Grab A Stack of Rock

Grab A Stack of Rock theme video – extended version with Blaze Bayley and guitar solo

Music & vocals by Tee Bone, remix and guitar solo by Tim Durling.  Writting by M Ladano, J Ladano, T Erickson

Not including myself, 50 people have been on Grab A Stack of Rock to date.  We started this show on October 28 2022 – happy three years to us!  50 guests in three years – two of which you have not officially met yet! Can you spot them in the new video? Their appearances on 50 Years of Iron Maiden are coming soon.

I know I’m a luddite when it comes to software.  My computer friend Brian, who assembled my new PC for me, has probably been ripping his hair out trying to make sure all my tastes for outdated software (and hardware) are satisfied.  As such, I still use Windows Movie Maker as my sole video editing software.  And it’s glitchy.  No question it’s glitchy.  I put about 5 hours’ work into this video this week!  Tim Durling came to the rescue at the last minute with a lost file of his guitar solo for the song.  You see, so many people have been on the show that we cannot squeeze all 50 guests into it any more.  It has now been extended twice to accommodate all the guests.  This new version will last a long time as now there is plenty of room for more.  And more are indeed coming.

Thanks for watching Grab A Stack of Rock.  Happy Three Years to us!  Cool things still to come.

 

  1. Blaze Bayley
  2. Harrison Kopp
  3. Mike Ladano
  4. Eric “Uncle Meat” Litwiller
  5. Aaron KMA
  6. Tim Durling
  7. Rob Daniels
  8. John T Snow
  9. Marco D’Auria
  10. Grant Arthur
  11. Brian Richards
  12. MarriedandHeels
  13. Kevin Simister
  14. Dr. Kathryn
  15. Jen Ladano
  16. Grace Scheele
  17. Jex Russell
  18. Spencer “Spenny” Rice
  19. Nurse Kat
  20. Peter Kerr
  21. John Clauser
  22. Erik Woods
  23. Jason Drury
  24. Pierre-Luc Allard
  25. Len Labelle
  26. Reed Little
  27. Metal Roger
  28. John the Music Nut
  29. Mike Slayen
  30. Pete Jones
  31. Todd Evans
  32. James Kalyn
  33. Angie Moon
  34. Ryan Gavalier
  35. Chris Preston
  36. Dan Chartrand
  37. Glen “Archie” Gamble
  38. bicyclelegs
  39. Davey Cretin
  40. Melissa Nee
  41. Sidney Cini A
  42. shley Geisler
  43. Martin Popoff
  44. Bert Blotto
  45. F Lee Harvey Blotto
  46. Bowtie Blotto
  47. Broadway Blotto
  48. Jake Not From State Farm
  49. Bob Cesca (Camp Chaos)
  50. Lana Teramae
  51. and (briefly) Max the Axe

🅻🅸🆅🅴 Spinal Tap II: The End Continues with Uncle Meat and Dan Chartrand

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man

🅻🅸🆅🅴 Episode

Episode 122: The End Continues with Uncle Meat and Dan Chartrand

In September of 2024, Marco D’Auria, Dan Chartrand, and Uncle Meat joined us to celebrate 40 years of This Is Spinal Tap.  This comprehensive and loving analysis needed a followup episode once the sequel, The End Continues, had come out.  Now it has, and we have all seen it.  Dan and the Meat are back tonight to discuss the sequel, and the sequel soundtrack!  Tonight we’re gonna rock ya tonight!

Though we have not had 40 years to study up like we did last time, we have done our homework and will be addressing the below topics and more:

  • What were your hopes and fears going into this movie?
  • Where and when did you see it?
  • The new drummer – our impressions.
  • Favourite scene.
  • Favourite cameo / callback.
  • Soundtrack thoughts:  New songs, old songs, and CD vs the movie.
  • The big question:  Did it live up to the Spinal Tap legacy?

Please join us live tonight in the comments.  There will be blood to let!

Friday October 24 at 7:00 PM EST, 8:00 PM Atlantic.  Enjoy on YouTube or Facebook.

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 24: Eddie’s Archive and Edward the Great

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 24: Eddie’s Archive and Edward the Great

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #121

Post-Brave New World, Iron Maiden were back on top.  With the struggles of the 1990s well behind them, Iron Maiden forged forward with new releases such as Rock In Rio, Edward the Great, and Eddie’s Archive.  Rock in Rio was a double-live, the likes not seen since last Bruce was in.  We covered this in our previous episode.  The latter two were Iron Maiden collections aimed at two very different groups of fans.

Edward the Great was a “hits compilation” aimed at new fans.  As a single disc compilation, it was limited by its length, and an interesting selection of tracks.  As a whole, it offered nothing besides new artwork for the seasoned Iron Maiden fan.  They were advised to save their money and buy the massive, limited edition Eddie’s Archive instead.

The Archive was a generous six-disc collection of three:

Discs 1 & 2 – BBC Archives.  We covered the first four songs in this set on our debut episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden, so we won’t be tackling these again tonight.  These discs span professional BBC recordings from 1980 to ’88.

Discs 3 & 4 – Beast Over Hammersmith.  Episode 6 of 50 Years of Iron Maiden was dedicated to this double-live album, so there is little need to repeat our praise.

Discs 5 & 6 – Best of the B’Sides.  We already critiqued all of these songs on the relevant albums, so our commentary here is focused more on value to the fan.

Mike and Harrison will break down the above releases, including Edward the Great, and have lots to show as well.  The goodies on display include two complete Eddie’s Archives:  One pre-ordered and delivered back in 2002, with rear sticker still intact, and one “Archive of Theseus” that Harrison will explain the origins of.

This magnificent metal episode is brought to you by the letter E, not to mention Mike and Harrison.  Please check out the premiere tonight if you can!  We love to interact in the comments section.

Friday October 17 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T.  Enjoy on YouTube.

Past episodes:

Handy YouTube Playlist:

🅻🅸🆅🅴 50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 23: Rock in Rio

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 23: Rock in Rio

Special 🅻🅸🆅🅴 Episode

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!

Friday October 10 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T.  Enjoy on YouTube or Facebook.

Past episodes:

Handy YouTube Playlist:

🅻🅸🆅🅴 Harrison’s Box Sets and Mike’s Whitesnake

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.

 

 

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 22: Brave New World with Davey Cretin

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 22:  Brave New World

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!

 

Friday September 26 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T.  Enjoy on YouTube.

Past episodes:

Handy YouTube Playlist:

 

BLAZE BAYLEY interview: 50 Years of IRON MAIDEN bonus episode!

For all things Blaze Bayley, go to BlazeBayley.net.

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN bonus episode:  BLAZE BAYLEY interview

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #117

We cannot imagine a better way to wrap up the Blaze years on 50 Years of Iron Maiden, than chatting with the man himself.  Metal fans worldwide, we present to you Blaze Bayley!

This isn’t just any Blaze interview.  With Harrison and Mike involved, you know we’re going to go deep.  We’re going to respect the man and his entire career, from Wolsbane to Iron Maiden to solo.  A lot of the information we covered won’t be found in mainstream interviews.

In this interview, we cover:

  • Punctuality!
  • Re-recording Wolfsbane as “Live Faster…” and what that means.
  • AI, science fiction, Blade Runner, and technology.
  • “Do, or Do!”
  • A secret, unwritten conceptual storyline to King of Metal, that Blaze reveals here.
  • The Silicon Messiah and the dangers of AI.
  • How “Virus” came be
  • The waist-high snowbanks of Canada.
  • Who the King of Metal really is.
  • The stigma of mental health.
  • Meeting Absolva, and joining forces with the Appletons.
  • And so, so much more.

For us and this series, asking Blaze our favourite questions was the realization of many dreams.  Instead of saying “Do or Die”, Blaze likes to say “Do, or Do”.  This interview was the culmination of us just doing it, for the love of music and the love of Iron Maiden.

Folks, you are in for a treat.  Please welcome Blaze Bayley to Grab A Stack of Rock.

Friday September 12 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T.  Enjoy on YouTube.

Past episodes:

Handy YouTube Playlist:

New Grab A Stack of Rock theme video, now with Blaze Bayley!

The culmination of almost three years of work: Blaze Bayley is the latest member added to the Grab A Stack of Rock show alumni!

In November of 2022 I started working on something I’d wanted to do for a long time:  make a show intro video that included every guest we ever had.  Back then there were not many, but the guests kept coming and coming and I kept adding and adding.  Now we have 49 guests on the list!  The Blaze Bayley episode will air this Friday September 19 at 7:00 PM EST.  The Bob Cesca (Camp Chaos) episode will air when we get to Visions of the Beast.

Thank you to all 49 of these special guests.  More to come on 50 Years of Iron Maiden!

  1. Harrison Kopp
  2. Eric “Uncle Meat” Litwiller
  3. Aaron KMA
  4. Tim Durling
  5. Rob Daniels
  6. John T Snow
  7. Grant Arthur
  8. Brian Richards
  9. MarriedandHeels
  10. Marco D’Auria
  11. Kevin Simister
  12. Dr. Kathryn Ladano
  13. Jen Ladano
  14. Grace Scheele
  15. Jex Russell
  16. Spencer “Spenny” Rice
  17. Nurse Kat
  18. Erik Woods
  19. Jason Drury
  20. Pierre-Luc Allard “PLA”
  21. Peter Kerr
  22. John Clauser
  23. Len Labelle
  24. Reed Little
  25. Metal Roger
  26. John the Music Nut
  27. Mike Slayen
  28. Peter Jones
  29. Todd Evans
  30. James Kalyn
  31. Angie Moon
  32. Ryan Gavalier
  33. Chris Preston
  34. Dan Chartrand
  35. Glen “Archie” Gamble
  36. bicyclelegs
  37. Davey Cretin
  38. Melissa Nee
  39. Sidney Cini
  40. Ashley Geisler
  41. Martin Popoff
  42. Bert Blotto
  43. F Lee Harvey Blotto
  44. Bowtie Blotto
  45. Broadway Blotto
  46. Jake Not From State Farm
  47. Bob Cesca (Camp Chaos)
  48. Blaze Bayley
  49. and (briefly) Max the Axe

🅻🅸🆅🅴 Music & Mental Health 3 with Dan Chartrand @offthecharts

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man

Episode 116: Music & Mental Health 3 with Dan Chartrand

The third part of our Mental Health trilogy will be a live show, Friday night as usual, but what will we do differently this time?

Special guest Dan Chartrand will be with Mike as we discuss the challenges of overcoming Seasonal Affective Disorder, and childhood bullying.  Even if it happened 40 years ago, bullies can still have an affect on your behaviour today.  If you ever feel overly defensive, for example, that could relate to old bullies that you thought you have long forgotten.  We will dive deep.

With fall upon us, we’ll also tackle Seasonal Affective Disorder and techniques to deal with it.  This is a ghost that has haunted Mike for many years and though it is an annual struggle, Mike will share what he has learned.

As always, we’ll bring it all back to music too.  Mike will share his favourite music that he plays to feel good when things get him down.  Don’t miss this live episode as we’ll be taking your questions and comments.

Be kind to yourself.  See you tonight.

 

Friday September 12 at 7:00 PM EST, 8:00 PM Atlantic.  Enjoy on YouTube or Facebook.

 

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 21: Ed Hunter album & game

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 21:  Ed Hunter

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #115

Maiden were back in a big way.  Though the video game began life with Blaze Bayley on lead vocals, when it was finally released, Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith were both back in the band!  The ironic thing about this was that neither of them were depicted in the game, though Blaze was!

A 3 CD set, Ed Hunter was the first release with Bruce and Adrian back in the band.  A “greatest hits” album and a video game all in one, Ed Hunter was a must-buy for Maiden diehards, especially in the United States where it contained a bonus track:  “Wrathchild 1999 (New Vocal Version with Bruce Dickinson)”.  Standard versions contained 20 tracks split over one-and-a-half discs, with the tracks selected by the fans in an online poll.  We break it down track by track, and compare to the previous “hits” album, Best of the Beast, while also discussing the new track which was also available on a promotional CD single with band art.

As for the game?  The last disc-and-a-half of space featured the game and installation software.  Harrison got his copy working!  He got out a vintage computer and some video capture software, and recorded himself playing and winning the game!  We provide a highlights reel from Harrison’s video, to give you a feel for the gameplay and graphics.  (Epilepsy warnings will appear when appropriate.)

This release also featured a tour.  A big one!  Harrison breaks down the setlist, and what tracks from that tour were released in live versions.

Maiden were back…and so is 50 Years of Iron Maiden!

Friday September 5 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T.  Enjoy on YouTube.

Past episodes:

Handy YouTube Playlist: