Please join Jex and I today for a repeat of a personal favourite episode from both of us. This was our 2023 Canada Day celebration, which I am running again today at 1:00 PM EST (July 1, 2025). When Jex and I did this show originally, it happened to fall on June 30. I am happy to run it on the actual date of Canada Day in 2025!
If you missed this episode, it was a really special one. For Canada Day, Jex and I dug through our collections of physical media to present what we think are the Top 11 Canadian Bands that are less known outside Canada. It was a very popular episode and a great way to re-launch Grab A Stack of Rock list shows. (You can even see a remnant of the ill-advised “heels era” in Harrison’s art if you look closely!) Most importantly, this episode showcases a whole bunch of bands that you really need to check out.
Thanks Jex Rambo Russell for a terrific Canada Day celebration. We wanted to list 11 Canadian bands that we thought you should know. I think we did a sweet job of it, with plenty of really cool “Show & Tell” on vinyl, cassette and CD. Loads of rarities and obscurities here to check out, and a music video as well.
HAPPY CANADA DAY! Below you’ll also see a graph of the cities from which the listed bands originated. Hamilton won handily! Check out the show and see who, what, and where!
Tuesday July 1 at 1:00 PM EST, 2:00 PM Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube. You can click the graphic below to jump to YouTube.
Thanks Jex Rambo Russell for a terrific Canada Day celebration. Yes we celebrated early, but now you can watch what we did!
We wanted to list 11 Canadian bands that we thought you should know. I think we did a sweet job of it, with plenty of really cool “Show & Tell” on vinyl, cassette and CD. Loads of rarities and obscurities here to check out. We also played some video clips when we could to give you a taste of the music!
Below you’ll also see my photos of the lists, and a graph of the cities from which the bands originated. Hamilton won handily!
Thanks for watching! No show next week as I’m doing a super secret taping with Tim’s Vinyl Confessions!
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and Professor Jexcalibur
Episode 27: Nigel Tufnel Top Ten Canadian Bands (Unknown Outside Canada)
It’s Canada Day Weekend, and let’s celebrate at a special time! The 3:00 timeslot has been a tremendous success for us here at Grab A Stack of Rock. Top Canadian Bands unknown outside Canada? A full Nigel Tufnel Top Ten? Don’t mind if we do!
This topic comes courtesy of the Jexciter. Back in the LeBrain Train days, we covered Canadian bands, but that was a long time ago and a fresh perspective is due. Expect the usual trademark “Grab A Stack Show & Tell” and lots of shenanigans. And remember: Even though it’s Friday at 3:00 PM, shirts are compulsory!
Friday June 30 at 3:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 4:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!
SURPRISE! The first two-show weekend since 2021! Thank Jex!
I thought I lost all my cassettes from my youth: I assumed they were all thrown into a dumpster here in town, or up north in Thunder Bay. There was one box (Journey – Niacin alphabetically) that I discovered in my parents’ basement. Let’s have a look inside with co-host Jex Russell on a surprise Saturday morning show!
What we found inside was a variety of home made and store bought cassettes. The astounding thing is just how much effort I went to on some of the artwork! You will have to see for yourself, but a sampling of some cassette spines can be seen in the gallery below.
I used coloured paper, computer software, fine marker pens, coloured pencils, scissors, paste and photocopiers to create all the cassette art you see here. I’m pretty proud of all this.
What’s most remarkable is that I still had most of my original Kiss and Judas Priest cassettes! In some cases, I played these tapes at the cottage for the first time back then, and today unboxed them in the same location!
SHOW NOTES:
If you need context for our opening “topless” sketch, read this first! All is meant in jest and not to be taken as anything else.
If you don’t want to see us topless, you can buy a shirt at teepublic.com!
A massive thank you to Nurse Kat for spending her Friday night with Aaron and I, talking Arkells! Though none of us could be called hardcore Arkells veterans, our passion certainly came through. Since falling in love with the band roughly 18 months ago, Kat has seen Arkells 13 times. From New York to LA to Glasgow, she had a lot of cool stories to tell. Meanwhile, Aaron filled us in on the early years, as he saw them even before the Jackson Square debut album was out.
A common theme for this show was the power of music to connect with the human heart. Kat and I both had some pretty emotional experiences to an Arkells soundtrack. This is a band that really seems to have a direct line to the mind and soul.
I presented my Nigel Tufnel Top Ten Arkells songs (from the albums I own) and Kat provided some cool live clips and photos. We hope you enjoy!
Mike’s Nigel Tufnel Top Ten Arkells tunes:
11. “Savannah” from Morning Report – acoustic anthemic awesomeness.
10. “Passenger Seat” from Morning Report – what a falsetto! So much passion!
9. “Hung Up” from Morning Report – “The gatekeepers are keepin’ me out!” – what a hook!
8. “Coffee” from Michigan Left – Powerful lyrics with personal meaning.
7. “On Paper” from Michigan Left – killer chorus, powerful rock.
6. “Whistleblower” from Michigan Left – as hard as Arkells songs get, based on that riff.
5. “Michigan Left” from Michigan Left – “Decorations won’t be wasted” – one of their best choruses! And that percussion! Oh man.
4. “Come to Light” from High Noon – channeling 80’s Bowie? You be the judge.
3. “Leather Jacket” from High Noon – the song that got me to buy the album in the first place.
2. “11:11” from High Noon – so hard to narrow things down to only four songs from High Noon, but this one is just hook laden and nostalgic.
1. “Fake Money” from High Noon – This song is pure hooks, from start to finish, with an angry bent.
Honorable mentions – “Cynical Bastards”, “Crawling Through the Window”, “Book Club”, “Drake’s Dad”
Jen’s #1 – “Leather Jacket”
BONUS
Tune in 9:00 AM Saturday morning for an extra weekend live stream with Jex Russell! Cassette fans, don’t miss this bonus episode!
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike, Aaron and Nurse Kat
Episode 25: Arkells Appreciation
25 episodes! We’ve had ups, downs and cancelled episodes, but we finally made it to 25. This week we celebrate with a band I’ve recently fallen in love with: Hamilton’s Arkells! Just what is it about this band that resonates with people? The music, lyrics, Canadiana, or something else? The natural charisma of Max Kerman is a big factor. I’ll be talking about all this and more with fan Nurse Kat. She’s seen them THIRTEEN times in a year, and has some merch to show. I will be listing my Nigel Tufnel Top Ten Arkells tunes.
Joining Kat and I tonight will be Mr. Books from the KMA, who saw the band once, leaving me as the only one who hasn’t!
Friday June 23 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. Enjoy onYouTube or on Facebook!
“The show must go on.” That’s the saying, right? That’s what the most supportive wife in the world said to me tonight when I was debating whether to cancel Grab A Stack of Rock this week. Another seizure, another fall, thank God no broken jaw. We’ll have to fill you in on the details later.
An exhausted Mike (physically, emotionally, and mentally) relied on his co-host and guest, Harrison and Mr. Books, for carrying the weight. Jex Russell also stopped by with some rarities.
We looked at:
Rare bootleg CDs
Rare DVD
All my Maiden vinyl with stories to go with
Maiden beer, Maiden menu
Books
And some tangents.
A great show all things considered, and now I need to go take care of Jen. See you next week if all goes well.
Next week, the summer tour of 2023 rolls on with Nurse Kat and the Arkells!
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 24: Grab A Stack of Iron Maiden
Harrison thought it was time to look at Iron Maiden again. After all, Iron Maiden was the subject of two of our most successful shows in the past. Enough time has passed that people will want to see our Maiden collections again. I’ve dug up all my vinyl, and I have plenty of action figures from Super Seven to show off, as well as other assorted Eddies!
Joining Harrison and I tonight will be Mr. Books from the KMA. It has been ages since he’s been on the show, so please give a warm welcome back to Mr. Books!
As always, we will start the show with “Ask Harrison” and some unboxings. Hope you can join us!
SPECIAL TIME!
Friday June 16 at 8:00 P.M. E.S.T. Enjoy on YouTube or onFacebook!
Next week, the summer tour of 2023 rolls on with Nurse Kat and the Arkells!
A huuuuuuuuge moustache-sized thank you to Jex Lasso…err…Jexit Stage Left…errr…Jex Russell! Taking more than an hour out of your weekend to spend with me at the cottage! I hope you had a good time on your visit! We got to see a pesky chipmunk, live on the show!
Chippy really liked that Journey cassette that Tim Durling got me! Yes, Durling bought me In The Beginning by Journey, the compilation I refused to shell out for. And he got it for me on a cool US cassette! Let’s just say when Tim wants you to have something for your collection, he ensures you have it.
Today’s theme was our first list show in OVER A YEAR. The Nigel Tufnel Top Ten is back with a bang, baby. And huge kudos to Jex and Rob Daniels for some truly excellent, diverse, surprising, and satisfying lists of albums. Top 11 Albums to Play at the Cottage. And we had only one repeat album in the whole list. Certain years seemed to dominate our lists – 1981 and 1988 in particular. Several artists made repeat appearances, and Jex and I both had the same band at #1. There was even a weird coincidence involving music and CANDU nuclear reactors.
And Rob? I’ll always be grateful to you for introducing us to…Jack Shit.
Tune in next Friday at 8:00 PM as we go back to another favourite band: Iron Maiden. Mr. Books and Harrison Kopp will be there to bring your daughter to the slaughter, and talk up Eddie and ‘Arry and the boys! I have lots of Maiden stuff…what would you like to see most?
Thanks for watching. We’re back, baby. We’re back!
11. PETER CRISS – Peter Criss (1978). Uncle Meat once questioned this selection. “What makes this album perfect for the cottage porch?” It’s mellow, it fits the vibe, and most importantly, I got it for my birthday in 1987 (with the other three solo albums) and played it the first 2-3 times right there at the cottage. The important thing is that adult-oriented rock vibe really jives with cottage memories. Peter Criss sounds like the kind of stuff we’d hear on the radio at the lake. In fact I know I forced my parents to play it in their car deck with us at least once!
10. QUEEN – Classic Queen/Greatest Hits (red) (1992). Cheating here by included two, but there are box sets that include both, so na na boo boo on you. Classic Queen dominated the bedroom during the summer of ’92, and Greatest Hits took its place in ’93. This was the kind of music I could play with my parents. In fact, I brought Greatest Hits down to the beach with us to listen to for an afternoon of swimming. Today, Jen loves the Queen on the porch. Best track for porching: “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”. Perfect for summer dancing and air guitar.
9. HERBIE HANCOCK – Quartet (1981). Not what you’d call an “easy” listen, but having tested this double album on the porch, I can vouch for its veracity. My quote from my review: “Well You Needn’t” – It’s a nice laid back smoky barroom jazz, piano occasionally stealing the spotlight from the muted trumpet. This song has me seeing black & white, like an old movie. It picks up halfway through, with trumpet un-muted, and drums throwing cool beats out left right and center.” Jazz Saturday was a great success due to this album and I look forward to more jazz on the porch. In the old days, CBC would play jazz on Sundays on the living room radio. Before I even knew what jazz really was!
8. OASIS – (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? (1995). “Please don’t put your life in the hands of a rock n’ roll band, who’ll throw it all away.” Oasis do not get enough love on the Nigel Tufnel top ten. In the late 1990s, I had to look elsewhere to find new rock music that had the spirit of the old. Oasis were one of the first bands of the 90s that hit the spot for me. It sounds great with the lake in front of us, and the green all around. Reminds me of coming here in the 1990s, going on long walked with earbuds in my ears, playing the best of 90s rock, and hoping to run into a girl that would talk to me! Awesome mellow tracks and some fun bangin’ rockers. Just fits that happy summer vibe, even though some of these songs are really about the down and outs of rock and roll.
7.JOHNNY HORTON – The Battle of New Orleans (1990). This country classic has several cottage staples, that we sang loud and proud almost every weekend, as we drove into town to watch the piper band parade, and to get ice cream and candy. “The Battle of New Orleans”, “Sink the Bismarck”, and “Honky Tonk Man” in particular were the three big ones. As kids, we didn’t care for “Comanche (The Brave Horse)” or most of side B. As adults, it’s all good. Such vivid memories, driving around in the dusk with Johnny Horton on the car stereo speakers.
6. JOHNNY CASH – Greatest Hits, Vol 2. (1971). Back in those days, there were so many hits tapes available, so we’d order one from Columbia House that had the songs we recognized most. Greatest Hits 2 had the legendary San Quentin version of “A Boy Named Sue”, plus a bunch of other standards that we would sing along to. “Daddy Sang Bass”, “If I Were a Carpenter”, “Sunday Morning Coming Down”, so many greats! Cash only wrote four of 11 tunes on this compilation, but did anyone care? Heck, those old tapes didn’t even come with liner notes! Hearing those songs take us all right back to the old days. They remind me of when Grampa Winter would have his turntable out back, and he’d spin records by the fire all night.
5. THE TRAVELING WILBURYS – Vol. 1 (1988). The Wilburys entered our lives thanks to Roy Orbison, who once upon a time made my mom’s own list of Top Concerts. There were only two songs on this album we didn’t like back then, both Dylan: “Congratulations” and “Tweeter and the Monkey Man”. Of course, time changes all perspectives. The Wilburys will always have a place here on the front porch. They were enjoyed here as a family on a regular basis. The acoustic rock of the Wilburys truly fits the wood and pine vibe.
4. JUDAS PRIEST – Priest…Live! (1987) Bought at Stedman’s in July of 1987, the first time I ever heard “Livin’ After Midnight”, “Metal Gods”, “Heading Out to the Highway”, and more! This was my introduction to the British Steel and Point of Entry songs. I must have played this double live album a dozen times or more at the lake that summer. I was really starting to collect Priest on cassette and this opened the floodgates. I had to get…them all! It brings back all the right vibes here on the porch, volume be damned. They always shouted at me to turn it down…
3. GORDON LIGHTFOOT – Complete Greatest Hits (2002). Rhino knows how to put together compilations. This one has both the early stuff and “Edmund Fitzgerald” which is a cottage staple. The acoustic music is a lovely accompaniment to the creatures of the night, but when that stinging guitar from “Edmund Fitzgerald” kicks in, it is like a herald. Here’s Gord. He’s at the cottage and he’s here to stay. Rest in peace Gordon – we played him here on the May 12 weekend shortly after he passed.
2. BLUE RODEO – Tremelo (1997). This might be the legendary band’s most mellow album. As such it works great with the quiet vibes here at the lake. “Frogs’ Lullaby” can’t compete with the actual wildlife here on the porch, but it sure hits the spot. “Shed My Skin”, “Moon & Tree”, “Me & Baz”, “Dragging On” and “Disappear” all put goosebumps on the arms. But then…But then! “Graveyard” kicks it in the ass as we go fast and heavy for one final 2:26 blowout, sung by Greg Keelor. “And I love these nervous breakdowns, and I love these new skins, and I love that you were brave enough to sleep with all my friends…”
1. KISS – Alive! (1976). KISS Alive as cottage music? What the…? Back in the old days, I used to pack up my turntable and bring it to the lake with me. Live After Death and Kiss Alive were two of the most important live records enjoyed here in this environment. Summer of ’86, KISS Alive was spinning on my original turntable in this very environment, and even though it ain’t exactly live, it sure did sound like it to my 14 year old imagination. I even played it backwards. All here, all those years ago! The end.
RUNNERS UP
Alice Cooper’s Greatest Hits (1974) – Thanks Uncle Don
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and Jex “Rambo” Russell
Episode 23: Nigel Tufnel Top Ten albums to rock on the cottage porch!
After more than a year…it is finally time for the return of the Nigel Tufnel Top Ten! And here for his very first Tufnel list is today’s co-host Jexcalibur Russell!
The concept today is a simple one. Jex and I will count down our top 11 albums to play at the cottage on the porch! This is something I have a lot of experience with, but narrowing the list down to a top 11? Is it even possible? Of course it is – this is Grab A Stack of Rock after all! My eclectic list is ready and it won’t be what you expect, unless you’re a regular follower here! As for Jex, one can only imagine what gets played on the Jexciter’s cottage porch in the summertime….
mikeladano.com 