Grab A Stack of Rock

Ranking ALL the Deep Purple Studio Albums, with Ryan Gavalier – live tonight at 8:00 PM

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 69: Ranking ALL the Deep Purple Studio Albums, with Ryan Gavalier

Please welcome Ryan Gavalier from Gavalier Productions for his show debut!  We have been wanting to work together for about a year now.  For Ryan’s first topic, he went big:  we are tackling the complete Deep Purple studio albums and ranking them.  (We are excluding the covers album Turning to Crime, and the Concerto since it was a live album.)  That’s 21 albums, so buckle up.  We are giving you extra this long Labour Day weekend.

Both Ryan and I have spent the last week listening to Deep Purple, in chronological order.  I always knew what my first pick would be, and I knew my last pick from the start.  Now, it is a matter of filling in the blanks.

Be sure to join Ryan and I live, as you’ll want to play along in the comments.  See you then!

Sunday September 1 at 8:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 9:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!

Ooh! Aah! Do you wanna see some Def Leppard CD Rarities with @RockTheseTweets and @2Loud2OldMusic?

It’s always a special night when I see something on the show from a guest’s collection, that I never saw before and want very badly.  That happens periodically…but on this show, it happened on every round!  This was a classic “random and chaotic” Grab A Stack of Rock episode and one of the most exciting to date.

First of all:  thank you to John T. Snow of 2Loud2OldMusic for powering through illness to be here on this night.  “I didn’t want to miss this,” he said, referring to the mighty Def Leppard collection of megafan Chris Preston.

Second:  thank you to Chris from @rockthesetweets for sharing your awesome collection with us!  The “oohs!” and “aahs!” from John and I were audible multiple times in this show.  Chris had CDs of many varieties:  3″, Japanese 3″, promo, French, German, US, video…so many kinds.  Not shockingly, he also had one track that seems to be exclusive to a promo CD for “Action”, that I do not have.  I anticipated that would happen.  Adding it the “wantlist”.

John had some cool bootlegs, singles, European releases, and plenty more stuff that made Chris and I jealous.  There were some live shows he had from the mid and late 1990s that are highly desirable.  He also had recordings from earlier times, such as the Pyromania tour and the Pete Willis/Frank Noon years.

As for me, you know I have Japanese imports, including two that the other guys didn’t have.  I also had some singles from the Hysteria era to show, a 24k gold Mastersound CD in mint condition with original jewel case, and my original CDr that provided the live tracks heard on Def Leppard Rarities Volume Four, with the original cover I made on my parents’ printer back in the day.  This is the original CD that Def Leppard used for music on that collection.

I can’t thank these two diamond gents more for doing this show with me tonight.  Definitely some of the best stacks of rock ever seen on this show!

Next week:  Deep Purple Album Ranking with Ryan Gavalier, Sunday Sept 1 at 8:00 PM EST!

Def Leppard CD Rarities with @RockTheseTweets and @2Loud2OldMusic

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 68: Def Leppard CD Rarities with @RockTheseTweets and @2Loud2OldMusic

This has been a meeting long in the making.  For years, I have admired the music collection of Chris from MyRockAndRollHeaven on Twitter.  In particular, Chris is a Def Leppard collector, and I believe his collection is one of the best in the world.

Finally the stars have aligned, and we have Chris tonight on Grab A Stack of Rock.  Since his collection is so massive, we decided to narrow it down to rare Def Leppard on CD.  Singles, Japanese imports, EPs and more will be shown tonight.  Joining us as co-host will be fellow fan and collector John Snow from 2Loud2OldMusic!  He is currently in the midst of a Def Leppard review series, so this lines up perfect.

What will we see tonight?  The rarest of the rare Leppard on CD.  Don’t miss it.

 

Friday August 23 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!

Was 1984 the best year ever for rock music? Peter Kerr, Mike Ladano & viewers list off some great tunes

Peter Kerr was back with a vengeance, and some great songs!  Representing Rock Daydream Nation, Peter listed off a whole lot of great songs from the year 1984, ranging from rock to metal to pop rock.  He also listed the greatest movies he saw from that year, with a handful of video games and TV shows.  I couldn’t resist mentioning a toyline/cartoon/comic book that transformed our young lives that year.

We had awesome guest lists from the Mad Metal Man (who is sick and could not attend) and Uncle Meat.  In the comments, Pete Jones, Henry Wright, Johnny Metal, Ash Geisler, and others listed off some great tunes.  Ash had about 30!  I tried to put all the comments on the screen.

There were some albums and artists to kept coming up over and over again.  Whitesnake, Metallica, Mercyful Fate, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and many more were well represented on this show.

This was a wonderful hour-plus and I hope you enjoy watching it on Youtube if you missed it live!

Top 10 Rock Songs from the year 1984! With Peter Kerr of Rock Daydream Nation on Grab A Stack of Rock

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 67: Top 10 Rock Songs from the year 1984 with Peter Kerr

We are back!  Following three weeks of chilling at the cottage, Grab A Stack of Rock returns with a roar, and a familiar face!

Peter Kerr of Rock Daydream Nation suggested this topic for his return to the show.  1984 was the year I got into rock music.  That coincided with MuchMusic’s premier in Canada.  All of a sudden, there were all these videos!  Kiss, Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Helix…and I was there with my VCR, recording everything.  For me personally, this will be a list of nostalgia…but not entirely.  After all, it was Peter who got me into Prince in 2023.  It was Tim Durling and John the Music Nut who got me buying Y&T albums recently.  It remains to be see what will make my final list, because 1984 was a completely epic year for rock music.

Peter Kerr was last on the show back in May when we unboxed the new Arkells album.  An album on which they covered “Dancing in the Dark” by Springsteen…a song released in 1984.  (It’s like poetry; it rhymes!)  Who knows what will be picked?

If you join the show from the start, you will also catch some unboxings.  Don’t miss this show, live, as we always respond to your comments!

Friday August 16 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!

#1145: Goals 2024

August approaches!  So much still to do this season!  Yet, goals have been achieved:

  1. Numerous Amazon deliveries to the front porch, including my new cottage desk for outdoor work.
  2. Lots of animal footage, including a couple shots of the fox.
  3. Several episodes of Grab A Stack of Rock and Tim’s Vinyl Confessions recorded and streamed from the new porch (and new desk).
  4. Drones drones drones.
  5. Two epic birthdays done.

If summer ended tomorrow, I’d say goals have been achieved and the season was a success.  Yet there is more to be done!

  1. Finish (or at least continue to make progress) organizing the music collection.
  2. Take the drone even further for more videos.
  3. Animation – haven’t done any animation videos in a couple years.

What would you like to see this season that we have not done yet?

 

 

A Friday Hang with Johnny Metal & Mike Ladano – Classical Music, Quiet Riot, Lego Jazz, Movie Props and more!

Thank you to John Clauser of My Music Corner for joining me for an impromptu Friday afternoon!  I wanted to finish showing off my birthday hauls, because there was some cool stuff still to be seen.  Possibly the coolest of them was a Star Trek:  Strange New Worlds plaque made by the propmaster on that show and purchased directly from him.  I also received a replica lamp from the Star Wars series Andor, and a Tchaikovsky CD.  This led to an informative back-and-forth about classical music in the comments, led by Pete Jones.

John Clauser brought with him some personal stories and rare copies of his own music.  One is an album that he played some guitar on, one is an album of his own making, and another is a live DVD recorded at a coffee house!  He also has a demo tape of his early W.A.S.P.-influenced solo music.

Quiet Riot was an artist that John spotlighted, with a bonus Randy Rhoads bootleg.  He also brought a double live Accept — a prelude to his next big deep dive series on My Music Corner!

The final thing I had to show off was my Lego Jazz quartet, which ironically, Aaron received for his birthday a few days ago.

Thanks to everyone for the lively comments.  This is why I love going live.  See you next time!

Surprise Friday Stream – Johnny Metal & Cool Music

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 66:  Surprise Friday Stream with John Clauser

SURPRISE!  John Clauser from My Music Corner and I will be live at 3:00 PM this afternoon.  That’s just three hours from this posting!

John & felt like being social this Friday, so come one and all and join the conversation.  I have some new things to show off, including birthday gifts and cottage treasures.  John will have some cool stuff to show as well.  Perhaps we’ll even discuss his Twisted Sister series and what is to come next at My Music Corner.

Join us today at 3:00 for a classic cottage afternoon show.  These are always a blast.  Welcome to the cottage John!

Friday July 26 at 3:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 4:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!

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.