Videos

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN bonus episode: Collections! Stories! Maiden on Vinyl, Bottlecaps & More!

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN bonus episode:
Collections! Stories! Maiden on Vinyl, Bottlecaps & More!

With special guest Aaron “Mr. Books” KMA and Jex Russell

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK bonus episode

Originally run:  June 16 2023.  Now edited with new content.

This special bonus episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden may be an old show from 2023, but most Maiden viewers never saw it, so I re-edited it and we’re running it again!  This episode was a special fun one that we did with Aaron “Mr. Books” KMA, showing off parts of our Maiden collections.

Aaron, being Mr. Books, had one of Bruce Dickinson’s novels on hand.  He also had a near-mint collection of Trooper beer bottle caps, and a rare Iron Maiden menu from Toronto.  Harrison tended to focus on CDs.  He had some rare bootlegs, including a DVD.  For myself, I was eager to show off my Maiden vinyl collection at the time, including coloured vinyl, picture discs, some sealed records, and much more.  Early on, Jex Russell showed up just to crash the party!

Speaking of books, we also took a look (for the very first time) at a Maiden book that features Mike himself.  Chances are, you’ve never seen this book before.  You definitely have never seen it on 50 Years of Iron Maiden before.

This was the infamous night that Jen had a seizure, fell, and almost broke her jaw.  I’ve edited most of that stuff out but some remnants remain.

Friday June 27 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T.  Enjoy on YouTube.

Past episodes:

Handy YouTube Playlist:

VIDEO: Arkells live – “Making Due” in Manchester England 06/27/25

Thanks to Nurse Kat for shooting and sharing this awesome live performance by the Arkells!

Max Kerman – Vocals
Mike DeAngelis – Guitar
Nick Dika – Bass
Tim Oxford – Drums
Anthony Carrone – Keyboards

REVIEW: Ruko U11MINI 4K Drone

Buy yours on Amazon!

Ruko U11MINI 4K Drone

Are you ready to level up in your photography or drone flying game?  The brand new Ruko U11MINI 4K is the drone for you.  Best of all, it weighs under 249 grams, which means you don’t need a license to fly it.  Just open the package, read the manual, charge the batteries and launch.

Opening the box, I was delighted to find not one, but two paper manuals!  The full User Manual, and a Quick Guide.  This is a huge step up from having to read a pdf file on your screen.  The inclusion of a paper manual will make all the difference to some users.  Also included are two batteries (roughly 32 minutes flight time each) and all the USB cables needed to charge and fly, no matter what kind of phone you use.  The controller is sleek and features two comfortable and detachable control sticks.  It comes in a handsome and sturdy carrying case for storage and transport.  It also has a plastic camera cover to protect the 4K camera (EIS with gimbal, like a 3-axis brushless gimbal with EIS).  You will be able to capture 8K pictures and 4K@30fps video.  All you need to provide yourself is a smartphone and a micro SD card to record all that lovely video you’re going to get.  And don’t forget to download the appropriate app to your device!

An important step is to make sure your phone is set for USB file transfer mode.  Google the steps for your phone to do this.  Your phone mounts sturdily to the controller, and connects via the included USB-C cable.  You can transfer photos and videos straight to your phone.  When powering on and pairing, be sure to calibrate the GPS and gyroscope.  Give it time for the GPS to lock on.

With this powerful camera at hand, you can record hi-definition video or photos at the touch of a button.  Thanks to the camera’s clever gimbal, it will always take level photos no matter the wind conditions.  No need to straighten and crop videos or photos with this drone.  It can even record audio!

For what I have been used to, this drone is far more powerful, and I am not talking about the camera.  The motors are faster and can go way further:  394 feet altitude, which is double what I’ve flown before.  Without obstructions, it can transmit a signal up to 20,000 feet distance.  I will be able to fly further, and see clearer, than ever before!  There is even a 5x digital zoom available.  It is far faster than my old drone, so be careful with your velocity!

With the app on your phone, you will unlock a multitude of features for this drone.  GPS follow, and path planning are two such features.  Auto return and setting your own custom maximum altitude and distance will help keep your drone safe as you learn.  You can also have it return to a safe home point when the battery is low.  You can even program a path with up to 16 checkpoints.  Feeling uncertain about landings?  This drone has an AI takeoff and landing system (using GPS, barometric altitude hold, optical flow, and TOF positioning) for smooth takeoffs and landings.  Like all drones, one must be careful in heavy wind.  Due to unseasonable bad weather here in Canada, I have not had many great days to fly safely in the spring of 2025.  As I fly the drone and experiment with its abilities, I will add more videos to this space.  Bookmark it and check back for more videos.

Some tips:

1. Keep the drone in sight when flying to avoid getting lost.

2. Don’t fly too close to the surface, to water, or to trees.

3. Use a large open area to fly in, with good GPS reception.

People are loving my drone footage from the Ruko U11MINI 4K!  From Owen:

“You’ve really got me considering purchasing this drone, Mike. I love your footage in both videos, it’s under 249g. Beautiful shots, Mr. Ladano.”

Take it from me, you’re going to love the Ruko U11MINI 4K drone.

Get one today on Amazon!

5/5 stars

Check back for more videos to be added this summer.

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 15: Fear of the Dark

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 15:  Fear of the Dark

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #105

In the spring of 1992, Iron Maiden returned with new music, less than two years since No Prayer for the Dying.  Album #2 for Janick Gers, and final album (for a long time) with Bruce Dickinson.  It was also the final production before retiring for longtime Maiden compatriot, Martin “Black Knight” Birch.  An historic album, significant in the discography, but of mixed reception.  We tackle Maiden’s direction(s) on this album, the first of the “grunge era” which found bands like Iron Maiden with diminishing sales.  We also had to address the new artwork by Melvyn Grant, the first Maiden album cover without Derek Riggs.

Eeeeewhhh-ZACH!  Maiden began to explore current events in their lyrics, along with some different musical directions, from ballads to Zeppelin-like dirges.   Were they chasing trends?  Harrison makes some arguments for this, while Mike bluntly states what he likes and does not like about each of the 12 album tracks.

There are more than just the 12 album tracks to discuss:  a variety of B-sides are included, such as covers of Montrose, Budgie and Chuck Berry songs.  There are comedic novelty songs (plural!) for fans only, and there are live tracks, plus one rare remix.  We tackle all of them.

As usual, Harrison discusses the tour, and how many of the songs were actually played live.  You can count on us to give you a complete picture of every era of Iron Maiden, and Fear of the Dark is one that makes for good deconstructing.  You can also count on our honesty, and Fear of the Dark is an album that divides fans…again.

Tell us what you think tonight on 50 Years of Iron Maiden.

 

Friday June 20 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T.  Enjoy on YouTube.

BONUS!  We also unboxed Martin Popoff’s new book HALLOWED BY THEIR NAME: THE UNOFFICIAL IRON MAIDEN BIBLE in a bonus episode earlier this week!

 

Past episodes:

Handy YouTube Playlist:

[VIDEO] It’s Magic! Check out my Blotto shirt sent by the band!

In 2019, I received this shirt from Blotto drummer F Lee Harvey Blotto himself. Check out the shirt and the story in the video below.

 

 

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN bonus episode: Unboxing Martin Popoff’s Hallowed By Their Name: The Unofficial Iron Maiden Bible

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN bonus episode

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN bonus episode: Unboxing Martin Popoff’s Hallowed By Their Name: The Unofficial Iron Maiden Bible

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK bonus episode

Welcome to a special “teaser” episode!  At long last, Martin Popoff’s Unofficial Iron Maiden Bible, called Hallowed By Their Name, has arrived at Grab A Stack HQ!  Check out this monstrosity in the bonus video below.

This is a gorgeous book, and heavy as the metal it represents.  Looking much like an actual hardcover bible, this book covers the entire 50 year history of the band, with loads of full colour pictures and 666 fully loaded pages.

Check out the unboxing video and let’s look forward to talking to Martin about this incredible book in the future.

Video is up now!   Enjoy on YouTube.

 

 

 

Past episodes:

Handy YouTube Playlist:

The Contrarians Live: Huh?!? Album Covers that Send the Wrong Message

After a couple weeks off, I’m back on the Contrarians live show tonight to talk about…what, exactly?

The idea here is to find 10 albums covers that send the wrong message musically.  Maybe it’s a heavy album that looks too soft, or vice-versa.  Maybe it’s a studio album that looks like a compilation.  Perhaps it’s a record that looks like it’s from another genre.  Join the usual suspects tonight to have a look at our picks!

 

THE CONTRARIANS – Huh?!? Album Covers that Send the Wrong Message – Wednesday June 18 –  7:00 PM EST

My Contrarians appearances to date:

  1. Nicknamed Album Covers
  2. Minimalist cover art
  3. Brown album covers
  4. Yellow album covers
  5. Albums with Fire and Explosions
  6. Spaceships! Aliens! Robots!
  7. This Album Cover is Hell!
  8. Toys & Games
  9. Dreaming in Stereo:  Beds & Sleep on album covers
  10. Favourite Bands…WORST Album Covers
  11. They Swapped Covers!
  12. Great Album Covers From Bands We Despise
  13. Top 10 NWOBHM Covers
  14. It’s A Piece of Art!
  15. Compilation Kaos!
  16. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Hipgnosis!
  17. Amped Up!
  18. Packaging Fails
  19. Where’s the Band?
  20. Slippery When Wet
  21. Greetings From New York
  22. Done With Mirrors
  23. Eyes Without A Face
  24. Rock Out With Your Clock Out!
  25. Album Covers You Can Hear
  26. Album Covers You Can Smell
  27. Huh?!? Album Covers that Send the Wrong Message

Bicyclelegs: Marillion – The Sequel To Success: Clutching At Straws (w. Mike Ladano)

As promised, I have returned to Bicyclelegs’ excellent YouTube channel for a THIRD round of Marillion.  Last year, we discussed our favourite songs from each studio album from 1983 to 1995.  Then, we covered the rest! This time,we take a deep dive on what some consider to be the best of the original Marillion four:  Clutching At Straws.

This episode is available now!

 

Welcome to The Sequel To Success! In this series we will be looking at the album that came after a huge album for an artist and discuss whether the follow up was a success or failure both artistically and commercially. Today Mike Ladano from Grab A Stack Of Rock joins me to discuss Clutching At Straws by neo-prog legends Marillion. This was the follow up to their platinum selling (in the U.K.) album Misplaced Childhood which had also produced the hit singles Kayleigh and Lavender. We go through the album track by track, analyse where it succeeds (and maybe where it doesn’t) and discuss what came after (in this case, quite a lot!).

Adventures in Epilepsy – Special Re-Formatted Episode – Tonight Jun 13 7:00 PM EST

Originally broadcast on Oct 2, 2020 as two streams totaling 2 hours and 12 minutes.  This new version has been re-focused down to a perfect 50 minute show.

In October of 2020, right in the thick of the pandemic, Jen had a seizure at a local fast food restaurant.  She fell and broke her arm.  We decided to make that week’s episode of the LeBrain Train all about epilepsy awareness.  While we did our best, we had technical difficulties that night, and the episode didn’t turn out like we hoped.

It’s funny to go back and watch live streams from five years ago.  So much has changed since then.   The original 2020 show was split into two live streams as some viewers reported that the Facebook feed was freezing, so we stopped and re-started.  Additionally, the original show was live and off the cuff, and was interrupted several times.  This new edit has all the epilepsy content in one stream.  As such, Adventures in Epilepsy episode has never been presented as one cohesive video before.

Hear all about missing out on a free U2 concert, having to leave movies and shows early with no refunds, and nearly walking into traffic!  Also hear the lighter side of seizures.  We learned early on, if you can’t laugh at these things, you’re doomed.

Join us tonight as we educate and illuminate living with epilepsy.  Though a lot has changed since 2020, the experiences remain raw and true.  Health has improved since then, which we also touch on with additional narration recorded in 2025.

Jen herself appeared in this episode, as good a sport as any.  Good friend and author Aaron Lebold joined the show that night to discuss his own experiences with epilepsy, which he seems to have grown out of in his adult life.  Rob Daniels from Visions in Sound and Kevin Simister from Buried On Mars also joined the show at the end to say hello.  Though most of their parts were cut to shorten and focus the episode (some unboxings and other outdated content were cut), we always appreciate their support.

Check out this special re-amplified episode tonight at 7:00 PM EST on the Grab A Stack of Rock live streams.

Top three musicians with epilepsy

1. Prince.  The royal single-monikered one was born epileptic and suffered a lot of taunting at school.  He obviously came a long way from there

2. Adam Horovitz.  This Beastie Boy is sensitive to flashing lights, which I am sure they use in their stage show.  It certainly didn’t seem to hold him back from massive success.

3. Neil Young.  He was medicated for epilepsy as a child, but didn’t like the side effects of the meds, which can go all over the spectrum depending on you and your meds.  Neil chose to make lifestyle changes instead, and has lived without medication since!  And, obviously, rocked the world.  Good on you Neil.

VIDEO: Dr Kathryn Ladano wins 2025 K-W Oktoberfest Rogers Women of the Year – Arts & Culture

Please join me in congratulating “visionary bass clarinetist” Dr. Kathryn Ladano on her recent win of the 2025 K-W Oktoberfest Rogers Women of the Year, in the category of Arts & Culture.  Dr. Kathryn, a professional musician and former teacher, suffered a devastating concussion that required five years (and counting) of therapy to function again, and the fight is still not over.

Hear all about it in her acceptance speech below.  It’s not just about her.

They even pronounced our last name right.  You can feel the emotion in the room.