GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
🅻🅸🆅🅴 Episode
Episode 158: Appreciating John Williams with Robert Daniels
It is time. At long last, this episode is finally happening! And what a monumental task it is.
John Towner Williams: 27 Grammy Awards, 5 Academy Awards, 7 BAFTA Awards, 3 Emmy Awards and 4 Golden Globe Awards. Also an honorary Knighthood. Everyone with access to media has heard John Williams’ music at some point in their lives, on TV, the movies or radio. How do we tackle this man’s career in just an hour?
Answer: We call up Rob Daniels from Visions In Sound!
A lifelong fan who has examined the music of Williams on his show for over 25 years, Rob is the man when it comes to film scores. Tonight we’ll look at our CD collections (and a cassette), and appreciate the best of the very best: John Williams!
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
🅻🅸🆅🅴 Episode
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.
Originally broadcast on Oct 2, 2020 as two streams totaling 2 hours and 12 minutes. This new version has been re-focused down to a perfect 50 minute show.
In October of 2020, right in the thick of the pandemic, Jen had a seizure at a local fast food restaurant. She fell and broke her arm. We decided to make that week’s episode of the LeBrain Train all about epilepsy awareness. While we did our best, we had technical difficulties that night, and the episode didn’t turn out like we hoped.
It’s funny to go back and watch live streams from five years ago. So much has changed since then. The original 2020 show was split into two live streams as some viewers reported that the Facebook feed was freezing, so we stopped and re-started. Additionally, the original show was live and off the cuff, and was interrupted several times. This new edit has all the epilepsy content in one stream. As such, Adventures in Epilepsy episode has never been presented as one cohesive video before.
Hear all about missing out on a free U2 concert, having to leave movies and shows early with no refunds, and nearly walking into traffic! Also hear the lighter side of seizures. We learned early on, if you can’t laugh at these things, you’re doomed.
Join us tonight as we educate and illuminate living with epilepsy. Though a lot has changed since 2020, the experiences remain raw and true. Health has improved since then, which we also touch on with additional narration recorded in 2025.
Jen herself appeared in this episode, as good a sport as any. Good friend and author Aaron Lebold joined the show that night to discuss his own experiences with epilepsy, which he seems to have grown out of in his adult life. Rob Daniels from Visions in Sound and Kevin Simister from Buried On Mars also joined the show at the end to say hello. Though most of their parts were cut to shorten and focus the episode (some unboxings and other outdated content were cut), we always appreciate their support.
1. Prince. The royal single-monikered one was born epileptic and suffered a lot of taunting at school. He obviously came a long way from there
2. AdamHorovitz. This Beastie Boy is sensitive to flashing lights, which I am sure they use in their stage show. It certainly didn’t seem to hold him back from massive success.
3. NeilYoung. He was medicated for epilepsy as a child, but didn’t like the side effects of the meds, which can go all over the spectrum depending on you and your meds. Neil chose to make lifestyle changes instead, and has lived without medication since! And, obviously, rocked the world. Good on you Neil.
RECORD STORE TALES #1138: ‘Twas 30 Years Ago, at Stanley Park Mall
(Story & Video featuring Robert Daniels)
Since 1991, The Beat Goes On was the easiest place for me to buy new music. The selection wasn’t great, and the prices were high, but it was just a 10 minute walk from my house. When Motley Crue released their long-awaited new album in the spring of 1994, I just grabbed it on my way to school. I bought a lot of important music at that store in the early 90s. Mr. Bungle was my first purchase, as I recall, $14.99 on cassette. I picked up the debut by Fight, the Very Special Christmas compilations, and the Wayne’s World soundtrack. No, wait – I got Wayne’s World at Zeller’s because the owner was too busy talking to a girl to help me! When I finally got his attention, he was sold out of Wayne’s World, so I bought it at Zellers down the hall!
I wasn’t the most regular customer for the first three years, because of the pricing. As a small independent store in a mall, rent and overhead was high while margins were low. Then came used CDs.
The owner likes to tell the story. “I came in with a single tray of used CDs and put them on sale,” he said. Initially our prices were $9.99 and $11.99 for used CDs. I walked in one day in early July and bought Kiss My Ass, which was two or three weeks old (June 21 1994 release date). What a steal! I didn’t want to pay new prices for a handful of songs that I wanted. I was impressed. I planned on making my visits much more regular.
Two weeks later, I was working there behind the counter.
Stanley Park Mall was an important location to me, all my life. I had worked there in 1989-1990 at the grocery store Zehrs, and my dad worked at the bank there through pretty much all the 1980s. Now I was calling it home again, as I worked the summer of 1994 at The Beat Goes On, learning the used CD trade and rocking the suburbs. The mall was an ever-changing landscape of stores. When I started, many were already long gone, such as the comic book store and video rental place. Today it’s even more of a wasteland, with very little to attract teen mallrats today. There was once an A&A Records; that closed in 1990. There were once two banks, a diner, a liquor store, a camera shop, a Zellers with a restaurant, even a video arcade once upon a time. The mall is barely recognizable from that day I was hired in July of 1994.
When I started at The Beat Goes On, there were just two of us. I was replacing a part-timer named Craig Herner that was leaving for school. It was just me and the owner. It was a pretty incredible time to be at the start of something. Used CDs were taking off, and we had two tables of them as opposed to one little tray. Grunge was still powering the charts, with Soundgarden and Alice In Chains lingering near the top. Kurt Cobain was dead but the music was still selling like mad. On the other side of the ailes, MuchDance was popular, and there was a new rapper named 2Pac that was making waves. The soundtrack to Forrest Gump was selling steady despite its high (2 CD) selling price. “Somebody’s getting rich off that Gumbo thing!” said an old man who didn’t buy it. It wasn’t us getting rich! April Wine had a new album, there was a ZZ Top blues compilation hitting the shelves, and it was just generally a brilliant time to be alive.
30 years is an eternity, and the mall has changed, but here we are! Recently, Rob Daniels joined me for a stroll around Stanley Park Mall, to see what has transpired. We strolled the hallways, remarked on the stores now long gone, and explored what’s there now. Enjoy this video documentary on the changes endured by Stanley Park Mall over the last 30 years…three decades to the week since my hiring at The Beat Goes On!
‘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.
Peter Kerr from Rock Daydream Nation once again broke new ground with some artists who have never been featured on the show, one in particular. Quite a few stonkers! There may or may not have been a “Little” drama, regarding whether or not I bribed Judge Reed when we did our Vinnie Vincent episode. The jury is out.
All the way from Birmingham Alabama, 1st timer John Clauser from My Music Corner gave us a sneak peak at that new 7 Savage W.A.S.P. set with one of his picks. Johnny definitely brought the metal! Thank you so much for coming on, John — we will do it again.
Robert Daniels from Visions In Sound brought a couple soundtracks, of course, but he was not the only one tonight. He also picked a “royal” one that I liked a lot. Thanks Rob for celebrating tonight.
Tim Durling from Tim’s Vinyl Confessions had 8 tracks, 7″ vinyl, and Canadian content – the trifecta! He also gets bonus points for poking Jex Russell in the side with his #1 pick.
Harrison the Mad Metal Man represented Australia with the majority of his picks. He also audibly laughed when I announced my #1 pick, and the proof is on video and I might just have to make a loop of it and play it on repeat.
Tee Bone Erickson, our music guru, submitted an “Ask Mike” question at the top of the show, and probably his best video for us yet: in the guise of “Sammy Hagar”! Tee Bone also submitted his own unique Top Five list: Top Five Van Halen songs with “One” in the title, in chronological order! He also asked Mike to list his Top Three Van Hagar songs, which I did.
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!
Show #31, Aug 11 2023, featured another Nigel Tufnel Top Ten list! Harrison said to me, “I think we need to get Rob Daniels back on.” Rob said “OK! How about TV Show Themes?” With Harrison and Rob, we counted down our Top 11 Themes. List shows are proven to be popular, but this one was really cool. Jex Russell sent in his own list to read, and we had minimal crossover. You’ll be shocked to learn that Star Trek ranked high on my list. For “Ask Harrison”, we featured the debut of musician Jazz King asking the question!
This was a very busy period, and I had no choice to take some time off the show so I could do some other significant collaborations.
Show #32, Sept 1 2023, allowed me to bring on Rock Daydream Nation’s Peter Kerr for the first time. Also for the first time: two Australians in one show! The topic, chosen by Harrison, was What Bonus Tracks Should Have Been on the Album? A very popular list show, this one also had Jex Russell on board. Peter shared the link far and wide which helped with the views. I personally think it’s one of the best lists we’ve ever done. Lots of love for Black Sabbath here. We also unboxed the second edition of Tim Durling’s book, Unspooled! You can get yours on Amazon right now.
Show #33, Sept 8 2023, was another personal favourite. It took place on the cottage porch on a beautiful afternoon, with Jex Russell! The subject this time, in honour of Durling’s second edition, was music books! I hauled up to the lake a huge box of my music books, hardcover and softcover alike, signed and unsigned: Sean Kelly, Martin Popoff, Michael D. LeFevre, Robert Lawson, Dale Sherman, Neil Peart, Aaron Lebold, and so many more! Jex didn’t have any of his books on hand, so instead we ran an old video from his YouTube channel CineBrosSupreme featuring his collection.
Show #34, Sept 15 2023, featured a first-timer! All the way from Ramsgate UK came interviewer and soundtrack specialist Jason Drury! I’ve been trying to work with Jason on a live show for over three years, but the time zones made that difficult. Finally, he was back in Canada and we got him on board with his friends Rob Daniels and Erik Woods. For Erik, it was his first time on the new show as well! Harrison joined us for a fun discussion about Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and more. Jason provided his Nigel Tufnel Top Ten Star Wars movies (basically ranking them all in order) to go with the lists that the rest of us did in 2022. It was wonderful to finally get to chat with Jason in real time. Another very popular show.
At this point, my hair was getting unruly. I hadn’t cut it since March and it was time. Therefore, I planned a stunt. A repeat stunt albeit, but a stunt indeed: I shaved my head live on the show!
Show #35, Sept 22 2023, came as a surprise to Kevin the Mars Man who was not informed in advance of my shenanigans! All he knew was that we were doing another list show: Top Five Bald Artists! Harrison couldn’t attend this afternoon cottage show, but I honoured him by putting Blaze Bayley at the very top of my list. Kevin and Jex also brought awesome lists. Importantly, we spotlighted the courage it takes for an artist to go bald publicly, like Joe Lynn Turner did.
Show #36, Sept 29 2023, was a night off for me! I relaxed at the cottage while Jex and Harrison went “LeBrainless” again! Harrison wanted to get the show “back to basics”. Grabbing and showing off stacks of rock! I popped on at the very end to show off my Aerosmith Greatest Hits 6 CD set from Japan, which took a healthy critiquing. Jex and Harrison showed off some Twisted Sister, Paul Di’Anno, Alice Cooper, Concrete Blonde, Slade, Judas Priest and a batch of DVDs. A lot of interesting items in this stack of rock.
Show #37, October 6 2023, was largely in honour of Eddie Van Halen who we lost three years prior to the day. John Snow had his new Hagar Years box set on hand. Tim Durling and Rob Daniels also joined Harrison and I, with rare books, 7″ picture sleeves, rare soundtracks, and…José Feliciano!? You never know what you will see on Grab A Stack of Rock!
Show #38, Oct 13 2023, was a special one to commemorate Friday the 13th! Harrison, Rob and I were joined by Peter Kerr for our Top Five Songs about Monsters. We chose actual classic monsters, and some metaphorical monsters as well. Jex Russell had a written list, as did John Snow. Greed, addiction, werewolves, space aliens and more! We hope you like our choices. We tried to go outside the box and bring you songs you might not have thought of yourself, though Ozzy and Alice were expected and did appear!
Show #39, Oct 21 2023, was the third LeBrainless episode, at a special time. Jex had spent the day with Tim Durling at a Record Faire. Meanwhile, Harrison had recently attended a record show too. On a Saturday night, with Aaron “Mr. Books” on hand, the pair showed off some of their recent finds. There was some cool stuff here, on CD, cassette, DVD and vinyl. I came on at the very end to unbox the new Sven Gali Bombs and Battlescars, and a disc by Toronto’s Evil Elvis! A fun way to finish off the last cottage weekend of the season
…And that’s it for recapping, as we look towards the future. We have lots planned, and no intention to quit this time.
Our one-year anniversary happens to coincide with Show #40, October 27 2023. One year before (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 of our week for the last year. I can’t wait to see what another year will bring.
We started out as a casual gathering, 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! Tim Durling, Peter Kerr, Rob Daniels and Harrison will also be back.
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!
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