GRAB A STACK OF ROCK…with Mike and the Mad Metal Man Episode 3: Special guestJohn Snow
Continuing to show off our collections, tonight Harrison and Mike are joined by the infamous John T. “Snowman” Snow for another hour of fun. What will we show off tonight? You’ll just have to tune in and see. We all know John’s collection is massive and loaded with rock. How will he choose to spend his hour tonight? Let’s find out!
We also have some surprise viewer questions for Harrison, and YOU can participate in the comments section! Join us, won’t you?
Friday November 11 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook.
I’ve always liked the final Van Halen album, A Different Kind of Truth, and I have found it still stands up after a decade of digestion. As you are probably aware, most of the album is reworked demos. One such demo is “Ripley” from 1984, which later became “Blood and Fire” on the album. The music made it into the score for a movie called The Wild Life which has never seen a proper audio release. Eddie called the song “Ripley” because he played it on a Ripley guitar.
It’s impossible to listen to it without hearing David’s final lyrics and vocals in your head. But is the instrumental version better than the final? That’s a tough call. It definitely would have been interesting to hear what Sammy Hagar could have done with “Ripley”, but if the idea to rework it with Hagar ever came up, it obviously didn’t bear fruit.
RECORD STORE TALES #1021: Closing Time! Last Cottage Video of 2022
Jen and I were Highway Stars! Rocking to Deep Purple, live in Copenhagen 1972, we reveled in the joys of jamming, intense improvisation, and hard rock and roll. The perfect accompaniment to our last cottage road trip of 2022. Before we knew it we had arrived at our destination. It may look a little different in the fall, but there is still no place I’d rather spend my weekend.
There was a different kind of beauty this time. Fewer leaves, fewer animals. You could see through the trees, a feeling I was not used to, especially when partaking in the O.D.P. (Out Door Piss). When we were kids, we never made it to the lake in November nor did we want to. It was always far too cold and the snow would have started. Not anymore.
It was unseasonably warm, and within minutes I was in short sleeves and short pants again, just as I was all summer. This is November? I set up on the front porch with more Deep Purple, Ozzy, Dio, and Black Sabbath. It was an utterly brilliant day of rocking the shores of Lake Huron. Then on the Friday night, we went live with the Mad Metal Man and the second episode of Grab A Stack of Rock. A brilliant way to end the season.
Our weekend was quiet and fun, including lots of outdoor rock and roll with board games, a dinner at Boston Pizza (since the barbecue is packed up for the winter) and even a step into Lake Huron. A first for the month of November! We drove home to the music of Black Sabbath (Dehumanizer and Cross Purposes) to put the final nail in the coffin of 2022’s cottage season. For me personally, since this season stretched from late April to early November, it was one of the longest seasons, if not the longest ever. And it couldn’t have gone any better! 2022 was a triumphant season in virtually every way, and we sure did enjoy it.
My dad found the end of this video a tad too emotional! We all miss the place and hate leaving!
While I will admit that Van Halen 3 didn’t live up to the potential of the collaboration between Cherone and VH, it ain’t bad. Many people said, “They should have changed their name and called it something else.” That’s one perspective, but I don’t think Van Halen ever needed to go by any name other than Van Halen so long as Eddie and Alex were there. Just my opinion.
“Without You” was arguably the best song (with the outtake “That’s Why I Love You” also a contender). This live version from Australia helps illustrate what was working and what wasn’t. The truth is, while Gary Cherone is a unique frontman, his gangly-geeky stretches and contortions didn’t suit Van Halen’s live show. Vocally though? No issues with Gary Cherone in Van Halen. When they go into “We Can Work It Out” by the Beatles at the end, I’m sold.
Tim Durling‘s Holy Grail this week was a serious rarity: Europe’s The Final Countdown (1986) on 8-track! It was worth the wait, seeing that unusual tape on that format.
We had a surprise guest: Aaron from the KMA, who showed some discs and books! And of course Harrison the Mad Metal Man had some interesting items on display. As for me, I unboxed the Thin Lizzy Rock Legends box set and an unassembled ZZ Top Eliminator model kit.
It’s been a while since I’ve said this, but: tonight, please join Harrison and Mike, as we welcome special guest Tim Durling to our NEW chat show! It’s called Grab A Stack of Rock with Mike and the Mad Metal Man, and this is our unofficial episode 2.
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK…with Mike and the Mad Metal Man Episode 2: Special guest Tim Durling
Here’s the gimmick. Each episode will feature Mike grabbing a pile of CDs and showing off parts of his collection! With Harrison the Mad Metal Man by his side, they will “show and tell” with toys, games and of course physical music! It’s unplanned, unscripted and will take up only an hour of your time. Uncle Meat suggested this as a new show format, and it was fun last week!
Please join us tonight when 8-track expert Tim Durling will show off some new acquisitions and one holy grail! Tonight…grab and stack of rock, and join us!
Friday November 4 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook.
When this video debuted on MuchMusic in spring of ’89, everybody but Harrison Kopp (who was not born yet) and John Hubner (who was not Canadian) said “Wow that singer really sounds like David Coverdale from Whitesnake!” The VJs said it and the kids said it. Do you agree? Does Ray Gillen resemble Coverdale in any way? Do you hear it too? Let us know in the comments.
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 1: Dio – Dreamers Never Die review with Uncle Meat
As I was leaving for work on Friday morning, I thought to myself, “You know, I wonder if Harrison or anybody would feel like going live tonight. Just shoot the shit for an hour. It might be a fun way to be social on a Friday night and it only has to be an hour.”
I messaged Harrison in Australia just as he was tucking in for the night, and he graciously agreed to get up early and join me for an impromptu live stream. Setting his alarm clock, Harrison prepared for our first live show since July!
RECORD STORE TALES #1018: Surfing the October Colours (Cottage Video)
The last cottage weekend before closing was totally maxed out! And I don’t mean Max the Axe!
Life is too short. It must be lived to the fullest. When you and I first met here at mikeladano.com, I was 10 years younger. Spending four hours on a Saturday pounding words into a keyboard was nothing back then. Today I’d rather be experiencing life. So that’s what we did. From music to food to photography, we enjoyed our last weekend at the cottage before closing, to the max!
The music for the road was top notch. Ghost’s new album Impera received another spin. It’s as good as the day it was released. Then while hanging out in the “G” folder, we rocked out George Lynch’s debut solo album, Sacred Grooves. Better than any of the Lynch Mob albums. It also enabled me to teach Jen a little bit about the mighty Glenn Hughes. His struggles and triumphs. On the road home, we rocked David Lee Roth’s Eat ‘Em and Smile and Your Filthy Little Mouth. A pretty solid selection of guitar rock.
The fall colours were spectacular. Orange, yellow, deep maroon. As you are all well aware, I am not usually a “fall guy”. This year has been a little different. I have a friend in California who finds all this Canadian weather beautiful and fascinating. For her, I enjoyed documenting the weekend with video tours and personal messages. It totally made this fall weekend a different experience for me. It was like seeing the place through new eyes. And this is now going to be part of my wellness plan for winter. She wants me to continue sending her fun videos and pictures of the Canadian landscape during the snowy months. I checked my phone — do you know how many pictures of snow I had from past winters? Two. TWO. I have photos on my phone going back to 2014, and I only have two with snow in them. With her enthusiasm and encouragement, I’m going to have fun documenting the winter of 2022-2023! I’ve never had this before — a friend in a sunny climate who has requested Canadian snow videos! On the condition that I stay safe and don’t crash my car or break my neck! This gives me a whole new project to do this winter, that I never had before. I feel very positive about going into the cold, dark winter months.
I’m recovering well from my dental surgery and ate two steaks this weekend! They were awesome! As were all the fish and mushrooms I cooked up. No A5 wagyu in stock at the butcher’s shop though. That will have to wait until next year, I suppose.
We did something else different that we haven’t done in recent years. We went into town! I took some video of the big waves, a daring surfer, and some quaint streets. Something new for this video.
Please enjoy this last cottage video before we close — all to the music of Tee Bone Erickson and Max the Axe!
mikeladano.com 