Grab a Stack of Rock / LeBrain Train

Too Much Music, Part 2? on Grab A Stack of Rock! Mike’s CD Collection

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man

Episode 51:  Too Much Music 2?

 

Welcome to Part 2 of “Too Much Music?”, a new solo series I’m doing here on Grab A Stack of Rock.  These are shorter, pre-recorded episodes, but the first one was popular so why not do another?  The concept is, I grab a random stack or two of CDs from my collection, show them, and discuss.  I often have no idea what I’ll be showing prior to taping.  And, sadly, there are always CDs I have not played yet.  That’s why we call this series Too Much Music!  Because this is what happens when we have too much music!

On display in this episode:

  • A stack of Metallica, standard and rare.
  • Rock Candy Coney Hatch and some Andy Curran.
  • A ton of compilations from The Who, Sting, The Police, Pink Floyd, Rainbow and more.
  • Lots of live Deep Purple.
  • Deluxe reissues with bonus tracks.
  • Some jazz.
  • Alice Cooper & a rant about Record Store Day releases.
  • Japanese imports.
  • Guns N’ Roses and a rant about reissues.
  • The Four Horsemen.
  • Canadian content:  The Beaches, The Glorious Sons, and more.
  • The “holy grail” CD that I once paid $300 Canadian for.

I hope you enjoy this special episode which goes “live” tonight at 7:00 PM E.S.T.  I try to comment along, but I can’t guarantee where I’ll be.  Please do leave some comments and I promise I’ll address them as soon as I can!

Friday Feb 19 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube, or Twitter!!  (Facebook has been problematic of late.)

Tim’s Vinyl Confessions Ep. 497: This Should Really Be On CD

One of my favourite tapings of Tim’s Vinyl Confessions dropped yesterday.  With Matt Phillips, we listed and showed our favourite albums that deserve a reissue on CD today.  These included:

  • Albums out of print on CD for 20 years, 30 years, or more.
  • Albums, cassettes and EPs never printed on CD.
  • Records that deserve the deluxe treatment.
  • Music from deluxe editions and box sets that deserve individual releases.
  • Lots, and lots, and lots of rarities.
  • A Holy Grail.

There were some solid rants, about record labels, NFTs, and snobby collectors alike.  This episode is for lovers of the CD format.  Enjoy!

Retro is the word! 80s and 90s cassettes, cassingles and beyond with Dr. Kathryn, Jex and John!

Happy 50th episode to us!  This was a special episode to me.  Watching it back now, what made last night’s show really special wasn’t so much the cassettes.  Rather, it was the stories!  The memories came flooding back as we looked at piles of cassettes from ages past.  With Dr. Kathryn’s recently exhumed cassingle collection on hand, we were joined by Jex Russell and John T. Snow for a nostalgic evening.

  • Playing “Bad Boys” by Inner Circle at a fancy wedding.
  • Buying cassingles by Van Halen in Frankenmuth, Michigan.
  • The value of Bryan Adams’ live B-sides.
  • Collecting a rare Cult cassette box set with all the extras.
  • Bands that Kathryn has seen live and owns on cassette, such as Roxette and Rod Stewart.
  • A US version of a Def Leppard single vs. the Canadian.
  • Songs/version that are still exclusive to the cassette format.
  • Whitesnake every Christmas.
  • Collecting bonus tracks on cassette and throwing temper tantrums when the CD didn’t have the bonus track.
  • Summery memories of Bon Jovi, ZZ Top, Cheap Trick, Britny Fox and Poison.
  • Ratt, Dangerous Toys, “Digalog”, “Q-Sound” and more.

We also took a peak at Tri-Con in Kitchener, where Dr. Kathryn met members of the Degrassi cast, Rob Daniels, and some Mandalorians.  She had much praise for the Degrassi folks, and you’ll have to make sure you don’t miss this segment at the end.

Congratulations to Marco D’Auria, last week’s special guest, for the nomination of his film Mystique:  Standing on the Firing Line at the Canadian Independent Film Festival!  The DVD is on sale all February.

Stay tuned for John Snow’s “The Collection” starting February 20.

Bonus:  We unboxed the recent reissue of the rare Starchild album Children of the Stars (featuring Greg “Fritz” Hinz of Helix), and a recent Rock Candy reissue of Europe’s The Final Countdown with more bonus tracks than before.

Apologies to Facebook; the Streamyard streams have not been working on Facebook at all and their team is still looking into it.

See you again next week for Too Much Music Part 2!

Upcoming Schedule:

 

EPISODE 50! The Cassettes of Dr. Kathryn on Grab A Stack of Rock, with Jex Russell and John T. Snow

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and Jex Russell

Episode 50:  The Cassettes of Dr. Kathryn

Welcome to the 50th episode of Grab A Stack of Rock!  Special occasions require special guests.

Dr. Kathryn recently dug up her 80s cassette collection.  Like her brother, she was interested in collecting rarities and B-sides on singles.  We will see a number of cassette singles from the pop rock realm including Bryan Adams, Cheap Trick, Glass Tiger, and more.  John Snow, Jex Russell and I will also be bringing the vintage cassette tapes for this special show & tell.

Additionally we have a slideshow from Tri-Con at the Museum in Kitchener last month, where Dr. K met some celebrities from Degrassi Jr. High, and saw some cool props from Doctor Who and Star Trek.  There may have been some Mandalorian sightings as well!

Tune in tonight and take part in the comments with our special guests and cool collectibles from the 1980s.

 

Friday Feb 9 at 8:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 9:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube, or Facebook!

 

All About the MYSTIQUE Film: Standing On The Firing Line with Marco D’Auria

In a word: passion!  Marco D’Auria is a creator with a passion for fulfilling his artistic drives.  Since his youth, he had a passion for his uncle Ray D’Auria’s band, Mystique.  He loved the music.  He loved the history.  He wanted to bring that story to the world, and he achieved it.  The accolades are wonderful, but holding the DVD of Mystique:  Standing On The Firing Line in his hands is the real reward.

In this hour-long interview, co-host Jex Russell and I quizzed Marco on the following subjects:

  • Getting the band back together for the interviews
  • Editing down over four hours of film into 1 hour 39 minutes, and finally 95 minutes
  • Unseen footage of Martin Popoff and other interviewees
  • Unreleased music
  • Awards and movie festivals
  • Getting the new version of the film out there for you to see
  • And a February 2024 sale on the DVD, available here:  mystique-black-rider-online-store.com

The Mystique story is compelling.  The music justifies itself.  This band had potential.  There was magic happening.  The big break never quite took shape, and this film is the story of what might have been.  Nobody seems to have any regrets.  The film is warming to watch, and I recommend you check it out while the February sale is on.

Thank you Jex and Marco for an awesome Friday night.  Check Marco out at the Contrarians on Youtube!

 

Feb 9 – our 50th show! – Doctor Kathryn returns with Jex Russell and her cassette collection from the 1980s!

Feb 16 – Too Much Music? 2 (pre-recorded)

Feb 23 – LeBrainless with Jex, Harrison, Roger, John Snow & Aaron

 

 

Standing On The Firing Line with Marco D’Auria: All About the MYSTIQUE Film!

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and Jex Russell

Episode 49:  MYSTIQUE:  Standing On The Firing Line with filmmaker Marco D’Auria

We’ve spoken to this fine gentlemen about this excellent film a couple times, so why is Marco back to talk about Mystique: Standing On The Firing Line?  The new cut of the film is in, and it is turning heads.  The new version of this rockumentary has been making the festival circuit and picking up awards!  (Couch Film Festival 2023, AltFF Alternative Film Festival 2023.)  Director Marco D’Auria is eager for you to see this film, and talk about what he has coming next.

Mystique was a Hamilton heavy metal band that released some iconic independent music such as Black Rider and I Am the King back in the 1980s.  The band never “made it” and faded into obscurity by 1989…until their old records and tapes started commanding insane prices on the collector’s market.

Why?  What is that made Mystique special?  We will delve into this with co-host Jex Russell tonight.  Marco will explain what is new about this recent cut of the film, and what he hopes to do for a re-release.  Tune in tonight!

 

Friday Feb 2 at 8:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 9:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube, on Facebook!

 

Feb 9 – our 50th show! – Doctor Kathryn returns with Jex Russell and her cassette collection from the 1980s!

 

 

A Boatload of Music DVDs with Harrison Kopp and John T. Snow on Grab A Stack of Rock

What a marathon!  With the help of  John T. Snow (2loud2oldmusic) and the Mad Metal Man, we blasted through three music DVD collections in just under two hours.  The lion’s share was mine – guilty as charged — but John and Harrison also brought it.

This show is especially for fans of:

  • Metallica
  • Alice Cooper
  • KISS
  • Def Leppard
  • Bon Jovi
  • ELO
  • Deep Purple, Rainbow, Dio
  • Black Sabbath
  • Iron Maiden, Bruce Dickinson, Blaze & Paul Di’Anno
  • Judas Priest
  • Guns N’ Roses
  • AC/DC
  • Def Leppard
  • Marillion
  • Bootlegs
  • and rare Australian versions of releases

There were quite a few bargains to be had on the part of the Snowman and Harrison.   Both of them had some pretty cool acquisitions at low, low prices.  I love when price tags are still on DVDs.

We also had a very special announcement from John Snow:  Stay tuned for the debut of his new show, The Collection, starting in February!

Added bonus:  Peter Kerr of Rock Daydream Nation submitted his Top Five Music DVDs, some of which happened to tickle Harrison’s fancy.

On a personal note, I’m saddened that I got rid of so many music DVDs over the years.  I know I had Blue Rodeo, Dream Theater, and Harem Scarem.  It’s unfortunate but the fact is that space is a commodity, and money matters, so sometimes things got sold.   However, they can always be re-aquired.

Thanks for watching and dropping the comments!  See you next week.

Next week:  Feb 2 – an interview with Marco D’Auria! Co-hosted by Jex Russell, we’re talking MYSTIQUE: Standing on the Firing Line!

Feb 9 – our 50th show! – Doctor Kathryn returns with Jex Russell and her cassette collection from the 1980s!

 

 

Music DVD Showcase with Harrison Kopp and John T. Snow on Grab A Stack of Rock

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man

Episode 48:  Music DVD Showcase

A long-overdue gander at our music DVD collections, tonight we will examine live DVDs, compilations, documentaries and more.  Kiss, Def Leppard, Metallica, Motley Crue, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Marillion, and much much more.

Frankly I don’t watch music DVDs very often, so there will be things in my collection I am just rediscovering!

Joining me tonight will be John T. Snow of 2loud2oldmusic, and my trusty co-host the Mad Metal Man.  I cannot wait to see what these two music collectors have to show.  My collection is quite large, even though I stopped buying music DVDs a while ago.  We might not get to them all – a sequel show may be in order!

We have a special Top 5 list from Peter Kerr, and a really cool announcement to boot!

Hope to see you tonight in the comments section!

 

Friday January 26 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube, Twitter, or on Facebook!

Next week:  Feb 2 – an interview with Marco D’Auria! Co-hosted by Jex Russell, we’re talking MYSTIQUE: Standing on the Firing Line!

Feb 9 – our 50th show! – Doctor Kathryn returns with Jex Russell and her cassette collection from the 1980s!

 

 

Tim’s Vinyl Confessions: Ep. 490: Top 10 Least-Favoured KISS Songs – with Tim, Mike, Jex and Will

Says Tim:

This is exactly the type of episode I’ve long shied away from, something that could be seen as negative. However, we sure had a lot of fun putting this together, and filming it.

Here, Will sits in TVC Headquarters with me, and Jex and Ladano join us (with some written help from Matt) to cover our personal least favourite Kiss songs. I feel it is worth repeating: we are ALL massive Kiss fans, these are our opinions and no one else’s.

Your comments are welcome but please no personal attacks. None of what we say is meant as an affront to anyone’s personal tastes. Having said that, it was unquestionably fun to have a little dig at those Kiss songs that as fans, have always rubbed us the wrong way (which sounds like a discarded Gene Simmons lyric from the 80s).

 

Too Much Music? Grab A Stack of Mike’s CD Collection

How much music constitutes too much music?  This was a question I asked rhetorically during the recording of this 50 minute episode of Grab A Stack of Rock.  It is clear, whatever the number is, I have hit it and then some.

We had an interesting show and tell tonight, including the below:

  • Stir of Echoes, a 2008 band of Ray D’Auria’s (Mystique)
  • A Harem Scarem box set
  • A Max Webster box set
  • A defective Black Sabbath CD
  • An Iron Maiden bootleg with Blaze Bayley
  • Some gifts from Rob Daniels
  • White Snake
  • A Def Leppard bootleg
  • Some Rush and some jazz
  • Japanese import Deep Purple
  • Promo DLR
  • Deluxe Foo Fighters
  • Alice Cooper
  • Greta Van Fleet
  • A gift from Kevin Simister
  • A lot, lot, lot, of sealed Marillion
  • An avalanche!

This pre-recorded episode was an experiment and I think it went very well.  I was able to interact via the comments on YouTube and we had a lively discussion on the side.

While I will always prefer going live, these shorter solo shows will offer an alternative way of making it through the cold snowy winter together.  Thanks for watching and dropping the comments.  This was fun!

Next week will be a re-run, but Mike and the Mad Metal Man will be back on January 26 with John Snow and Tim Durling to show off music DVDs.  Then, on February 2, Marco D’Auria will be back to talk about the new 95 minute version of the Mystique movie that has been getting glowing accolades at festivals.  These will both be live shows and I hope you can join us!