#1142: A Top Five Birthday!

RECORD STORE TALES #1142: A Top Five Birthday!

After you hit the big 50, it seems birthdays are less important and a little hum-drum.  My 52nd birthday fell on a Friday, so I decided to take advantage of that and have a little long weekend for myself.  My week ended on Thursday, which coincided with one of the boss’ birthdays at work.  He was turning 65, so we had a bit of an upscale lunch to celebrate both birthdays.  My coworkers and I enjoyed an afternoon at Milestones in Cambridge.  I had a delectable penne pasta with shrimp, mushrooms, bacon and a creamy truffle sauce.  The sauce was aromatic, and quite deliciously pungent.  It was almost more an experience of smell rather than taste, but I enjoyed it thoroughly.  A wonderful start to the birthday weekend.

Thursday night was an evening to chill.  I bought a Lego set, the Atreides Ornithopter set which will give me my first Jason Momoa, Oscar Isaac and Josh Brolin minifigs for my collection.  This difficult set kept my hands occupied while I enjoyed a traditional movie treat.  I went with 1984’s The Last Starfighter, a movie that I watched with Bob Schipper the summer it came out 40 years ago.  “Better than Star Wars!” I told my parents when I got home.  Watching it again today, it’s definitely derivative of Star Wars though able to deliver new things in a grounded Earthly setting.  I smiled the whole way through.

I couldn’t sleep that night.  We had water coming into the home office, and after the shelf disaster of three weeks ago, it kept me up at night.  I also slept on my arm in a way that pinched my nerves and left me with two numb fingers on my left hand.  Ah, 52.  But I had morning plans.

I wanted to head down to the Grand River at 6:00 am when nobody is around, and take the drone up.  With Jen at my side on second camera, we had a quick flight over the fog at sunrise and got some remarkable footage.  First birthday goal accomplished!

I wanted to do something special for my birthday meal, and so I chose a lunch instead of a dinner.  Why?  Because as you get older, bed time gets earlier.  I also wanted to do something different that we don’t usually do.  And so, Jen sucked up a Benadryl for me, and we hit up Ye’s Sushi.  There was plenty of stuff that Jen could eat, but an allergic reaction is impossible to avoid, so precautions were taken.  I really appreciated this sacrifice on her part.  Her favourite was the edamame, while mine was the beef short ribs.  For me, generally, beef won the show.   Dessert was deep fried banana with chocolate dip sauce.

Jen had to crash for a couple hours after the allergy meds kicked in, but she enjoyed her first sushi outing and I really appreciate her doing it.  Next year we’ll do something different, but this was a first for us and it was really special.

At that point, it was time to get ready for Grab A Stack of Rock at 3:30.  I warmed up my coffee and jumped in front of the camera.  I had originally thought of taking my birthday off from the show, but as the week wore on, I felt like I wanted to celebrate a bit with my friends.  So, I scheduled a show and Jex Russell, Tim Durling and John Clauser joined me for gifts and memories.  And much more.

All Jen’s gifts came from Encore Records in Kitchener.  They were:

Ratt – Rarities (2024)

A good compilation of demos and live stuff.  There’s a 1989 demo called “Love on the Rocks”, which is a Pearcy/Crosby composition that never made it onto an album.  Good song, and a CD that is hard to find.

Black Country Communion – V (2024)

I hear good things!  I am missing a few BCC releases, but there has never been a better time to jump back into the band.  I’m spinning it now and enjoying that bluesy rock groove with just a hint of Zeppelin that I love so much.

Prince and the Revolution – Live (2022)

From the Purple Rain tour, I figured this release would make a great accompaniment to my Purple Rain deluxe edition.  It will go well in the car on a future cottage trip.  Contents:  two CDs and a blu-ray, including favourites of mine like “Computer Blue” and “I Would Die 4 U” .  Closing the set is nearly 20 minutes of “Purple Rain”.  This will be epic!

The gifts were just a precursor to the main event, which caught me by surprise and knocked me out of my chair.  With the help with Tim Durling, Jex arranged special surprise birthday messages in a video that we ran live on the show.  I was blown away by the words and sentiments from so many people!

    • Jex Russell
    • John Clauser, performing an acoustic version of “Grab A Stack of Rock”
    • Rob Daniels from Visions in Sound, with some kind words that hit me in the heart
    • Aaron Stewart of the KMA
    • Harrison Kopp with Lego art
    • Uncle Meat with some comments that left me head over heels…
    • Martin Popoff with some more kind words that left my jaw on the floor
    • Dr. Kathryn Ladano (with Molli, Daisi, Winston and Bruce)
    • Grant Arthur from the Rock Warehaus with good advice
    • Metal Roger with metal vocals
    • Todd Evans of the Contrarians to grab a stack of cake
    • Tom Brislin, keyboard player from Kansas
    • Jen Ladano right from the bowling alley
    • D’Arcy Briggs from darcyska on YouTube!
    • Marco D’Auria with a funny name mix-up and more kind words that I don’t think I deserve
    • Brent “the Doctor” Doerner of Helix to grab a stack of beer
    • Steve Deluxe and some wise words about B-sides
    • Tim Durling, who helped connect some of these people with Jex
    • Peter Kerr of Rock Daydream Nation with a pretty excellent vocal performance
    • Chris Preston of MyRockandRollHeaven on Twitter
    • My Aunt Lynda and cousin Geoff with embarrassing stories
    • Matt Phillips of GoNorth Design, with a custom Lego Stratocaster
    • My mom and dad

By the end of it, I was emotionally exhausted…so much love and encouragement from people I really look up to.  The one common recurring thread was a message I really need to hear:  keep doing what you do.

What better birthday gift could anyone want?

The rest of the weekend will be spent enjoying music, and reflecting upon the blessings I have in my life.

I cannot thank you, my friends, enough for this very special birthday.  No matter how hard I try to search for the words, they remain out of my reach.  My words cannot sum up the feeling of a full heart.

The Best Birthday Party Ever! Thank you Jex, John, Tim, Jen and a cavalcade of guests for an awesome Grab A Stack of Rock celebration

The birthdays keep coming, relentlessly as the tides, but Jex Russell ensured that this one was special and different indeed.

This birthday, I was joined by Jex, John Clauser and Tim Durling for a fun Friday afternoon that turned quite epic by the end.  Before that surprise unfolded, we took a look at my new shelving and a large chunk at my CD collection.  We discussed favourite birthday memories and a movie in its 40th anniversary this year:  The Last Starfighter.  (This led into a side discussion on Howard the Duck.)

Jen joined us for gifts at the halfway point of the show.  She gifted me with two new releases and one deluxe live album.  You’ll have to watch the show and see!  (Clue:  royal rodents and the Phoenix lights.)

As a finale, Jex unveiled his surprise.  With the assistance of Tim Durling, it was like an episode of “This Is Your Life”, or a Cameo with all my favourite people.  Jex’s presentation included friends both famous and infamous. There was even an acoustic version of the Grab A Stack of Rock theme song performed by Johnny Metal himself. Thank you, John!

Here is Jex’s presentation:

By the end of it, I was flattered and honoured, and maybe my eyes were a little wet.  I’m not crying, you’re crying.  All my reactions to the kind words and surprise guests are live and unfiltered.

I’m the guy who usually has all the words.  I don’t have any this time.  If a picture is worth 1000 words, just watch my face.

Thank you everyone for everything.  Here’s to another year.

Celebrate Mike’s Birthday on Grab A Stack of Rock – Live!!

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 65:  Celebrate Mike’s Birthday on Grab A Stack of Rock – Live!!
(There will NOT be cake)

I was going to take the day off, and just chill on my birthday.  No Friday show.  “I deserve a break,” I reasoned.  We had the Great CD Avalanche of 2024, a physically & emotionally & financially taxing event in recent weeks, and it will be many weeks more before all the CDs are alphabetized again.  So, my birthday was going to be spent going out to a quiet lunch with Jen, and then watching Doctor Who and the Acolyte at home.

Then I started to think, that sounded a little too lonely.  I wanted to celebrate with my friend Jex.  So, I asked.

“Brother, whatever you want to do on your birthday, show or no show, I support you man!” came his response.

I thought about it for two days.  I decided that I wanted to celebrate my birthday with Oojaboojagan.

Today’s show is a no-list, no-pressure, just chill-and-join-us event!  I’ll be stuffed full of food by that time, and I may even have a birthday drink, so you never know what you will get!  There is no theme, but I promise you this much:

  1. Grant Arthur from Grant’s Rock Warehaus plans to attend.
  2. I will open my gifts from Jen live!  (She shopped at Encore Records.)
  3. Jex has “something” planned.
  4. You will get the first look at the new show backdrop, with my new shelving, and I will be able to show you a whole bunch of CDs if you want to see them.  They’re not all alphabetical yet, but I’m in good shape to retrieve most things from the collection.  This is the first episode of Grab A Stack of Rock to feature the new hardware, and I’m excited to have my music looking good again.

Join us this afternoon at 3:30 PM E.S.T. for “Operation:  Oojaboojagan”!  Seriously, I have no idea what Jex has planned.

Friday July 19 at 3:30 P.M. E.S.T. / 4:30 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!

REVIEW: Polaris Cover Sessions No. 2 feat. Arkells, Joel Plaskett & Zaki Ibrahim (2016 10″ EP)

POLARIS COVER SESSIONS No. 2 (2016 coloured 10″ EP, CBC Music)

Collecting Arkells odds & ends on physical formats is an expensive prospect.  This cool 10″ EP features the Hamilton band, along with Nova Scotia’s Joel Plaskett and Toronto’s Zaki Ibrahim.  The three artists cover Canadian songs on this EP, from artists both famed and obscure.  It is a beautiful transparent blue EP, with a basic cover design.  The names of the featured artists are on the front, with the names of the artsists covered on the back.  The tracklist and credits are inside, on a coloured insert.  More on that in a minute.

Here is a breakdown of the tracks.

 

ARKELLS – “I’m Not Afraid”

Mississauga’s Owen Pallett has a career going back over two decades, previously under the name Final Fantasy.  They play violin and other instruments.  Here’ the Arkells cover of a tune called “I’m Not Afraid”, a powerful tune taking full advantage of their instrumental prowess.  Augmented by a sax section, the song opens with a synthesizer drone, and then a pulsing bassline over it.  It starts off tense and sparse, and takes a little while to launch as the arrangement slowly builds.  It explodes 90 seconds in, with singer Max Kerman breaking into a falsetto on the chorus.  The sax-soaked tune really flies at this point, propelled by drummer Tim Oxford, the engine of the Arkells.  The best word to describe this song is simple – it really cooks.

JOEL PLASKETT – “Bittersweet Memories”

Calgary’s Leslie Feist is better known on the world stage simply as Feist.  Joel Plaskett chose “Bittersweet Memories” to cover.  Plaskett plays everything but the Rhodes keys (by Erin Costelo).  Like Kerman before, he breaks into falsetto at times, but this gentle ballad has a steady beat and a vintage 70s easy listening vibe.  It’s an excellent song, with lyrics that paint a picture.  Here’s the main thing:  Feist really knows how to write a song, and Joel’s no slouch on everything he plays!

ZAKI IBRAHIM – “Show Me the Place”

The final artist to get the cover treatment is the legendary Leonard Cohen.  Zaki Ibrahim chose a song of recent vintage, “Show Me the Place” from 2012’s Old Ideas.  There’s a very low-key and soulful arrangement featuring piano, synth, drum programs and cello.  Though all of this forms a cloudy-yet-vivid atmosphere, it is Ibrahim’s vocals that really make it shine.  Her layered vocals on the chorus sound are stirring and foreboding.  It’s an incredible vocal performance in totality, featuring both restraint and expression.  This is easily an EP highlight.

Here’s the amusing thing about this EP.  There is obvious care put into both the music and the detailed sleeve notes, but they got the track listing wrong.  They switched the Arkells and Plaskett tracks.  In reality, Arkells are on side A, and Plaskett and Ibrahim are on side B.  The sleeve notes are repeated on both sides of the insert, French and English, and both are wrong.  It makes sense for the Arkells track to occupy an entire side by itself, since it is the longest at 5:19.  Funny how these mistakes get made.  The actual label on the record is correct.

A very enjoyable EP, with tracks that should be cherished by fans of all three artists.

4/5 stars

 

 

ARKELLS

  1. Jackson Square (2008)
  2. Michigan Left (2011)
  3. High Noon (2014)
  4. Morning Report (2017)
  5. Rally Cry (2018)
  6. Campfire Chords (2020)
  7. Blink Once (2021)
  8. Blink Twice (2022)
  9. Laundry Pile (2023)
  10. Disco Loadout Volume One (2024)

…and more to come

 

 

VHS Archives #147: Triumph’s Gil Moore answers – What is the essence of rock and roll?

These Gil Moore interviews that I have are all from a MuchMusic Spotlight. Therefore, all the original information about the time and location of the interview are now lost to me.  It looks like this was recorded on the west coast, which would make the interviewer Terry David Mulligan (“TDM”).    It is some time in the mid-80s.  Gil is asked about the “essence” of rock and roll, and he argues that it has a lot to do with the live experience.  Check it out!

#1141: 100 Years Old and Counting! Weekend Report – Parties Complete, CD Re-organizing Continues

RECORD STORE TALES #1141: 100 Years Old and Counting!
Weekend Report – Parties Complete, CD Re-organizing Continues

It’s official!  Grandma turned 100, and she had not one but two parties.  Seems appropriate given the circumstances!  It was a whirlwind of a weekend and difficult to sum up.

Friday afternoon began with a reunion of cousins!  I have not seen Cousin Geoff in over 10 years and I swear he is still growing.  I gave him a big hug, and the chitter chatter did not cease for the entire time.  It was like no time had passed, even though we had so much to catch up on.  He’s now a dad with two kids.

That day, we had a birthday party at the home for Grandma.  She was fashionably late, as is her right.  She received some nice gifts and plants, but was not impressed with her letter from King Charles.  The plants she got from people she knew meant a lot more than the King.  I am sure that Charles is now weeping at this rejection.  He certainly tried!

Funny thing about 100th birthdays.  They are very difficult to find cards for.  In fact, Grandma received three identical cards due to lack of selection!

We had a barbecue for family that night, and resumed the 100th birthday party the following day.  This party was for family only, which didn’t stop a couple people from the old folks’ home from trying to gatecrash!  I can’t say I blame them.  The food and cake were incredible.  The cake was probably the best I ever had, while I also stuffed myself with six sandwiches.  By the end of the celebrations, I think I was as exhausted as Grandma.  But that wasn’t the end of the weekend for me.

Who knew that a 100th birthday party would be so exhausting?  I’ve never even met a centenarian before, let alone partied with one.  I can tell you that centenarians like cake.

As for me, I had CDs to file.  I bought a third shelf, assembled it, and began filing.  I am done A and B, moving onto C.

It feels good to have all of A and B on shelves again.  I keep finding the odd A and B within the rest, but we’re getting closer every week.  I’m going to buy a couple more shelves in the near future, but here’s what the situation looks like this week.

I have also repaired my Metallica Live Sh*t box set lid.

It’s not perfect, and you can see the glue from the inside easily, but it’s solid again.

Things are finding themselves in order again, though it will likely take the rest of the summer to get everything organized again.  Which is good, because when Grab A Stack of Rock returns for its 3rd season in the fall, I’ll be really ready to grab stacks of rock once again – in alphabetical order!

Next party:  mine!  Join us Friday at 3:30 PM EST. Let’s keep it rolling.

VHS Archives #146: Triumph’s Gil Moore talks to JD Roberts about the Blinding Light Show

Short and sweet video here today, featuring Triumph drummer and vocalist Gil Moore.  Possibly from The New Music in 1983, in this interview Gil discusses Triumph’s famed light show.  In their early days, Moore was the man who brought in the light show, and here he talks a little bit about what it’s like to play on stage with such a complex show, and the dangers involved.  Have a look.

 

REVIEW: Deep Purple – “Pictures of You” (2024 CD single from new album =1)

DEEP PURPLE – “Pictures of You” (2024 EARmusic)

Deep Purple’s first new album with Simon McBride on guitar will be out July 19.  Called =1 (“equals one”), the music seems to heading into a riffy direction.  The band have just released a new CD single, something of a tradition for them during the Bob Ezrin era in this late part of their career.  This single includes two tracks from the album, including the recently released “Portable Door”, and two live tracks with Simon recorded in 2022.  Let’s have a listen and hear what the Purples have in store.

Track one, “Pictures of You” has a pretty cool and weighty riff.  Backed by Don Airey’s organ, it’s one of Purple’s catchiest riffs in recent years.  The chorus follows the riff melody.  “These pictures of you are too good to be true,” sings Ian Gillan.  Ian’s voice is pushed to its current limits, which is often the thing you hear people moaning about the most, but it’s really no issue.  Simon comes in with a wicked catchy solo, before the whole song detours into a dainty Don Airey piano part with Simon doing volume swells overtop.  Though only 3:50 long, “Pictures of You” packs a lot into a short time.

Without a gap, the band breaks into something completely different, ominous and heavy:  “Portable Door”.  Ian Paice is the backbone, always smooth, always identifiable, infallible. With Ian Paice on drums, Deep Purple will always sound like Deep Purple.  Don Airey’s organ really dominates the solo section, as it should, and Simon’s guitar work is sublime.  As for the tune itself?  Top notch.

The live tracks were recorded October 17 2022 in Milan, Italy.  These tracks will not be on the deluxe box set version of =1, and are exclusive to the single.  First up is the classic blues “When A Blind Man Cries”, and we get to hear Simon do what Simon does.  Perhaps more interesting though, the arrangement includes a new lounge-y into with piano.  “Blind Man” feels slower than usual, but Ian Gillan is in fine voice.  Simon takes center stage on the guitar solo, and it’s so phenomenal that you can hear the audience break into applause at its conclusion.  It’s slow and passionate until he lets rip.  Having Don Airey follow is almost anti-climax.  Welcome to Deep Purple, Simon McBride!

The more recent “Uncommon Man” closes the disc, with a beautiful guitar solo backed by heavenly keyboards.  As one of Purple’s more regal songs, it sounds great on stage.  Roger Glover gets a little bit of the spotlight just before Simon’s solo, but this is a pretty faithful version.  Most importantly, it is good to see that Deep Purple do not drop songs from the latter part of their career out of the setlist.  (There are three other live versions of this song with Steve Morse available on other releases:  Celebrating Jon Lord the Rock Legend, To the Rising Sun in Tokyo, and the Now What?! Live Tapes Vol. 2)

With only 5000 copies worldwide, this is sure to be a collector’s item.

4.5/5 stars

Extend-a-mix! Thanks Tim Durling for helping with the new Grab A Stack of Rock intro video

Even since the LeBrain Train days, I loved a good intro video to a live show.  Not too many YouTube shows do intro videos these days, but it has always been something I liked.  Even back in the Train days, I wanted an intro video with every guest we ever had appearing in it.  That carries over to Grab A Stack of Rock.  The only problem is, the intro video was 1:14 minutes long, and it was getting harder and harder to cram everyone in.  I had to sacrifice a lot of Harrison’s Lego art in order to fit everyone.

The other problem with the intro video were the lyrics.  There was one line that was relevant when the show started, but not anymore.  I figured the only thing I would be able to do was hire a band (I had one in mind) to re-record the entire song from scratch.

Fortunately, audio wizard and author Tim Durling had a quicker, easier, and cheaper solution. He made some minor edits to the original track and voila!

This new version of the song is extended by nine seconds, an absolute eternity in some ways, and enough to pack in a lot more Lego art and show cameos.  The new version includes the latest guest to appear on our show, Mr. Matt Phillips.

With this new show intro, we’ll be able to keep adding guests for the next year.  Thank you so much Tim for doing this.  As Johnny Walters used to say, “the cheque is in the mail!”

Please enjoy and let me know your feedback!

 

#1140: Happy 100th Birthday to my Grandma

No show today, as we celebrate this centenarian!

RECORD STORE TALES #1140: Happy 100th Birthday to my Grandma

100 years ago, Doris Ann Drumm was born.  With a name like “Drumm”, I suppose it’s no wonder that my sister and I grew up to be so musical!  In fact, my grandmother can trace her family line to Alsace-Lorraine, and musicians on her side of the family.  As for her, even though she likes singers such as Michael Buble, she had no problem buying me Ozzy Osbourne and Van Halen tapes when I was a teen.  Later on, she’d just write me a cheque for my birthday.  “Buy one of your CD records,” went the inscription inside one birthday card.

The pandemic was hard on my grandma.  In the first three months, we lost my Uncle Don Don.  That was difficult for everyone, but especially her.  She still lived in her own home at age 96, and losing Uncle Don Don left her lonely.  Due to pandemic rules, we couldn’t hug her when we went to visit on her back porch.  At age 96, you simply don’t want to take any chances.  Though she survived two rounds with Covid, she got depressed and we nearly lost her three times.  The last time she came so close, I took half the day off work and wrote her obituary.  That’s how bad she was, February 23 2023.  Fortunately now she’s now in a good senior’s home where she doesn’t miss meals or medication.

Today, she’s happy living in her new home, and making new friends.  She still misses her old house, and her old cottage, but she recognizes that it wasn’t sustainable.

She likes to sit with us out in the courtyard of her building, in the shade, enjoying the weather.  She enjoys watching the Blue Jays on TV, even when they’re not doing so well.  She loves to talk!  All she needs is an ear to listen.  I enjoy bringing over my cottage videos, and watching them with her.  She hasn’t been to the cottage in a decade.

I’m so happy we made it to this incredible milestone.  It seemed like it was not going to happen.  But it did and here we are!  She’ll be receiving a letter of congratulations from the King, and family is flying in from Alberta to celebrate.

People always told us that grandma looked like the Queen.  To us, she is the queen!  Leave a happy birthday wish for my grandmother, and celebrate with us on this special day!