CGCM Podcast

Please have your boarding pass and travel documents ready. It's time to travel "Around The World In 80 Episodes". This time up, the Canadian Geeks are off to Italy.  Widely known for it's delicious food, excellent wine but also for an enormous amount of amazing hard rock and heavy metal. Wallygator and The Meister deliver a long list of mind blowing Italian facts. More importantly they uncover some incredible rock and metal music. As always, the Meister shares tales of his globe trotting trips including watching world cup soccer at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, interesting plumbing issues and the lovely scent that permeated one Italian city. Facts about wealthy cats, volcanoes, artists' feces and some unusual laws kill some time as does a conversation about the most incredible fact about Italy! It seems they have a wine fountain that provides free vino for all!!! Did we also mention there is some killer tunes?

So a while back the Canadian Geeks devised yet another stupid idea to randomly select some music to play. Based on the Milton Bradley game "Battleship".  The Meister's massive music collection plays the part of the ocean. Secretly, before the start of the game he wrote down the co-ordinates of the hidden fleet of battleships. Wallygator yells out co-ordinates attempting to hit one of the randomly placed battleships. Each co-ordinate uncovers one of the Meister's albums. From there they randomly pick a tune to play. Quite simply it's an excuse to drink and play some tunes.  So far, Wallygator has yet to actually hit one of the Battleships but part 5 might just be day. Truth be told, he doesn't really care one way or another. His real agenda is to actually uncover some embarrassing secret skeletons in the Meister's closet. Abba? Beiber? Streisand? Yanni? His massive country collection? One of these days the Meister's secrets will be revealed via Battleship!

It was almost 4 years ago when the Canadian Geeks embarked on the "Battle Of The Playlists". It's a competition of epic proportions. The Geeks each prepare a 6 song playlist of songs that were released in the calendar year they are battling.  Each playlist is played uninterrupted in it's entirety. Identified as simply playlist "A" and playlist "B". You the listener will have no idea which playlist was created by which host. It's all about the music and nothing to do with which host is better looking. Good thing because Wallygator makes a damn sexy David Lee Roth on the show's artwork this time! The rules are simple. Listen to the show and then head over to the our CGCM Radio Facebook Group page and cast your vote for the playlist you dig the most. This battle is #9 in the bigger war that is being waged. So far the score is tied 4 - 4 with only 3 more battles left to decide the Champion in this Decade of Decadence!

Twenty-twenty brought forth the Age Of Fear! No, I am not talking about the Covid 19 global pandemic. I am not talking about the deadly virus that turned our world upside down in 2020. I am referring to Storm Force's release, "The Age Of Fear". Storm Force hails from Niagara Falls of the Great White North. Turns out that good friend of the station Greg Fraser (Brighton Rock, Fraze Gang) was looking to create a new vehicle for his music. In 2019, he quietly went about recruiting his next project and Storm Force was born. Hand selecting his new bandmates, Patrick Gagliardi (vocals), Brian Hamilton (drums) and Mike Berardelli (bass), this new band got to work creating the Age Of Fear! After first listen CGCM fell in love with the Age Of Fear! Plans for this interview were brewing in early 2020 and then of course the world hit the pause button. In the shadow of the global pandemic, Storm Force was yet to actually play a single live show! They say timing is everything. Thanks Covid, now please go away! As it turned out the Age Of Fear went on to be named CGCM Radio's Number One Album of 2020! Although we would have preferred to conduct this interview properly over beers and ideally at a live show, we just couldn't wait any longer. We couldn't wait any longer and used the pandemic technology of ZOOM to finally sit down with the guys.

Part 2 of the CGCM Rock Radio Kickin Valentina Takeover!

Remember when Kickin Valentina kidnapped CGCM's Buzzsaw Beaver and then took over the station? We sure do! Here are the highlights...

Tonight is the final instalment in our Top Albums of 2020 here at CGCM Radio. You have already heard Wallygator and the Meister's Top Tens. The DJ's at CGCM Radio have all produced their own individual Top Ten shows. So all that is left to do now, is to take a deep dive into the lists from the NON-DJ staff.  With so many albums up for consideration this year, there is no doubt that the Canadian Geeks likely missed something. That is why the Team Top Tens has now become an annual tradition.  Our team here at CGCM Rock Radio are as musically obsessed as Wallygator and the Meister. They volunteer their services writing articles, reviewing albums, photographing shows (when we had shows!) and assisting us with other tasks behind the scenes. We would not be where we are today without them and this show is just a small thanks to our entire team for all that they do. Every year they uncover something we completely missed!

Looking back at the year 2020, there is certainly lots to discuss and reflect upon. A year of challenges is an understatement. A year of political turmoil it certainly was. It was also, a year of amazing music being released around the globe. Grab a cold one, make yourself comfortable and join the Canadian Geeks in this annual tradition. Wallygator and the Meister dive in and countdown their personal top ten albums of the year 2020. It was reported by one of the CGCM staff that over 600 rock and metal albums were released this year. So a top ten finish is quite an accomplishment. Hours and hours of painstaking deliberation and bleeding ear drums have gone into each of these lists. Consider this part one of our deep dive into the music of last year. Please join us next week for part two as we deliver the Team Top Tens! Rock is alive and well on the CGCM airwaves.

"Why would you ever name your band that?!?" One of the most difficult tasks in any bands history is deciding upon a band name. A carefully chosen band name can effectively describe the music within. Combine that with a well crafted logo and it becomes a complete marketing tool. Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth. You pretty much know exactly what to expect before placing the needle in the groove. Then there is the "use the artist name approach". Van Halen, Dokken and Dio. Simple but effective. Sometimes, however a band decides upon a moniker that simply misses the mark. Obviously just like music, the effectiveness of a band's name is purely subjective. That said, there are band names out there that are just simply unfortunate. You could also use the adjectives "wrong", "offensive" or "wimpy" or just plain "dumb" Sometimes it seems band names are chosen for simple shock value. "Aborted Hitler Cock" or what about an order of "Menstrual Pancake". Lastly, who could ever forget the delightful tones of "Brutal Sphincter".

Let's get ready to rumble! A battle has been raging for over three years and it continues tonight. It was the decade of decadence. The golden era of hard rock and heavy metal. A decade where the greatest music went mainstream and ruled the airwaves and charts across the world! In April 2017, the "Battle of the Playlists" began. The hosts secretly create a 6 song playlist of songs that were released during the year of battle. This time it's 1987.  Both playlists will be played in their entirety. Identified simply as Playlist A and then Playlist B. You wont know which list belongs to the Meister and which on belongs to Wallygator. After the show you can head over to the facebook page and vote for which playlist you enjoyed the most. Your votes will determine the winner. Voting will close midnight New Years Eve!  For those that are keeping score 1986 was taken by the Meister. Wallygator was unimpressed that he lost to a playlist that featured Europe's The Final Countdown. "Total cheeseball, overplayed rubbish" was his comments upon hearing the news. This victory moves the Meister into the lead with the running score; The Meister - 4    Wallygator - 3

The boys are back for round 4 of Battleship here at the CGCM Podcast. What is CGCM Battleship you ask? It is just one of the many idiotic ideas that the Canadian Geeks have come up with to randomly play some great music. In the Milton Bradley game (that was debuted in 1967), the objective is to fire blindly at the opponents navel fleet. Hitting and sinking all of the enemies ships wins the game.  Wallygator calls out random coordinates in an attempt to locate the enemy ships. Each and every coordinate uncovers a different CD from the Meister's collection. We then play a random song from the selected album. In the first 3 parts, Wallygator has yet to locate a single ship. Will the Meister finally yell "you hit my battleship!"?

"All right, Cincinnati, it is time for this town to get down! You've got Johnny... Dr. Johnny Fever, and I am burning up in here! WHOA! We ALL in critical condition babies, but you can tell me where it hurts, 'cause I got the healing prescription here from the big 'KRP musical medicine cabinet! Now I am talking about your 50,000-watt intensive CARE unit, babies! So just sit right down, relax, open your ears REAL wide and say "Give it to me straight, doctor, I can take it!" I almost forgot, fellow babies... BOOGER!" This week the Canadian Geeks salute one of the greatest television sitcoms of all time, WKRP in Cincinnati. The show ran for 4 seasons (1978-1982) and followed the staff of a fledgling rock and roll radio station. The ensemble cast unknowingly influenced a couple of Canadian Geeks who years later would meet, become friends based on a love of music and then launch their own internet radio station. CGCM Radio - "What Rock Radio Should Be". Tonight's episode celebrates the show and its loveable characters and features some of the music that was heard on the airwaves of the mighty WKRP! Open You Ears Real Wide!

June 1st, 2020 will go down in the annals of music history as the birth of CGCM Radio. The motto "What Rock Radio Should Be!" is the philosophy  that bonds the entire CGCM team. A team of misfit geeks determined to create the ultimate hard rock radio station.  From the word go, the first wave of radio shows came to life. Shawn "Animalize" Irwin is one of the DJ's spreading the disease of hard rock and heavy metal. You can catch his own show every Tuesday night at 8pm EST (with repeats Thursdays at 4pm and Saturday's at 4am EST).  Tonight on the podcast it's time to "Meet the DJ" and learn more about Shawn and his show. The Canadian Geeks fire some hard hitting questions his way and of course there will be some hard rock and heavy metal music all selected by Shawn himself. So grab a cold Trooper beer and let's get to know CGCM's Tuesday night host...

October is most definitely the most rock n roll month of the year. There isn't really any scientific proof to that statement but let's face it you cant add ROCK to any other month quite as effectively. June? March? Nope ROCKTOBER it is and the Canadian Geeks are here to celebrate all that is October. Over the years many, many great albums were released in the month of Rocktober. Wallygator and the Meister dig into some of these albums. Also Wallygator digs up some interesting rock and roll facts that went down in this, the tenth month of the longest year of our lives. As the pandemic continues to suck all the fun from 2020, we might as well curl up with CGCM Radio and grab an ice cold Trooper Beer and a shot of Cloven Hoof Rum and listen to a couple idiots fight and play some great tunes! Stuff like Motorhead, Hellsmoke, Def Leppard, Pretty Boy Floyd, Accept, Diamondhead and more!!

Wallygator and the Meister continue this week with Part 2 of their virtual trip of Sweden. There is just so much amazing music coming from Sweden that one episode was just note enough. So, the Canadian Geeks extended their visit. Be prepared! This was the second episode recorded in the same evening. Usually when this happens the massive quantities of beers usually kick in during the second episode. This night was no exception. As always the show kicks off with a couple of DITD tracks before diving head first into nothing but Swedish hard rock and heavy metal! You will hear another dozen killer tracks and learn that Chris Laney has his hand in almost all Swedish rock and metal. Wallygator breaks out some interesting facts courtesy of the new found website "Kick Ass Facts.com". Drunken ridiculousness and uncontrollable laughter follows. Sweden Part Deux...

It's another virtual trip for the Canadian Geeks as Wallygator and the Meister continue on with "Around The World In 80 Episodes". This time out they board the CGCM hot air balloon and set sail for the far off land of Sweden.  As usual, the geeks take turns choosing music from bands that hail from the chosen country. As it turns out, Sweden is a flaming hotbed of amazing hard rock and heavy metal music. It was soon decided that there was too much music for one episode! Sweden would simply require 2 parts to even scratch the surface.  Wallygator comes equipped with a crap ton of Swedish facts and the Meister surprisingly holds back from singing any Abba Karaoke and instead concentrates on uncovering some of the more lesser known Swedish hard rock and metal acts. Buckle up people, it's about to get loud!

B - 27! You sank my Battleship! The Canadian Geeks never cease to come up with weird and stupid ways to shoehorn songs into the podcast. This is actually one of the fun ones. In a play on the Milton Bradley board game, Wallygator attempts to sink the Meister's battleships. Instead of the game board he is selecting co-ordinates from the Meister's library of over 8000 albums. With that many albums it is sort of like finding a needle in a haystack but that's ok. It's not really about the ships, it's about the songs he randomly uncovers. Every attempt randomly identifies an album and then a song is played from it. You never know what might be uncovered. As we continue to live through the year of the Covid, we could all use a little musical distraction. With battleship you might get some classic metal, thrash or sleaze. On the other hand, you might get Abba, disco or even Christmas music! One thing is for sure it won't be boring as the Geeks return to actually record in the same studio! It's ok they now have CGCM Radio masks so it's socially distanced podcasting at it's finest!

Welcome everyone to the 116th episode of the CGCM Podcast. This week, the Geek’s resume the “Battle of the Playlists!”. This concept for this actually started back before the launch of the podcast over 3 years ago and it debuted back on episode #3. This week, Wallygator and the Meister battle it out for the year 1986 in the quest to crown a champion from the decade of decadence! The concept is simple. Each of the host creates their own 6-song playlist comprised of songs released in the chosen year. You the listener have no idea which playlist belongs to who. Which playlist do you like the best?  The listeners get to decide the winner simply by voting for which playlist that they like best. Visit the CGCM Podcast Facebook page and cast your vote! For those keeping score, the geeks are now ties up at 3 each, so 1986 could turn out to be pivotal in this epic contest. You have only 2 weeks to get your vote in and help decide who will win the battle for 1986! There will be 4 more playlist battles and the grand champion will then be crowned.

The Canadian Geeks have come up with yet another ridiculous idea. It seems they continue to come up with ridiculous ways of selecting music to enjoy on the show. It worked out pretty well the first time, so let's do it again! In a spin off of the “six degrees of Kevin Bacon” , episode #115 delivers SIX DEGREES OF HEAVY METAL PART 2! Wallygator came up with the idea early one morning. That lead to an expletive filled phone call as he attempted to explain the intricacies of how the episode would unfold. The planning for this episode would have made for very entertaining show in of itself. The concept is really simple. The geeks used Wally’s Ipod to randomly select the starting song. The metal gods randomly selected “Feel Your Love” from Van Halen! Thanks goodness it didn’t select something from Wallygator’s secret Banarama collection. From there each geek had to select a song that somehow connected to Van Halen's "Feel Your Love" From there Wallygator had to connect the Meister‘s selection and the Meister had to connect Wallygator‘s. The process continues until there were 12 songs all interconnected. They kept their “connections” a secret and were revealed during the recording. How does Autograph's "Turn Up The Radio" connect to Vince Neil's "Your Invited But Your Friends Can't Come" ? You will soon find out right here.

"We're not worthy! We're not worthy!" Jut like the scene in Wayne's World, the Canadian Geeks still buzzing about Iron Maiden Beer Canada coming on board as the Official Beer Sponsor of CGCM Radio. So they decided a huge salute to one of the most influential and legendary heavy metal bands of all time was in order.  So, as a special thank you to all of the fine folks at Iron Maiden Beer Canada, this celebration of all things Iron Maiden is dedicated to you! Things get started with a pair of beer themed Dick in the Dirt Tracks before moving into a set of opening acts. Three bands that have opened up for Iron Maiden that are near and dear to our hearts. From there we dive into some Iron Maiden songs covered by some other bands and then we dive into some music that feature members of Iron Maiden both past and present. Then of course it's the headliners themselves as we feature some tracks from the band of the hour. Up The Irons! It's Iron Maiden!!

Time to go around the world! Well, not exactly. In fact, we can't really go anywhere as we continue to deal with the various lock downs of the global pandemic. Ain't no Covid going to stop the Canadian Geeks from delivering another episode. It's been a while since they went to China. Next up? The United States Of America! Part TWO! Land of the free, home of the brave. The land of milk and honey and the home of the American dream. It's time to turn the spotlight on the music from the good old U.S. of A! Since there is simply an insane amount of hard rock and heavy metal music from America, the boys decided to crisscross the US somewhat methodically. They split the States in half alphabetically. This week they swapped sides alphabetically. The Meister had to pick 6 bands from 6 different States, but this time from the back half pf the alphabet (Montana - Wyoming). Wallygator had to select his 6 from the opposite side, (Alaska - Missouri) again avoiding the States that the Meister picked in part 1. At the end a total of 24 different States have been represented here in Around The World In 80 Episodes. So grab an ice cold Trooper Beer (you didn't expect us to drink American beer did you?) and kick back with some American Metal!

Time to go around the world! Well, not exactly. In fact, we can't really go anywhere as we continue to deal with the various lock downs of the global pandemic. Ain't no Covid going to stop the Canadian Geeks from delivering another episode. It's been a while since they went to China. Next up? The United States Of America. Land of the free, home of the brave. The land of milk and honey and the home of the American dream. It's time to turn the spotlight on the music from the good old U.S. of A! Since there is simply an insane amount of hard rock and heavy metal music, the boys decided to crisscross the US somewhat methodically. They split the States in half alphabetically. The Meister had to choose 6 bands from the first half. He had to choose between Alabama and Missouri.  Wallygator had to select his 6 from the last half. Montana to Wyoming. This way they could represent more States and no fear of duplicating bands. So grab a frosty cold one, (You don't mind if we pass on the inferior American beer?) and enjoy a trip across America. Next episode, they will switch sides and literally crisscross the country.

Welcome everyone to CGCM Radio. Yes we just said RADIO! Episode #111 of the CGCM Podcast is the first ever episode to be broadcast on your new favourite radio station. CGCM Radio - "What Rock Radio Should Be". The Canadian Geeks deliver a radio themed episode each selecting songs that either contain the word radio in the title, or at the very least have a radio theme. The Meister took this exercise literally. He actually came up with six songs all titled simply, "radio".  I suppose and explanation is in order here. Sometime back in mid March the Meister came up with the insane idea of CGCM Radio. He called Wallygator who upon hearing the idea responded with, "are you fucking high?". After some laughs they decided to actually take a serious look into what exactly was involved in starting their own station. They then brought the idea to the staff at www.cgcmpodcast.com to see if any of the writers wanted to be involved in being a part of the station. Wallygator and the Meister thought that if 2 or 3 of the staff came on board then CGCM Radio might just be doable. They were met with overwhelming support and enthusiasm from the team.  They got to work behind the scenes and put together a master plan. While the world was in a state of lockdown watching Tiger King, the Canadian Geeks were building a radio station. They set the launch date of June 1st and they toiled away. Many hours, late nights and lots of beers later CGCM Radio - What Rock Radio Should Be was born. 3 Ways you can listen to CGCM Radio Go to http://www.cgcmpodcast.com click play on the embedded player near the top of the page and crank it up! Our pop out player is found right here...http://player.live365.com/a81635 Go to http://www.live365.com search for CGCM Radio, hit play and crank it up! Download the LIVE365 App for your iphone or android, search CGCM Radio and crank it up!

The Canadian Geeks have come up with yet another ridiculous idea. It seems they continue to come up with ridiculous ways of selecting music to enjoy on the show.  In a spin off of the "six degrees of Kevin Bacon" , episode #110 delivers SIX DEGREES OF HEAVY METAL!  Wallygator came up with the idea early one morning. That lead to an expletive filled phone call as he attempted to explain the intricacies of how the episode would unfold. The planning for this episode would have made for very entertaining show in of itself.  The concept is really simple. The geeks used Wally's Ipod to randomly select the starting song. The metal gods randomly selected "Mean Streak" from Y&T! Thanks goodness it didn't select something from Wallygator's secret Banarama collection. From there each geek had to select a song that somehow connected to Y&T's Mean Streak. From there Wallygator had to connect the Meister's selection and the Meister had to connect Wallygator's. The process continues until there were 12 songs all interconnected. They kept their "connections" a secret and were revealed during the recording. How does UFO connect to Kiss's Crazy Nights? You will soon find out right here.

Back to back Riot Radio anyone? As another week of isolation, social distancing and cancelled concerts at least we have the CGCM Podcast. Wallygator takes the DJ seat for an hour's worth of hard hitting rock and metal. That is until he dumps a set of syrupy rock ballads to simply annoy his co-host. Welcome to episode #109 of the CGCM Podcast and volume 23 of the Riot Radio series. During this episode Wallygator reveals that he had no plan, theme or message to this week's show. Looking at the tracklist however, we are not so sure that he isnt trying to tell us something.

Well, here we are again for the 22nd Riot Radio. This time Meister guides you, our valued listener through a 12-pack of some new groovers in his ears of late. Set up as double shots, that's six bands at two songs each for a rippin' episode of new tunes that Meister says "you all need to hear"! Here is CGCM PODCAST EP#108-Riot Radio Vol 22 (Meister). If this happens to represent your first Riot Radio, welcome! The Riot Radio concept: Every other week CGCM brings you a podcast episode with less talk and more rock. Terrestrial radio has become homogenized. Satellite radio falling to the same fate. Remember the days when radio played bands like Helix and AC/DC etc and not just the hits, but deep cuts and new music? How about a brand new band? One that you’ve never heard before, perhaps even a foreign band? Miss those days? Well, CGCM is bringing them back! That’s what our Riot Radio is all about! The co-hosts take turns each week in playing solo DJ to spin some great Hard Rock/Metal music that you may be unfamiliar with and we feel needs to be showcased. You know…how terrestrial and satellite radio SHOULD be! This round it’s Rich “The Meister” Dillon in the hot seat for a whole host of tunes!

With the Covid-19 Lockdown still in full effect, the Canadian Geeks have decided to look back at a year full of fun and frivolity. Yes they are referring to 1985 and the halfway point of what is widely referred to as the Decade if Decadence. Hard rock and heavy metal had exploded into the mainstream. The “kids” were buying the music, growing their hair and slipping on their spandex. MTV and the Radio charts were clamoring to share the newest Def Leppards and Ratts and WASPs. It was a wonderful time to be getting into rock music. This week’s episode has the Geeks resuming their big battle of the Playlists. If this is your first Battle episode, the concept is simple. You will hear not one but two “6” song playlists in their entirety. All of the music played within was all released in the year 1985. After listening to BOTH lists it is up to you to decide which 1985 Playlist is the BEST!” There is no right or wrong, simply which playlist you felt kicked ass! The fun part is, you don’t know going in which playlist belongs to the Meister and which one is Wallygator’s. The vote is completely blind. Just like the Meister’s mother always warned him would happen if he didn’t stop..... Anyways, to record your vote we have made it super simple. Head over to our Facebook page, look for this exact episode and a “pole” link is all set up and ready for you to enter in your vote. The boys have been battling out each year and so far the results are as follows, 1980 - Wallygator 1981 - The Meister 1982 - Wallygator 1983 - The Meister 1984 - The Meister Without sports to stoke your competitive fire, you can help us determine the winner for the best 1985 Playlist! So far the Meister has a 3-2 lead in the Decade Of Decadence battle. So you can stop betting on racing marbles on you tube and put your votes behind “Battle of the Playlists” You can only vote once and voting ends Thursday May 21st at midnight EST.

You have heard all of the "Covid" pep talks. We're all in this together, flatten the curve, yada, yada, yada. You have binge watched everything on Netflix, organized your closets, re-grouted the bathroom and now what? How about an ice cold beer and a brand new episode of Riot Radio here at the CGCM Podcast? This week Wallygator jumps into the driver's seat delivering the rock! The inspiration for this week's show came from "shuffle play" on Wallygator's Ipod. During a recent walk Motley Crue's Red Hot was providing the entertainment. It was then that fate intervened. The very next song to assault the eardrums was also Red Hot but this time from Shotgun Messiah. Two completely different songs sharing the same name. This got Wallygator to thinking about some other songs that share the same moniker. Scrolling through the music found within the Ipod the music for this episode took mere moments to come up with. Turns out song titles have been reused, recycled, repurposed and reused again. A dozen songs comprised completely of pairs and even triplets of same name songs and they all start with the letter "R"!

Join the Canadian Geeks as they head out to the "Land Of The Dragon". That's right, it's time for another episode of "Around The World In 80 Episode - China". Obviously we don't really visit China. We aren't even allowed to leave the house as the world remains under pandemic lock down. The "Around The World in 80 Episodes" remains one of our most popular themed shows. That in mind, the Canadian Geeks were not about to let social distancing rain on their parade. As mentioned on CGCM episode #101, the show must go on! Wallygator and the Meister leave no stone unturned and uncover a dozen choice heavy metal songs from China. This was no easy feat. Usually this is the most fun of assembling the Around the World episodes but both hosts had quite a struggles. They located some cool music, but a very hard time finding out facts and information about the bands they found. As it turns out, Facebook and other forms of social media are banned in China making such research somewhat difficult. As usual, Wallygator plays the role of tour guide providing an array of facts and details about this far away and mysterious land. The biggest bombshell is that fortune cookies are NOT a Chinese tradition and actually came from San Francisco?!? The music they found is definitely the star of the show.  Eye Of Storm, Hell Saviour, Silver Ash, Jacky Danny, Yaksa are just a few of the bands featured. It was revealed that China seems to be very big on Death Metal and other metal sub genres that don't normally mesh with the tastes of the hosts. That said, the music uncovered for episode #105 is certainly CGCM worthy and a few gems were definitely uncovered. Grab your headphones and crack open an ice cold bottle of "Tsingtao". If you can't find this Chinese beer, may we recommend some of the fine brews over at Black Oak Brewing and enjoy a virtual visit to China and experience some new heavy metal with us.

Well, here we are again for the 20th Riot Radio. This episode very nearly wasn't. From sound issues plaguing the Meister to actually totally losing the intro file causing the boys to re-record, episode #104 almost became a casualty. But never fear, all has been band-aided together, rush recorded intro and all! The Meister does offer his utmost apologies for the sound quality of his voice during the episode...but the tunes sound amazing as always! This time Meister, spurned on by a recent project spins some tracks from some of his earliest vinyl acquisitions. The days where he'd rush home from school, dump his gear and sit for hours in front of the record player...homework be damned! Here is CGCM PODCAST EP#104-Riot Radio Vol 20 (Meister) If this happens to represent your first Riot Radio, welcome! The Riot Radio concept: Every other week CGCM brings you a podcast episode with less talk and more rock. Terrestrial radio has become homogenized. Satellite radio falling to the same fate. Remember the days when radio played bands like Helix and AC/DC etc and not just the hits, but deep cuts and new music? How about a brand new band? One that you’ve never heard before, perhaps even a foreign band? Miss those days? Well, CGCM is bringing them back! That’s what our Riot Radio is all about! The co-hosts take turns each week in playing solo DJ to spin some great Hard Rock/Metal music that you may be unfamiliar with and we feel needs to be showcased. You know…how terrestrial and satellite radio SHOULD be!

Ok so let's just face the facts. 2020 sucks donkey balls! This "Mexican Beer" virus continues to wreak havoc on the world, cancelling everything in its path. It's bad enough that we have already had to postpone our 100th episode, now it has simply buggered our 3rd Birthday! Not only is it the 3rd Birthday of the CGCM Podcast, but it is also Rich "The Meister" Dillon's 47th Birthday AND Wallygator's big 5-0.  In the words of the Metal Cowboy, Ron Keel, April 10th is a "major monumental metal milestone".  Welcome to the CGCM's third birthday party. We have to do it isolated but that doesn't mean we cant crack open an ice cold Black Oak Brewery beer and/or a sweet shot of Cloven Hoof Rum. Raise a toast and let's learn about April 10th!  Wallygator came prepared with a bunch of facts about this important date in history. Music facts, general facts and a bunch of crap that nobody really cares about. It's not like you have anywhere to go! So stop your bitching, stay at home and flatten the curve. As always the boys bring the music! They alternate between "3" themed songs (cause the podcast turns 3 years old...duh.) and "gift" themed songs. Since they can't be in the same room to record together, the hosts give each other "birthday gift" songs as tokens of appreciation for each other. Join us, won't you?

Need a distraction from the constant barrage of Covid-19 news? The CGCM Podcast's Wallygator can assist with a brand new episode of Riot Radio.  If this happens to represent your first Riot Radio, welcome! The Riot Radio concept: Every other week (or thereabouts) CGCM brings you a podcast episode with less talk and more rock. Terrestrial radio has become homogenized. Satellite radio falling to the same fate. Remember the days when radio played bands like Helix and AC/DC etc and not just the hits, but deep cuts and new music? How about a brand new band? One that you’ve never heard before, perhaps even a foreign band? Miss those days? Well, CGCM is bringing them back! That’s what our Riot Radio is all about! The co-hosts take turns each week in playing solo DJ to spin some great Hard Rock/Metal music that you may be unfamiliar with and we feel needs to be showcased. You know…how terrestrial and satellite radio SHOULD be! This time out, Wallygator is dedicating the episode to any new listeners that are tuning in to us from Dazed Rock Radio. Stoked to be a part of this great new station, he cue's up a dozen or so "ALL CANADIAN" hard rock and heavy metal. A fantastic playlist of both old and new to distract you from the world. So grab yourself an ice cold beverage. We highly recommend something from Black Oak Brewing. Put your feet up and enjoy some metal from the Great White North!

It was supposed to be a monumental celebration of epic proportions. March 26, 2020 was supposed to mark the 100th episode of the CGCM Podcast. The Canadian Geeks were stoked to record this historic moment from the tap-house of their newest sponsor, Black Oak Brewing. There was going to be metal! There was going to be cake! Best of all there was going to be BEER! As preparation for this centennial party were coming together, things were about to change. Like nothing we have ever witnessed, Covid-19 has effectively shut down our entire world. NBA, cancelled. NHL, cancelled. MLB, cancelled. Concert tours and festivals are dropping like flies. Self-Isolation, quarantines and social distancing are the catch phrases for 2020.  CGCM Podcast From Self Isolation The Canadian Geeks called an emergency teleconference meeting. With the Meister in quarantine, the geeks were unable to even be in the same room together. After much deliberation, our 100th Episode was cancelled. When we announced this via a Facebook Post we had quite a number of private messages concerned that we were pulling the plug on the show. This was not the case. In fact, quite  the opposite. Our conversation actually revolved around how much more important podcasts are at this difficult time. We just decided that we were not willing to compromise our big 100th episode party in any way, shape or form. As a result, we are simply skipping our 100th show. When this mess is over we will circle back and throw the party you would expect from us. Did we mention there would be BEER? The Show Must Go On! Welcome everyone to the 101st Episode of the Canadian Geeks Chatting Metal Podcast. The Meister and Wallygator deliver their most serious episode yet as they tackle the current world situation. Between the rants, stories and warnings they manage to squeeze in bunch of great music to help you forget about life for a while. Now does anyone have some extra toilet paper?

Paging Doctor Coxy, paging Doctor Coxy! We need some metal Stat! Welcome everyone to what was first going to be titles “Meet the Press”. The Canadian Geeks have decided to introduce everyone to members of the CGCM Podcast Website Staff. Hence “meet the press”. This week, we have invited Staff Writer and all around great guy, Mr. Adam Cox. In discussing some ideas for a show theme. Some “old men” with various ailments came up. This may have had to do with the Meister constantly complaining about his plague or polyps of hangover. Somebody get him a Doctor! Somehow this morphed into the sharing of some medical malpractice stories.  Join Dr. Coxy and his unruly interns select music from the CGCM musical medicine cabinet. So just sit right down. Relax. Open your ears real wide and say, "Give it to me straight Dr. Coxy I can take it!"

The Meister is at it again! Well, another Riot Radio, yes, but I meant travel. No virus named after crappy Mexican beer slows that fool down. After the cancellation of his planned HRH AOR Festival in the UK, his non-refundable flights dictated he head over anyway. But there will be zero breaks in our content this time around. Bad internet connections can’t hold us back. A broken laptop will not prevent CGCM Podcast from delivering the rock! That’s right folks, we were organized (first time for everything, right?) and recorded and edited this BEFORE he left! Here is CGCM PODCAST EP#98-Riot Radio Vol 18 (Meister) If this happens to represent your first Riot Radio, welcome! The Riot Radio concept: Every other week CGCM brings you a podcast episode with less talk and more rock. Terrestrial radio has become homogenized. Satellite radio falling to the same fate. Remember the days when radio played bands like Helix and AC/DC etc and not just the hits, but deep cuts and new music? How about a brand new band? One that you’ve never heard before, perhaps even a foreign band? Miss those days? Well, CGCM is bringing them back! That’s what our Riot Radio is all about! The co-hosts take turns each week in playing solo DJ to spin some great Hard Rock/Metal music that you may be unfamiliar with and we feel needs to be showcased. You know…how terrestrial and satellite radio SHOULD be!

The Canadian Geeks are kicking things into overdrive. Back to back interview episodes! This week's episode features Firewolfe's drummer Jeffrey McCormack.  For those that may not be familiar, here is the readers digest version. Firewolfe are a killer "traditional" heavy metal band from Seattle Washington. Originally started as a side project for guitarists Nik Layton (Q5) and Paul Kleff (Reverence). Forewolfe was born.  From there they released 2011's self titles Firewolfe album and followed it up in 2014 with "We Rule The Night". After a lengthy hiatus, the band is now working on their highly anticipated third release. Episode 97 - Jeffrey McCormack Jeffrey McCormack recently sat down to discuss his rock n roll journey. His first concert, came courtesy of four make up wearing, fire breathing, blood spitting madmen. Peter Criss left a lasting impression and Jeffrey knew his chosen path. Even his first drum kit comes with an interesting back story. From his days with Q5, his touring gigs with Heir Apparent, Fifth Angel, Nightshade and Bloodgood. His short tenure as a lead vocalist with Screams Of Angels and a shockingly cool story about his time in Alice "N" Chains! Note we said Alice N Chains and NOT Alice In Chains. An amazing story you don't want to miss!

Canadian Thunder! An episode 35 years in the making, well sort of. It was 35 years ago when two young Canadian Geeks raised their metal horns and screamed..."the Right to Rock!  Sometime in 1985, Keel (the band) managed to head North of the border and played one single show at the legendary Rock n Roll Heaven club here in Toronto. Unfortunately 15 year old Wallygator and a 13 year old Meister were much too young to attend an alcohol serving establishment. The band never made it back up to the Great White North.  This was of no consequence for the ever travelling Meister, who has managed to catch Keel live many times. For Wallygator he remained patient and began annoying Rockpile promoter Steve Hoeg. Every time Steve would tease about a new show, without fail Wallygator would immediately fire back with "Ron Keel Band?" I am doubtful this had anything to do with the announcement of this summer's RON KEEL BAND mini Canadian Tour, but upon the announcement, Wallygator received the following message. "I hope you will finally shut the f*#! up" - Steve Hoeg. After 35 years, Ron Keel is coming back to Canada! Bucketlist? Check! Ron Keel called in to the CGCM Podcast studios to update us on the tour and all things Keel. They discuss what to expect when the Ron Keel Band rolls up to Canada in August. Also discussed are his brief moment as the lead singer of Black Sabbath, the upcoming South X South Dakota Southern Rock album and his post Keel band "Fair Game" that never got off the launching pad.

It's back to back Riot Radio episodes from the CGCM Podcast! The Meister took off on one if his million vacations so the Geeks planned out a couple of Riots to keep you tied over until regular programming resumes. This week, Wallygator is in the driver's seat providing the soundtrack to whatever it is you are doing right now. Using the "Russian roulette" method he lets the Ipod be the program director. It's pretty much foolproof when the Ipod contains thousands of quality hard rock and heavy metal. Sleaze, Classic, Thrash, Glam, Pop, Doom, Speed, you never know what your gonna get but it will likely rock!

The Meister is at it again! Well, another Riot Radio, yes, but I meant travel. He's off on the Monsters of Rock Cruise on a boatload of bands, babes and booze...the supreme definition of debauchery! But there will be zero breaks in our content this time around. Bad internet connections can't hold us back. A broken laptop will not prevent CGCM Podcast from delivering the rock! That's right folks, we were organized (first time for everything, right?) and recorded and edited this BEFORE he left! Here is CGCM PODCAST EP#94-Riot Radio Vol 16 (Meister) If this happens to represent your first Riot Radio, welcome! The Riot Radio concept: Every other week CGCM brings you a podcast episode with less talk and more rock. Terrestrial radio has become homogenized. Satellite radio falling to the same fate. Remember the days when radio played bands like Helix and AC/DC etc and not just the hits, but deep cuts and new music? How about a brand new band? One that you’ve never heard before, perhaps even a foreign band? Miss those days? Well, CGCM is bringing them back! That’s what our Riot Radio is all about! The co-hosts take turns each week in playing solo DJ to spin some great Hard Rock/Metal music that you may be unfamiliar with and we feel needs to be showcased. You know…how terrestrial and satellite radio SHOULD be! This round it's Rich "The Meister" Dillon in the hot seat for a whole host of tunes!

Who wants to go see the Call of the Wild Festival 2020? Have a listen to this episode and find out how you and a guest could win an incredible ticket package! Got your attention? Details to follow. The Canadian Geeks are joined by good friend Dave O Hara, one of the founders and organizers of the Call Of The Wild Festival.  "One of the best organized festivals I have ever attended" - The Meister on last years inaugural COTW festival. What is involved in organizing a world class heavy metal festival? Dave O Hara calls us from England and fills us in. Dave talks in depth about what to expect for this year and he spins some killer music from some of the bands that will be hitting the stage in May. Call Of The Wild 2020 has something for everyone with a killer multi-genre lineup of rock and metal!  Music from Joan Ov Arc, Wildstreet, Massive Wagons, Hell's Ditch, Tomorrow is Lost, Phil Campbell Bastard Sons, Hollowstar, Kicken Valentina, Torqued, Michael Monroe, Massive, Glen Matlock and Cruel Intentions knock this out of the park with metal! Oh and much of the conversation revolves around Cloven Hoof Rum. As promised, Dave generously donates an amazing prize for one of our CGCM listeners. One lucky listener and a guest will have the chance to win a pair of VIP passes to this years festival PLUS accommodations PLUS transportation from the hotel to and from the festival! For the official details on how to win you need to listen to the episode. If you are in the UK or are able to get your ass there, it could be you attending this amazing festival and drinking the Cloven Hoof.

Welcome everybody to another episode of Riot Radio. Let's face it mainstream radio continues to spin the same 15 - 20 songs over and over and over again. There is a choice! The Canadian Geeks are here to shake things up. No rules, just program directors dictating the music. Unlike our normal episodes, Riot Radio is more rock, less talk. Some of our listeners prefer this format. This could be construed as insulting but we kind of like it too! Wallygator jumps into the DJ booth to spin a dozen tracks guaranteed to to ROCK! What's in store? You get some Metallica, a double shot from Jim Breuer and the Lowd and Rowdies! Some Canadian rock from the Trews, a double shot from Mr. Ron Keel... A killer track from a brand new band called Storm Force, which Wallygator makes a bold prediction. Throw in some Volbeat, Queen, Heaven and Hell and the much maligned Nickelback and you get a pretty great hour of rock n roll! Oh and Wallygator shares with you his brand new favourite song from Massive Wagons...

The CGCM (Canadian Geeks Chatting Metal) Podcast/Website is proud to present our latest segment. Welcome to CGIM (Canadian Geeks Interviewing Metal). Our website contributing team, be them in Canada or around the world, are always attending gigs. Often they are hobnobbing with the musicians. So why not present them interviewing musicians? These audio interviews can heard through Soundcloud, iTunes and all other platforms. Enjoy this second in the series as website writer/photographer Rachel Leigh Vendetta is joined by Swedish Hard Rockers StunGun Sons for a chat ahead of their first show of 2020 at Harry B James in Stockholm. Also included here is Rachel's photo gallery from the gig! Hey everyone, this is Rachel Leigh Vendetta, the newest CGCM recruit! I moved to Stockholm, Sweden about a year and a half ago from Canada and the concerts have been non-stop since! Here you can find my photo gallery and interview with Swedish band StunGun Sons, who describe their sound as a “mix between Airbourne and AC/DC” as lead guitarist Mikael puts it. I got to chat with them before their first show of 2020, which was also their first show with lead singer Adam replacing former band member Johan on guitar. Despite admitting being a little nervous about these changes, the boys kicked ass and delivered some adrenaline-filled old school rock n roll. If you’re a fan of bands who deliver no-bullshit rock that’s all about having fun, look no further than these four guys. Consisting of Adam Inghamn (lead vocals & rhythm guitar), Mikael Juntti (lead guitar), Fredde Burestad (bass) and Tim Jälminger (drums), these guys prove the spirit of rock n roll is alive and well in Stockholm. In this interview you’ll hear them speak about everything from how the band started, stories from the studio, how their new single “Bound In Stone” came to be, and future plans for music releases. You really could not meet a nicer and funnier group of guys, and I think we can expect big things to come from these Swedes! Be sure to check out their music below!

Welcome everyone to a very special episode of the Canadian Geeks Chatting Metal Podcast. Now I know that the Meister thinks that all of our episodes are very special, but he is often wandering around in a post concert daze. Tonight however is different! For episode #91, the Geeks get "Caught In A Webb"! Diane Webb joins the boys for a huge in-depth conversation about all things rock and metal. Just who is Diane Webb you may be asking? Let me tell you... Diane is a die hard, passionate metalhead that puts everything she has into promoting the music that she loves. Her resume is beyond dizzying. She has her own heavy metal website Yesterdaze News and an accompanying magazine version. She is an amazing rock photgrapher, writes for Rocknytt magazine, has her own media relations company WMR, works with King Art Music Management. I am in need of a nap but we are not done. She also finds time to manage bands (Cobra Cult and Bai Bang). Did I also mention she also has a day job in a non music profession.  If all of this isn't enough, Diane is now the Program Director at DAZED ROCK RADIO! A brand new internet radio station that has huge plans in bringing all kinds of rock and metal to those who care to listen. Let's face it you can only listen to the CGCM Podcast so long. When you are done head over to Dazed Rock Radio and turn it up to eleven. Diane shares stories of her crazy metal life, her many accomplishments and of course she picks a bunch of kick ass hard rock and heavy metal for our listeners. Enough babble, let's rock!

Welcome to CGCM Podcast‘s Riot Radio! The Riot Radio concept: CGCM brings you a podcast episode with less talk and more rock. Terrestrial radio has become homogenized. Satellite radio falling to the same fate. Remember the days when radio played bands like Helix and AC/DC etc and not just the hits, but deep cuts and new music? How about a brand new band? One that you’ve never heard before, perhaps even a foreign band? Miss those days? Well, CGCM is bringing them back! That’s what our Riot Radio is all about! The co-hosts take turns each Riot Radio episode in playing solo DJ to spin some great Hard Rock/Metal music that you may be unfamiliar with and we feel needs to be showcased. You know…how terrestrial and satellite radio SHOULD be! Welcome to CGCM Podcast EP#90-Riot Radio Vol 14-MORC 2020 (Meister).

The Canadian Geeks are back with 2019 Year In Review - Part 2 Writers Edition. With an entire team of writers and photographers now in place team CGCM is now global. In true geek fashion, they compiled their own top ten lists from the past year. Amazing lists at that! So this week Wallygator and the Meister dive headfirst into each of the writer's submissions. They discuss, dissect and run through each list. Best of all they each select and play one song each from each and every writer. What you end up with is nine double shots of some of the best of 2019. Eighteen songs representing the selections of our amazing staff. As promised we also bust a few balls, question the musical tastes of some of our staff. We also discovered that Whitesnake's new album completely missed the radar of both Canadian Geeks. In all seriousness, the Meister and I would like to thank Trevor "Psychoone" McDougall, Adam "Coxy" Cox, Dave "Andy Travis" Wood, Mikael Svensson, Tom Cornell, Andy "Maddog" Lafon, Brian Ronald, "Sparky" and Shawn "Animalize" Irwin for their amazing top ten lists. We had a blast listening to the music that knocked your dicks in the dirt in 2019.

Another year has come to an end and another decade has begun. Welcome one and all to the roaring METAL 20's! Now before we get ahead of ourselves, it's time to look back at the year that was. The year that rocked.The year of 2019. Putting together our year in review top 10's is always a labour of love. Scouring through all of the amazing albums that were released over the past twelve months is always a fun task. For the Canadian Geeks, it means hours of listening to music and agonizing over each and every position placement. I know, it's only rock n roll but we take these lists very seriously. If even just one of our listeners is inspired enough to go check out and purchase some of our top 10 albums then this is important work indeed. So the time is now. Open your ears real wide and listen as the Wallygator and the Mesiter unveil each of their personal top tens for 2019.

After last year's Hail Satan Christmas Episode, the Canadian Geeks were immediately put onto Santa's naughty list. They worked extra hard being extra good little boys all year trying to erase Santa's memory and hopefully find something special under the tree. With that in mind they waited until Boxing Day to release the third CGCM Podcast Christmas episode. The presents have all been unwrapped. The rum all gone. Bellies are full of stuffing and turkey and in the Meister's case, some egg foo young with a side of fortune cookies. Christmas 2019 is now a fleeting memory. Now before you pack up the Christmas tree and all the holiday decorations. Before you return all of your beer empties for the much needed deposit cash, the CGCM Podcast has one more present to share with you. Welcome everyone to the Boxing Day, Christmas special!

There they go, jet setting once again! The two Canadian fools of CGCM Podcast (Canadian Geeks Chatting Metal) are visiting the land of oompah music and beer! That's right, Germany! It’s CGCM Podcast EP#86-Germany-Around the World in 80 Episodes. In this segment of the ever-popular Around the World in 80 Episodes series, the boys manage to find some awesome Hard Rock and Metal tracks, destroy a few beers and probably insult the entire country with some tasteless humour! No offence intended, they're just drunken boobs...but they know great tunes! Alongside that, they discover that Germany has some very, very odd choices for band names, and Meister recounts some stories from his German class in high school. Yes, he actually took German for two years and can speak a few phrases!

Hello and welcome to CGCM's Riot Radio. The concept of Riot Radio is simple: Less talk and more rock! Every other week it features one of the CGCM Podcast co-hosts in a solo DJ episode. You've got Rich "The Meister" Dillon here in the captain's chair for this installment as I solo host the episode! I've also decided to produce this podcast as a segment of our "Meister's Travels" theme and focus on the HEAT Festival 2019. I recently attended this event in Ludwigsburg, Germany for my second consecutive year. This was H.E.A.T Festival's 10th Anniversary and was yet again an awesome time. Let's get into the Meister's Travels with my wrap up of HEAT Festival. As with every festival or even concert there are bands preferred by different individuals. The headliners are not always everyone's favourite. I'm going to showcase a selection of my favourite bands that turned in great performances. Followed by my absolute top four bands of the festival including a short interview with one. Welcome to HEAT Festival 2019.

It's time for another Riot Radio episode of the CGCM Podcast. This time it's Wallygator's turn to jump into the cockpit and tickle some earholes with selections from the CGCM's musical medicine cabinet. Welcome one and all to Russian Roulette Riot Radio! Instead of actually taking the time to personally select some music and researching some interesting facts to share with the listeners, Wallygator instead has decided to play "Russian Roulette" and let the shuffle play options select all of the music for this episode. What could go wrong? This will either turn out to be the best Riot Radio show ever or possibly a complete disaster. After all, if truth be told you just may find Bon Jovi's "This Left Feels Right" within Wallygator's Ipod. You've been warned!!

The CGCM (Canadian Geeks Chatting Metal) Podcast/Website is proud to present our latest segment. Welcome to CGIM (Canadian Geeks Interviewing Metal). Our website contributing team, be them in Canada or around the world, are always attending gigs. Often they are hobnobbing with the musicians. So why not present them interviewing musicians? Enjoy this first in the series as website writer/photographer Shawn "Animalize" Irwin is joined by Lindsay Schoolcraft (Cradle of Filth) for a chat about her new solo effort.