Mike Valente is a well-known figure in the 518 music scene. As the founding member of national touring act Brick by Brick, he’s shared the stage with some of the world’s biggest, and heaviest, bands touring across the United States and Europe. Mike is also the owner of Upstate Black N Blue Productions which books shows at Empire Underground and Empire Live in downtown Albany, New York.

Mike takes us through his early years growing up in Troy’s Lansingburgh neighborhood, the formation of his first band Attica, and the opportunity to open for Slayer at RPI’s Houston Field House in 1991. We also dive into the 2025 Extreme Music Awards, the brainchild of Mike and Ralph Renna which celebrates all things metal, punk and hardcore in the greater 518 Capital Region of Upstate New York. The awards show is happening at Empire Live on January 11th, 2025, with a pre-party on Friday, January 10th, and an after-party on January 12th.

Tickets are available now at ExtremeMusicAwards.com and EmpireLiveAlbany.com. It’s going to be an all-star affair featuring some big names from the metal world, including Gary Holt of Exodus and Slayer, former Megadeth bassist Dave Ellefson, along with members of Shadows Fall, Anthrax, Hatebreed, and more.

There’s a little bit of profanity in this episode, so consider this a heads up for anyone listening with kids.

Episode Notes:

• Extreme Music Awards
• Brick By Brick - Loyal To The Grave (Official Music Video)
• Attica - Redwire (Official Audio)

Credits:

Produced, edited, and hosted by John Salka
Theme music by Steven J. Goldman, Four Legs Records

Visit troystorypod.com for upcoming episodes, guests, and bonus content.

Connect with Troy Story on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, YouTube, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter)

On February 11, 1991, the legendary Slayer performed most of their new album, “Seasons in the Abyss,” along with other career-spanning tracks during an 80-minute set at the RPI Houston Field House in Troy, New York, with support from Testament, and local Capital Region band Attica.

We’re joined again by Jason Bittner, lifelong Capital Region resident and world-renowned drummer, and Mike Valente, founding member of national touring act Brick by Brick, owner of Black N Blue Productions, and founder of the Extreme Music Awards, to recount their unique metal memories of that night in the Collar City.

As members of the burgeoning 518 heavy music scene as members of different bands (Suspended Animation for Jason, and Attica for Mike) both were gunning for an opening slot for Slayer’s Troy show, something that would be decided by a Battle of the Bands at Saratoga Winners the night before.

In our episode, Mike and Jason wade into the friendly dispute over the results of the battle, Mike shares his memories of opening for Slayer with Attica and the hostile reception they received from fans, and Jason recalls his chance backstage encounter with then-Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo that began more than three-decade friendship between the two metal legends.

Episode artwork photo courtesy of Mark Kurtzner, http://facebook.com/mark.kurtzner

Episode Notes:

• Setlist: Slayer, RPI Field House, Feb. 11, 1991
• Album Info: Seasons in the Abyss
• https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2018/01/25/tour-awesome-new-titans-bloc-1991/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahDPXwvAmKY (1987 interview with Slayer about getting Lombardo back in band)
• Testament, Allentown, PA - Feb. 12, 1991 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek_D04U3z_U

Credits:

Produced, edited, and hosted by John Salka
Theme music by Steven J. Goldman, Four Legs Records

Visit troystorypod.com for upcoming episodes, guests, and bonus content.

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First published in The Troy Sentinel on December 23, 1823, “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” by Clement Clark Moore helped shape modern conceptions of Santa Claus and many of our familiar holiday traditions. For our latest episode we invited Kathy Sheehan, Executive Director of the Hart Cluett Museum and the city of Troy and Rensselaer County historian, to explain the story behind this iconic piece of American holiday lore, the more recent debate over authorship, and the poem's two-century connection to the Collar City.

Happy Holidays from Troy Story! See you in 2025!

Episode Notes:

• Hart Cluett Museum
• How 'The Night Before Christmas' got its start in Troy (Times Union, Dec. 2020)
• 'A Visit from St. Nicholas' (Wikipedia)

Additional Credits:

• "07 Twas The Night Before Christmas Story" by Grantyny is licensed under CC BY 3.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/?ref=openverse.
• Episode artwork: https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14563542937/ available via Public Domain (CC0 1.0 Universal).

Credits:

Produced, edited, and hosted by John Salka
Theme music by Steven J. Goldman, Four Legs Records

Visit troystorypod.com for upcoming episodes, guests, and bonus content.

Connect with Troy Story on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, YouTube, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter)

In our latest episode, we revisit Metallica’s concert at the RPI Field House on March 15, 1989. The heavy metal icons were rampaging across America on their Damaged Justice tour in support of their latest studio album “…and Justice for All".

The episode features special guest Jason Bittner—lifelong Capital Region resident, world renowned drummer for Shadows Fall and Category 7, and alumni of other legendary metal acts—who shares his memories of attending the RPI show.

During the episode, Jason recalls:

• Attending the Troy show during a break from studying at Berkley School of Music in Boston
• His choice of “…and Justice for All” as Metallica’s best album
• Thoughts on the audio production for “… and Justice for All”
• Speculation on how someone managed to bring a camcorder into the Field House to record the Metallica and Queensryche sets
• Performing with some of his favorite bands touring the world, including Overkill and Anthrax.
• Reunion of Shadows Fall, his new band Category 7, and work with local Capital Region hardcore band Stigmata
• Discovering Metallica as a teenager growing up in Schenectady and Niskayuna, and his first impressions of their music.
• Hearing Metallica’s Master of Puppets album for the first time, and how the band was a gateway to heavier bands like Slayer and Anthrax.
• Attending Metallica’s 1986 show at the Glens Falls Civic Center with Cliff Burton on bass guitar, and meeting drummer Lars Ulrich for the first time.
• Seeing other legendary metal bands like Ozzy Osbourne, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, and Metal Church at various Capital Region venues.
• his own 30-year career as a professional musician performing around the world, and
• his respect for Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich.

Live bootleg audio from Metallica and opening act Queensrÿche at the RPI Field House is featured throughout the episode to immerse the listener in the story.

Episode Notes:

• Setlist - Metallica at RPI Field House in Troy, NY (Metallica.com)
• Video: Metallica - Live in Troy, March 15, 1989
• Video: Queensrÿche - Live in Troy, March 15, 1989
• Video: Megadeth - Live in Albany (Colonie Coliseum), May 28, 1987
• Shadows Fall - In the Grey
• Category 7 - In Stiches

Credits:

Produced, edited, and hosted by John Salka
Theme music by Steven J. Goldman, Four Legs Records

Visit troystorypod.com for upcoming episodes, guests, and bonus content.

Connect with Troy Story on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, YouTube, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter)

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band delivered a sold-out show at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Houston Field House on Nov. 12, 1978, part of the band’s Darkness on the Edge of Town tour which criss-crossed the United States and Canada between May 1978 and January 1979. In the audience that night was 16-year-old Joyce Bassett—now an award-winning sports columnist with the Times Union—who saw Bruce in concert for the very first time at the RPI Field House in Troy, New York, just a mile away from her house in the city’s Frear Park neighborhood. It started with seats in the back rows but by the night’s end Joyce was on her friend Patty’s shoulders in front of the stage, reaching out to The Boss.

During the episode, Joyce reflects on her memories of the setlist, meeting Bruce in 2016, her favorite Springsteen show of the 40 she’s attended during the last 46 years, and how the RPI show sparked a lifelong love of Springsteen.

The episode also features audio from the Troy concert, available via a bootleg recording called “Prove It All Night: Bruce Springsteen Live in Troy,” courtesy of JEMS.

Episode Notes:

• Bruce Springsteen: A New York Serenade
• AUDIO: Prove It All Night: Bruce Springsteen Live in Troy
• Bruce Springsteen’s Concerts: 1975-2012 A Journey of Shooting the Boss
• Video: Bruce Springsteen, Buffalo, NY - 1980
• Times Union: Joyce Bassett

Credits:

Produced, edited, and hosted by John Salka
Theme music by Steven J. Goldman, Four Legs Records

Visit troystorypod.com for upcoming episodes, guests, and bonus content.

Connect with Troy Story on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, YouTube, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter)

On November 12, 1978, Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band landed in the Collar City for the latest stop of their Darkness on the Edge of Town tour. In the audience that night was a 16-year-old Joyce Bassett who remembers the non-stop energy of The Boss during the band's two sets.

New episode coming November 2024.

Subscribe for email updates on upcoming guests, chapters, and special bonus content.

Credits:

Produced, edited, and hosted by John Salka
Theme music by Steven J. Goldman, Four Legs Records

Visit troystorypod.com for upcoming episodes, guests, and bonus content.

Connect with Troy Story on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, YouTube, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter)

With the 2024 presidential election just a week away, we're revisting then-President Barack Obama’s visit to Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York on September 21, 2009. The episode features a conversation with guest Tom Wade, former Rensselaer County Democratic Committee chairman, about his memories of the president’s visit and speech on the HVCC campus.

Wade explains the bipartisan spirit around the president’s visit, his relationship with then-Rensselaer County Republican Committee chairman Jim Walsh, and the nature of national politics during the start of President Obama’s first term. He also recalls his own early years attending HVCC in the 1960s.

Were you at President Obama's speech at Hudson Valley Community College? We'd love to hear from you! Drop us a line at mail@troystorypod.com

Show Notes:

• VIDEO: President Obama Speaks at Hudson Valley Community College (Obama White House Archive)
• VIDEO: Presidential Remarks on the Economy (C-SPAN)
• Times Union: President Obama at HVCC (via Internet Archive)
• PHOTOS: President Obama Addresses Community College Students In Troy, New York (Getty Images)

Subscribe for email updates on upcoming guests, chapters, and special bonus content.

Credits:

Produced, edited, and hosted by John Salka
Theme music by Steven J. Goldman, Four Legs Records

Visit troystorypod.com for upcoming episodes, guests, and bonus content.

Connect with Troy Story on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, YouTube, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter)

55 years after the Stonewall riots—a moment widely recognized as the flashpoint for what became the LGBTQ rights movement—the Collar City held its first ever Pride Fest at Riverfront Park in downtown Troy in 2024. The event was organized by Collar City Pride, a Rensselaer County-based nonprofit that offers peer support, training, and social services for LGBTQIA2S+ individuals.

We're fortunate to have the founder of Collar City Pride, Meagon Nolasco (they/them) on the podcast to discuss the inaugural Troy Pride Festival, lessons they learned and what’s ahead for the organization and festival for 2025.

Meagon also dissects the City Council’s 2024 vote on Pride Month, and the importance of speaking out on local issues affecting Troy’s LGBTQ community.

Show Notes:

• Collar City Pride
• Pride Center of the Capital Region
• In Our Own Voices
• Mayor Madden Issues First-Ever Pride Proclamation in Troy (Photos, Video)
• Troy City Council Votes on 2024 Pride Month Resolution
• Meagon Nolasco addresses Troy council members on Pride Month resolution

Subscribe for email updates on upcoming guests, chapters, and special bonus content.

Credits:

Produced, edited, and hosted by John Salka
Theme music by Steven J. Goldman, Four Legs Records

Visit troystorypod.com for upcoming episodes, guests, and bonus content.

Connect with Troy Story on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, YouTube, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter)