Hey, what's up everybody? It's rock and roll
comedian Don Jameson, and right now you're listening
to the heaviest, girthiest podcast of my weekly
mixtape with Brian Colburn, Crank It. Welcome
to My Weekly Mixtape, a podcast that takes the
classic mixtape approach to building a modern
playlist. I'm your host, Brian Colburn. You might
know tonight's guest curator from his long -running
14 -season run on VH1 Classic's That Metal Show
or his work from Inside the NFL, That Jameson
Show, or That Rocks. I'm excited to welcome the
hysterically funny musical mastermind. Don Jameson
to the program. Don, thank you so much for joining
me, man. Wow. Okay. What an intro. I hope I can
live up to all that hype. I will do my best though.
And I'm excited to be here with you today. We're
gonna have some fun. We certainly are. And I'd
like to start by asking you the question I ask
all of my first time guests, and that is, what
does the word mixtape mean to you? Well, It means
that there's still a box of them in my storage
unit that I cannot part with for the life of
me. And, you know, I've cleaned out so much clutter
over the years. You know, I did what a lot of
people did too during COVID, which is go through
everything and just get rid of the clutter. And
I cannot, every time I put that box of cassettes,
you know, at the door to dispose of, I just can
never do it because... I look at it and I go,
oh, there's the body parts mix. That one's too
cool. Or here's the live 80s mix or whatever.
And I'm still attached to them. I don't have
a cassette player. But like vinyl, which I held
on to for years and years, it came back around
again. Although I don't think cassettes are going
to have quite the resurgence that vinyl does.
But if they ever do, I will be ready. You'll
be ready and waiting. I have to tend to agree
with you there. As much as I love cassettes and
hell, the name of my show is based upon it. There
was something about the fidelity where at the
time it was very portable and very useful. But
the portability is now taken care of from streaming.
And the listenability to me is the vinyl or CDs.
Tonight, we're going to be talking 80s metal,
which is kind of a loaded topic because. The
term, quote, 80s metal, unquote, covers a broad
spectrum of music from thrash to glam to industrial
and so much more. What were you looking for in
the songs you're bringing to the table this evening?
You know, I thought of it in a sense of like,
that's, you know, that was my real awakening
with getting into heavy music. You know, I was
just a Kiss fan originally. Kiss, Kiss, Kiss,
and more Kiss. And then as I expanded out, I
started thinking if we're going to make a mixtape,
you know, I want to go back to, you know, some
of the early albums that really shaped, you know,
my musical fabric, you know, or became a part
of my musical fabric and became part of my musical
DNA. And some of the albums that were super important
to me as a young metalhead. So between the two
of us, I think we're going to be able to put
together something that's not only cool to listen
to, but for me, it'll bring back a lot of specific
memories about getting these records for the
first time. Well, let's get down to business
tonight. As I mentioned at the top of the show,
Don and I will be curating the ultimate 80s metal
mixtape, and we'll use the old cassette deck
approach. Don, as my special guest, will begin
Side A with his first song choice, and then I'll
add a song that I feel best follows up that choice.
We'll then flip -flop choosing songs until we've
mapped out 10 songs for Side A. We'll then give
our mixtape a proverbial flip. And we'll map
outside. Be only this time, I'll kick things
off with Don choosing second. Our overall goal
for the episode is to craft the best 80s metal
mixtape possible through only 20 songs. At the
end of the show, you can take our conversation
to the next level by visiting the episode page
at myweeklymixtape .com to give our final mixtape
a listen. via the embedded playlist. And if you
like what you're hearing on the show, you can
help me out by either telling a friend, leaving
the show a five -star review wherever you're
tuning in, or becoming a Patreon mixtaper at
patreon .com forward slash myweeklymixtape. There
you can enjoy ad -free episodes of the show,
become a future guest, and so much more. And
a few of the Patreon mixtapers chimed in with
songs they would use to kick off an 80s metal
mixtape, and they did not disappoint. Tom Hutchinson
chimed in with Judas Priest's Screaming for Vengeance
and Iron Maiden's Wasted Years. Chad LaMassa
chimed in with Metallica's Hit the Lights. David
Owens chimed in with Striper's To Hell with the
Devil. Seeker chimed in with Iron Maiden's Run
to the Hills. Ben from the Too Vague podcast
chimed in with Alda Nova's Fantasy. Philip Bergman
chimed in with Ozzy Osbourne's Crazy Train. Sean
Goff chimed in with Anthrax's Among the Living,
while also bringing up the fact about how bummed
he was that Persistence of Time came out in 1990.
because he would have gone with Got the Time.
Love that album. Yes, there's that 89 -90 conundrum
right there at play. And finally, Jennifer Fink
chimed in with Nine Inch Nails, Head Like a Hole,
Jane's Addiction's Mountain Song, and Slayer's
Angel of Death. Once again, if you'd like to
join the Patreon mixtaper family and chime in
for future episodes of the show, you could do
so at patreon .com forward slash myweeklymixtape.
And Don, now that we got those picks from the
Patreon mixtapers out of the way, I would like
to officially press the record button on our
mixtape and turn the mic over to you. What song
are you choosing to kick things off tonight?
Oh, okay. Wow. So the first album besides Kiss
that I ever heard was Iron Maiden Killers. That
was where I came in with heavier music, with
metal specifically. And I remember I was living
with my aunt, uncle, spending the summer with
them up in Yonkers, New York. And there was a
record store down the street called Mad Platters.
And I went in there and I'm just looking through
the bins. And, you know, because Kiss was and
is such a visual thing, you know, that's always
been a part of what attracts me to this music
is the visual. And when I saw Iron Maiden Killers,
when I saw that cover, I said. I don't know what
this sounds like. I never even heard it before,
but I've got to buy it and I've got to listen
to it. And when I put it on and I heard the Ides
of March and the Wrathchild, forget it. You know,
all bets were off. So if we can throw something
from the Killers album on here or the First Maiden,
either or, because they're still two of my favorite
Maiden albums, I think that would be a good start.
You get to pick the song. So which one are you
going to go with? Wow. I guess, you know, because
it's the first thing I heard, let's do Wrathchild.
All right. Of course, Iron Maiden was in my list
too. I had my personal favorite Iron Maiden track,
which is from 84's Power Slave, Rime of the Ancient
Mariner. That was the song that, even as a kid,
made me appreciate longer songs because it was
aimed to me, but it was a 13 plus minute track.
You had to be invested in Iron Maiden if you
were going to give them 13 minutes of your time.
Absolutely. And I like that as an end track to
the mixtape. But I think you've got to come out
swinging with something short and something sweet.
And Rathchild does just that. And also at the
end of the day, I could pretty much go with any
maiden here. That's what a great way to kick
things off. But to move on to track two, I'm
going to kick things off with my first pick of
the night with something from one of the big
four, because, you know, we're going to talk
about them tonight. So let's just get one of
those out of the way right off the jump. And
I'm going to start with Anthrax and I'm going
to probably go with something that might be divisive
to some. But it was one of my personal first
introductions to Anthrax. Actually, I lie. My
first introduction to Anthrax was the I'm the
Man single. And coming out of that was State
of Euphoria in 1987. And the opening track, Be
All End All, is such a massive metal anthem to
me. But I should add that I'm not blind to the
fact that that album in a whole sometimes gets
a little maligned from Anthrax fans. But I think
unjustly because Be All End All to me has always
been a classic Anthrax track that I wish they
did live a little more often. It's just one of
my favorites from them. Well, I love you thinking
a little bit outside the box because you could
have went with the obvious. You could have went
with Indians or caught Amash or one of those.
So no, I think you're bringing the hammer down
on our second track there. And I love the pick,
man, thinking outside the box. All right. Following
that up, what do we have next? So now that my
metal world had opened up, I come back to New
Jersey after my summer in Yonkers. with my cousin
and my aunt and uncle. And now I got to find
a new connection, right? Because I don't have
meth platters anymore. So I go to the mall in
my township and I find the guy in the record
store with the long hair. And that's my guy,
you know, because I know this guy must love metal.
And of course he does. And he's the guy that
fed me so many great albums. And the next metal
album that I got from him. Although the singer
of this band always went out of his way to say
they were not metal, but they are still part
of our world. And of course, that is the great
Motorhead. And the album was Bomber. And geez,
that was another one where, you know, I look
at the cover. I see the three of them up in the
bomber on the front. It's visual. I look on the
back. They're the three of the ugliest guys I've
ever seen in bands, which made me even more.
And again, you know, it all came down to putting
the needle into the grooves and cranking it up
and hearing it and going, wow, I love this too.
You know, so here I am, you know, new to the
metal scene and I'm two for two already. So let's
go with, we'll go with Stone Dead Forever off
of this one, I think. Ooh, nice pick. I had the
title track to 1980s Ace of Spades or the opening
track to 1981's live album, No Sleep Till Hammersmith,
Ace of Spades, which I have a feeling we're going
to talk about in a little bit here. But one of
the greatest trios of all time, Lemmy, Fast Eddie
Clark, Phil Taylor. I mean, Motorhead is one
of those bands that I kind of like what you said.
They never quite said they were metal because
if somebody broke out some Motorhead at a punk
concert. the place would lose their mind. Yeah.
If somebody broke out Motorhead at a hard rock
show, people would lose their minds at a metal
show. At the end of the day, I think it's just
safe to say that Motorhead crossed genres. And
I think that's what's so iconic about them, that
they kind of played off of all different genres
of music. And they did them so well that they
kind of had their own name in and of itself,
their own style. And, you know, you're right
about all that. And they were the greatest trio,
not just once, but twice in their long career.
So, you know, just incredible stuff from those
guys. And, you know, obviously, I got to know
Lemmy, you know, a little bit over the years
from him coming on that metal show and seeing
him, you know, backstage at shows. I was telling
the story about buying Bomber for the first time,
you know, going out and cutting lawns when I
was a teenager. And, you know, then that's when
you go to the mall with the money. And I had
to trust this guy to point me in the right direction.
I told him Bomber was, you know, my first Motorhead
album. And he wasn't a huge fan of that album.
Really? You know, he thought that like, I think
they sort of got caught up in like what Anthrax
did going in the state of euphoria. Like, you
know, the previous album was so big. That they
had to sort of, you know, there's a lot of pressure
to get another one out of the same quality as
quickly as possible to capitalize. And he just
thought, he said, I think Bomber has a couple
of clockers on there. But, you know, again, for
me, sentimentally, you know, it's always going
to be up there in my list of favorites from Motorhead.
So, you know, those guys could almost do no wrong
for me. But, you know, yeah, so he specifically
pointed out the... One Fast Eddie Clark sings
on there. It wasn't one of his favorites, but.
Well, I'm actually going to tap into that Fast
Eddie Clark for a second because the next song
I am going to go with. is another Fast Eddie
Clark project. And it's one that I've been a
fan of for so, so long. And being a punk fan
as well, I love blowing Flogging Molly fans'
minds when I tell them that Flogging Molly's
lead singer was the lead singer of an 80s metal
group called Fastway. And I'm going to go with
the title track from their sophomore effort,
84's All Fired Up. As much as I love Say What
You Will and the first album, I feel like...
Going from Rathchild to Be All End All to Stone
Dead Forever, I feel like All Fired Up is a little
bit more in line with the songs we've got so
far. And look, I love Flogging Molly. I love
Fastway. Dave Clark is one of the most diverse.
Singers to be able to go from that metal that
he does to the stuff he does in punk. It literally
sounds like two different people. And I love
the fact that he was able to take his voice and
so seamlessly adapted to the music he was performing,
be it the metal stuff with fast way into the
Irish punk stuff that he did with flogging Molly.
It's something I've always respected about him.
But with that said, Flogging Molly's still out
there kicking ass and taking names and putting
out new music. So I love that fact. Rest in peace
to Fast Eddie Clark, such a hell of a player.
So yeah, all fired up from Fastway to follow
up Motorhead. I love that pic. All fired up.
I just found the great original copy of that
on vinyl over the last few months. I was so excited
because it really is a... Good, good album. It's
a great follow -up to the first album. It didn't
really go anywhere commercially, but I remember
seeing Fastway opening for ACDC. ACDC was on
the Flick of the Switch tour for the three people
who remember that album. And of course, that
album, by the way, I mean, I'm sure your listeners
all know the album, but boy, that album should
have been so much bigger. But anyway, Fastway
and ACDC on that tour together was pretty awesome.
And yes, rest in peace, Fast Eddie. Yeah. And
being you mentioned it, how the hell was Rising
Power not a massive hit for them? It blows my
mind. Guns for Hire, come on. That album is easily
one of their most underrated efforts across their
entire catalog. I would argue it's the third
best from the Brian Johnston era. All right.
We're pivoting here. I have to go down a rabbit
hole for a second. What's your one and two then?
Back in Black and For Those About to Rock. And
without the anthemic For Those About to Rock,
if there was just another just regular song on
there, flick of the switch would easily be number
two, but you know, the power of, for those about
to rock, it just edges it out a little bit, but
that's how much I love flick of the switch. I
think it was the front cover. It was such a terrible
cover. And definitely the music made up for it
though. Yeah. So following up fast way, what
do we got next for track five? So the next album,
I remember my long haired friend at the record
store. turning me onto was 1981's Hard and Heavy
from Anvil, their first album. And that was another
one where I, you know, I never heard of these
guys and these Southern, they're from Canada.
Okay, here we go. We're going global now. We
got, you know, we got Kiss from America, who
I loved, and Motorhead from England, and Iron
Maiden from England, and now Anvil from Canada.
And that was, you know, went home, put it on.
I was like, boy, I'm giddy. This guy's really
got a great pulse on everything that I like.
And so I toured with those guys in 2019, opened
it up for them. And boy, that was, I got to tell
you, man, that was so much fun for people who
have seen the documentary. That was my life every
night on tour. for a month because that is those
guys in a nutshell. Like we'd be backstage hanging
and Rob, you know, Rob and Lips would be going
at it. And I go, I'm literally like living their
documentary right now. And they were awesome,
awesome guys to tour with. So shout out to those
guys. And what are we going to do off of this
one? Let's do, yeah, we'll stick with the opening
track, School of Love. After watching that documentary,
I don't think people realize how influential
Anvil was on metal. And I'm thankful for that
documentary because it really brought their name
back into the dialogue of metal music. I feel
like they just got forgotten. They were just
this lost band. And musically, they did so much
to kind of pave the way. I don't think you get
bands like Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, the Big
Four. without Anvil kickstarting that. Yeah.
And those bands will tell you that too. So, you
know, it was for them, obviously a great resurgence.
They had never stopped. They would continue to
put out albums, but they were working day jobs
as you saw in the dock and everything. And, you
know, I defy anybody to watch that and have a
dry eye at the end of it when they walk out on
stage in Japan and the place is packed at whatever
it was, 11 in the morning. And, you know, the
thing that I took from them, all the ups and
downs over the years, they were then and still
are so grateful that they're able to go out and
do this. And whether there's 100 people in the
crowd or 1 ,000 people, you know, like Lip said
in the doc, it doesn't matter to them. You know,
they came to see a show in Anvil. Every night
I was on tour, them gave 100%. So I love to include
them on this mixtape. Well, following up Anvil,
I'm going to go with one of the bands I just
mentioned. Let's bring Megadeth into the discussion.
I'm going to show a little bass player bias here,
but the opening of Peace Cells and Dave Ellefson's
bass just hits. That was one of those bass lines
that immediately made my ears perk up and like,
oh, I got to pay attention to this. What the
hell is happening here? Because this bass is
driving a metal song. And to me, that was kind
of uncharted territory, at least for me at that
age. Now, if you grew up in the mid to late 80s
and early 90s, if you don't know the song and
you watched MTV News, you know it very much from
the MTV News. You hear it. First, so not only
was this baseline popular in the metal scene
through Megadeth itself, it was also popular
in the mainstream because of MTV running that
MTV news stamp every hour on the hour. People
were hearing that baseline, at least those who
watched MTV a lot like I did growing up. You
heard that baseline over and over and over again.
So yeah, Megadeth, peace sells. I love it. You're
right. I mean. I can't think of another bass
line that really became that iconic. That bass
line became a household name, for lack of a better
term. So yeah, great choice there. And those
guys still, even though it's long been just Dave
Mustaine and friends, he's kept this legacy alive
all these years. But he would certainly never
be able to perform again if he didn't play that
song live. Next one I'm going to go for is, here's
another one straight out of the record store.
So when he gave me this record, he was not only
so excited for me to hear it, he told me if I
don't like it, to scratch it up and bring it
back. And he'll personally give me my money back
out of his pocket. And that was a bold statement,
but I would make the same statement to anybody.
out there uh which is if you don't like riot
fire down under uh you do not like metal you
need to turn in your metallian uh membership
card and uh because fire down under just such
a massive massive album from uh new york's riot
and that um still when i put it on just just
gets me pumped and what song you going with from
it let's go with the title track on that one
Yeah, we'll do Fire Down Under off of this one.
But, you know, nothing bad on that record for
sure. Riot, again, like Anvil, paving the way.
I was born in 1977, so a lot of the 80s metal
that I grew up with, for me, started around 86
and 87. Between... let's say Master of Puppets,
the 590 ADP, and Anjustice for All. My cousins
introduced me to more hard rock stuff growing
up, Scorpions, ACDC. And then as I got a little
older, they said, we think now you're ready.
And that's where they introduced me to Power
Slave and Iron Maiden and Anthrax with I'm the
Man. Because look, your parents can't know you're
listening to this one. Don't rat us out. All
right. Following up Riot. Okay. Let's see here.
Okay. I am going to go with a song that, just
like Motorhead, kind of blurs the lines between
metal and punk a little bit. And this was off
of their 1983 self -titled album. And I don't
even have to say the band name or the song. All
I have to say is all I wanted was a Pepsi. Just
one Pepsi. And she wouldn't give it to me. Just
a Pepsi. Suicidal Tendencies institutionalized.
Taking a very simple chord progression. and turning
it into a metal anthem. You don't have to say
much about this song. It gives you that manic
energy. This was one of those songs that blew
my mind when I first heard it because it invoked
feelings in me that I didn't know existed. Like
you could feel the tension in the lyrics of this
song and Mike Muir's delivery in it. And it always
stood the test of time for me. The fact that
that song is 41 years old right now blows my
frigging mind because... it still sounds just
as fresh as it did in 83. And when they perform
it live, Mike still connects to the energy of
that song. So, I mean, obviously that was a time
in his life where, you know, like a lot of us
at that age, you know, there was a lot of confusing
thoughts going through our brain and we're trying
to figure out how to process them. But I love
that to this day. it's like he's performing it
for the first time again. So I agree. I love
Suicidal. I love Lights, Camera, Revolution.
It is a great album still. That's probably my
favorite Suicidal, but great pick with Institutionalized.
I want to go with, so the first Priest album
I ever heard was probably Unleashed in the East.
But the first, again, the first vinyl that I
picked up was British Steel. And, you know, that's
like, you know, 37 minutes of it's it's the definition
of heavy metal just from top to bottom. Not a
dull moment on that record. Let's change the
pace up a little bit here, Brian. You have my
attention. Let's do the rage because, you know,
we are making a mixtape. So let's mix it up a
little tempo wise. Still a heavy song, but it's
almost like a little priest reggae there. All
right. I had rapid fire from British steel sitting
in my list. Obviously you could go with breaking
the law or, or living after midnight, but yeah,
I love the pick a little bit of a deeper pick
because you're bringing people in with the songs,
you know, and because it's your mixtape, you
can either slide some of your personal favorites
into the mix or use that time to try to expose
your friends or those listening to the mix to
songs that they might not be familiar with. Right.
Well, closing outside a. is the one song that
I predetermined was going in this spot no matter
where we were headed at this point in the mix.
And let me explain. For one, I was hoping you
didn't pick the song before I did. And two, this
was the song that I used to close out more mixtapes
than any other song in my life. And I made countless
mixtapes growing up. including mixtapes for girlfriends
that included power ballads and, you know, the
AOR rock that you would hear hearts alone. And
then going into the nineties boys to men or whatever,
whenever there was tape left at the end of the
side, it doesn't matter what the mix was. It
could have been hip hop. It could have been punk.
I pulled this song from 1985 speak English or
die. I went with storm troopers of deaths, chromatic
death. Any time I guarantee you their ex -girlfriends
from my high school days that if they have a
cassette sitting at their house and they put
it on, it could be some 80s ballad. But if there's
space at the end of the side, my OCD ass made
sure that you were hearing Stormtroopers of Death.
And I got a close side a with that. But wait,
there's more, because. Given that Chromatic Death
ran about 44 seconds in length, sometimes there
was, yes, even a couple of seconds more to go
after that. And I dug deeper into Speak English
or Die and pulled tracks such as Hey Gordy, The
Ballad of Jimi Hendrix, or Diamonds and Rust,
the extended version. I think each of those songs
is under five seconds in length. And if I wanted
to bust one of my friend's balls, I would grab
What's That Noise. just to kind of make their
headphones blow off their face before the side
flipped over. Anyway, just as an homage to my
mixtaping youth. Oh, I love it, man. Good, strong
way to close out the mixtape side. A, and I agree
with you, like if there was any time left on
the end, I would find some little snippet to
put on there. You know, you couldn't have any
wasted tape back then. So I love that you did
that. There you have it, folks. Side A of our
ultimate 80s metal mixtape, which kicked off
with Iron Maiden's Wrath Child, Anthrax, Be All,
End All, Motorhead, Stone Dead Forever, Fastway,
All Fired Up, Anvil, School of Love, Megadeth,
Peace Cells, Riot, Fire Down Under, Suicidal
Tendencies, Institutionalized, Judas Priest's
The Rage, and Stormtroopers of Death. chromatic
death head over to my weekly mixtape .com to
hear all the songs we've discussed in this mix
through the playlist embedded on the episode
page now don your new album no sleep till mcsorley's
is out now and first off i absolutely love the
ode to motorhead on this album including the
cover art which for those of you who haven't
seen it yet is a hysterical photoshopping of
Don on stage with the band during the album cover
shot of No Sleep Till Hammersmith. You went as
far as extending that attention to detail to
the back cover and recreating the photo montage.
Look, man, there's a lot of copyright stuff happening
here. How did you make this happen? Yeah, well,
don't forget about that. I used the logo as well
for my name. Of course, the font, yeah. Well,
you know, the place where I recorded it, is the
oldest pub in New York City. And I've been going
there for decades. It's just a place where you
go with your friends and you sit and you drink
McSorley's ale and you solve all the world's
problems. And I said, that's what I feel like
I'm doing with my material. It's like there's
so much crazy stuff going on in the world and
I'm just trying to make sense of it somehow.
So I said, boy, this would be the perfect place.
So I was in there with some friends. on a Sunday
afternoon and we're having some McSorley's ales.
And I said, man, I got to record a new album
and I'm trying to think of where to do it. And
it just became obvious to me, I should do it
right here. And because all my albums are tributes
to my favorite bands, I did one for Judas Priest
and one for Thin Lizzy and one for Saxon, I knew
Motorhead had to be the next one. So once I thought,
oh, if I could do it in McSorley's, all right,
no sleep. So McSorley's from the classic live
album from Motorhead. I asked the owner if I
could do my album there. And she said, well,
we've never done a show here before. And I go,
that's all right. I got my crew with me, hanging
with me now. We could build a stage. We could
bring a PA system in. I said, how much would
it be to rent the place out? She said, how long
you been coming here? I said, 30 years. She said,
you paid enough. So once I had the location,
once I had the name, then I had to get to work
with my friends in the Motorhead camp. So I emailed
Todd Singerman, their manager, who's a friend
and a great, great fellow. And I asked him, hey,
could I use the Motorhead font? Because I'm going
to do no sleep till mix or release for my next
comedy album. And he wrote back, whatever you
want. So I said, okay. I had a couple more McSurley's
ales and I wrote back, okay, how about the original
artwork from No Sleep to Hammersmith? And he
wrote back, no problem. I'll get it to you. And
I had that all, no copyright issues there. Then
I texted Phil Campbell and asked him if he'd
be kind enough to do the guitar intro for it.
And he responded positively. So thanks so much
to the Motorhead. family for um you know letting
me do this tribute to those guys and i'm just
thrilled with the way it came out i had a chance
to hear the album today before we started recording
and it is absolutely hysterical now mcsorley's
isn't a comedy venue like you said it's an old
irish saloon in new york city the oldest irish
saloon in new york city it's been there since
1854 and this is a venue that one doesn't think
Here's a place for comedy because this is an
old school, sit down wherever you can find space,
sit down with some strangers. You might be drinking
with somebody from across the country, from across
the world. And if you're not drinking, why are
you here? Get out. So how did that environment
and that atmosphere translate to you thinking
this is the place to record my next comedy album?
Yeah, well, that's okay. I mean, it's not, you
know. I like to incorporate the character of
the room into the comedy, my comedy experience
or whatever it is I do. So I love the atmosphere
in there. And I just thought this material would
be perfect in front of beer drinkers and hell
raisers. And it came out exactly the way I wanted
it to, you know, it's, it captures that vibe.
I love the whole old school, you know, vibe of
it. You're right. You sit there, you make friends
from people over the world, and they're your
best friend for a few hours while you sit in
there and hang out and talk. Nobody's looking
at their phones at McSorley's. Everybody's having
a good time. Everybody's talking. People are
singing. I mean, it's a really fun vibe in there.
And yeah, that's why I picked it. I just wanted
to capture the essence of what was going on in
there. And that you did, hopefully nobody was
kicked out during your set. Everyone kept drinking
steadily. Yes, everybody had a reasonable amount
of McSorley's Ale, but we overdid it afterwards.
But during the show, we were very well -behaved
and we got what we needed done there. We were
there to do a job and we got it done. Awesome.
Well, two of my personal favorite forms of entertainment
are music and comedy. And one thing I love about...
your standup bits is you incorporate music discussion
into your standup bits. So I've always wondered,
have you ever had an artist or a band call you
out in either a good or bad way based on one
of your comedy routines? No, I mean, because,
you know, I know a lot of these people and, you
know, you don't, you only make fun of the people
that you love, right? You know, I mean, I'm from
Jersey. That's how we show affection by breaking
the wall. So here. It all comes from a place
of love, and especially on this album, because,
you know, I sort of go through the whole litany
of, you know, phony Hollywood, you know, phony
politicians, you know, all the craziness that
we see on the news every day. And then to wrap
things up at the end, to have the, you know,
quote unquote, happy ending, it comes down to
music. And the whole last part of the album is...
Music is the healer. Music is the uniter. Forget
all these phonies, phony politicians, phony Hollywood.
No, music is the thing that we all look to that
bonds us. And I love that the way I love the
album ends that way because it is. It leaves
you with a nice, good, positive feeling at the
end. Certainly, especially if you're Kelly Clarkson,
listen to the album. As far as this being put
out on Metal Blade Records, like several of your
albums have, as far as I know, and I did some
research into this. the only comedy albums that
have ever been released on Metal Blade are yours
and your That Metal Show co -host Jim Florentine's
albums. How did that relationship come together
being Metal Blade is essentially a metal label?
Well, yes, and it still is. And, you know, getting
on close to 45 years in business. So yeah, to
do my albums with them, absolutely incredible.
You know, that was something else that that same
day in McSorley's that I realized, you know,
my contract had been up. after my first four
stand -up albums. So I emailed them and asked
if they wanted to still do more albums with me.
And again, they came back and said, yeah, so
Brian, in an hour of day drinking, I got all
that stuff done. I got Waterhead on board. I
got Metal Blade on board. I got McSorley's on
board. So it was a very productive hour of drinking
for me. And yeah, it's incredible because Florentine
met Brian Slagle, who's obviously the founder
and owner. of Metal Blade and he told me about
it. He goes, yeah, I'm with Brian Slagle and
he's a great guy and he's going to send me some
Iron Maiden bootlegs and all this stuff. And
I was jealous of Jim. He started dating a hot
girl that I'd been in love with my whole life.
That's how much Brian was a metal hero of mine,
even though he wasn't a musician or he wasn't
in a band. But all the Metal Blade bands over
the years, again, have been such a part of the
fabric. of my life that um to do my albums with
them man is incredible and this is you know stand
about number five with them and it's um it's
just a great partnership so i have to ask because
you had mentioned that you tipped your hat to
saxon and judas priest and motorhead I could
totally see you holding your hand up and tipping
your hat on Don Jamison's Among the Laughter,
playing on Anthrax's Among the Living. Do you
have any other albums on your shortlist that
maybe you're looking to pay homage to down the
road? You know, I think I got to do, I think
the next one has to be an Alice Cooper one. So
if you want to work on a few titles for me, I'd
appreciate it. I love that people all the time
send me or tell me in interviews, They give me
ideas for albums and you egg me on. And then
I keep making these albums, whether people want
to hear them or not, just so I can do tributes
to all my favorite bands. Well, before we get
to Side B, I do have one other question. You
had mentioned opening up for Anvil on their tour.
And I know you had a planned tour with Saxon
that got canceled because of COVID -19. You've
done a lot of standup before groups like Hookers
and Blow, the super group. Now, I'm not a comedian.
So I'm going to ask this from kind of a novice
sense. So my one -on -one apologies in advance
here, but is there a different mindset that you
bring when you're opening for a musical act?
Do you kind of tailor your set to music comedy
when you're going up before a band versus, let's
say, when you were opening for Dice all those
years, you kind of could have opened up with
whatever you wanted. But in this instance, when
you're opening for a band, do you feel like you
have to tailor the set towards music? Well, for
someone who's out of comedy, You really kind
of hit the nail on the head in terms of, yes,
going in front of a rock band, you've got to
bring an opening band energy to what you're doing
comedically. So that's really what I try to do
when I go out. I make all the material just about
music, bands, musicians. I keep it all in the
family so it doesn't seem so weird. Obviously,
I still have some recognition factor from doing
that metal show. Completely weird to the crowd.
But yeah, all those years opening for Dice, where
I really had to get to that microphone as quickly
as possible and get my first joke out, you know,
because Dice's crowds, you know, are so and still
are so intense. You know, if you didn't get to
the mic before someone yelled out, you friggin
suck. You were dead. You might as well just walk
off stage. So it's the same mindset going out
and opening for a band. It's like, boom, just
come out swinging, you know, come out with your
best stuff and put on a show, you know, more
than just a guy talking into a microphone. And
I tell you, man, nine times out of 10 or 99 times
out of 100, people are really open -minded and
supportive of it. And it's been a great part
of my career for the last 15 years and hope to
keep doing it. I hope so, too. With that said,
have you ever thought about doing an album that
was specifically geared to only music material?
Yeah, you know, I have thought about it. And
that's something I would still consider doing.
But, you know, as I always say, when I do sort
of more conventional interviews, I mean, you
know, I know this crowd that I'm talking to now
understands our genre. like we do. But I always
say the packaging and all that stuff, that's
more for me. If people get it, if they understand
that this is a tribute to No Sleep Till Hammersmith,
for example, that's a bonus, right? But what's
on the inside, I do want it to be for everybody.
I want everybody to like what the content is
inside. And now, of course, is there going to
be stuff about... The bands that we love? Absolutely.
It's too big a part of my life to leave out.
So you're always going to get some of that. But
I kind of like, you know, a little bit like Walmart.
There's a little something for everybody in there.
All right. Well, let's move on to Side B. On
Side B, I get to kick things off. And I am going
to go with a song that is going to probably ruffle
some feathers. Because I said when we were talking
about Megadeth that I'm a big fan of bass. I'm
a bass player. And yes, I know the irony that's
going to come from what I'm about to say, but
I'm going to go with an album that I bought at
the Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey.
And I went there looking for the cassette and
they were sold out of this cassette. And I was
heartbroken and devastated. And the guy behind
the counter said, look, we've got a copy on vinyl
and you could buy a blank cassette for 99 cents.
And my mom looked at me and she goes, if that's
the way you want to do it, it's your money. And
I bought a copy of And Justice For All. Now,
being a bass fan, I know the irony that's coming
out of that because there's kind of no bass on
the album. But that said, the first time I ever
dropped a needle on And Justice For All, I heard
the opening to Blackened and it blew my mind.
It's my favorite Metallica song of all time.
I understand the impact of Master of Puppets
and Battery and how I could have went with anything
from that or Ride the Lightning or Kill Them
All. But this was the first Metallica album I
ever purchased with my own money. I still have
it on vinyl. It's framed. It's the original double
LP. I wish every cassette I had ever bought growing
up, they were sold out of and I was forced to
buy the vinyl at the time. If only time would
have let me know. There's really not much I need
to say about Blackened. If you know Metallica,
you know the song. Hell, they named a whiskey
after it. So kicking off Side B, apologies to
the first three albums. We're going with Blackened.
Yeah, that's such a divisive album, you know,
because of the whole thing with the bass and
all that. And, you know, a lot of people would
say, you know, some of the songs are much too
long. It's a little, you know, progressive for
what Metallica was known for before. It's not
one of my favorites, I'll be honest with you.
But I do like opening up the side two with Blackened
because it's, I mean, besides the Black album
and Master, I mean, that's probably their...
That's got to be their third most popular album,
wouldn't you think? I would think so. But I've
made the mistake one time of posting on social
media, pick one of your favorite albums of the
80s. And I put in Justice for All. And I started
getting eviscerated by people. How dare I not
include Master of Puppets or Ride the Lightning
over that? So I'm guessing I might be on a little
bit of an island with this one. All right. Well,
no problem. Again, let's think a little outside
the box. You mentioned, see, I was going to.
I was going to throw a Metallica song on there,
but you beat me to it. The one I wanted to put
on, because we talked about Metal Blade, was
from the first Metal Massacre album, which was
the early days of Brian Slagle creating Metal
Blade. And the first time Metallica was ever
heard on an album, on the very first Metal Massacre
album, they did Hit the Lights on there. And,
um, and with the misspelled Metallica with two
T's and two L's, um, and which I still have that
vinyl to this day, but, uh, we're, we're blackened
and I'll follow it up with a band that you've
mentioned before. It's Saxon, a very important
band in my life. Uh, I'll never forget visiting,
visiting my grandmother in, uh, down in, uh,
Jupiter in Florida. And, uh, she, she knew what,
uh, music fan that I was. And she said, I'll
take you to the mall and I'll buy you any record
you want. And I don't remember how I heard about
it, but Saxon Denim and Leather was newly out.
And I asked grandma to buy that with me. And
she's like, let's sit down and listen to it together.
And she lasted all of about 30 seconds through
Princess of the Night. And I was left alone in
the room to enjoy the rest of it. So let's go
with the track Play It Loud off of that album.
The very rebellious anthem from that record that
I love. That you also paid homage to with Denim
and Laughter, your last album prior to No Sleeve
Till. That's right. And again, used the artwork
with permission from Saxon themselves. And yeah,
that was great. I mean, Biff. broke my chops
about it. He's like, Oh, you, all your albums
are tributes to your favorite bands, but you
don't have a Saxon one yet. And I would never,
I was down in Philadelphia to go see them. And
I said, all right. And we were walking to the
venue together. And I just said, uh, strong,
uh, denim and laughter. And he goes, that's it.
And so, um, I got the okay from, from, uh, Biff
himself. So, uh, that's what we went with. Fantastic.
Well, I'm going to make up for the lack of base
on Metallica with my next pick. And I'm going
to go to the far end of the decade in 1989. Because
1989 and 1990 are one of those. weird errors
in music that i definitely have to look up the
album because there are some albums that i listen
to just using as an example anthrax's persistence
of time patreon mixtaper sean goff chimed in
with that one and again you think that that album
is in the 80s but it was actually released in
1990 and on the flip side of that pretty hate
machine by nine inch nails i always equate that
album as a 90s album but it came out in 89 and
The lack of bass on And Justice For All was certainly
made up for on the title track and opening track
to Testament's 1989 masterpiece, Practice What
You Preach. Greg Christensen's bass is so friggin'
beefy in that mix. That album sounds like it's
got just as much heft as it was released in 2024.
I actually was looking at Souls of Black and
that was one of the ones where Souls of Black
came out in 90, but I always equated it to, I
had to double check which one was 89 and which
one was 90. But Practice What You Preach is such
a massive song. That riff is so, it just pummels
you. And Testament's one of those bands that
when I think about the big four, I always wonder
like, God, they really, I mean, big five, they're.
So iconic as far as I'm concerned. And they did
so much for thrash. I feel like they have to
have a place here tonight. Absolutely. Um, so
let me, let me, I'll follow that one up with
something that's not thrash, but an album that,
uh, the title track is very fast. Um, and I,
I think it'll be an appropriate next track, but
the band crocus and the album headhunter, my
God, what a beast that album is. And that title
track, Just Out of the Gate, you know, you could,
you know, along with early sax and, you know,
some of these bands, you know, they really did
toy with being early thrash, you know, as fast
as they played. And Andel, who we talked about
earlier, is in that group as well. But yeah,
this. Crocus, that album is their masterpiece.
I got to see them probably about five years ago
on the Monsters of Rock cruise and they were
absolutely crushing. And I got to have a few
adult beverages with Mark Staracci afterwards.
And what a terrific guy and was still singing
as well as ever. So I know they retired, which
means they'll be back soon. So Crocus on Headhunter,
the title track. I love that you went with the
album opener. I'm a sucker for album openers.
I talk about it all the time on the show, but
this album entirely is just fantastic. Screaming
in the Night, Eat the Rich, Ready to Burn. I
could have went with any pick, but I love the
fact that you went with Headhunter. And I'm going
to follow that up with another opening track.
And this is going to be another one that, again,
might be a little divisive. I might piss some
people off, but I don't know, at me about it,
I guess, because I still think it's a great song.
And while I could have went with something off
of Operation Mindcrime, there's something about
1986's Rage for Order that just hits the sweet
spot for me with Queensryche. And I'm going to
go with the opening track, Walk in the Shadows.
It's a little progressive. It's got a little
bit of that glam feel to it. And I know that's
where the divisive part of Queensryche comes
into play because they were changing their sound
between the 83 EP and 84 is the warning to where
you get to Operation Mindcrime and Empire. But
I feel like Walk in the Shadows fits perfectly
with the vibe we're going for in this mix. It's
got a little bit of the glam, but a little bit
of the progressive nature. And between Jeff Tate's
ridiculous vocals and Chris DeGarmo's and Michael
Wilton's guitars, I mean, dude, this song just
hits on all cylinders. Yeah, it's just incredible.
I love that song. That's a great, great pick
there. Cool. So, wow. All right. So I'm going
to change gears a little bit. I'm going to throw
in one that you might not be expecting because
you did talk a little bit on the glam side, just
a little hints of it. And a band that obviously
started as a glam band, full on first album,
very much a glam band. But then they went kind
of metal on their second album. And that's Motley
Crue, Shout at the Devil, which is a very metal
album. And I remember, boy, me and my friends
at high school were so confused because we started.
You know, we loved the first record so much,
Too Fast for Love, and we started glamming up
the way we dressed for Motley. And then here
they come back with pentagrams and, you know,
more of an edge to their sound. And probably
still to this day, my favorite Motley album.
And let's keep the heaviness rolling with the
song Bastards. Bastards. All right. I love it.
A Mick Mars masterclass in riffs. I mean, that's
something that I think everybody always, when
they talk about Motley Crue, it's Tommy Lee,
it's Vince Neil. I feel like Mick Mars is the
lifeblood of Motley Crue. The guitar riffs are
so iconic. I had Wild Side in my list. That was
a song that when I played football in high school
and college was my workout anthem. I still love
it. But Bastards, what a great pick. Shout at
the Devil is my favorite all -time Motley Crue
record. It was just so massive and genre -defining.
MTV, with the videos and all that, everything
just came together for Motley right at that time.
And then, of course, tragedy struck not too long
after that. But yeah, that one put them on the
map for sure and made them huge. And I agree
with Nick. It was funny when he came and did
that metal show. We were all so excited because
no one ever heard from Mick over all those years.
And I said to him, you know, do you just not
like doing publicity? He goes, I love doing interviews.
He goes, but I'm in a band with three other guys
who love doing them more than I do. But he created
this accidental mystique about Mick that he was
sort of like this dark wizard, you know, this
dark warlord figure. But boy, you meet Mick Mars
in it. In the first two minutes, you know him.
You're like, wow, this is one of the nicest people
I've ever met in my life. You know, he really
is. And he does love to talk. But, you know,
a lot of competition for publicity in that band.
But yeah, it all worked out. And Mick's still
doing it, which I'm so happy about. You know,
God bless him, man. Mick, I don't know how much
longer we have with him, but he's going to die
with his boots on like Lemmy did. Still making
music and just putting out great stuff. So yeah,
Motley Crue, there you go. One of the best. I
love his guitar work. It's unbelievable. And
I think I'm going to tap into the Mick Mars conversation
here and go with another riff that this one,
again, like Motley Crue, might blur the line
a little bit. Is it more hard rock? Is it metal?
The only thing I... Maybe because James Hetfield
is singing uncredited background vocals on the
track. Maybe that's going to give it a little
bit of an edge into the metal genre, but I'm
going to go to 1988 and the self -titled Danzig
album and my favorite ever Danzig song, Twist
of Cain. John Christ's riff is just frigging
perfect. It's got a little bit of a sludginess
to it, but this is not the Misfits Danzig. This
is an all new Danzig. And this album is just,
such a unique outlier in the entire kind of danzig
legacy from misfits to sam hayne and it might
not be metal per se but i feel like it's got
the metal spirit all throughout the record yeah
oh good this i love the variety on this record
there's i mean there is really is so many cool
different flavors and and tempos and and oh and
that it this really demonstrates the scene that
we love so much which is how diverse it is you
know and how much the more you you kind of broaden
the boundaries of what you listen to the cooler
it's going to be so um i love that pick as well
what do i got left am i closing outside two now
you have two songs left and i have one so okay
So, all right, so we went a little more in the
rock vein. So I'd like to put on an album that
is very underrated. You know, we talked about
the album earlier, Flick of the Switch from ACDC.
This is this band's most underrated album. They're
not metal, but there are some heavy songs on
this album, and it's Aerosmith's Night in the
Ruts. Ooh, wow. I remember being in high school
and I loved, you know, the front cover. They're
all, you know, they're all dressed as coal miners
and then spray painted on the inside on the rocks
is, you know, night in the ruts. And then you
turn it over and it says right in the nuts on
the back. And when you're 15, that's hilarious.
It's still hilarious. I'm 57. Yes. It's still
funny. And I remember Photoshop, I'd had art
class and me and my friends Photoshopped. um,
t -shirts that had the front cover on the front
and then right in the nuts on the back. And,
um, I was not allowed to wear that shirt in school,
but, um, uh, I loved that album. It's, um, it
was at a weird time in their career. Um, you
know, there's like three or maybe even four cover
songs on that album, but, um, you know, that
album still, uh, kicks ass. And I'm going to
go, boy, let's see. What do we want to go for
on that? I mean, we could come right out of the
gate with the opening track on that album. Or
maybe we want to change it up a little bit. Let's
see. I was going to go No Surprise, but let's
go Three Miles Smile. That one's going to work.
I love the fact that we snuck a little Aerosmith
into that mix because my wife has, that's been
her bucket list for 25 years. And we had tickets
to the Prudential Center this past December.
And I got tickets to bring her and my girls to
see the Aerosmith to check it off her bucket
list. And then it got postponed. So this December
we're doing it. It's the gift that keeps on giving.
Two Christmases in a row I get taken care of
here. Coming out of Aerosmith. There's a little
bit of an OCD in me, and it's going to really
show here. I've mentioned three of the big four,
and we can't not talk Slayer. So let's go all
four of the big four. I'm going with Slayer and
Raining Blood. That song, when I first heard
it, it scared me as a kid. I didn't know what
I was listening to. My cousin pulls me aside
and says to me, let me play you something. When
he played the opening to Raining Blood, that
introduced me to the angriest of metal. thrashiest
of metal and i went on to just fall in love with
the group and seasons in the abyss was my first
ever slayer album that i bought with my own money
but i would have never bought it if it wasn't
for rain and blood so and then obviously all
my video game friends know it from guitar hero
as well so they get a kick out of it as well
but raining blood you can't not have it on an
80s metal mix for sure and you know as as i predicted
Slayer back in action after saying they will
never play together again. But I always say the
same thing with these artists. It's like, you
can announce all the farewell tours you want.
I'll still be there when you come back. Because
I know they always think it's over, but it never
really is. And guess what? If there's a demand
for it and they can still play at a high level,
there's no reason not to do it. And I'm psyched
because what I'm hearing from Kerry King's new
solo stuff sounds great. Oh, my God. It's great.
What a band he put together. And we still have
Slayer. So it's a win -win for me. All right.
I got to close out strong here. Take us home.
Man, you know, it was tough between this artist's
first two albums because they were back to back
pretty quickly within, I think, eight or nine
months of each other. But I think I'm going to
go with the closing track from the Diary of a
Madman album and Ozzy Osbourne. Uh, boy back
from the dead, um, you know, unceremoniously
kicked out of Sabbath, you know, Ronnie deal
comes in and man, obviously I could have picked
anything off of heaven and hell, but, um, you
know, being a fan of Sabbath from the early days,
being scared, uh, you know, shitless, if I can
say, um, if I can already said it, but, um, from
the song black Sabbath and, uh, you know, obviously.
Being such a fan of Ozzy, his masterpiece to
me still to this day is Diary of a Madman and
the song Diary of a Madman, which I only saw
him play once ever live. He actually opened with
it on an OzFest. And I don't know who talked
him into doing that. But man, I still remember
just how excited I was that he was actually doing
Diary of a Madman. So I think that's a pretty
cool way to close out. The weekly mixtape today.
Could not agree more. There you have it, folks.
Side B of our ultimate 80s metal mixtape, which
kicked off with Metallica's Blackened, Saxon
Play It Loud, Testament Practice What You Preach,
Crocus Headhunter, Queensryche Walk in the Shadows,
Motley Crue Bastards, Danzig Twist a Cane, Aerosmith
Three Mile Smile, Slayer Raining Blood. and Ozzy
Osbourne, Diary of a Madman. Head over to myweeklymixtape
.com to hear all the songs we've discussed in
this mix through the playlist embedded on the
episode page. So Don, No Sleep Till McSorley's
is out right now. What do you have planned to
support the album for the rest of this year and
beyond? Just out, you know, doing live dates,
you know, no formal tour or anything. So, you
know, people can follow me. on my social media,
at Real Don Jameson on X, and Don Jameson Official
on Instagram and Facebook. And I don't know if
I'm allowed to say anything, but I'm coming soon
to a very popular podcast network that you might
actually be a part of. I might be familiar with
that network. So hopefully if all goes well,
I will be coming over and being a part of the
Pantheon podcast family. And I could not be more
excited about that. So hopefully you'll be seeing
more of me or hearing more of me right here.
Well, this has been an absolute pleasure, man.
Thank you so much for coming on and having this
conversation with me. It's been an absolute blast.
Dude, thank you so much. That was such a fun
and creative thing to do and really appreciate
the support and the good words. So let's do it
again sometime. And remember, Mixtapers, you
can find My Weekly Mixtape on almost all the
social media haunts at My Weekly Mixtape. You
can also head to MyWeeklyMixtape .com to check
out the full catalog of My Weekly Mixtape episodes.
And finally, if you like what you're hearing
on the show, you can help me out by either telling
a friend, leaving the show a five -star review
wherever you're tuning in, or becoming a Patreon
Mixtaper at Patreon .com. forward slash My Weekly
Mixtape. There you can enjoy ad -free episodes
of the show, become a future guest, and so much
more. That's all for this week. Thanks again
for listening, and until next time, enjoy the
tunes.