John Snow

🅻🅸🆅🅴 Sing Me Away: The Night Ranger Album Review with Tim Durling

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

🅻🅸🆅🅴 Episode

Episode 125:  Sing Me Away: The Night Ranger Album Review with Tim Durling
With co-host John Snow (The Collection and 2Loud2OldMusic)

Author and Youtuber Tim Durling has been busy.  Sing Me Away: The Night Ranger Album Review isn’t even his newest book!  More on that later, because tonight we celebrate the California Quintet and Tim’s panel book on them.

Joining us tonight is fellow expert and fan John Snow, who will be prove that you can still rock in America, oh yeah!

Tim is a passionate Night Ranger fan and collector, and we will quiz him tonight on everything that went into this book.  The albums, the lineup changes, the amazing tunes, and Tim’s collection. We’ll also talk about the present and what’s happening right now in the world of Durling the author.  We’ll do an unboxing and talk about a contest where you can win yourself a Durling book!

Don’t miss this one live, as we love to interact in the comments.  We always have fun lined up, and fun will be had!

 

Friday November 14 at 7:00 PM EST, 8:00 PM Atlantic.  Enjoy on YouTube or Facebook.

VIDEO: The Alan Niven Interview: Sound N’ Fury on The Collection

I was absolutely thrilled to be invited by John Snow of 2Loud2Old Music to co-host this incredible interview with former Great White and Guns N’ Roses manager Alan Niven!

Mr. Niven needs no introduction, but it case you do need one, how about this:  Appetite for Destruction!  Once Bitten!  Twice Shy!  This is the guy who made Guns N’ Roses into superstars, and gave Great White their big second chance.  You can read all about it in his forthcoming book Sound N’ Fury, out June 24 wherever fine books are sold.

In this hourlong interview, John and I take Mr. Niven on a trip through his past in America, Sweden, England and more.  He regales us with stories of rock and roll, raw talent, and having Axl Rose thrown in the back of a police cruiser just to ensure he makes it to the gig.  We also discuss writing and storytelling, of which he is the expert.

Do not miss this epic interview with Alan Niven, on The Collection, tonight at 7:00 PM EST!

Show Notes (not all questions were asked):

“Nobody died on my watch” is the most powerful quote.

First of all, you are a great storyteller and writer.  I had to look a few words up to see what they meant!  Why did you choose to open the book with a Shakespeare quote?

I like how you opened the book with a corker of a GNR story, and kind of ended the book with your younger days.  You mentioned this book reads like an album plays, and that is accurate.

I’m currently doing a series on Iron Maiden.  You talk about Rod Smallwood a bit in this book.  He sounds like a great guy.

Brilliant story there about Michael Bay, but what was best about it was the way you told it.  The reveal was great.

The fight to keep Appetite alive… you obviously believed in that record, but did you ever question yourself?

I gather this is a small batch of stories…will there be more books?

One thing that surprised me, in my own naivete, is how physical you have to be to be a manager of a rock band.  You have to be willing to go toe to toe with Slash and tell him to behave.  You had to pull Jack’s pants up more than once.

Who would you want playing you in the movie of your life?

 

#1191: Top Five Cool Things You May Not Know About Alan Niven

RECORD STORE TALES #1191: Top Five Cool Things You May Not Know About Alan Niven

A couple weeks ago, I was asked by John Snow of 2Loud2OldMusic to co-host a big big interview he was offered.

“How would you like to interview Alan Niven with me?” he asked.  John hadn’t done a solo interview before, and wouldn’t have minded a backup.

“Alan Niven?  The Alan Niven?  Yes!”  How could I say no?  The guy who managed Guns N’ Roses during their peak?  The guy who co-wrote some amazing Great White songs, drawing out their best qualities?  The guy who has a new book coming out called Sound N’ Fury?  Of course!

While nervous, reading Alan’s book left us with loads and loads of questions to ask him.  Without spoiling the interview, which will debut next week on The Collection on YouTube, here are the Top Five Cool Things You May Not Know About Alan Niven that I discovered in this interview process.

5. He had the “stones” to demand $1,000,000 from Mick Jagger, for Guns to open for the Rolling Stones on four dates at the Hollywood Bowl.  Guns were originally offered half that.

4. He had to physically pull up Jack Russell’s pants, more than once, to keep him from being arrested.

3. He is well read and well spoken.  He opens Sound N’ Fury with a quote from Macbeth.

2. There is an absolutely brilliant story about a music video director that later became a mega-smash-hit movie director, and the way Niven unfolded the story and dropped the name was pure epic storytelling.  Read the book to get the name.

1. “Nobody died on my watch.”  Indeed, of all the self-destructive personalities in the bands he managed, nobody died under his guidance.  That is indeed an accomplishment, and to me, the most powerful quote in the book.

Pick up Sound N’ Fury by Alan Niven, wherever fine books are sold.

 

Bon Jovi don’t deserve all the hate! Tim’s Vinyl Confessions Ep. 654

Tim’s Vinyl Confessions Ep. 654:  In Praise and Defense of BON JOVI

 

If there is one band who takes the lion’s share of derision in the rock community…it is probably Poison. If there is one band that takes all that derision unfairly…then we come out in defense of New Jersey’s favourite sons, Bon Jovi.

There is much to say in criticism of Bon Jovi. Are they a real band? Is Jon the best singer in his own band? There are already plenty of videos about that, so here is one that takes the opposite tack: in praise and defense of Bon Jovi.

Joining Tim in this episode are myself, Chez, Jose, Chris Preston, John Snow, Drew, and Steve Deluxe. Enjoy the hardy defense!

The Collection: KISS CD Compilations (Episode 45) 2loud2oldmusic

Please join John T. Snow and I on his excellent channel, The Collection!  Snowman and I have always had a friendly competition over KISS.  He was the first to get the Vault (the BIG Vault!), and lately he has been collection KISS compilations on CD.  There are many, as you shall see in this episode.  Even with our collections combined, there are still a couple out there that elude us both.

We went chronologically, starting with the first compilation that you can buy on CD:  Double Platinum!  We then went through the entire collection, including Japanese imports, remasters, promos, oddities, Canadian compilations, and weird stuff that only Snowman could tell you about!

This episode airs tonight at 8:00 PM EST.

#1159: The Community is Dead – Long Live the Community!

RECORD STORE TALES #1159:
The Community is Dead – Long Live the Community!

Once Upon A Time, the old WordPress music Community was an important part of our daily breakfast.  It was a wonderful way to connect and talk music with like-minded folks.  It was even a good way to seek support in our lives.

Then in 2023, the Community died.  I don’t know why, and I no longer care.  It’s possibly a “type of feint, or fake technique, whereby a player draws an opposing player out of position or skates by the opponent while maintaining possession and control of the puck.” People just…disappeared.  Ghosted.  I actually don’t want to know why.  “Let the past die,” Kylo Ren said.  “Kill it, if you have to.”  That is done, but not by my own hand.

I knew it was dead in 2024, when several people from the old Community refused to watch or acknowledge my trip to Toronto with Aaron, the Community’s spiritual leader.   It was a shunning, with intent.  Rest in peace, Community!

Whatever their issues are, I hope they find peace and harmony, wherever they went and whatever they are doing now.  I miss them. But there was a silver lining.

A new Community awaited me.  A bigger, more welcoming Community.  A Community that stretches from Australia to America, east coast to west, and up north to Canada.  A stronger Community. For me it began as the old Community died in 2023.  Marco D’Auria encouraged me to work with the Contrarians, and suddenly I started getting invites to appear on other shows, such as Rock Daydream Nation and My Music Corner.  With these fine folks, together, we have rebuilt what was lost.  Bigger, better, faster, stronger!

I welcome you to the Community!  A place where we support each other, collaborate, and celebrate the power of music!  A place where you will not be judged for your mistakes, nor shunned.

Welcome…I bid you welcome!

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!

“Hella” Great Show? Too Much Music Part 3 on Grab A Stack of Rock!

A huge thank you for watching this show with me last night!  It so happens that John and Henry in the comments are currently buying Alice Cooper albums, and I showed off a few of ’em on this show.  In other timely circumstance, I also had on hand a rare Slash CD, in time for Slash to put out his new video on the same day, for “Killing Floor”!  Lots of great stuff happening in music right now.

In this episode we also looked at the very obscure “Vinyl Disc” format with a release from the Hellacopters.  We dove into huge chunks of Deep Purple, King’s X, Faith No More, and Marillion.  Indeed, when it came to Purple and Marillion, we ran into live album after live album, which simply have not received the time and attention they deserve.  Why?

Too much music.

I hope you enjoyed this show!  Look for a new episode of Rock Daydream Nation featuring John Clauser and myself this weekend, and a live episode of Grab A Stack next Friday.  Cheers!

 

A Music Fan’s Nightmare? Too Much Music Part 3 on Grab A Stack of Rock!

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

Episode 54: Too Much Music Part 3

Welcome to the third (and final?) “Too Much Music”, a series on Grab A Stack of Rock where I simply grab a stack of nearby random CDs and show them to you, the rock fan!  Inevitably, I run into multiple discs that have never been played, or have gone unplayed in years.  That’s why we call this series “Too Much Music”!

On this show, we will dig through some of the following:

  • My favourite album of all time
  • Marillion box sets, remix albums and singles
  • Deep Purple reissues
  • Compilations
  • Soundtracks and rare promos with rare tracks
  • Blaze
  • More Canadian content
  • Lots of King’s X
  • Alice Cooper
  • Dio
  • Catherine Wheel
  • Queen
  • Loudness & more Japanese imports
  • Scorpions
  • April Wine
  • Faith No More
  • Steve Vai
  • Pearl Jam
  • Brant Bjork
  • Tribute albums
  • Deluxe editions
  • And a look at a really weird format called Vinyl Disc

All this and more.  I do not think I will be able to do the comments section due to illness.

 

Friday March 8 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube, or (HOPEFULLY) Facebook!