Rock Daydream Nation

Rock Daydream Nation: ELP – Brain Salad Surgery – First Time Listener (AKA “out of my comfort zone!”)

Out of my comfort zone indeed!  This show has been a long time in the making.  I first bought my deluxe edition of Brain Salad Surgery by ELP many months ago, strictly for this show.  Peter gave me several weeks to absorb it.  Then I was gifted an addition week of preparation when I found myself sick to my stomach the night we were scheduled to record.  (Nerves, food poisoning, or both?)

Now you finally get to see the fruits of our labors.  Did I ever “get” ELP?  Find out by watching this episode of Rock Daydream Nation!  Peter’s description is below.

Rock Daydream Nation is joined by Mike Ladano (Grab a stack of Rock) in a special episode of “out of my comfort zone” where we select one record out of a genre that we don’t usually follow and provide our thoughts with 2024 ears, This weeks choice is ELP Brain Salad Surgery.

Holy Grail CDs, Live Bootlegs, and Music DVDs from the Kollection of Kopp

A true throwback to the early days of Grab A Stack of Rock, and a showcase for the Mad Metal Man.  That was Friday night on Grab A Stack of Rock.

Harrison showed us several CDs that Mike wants to add to his collection, including a 2 CD edition of Alice Cooper in El Paso 1980, Iron Maiden bootlegs with Paul, Bruce and Blaze, Black Sabbath with Ian Gillan, a Bruce Dickinson single, and many more.  Harrison also had a rare Nintendo NES video game soundtrack on 7″ vinyl, and possibly the only Arkells CD in all of Australia.  (We just don’t know!)

I miscalculated the length of tonight’s show.  I expected it to run an hour.  I invited some surprise guests to welcome back Harrison after his long absence, and so we were joined by Peter Kerr, Johnny Clauser, and Jex Russell at the one hour mark.  Thank you guys for joining us on this special night.

Mike also had some CDs to show off, such as Prince, Paul Stanley, ELP, King Kobra, and Faster Pussycat.  However, storytelling was his main role.  The Sultans of Ping FC and the Arkells featured into two stories.

Thank you for watching and see you next week on Grab A Stack of Rock for our Mad Max movie ranking!

Rock Daydream Nation: Van Halen with David Lee Roth: Best Song, Worst Song, Every Album

“One of the best shows I have EVER been a part of!” – Mike

“It’s definitely a top shelf RDN show for sure!” – Peter

The pleasure is always mine when I get to be a part of Rock Daydream Nation.  I absolutely love Peter’s show; it challenges us and it entertains you.  This was a relatively easy show for me.  All I had to do was listen to Van Halen all week, and pick my favourite and least favourite songs from the Roth albums.  That’s it!  Beats workin’!

Tim Durling joined us for this amazing showcase of tunes, with some surprises.  What was clear is this:  least favourites are all but irrelevant.  They’re all favourites to different degrees!  I learned that I tend to gravitate to the more melodic side of Van Halen.  Meanwhile, Peter was able to glean some meaning behind some of Roth’s lyrics.

Top shelf RDN is right.  Top Jimmy would be proud.

 

Rock Daydream Nation: The Best Australian Rock Songs of the 1980s? Featuring Harrison Kopp (VIDEO)

The Mad Metal Man has spread his wings!  I am proud to present below, Harrison’s first appearance on a show that isn’t our own!

Harrison wanted to do an Australia-centric topic with Peter Kerr for some time.  Peter has been wanting to put together an all-Australia panel.  This week on Rock Daydream Nation, that’s exactly what we got!  With Peter Wicks, and Bicyclelegs himself.

It was enjoyable for me to hear about familiar Australian bands, and those I’d never heard of before.  Harrison stirred the pot with some questions and comments, like a good lad!  (Do the Bee Gees count as an Australian band?)  Really proud of the “resident contrarian” Mad Metal Man.  Check out the show!

Was 1984 the best year ever for rock music? Peter Kerr, Mike Ladano & viewers list off some great tunes

Peter Kerr was back with a vengeance, and some great songs!  Representing Rock Daydream Nation, Peter listed off a whole lot of great songs from the year 1984, ranging from rock to metal to pop rock.  He also listed the greatest movies he saw from that year, with a handful of video games and TV shows.  I couldn’t resist mentioning a toyline/cartoon/comic book that transformed our young lives that year.

We had awesome guest lists from the Mad Metal Man (who is sick and could not attend) and Uncle Meat.  In the comments, Pete Jones, Henry Wright, Johnny Metal, Ash Geisler, and others listed off some great tunes.  Ash had about 30!  I tried to put all the comments on the screen.

There were some albums and artists to kept coming up over and over again.  Whitesnake, Metallica, Mercyful Fate, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and many more were well represented on this show.

This was a wonderful hour-plus and I hope you enjoy watching it on Youtube if you missed it live!

Top 10 Rock Songs from the year 1984! With Peter Kerr of Rock Daydream Nation on Grab A Stack of Rock

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 67: Top 10 Rock Songs from the year 1984 with Peter Kerr

We are back!  Following three weeks of chilling at the cottage, Grab A Stack of Rock returns with a roar, and a familiar face!

Peter Kerr of Rock Daydream Nation suggested this topic for his return to the show.  1984 was the year I got into rock music.  That coincided with MuchMusic’s premier in Canada.  All of a sudden, there were all these videos!  Kiss, Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Helix…and I was there with my VCR, recording everything.  For me personally, this will be a list of nostalgia…but not entirely.  After all, it was Peter who got me into Prince in 2023.  It was Tim Durling and John the Music Nut who got me buying Y&T albums recently.  It remains to be see what will make my final list, because 1984 was a completely epic year for rock music.

Peter Kerr was last on the show back in May when we unboxed the new Arkells album.  An album on which they covered “Dancing in the Dark” by Springsteen…a song released in 1984.  (It’s like poetry; it rhymes!)  Who knows what will be picked?

If you join the show from the start, you will also catch some unboxings.  Don’t miss this show, live, as we always respond to your comments!

Friday August 16 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!

Rock Daydream Nation: Deep Purple – Desert Island Steve Morse Albums

This is a show I was made for! Spoiler alert: Regular readers already know my favourite Steve Morse era Deep Purple album.  I was already trying to kickstart a Purple collection when he joined the band in 1995.  His addition made me a completist – had to get every album.  And, within a few years of his joining, I achieved and maintained that.  Morse’s additional made me a superfan.  I just love when a band has a significant lineup change that actually works.  Deep Purple was transformed into something a little different, but just as good.  Just new flavours in the soup.  A new freedom to experiment and stretch out.  It wouldn’t have worked if the band couldn’t write new songs with the new axeman, but their chemistry flourished over seven studio original studio albums.

Now that Steve is gone from the band, and they are carrying on with another new ingredient in Simon McBride, it is a perfect time to look back upon the Morse era.  Joining myself and Peter Kerr on Rock Daydream Nation is “Music Swami” Pete Jones.  Together, we passionately discuss three favourite albums, and the key tracks that you need to check out for yourself.  We don’t just shower praise, but we break down and analyze.

Here’s what Mr. Kerr has to say:

Rock Daydream Nation is joined by Peter Jones (The Contrarians) and Mike Ladano (Grab a Stack of Rock) to choose their desert island Deep Purple album featuring Steve Morse….Are any of these albums better than Deep Purple Ritchie Blackmore?
Check out the show!

VIDEO: Fox on the Run! May 30 to June 2 2024 at the Cottage

First the first time in the Cottage Video Series, we have:

  • A fox!
  • Rock Daydream Nation!
  • Fireworks in super slow-mo!
  • An Amazon delivery!
  • A war for territory:  Blue Jay vs. Chipmunk!
  • And of course the food and scenery that you expect!

Enjoy!

 

Rock Daydream Nation: Deep Purple – Stormbringer – Did this album push Blackmore to leave Purple?

I need to remember for fortunate I am.  Some time in 2023, I was approached by an Australian man named Peter Kerr to do a show on the Vinnie Vincent Invasion for his channel, Rock Daydream Nation.  He had seen me around on social media, and we hit it off immediately.  Meeting Peter has led to some of the best shows I’ve done, including a couple on Grab A Stack of Rock.  This week on Rock Daydream Nation, Peter and I went back to one of our core deep love bands:  the Purples.  Deep Purple Mk III in fact, and the sometimes maligned Stormbringer LP.

As per the deep dive format, we begin with first impressions.  Mine begin with a cheap cassette copy bought at Encore Records in Kitchener Ontario.  We then go track by track through the whole album, side A and side B.  By the time we offer our final thoughts, it is plenty obvious that we love Stormbringer.  Blackmore may have disliked the funk, but we like when he plays funky.  We touch on Rainbow,  Whitesnake and much more.

We drive into some Deep Purple history here, so grab a coffee and enjoy this deep dive!

Rock Daydream Nation: Mötley Crüe – can we defend Theatre of Pain?

This’ll get the trolls out!  Nothing gets the Motley fans in a tizzy more than critiquing a favourite album, or praising a later one with the wrong lead singer.  Our rock heroes are not infallible, and Theater of Pain might be the best example of this.  After two screamin’ and bangin’ hard rock/heavy metal albums, Motley made a slight change of image & sound, and left us in a Theater of Pain….

Peter Kerr of Rock Daydream Nation assembled a killer crew for this topic. With Joe B., John Clauser, Steve Deluxe, Melissa Nee and myself, we talk memories, impressions then and now, and most importantly, the songs.  We discuss every elephant in the room, from the tragic car crash that ended a life, addictions, and direction (or lack thereof).  This tumultuous period of Motley history is full of drama, superstardom, great music videos, and tragedy.

I’m excited to watch this show that I was proud to be a small part of.  Theater of Pain is one of my favourite musical topics, and I think we fairly covered all the bases here, and them some.  How do you feel about Theater of Pain?

Debuts at 8:00 AM E.S.T. on May 22 2024.