#992: Long Weekend of The Lizard, Water, and the Scales of Justice

RECORD STORE TALES #992: Long Weekend of Lizards, Water, and Max

We rolled in Thursday night and it was so hot that we cranked open all the windows.  And that was it with any kind of warmth!  The rest of the weekend was cold, windy and required long sleeves!  Regardless of the hot and cold reception we received, I watched Brent Jensen and Alex Huard discuss Appetite for Destruction on Thursday Night Record Club outdoors as planned.

The music on the road up was, as always, good!  We started with Saigon Kick’s The Lizard, in anticipation of Friday night’s big interview.  It was tremendous fun to listen to such a great album, 30 years young, in the car.  Upon conclusion we played a tape of Max the Axe’s first gig with the present lineup, recorded August 4 2017.  Five years of Meat, Dave, Mitch and Max creating music together.  While the years have made them better, the live cassette of the first gig is good enough that we hope it will form the basis of their first live album.  The setlist consisted of eight tracks from the then-unrecorded Status Electric album, a Black Flag cover later finalized for Oktoberfest Cheer, and the Max classic “I Don’t Advocate Drugs” with Meat singing lead for the first time.

All Friday and Saturday, music took over the cold front porch.  It is hard to type with frozen fingers.  I am working on a major Kiss project that I will not reveal yet, but in preparation I played a ton of old Kiss on the porch.  Lick It Up, Creatures of the Night, Hotter Than Hell, Paul’s solo album, and plenty more.  When the Kiss was concluded, I moved on to Judas Priest (Point of Entry).  As always, it was a magical retro soundtrack that acted as a mental time machine.  I would have been playing those same albums back in ’87-’88.  The big difference being – I was stuck in my room!  Now the porch is my room.

One thing for certain. I would have loved it if I had the technology to do stop motion animation in 1987. All I had were my Transformers toys, comic books and imagination. Now I have that plus cameras and computers. I spent several hours working on animation. Let’s face it: It’s just an excuse to play with toys as an adult!  There’s nothing wrong with that and it was damn fun, especially with Judas Priest blasting in the background just like they would have in the 80s.

Saturday night we went for some nice walks and I shared stories of the old days.  No phones, no cable, no digital music back then.  The only way to was to haul all my physical music, and associated players, up to the lake to enjoy.  And enjoy we did.  Nothing has changed there except convenience and sound quality.  Playing the music that I bought at the cottage originally sure brings the memories back.  White Lion’s Big Game and Jon Bon Jovi’s Blaze of Glory were two such albums that I spun again in the old original setting.  I bought ’em both in Kincardine on cassette.  Hanging out with Bob Schipper and picking our favourite new tunes…great memories!  I remember putting the sticker for the JBJ cassette on the bottom of the top bunkbed.  Jen and I talked a lot, and perhaps there’s a number of stories there to tell in the future.

Three days came and went as quickly as a cool summer breeze.  All I have left now are the photos and videos to keep the memories fresh.  You can watch them now too, all edited together to the sound of a new remix of “Scales of Justice” by Max the Axe!  I think it’s the best cottage video I’ve ever made.  What more could you want?

44 comments

      1. I remember the occasion but not the date. They were basically on top of each other (no, don’t say it) because they were pretty much posted at the same time.

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        2. Good man. And, speaking of Max, when is Max the Axe going to make an appearance in Tee Bone Man. I can see the title now: Tee Bone Man and the Really Big Deal.

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        8. If they come at the same rate that the ideas and epiphanies are coming for Chapter 8, we’ll never run out of ideas. Chapter 8 is coming along so well. I’m overjoyed with it and can’t wait to share it with you when it’s done.

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        14. I laid Harrison on thick when we were practically on top of each other. Just like he said earlier up on this comment thread.

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  2. LeBrain= shredding the harmonic minor scale on bass a few weeks after picking it up again. Phrygian dominant is no match for the fingers of the Luxurious Ladano.

    Big Game by White Lion gets a bad rap. I think it’s about as good as Pride. Mane Attraction is totally pussery though, I will not deny.

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        7. No it’s for here. Even though most readers have fled, hits are in the tank and there’s little point in continuing, I guess I will continue in futile hope of things changing.

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        12. I’m sorry to hear that. I know it’s very discouraging, but you can always get new readers! There are people out there that come back to your blog anyways. Plus, if it weren’t for your blog, Def Leppard wouldn’t have been able to complete their Volume 2 box set!

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        14. Honestly, I don’t have a strategy. I just write about what I want and if people like it, then that’s great! If they don’t, that’s their choice. I did try to follow other music bloggers with the hopes that they followed me back, but that’s about it!

          When I asked Pete Pardo from ‘Sea of Tranquility’ for advice, he told me that being a blogger is an uphill battle. It takes a lot of work and perseverance. Also, that creating a lot of content is key!

          You probably know all of this stuff already, so if what I just typed is rubbish, then I’m sorry!

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