rest in peace

Shock Me: The Tragic Passing of Ace Frehley, My First Rock Hero (1951-2025)

When I was in grade eight, I nicknamed myself “Ace”.

I think the reason I picked Ace as my favourite Kiss member (and therefore favourite rock star) back then was twofold.  It didn’t have anything to do with the music.  I didn’t know what songs he wrote, and I didn’t hear any of the songs he sang for a short while.  Early in my Kiss fandom, I picked Ace because of his cool silver makeup, and the spaceman theme.  I was a science fiction kid looking for my next thrill now that Star Wars was over.  It was Kiss.

Frehley’s guitar playing wasn’t complicated, but it was impossible to duplicate.  Kiss know that:  they tried.  Any Kiss fan worth their salt can easily tell the difference between Ace and his final replacement, Tommy Thayer.  Tommy was the next best thing, but he didn’t have that chonky, gnarly feel that Ace poured into every solo and every rhythm track.

Ace’s style was based on the pentatonic blues scales of the classic rock bands he loved.  His rhythms, double tracked with a Les Paul and a Fender, was the foundation of the original Kiss sound.  His solos, blazing and breakneck, were squiggly delights of power.  I loved Ace.

When I got my first Kiss albums in September of 1985, I had yet to hear his voice.  When I finally did on Dynasty, I loved it.  Ace’s voice had a smooth, commercial sound that Gene and Peter’s did not.  I loved “2000 Man” and “Hard Times”.  Especially “Hard Times”, because the lyrics gave a glimpse of the childhood of the Bronx boy named Paul Frehley.

Ace’s first post-Kiss solo album was finally released in 1987, and I was immediately on board.  My sister bought Frehley’s Comet for my birthday that summer.  I loved the album:  “Rock Soldiers”, “Into the Night”, “Calling To You”, “Fractured Too”…I played it back to back all summer.  I dreamed of Ace opening for Kiss on their upcoming Crazy Nights tour.  Hah!  As if that would happen.

Ace’s premature loss is tragic, but what is most tragic is that Kiss refused to allow him back on stage with them during their farewell tour.  By now we have all learned that life is too short to not reconcile with our friends and loved ones.  Kiss never did and now they never can, and that is a tragic loss too.

On September 25 2025, Ace fell in his home studio.  He suffered bleeding in the brain, and was taken off life support on October 16.  Kiss fans worldwide steeled themselves for the news.

I hope Ace is not just remembered for the classic Kiss songs he wrote and played on.  I hope attention is paid to his solo albums, from which you could build an absolutely killer boxed set.  Tracks like “Insane”, “Juvenile Delinquent”, “Trouble Walkin'”, “Space Invader”, “I Wanna Go Back”, and “Mission To Mars” should all be given just as much attention as “Rip It Out”.

The first original Kiss member to fall was Ace Frehley.  That is a sad landmark.   Let us remember him not for the feuds, the drama, or the negative words that Gene and Paul bandied about too often.  Let’s remember Ace for his charisma and most of all, his music.

Rip it out, Ace, for Words Are Not Enough.

#1212: Origins of a Nickname: BOBOE

RECORD STORE TALES #1212: Origins of a Nickname: BOBOE

The hits keep on rolling in.  Another friend from my highschool has passed.  Anand Etwaru was only 53.

I haven’t seen Anand since graduation day in summer of 1991.  I wanted to keep in touch, but life took us to different schools and we never met again.  However, I suppose I was never too far away from Anand, because I discovered in his obituary that he was still using the nickname that I gave him, or a shortened version thereof:  “Bo” for “Boboe”.

Recapping the tale from Record Store Tales #820: The Last Note of Freedom:  it’s just the ASCII characters for “Anand” with each letter bumped up by one, an accidental discovery I made.  It happened in Grade 11 computers class.  We were learning BASIC programming.  Playing with the ASCII system of characters, the teacher prompted us to play around and see what happens.  Each letter had a corresponding number.  A was 65, B was 66, and so on and so forth.  I created a line of code to add “1” to each letter.  So, A:  65+1=66, which is B.

I typed ANAND into the computer.  It added 1 to each character, and spat out BOBOE.

I shrieked in laughter, told  my friends, and the name stuck.  “BOBOE” was even a final exam question.  Anand was Boboe.  For life.

Rest in peace, old friend.

 

 

Rest in peace, Tommy Morais (1991-2024)

I was sad to learn this week that one of my earliest collaborators, Tommy Morais, passed away last year.  He was only 32.

I first met Tommy when he was just 18.  It was around the time of the release of the “new” KISS album Sonic Boom.  I was writing a complete set of Kiss reviews on Amazon to celebrate.  As it turns out, Tommy was also writing reviews for every Kiss album, and lots more that I was working on too.  I jealously read his writing.  He was good.

Eventually I decided to reach out to Tommy via email, and tell him how great his reviews were.  We became friends.  We didn’t agree on every Kiss album.  Tommy liked Animalize a lot more than I did!  He had the rock star hair and a glam image.  Tommy was no-holds-barred when it came to the music he loved.  He identified with the Kiss song “Freak”:

I’ve got streaks in my hairPeople point at me and stareIf they ask me I say: Yeah! I’m a freakAnd I love the clothes I wearLet them laugh ’cause I don’t careIt’s my cross, I’m proud to bearI’m a freak

Tommy was based out of New Brunswick and eventually moved to Ontario.  Meanwhile, I transitioned my writing from Amazon to WordPress.  Tommy was an eager reader, and was responsible for a couple Record Store Tales and several reviews.  Tommy wanted more Kiss!  So I wrote Part 26 and Part 27 of Record Store Tales by his request.  Tommy also contributed several of his own reviews to this site!  For me, Tommy wrote reviews of:

As you can see for yourself, Tommy was a wise rock fan beyond his years.  Every artist he reviewed for me really peaked long before he was even born.

I never met Tommy even though he was only a short distance away, relatively speaking.  We lost touch shortly after the Europe review.  I was really saddened to hear of his passing.

Gone way, way too soon.  Rest in peace Tommy.  Here’s some Kiss for ya.  I hope you’re rocking up there with Eric Carr.  You were an original.

Rest in Peace, genius: Brian Wilson (1942-2025)

Brian Douglas Wilson was 82 years old.  As sure as Beethoven and Bach were geniuses, so was Brian.  Born, raised and embodying California, Brian Wilson and his music was entwined with my life from an early age.

When I was a kid, riding in the passenger side next to my Uncle Paul, he would always pop a Beach Boys tape into his deck.  “Little Deuce Coupe” was a favourite.  He loved that early Beach Boys; the surf rock.  My mom grew up on that music too, but it was Uncle Paul who played it the most.

My wife Jen and her dad David always loved the Beach Boys.  She danced to “Surfer Girl” with him at our wedding.

Last summer, my dad and I watched a Brian Wilson documentary on TV.  We were both spellbound both by the man and his music.  My dad told me that my grandfather considered moving to California in the 1950s.  Imagine how different things would have been.  I’d never have been born.

Brian was a visionary composer, perhaps to his own detriment.  He was able to see forward, beyond what the producers of the time told him was possible or commercial.  He stretched his boundaries in composition and production, creating layers of music previously unimagined.  Unable to achieve his fullest visions at the time, the Smile album (1966) was shelved and Brian spiraled with depression and substances.  He became the butt of jokes, which was tragic.  It was good to see him return to making music before it was too late.

Rest in peace, you genius.

We Love Paul Di’Anno: A Thorough and Engrossing Tribute to the Iron Maiden frontman with Pete Jones, Johnny Metal, Metal Roger & Harrison Kopp

This week, we lost the monolith of metal known as Paul Di’Anno.  Born as Paul Andrews, he gripped the world in 1980 fronting the almighty Iron Maiden.  The spark was brief but bright.  His two Iron Maiden albums, plus some EPs and singles, carved an identity.  Those who get it loved him.  Some of them followed Paul into solo outings and new bands.  And this show has a wealth of appreciation for it all.

With Professor Pete Jones on board as surprise guest, we talked about all things Paul.  Pete was there from the very beginning, buying the first album in store upon sight.  He goes deep into the music and the early Iron Maiden sound, supplanted by the late great Clive Burr on drums.  Harrison Kopp, in a mighty return to Grab A Stack of Rock after nearly nine months away, gave us a run through Paul’s career, highlighting live songs and memorable tracks suck as “Marshall Lockjaw”.   Johnny Metal and Metal Roger contributed their own personal stories and what Paul’s music meant to them.  As John said so well:  thank you.

Meanwhile, I let the boys do most of the talking.  Instead, I presented an interview I did with Paul’s old guitar player Steph Honde.  He tells a tale of picking up Paul at the airport, and playing live without rehearsal.  I also played Bruce Dickinson’s tribute to Di’Anno, and friend Brian Richards’ thoughts about the tribute from the perspective of an audience member that night.  Finally, I read a loving statement from friend Thor Blackmore, towards the end of the show.

I know we will all miss Paul Di’Anno.

Paul Di’Anno Tribute on Grab A Stack of Rock with Harrison, Johnny Metal, and Metal Roger

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 75:  Paul Di’Anno Tribute

We had a completely different show planned this week.  Then, in the early hours of Monday morning, John Snow informed us that former Iron Maiden singer Paul Di’Anno had passed.

It was like that moment the record scratches and the needle comes off.  The shock set in, and then I realized, we need to change the show this week.  We need to pay tribute to (not the original singer, but) the first recorded Iron Maiden lead singer.  Paul filled some shoes:  Paul Mario Day and Den Wilcock preceeded him in Iron Maiden, but it was Di’Anno who helped put them on the center stage.  Paul’s punk look and snarl differentiated Iron Maiden from the rest of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.  They were clearly different from the pack, and their intense and sweaty live shows proved it.

This week on Grab A Stack of Rock, Harrison Kopp will make an early unscheduled return, joining myself, John Clauser, and Metal Roger in tribute.  24 hours after our show, Roger will be seeing Iron Maiden themselves in Toronto.  All of us will be talking about the man, the myth, and the albums!  As an added bonus we will also be running a clip from my 2021 interview with his former guitar player Steph Honde, on playing live with Paul!  We will also be playing Bruce Dickinson’s tribute to Paul from Minnesota.

“I know you’d have gone insane if you saw what I saw,” but tonight, please join us and see our Tribute to Paul Di’Anno.  As usual there will be lots of physical products, including two VERY RARE Iron Maiden box sets, some vinyl, and double CD sets.

Friday October 25 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!

Rest in Peace Paul Di’Anno (1958 – 2024)

Paul Di’Anno was one of the first singers I knew and loved. He’s running free now, with Clive Burr, and no longer in pain.

Paul has clearly not been in good physical shape lately. Once walking with a cane, Paul had been in a wheelchair for some time now. Paul has now lost his wheels, and is free to fly.

When Iron Maiden released their debut album in 1980, they were building on five years of battles in the clubs, building their repertoire and their reputation. Much of it had to do with Paul Di’Anno, the short(er) haired lead singer with the punk rock attitude. His sneer was embedded in those first two Maiden albums, both legendary.  Replacing him seemed impossible at the time!

I can’t believe we have to do this, but on Friday we will be paying tribute to Paul on Grab A Stack of Rock.

This sucks!

#1098: Today I Feel Very Special – An Uncle Paul Story

RECORD STORE TALES #1098: Today I Feel Very Special – An Uncle Paul Story

Today we lay my Uncle Paul to rest.  I learned something about him yesterday that I never really realized before.

Sunday was the visitation.  These are always a storm of mixed feelings.  You’re sad, you’re exhausted, and there are dozens of people to meet.  It was wonderful to hear so many people say loving things about my dear uncle.  He was clearly well liked by his friends and colleagues.  There were a lot of happy memories shared, introductions made, and friends to catch up with.

I was happy to see two of my best friends in the world after long absences:  the legendary Bob Schipper and the beloved Peter Cavan with his sister Joanne.  I have not seen any of them since, well, the last funerals.  We are all a little older now, and time has taken its toll, but the faces were the same.  It is good to know that my uncle had such an impact on my friends that they would drive to Stratford to honour a man they were not related to.  That’s just how my uncle was.  I heard lots of the same words today, over and over:  kind, thoughtful, attentive, caring, warm.

The thing that I did not expect to learn was a story repeated twice by two different co-workers of his.  They both said that he spoke of my sister and I fondly, all the time.  All the time, as if we were his own kids.

I knew that he considered us like his own, but I didn’t know how he spoke of us so often.  He had pictures of us in his office along with other family photos.  He must have said some pretty amazing things because the two co-workers we met specially wanted to tell us this about him.  I really did not know.

He always took interest in what we were doing and wanted to know what games we were playing and what music we were listening to.  He liked fast songs about cars.  I know I played “Slick Black Cadillac” by Quiet Riot for him when I was just a grade school kid.  I hope he liked it.

Thank you Uncle Paul.  We say goodbye today but the stories will live on forever.

Rest In Peace the Iron Sheik (1942-2023)

Sadly at the age of 81, Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, better known as the Iron Sheik, has joined the Squared Circle in the sky.

The Iron Sheik’s real name was Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri. Unlike many “foreign” WWF wrestlers, Vaziri was actually born where he was billed from: Iran. In his early years, he worked as a bodyguard for the Shah of Iran.

The Iron Sheik won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship from Bob Backlund on December 26, 1983 due to Backlund’s manager throwing in the towel during a vicious camel clutch. Sheik lost the title January 23, 1984 to Hulk Hogan and his atomic legdrop. Hulkamania had begun.

Fans of 80s wrestling knew the Sheik best for his tag team partnership with Nikolai Volkoff. Under the management of “Classy” Freddie Blassie, the Sheik and Volkoff took the WWF Tag Team Championship from the U.S. Express on March 31, 1985. The U.S. Express took the title back on June 17 of that year. The angle here was the US/Iran/Russia political rivalry, played out in the ring.

It was kind of a big deal when the Iron Sheik was caught doing cocaine while rival Hacksaw Jim Duggan was smoking weed in a car on the way to a match. For the WWF, an impact of this was that the Sheik was caught partying with his supposed enemy. This destroyed the illusion. The WWF let the Sheik go, and Duggan also temporarily left the organization.

Less than a year after the cocaine incident with Hacksaw Jim Duggan, the WWF deemed the public’s memory short and the Sheik made a triumphant return defeating “jobbers” (the guys who always lose to the bigger names). He bounced around other wrestling organizations, came back to the WWF in 1991, and then wrestled the independent circuit for almost a decade.

In his later years he enjoyed a pop culture status as a minor icon. In 2013 he challenged then-Toronto mayor Rob Ford to a match. Both men were caught doing cocaine during their professional careers. He has even appeared on the Canadian television program Kenny Vs. Spenny, attempting to sodomize Spenny with a bottle!  We loved ya, Sheiky!

Rest in Peace, Sarge

It has been almost 20 years since I last saw Sarge in person.  2003?  2004?  The “greatest piercer in southern England” make the trek to Canada once again to hang out with our Niagara Falls friends, the Legendary Klopeks.  Sarge loved Canada.  He was hoping to make another visit from Bournemouth, post-pandemic, or so he told me in one of our late night chats.

Late night for me; for him in England it would have been early morning.  We talked science fiction into the wee hours.  We’d speculate on what Marvel was going to do next and what was going on elsewhere in entertainment.

The last time I saw him, we were in St. Catharines and he gave me the awesome Motorhead T-shirt seen below.  He brought it especially for me.

A few weeks ago, Sarge’s wife posted that he was in hospital with bleeding in the brain.  As if that wasn’t enough, he got Covid while he was there.  I hoped we hadn’t had our very last chat about Thanos and Loki.

But we had, and with no time stone to turn things around.  No soul stone for a final meeting.

I’ll never forget my favourite Sarge story.  He told me this tale when I interviewed him years ago:

The year was 1986. Sarge was out at the bar. Although he had no way of knowing, Philip Lynott from Thin Lizzy had died that day, and the bar was playing his music in tribute to the fallen rock hero. Sarge, however, was not a fan. When he openly criticized the music of Thin Lizzy with some choice words, a large man with “bad teeth, long black hair and a low gruff voice,” told the young Sarge to fuck off. This was Sarge’s first and last meeting with the infamous Lemmy Kilmister!

Rest in peace my friend.