Videos

Red On Black: A Chat with Tim Durling about his new Sammy Hagar book on Grab A Stack of Rock – Friday Nov 22 7:00 PM EST

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 79:  Red On Black: A Chat with Tim Durling on Sammy Hagar

Viewers are by now very familiar with Tim Durling and his body of work.  He needs no introduction.  But, he has a new book out, and every time that happens, we have to get Tim back on the show to talk about it.  The subject this time is Sammy Hagar.  We’ll run through Montrose, his solo career, HSAS, Van Halen, Chickenfoot and all the rest.

Co-hosting tonight is Jex Russell.  Just because we’re all pals, don’t expect a softball interview.  We’ll be testing Tim tonight.  There’s Only One Way To Rock, but tonight we’ll be showing you some new ways of doing an interview.

This will be live, so don’t hesitate to join the chat and ask a question!  You’ve got to give to live, so give us your questions!

Friday November 22 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!

The Contrarians Live: This album cover is HELL! – Tonight at 7:00 PM EST!

Doing the live Contrarian chats on Wednesday nights has been great fun.  I will keep going with these as long as I’m welcome and as long as I don’t burn out.  For those keeping track, this is my sixth week in a row on the Contrarians.  The subjects thus far have been:

For this week, Hell and the Underworld, I am going straight metal.  No deviations.  We’ll see what the other guys bring.  Check out the show tonight, live at 7:00 PM.

THE CONTRARIANS – Album covers featuring Hell and the Underworld  – Wed. Novermber 20 – 7:00 PM EST

Glen “Archie” Gamble from Helix, the Joys, Buffalo Brothers and the Gamble Ramble on Grab A Stack of Rock LIVE

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 78:  Ramblin’ with Glen “Archie” Gamble

Glen “Archie” Gamble is a professional drummer and now YouTuber, with the excellent channel the Gamble Ramble!  He has been a member of the Buffalo Brothers, Helix, and the Joys.  Tonight, we talk to Archie about his musical career and his years as a core member of the 90s-2000s era of Helix.  He appeared two Helix DVDs and several CDs, including the outstanding 30th Aniversary Concert.

Tonight, please join Tim Durling, Dr. Kathryn, Archie and myself for this special episode of Grab A Stack of Rock!  We will quiz Archie on his Helix memories, his thoughts on Van Halen, and much more.  This will be a live episode so if you tune in, maybe your question will be answered too!

All this and more on Grab A Stack of Rock, tonight!

Friday November 15 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!

 

The Contrarians Live: Spaceships! Aliens! Robots! Tonight at 7:00 PM EST!

For those keeping track, this is my fifth week in a row on the Contrarians.  The subjects thus far have been:

This time I’m not going too far off the beaten track.  Nothing Canadian, nothing too far outside the rock genre, and all artists who have been featured on the Contrarians before.  Sometimes you have to play it straight.  Check out the show tonight, live at 7:00 PM.

THE CONTRARIANS – Album Covers with Robots, Aliens and Spaceships – Wed. Novermber 13 – 7:00 PM EST

Bicyclelegs: Marillion – Favourite Song From Each Album – Pt. 1: 1983-1995

I am so excited to appear on Bicyclelegs’ excellent YouTube channel for the first time!  To talk about Marillion is just an extra treat for me.

Bicyclelegs approached me a few weeks ago and asked if I’d be interested in picking my favourite song from each (studio) album.  Immediately I agreed.  Considering the depth of the discography, he decided to split this into two episodes.  This is part one:  the EMI years.  Four albums with Fish, and four albums with Steve Hogarth:

  • Script for a Jester’s Tear
  • Fugazi
  • Misplaced Childhood
  • Clutching at Straws
  • Seasons End
  • Holidays in Eden
  • Brave
  • Afraid of Sunlight

I found myself changing my lists up to the last day, but I think I’m happy with how this turned out.  What you will find in this show is a lot of love for some great songs, a little bit of history, and a lot of great music.

Here is what Bicyclelegs had to say:

Welcome to another episode of Favourite Song From Each Album. In this series we look at the catalogue of an artist and pick our favourite song from each studio album chronologically. Today Mike Ladano from Grab A Stack Of Rock joins me to talk Marillion and pick our favourite songs from the first 8 studio albums (the EMI years). We will come back in a month or two’s time to cover the rest of the catalogue. Enjoy!

 

All Five MAD MAX Films Ranked on Grab A Stack of Rock with Two Australians and One Canadian (Harrison Kopp, Peter Kerr & Mike Ladano)

Harrison promised us rarities, and so he gave us rarities!  From some cool Steelbook DVD, Blu-rays and 3D issues of films, to replica cars and comic books, Harrison brought the goods.  The coolest of his collection is his high-end replica Mad Max interceptor, in limited edition dirty deco, to duplicate its appearance in Mad Max 2 (#221 in a limited edition of 2000).  Harrison is clearly a passionate fan, and his Mad Max collection is quite impressive indeed.  He even had his own custom Lego version of the interceptor to show.

As for the lists:  they were not as controversial as I expected, but there were some surprises.  Peter and I had lists most in common, but what did not come as a surprise was that all three of us had the same #1 film in the Mad Max franchise.

We offered a fair share of critique, but mostly praise for George Miller’s post-apocalyptic saga.  Certain moments in films were singled out for observation and analysis.  We discussed the soundtracks, the visual effects, some controversial CG elements, and of course, the performances of the cast.

If anyone knows the deal about that weird mannequin head strapped to Angry Anderson’s backup, let me know.  I had my own theory which I shared in the show.

Thanks for watching, and if you didn’t, you can catch the show below.

Next week:  interview with ex-Helix drummer Archie Gamble!

Ranking all five MAD MAX Films on Grab A Stack of Rock with Two Australians and One Canadian (Harrison Kopp, Peter Kerr & Mike Ladano)

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 77:  Ranking the Mad Max Films

“Witness!  I am your redeemer. It is by my hand you will rise from the ashes of this world!”

Please welcome back to the show, Peter Kerr and Harrison Kopp from Rock Daydream Nation!  With two Australians and one Canadian, we hope this will be the most comprehensive (or, “Kopp-rehensive”) Mad Max list show on YouTube.

For the physical media crowd, Harrison promises RARITIES!

Tonight, we rank all five films in the Mad Max universe:  Mad Max, Mad Max 2 (“The Road Warrior“), Beyond Thunderdome, Fury Road, and Furiosa.  I have immersed myself in the Mad Max films, watching the first three twice each in preparation.  Expect a deep analysis and hearty appreciation with a fair share of critique.  If you think you know what will happen tonight…you don’t!

Will Peter Kerr escape the Wasteland intact?  Will Mike Ladano emerge from the Thunderdome as victor?  Will Harrison Kopp go rogue like Furiosa?  Find out tonight for an awesome show that will defy your assumptions.

 

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

Rock Daydream Nation: ELP – Brain Salad Surgery – First Time Listener (AKA “out of my comfort zone!”)

Out of my comfort zone indeed!  This show has been a long time in the making.  I first bought my deluxe edition of Brain Salad Surgery by ELP many months ago, strictly for this show.  Peter gave me several weeks to absorb it.  Then I was gifted an addition week of preparation when I found myself sick to my stomach the night we were scheduled to record.  (Nerves, food poisoning, or both?)

Now you finally get to see the fruits of our labors.  Did I ever “get” ELP?  Find out by watching this episode of Rock Daydream Nation!  Peter’s description is below.

Rock Daydream Nation is joined by Mike Ladano (Grab a stack of Rock) in a special episode of “out of my comfort zone” where we select one record out of a genre that we don’t usually follow and provide our thoughts with 2024 ears, This weeks choice is ELP Brain Salad Surgery.

The Contrarians Live: Album Covers with FIRE & EXPLOSIONS tonight at 7:00 PM EST!

Last Wednesday on the Contrarians, I was absolutely blown away to hear my favourite writer, Martin Popoff, say the words “Mike is a great addition to the show.”

Thank you Martin.  I hope this week I live up to everybody’s expectations!

For those keeping track, this is my fourth week in a row on the Contrarians.  The subjects thus far have been:

I tend to go off the beaten track and focus on artists or albums that have never been on the Contrarians before.  I will be doing that again this week, with some more Canadian picks and some albums that are not in the rock genre at all.  Begin the guessing.

THE CONTRARIANS – Album Covers with Fire and Explisions – Wed. Novermber 6 – 7:00 PM EST

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VHS Archives #151: Yngwie J. Malmsteen hosts the Power 30 on MuchMusic in 1992

Disclaimer:  This is an extremely dull video!  Consider:  without music videos, Yngwie Malmsteen “hosting” the Power 30 in 1991 amounts to less than 90 seconds of video.  How disappointing.  This is an excellent example of why the Power 30 was a vastly inferior format to the Pepsi Power Hour.  The shortened time led to substance-free content like this for the vacuous 90s.

Yngwie comments a little bit about each of the videos he has been assigned:

  • “Dragonfly” by Yngwie Malmsteen
  • “Over My Head” by King’s X
  • Deep Purple and Jimi Hendrix – songs not named
  • “Heaven Tonight” – Yngwie Malmsteen

I just told you everything they played, but watch it for Yngwie’s quick comments if you like.