The poster appears to be a reprint but the generosity of Rob has ensured that it will live on in my music room!
The poster appears to be a reprint but the generosity of Rob has ensured that it will live on in my music room!
Episode 123: Happy Halloween – Top 5 Band Costumes & A Tribute to Ace Frehley
With Mike, Harrison, Johnny Metal and Rob Daniels – IN COSTUME!
Happy 3rd birthday to Grab A Stack of Rock (Oct 28 2022)! We have a special show tonight. Not only do we have an excellent panel of returning guests, but we have a fun, Halloween-themed gimmick-laden episode to satisfy! And of course, for the physical media crowd, we will have lots of CDs (rare, imports) and some music merch to look at!
The show topics tonight are three:
1. Our panel will be dressed in costumes! Some many be dressed in two costumes!
2. Mike will run down his top Ace Frehley songs of all time, from his Kiss, Comet and Solo careers. Knowing Mike, expect deep cuts and non-album tracks.
3. Top Five Band Costumes from the panel. Any band, any costume qualifies. Literally anything from the matching Beatles suits to Gwar.
Don’t miss this special episode, coming to you LIVE on YouTube. Join us in the comments – we love to interact! Best of all, we plan to be done in time for you to catch the World Series game tonight.
Friday October 31 at 7:00 PM EST, 8:00 PM Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube or Facebook.
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!
On May 1, Rob Daniels from CKWR and Visions In Sound recorded a show live to tape at TheMuseum in Kitchener. Here are some photos and videos of Rob, with Erik Woods and myself.
The show, which will air in a few weeks as part of Star Wars month, covers the amazing soundtrack by John Williams and stories of the movie’s creation. Rob will take you from the bleak early 1990s, to the Special Editions, and finally to May 1999 when The Phantom Menace was finally released. He discusses the fallout, in particular with actors Jake Lloyd and Ahmed Best, who bore the brunt of fan hate. On a lighter note, he also tells you the story of how Erik Woods broke the internet when he broadcast the world premier of the soundtrack!
Stay tuned in May to Visionsinsound.ca for this and much more great Star Wars content!
While we enjoyed the music, Erik and I spent roughly two hours discussing Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Like typical fans, we talked about what we would have done to make both series better! And we had some great ideas, trust me. We talked about our own ideas for the prequels, the sequels, and an Indiana Jones adventure that, like poetry, would rhyme.
TheMuseum is a wonderful location for such an event, though they need to do more advertising. Their website didn’t even show that they were open that night. The lounge area where Rob was recording had ample space and a bar.
I hope to see Rob do more tapings at the TheMuseum in the future. Long live Visions In Sound!
‘Twas a warm and cozy gathering of film-addicted friends, reminiscing upon favourites in the year 2023. With Jason Drury joining from the UK, Harrison from Australia, and Mike & Rob in Canada, it was a a truly intercontinental show.
We took a look at some new musical arrivals (signed Blaze Bayley, Rock Candy Ronnie James Dio, some sweet soundtracks on CD) and some books as well.
Though we always try to promote the physical media on Grab A Stack of Rock, the thoughtful conversation was what made this episode special. Specifically, we went down the Doctor Who rabbit hole and touched on what is happening with the show today. We also praised Ray Stevenson in Ahsoka, and lambasted a few of the Marvel products out today. Saved from the hot seat was Loki Season 2, which Jason and I both thought was a high water mark for the franchise.
Controversially, Jason weighed in on UK fish & chips vs. their Canadian counterparts.
Happy new year my friends, we’ll see you in 2024. Next week: Down For the Count, with Tim Durling and Jex Russell.
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 45: Return of the Drury
Tonight, film and soundtrack expert Jason Drury is back on the show from five time zones away! All the way in Ramsgate UK, Jason will be burning the midnight oil with Robert Daniels, Jex Russell and Harrison Kopp tonight.
Tonight we will just be catching up with friends, talking everything that we enjoyed in 2023. (I will be saving my Top Five albums list for January 1.) It’s a casual show and those are often the best kind.
Please join us tonight and welcome Jason back on the show!
LIVE Friday Dec 29 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube or on Twitter!
Every once in a while, we do a show that was so much fun, that I literally can’t sleep afterwards. That was tonight.
Some context. On October 28 2022, Harrison and I went live to grab some stacks of rock.
Tonight, Harrison and I celebrated the anniversary live with some friends. Since it was our one year anniversary, the theme was Top Five Songs About the Number One.
Fun fact: Two of the albums picked tonight had some of us thanked in them: one thanking me, one thanking Johnny Metal!
Rest in Peace to W.A.S.P. and L.A. Guns drummer Steve Riley. That was not fun news to break to Johnny Metal today. We spoke a moment about Steve at the top of the show.
We’re taking a couple weeks off to work on some secretive side projects. However, we will be back November 17 with a brand new guest. It will be Jex and PLA here on Grab A Stack of Rock, and there will be dancing!
Thank you for watching, and let’s make this second year as fun as the first…or even top it. Rock n’ roll!
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 40: Happy One Year! Top Five Songs About the Number One
Our one-year anniversary happens to coincide with Show #40! One year ago (on the 28th, to be exact), I was feeling the itch to go live once again, and so I messaged Harrison that morning. “Are you free if we decide to go live tonight?” We didn’t have a name, a theme song, or a plan. Grab A Stack of Rock was born. Despite the highs and lows of 2022-2023, it was a bright spot our of weeks for the last year. I can’t wait to see what another year will bring.
We started out as a casual show to show off our music collections. It’s currently more than that, with lists and special guests once again. In fact this week we’ll have a new one who has never been on the show before, John Clauser from My Music Corner. Harrison and I will also be joined by Peter Kerr of Rock Daydream Nation, Tim Durling, and Robert Daniels. Because it’s one year, we’re doing Top Songs About the Number One.
Thanks for Grabbing a Stack of Rock. Hope to see you celebrating with us!
LIVE Friday Oct 27 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!
What are you Top 5 Songs About Monsters? And what kind of monsters would you choose? This week on Grab A Stack of Rock, we saw zombies, werewolves, vampires, sharks, and metaphorical monsters too.
For the first time ever, Eminem made our lists…twice! With two different songs!
Peter Kerr (Rock Daydream Nation) managed to drop by for the start, to read his ground-breaking list. For this show, anyway! We read lists from John T Snow and Jex Russell, before diving into our own lists. Robert Daniels (Visions in Sound) and my trusty co-host Harrison Kopp brought the expected and unexpected alike! Perhaps with a twist.
This brisk show was a load of fun. I hope you enjoy, and get some ideas for your Halloween parties to come.
Next week: Jex, Aaron and Harrison go “LeBrainless” on Saturday at 8:00 PM!
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 38: Top Five Monsters on Friday the 13th! With Rob Daniels & Peter Kerr
He’s here for a good time, but not a long time! On hand will be Peter Kerr (Rock Daydream Nation) to tell us his Top Five Songs About Monsters! Then he has to split and do something else devilishly ghoulish! Here for the whole show will be Robert Daniels (Visions in Sound) and the Mad Metal Man for a helluva list show!
Harrison came up with the idea, and a good one it is. What are you favourite songs about monsters? “Loch Ness” by Judas Priest, perhaps? “Werewolves of London” by Warren Zevon? “Burning Bridges” by Slaughter?
The brilliant thing about this idea is just how diverse the lists can be. I have my five selected. What will you pick? Watch live, and drop your comments during the show!
As usual we have a brand new question for Harrison, and only the best guests on Grab A Stack of Rock!
LIVE Friday Oct 13 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!