Guitarist Bowtie Blotto recent reached out to me and offered to send me a Blotto movie tag, as seen in our interview. Yes, the Blotto movie will be out April 12 2025. And true to his word, Bowtie sent me a tag – and a lot more.
Interviewing Blotto turned out to be one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in this little musical hobby that I enjoy. Amazingly, the experience just keeps getting richer. I’m proud to be Kitchener Blotto! Enjoy this video that I recorded with Harrison the Mad Metal Man. It is spontaneous and 100% real. We are both Metalheads, and this video is just another example of why Blotto rule.
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man Episode 96: Mix Tape I
Recorded while I had Covid! This special “Mix Tape” episode of Grab A Stack of Rock is a potpourri of metal: there is something for everyone! In particular, if you have been following us for Iron Maiden and KISS content, this episode is for you!
Topics:
Iron Maiden ReAction figures including the rare Maiden Japan #50yearsofironmaiden
A unique guitar carving from Kerras Jeffrey (RIP) from Prince Edward Island
Darth Vader cameo
KISS BstAxn 5″ action figures in box
KISS 24k Gold CD for Destroyer bought in 1998 at Carry On Books in Waterloo
Tee Bone Erickson’s poetic take on the Northern Lights
The best of “Ask Harrison” by Tee Bone
Soundtrack from the Video Historia (Def Leppard) with Tim’s Vinyl Confessions – an incredible LIVE coincidence from the LeBrain Train days
The Author Reads:
A chapter of Unspooled: An Adventure in 8-Tracks
The Rules: The First 10 Years of Iron Maiden
Record Store Tales Part 7: A Sh*tty Story
Video premieres at 7:00 PM Eastern.
Friday March 21 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube.
Last week I felt like I needed a break. I wasn’t feeling well and I dropped out of the episode. Then Jamie had a fire in his basement and I decided to come back. So, I’m back again this week too.
Courtesy of Martin Popoff, this week features album art with only partial band lineups! My list is dominated by a certain “band” from New Jersey that often features only one band member on their covers. Not my most interesting list this week, but I’m present ready to complain about this band that I used to love. Let’s see what the other guys bring this week!
THE CONTRARIANS – Where Is Everyone? – Wednesday March 19 – 7:00 PM EST
50 Years of IRON MAIDEN bonus episode: Run For Your Lives Dream Setlist
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK bonus episode
Welcome to our very first “bonus episode” of 50 Years of Iron Maiden! These bonus episodes will feature shorter videos on a variety of topics. With Maiden’s 2025 tour beginning in May, we wanted to get ahead of the pack and speculate on the setlist.
Harrison and I set two rules for these setlists, based on what we know from Iron Maiden themselves. 1) Each one of the first nine albums will be represented in the set, and 2) They will at least one song that has never been played live before. From there we let our imaginations run wild!
What songs do you think Maiden will play this year? What’s on your wishlist? Tell us in the comments below, and UP THE IRONS in 2025!
50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 8: Drummer Spotlight
With Glen “Archie” Gamble
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #95
Do you want to know who almost replaced Nicko McBrain in Iron Maiden? Stay tuned because Archie Gamble has the details in this special episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden, on Grab A Stack of Rock!
Former Helix drummer Glen “Archie” Gamble joins us for this special drummer spotlight, bringing us insight as a touring musician. In this episode, we discuss Archie’s fandom, each drummer’s approach, Nicko’s stance on double bass, a drummer’s retirement, what challenges the new guy Simon Dawson will face, and much more.
Archie’s perspective in this episode was invaluable, as we sat down to appreciate the drummers of Iron Maiden, and catch a glimpse of life on the road and in a band.
Kiss – You Wanted the Best – Unseen photos from the archives? I call BS!
Kiss – The Box Set (guitar case version) – CDs fall out of top flap every time you open it, as demoed on last show.
Alice Cooper – Old School (box set) – Top of “desk” curls up over time. Due to shape and fragility of box set, it is hard to flatten safely.
Ozzy Osbourne – 1995 remasters – The postage stamp sized art and the circular song titles on back are an epic fail.
Kick Axe – Rock the World (reissue with the really bad cover) – The brilliant original cover was replaced in 2005 with something far uglier.
Marillion – Marbles – campaign edition 2 CD digipack – Discs pop out and the little foam things that hold the discs in, come unglued with time.
Pearl Jam – Vitalogy – Known to fatally scratch discs.
Kim Mitchel – Itch – People think the album is actually “self titled” due to messy cover art.
AC/DC – PWRUP lightbox – Mine ripped, trying to get all the stupid tape off the box set. Ripped on day one!
Twisted Sister – Live at the Marquee – Rhino limited edition – Doesn’t file nicely anywhere, doesn’t stand up straight…a straight fail!
Packaging fails! Cover art that’s too small, discs that fall out, packages the scratch the precious CD inside…we’ll cover lots of them tonight on the Contrarians Live.
There will be a variety of “fails” tonight, from the usual suspects. Unfortunately I may have to start skipping these Wednesday night shows. With spring now here, I no longer need to occupy my evenings in front of a screen. We will see what the future holds. I had a great run – 17 shows in a row without missing a single one. Only Grant can say he also hasn’t missed a single show of the last 17. We’ll see how it goes. It’s bittersweet. I’d like to continue doing this every week, but when the sun is shining outside and the air is warm, it’s hard to sit at a screen.
Watch live and comment! Martin always tries to address the comment section.
THE CONTRARIANS – Packaging Fails – Wednesday March 12 – 7:00 PM EST
Packaging fails! Cover art that’s too small, discs that fall out, packages the scratch the precious CD inside…we’ll cover lots of them tonight on the Contrarians Live.
There will be a variety of “fails” tonight, from the usual suspects. Unfortunately I may have to start skipping these Wednesday night shows. With spring now here, I no longer need to occupy my evenings in front of a screen. We will see what the future holds. I had a great run – 17 shows in a row without missing a single one. Only Grant can say he also hasn’t missed a single show of the last 17. We’ll see how it goes. It’s bittersweet. I’d like to continue doing this every week, but when the sun is shining outside and the air is warm, it’s hard to sit at a screen.
Watch live and comment! Martin always tries to address the comment section.
THE CONTRARIANS – Packaging Fails – Wednesday March 12 – 7:00 PM EST
Here comes Melissa Nee, dropping knowledge bombs all over Piece of Mind! Melissa is a long time fan, having seen the band on this actual tour. Her insight, appreciation and multitude of knowledge make this a must-watch episode!
Flying over the valley, to the Eagles’ Nest, we cover the album album track by track from “Where Eagles Dare” to “To Tame A Land”. Special attention is paid to the lyrics. Four songs on this album have accompanying books or movies, and this is covered as well. Most importantly, this album is the debut of Nicko McBrain, replacing the beloved Clive Burr on drums.
As usual, we cover the artwork, both single B-sides, and the tour. Harrison and Melissa go deep on the live show, setlist and stories. (There is one important story that happened on this tour, that we will save for the Powerslave episode.)
Please join Harrison, Melissa and I for this mission behind enemy lines: Piece of Mind!
As Blotto themselves know, from the making of their new documentary film Hello! My Name Is Blotto – The Movie, sometimes great stuff happens when the tape stops rolling! That happened to me on Tuesday February 25, after finishing up my interview with the band.
During the pre-show chat, Bowtie Blotto told me that they had played my home town of Kitchener, as well as my dad’s city of Guelph. And he asked Broadway Blotto what he remembered of those gigs.
Check out the funny story in the YouTube short below, and check out the full interview if you haven’t already!
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and Blotto Episode 92: Hello! My Name Is Blotto! The Interview
Blotto hit the sand on MTV with “I Wanna Be A Lifeguard”, being among the first 40 videos played on their first morning as a station. Then came “Metal Head”, Metal For Breakfast, and a heck of a lot of gigs. The core members were all named Blotto: Sarge, Cheese, F Lee, Broadway and Bow Tie. Sadly we lost Cheese and Sarge, but for this special interview, F Lee, Broadway and Bow Tie reunited with director Bert Blotto on Grab A Stack of Rock. It’s a Blotto reunion, and a good time was had by all.
The subject is a new movie about to premier on April 12 at Cohoes Music Hall: Hello! My Name Is Blotto! The Movie. Director Rob “Bert Blotto” Lichter has carved this film from many hours of archives, like a sculptor cuts wood. Join the Blotto guys and I, as we check out the movie trailer and hear firsthand stories from the band. There are laughs a-plenty, some serious moments, and some fan geekery. You’ll always hear about the one (hilarious) unreleased track that was never recorded.
It is clear that for Rob, this is a work of passion and pride, as well as hope. Indeed, Blotto deserve a larger audience, for their music still rings true and makes us laugh.
Plus, Bow Tie does the “Dr. Bow” laugh from “Goodbye Mr. Bond” and if that isn’t worth the price of admission, I don’t know what is.
Video premieres at 7:00 PM Eastern.
Thursday February 27 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube.
mikeladano.com 