reed little

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 14: No Prayer for the Dying featuring Reed Little

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 14: No Prayer for the Dying

With special guest Reed Little

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #104

Change.  Though nobody could predict what the 1990s would bring, for hard rock and heavy metal, changes were afoot.  In Iron Maiden’s case, the changes began with No Prayer for the Dying, the first album since the debut without Adrian Smith on guitar.

Enter:  Janick Gers, former Gillan guitarist, but more importantly, an alumni of Bruce Dickinson’s Tattooed Millionaire band.  Even with a familiar face on board, Iron Maiden were bound for change.  Shorter songs.  Less progressive elements.  Stripped back music, artwork and stage show.  And one massive hit single.

Harrison, Mike and special guest Reed Little came at this album with different perspectives.  Therefore, more than any prior episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden, our opinions differ from one another.  This makes for a rousing, fun episode!  As an added bonus, we have some 1990 Nicko McBrain footage talking about how feels about the “new” album.

As usual can you expect Harrison to go through the tour and setlist in detail.  We will also discuss the four single B-sides:  “All In Your Mind”, “Kill Me Ce Soir”, “Communication Breakdown” and “I’m A Mover”.   We will also appraise the cover art, both the original and reissue Derek Riggs paintings.

Holy Smoke, I can’t believe we have already finished the entire decade of the 80s and are moving into the 1990s!  Be sure not to miss this important episode, and the changes to follow!

Friday June 6 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T.  Enjoy on YouTube.

Past episodes:

Handy YouTube Playlist:

 

 

Our Heavy Metal Origins with John Clauser, Reed Little, Roger and Jex Russell!

A longer episode, but worth it:   A treasure trove of memories unfurled on Friday night.  How did we discover heavy metal music?  What did we listen to before that?  What were our earliest metal records?  Johnny Metal (My Music Corner on YouTube)  came prepared with stacks upon stacks of rock (and Johnny Mathis).  Metal Roger brought a younger perspective, highlighted by Elvis Presley and Slipknot.  Reed Little left us spellbound by the stories he weaved of his Heavy Metal Origins!  Growing up watching MTV and MuchMusic, together we reminisced about Kiss videos, getting music from friends, finding our musical identities and generally rocking out to heavy music.  Family man Jex Russell joined in shortly after, with stories mix CDs, buying a turntable in 2004 (way before it became trendy again) and hearing the Heavy Metal soundtrack.

Several artists came up repeatedly.  W.A.S.P., Dio, Kiss, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Accept.  Regardless of some of the age differences here, certain albums were common to our stories.  Reed and I share a background involving a love of science fiction and discovering Kiss at an early age.   We also shared an aversion to rock music that was from a prior generation, for “old people” such as…Deep Purple!  Obviously we all grew in the years since, but when we first discovered metal, all of us went head first, all-in.

I hope you enjoy this show and this exceptional panel.  See you in two weeks with Jex Russell on Good Friday at a special afternoon time!

 

METAL: Point of Entry! Our introductions to heavy metal music with John Clauser, Reed Little, Roger and Jex Russell

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

Episode 55: METAL:  Point of Entry

We are back to live streaming this week!  Tonight I am joined by John Clauser of My Music Corner, Metal Roger, Reed Little of the Contrarians, and Jex Russell joining in a little later at 8 PM!  The topic tonight is a simple discussion:  What was our “Point of Entry” into Heavy Metal music?

It’s an important question.  We are all passionate about the music we love.  We all have a story about how we got there.  What’s yours?

We will show off some old records, and talk about how we discovered and fell in love with this genre of music.  I will run some old promo clips from MuchMusic to illustrate our stories, and the fun will flow like molten lead!

Topics to cover:

  • What music did we listen to before metal?
  • What metal band or song changed that?
  • What were our first metal albums?
  • What were our earliest memories of listening to metal?

There will be vintage MuchMusic clips and lots of records.  All this and more with our fantastic panel!

 

 

Friday March 15 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube, or (HOPEFULLY) Facebook!

Rock Daydream Nation: Deep Purple/Rainbow : Slaves and Masters vs Bent out of Shape

On Friday night, immediately after Grab A Stack of Rock, I had the honour of joining Peter Kerr, Reed Little, John Clauser and Tim “Unspooled” Durling for another amazing episode of Rock Daydream Nation!  The subject this time was a comparison of Rainbow’s Bent Out of Shape, and Deep Purple’s Slaves and Masters.  They have a lot in common, and a few differences as well.  In common:  a few blokes named Ritchie Blackmore, Joe Lynn Turner, and Roger Glover.

From five perspectives, we went around discussing our first impressions of these albums, tunes that we would spotlight, and then the big question:  Is Slaves and Masters the followup to Bent Out of Shape?

Find out on Rock Daydream Nation.

 

Rock Daydream Nation: Coverdale Page – Is this Led Snake?

This is what we were up to Friday night, hence no episode of Grab A Stack of Rock.  Worth it!  I had a great time on Rock Daydream Nation with Peter Kerr, Tim Durling, John Clauser, and Reed Little.

This time we took a fairly deep dive into Coverdale-Page, the 1993 album and project featuring Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and David Coverdale of Whitesnake.  We discussed the history, the rumours, the tour, the performances, and of course the songs.  Was it more Led than Snake, or vice versa?  What were our first impressions when we heard Page and Coverdale were teaming up?  What songs would we choose to spotlight?

We also spent a moment honouring the fallen Bernie Marsden (Whitesnake).  Rest in peace, Bernie.

All this and more.  Hope you like it.

No Show Tonight: Taping with Rock Daydream Nation!

Did you enjoy the Vinnie Vincent Invasion episode we did with Peter Kerr on Rock Daydream Nation?  If so, you’ll be happy that I’m recording with him again tonight!  Yes it’s true…I get around the YouTube like the town bicycle.

I’m thrilled to be joining another Rock Daydream Nation show about another super-secret topic, this time with a serious cast of characters!  Tim Durling, John Clauser, Reed Little and I will be alongside Peter to discuss one of the most talked-about albums of the early 90s.  A personal favourite.  In fact, Deke and I interviewed the co-producer several years ago, on the LeBrain Train.

I’ve narrowed it down for you…now it’s time to guess!

Mike Fraser takes us inside the recording studio on an epic LeBrain Train

Another reason I’m excited is that this is my first official show with John Clauser, who I like very much and have been looking for a chance to work with.  Can’t wait to chat, John!  Check out John Clauser at My Music Corner on Youtube.  This outta be good.

Rock Daydream Nation: Rock Court: In defence of Vinnie Vincent Invasion

One of the “super-secret” tapings I was involved with is finally ready for your viewing pleasure!

In this courtroom drama, I played the role of the prosecution, with Peter Kerr as the defense.  Judging was the honourable Reed Little (The Contrarians), who had to choose whether or not he was going to buy Vinnie Vincent Invasion, based on our testimony.

I have not seen the final episode myself, but I look forward to watching how I did with a couple weeks distance!  This show was a lot of fun, and I’ll be back on Rock Daydream Nation again this fall, defending a band I love!  (Or at least, an era I love from a band I like!)