DJ Joe

I’m Gary Showman, host of Saturday Night’s Alive, airing every Saturday at 6 PM Eastern on Cranium Radio. I’ve been a lifelong music fanatic, and my love for live recordings began when I discovered a box of vintage concert tapes in my father’s garage. From that moment on, I became fascinated by the raw energy, spontaneity, and atmosphere that can only be captured onstage. Each week, I take listeners inside legendary concerts, historic festival appearances, rare club performances, and unforgettable nights from across the worlds of rock, heavy metal, punk, blues, and beyond. I love sharing the stories behind these performances and giving listeners the feeling that they have a front-row seat. When I’m not behind the microphone, you can usually find me searching record stores for rare live albums, collecting concert posters, or debating which band delivered the greatest encore of all time. Join me for Saturday Night’s Alive, Saturdays at 6 PM Eastern on Cranium Radio—where the stage lights never go out and the music is always live.

My love for all things Hard Rock/Heavy Metal began when my older brother David (AKA Scapegoat to long-time listeners of The Metal Mike Show) brought home a copy of KISS Alive in early 1976 when I was only 5 years old. Upon gazing at the cover, I was at first somewhat apprehensive about the four individuals with kabuki make up and outlandish costumes. Dave, knowing of my love for comic book superheroes presented it as these four individuals, were in fact, superheroes that played music. He then removed the record from the sleeve and placed it on our parents turntable and dropped the needle, from the minute I heard the roar of the crowd with the announcer proclaiming “You wanted the best and you got it, the hottest band in the land) KISS!!!!!!”, (They hadn’t quite conquered the world yet), with the accompanying guitar riff and subsequent explosion, My world was never the same. After that, my brothers and I were introduced to Black Sabbath courtesy of a family friend and there was no turning back. My love for all things Hard Rock/Heavy Metal has never wavered. I have been an online radio DJ since May of 2015 and I am still going strong to this day! Becoming an online radio DJ/Personality and Podcaster has been the greatest decision I have ever made. While I truly do love all types of music, Hard Rock & Heavy Metal has been and always will be my first love! To put it succinctly I live Metal, love Metal and will remain Metal until my dying breath. You can listen to the Metal Mike Show with DJ Metal Mike and my Co-Host Billdo For Realdo AKA Bill Roseberry every Friday night right here at Cranium Radio from 8 PM to 1 AM EST where we play all types of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal along with all of its myriad subgenres as well as artists/bands that were influential to the creation and evolution of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal. There is truly something for every type of fan of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal on The Metal Mike Show. When I'm not busy being DJ Metal Mike, I work as an Infection Preventionist Nurse at a long-term healthcare facility, I'm also a huge movie buff, an avid reader of all things Sc-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror, as well as comic books, a huge old-School muscle car enthusiast, particularly Mopars as well as a casual gamer.

I’ve always been surrounded by music. One of my earliest memories was looking and listening to my folks Beatles cassettes. Seeing KISS one Saturday on television during the reunion era was, as corny as it sounds, nothing short of life changing. I was immediately hooked and had finally found “my band.” Sure I had hand-me down cassettes from my folks and older brother, but KISS was the first band I found for myself. From there on it was a like treasure hunt for their contemporaries and getting into AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper and the list goes on. Growing up in “Heavy Metal Capital Of The World” San Antonio, TX made finding things like this easy. Mario Munoz hosted the Classic Metal Show on KZEP 104.5 which ran from Sundays 9 PM to 1 AM was a crash course in all this. Late night VH-1 countdowns and videos were another huge influence and a bridge between the bands I loved and the bands I would soon fall for. Frank Zappa, MC5, Husker Du, Grateful Dead were all discovered then. After moving to South Carolina, in college I work at a record store that was the absolute best place to get educated in all genres of music. John Coltrane, Ernest Tubb, 13th Floor Elevators, Return To Forever, on and on, all this amazing stuff I’d probably never gravitate towards became the soundtrack of my life. And it hasn’t slowed down. I’m still buying the magazines, reading the band bios, always looking for something new to me, and still buying physical media. Quick notes: My favorite bands are Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, Rolling Stones, Blue Oyster Cult, Pink Floyd, Miles Davis… Top Five Favorite Albums: 1. MC5 - Kick Out The Jams 2. Led Zeppelin- II 3. Beatles - Revolver 4. Allman Brothers Band - At Fillmore East 5. 13th Floor Elevators - Bull Of The Woods