when bosses were not around, I would try to get away with playing music that I actually liked.

Another rule stated that you must pick five CDs of different genres, put them in the changer, and hit shuffle.  Me?  I preferred listening to albums, not shuffles.  But I was a good little employee 97% of the time.  This story is about the other 3%.

Here is a list of my Top 5 CDs that I loved playing at the Beat Goes On, whether it was allowed or not.

5. DIO – Holy Diver 

Most definitely NOT allowed to be played in store!  I didn’t care.  The boss man was out of town one day in 1996, and I knew I wouldn’t be caught by anyone that mattered.  Tom Morwood, who worked at our Waterloo store, popped in that afternoon to check out our jazz section.  We had just opened a few months earlier.  Upon hearing Holy Diver blasting from the speakers, Tom remarked:  “Holy Diver?  Wow.  That’s ballsy man!”

I didn’t own Holy Diver yet and I was checking it out for myself.  There was a lot to love, such as “Caught in the Middle” and “Don’t Talk to Strangers”.  I also played The Last In Line around the same time, and loved “Egypt (The Chains Are On)”.  It was a great way to discover classic music.  Which, of course, wasn’t the point of working in a used music store and trying to sell CDs.  “Nobody buys Dio,” reasoned the boss.  In ’96, he wasn’t too far off.  But I didn’t get caught.  Tom wouldn’t rat me out.

4. BLUE RODEO – Just Like A Vacation

This 1999 double live album came out when I was running two stores at the same time.  I was in charge of my own store on Fairway Road, but that summer I was also managing T-Rev’s store in Cambridge.  He was off helping put a new franchise together in (I think) Ajax Ontario, and I wasn’t given much choice in the matter.  I suppose it was a great compliment and a testament to management’s confidence in me, to give me two stores to run, but it sucked.  I felt like I was in exile when I wasn’t at my own store.

When this was a new release, I listened to both discs in sequence.  The acoustic balladeering and jams of Blue Rodeo really helped soothe that homesick feeling.  It’s a fabulous album.  In particular, the live version of “The Dimestore Greaser and the Blonde Mona Lisa” really hit.

3. MARILLION – Radiat10n

Same location, back in exile, but a different summer.  I discovered Marillion in 2000.  I had heard some of the Fish era stuff, but not the Hogarth.  This controversial album was on the shelves, so I put it in the player.  Mark Kelly looked a little weird on the inside, with the designs painted on his bald head, but let’s give it a shot.  By the end of the shift, I knew I was going to buy it.  I put in on a shuffle with four other discs.

As soon as it came on, I said, “Ah this must be the new Marillion singer.”  Steve Hogarth perked up my ears. Several songs jumped out immediately:  “Cathedral Walls”, “Under the Sun” and “The Answering Machine” in particular.

While my bosses might have scolded me and said “Don’t play Marillion, you’re not going to sell any!” a decades long obsession began by playing it in store.  So there you go.  The balance sheet doesn’t reflect that kind of lifetime impact.

2. The Candidates – Meet The Candidates

This Cambridge band included bassist/vocalist Neil McDonald, who also worked at our Cambridge location.  I genuinely loved this album he made with the Candidates.  Many of the songs connected with me in a big way, such as “Barely Bruised”.

They didn’t love that I played this frequently in store.  It was for sale, but it was unlikely that I would make a sale just by playing it.  People liked buying CDs with bands and songs they already knew, generally.  I was given a pass because, frankly Neil was favoured by management.

The reasons I played this in store so frequently are really simple.  One, I genuinely loved and connected with this album.  There are still songs, such as “Who’s Your Daddy Now?” that still connect with me.  “Sold your soul for a photograph, I tore it up and had the last laugh.”  I burned some bridges when I started Record Store Tales, and while I don’t know for sure that Neil was upset with me, I think it’s pretty likely.  I’m sorry about that – I’ll always think fondly of him and this band.

1.    – The Box Set

The closest I came to a breaking point, before I finally quit the store, was when I was working (exiled) to a miserable location in Oakville Ontario.  I have written extensively about this experience.  The customers were generally snooty and holier than thou.  A story about an asshole lawyer was a favourite with early readers of Record Store Tales.

The only good thing about Oakville was that I was working alone all day, and no bosses came there.  It was like working in another province, such were the frequency of the visits from head office.  The drive was really difficult and the mental health situation was not good.

And so, I played all five discs of the Kiss Box Set in sequence.  Because fuck you, boss.

Best song exclusive to the box at the time:  “Doncha Hesitate”, a classic sounding Kiss demo featuring all four original members, intended for Destroyer.

Had I been caught, I would have been given a boatload of trouble. But mental health is a thing too, and stuff like this helped keep me sane during a difficult few months managing two stores at once.  I was pushed so close to the edge, that it was a matter of luck that I survived.  And Kiss.  And that’s not hyperbole.  Playing the music I loved made the experience survivable, and that’s barely.

Thank you Kiss.

And that’s the list.  I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane.

#1171: The Best and Worst of 2024

RECORD STORE TALES #1171: The Best and Worst of 2024

‘Twas another interesting year here at Grab A Stack of Rock HQ!  Remember that old curse?  “May you have interesting times.”  We sure did in 2024.

Jen’s health started the year on a low note, but she bounced back.  With the right help, she’s had her best year in a long while.  There’s a lot of work still to be done, but has been a year of leaps and bounds for her health!

On Grab A Stack of Rock, we had a strong start to the year, but in February, Harrison got sick.  Sometimes you don’t how much you need someone until they’re fighting their own battles.  Fortunately Harrison fought hard and has made a recovery, but the timing for me wasn’t ideal.  I was trying to increase my YouTube presence by doing two shows a week, but without the Mad Metal Man, I found myself despondent.  I tried out a couple new co-hosts to fill in for him while he recovered, but struggled.  I almost cancelled the show.  Twice.

Still, I carried on, until the great shelf disaster of 2024.  That almost broke me.  I told people I was going to sell my collection and quit this hobby for good.  Because, ultimately, that’s what this is:  a hobby.  I don’t get paid enough to motivate me to produce content.  Advertising and T-shirt sales help fund my WordPress and Streamyard fees, but I don’t make a profit.  I don’t break even.  I’m about $10 in the hole every month.  I almost replaced Grab A Stack of Rock with a food show, after a review of a Chef Ramsay microwavable meal got some hits.  Grab A Stack of Eats?

But I didn’t quit.  I kept going.  Why?  The power of friendship.  They kept me going.  They know who they are.

Thanks to fellow music fans like Grant Arthur, Johnny Clauser, Marco D’Auria, Rob Daniels, Tim Durling, Peter Kerr, Harrison Kopp, Jex Russell, John Snow, Aaron Stewart, Metal Roger and many more, I pushed onwards.  I feel like we are now part of a larger, less insulated world.  I owe these folks a debt of gratitude for including me in that world.  All I have ever wanted, for better or for worse, was to be a part of something, with people who wanted me there equally as much.  I feel like I’m in a healthier space again.  We have built a bigger, more metallic and welcoming Community.    Long live the Community!

 

Highlights of my 2024:

I think the thing that brought me the most happiness in 2024 was simply making videos.  I’ve been making videos for 35 years, and there have been peaks and valleys.  In 2024, drones were incorporated into some.  Jex Russell encouraged me to utilise more angles and edits.  In one of the 2024 videos, I used six cameras, a record for me!

Since we already did our Top 5 Albums of 2024 on Grab A Stack of Rock, this year I thought I would pat myself on the back and pick my Top 5 Videos from my own channel!  I called it the 2024 Narcissus Award!

NARCICCUS AWARDS 2024

FAVOURITE VIDEOS OF THE YEAR

In no particular order.

1. The Battle of ’84:  Defenders of the Faith vs. Powerslave with Pete Jones

To have the Professor himself join me for the this epic battle was quite the honour.  We tore these albums inside and out, and ultimately picked a favourite.  Harrison even joined us at the end, which was a delight.  It was hard to pick just one episode of Grab A Stack of Rock for this list, but I think this was the deepest dive of the year.

2. Our Journey Collections on Six Formats with Tim Durling

From the brief period where I was trying to do two episodes a week.  I woke up one Saturday morning with the idea to do my entire Journey collection, but realized I didn’t have the historic knowledge of the band to do it justice.  Tim Durling happened to be online, and so we did this episode with zero preparation.  I think it turned out pretty cool.

3. Mike and Aaron Return to Toronto 2024.

Long overdue.  Of all our Toronto videos, this one is the best.  I think I just went into it with a clearer idea of the end product, and everything turned out as great as I’d hoped.  Plus, the Toronto trip was a total success as you’ll see with the scores we brought home with us.  A very special video to me personally.  Also, look for the drone shot!

2. An 8-Track Holy Grail discussion with Aaron and Tim Durling

Aaron texted me one day from Harriston, Ontario with photos of 8-track tapes he found.  One of them happened to be a very rare “Holy Grail” that Tim Durling needed for his collection.  Aaron sent it to me with some other cool scores, and then I sent the Grail to Tim.  We made this video in two sessions separated by several weeks, but with the magic of editing, it’s all seamless.  This is a very special video for anyone interested in 8-track tapes.

5. 30 Years After the Beat Goes On with Robert Daniels from Visions In Sound

I think this is my proudest achievement in 2024.  I had an idea.  It had been 30 years since I was hired at The Beat Goes On in Kitchener Ontario.  It would be cool to go back to the mall and see how much it has changed in those three decades.  Rob Daniels was the perfect guy to join me, since we reconnected at the front counter at The Beat Goes On.  We hadn’t seen each other since highschool.  He was an avid soundtrack buyer, and I was the new employee.  Together, with Jen on camera, we toured the mall landmarks and shared memories of the way it used to be.

I would have had better audio if I used external microphones, but never having done this before, I am incredibly proud of the way it turned out.

Bonus:  Mike’s Birthday Video by Jex Russell

I can’t really count this for the Narcissus award, because I didn’t make it.  However, my favourite video of 2024 was this kind gift.  Jex assembled a cavalcade of surprise birthday greetings from many of my friends, family, and a few special rock stars.  Jex put a lot of work into this video, not only with getting the guests, but editing it together with his own theatrics.  Probably the greatest birthday gift I’ve ever been given.  If I ever feel down in the dumps, I just need to watch Martin Popoff call me a “Canadian legend”.

I can’t say how grateful I am for this thoughtful gift.

I am excited for what 2025 has in store.  Buckle up.  If 2023 and 2024 couldn’t kick me down, then I still have a lot of gas left in the tanks.

 

List of everyone who has ever joined me on Grab A Stack of Rock to date:

  • Harrison Kopp
  • Eric “Uncle Meat” Litwiller
  • Aaron KMA
  • Tim Durling
  • Rob Daniels
  • John T Snow
  • Grant Arthur
  • Brian Richards
  • MarriedandHeels
  • Marco D’Auria
  • Kevin Simister
  • Dr. Kathryn
  • Jen Ladano
  • Grace Scheele
  • Jex Russell
  • Spencer “Spenny” Rice
  • Nurse Kat
  • Erik Woods
  • Jason Drury
  • PLA
  • Peter Kerr
  • John Clauser
  • Len Labelle
  • Reed Little
  • Metal Roger
  • John the Music Nut
  • Mike Slayen
  • Peter “The Professor” Jones
  • Todd Evans
  • James Kalyn
  • Angie Moon
  • Ryan Gavalier
  • Chris Preston
  • Dan Chartrand
  • Glen “Archie” Gamble
  • bicyclelegs
  • Davey Cretin
  • Martin Popoff (airing in 2025)
  • and (briefly) Max the Axe

TOP FIVE ALBUMS OF 2024

 

MR BIG – Ten

THE ARKELLS – Disco Loadout Vol 1

BRUCE DICKINSON – The Mandrake Project

JUDAS PRIEST – Invincible Shield

DEEP PURPLE – =1

 

 

VIDEO: 40th Anniversary: Record Store Tales #1: The Beginning – “Run to the Hills” – December 26, 1984. 12 Noon.

40 years ago today was one of the most pivotal in my life. It was the day I discovered Iron Maiden. It was the day my life changed forever, and I found my new identity. Star Wars was over a long time, and I was 12. Time to grow up. Heavy Metal was around the corner. On this day, December 26, 1984.

 

RECORD STORE TALES PART 1:  The Beginning – “Run To The Hills”

I still remember the first time I heard Iron Maiden.

Maybe it’s this way for some when they remember the first time they heard the Beatles, or the Stones. Or for those younger, maybe it’s like the first time they heard “Smells Like Teen Spirit” or “Fake Plastic Trees”. The first time I heard “Run To The Hills” was monumental to me, but I didn’t realize yet what the massive impact would be.

It was Christmas of 1984. I was a mere 12 year old looking for musical direction.  I hadn’t been much interested in music prior to that.  I had albums by Quiet Riot and Styx, but my majority of my collection was John Williams’ movie soundtracks.

I really wasn’t interested in music yet. I had yet to dedicate myself to any particular style. At the same time that I would listen to Quiet Riot, I somehow also thought Billy Ocean was cool.

Well, the video for “Loverboy” was nifty….

I had always been kinda afraid of heavy metal bands.  Guys that wore spikes, like Judas Priest or Iron Maiden. Kiss literally scared me when I was buying my first comics (there were always ads for Kiss posters inside comic books), and I know I wasn’t the only one. The neighbor kid was scared to death of Gene Simmons spitting up blood. Bands like Maiden and Priest looked like a bunch of hooligans, definitely up to no good, definitely out to hurt people, including kids.

Boxing Day, Bob came over. It was tradition, every Boxing Day, Bob and I would get together and compare our Christmas scores. Bob scored a cassette tape called Masters Of Metal Volume 2 and I was given an Atari game called Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron.

In my basement, we sat down to play the video game. Our goal was to take the game as far as humanly possible, to see what happened when you shot down so many planes that the Atari didn’t have enough characters to display it anymore. (Incidentally, disappointingly, like most Atari games, it just starts counting up from zero again.) We sat there playing that game so long that Bob had to go home and eat lunch, then come back. But what he left behind while eating was Masters Of Metal.

“Run To The Hills” came on. Some people speak of moments of clarity: That was my moment. The music was fast, powerful, dramatic and melodic. The lyrics were cool and you could mostly sing along. Most importantly, the music and lyrics seemed to combine with the game experience. When Dickinson was singing “Run to the hills, run for your lives!” it meshed perfectly!  Too bad Aces High wasn’t out yet!

A moment like that could quickly pass into history and be forgotten for most people.  As the day wore on, I realized that I had found something. This music kicked ass!  I was brought up on movie soundtracks.  This stuff had the same drama, but with guitars!   This was even better than Quiet Riot and AC/DC, so I said at the time.

It didn’t end there of course. We played through Masters Of Metal, finding a few more diamonds. “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming” By Judas Priest was definitely a close second to “Run To The Hills”. We were fixated on Accept’s “Balls To The Wall”.  We’d play it over and over again laughing hysterically at the lyrics.  But the song still rocked!  I can still remember when MuchMusic started the Power Hour, and they played that video.  There’s little Udo Dirkscheider, in his camo pants, and crew cut, rocking with these skinny German guys with long hair.  It was fucking hilarious!

We skipped (what we then thought was) the crap…Lee Aaron, Anvil, Triumph.  I grew into them later, particularly Triumph.  Something to do with double guitars, maybe.  I digress.  We always came back to Iron Maiden.  Always.

Bob would bring other tapes over as the months and years went by. W.A.S.P., Motley Crue, Black Sabbath. Now Bob’s a father of four who doesn’t listen to rock music anymore, which makes me sad in a way.  I’m not sad for him, because he’s got a great family and always has.  I’m more sad because I don’t think he can ever appreciate what impact our shared experiece of rocking out had on me.  Listening to Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and the rest.  The was it, the beginning.

#1170: The Smaller the Better – Christmas 2024

RECORD STORE TALES #1170: The Smaller the Better – Christmas 2024

2024 was one of our smallest Christmas gatherings, both in budget and in population, but it was certainly one of my happiest.

Sometimes everything just feels right, and this year’s Christmas Eve was held back at the old family home once again.  It was the first Christmas Eve there in over a decade, but that’s my happy place at Christmas.  A place I can feel comfortable.  After all, it was my home for 29 years.  I settled in with my dad and watched Superman the Movie while Jen made cookies.  We awaited the arrival of my mom, Dr. Kathryn, and a few dogs.

Jen knit custom gifts for the dogs (shawls, mittens and hats).  She also knit custom shawls for the ladies, and toques for the men.  I love mine.

As an introvert, I do well in small groups.  Dinner was the traditional beef fondue (or chicken or schnitzel), with bonus vegan options.  I brought over some special flavoured salts and hot sauces to sample.

We did that Christmas “white elephant” game, or whatever you want to call it.  The “$10 gift game” is another name for it.  Initially, I won this cool set of chocolate “coffee bombs”.  I made it very clear how happy I was with it, and that I intended to make myself a coffee as soon as I got home.  I spotted one with little marshmallows and relished the idea of it.  Then my mom went next and stole it.  I stole it back when I had the chance, and then she stole it again at first opportunity.  The funny coda to this story is that after Jen and I got home, we put on a “Best of Saturday Night Live” show and there was a sketch featuring the exact same game.  One character was complaining that it was a mean-spirited game, because he had received the perfect gift for himself, and someone stole it.  I called my mom to laugh about that.  The story doesn’t end there.

Christmas day featured some sleeping in and some Marvel What If? on Disney+.  SPOILER this episode featured a Kiss song as an integral part of the story, and even had a line of dialogue from Howard the Duck explaining that the song was written by Kiss in 1979.

I won the $25 Amazon gift card at the “Christmas pickle” game.  I wasn’t even going to participate, but after seeing Jen and Dr. Kathryn getting nowhere, I entered the fray.  I quickly boxed Dr. Kathryn into a corner, where she was unable to see the front of the tree, where my mom had announced the pickle to be.  Once spotted, I used the pickle to order the new Van Halen For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge box set.  It’ll be here Saturday.

There were some really cool items in my grab bag this Christmas.

I had hoped someone would get me Brothers by Alex Van Halen, and Dr. Kathryn came to the rescue there.  It’s a beautiful looking book, and emotional too from what I have read while skipping through.

Bubbles from the Trailer Park Boys has a new album out with standards new and old:  Longhauler: The Best of Bubbles and the Shitrockers.  If you need to ask, don’t.  I was surprised that the album was produced and engineered by Eddie Kramer!

Queen’s A Night at the Odeon (1975) is another album that came highly recommended.  I wishlisted it and it magically appeared in my stocking thanks to my parents.  It looks like a winner.

Finally, some anniversary editions from Jen:  Judas Priest’s Rocka Rolla, and Twisted Sister’s Stay Hungry.  Rocka Rolla is probably the best album remix I have heard in my life.  Tom Allom pretty much just made the album sound like itself, but beefier.  As if you had always heard it distant and muffled, and now you can hear it fully for the first time.  As if you just got a new stereo and are hearing this music properly for the first time.  As for Twisted, I find it funny that I already own the 30th anniversary edition, with a very different set of bonus music.

Of interest:  this is probably the 3rd time I have received Rocka Rolla for Christmas.  It is my 2nd for Stay Hungry at Christmas time.

As usual, I received some treats and games, including two more editions of Uno to play at the cottage this summer.  My mom got me some Trailer Park Boys pickle flavoured chips, and who knew that such a thing existed?

As for my mom, she used to do this thing when we were kids, where she would take a larger box of candy and split it up into smaller gifts that could fit into stockings.  She did that for me this year…with her chocolate coffee bombs that she got the night before.  She gave me one of each flavour, since I had called about the Saturday Night Live sketch.  Thanks mom.  You win this time.

Hope everyone had as merry a Christmas as we did!