Tim Durling came up with this topic, a nice simple one! Album covers with reflections on them. Could be mirrors, could be polished metal, or water! Whatever the cover may be, if it has a reflection, it’s fair game for tonight.
Tune in live!
THE CONTRARIANS – Done With Mirrors – Wednesday April 9 – 7:00 PM EST
I think one of the greatest reasons that my seasonal affective disorder (S.A.D.) has been non-existent this year is the revelation that I can work from home, and when I do it’s not as bad as I feared it would be. This means if I can avoid driving due to weather, I don’t have to drive. My work has a good policy on working from home that would give me this flexibility. After all, when it comes down to brass tacks, the worst part of winter isn’t the weather. It’s driving in it. Looking at it from inside is actually kind of fun.
Our spring has been warm/cold off and on, but spring is definitely here. That means that a few drivers have prematurely taken off their snow tires. Canadians seem to forget that April can get angry, just when you think it’s all over. I don’t know why they forget this, year after year. Perhaps it’s wishful thinking. Regardless, when that last angry storm hit us on April 3 2025, the lack of snow tires on cars that should know better by now, created an actual perfect storm of traffic chaos.
I was at work that morning, and watched as a wet mix of snow and rain suddenly pelted my car from outside. Although I should have gone home immediately, I ate my lunch and emailed my bosses that I’d be working from home that afternoon. I wish I had left 30 minutes earlier, but if wishes were horses…I’d probably still got stuck in traffic.
I watched as a pickup truck in front of me, on only the slightest incline, began to skid backwards. He veered off to the left, and made a U-turn, unable to go up the slightest hill. Once I crested the hill, I was met with three transport trucks that were completely stuck in the snow and ice. I had to carefully navigate the space between them in order to proceed. The hill got steeper, but I had no problem with my snow tires.
It was nerve wracking and I had my dad on the phone the whole time, keeping him up to date with my progress home; he was so worried.
I saw cars pull over to the side of the road just to brush the accumulating snow off their rear and side windows. I was luckier. With my dad’s help the day before, we just finished installing new windshield wipers on my car. They were more than up to the task.
Lessons learned in the winter of 2025:
Working from home alleviates the anxiety aspect of Seasonal Affective Disorder.
‘Twas an honour to sit with Rush scholars Tim Durling, Chez Cetra, and Ryan Murphy and talk about this wonderful Rush 50 box set! You’ve already read my review, but what did these other fine folks have to say about this immersive Rush anthology box set?
Perhaps the most interesting testimony came from Ryan, who initially wasn’t all that psyched about the box set. His attitude changed when he started digging in. Why? You’ll just have to watch and see. Tim’s words are below.
To celebrate five decades of basically the best music ever, Rush recently released a career-spanning box set: 4 CDs or 7 LPs with a beautiful outer protective box, a stunning book full of information and amazing new Hugh Syme artwork for almost every song included. Ryan from @Rushfans, Mike from @GrabAStackofRocK and frequent TVC co-host Chez give our thoughts on the value of owning the RUSH 50 BOXSET.
It is my honour to sit in with Peter Kerr to discuss this thrash metal classic that is outside my comfort zone. We have had some success with similar shows before, such as the one where I became a Prince fan. With Slayer’s Reign In Blood, I was faced with an album with unprecedented speed and intensity. How did I fare? As always, I immersed myself in the album with repeated plays in different settings.
Check out the show below, and face the Angel of Death on Rock Daydream Nation with Peter Kerr and I!
‘Twas a cool day in both Australia and Canada when three of us braved the scorching desert sands of Powerslave! Joined by the legendary bicyclegs, Harrison and I took a deep dive into all eight tracks and all four B-sides. Each time, our guest has picked a personal favourite album and bicyclelegs’ passion for Powerslave is obvious. Join us for some deep insight into the songs, the lyrics and subject matter, the musicianship and of course the artwork!
As for physical product, we’ll see the vinyl and the new zoetrope vinyl too. There are some special Reaction figures by Super 7 relevant to the album, and some singles too.
Taking the wheel at the end, Harrison will tell us of the tour, the setlists, and the songs that were played and how frequently. Harrison is a musical tour encyclopedia, and this is always a highlight of the show.
Don’t miss this awesome episode, and be sure to like and subscribe if you haven’t already.
Friday April 4 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube.
From the mind of Martin: Album covers with that “New York” vibe. Picturing the city, or just putting out that New York vibe. One of my picks went so far off the beaten track, you won’t believe it. Off by about 2000 years. Any guesses?
Tune in tonight!
THE CONTRARIANS – Greetings from New York – Wednesday April 2 – 7:00 PM EST
I don’t really do prank posts anymore, so instead let’s look back upon April 1 2022, the infamous “Prank Show” on my old show, the LeBrain Train. The episode was a tad long, as back in the pandemic days we were trying to entertain people who were stuck at home. It didn’t do well for views, so hopefully someone will check it out today.
This aired on a Friday night, and it was an evening of hilarity, pranks and Jackass appreciation! Thank you to long time pal Chris Thuss for joining! For lists, we did our Top Five Jackass Pranks, from the movies and TV shows.
This episode had three main segments:
Stories and reminiscing pranks (Chris is an expert).
The original 2020 prank calls made to the LeBrain Train, which confused the shit out of everyone!
The Jackass lists and appreciation!
As an added bonus, we received prank calls live on the show from some naughty viewer! And we even had a special drop-in from a certain Meat Man.
No show tonight, as Harrison and I are busy working on 50 Years of Iron Maiden! So, instead, we bring this 2020 interview with former Paul Di’Anno guitarist Steph Honde. It originally aired on my old show the LeBrain Train. This newly edited interview with the friendly French fireball will run tonight at 7:00 PM EST at the usual places. My writeup is below.
Steph Honde is a talented singer/guitarist from France who has performed with Paul Di’Anno, Sun Road, Chris Holmes, Hollywood Monsters, Jim Crean, Now or Never, and as a solo artist. In this wide-spanning interview, we discuss his favourite Canadian artists such as Max Webster, Wireless, VoiVod, Rock Candy, and Roch Voisine. We even touch on Celine Dion. We talk about his friendship with Paul Di’Anno, playing live with no rehearsal, and speeding up the songs. Steph talks about the rock scene in France, and going it alone without a label. Steph is a fan as much as musician too, so he gushes over Marillion, touring with DeepPurple, his signed Deep Purple 7″, and a private performance by a favourite musician. We talk about John Sykes, and other influences. Of course, we also had to talk about his epic cover of “Supper’s Ready” on his Ashes of Empire album. Steph’s defiance is refreshing. If he’s going to play without a label, then he’s going to play “Supper’s Ready”, because he wants to. Steph also did an acoustic cover of Deep Purple’s “Sail Away”, which he did to be different. Finally, we ask him what it’s like to open for AC/DC in front of 80,000 people.
This interview was conducted early in the pandemic, so of course that dominates part of the conversation. It’s weird to look back on with 2025 eyes.
Many of those old LeBrain Train shows were too long and could use some refreshing. This one never got enough views back in 2020. Let’s expose Steph Honde to a new audience! You won’t regret giving him a listen.
Streaming Live at 7:00 PM EST on Friday March 28, onYoutubeandFacebook.
Readers may not be familiar with Jake Not From State Farm, so let me introduce you. If you tune in to John Clauser’s channel My Music Corner, he’s done several great videos with Jake. Additionally, Jake will be joining us later this year for some albums on 50 Years of Iron Maiden. It turns out that both Jake and Harrison love Blaze Bayley. And so, they became friends.
Jake had a batch of duplicate CDs that he donated to Harrison’s collection, two of which I want! That damn Harrison keeps ending up with more and more CDs that I want for myself.
Joining us for this unboxing episode is the man who introduced us to Jake in the first place, Mr. Johnny Clauser. Mostly, we let Harrison do the unboxing, and lots of show and tell. Enjoy this short episode.
My 20th Contrarians Wednesday Live Stream is upon us!
This was a fun one to do: Album cover featuring boats and/or bodies of water. I think Tim came up with this topic, because I accused him of using it as an excuse to show off more Kansas! My list will include a local legend, and some big metal stars. Canadian content guaranteed!
THE CONTRARIANS – Slippery When Wet – Wednesday March 26 – 7:00 PM EST
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