“SEE JEX LIKE YOU’VE NEVER SEEN HIM BEFORE: SPEECHLESS! EMOTIONAL! VULNERABLE! All while opening a mystery box from Tim Durling and Mike Ladano!”
Video premieres Saturday Oct 11, 3:45 PM EST.
And for the context, check out the Tim’s Vinyl Confessions Crew at the Riverview Record Expo!
Video premieres Saturday Oct 11, 3:00 PM EST.
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #120
It was with great joy that we anticipated Iron Maiden’s first live album since Donington 1992: Rock In Rio! A decade had passed, and with it, three new studio albums, all of which are represented in the live set. The new six-man Iron Maiden lineup was on fire, and little did we know it would become the most stable lineup in the band’s history. Though they had released live B-sides from the Ed Hunter tour, Rock In Rio was the first full live album with the new lineup, and of course, new songs! We even got a live DVD out of it.
In Rio, Iron Maiden played to approximately 250,000 people; the second largest crowd of their entire career, only topped by the 350,000 people who saw them in Rio in 1985. They hit the stage with a setlist generous on new songs, classic hits, and respectful nods to the Blaze era.
Harrison and I will break down the album, produced by Kevin Shirley, track by track in tonight’s special live episode. Don’t miss this one as we always enjoy interacting with the comments, and we can do this best when we are live.
Much like Iron Maiden, we are best when we are live. Check it out tonight!
Past episodes:
Handy YouTube Playlist:
The flight started well enough, but I lost control of the drone during the return, right around the guitar solo (Vivian Campbell). It started veering to the left and losing altitude. I managed to bring it back to the beach and land it in the sand, but I thought for sure it was going to hit the water or trees. Why? It’s a “Mystery”!
To its credit, the Ruko U11MINI 4K gets incredible images with its always-level camera.
The water levels are heading back to their low point. It is a 20 year cycle. It does create beautiful imagery. Enjoy the flight.
Mystery (Dio/Bain)
From The Last In Line (1984)
Can you hear me
can you see
there’s a storm on the edge of the sky
does it matter
it does to me, i can tell you why
When there’s thunder, there should be rain
but it don’t always follow the rule
and is the wise man always right?
no he can play the fool
It’s always a mystery, not what it seems to be
it’s always a mystery, just like you and me
We are lightning
we are flame
and we burn at the touch of a spark
if there’s fire, but no one sees
the there’s only the dark
Just imagine, will you try
i can see that you’ve opened your mind
silver linings can disappear, but they always shine
It’s always a mystery, not what it seems to be
it’s always a mystery, just like you and me
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 119: Harrison’s Box Sets and Mike’s Whitesnake
Time for a Maiden break this week, as Harrison and Mike have their ears full of live Maiden preparing for the next two shows! In the meantime, Harrison has acquired a good sized collection of box sets, while Mike is only one Whitesnake box away from completing his collection of Coverdale’s boxed compilations. Not much else to say except we will dive deep on some cool collections tonight!
“Ere’s a box set for ya!”
This is possibly the last cottage show of the season, and an indoor one this time due to the early sunset. Join us tonight live for this special look at some expensive beauties.
Friday October 3 at 7:00 PM EST, 8:00 PM Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube or Facebook.
‘Twas my honour to be back on My Music Corner with Johnny Clauser on Monday night! Well, to be fair, I invited myself, but it was a free for all, so that’s allowed!
Joining Johnny this episode:
Johnny asked us all of a series of questions including:
Enjoy this episode!
Once more I had the pleasure of doing a show with D’Arcy Briggs from the YouTube channel @darcyska. A few days ago, D’Arcy asked me if I’d be up to record on a topic of my choosing. My first thought was “movie soundtracks”.
D’Arcy prepared a series of questions for me and off we went! Topics include:
While we were at it, we took a good look at some physical CDs, soundtracks from my collection and D’Arcy’s too.
Check out the video below!
Special Guest: Davey Cretin from Cretin Classics
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #118
How do you move on from a special interview with former Maiden frontman Blaze Bayley? By going to the next album, of course! After the wildly successful Ed Hunter reunion tour, the new six-man Iron Maiden lineup of Bruce Dickinson, Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Janick Gers, Adrian Smith and Nicko McBrain were tasked with creating a new Iron Maiden studio album. With new producer Kevin “Caveman” Shirley at the boards (whom they tested out on “Wrathchild 1999” – see Episode 21), the band had to capture their classic sound with modern production and a new three-guitar configuration.
The band toiled away in the studio as fans speculated. Finally we were given a preview of the new Maiden sound on the first single “The Wicker Man”. This was followed by the rapturous release of Brave New World on 29 May 2000. Together, with the legendary Davey Cretin of Cretin Classics, Harrison and Mike break down the album’s 10 tracks in incredible detail. You simply will not find a better analysis of this album anywhere else on the internet.
We don’t just dive deep into the album. As usual, you can expect us to tackle all the live B-sides from “The Wicker Man” and “Out of the Silent Planet”. We will also look at some very rare CD singles, including the elusive remix of “The Wicker Man” with additional lyrics. We will also have a good look at the album and singles artwork, and even a special edition DVD of the Wicker Man movie with Edward Woodward and Sir Christopher Lee.
Before we’re done, Harrison will take us through the Brave New World tour, the setlists and the performances. Expect the level of detail, analysis and pure love that you have come to know from 50 Years of Iron Maiden. It’s all here as we enter the brave new world of the Maiden reunion era!
Past episodes:
Handy YouTube Playlist:
I found this video in my 2023 Facebook memories. September 22: The story of the kids on their bikes, rocking to Motley Crue. Absolutely wild!
RECORD STORE TALES #1217: When the Fall Starts to Fall
The Equinox has passed us (Sept. 22). All that remains is the clock change (Nov. 2). The Seasonal Affective Disorder remains at bay for the moment. Green still rules the outdoors, for now holding the bleak grey back. Soon, however, this shall change. What challenges will the fall bring?
I think, for the time being at least, I am done doing the live Contrarians on Wednesday nights. It was a key part of my mental health strategy last winter, but like many things it became monotonous. If the Contrarians do return on Wednesday nights this fall and winter, I am not sure if I will participate. It was a healthy form of expression, but I confess that I prefer doing my own thing. It enabled me to meet and work with new friends, which was valuable. It is possible that I may replace it with something of my own in the same time slot, if it is not being used by the Contrarians. We shall see.
My biggest challenge at the moment is what I call the “Monday Crash”. I seem to struggle with waking up on a Monday morning these days. Sometimes I just can’t see to get out of bed, and I end up working from home. The option to work from home does help, but working from the office is infinitely more efficient. My Mondays seem to be an uneasy truce between depression and dedication. This happened through the summer too, but I worry about how fall will effect the battle. Will it sway one side or another?
Back in 2022, my strategy for coping with fall and winter involved sending pictures and videos of Canadian weather to my new friend in California, MarriedandHeels. While it did help for a while, it was not a good long-term strategy. The novelty of taking winter pictures for a far-away friend, for her reactions, was a good idea but it could not last the whole season. I needed strategy that focused on me, and not someone else. I am pleased to say that MarriedandHeels and I are friends again, on normal social media, and have been for longer than we were originally the first time. Unfortunately, she is dealing with her own things today and I can’t base any strategies on her in 2025. I find myself trying to support her, which is not a bad thing.
For the winter of 2025, I am going to try and do some things that we never got around to last year. These ideas included a winter trip to the cottage. That is still in the cards, if the weather happens to line up with a free weekend. Record shopping in the winter is also a must.
Things seem to be going OK. I just got a new PC (though the CD drive is not quite working yet), and 50 Years of Iron Maiden is keeping me busy. It has been an enriching experience. Before we’re done, we’ll have three more guests who have never been on Grab A Stack of Rock before. These things are healthy and keep me from becoming a recluse.
Here we go, lads. Let’s have a triumphant winter like last year. Repeat performance. Let’s go!
From the official Antix Facebook page!
Oh, 1988! A new band starring Lenny Wolf from Stone Fury had started his new band Kingdom Come, and the “Led Clones” accusations were rampant! MuchMusic VJ Laurie Brown refers to them as “Kingdom Clone” here.
Antix were an independent hard rock band out of Ottawa, Ontario. They released several records and are possibly best known for “Kick It Up” from the Raw M.E.A.T CD compilation. Check out their Pepsi Power Hour bumper!
mikeladano.com 