I always think of my best friend growing up, Bob, on my birthday. Our birthdays are only 10 days apart, so for us, July was a busy month full of music new and old. We always gave each other music. The last birthday we celebrated together was 1991 as I recall, and he gave me Van Halen’s For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge on CD. Same copy I still own today.
My favourite birthday memory might actually be his party in 1984. He was into Marvel comics limited series because they were easy to collect, and he loved The Last Starfighter, which was three issues. Obviously we had to go see the movie. His parents took us to Mother’s Pizza for dinner and then to the movie. “It’s better than Star Wars!” I raved back home.
This year on my birthday I’d like to share this new video I made from Mike and Bob’s Cross Kitchener Adventure. I set it to the Gene Simmons song “Waiting For the Morning Light”, written by Gene and Bob Dylan. (Don’t ask why I set it to that song.) I hope you enjoy this nostalgic music video from about 9 months before Bob gave me that Van Halen CD!
Major events on this date: Deep Purple broke up in 1976!
If you would like to celebrate this year’s birthday with Harrison and I, you can do that live this Friday at 7:00 PM on Grab A Stack of Rock! Please join us, won’t you?
“Hey, Nurse Kat!” I asked on Twitter one summery afternoon. “I already have and love High Noon and Michigan Left by the Arkells. What album should I buy next?”
“Morning Report,” answered Nurse Kat.
“Morning Report,” answered Nurse Kat’s friend.
“Ordered!” I responded.
In sum: Nurse Kat and her friend were right.
4.5/5 stars
Wait wait wait…that’s not how we do reviews around here! OK folks, let’s get ready to dive deep. Coffee: heated. Let’s go.
ARKELLS – Morning Report (2016 Last Gang)
First of all I will preface all of this by saying that this album and this band has recently helped me get through a rough patch, so there is a certain attachment that I have made with Morning Report that colours everything I will say about it. The fact that it made that connection is the important part. An album that connects, that’s special. That’s for life!
Here’s the interesting thing. For an album I love so much, I don’t particularly care for the first two tracks! I also find the closer underwhelming, but that leaves nine tracks of pure awesome to gush over. But first, let’s get the opening pair out of the way.
I don’t particularly like when the Arkells get too much into modern mainstream pop, because I do not care for modern mainstream pop. The opening pair “Drake’s Dad” and “Private School” would fall in this category for me. Having said this, both songs have awesome choruses. “Drake’s Dad” has a powerful soul/gospel chorus of “I just wanna hold you, so high!” that raises the roof. It also has a lush arrangement with strings and samples. “Private School” has a fun hook of “Ah, fuck off, don’t say I’d do the same!” Silly fun.
The serious stuff starts with track #3, “My Heart’s Always Yours”. This suave pop rock ballad just hits all the feels. Max Kerman has a way with words and I’m certain that the ladies love him for it. Though keyboards are the prominent hook-delivering instrument, the pure passion and panache of this song just elevates it to the clouds. A brilliant song, made indelible in the brain and heart!
Things get even better on “Savannah”, the fast acoustic-based song with killer lyrics. “She was named after, she was named after her dad’s favourite city. I was named after, I was named after the fact…” How does Max come up with this stuff?! He paints a picture of characters, often female, coming in and our his life. He tells their stories, often depicting musty old apartments, messy beds, and empty refrigerators. Musically, “Savannah” is even better. It’s powerful and it has a trumpet solo, so what more could you want? The chorus is probably the most immediate one on the album.
Then…get ready for chills, for it is time for “Passenger Seat”, the most haunting song on the album and easily one of the most chill-inducing I’ve ever heard. But then the chorus comes, with Max in a high falsetto, accompanied by sparse piano and keyboard effects. “Driving on the highway home, this time alone, doesn’t mean the same without you. I turn on the radio, to something slow, just to let it fuck with my mood…but songs don’t sound the same without you in the passenger seat.” Who can’t relate to that? (People without driver’s licenses I suppose.)
Brightness returns on “Making Due”, the song that really means something to Nurse Kat. I can see why. The music is pure uplifting magic, and the lyrics cut clean through. A sunny guitar hook opens the track, and then Max delivers some of his best melodies and words to date. That falsetto really nails the hooks home. Favourite lines: “I thought we made a deal, you were crossin’ your fingers!” Or “Got a pulse, but there’s a few beats missin’.”
Acoustics come to the fore on “Round and Round”, a folksy number (at first) that serves to bridge two very upbeat pop songs. The band comes in partway and it becomes a little more late Beatles-y in a weird way. Horns come blastin’ through, then synth, and it becomes something else entirely: something birthed in the early 80s, but talking about MuchMusic’s Electric Circus TV show circa 1999. An interesting track that is more than meets the ear.
“Hung Up” is impossible not to dance to. “The gatekeepers are keepin’ me out, let me in! Who made you the president, well fucker?” The horns also return, along with the synth, creating a modern pop rock classic. And I just love Max Kerman’s trio of “Well fucker?” at the end of the song. (Also listen carefully for a reference to “Fake Money” from the prior album High Noon.) No folks, he may be no Axl Rose, but Max Kerman is not afraid of dropping F-bombs right and left. Fortunately I’m easily entertained and I find his use of the word (usually) effective and not overdone.
The beautiful “Come Back Home” is a quieter, slow ballad, with a thrumming bassline that provides a dreamy foundation, like a pillow. “All would be forgiven if you’d come back home,” begs Max. “‘Cause I just wanna be yours again.” Filled with regret, Max is looking for reconciliation. Morning Report could in fact be a concept album about shattered relationships and our reactions to them. “And I thought about all the ways I could hurt you, to even the score of feelin’ deserted.”
The upbeat moods return on “A Little Rain (A Song for Pete)”. Max has indicated he’s probably an atheist in past lyrics, but here he says “I stumbled in St. Peter’s Cathedral, there I was. I never tried religion but man, I’ll try anything once.” I can’t tell if this song is about someone name Pete, or if Max is singing as if he’s having conversations with St. Pete himself. It means whatever you want it to! This incredibly catchy tune has a fun, bouncy beat and a suitable synth riff to go with it. Drummer Tim Oxford is definitely an underrated percussionist who doesn’t play it simple and always has catchy fills.
A slower but powerful song called “And Then Some” is next to last. The romantic dreamer is so good! “And I love every inch of you, and then some and then some.” Beautiful song and I can’t help but think of Tom Cochrane on the chorus. Something about Max’s delivery sounds like the Red Rider frontman.
Strangely, after all this power, all these hooks, and thick arrangements, the final song is very different from anything else. Quiet, understated and short, “Hangs the Moon” is like a coda. The arrangement is very bare, and Max’s voice is the main feature. The Arkells occasionally choose interesting, unconventional closing songs, and this is one. It works, but it’s not among my favourite songs on the album.
For me, Morning Report is 9/12 awesome songs, with 3 that are not bad but not my bag.
Morning Report is an album that I have listened to intensely for the last couple months, and has made a permanent impression on my soul. With Max’s lyrics tattooed on my heart, my score will come as no surprise.
I decided like Aaron to cover an hour in the morning, so it’s not too different from the programming he heard. If I had done an afternoon, there would be some LeBrain promos on Marko’s show, but I chose the Midday Lockdown with DJ Patrick Dynamite.
PATRICK DYNAMITE 10:00 – 11:00 Aug 12 2014
Oasis – “Don’t Look Back in Anger”
Station ID
Def Leppard – “Pour Some Sugar On Me” (single mix)
Patrick announces Kiss/Def Leppard show tonight, and upcoming songs. “Here’s Kiss from ’79’s Dynasty, thanks for rockin’ with Dave.” Knew the album and year – bonus. (The computer doesn’t always give them this info because it often pulls songs like this from a greatest hits CD.)
Kiss – “I Was Made For Lovin’ You”
Station ID for morning show (5 seconds)
Big Wreck – “A Million Days” – great guitar solo often mistaken for Steve Morse! (CanCon)
Patrick announces contest to win tickets to Alice In Chains/Monster Truck next week. Also meet and greet!
COMMERCIALS: Funny clip from morning show, Tim’s, car loan, auto parts, lawyer, Athletic Club, Waterloo Brewing Company, Seagram coolers, station ID.
Trooper – “We’re Here for a Good Time (Not a Long Time)” – first song I could skip. (CanCon)
Station ID for “new rock” – Theory of a Dead Man.
Theory of a Dead Man – “Drown” – crappy post-grunge. (CanCon)
Patrick announces chance to win the last Dave FM Backyard Bash for the summer. Party for 20 plus a new patio set.
LEGENDS OF CLASSIC ROCK with Jeff Woods – Eric Clapton throws a legendary party in ’79: the Beatles reunion that never was, because Lennon didn’t know.
The Beatles – “Come Together”
Station ID (5 seconds)
Three Days Grace – “Chalk Outline” – more crappy post-grunge. (CanCon)
Patrick – recaps the last songs, announces Alice Cooper concert on Halloween in Kitchener! Pre-sale info available for Dave FM members.
COMMERCIALS: Dave FM ride to end Multiple Sclerosis, debt resolution, Subway, auto sales, Fido, drivercheck.ca, Moxy’s, an evening with Alice Cooper, station ID.
*pictured above: Gimli, the secret star of the show
Folks, I am so proud of this new show intro! Grab A Stack of Rock is almost at 30 episodes, so the show intro should consist of entirely original footage, should it not? Yes it should! I’ve finally removed all the old footage and guests from the LeBrain Train shows (I think?) with two exceptions; both clips of original music videos that we still play frequently today.
There are more clips and less photos – the new version is faster and far less static. This means it takes an hour or so to load all the files into my editor, but it’s worth it when the results come out this good.
Our fans and Sarre have spoken, and they want more music and more lists on this show. We’re gonna bring ’em to ya baby.
I want to thanks Harrison Kopp for being awesome support and my rock of a co-host. I wanna thank Jex Russell for bringing a new energy to the show. I wanna thank Rob, John, Tim, Aaron, and Marco for helming some great episodes with me. Dr. K, Grace Scheele, Spenny Rice and Nurse Kat have been generous with their time and made their own episodes something really special to watch. Uncle Meat sparked the concept of this show and he’s in the new theme video too. He did after all make some cameo appearances on special occasions. Also a special thanks to Grant Arthur for welcoming me on his Rock Warehaus and helping me stay focused.
Spoilers: There’s a new revision coming in a couple weeks with a new opening, but I’m waiting for a specific “prop” to come in the mail. You’ll see!
GLASS TIGER – Private Concert: Greystone Racquet Club Waterloo, Ontario July 13, 2023
Photos and review by Dr. Kathryn Ladano
About a month ago, I saw a social media post on Glass Tiger’s Instagram page that was announcing a very special private, acoustic concert, with only 50 tickets available to the public. I immediately thought, “well that sure is cool, but I’m sure it won’t be happening anywhere near me”. To my surprise, that event was happening in Waterloo, 15 minutes from my home. The ticket price was steep – $199 plus tax for one ticket. However, I knew that this was a once in a lifetime experience to see the band that was my absolute favourite growing up. I hesitated at the price for about 2 minutes and then reserved a ticket to ensure I got one before they sold out. I only bought one because I didn’t think I’d be able to convince anyone to pay that price. So, I opted to go to the show alone. This would be my third time seeing Glass Tiger live. The first time was when they opened for Roxette in 2012 at the Budweiser Stage in Toronto. The second time was five days before this concert – at the Kincardine Scottish Festival (a very large, outdoor event with thousands of people in attendance). I’d like to say that I saw them in their heyday in the 80’s and early 90’s, but I was a child living at home then, and my mom wouldn’t let me go!
I received an email two days before show advising us that for general admission ticket holders (me), the doors would open at 6:30pm, we could enjoy a cash bar and free appetizers, and the show would start at 8:30pm. The email mentioned there were also VIP tickets, and those people got to come earlier, receive several free drinks, and were able to access a private reception after the concert. I honestly have no idea how one could get those tickets. They were not advertised on any posting I saw. Because I was going alone and had no one to talk to, I decided to leave my house around 7:30pm, arriving around 7:45pm. As soon as I got there, I bought a beer (Waterloo Amber) and then claimed my spot at the very front of the stage right in the centre. To my surprise no one had staked out their spots to the concert! Everyone else was socializing and hanging out farther away from the stage. I’m sure I looked like a bit of an idiot, standing in front of the stage all by myself for so long. However, I wanted the best possible experience, and I didn’t want a little bit of social discomfort to ruin that. People could think whatever they wanted!
To my surprise, Glass Tiger emerged and came on stage at 8:15pm (not the 8:30pm that we were told). The entire band had to walk right beside and in front of me to get on stage. I was inches away from all of them! Glass Tiger still has three original members that perform in all of the live shows: singer Alan Frew, keyboardist Sam Reid, and guitarist Al Connelly. Their bassist, Wayne Parker, is still a member of the band but he no longer performs live with them due to his wife contracting Lyme disease several years ago. He’s opted to stay at home and care for her, which he can’t do when he’s on the road with the band. Alan Frew has a really great recurring Insagram live show called “Frew the Looking Glass”, where he talks to fans and often has special guests. I tuned in when Wayne was the special guest two years ago, which is where I learned all about this. Glass Tiger now has a different bassist when they perform live. Last week, at the Kincardine Scottish Festival, Tom Lewis filled that role. Last night though, because it was an acoustic show, they had a second acoustic guitar player and I unfortunately do not remember his name. The band was also joined by back-up singer Carmela Long and long-time drummer Chris McNeill.
Every other time I’ve seen Glass Tiger live I’ve been nowhere near the front – always pretty far away from the stage. This concert was the exact opposite. At various points in the show, I was able to make eye contact with every member of the band and I was always met with a big smile (probably because I had a huge smile on my face the entire night). Right from the start of the show, Alan Frew informed us that he was sick, and I noticed that he was sipping tea (rather than beer) during the show. Despite this, you couldn’t tell by hearing his voice. Where you could tell was in his energy – he was definitely lower energy than the previous week. However, it was clear that he still wanted to put on a great show, and he did. The show began with the relatively new song, “Fire it Up”, which absolutely fired up the audience. They played 13 songs in total for the main set, and then two more songs in their encore. The show lasted about an hour and a half in total. I could see the setlist from where I was watching the show, so I was never surprised about what was coming next. For some reason though, they switched up the last song and the second last song. On the setlist, the final song was supposed to be “Animal Heart”, but they went with “Thin Red Line” instead (which ultimately, I think was a better choice). The setlist (as played in the concert) was as follows:
“Fire it Up
“You’re What I Look For”
“I’m Still Searching”
“My Town” (Alan Frew told us Rod Stewart was invited to sing, but just hadn’t shown up to the venue yet!)
“This is Your Life”
“Healing Hands” (from Alan Frew’s first solo album)
“Right Here Right Now” (a cover of the Jesus Jones hit)
“My Song”
“Someday”
“Diamond Sun”
“I Will Be There”
“Animal Heart”
“Thin Red Line”
Encore:
“Heroes” (cover of the David Bowie song)
“Don’t Forget Me When I’m Gone”
The setlist was almost identical to the one I heard in Kincardine. There were only two differences: Instead of “Healing Hands” and “This is Your Life”, they played “Rhythm of Your Love” and “Ecstasy”.
While most of the audience was pretty dressed up, I opted to wear my Glass Tiger t-shirt that my mom got me for Christmas in 1988. For some reason, she got me an XXXL shirt – and I’m still swimming in it. The shirt (pictured) is from the album/song “Diamond Sun” and includes the song lyrics, “Love Gives Live” (which in the song is followed by the words, “and life is love”). When the band started playing Diamond Sun, and those lyrics came up, keyboardist Sam Reid looked at Alan Frew and pointed at my t-shirt. Alan then knowingly nodded his head. At another point in the song, Alan Frew also pointed to my shirt when singing those lyrics. The song has a new memory associated with it for me, and I’ll never forget that! Much to my surprise, I only saw one other person wearing a Glass Tiger shirt that night, and it was a significantly newer one. There were literally people of all ages at the show. The youngest was a child – maybe around 10 years old (I have a very hard time knowing what age children are, so I could be way off on that). There were also several seniors there – and many of them were right out front dancing beside me!
When the concert ended, I stuck around for a while on the off chance that I could get an autograph (I brought my CD copy of the “Thin Red Line” special edition, released in 2012). Because there was a VIP ticket option, the staff were clearly trying to ensure that only the people with those tickets had access to the band. I thought I’d wait anyway, just to see. To my surprise, guitarist Al Connelly came out by himself to grab some of his gear on the stage. A security guard was standing right in front of the stage, so I asked him if it would be okay if I asked Al for an autograph. He said absolutely, as long as I didn’t go onto the stage myself. I got Al’s attention and he said he’d come right back to sign my CD because his hands were full. True to his word, Al grabbed a beer and then came right back to where I was waiting and signed my album. Shortly after that, the security crew were telling us “regular” ticket holders that we had to move out of the space to make room for the VIP reception. I figured I would have no other opportunities to get more signatures, so I left the concert.
All in all, a fantastic show. It was a night I’ll never forget and I’m glad that I went ahead and got a ticket even with the higher price tag. While there were some songs I would have loved to hear live and didn’t (such as “Watching World’s Crumble”, “Far Away From Here”, “After the Dance”, and “Stand or Fall”), I still immensely enjoyed the experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat if such an opportunity ever came up again (and I’d have to figure out how to get a VIP ticket!). It was just announced that Glass Tiger will be inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame – the crowd gave them a lot of cheers to recognize that accomplishment.
Awesome show tonight hosted by Harrison and Jex! Top Five Alice Cooper albums, plus a nice collection from Harrison for bonus show & tell. Harrison has three Alice Cooper albums that I would like to steal from his house. Which ones? You’ll have to watch to find out. But you can check out the boys’ Top Fives below! And as a bonus, I’ll throw in my Top Five as well. Check ’em out!
This was one of my favourite shows to watch! Thank you to Harrison and Jex for doing such an amazing job! This was a great set of lists, and some awesome show & tell from Harrison. My list will be drastically different from theirs!
Thanks for watching and we’ll see ya next week for my birthday!
JEX
5. Special Forces (1981)
4. Trash (1989)
3. Constrictor (1986)
2. Killer (1971)
1. Flush The Fashion (1980)
HARRISON
5. The Last Temptation (1994)
4. Welcome To My Nightmare (1975)
3. Flush The Fashion (1980)
2. Dirty Diamonds (2005)
1. Special Forces (1981)
LeBRAINLESS
5. Welcome 2 My Nightmare (2011)
4. Killer (1971)
3. Love It To Death (1971)
2. Welcome To My Nightmare (1975)
1. School’s Out (1972)
This was a lot of fun. If you missed it, you can catch up below. Grant and I discussed Hot Leg and the Stone Gods – the two bands that emerged from the Darkness split in 2005-2006. Grant had a favourite of the two, as did I. Can you guess who picked what?
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With the Mad Metal Man & Jexciter: LeBRAINLESS!
Episode 28: Alice Cooper Rarities & Cinco de Listo!
I’ve been wanting to do something for a long time: Take a day off, sit back, and watch Harrison host the show without me. Seriously! I’ve always wanted to do that. Today I get my wish. For the first time ever, I get to watch Grab A Stack of Rock from the audience.
Join Harrison and Jex tonight as they show off highlights of their their Alice Cooper collections! They will also be bringing back “Cinco de Listo” for the first time in ages, to count down an Alice Cooper TBA list that will rock your minds.
With the Coop’s 29th (not including the Hollywood Vampires!) new studio album Road coming soon, the time is perfect to revisit one of the greatest stars in all of metal history. Ladies and gentlemen…Alice Cooper!
Friday July 14 at 8:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 9:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy onYouTube or on Facebook!
Do you ever spend so much time looking at numbers that you start to go bug-eyed?
In the Record Store Days, my entire tenure there from 1994 to 2006, all the in-store bookkeeping was done manually on paper. The last bunch of years there, we even had Microsoft Excel, but had to balance our books manually. The books themselves were these big blue ledgers with green pages. We tediously wrote down the purchases and sales on the pages, totalling up the weeks, and ultimately the month.
Sometimes balancing the books at the end of the month was straightforward and easy. Other times, it was a case of adding up the same column again and again. Usually a manual calculator, it seemed on a bad day, my fat fingers always inputting a number wrong. I could add up the same column a dozen times before adding it correctly. Is it just me? Or is adding up one big tall column of hand-written numbers with a calculator sometimes a tedious task? Please answer yes, because this whole story will end up like egg on my face if that premise is wrong.
Sometimes it was easy to find the error. I’d look at the difference between my total and the number I was trying to balance with, and try to find that somewhere. Sometimes it was as simple as mistaking a handwritten 4 for a 9, or writing down the same number twice on two consecutive rows by mistake. It happens, but I was really good at find discrepancies. I daresay I was better at it than most, but some days I was just baffled and could not get those damn month-end numbers to balance.
On one, and only one occasion, I gave up and asked for help.
I was working one afternoon in the late 90s with a part-timer when I flat gave up. Tired of adding up the same column of numbers over and over again, I asked him to check my math. There was nothing in that book he wasn’t allowed to see. He saw the numbers at cash-out every night, and the weekly totals were written out as we tried to beat that week’s sales from the previous year. There was nothing in that book he didn’t see in his daily job.
“Could you do me a favour? Every time I add up this column, I get a different number. My eyes are sore just looking at it. Can you add it up and see what number you get?”
He said sure and started adding.
It was then that the boss known as the Bully walked into the store. Just my luck.
“Is he doing your books for you!?” she accused with mouth agape.
“No, he…” I began.
“MIKE. YOU CAN’T ASK YOUR PART TIMERS TO DO THE BOOKS FOR YOU! THAT IS NOT THEIR JOB!”
“I know that, I just…”
“IF I TELL JOHN ABOUT THIS HE WILL FLIP OUT, YOU KNOW THAT?”
“No, I’m doing the books, I just needed…”
“THAT’S BULL! I SAW HIM DOING THE BOOKS WITH MY OWN EYES!”
“No, he’s just adding up one column for me that…”
“NO ADDING ANYTHING! YOU ARE NOT TO ASK YOUR PART TIMERS TO DO THE BOOKS FOR YOU! THEY ARE NOT YOUR PERSONAL SERVANTS! THAT IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!”
“OK but that’s…”
“I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT!” And off she stormed into the offer in the back. It was on my annual performance review.
mikeladano.com 