Uncle Meat

Mike’s Sausagefest 2020 Audio Collage – Catch Phrases, Uncle Meat & Night Ranger

Every year at Sausagefest, I would create an audio collage of random bits and samples of music, movies and TV Shows. I don’t know if the 2020 version was ever used, but here it is.

🅻🅸🆅🅴: Top Ten Songs of Queensrÿche

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

Special 🅻🅸🆅🅴 Episode featuring guest Tim Durling & Uncle Meat

And guest list from Jake

Episode 138: Top Ten Songs of Queensrÿche

Raise ’em up!  Uncle Meat wanted to count down the Top 10 songs from Queensrÿche, a band we have yet to tackle on Grab A Stack of Rock.  So, we looked into the Eyes of a Stranger, placed Hand on Heart, and tried to shed some Nocturnal Light on these songs.  But it wasn’t Just Us!  Along for the ride is terrestrial DJ Tim Durling, and we will also have a guest list from Jake (Not From State Farm).

Spanning the EP all the way to Digital Noise Alliance, Queensrÿche have a lot of songs to sift through.  For this special episode, Mike even went as far as to acquire a copy of Frequency Unknown, the album that Geoff Tate made before he lost the rights to the Queensrÿche name.  (For added fun, this copy was gifted by Matthew Phillips, who had three remixed CDs sent to him by Cleopatra records.  This is not the retail Billy Sherwood remix, but the rare mail order only version dubbed “we remix, you decide”.)

Even though Queensrÿche arguably had a “dark period” with some albums that didn’t ignite the fire in fans, they also had a strong comeback with Todd LaTorre on lead vocals.  Will any Todd songs make the list tonight?  We’ll be Breaking the Silence to reveal all!

Friday February 20 at  7:00 PM EST, 8:00 PM Atlantic.  Enjoy on YouTube or Facebook.

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 29: A Matter of Life and Death with Uncle Meat

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 29: A Matter of Life and Death

With special guest Uncle Meat

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK episode 137

“I love work. I can sit and watch it for hours.” – Nicko McBrain

Our longest episode of the entire series, A Matter of Life and Death is a special album in the Maiden arsenal.  Bringing back one of Maiden’s most popular lyrical topics, the album largely focused on warfare, with a sideline into religion and social commentary.  There might even be an original fictional tale or two here, sprinkled in with the cold historical reality.  A Matter of Life and Death is a high water mark, we will argue, and hope you’ll listen to what we have to say.

Original Grab A Stack of Rock alumnus Uncle Meat returns for an album that he picked, because he was fortunate enough to see this tour.  That will become important later on.  Along with Mike and Harrison, each of the 10 new songs are broken down musicially and lyrically, with historical and personal context added for colour.  An album laden with highlights, we take our time to appreciate the minor details.

We’re only just getting started:  This album has a whopping 11 assorted bonus tracks and B-sides to discuss, plus a vital bonus DVD.  The extra tracks come from many formats:  A magazine CD tribute album to Deep Purple’s Machine Head, a DVD single, several CD singles, a 7″ and 10″ vinyl, just to get all the tracks.  There is also an additional promo CD single to mention, and an exclusive live track that you can’t get anymore because it was a download-only.  Bummer.

When we’re done all that, and have discussed the included documentary DVD in detail, we move on to the tour(s).  And oh, what they did nearly tore fandom apart.  As illustrated on Mike’s bootleg CD, Revenge Is Living In The Past, Maiden played all 10 album tracks in sequence before getting to a smattering of classic hits (including of course “Fear of the Dark”).  Uncle Meat was there when it went down in Toronto, and not knowing what we was in for, he describes his immediate impressions.  As a group, we tackle the tour’s historic importance, and the fallout that came next.  The next time around, Maiden had cut the 10 songs down to just five, and added more classics back into the set.

This 1 hour 38 minute episode includes the last musical B-sides or bonus tracks we’ll get from Maiden, save one RSD picture disc we’ll discuss later on.  The bonus tracks are a wonderful, confounding collection to complete.  We hope you enjoy the level of detail we went into for this episode.  We felt the album deserved nothing less.

 

Friday February 13 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T., 8:00 PM Atlantic.  Enjoy on YouTube.

 

 

Past episodes:

Handy YouTube Playlist:

 

VIDEO: Max the Axe – “I Don’t Advocate Drugs” live in Ontario – Lego animated by Harrison Kopp

From the album Live In Ontario, here is the second music video from the CD:  “I Don’t Advocate Drugs”.  This video was painstakingly animated, using real Lego bricks, by hand.  No AI here folks.  Bricks were collected to create these characters including all four members of the band:  Max the Axe (lead guitar), Uncle Meat (lead vocals), Mike Mitchell (bass), and Dr. Dave Haslam (drums).   Depicting a druggy trip and a stage performance by the band, look for several easter eggs referring to past Max the Axe songs, or even Dr Dave’s well-stated hatred of Transformers.

A magnificent job, Harrison!  Well done!

🅻🅸🆅🅴 Spinal Tap II: The End Continues with Uncle Meat and Dan Chartrand

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

🅻🅸🆅🅴 Episode

Episode 122: The End Continues with Uncle Meat and Dan Chartrand

In September of 2024, Marco D’Auria, Dan Chartrand, and Uncle Meat joined us to celebrate 40 years of This Is Spinal Tap.  This comprehensive and loving analysis needed a followup episode once the sequel, The End Continues, had come out.  Now it has, and we have all seen it.  Dan and the Meat are back tonight to discuss the sequel, and the sequel soundtrack!  Tonight we’re gonna rock ya tonight!

Though we have not had 40 years to study up like we did last time, we have done our homework and will be addressing the below topics and more:

  • What were your hopes and fears going into this movie?
  • Where and when did you see it?
  • The new drummer – our impressions.
  • Favourite scene.
  • Favourite cameo / callback.
  • Soundtrack thoughts:  New songs, old songs, and CD vs the movie.
  • The big question:  Did it live up to the Spinal Tap legacy?

Please join us live tonight in the comments.  There will be blood to let!

Friday October 24 at 7:00 PM EST, 8:00 PM Atlantic.  Enjoy on YouTube or Facebook.

Scream For Me, YouTube! Live After Death with Uncle Meat and Harrison

Thanks to all who joined our special live episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden celebrating Live After Death.  I always like to write up a little show summary every time we do a live episode.  For Harrison and I, scheduling guests required pre-recording episodes for this series.  However, we aim to do the live albums as live episodes, because why not?  Most of them do not have special guests attached to them, but Live After Death had to be an exception, due to its importance in heavy metal.  This week our special guest was show co-founder and viewer favourite Uncle Meat!

Together, the three of us broke down the album, side by side.  Each side of this album has its own flavour.  I had a favourite.  We discuss the spectacular vocal acrobatics of Bruce Dickinson, some (perhaps) excessive crowd interactions, some nearly definitive versions of songs, and some interesting stage banter.  We also go deep with the three B-sides:  “Losfer Words”, “Run to the Hills” and “Running Free”.

Finally, we take a really good look at the original vinyl itself, the gatefold, the Easter eggs, and much more!

And speaking of Easter eggs, we’ll see you next week for our special live Good Friday afternoon show, and following that, our 100th episode celebration!

Thanks for watching!

Past episodes:

Handy YouTube Playlist:

 

 

 

 

 

Show Notes:

Words for Joelle and Roger.

 

SCREAM FOR ME, YOUTUBE!

Recorded:
14–17 March 1985 (sides 1–3) Long Beach Arena
8–12 October 1984 (side 4) Hammersmith Odeon

Released 14 October 1985 (audio)
23 October 1985 (video)

 

The first release of Churchill’s speech added onto Aces High.

 

SIDE ONE

String of hits, five in a row.  Easily the best first side of any live metal album.

Aces High – a lot of really really “clean” backing vocals – overdubs?

Revelations – “Nice to see ya, to see ya…nice.”  “Written about religion, or about washing your car, actually it’s about hanging a pair of curtains.”

Lot of “extra singing” from Bruce.  “yeah, yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah oh, oh yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah…”  Also lots of variation from the album melody.  Lots of extra power from Bruce vocally.

And then “Oh, oh, it is you…”  “Motherfucker!” – Nicko?

 

 

SIDE TWO

“This is what NOT to do if a bird shits on ya!”  One of the most famous song intros of all time?

Also lots of that “extra singing”  – “Yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah…”

Followed by “Powerslave” as a serious 1-2 punch.

Ending with Beast is a great record closer.  Intro is interesting as it’s pitch-changed with effects added.  Also Bruce sings the complete choruses and not just “six”.

 

 

SIDE THREE

Another side of smash hits.  “Hallowed” (funny twang in Bruce’s delivery)

“Iron Maiden”, “Run to the Hills”, and “Running Free” with the long audience participation section.  Kind of the definitive version of this kind of concert activity.

“Hills” is the only song I like a lot less than the album version.  Guitar opening sounds thin, Steve’s bass too plunky.  Bruce doesn’t sound as enthused compared to Beast Over Hammersmith.

 

 

SIDE FOUR

“Wrathchild” is a brilliant addition from the Di’Anno days though “Killers” would have been great too.  A definitive Bruce version of “Wrathchild”.  Lots of that “extra singing” and you can hear Harris on the chorus clearly.

“Acacia” – “Speak to me, Hammersmith!”  – I like Bruce’s echo – “I know a place where we can go go go go…”  Great guitar solo work here.

“Damned” – “Let me see those hands, yeeeah!”  Magnificent vocal performance by Bruce, top notch all the way!  Lovely guitar harmonics after Bruce sings “If he had lived, he would have crucified us all!”

“Boots” – Very frantic vocal delivery with speed.

“Phantom” – an absolutely epic way to end the album.  When I first got it, it was an unexpected track.  It was my first time hearing it.

 

B-SIDES

“Losfer Words” – Feels faster and more intense than the album version.  A great bonus track and the only live performance available to buy.

“Sanctuary” – Too much “extra singing” in this one!

“Murders in the Rue Morgue” – “Got a surprise for ya!”

🅻🅸🆅🅴 50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 10: Live After Death

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 10:  Live After Death

A special 🅻🅸🆅🅴 episode

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #98

Some call it the greatest metal live album of all time.  It was certainly of an unusually high quality when it was released in 1985, for Iron Maiden’s Live After Death was over 100 minutes of masterful classics, accompanied by a generous booklet with liner notes and hundreds of tour photos.  It had no equal in heavy metal.

Tonight on 50 Years of Iron Maiden, Harrison and I will be live!  It’s a gimmick we want to try for live albums:  live episodes to celebrate the live experience!  Joining us is show co-founder Uncle Meat, returning to the channel for this special deep dive.  Not only is 2025 the 50th anniversary of Iron Maiden, but it is the 40th anniversary of this legendary live album.  Meat and I were there in 1985, relishing every note when it was brand new.

Together we will break down all four sides of vinyl (the original CD only featured the first three sides, and the cassette had an edited version of side two, so vinyl used to be the only way to get the whole album).  We will also go deep on the rarely heard live B-sides “Sanctuary”, “Murders in the Rue Morgue” and “Losfer Words”.  For physical media, we will look at the 1995 2 CD reissue, the remastered 2 CD reissue, the original vinyl, and the singles…one of which didn’t even have Eddie on the cover!

Since this is a live episode, we’ll also be able to take your comments live!  Don’t miss this special episode of Grab A Stack of Rock.

LIVE on Friday April 11 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or Facebook.

Past episodes:

Handy YouTube Playlist:

 

MAX THE AXE – “Randy” – Live In Ontario! – Newly remastered audio (2024)

This great version of “Randy” is finally available on CD. Contact Max the Axe to get your copy now.

Max the Axe – “Randy” – Live at the Boathouse, Kitchener Ontario

Newly remastered audio. Newly edited video of live performance.

REVIEW: Max the Axe – Live In Ontario! (2025)

MAX THE AXE – Live In Ontario!  (2025 maxaxe)

Kitchener Ontario’s Max the Axe has several studio albums and EPs, plus a “best of”, but never before have they released a live album.  Until now!

Recorded in 2006, 2017, and 2018, the album features a spread of Max classics new and old, including favourites like “Scales of Justice” and “Gods On the Radio”.  Each song features Eric “Uncle Meat” Litwiller on vocals.

“But Mike,” you ask. “I thought Meat joined the band later than 2006.”

True.  While we won’t get into details, if you consider Kiss Alive to be a great album, then you should have no problem with Live In Ontario!

The first six tracks come from a 2006 recording called Heads or Tails, recorded in Etobicoke Ontario.  The lineup includes Litwiller, Mike “Max the Axe” Koutis on guitar, Tom Cole on bass, and Jeff Slauenwhite on drums.  These tracks are heavy on bottom end.  The guitars are pure sludge.  Opener “Blood Runs Red” sounds great with Meat singing; a fantastic vocal performance.  The familiar “River Grand” follows, and once again the vocals stand out, with Eric adding twists that aren’t on the album versions.

“Labyrinth” has distortion and groove.  Max wrings some cool sounds from his axe on this frantic, messy, punky classic.  It’s very shambolic, definitely with a punk rock appeal.  Back to a more metallic sound on “Immortal” (subtitled “I Feel the Sun”).  The vocals are more tentative here, as the song was less familiar when recorded.

“Mexican Standoff” opens with the traditional Mexican sounding guitar lick, and then it’s off to the races with Meat in peak voice.  This version lacks the shouted backing vocals, but is cool nonetheless.  Max throws some wah-wah on during a noisy interlude.    One more song from this gig is the Metallica-like “Space Marine”.   It is great to finally have versions of these older songs with Meat singing, tentative as some are.

Onto the next batch of songs from 2016 at “The Farm” in Woodstock Ontario.   This was the very first gig with the new (and definitive) lineup:  Mike Mitchell on bass and Dr. Dave Haslam on drums.  Having never played live before, and with a batch of brand new songs, the gig sounds much as you would expect.  It’s energetic and engaged, but good as the songs would come to be, they are not there yet.  The set features a number of compositions that would later appear on the Status Electric album, plus “I Don’t Advocate Drugs”, the first version available with Eric on vocals. He cranks it up a couple notches.

A very cool band intro leads into “The Other Side”, a very embryonic version.  The parts are all there, but it’s not tight yet.  “Loose” is a good word to describe this live album in general.  There’s also an extended guitar solo.  From there, Eric asks the audience if anyone out there owns a snake?  Which means, of course, that “Scales of Justice” is up next.  It’s not as crunchy as the album.  If anything, maybe it’s a bit more Zeppy.  Yet those vocal hooks are there, and Meat is in peak voice.  This track needed some work before it was album worthy, but it is fun to hear these early versions, flaws and all.

“This is a song about gambling,” explains Eric.  This means the “Next Plane to Vegas” is about to land.  It barely hangs together, but it’s over in a flash.  Finally, “Gods On the Radio” closes the set with Max’s best song.  Again, it’s not quite what it would become on album yet, but the bones are there and the vocal hooks are 100% intact.  It doesn’t have the drive of the album version and unfortunately the drums are hard to hear.  The guitar solos also haven’t evolved yet.

Finally, “Randy” from 2018 was recorded on a cell phone by your’s truly.  While a limited run of one (1) single  picture disc was made, this is its first CD release, and in much better sound quality.  In terms of performance, this is by far the best track.  All the songs were by now well rehearsed by the band, as the album had been completed.  The difference between this and the Farm tracks is clear.

It is a shame the whole 2018 Boathouse set was not recorded.  That said, you do the best with what you got.  In this case we have a 2006 recording of an early band lineup, with the older songs.  Then you have the 2017 recording of the definitive lineup, but with songs that they were still honing.  So it’s not a perfect situation, but it’s history recorded.  Something to remind us that albums don’t come fully formed.  They must be worked on diligently, and if anything, Live In Ontario! makes us appreciate Status Electric that much more.

“Randy” on the other hand could be the best version of that song, period.

3.25/5 stars

A Mighty Wind is Blowing with Dan Chartrand, Uncle Meat & Johnny Homework

Johnny Metal earned a new nickname tonight:  Johnny Homework!  His meticulous research and notes provided a solid backbone of knowledge on which we arranged an awesome discussion.  The topic:  the now-classic Christopher Guest mockumentary A Mighty Wind!

Together with Uncle Meat and Dan from Off the Charts, we tried to cover every aspect that we love about this movie.  We went deep on the following topics:

The cast

  • Our favourite bands
  • Our favourite songs
  • Favourite scenes
  • Fred Willard
  • The Kiss at the End of the Rainbow
  • The ending

Additionally, we looked at CDs, vinyl, and a very nice songbook from Johnny Homework.  Gotta get that physical product in.

Thanks for joining us!