GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
🅻🅸🆅🅴 Episode
Episode 163: Defending KISS: Psycho-Circus with Peter Kerr and bicyclelegs
Mike is off for a couple more weeks, so this Friday, Peter Kerr of Rock Daydream Nation is taking over!
30 years ago, the original Kiss reunited for the tour of the year. Of course, the very next question fans had was: will you make a studio album? Kiss dodged that for a while, before they announced their reunion album with Canadian producer, Bruce Fairbairn, who resurrected Aerosmith from the dead. But was he the right kind of producer for Kiss?
Psycho-Circus erupted in fall of 1998 and fans were split.
Tonight, Peter Kerr and his special guest bicyclelegs will defend Psycho-Circus from all the hate.
It’s not a small task. The album has issues including minimal Ace and Peter, glossy production, ballads, and plagiarism. I don’t envy these two men.
At the end of the show, Peter will graciously allow me to say a few words about Harrison and the future of Grab A Stack of Rock, and 50 Years of Iron Maiden.
Tune in tonight for what may prove to be an impossible task. Let’s see what the fellows have to say about one of the most controversial Kiss albums of all time, and that’s saying a lot!
We were promised our photo in 72 hours, and we got it in under 24.
What this photo doesn’t show is the gentle chit-chat with John Cleese.
He also shook my hand twice which I thought was kind. Check out the entire experience below!
REVIEW
A once-in-a-lifetime experience was had on Oct 3 2026 in Kitchener, Ontatio. It was over in a flash, so I had to document it live as soon as I got home, from Not Dead Yet: John Cleese and the Holy Grail at 50.
Last Christmas, my mom said “When will I ever have the chance to meet John Cleese again?” And so for $374.75 each, she bought three VIP tickets. One for her, one for me, and one for Dr. K. With hindsight I wish she also bought one for my dad. Not only would he have loved the show, but I think he would have lost his mind meeting Mr. Cleese at the end of it.
The show began at 7:30, but we were there well early to get a couple drinks and enjoy our front row seats. The stage was bare except for a big screen, a table, two chairs, and stuffed bunny rabbit.
First, Mr. Cleese was introduced to a standing ovation. He graciously thanked us all for coming to watch this film that he started writing in 1974. Then, the film began. It was the extended version of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but I believe that they ran the wrong version of the movie. Mr. Cleese specifically said that it was supposed to be a version that he himself edited, removing the Three Headed Knight scene. That scene was in fact shown, as well as the “GET ON WITH IT!” bits from the extended version. A minor slipup.
After the film, an 86 year old John Cleese returned for approximately an hour of Q&A with the audience, wearing bunny rabbit slippers. Some questions were great, some less so, but being a total pro, Mr. Cleese’s answers were also entertaining and interesting.
The thing that surprised me the most was how much Mr. Cleese loathes the last 10 to 15 minutes of Holy Grail, which was assembled by Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam without his (and presumably the others’) input. “It doesn’t make sense!” said Mr. Cleese multiple times. And here is the main takeaway that we got from the John Cleese Holy Grail at 50 Q&A: Writing is #1 for him. Performing, comedy, commentary are all second. He says they did 13 drafts on A Fish Called Wanda‘s script before it was good enough. Holy Grail’s ending was not written, made no sense, and he really dislikes it. He also dislikes the Three Headed Knight scene, and wanted it edited out. The scene was kept because Eric Idle’s knight, Sir Robin, had nothing to do after they split up.
He discussed many projects including a new comedy on cannibalism. He also revealed what inspired the famous Python “parrot” sketch: a used car that Michael Palin bought and tried to return.
Mr. Cleese praised the talents of Kevin Klein, and make fun of Michael Palin’s “horribly boring” travel show multiple times. He reserved sincere praise for his old writing partner, the late great Graham Chapman. He was clearly a special man. The whole show was very warm, and simply delightful.
And then we met him!
Check out the video below, recorded while still on the high of meeting John Cleese and having this wonderful experience.
A once-in-a-lifetime experience was had on Oct 3 2026 in Kitchener, Ontatio. It was over in a flash, so I had to document it live as soon as I got home, from Not Dead Yet: John Cleese and the Holy Grail at 50.
Last Christmas, my mom said “When will I ever have the chance to meet John Cleese again?” And so for $374.75 each, she bought three VIP tickets. One for her, one for me, and one for Dr. K. With hindsight I wish she also bought one for my dad. Not only would he have loved the show, but I think he would have lost his mind meeting Mr. Cleese at the end of it.
The show began at 7:30, but we were there well early to get a couple drinks and enjoy our front row seats. The stage was bare except for a big screen, a table, two chairs, and stuffed bunny rabbit.
First, Mr. Cleese was introduced to a standing ovation. He graciously thanked us all for coming to watch this film that he started writing in 1974. Then, the film began. It was the extended version of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but I believe that they ran the wrong version of the movie. Mr. Cleese specifically said that it was supposed to be a version that he himself edited, removing the Three Headed Knight scene. That scene was in fact shown, as well as the “GET ON WITH IT!” bits from the extended version. A minor slipup.
After the film, an 86 year old John Cleese returned for approximately an hour of Q&A with the audience, wearing bunny rabbit slippers. Some questions were great, some less so, but being a total pro, Mr. Cleese’s answers were also entertaining and interesting.
The thing that surprised me the most was how much Mr. Cleese loathes the last 10 to 15 minutes of Holy Grail, which was assembled by Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam without his (and presumably the others’) input. “It doesn’t make sense!” said Mr. Cleese multiple times. And here is the main takeaway that we got from the John Cleese Holy Grail at 50 Q&A: Writing is #1 for him. Performing, comedy, commentary are all second. He says they did 13 drafts on A Fish Called Wanda‘s script before it was good enough. Holy Grail’s ending was not written, made no sense, and he really dislikes it. He also dislikes the Three Headed Knight scene, and wanted it edited out. The scene was kept because Eric Idle’s knight, Sir Robin, had nothing to do after they split up.
He discussed many projects including a new comedy on cannibalism. He also revealed what inspired the famous Python “parrot” sketch: a used car that Michael Palin bought and tried to return.
Mr. Cleese praised the talents of Kevin Klein, and make fun of Michael Palin’s “horribly boring” travel show multiple times. He reserved sincere praise for his old writing partner, the late great Graham Chapman. He was clearly a special man. The whole show was very warm, and simply delightful.
And then we met him!
Check out the video below, recorded while still on the high of meeting John Cleese and having this wonderful experience.
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Bonus Episode: More Adventures in Epilepsy
Wish Jen luck everybody! She’s in Toronto for a two week stay as they study her brain, to figure out where those seizures are coming from. She doing well, and tonight we have a special bonus episode to talk about our Adventures in Epilepsy.
This isn’t the first time: Exactly six years ago today, we did our first Adventures in Epilepsy episode with guests. That episode was prompted by a bad fall where she broke her arm. Tonight’s mini-episode is inspired by her hospital stay. It’s not easy having all those electrodes and sensors glued to your head! Tonight we’ll catch you up on all this and more.
Not to be a downer episode, we end it with lists of famous people who suffered from seizures. You’ll be surprised at some!
A Rock Daydream Nation Panel Show! Tim Durling (Tim’s Vinyl Confessions/The Contrarians), Michael Ladano (Grab a Stack of Rock), Dan Chartrand (Off the Charts) and Peter Wicks (Wixxyleaks).
This one surprised me. These two ZZ Top albums are often considered a pair, with one superior and one inferior. Our panel provided some surprises and a lot of fun over this hour! I surprised myself and changed my mind a couple times. Check out the show!
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
🅻🅸🆅🅴 Episode
Episode 162: Operation: Mindcrime III [Geoff Tate] Review/Rant with Tim Durling
Q: What do Geoff Tate and Helix have in common in 2026?
A: They both made their new studio albums frustratingly hard to buy physical copies of in Canada.
Tim Durling from Tim’s Vinyl Confessions is tonight’s guest host, and he’s gonna tell you all about it!
Geoff Tate won the performance rights to Queensryche’s Operation: Mindcrime I and II as part of the settlement made for the Queensryche band name. Tate has always taken pride in his rock opera epic, and so expanded the series to a trilogy with his new solo album. Interestingly enough, Operation: Mindcrime III is not a third part to the story. Instead, it is a re-telling of the first album, but from the perspective of the evil Dr. X.
Tim will tell us about each of the songs, and the experience of just trying to buy a copy in Canada. Get ready folks – for a price he’d do about anything, except mislead you about Operation: Mindcrime III. Is it any good, or is it the proverbial weak link in the trilogy? Find out tonight, on Grab A Stack of Rock with your host, Tim Durling!
Ever looked at a CD or a record and said “What the heck is this? Looks interesting…I’ll buy that”?
We have! Many times. And tonight we’ll tell you ALL about it. Join special guest Alex Winter and a mystery host! Mike and Harrison are enjoying a deserved break, so Alex and Host will run the show tonight.
Our crew will show you the records, tell you the stories, and explain what these were good purchases (or not)! It’s going to be a good time tonight on Grab A Stack of Rock.
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
🅻🅸🆅🅴 Episode
Episode 160: Top Ten Songs of The Doors
Both Mike and Harrison are taking the month of September off. Stepping in for hosting duties tonight will be show co-founder Uncle Meat, with a topic of his choice: The Doors! Meat knew that Mike and Harrison would not do a Doors episode if left to their own devices.
On “physical product duties” tonight is returning guest Alex Winter! And newcomer Scott Peddle (super Doors fan) will also be joining. Scott appeared a few times on the old show, LeBrain Train, but this is his Grab A Stack of Rock debut!
Get ready for the Top Ten Songs of the Doors, tonight on Grab A Stack of Rock, with a cast of fans that’ll make you break on through to the other side!
Grab a stack of GAMES! This episode is a sequel to #151: Vintage Video Games. Mike has dug up his entire Atari 2600 games collection, and it was a task and a half! Faced with a variety of boxed games, empty boxes, and games without boxes, Mike had to go through them all and match them back up. It was an “Adventure”, as you’ll see. (Did you get the pun?)
The stunning artwork that Atari put into each box can only be matched by the artwork inside the booklets. Some of these instruction books remain, and we’ll have a good look inside at the art and even the stories that went with the games themselves. Yar’s Revenge has an intact comic book!
This episode is filled with nostalgia and incredible images from the Atari age. Games from Mattel, Parker Brothers, Sega and Activision are also included in this deep dive! We’ll also have a look at some lesser-seen controllers.
Don’t miss this one if you love nostalgia!
Friday September 4 at 7:00 PM EST, 8:00 PM Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube.
We’re baaaaack! After a long 10 month gap, we finally worked up the courage to listen to another pairing of Bon Jovi albums: Have A Nice Day, and Lost Highway.
As the Parish of Rock pointed out, Bon Jovi kind of had a comeback trilogy of albums in the same mold: Crush, Bounce and Have A Nice Day, with Lost Highway being a left turn that had many feeling, well, lost! In this episode we broke it all down! The good (Sambora’s guitar, Tico’s drumming), the bad (too many ballads) and the ugly (fiddles and nu-country). There is much to be praised here, but also much to critique. Our panel did an awesome job.
Grab A Stack of Rock
The Parish of Rock
The Elder of Rock
David Alpizar
Yes it was another “Of Rock” episode on Grant’s Rock Warehaus! Grant even played two songs for us: both title tracks. Thanks for watching if you caught it live, and if you didn’t, you can catch it below!
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