Videos

Lots of Laughs with Jason Bieler & John Snow on the LeBrain Train

LeBrain Train exclusive!  Find out how Jason Bieler inadvertently caused Michael Sadler of Saga to go on a fitness regime!  Only here!

In all seriousness, Jason Bieler was an awesome guest and we had a great time quizzing him about as many of his projects as we could squeeze in.  Thank you John T. Snow for getting this interview, and for ample research and questions!  From his collaborations with Jeff Scott Soto to the Baron Von Bielski Orchestra and back to Saigon Kick and Super TransAtlanric, we tried to cover it all.  With a guest such as Jason, the jokes also flowed steadily and we had plenty of laughs and insight.

If you missed it live, check out what Jason had to say about:

  • The new single “Sic Riff”
  • Upcoming singles and the next album
  • The comments section
  • Being a singer
  • Rock Candy reissues, deluxe editions and box sets
  • Guitars and gear
  • Working in Sweden vs. at home
  • Influences
  • Videos and collaborations with other artists
  • And yes, the Michael Sadler story

It was truly a pleasure to spend Friday night with Jason.  Keep your ears open for plenty of new music over the coming months

NEXT WEEK:

The Seagram Synth Ensemble

 

Jason Bieler Boards the LeBrain Train Tonight!

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike & John

Episode 112 – Jason Bieler (Saigon Kick, Super TransAtlantic, The Baron Von Bielski Orchestra)

Thanks to John T. Snow of 2Loud2OldMusic for this one!  JASON BIELER of Saigon Kick fame will be on board tonight to discuss his newest project The Baron Von Bielski Orchestra, new tune “Sic Riff”, and his past as well.  Known as one of the funniest and nicest guys in rock, Bieler is multi-talented.  His brand of rock runs the gamut from progressive to mainstream.  His collaborations with artists such as Bumblefoot and Jeff Scott Soto are highly praised.  This is a chat that we are looking forward to big time!  “What You Say”?  Take the pain to far and distant places, and if you ask of Jason, he’ll tell you all the stories of life!

Do not miss this one — we will try and ask your viewer questions live!

Friday June 17, 7:00 PM E.S.T.  on YouTube, Facebook and also Facebook!

Experimental Sunday Screening: Jen Beats Mike at Monopoly deluxe

For fun, this is a stop motion of our game of Monopoly.  I took a picture after every move and Jen beat me in about an hour.

It was a bloodbath.  Jen (the train) started strong with some railroad and utility purchases. Mike (the race car) got bogged down early on with a long string of bad rolls leading to only three properties owned.  Jen quickly snapped up the second utility, Park Place, and all four Railroads.  Mike collected all the Greens, and began building houses, but was wiped out by the Railroads.  When Jen finally bought the last property left, Boardwalk, it was all over.  The hotels built were never used.  It was the Electric Company that dealt the fatal blow and left Mike’s car piece in a wreck.

This deluxe Monopoly has old fashioned wooden houses and hotels, metal markers, organizers for all the cards and money, and proper storage for everything while boxed.  For a neat and tidy traditional game of Monopoly (or with whatever traditional rules you play with), this is our go-to version.

VIDEO: Stop-Motion Transformers Earthrise SCORPONOK from Scorpion to ‘Bot

From last  night’s show Cool Collectables, here’s the animation of Transformers Earthrise Scorponok transforming from Scorpion to robot mode.  This took about an hour to make.  Toy includes DK-19 upgrade kit by DNA Design,

Music is “Randy” by Max the Axe.

Bassically Collectables! Rob, Harrison and Mike show off their treasures

The always difficult-to-please Chris Sarre called this a “Top Five” show last night, and I’m flattered but have to agree with him!  Thanks to Rob from Visions In Sound, and Harrison the Man Metal Man for showing off your music and entertainment collectables last night.  From rare CDs, autographs and Australian exclusives, to board games, books and odds n’ ends, we saw a lot of cool items with great stories behind them.

Hightlights:

  • Colm Feore autograph and story
  • Custom Lego minifigs
  • Stop-motion transformations
  • Gimli the Cat
  • Sealed action figures
  • Vintage Atari games
  • Fender acoustic bass formerly owned by the late Don Simmons of Helix

Thanks to all who watched and participated live in the comments.  Apologies for the sniffling.  Those board games were dusty and triggered my allergies.

No show next time, time for a break!  Thanks for watching and we’ll see ya when we see ya!

Cool Collectables + Helix Bass tonight on the LeBrain Train

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike & Friends

Episode 111 – Cool Collectables!  Helix bass, Rob Daniels and Harrison Kopp!

 

Tonight I’ll be showing off some previously unseen treasures of my collection.  The summer months offer a wealth of riches, including a variety of things at the cottage.  From books and magazines to toys and games, and finally my new acoustic bass formerly owned by the late Don Simmons of Helix, there will be plenty of fun things to look at tonight.  Rob from Visions In Sound, and Harrison the Man Metal Man will be on hand as well with their own treasures.

While this episode will be less focused on music than usual, it will be 100% zoomed-in on fun.

NOTE:  I am not a musician, so no song requests on the new bass!  I am a casual fan just looking to fart around to some records this summer on the porch.  We will be taking a nice close look at the bass but I will not be able to play you a song.

As always, your participation is encouraged and desired.  As David Lee Roth said, “It ain’t no good without an audience” so please like, share and join us live!

Friday June 1, 7:00 PM E.S.T.  on YouTube, Facebook and also Facebook!

 

VHS Archives #133: Winger perform 2 acoustic tracks on Start Me Up (1993)

Fantastic interview by Erica Ehm once again, with Reb Beach and Kip Winger.  Lengthy session too, 23 minutes in total!  Starting with some country riffs (Reb on 6-string, Kip on 12-string), the boys defied the expectations of the early 90s and proved they could really play — and how!  For the Winger guys, it was already “first thing in the morning”, otherwise known as “mid-afternoon” to us;  Kip had his cup of coffee ready!  (Really good coffee, according to Erica.)

Sad observation:  We’ve seen past interviews with groups like Bon Jovi, where throngs of fans were banging on the big MuchMusic windows.  Winger only got a couple curious onlookers pulling faces.  Too bad.

Songs played:

  • “Can’t Get Enuff” (at the 5:30 mark)
  • “Who’s The One” (17:30 in)

Topics covered:

  • Why were Winger not as big in Canada as they were at home?
  • Playing for musicians
  • Videos / “the image”
  • The art of songwriting / lyrics
  • Why was the new album called Pull?
  • Reb’s instructional guitar video
  • Chris Robinson, Lars Ulrich, Beavis and Butt-head, and other critics
  • Playgirl magazine!
  • Being “rock stars”

Winger ends the session with a blues jam.

Awesome acoustic tunes and a fantastic interview.  Check it out below.

That was fun! Snow & Tell Cassette Friday

Though John and I both have diminished cassette collections compared to the glory days, we had more than enough to show off for an hour.  John has acquired some lovely copies of some of his favourites from Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Billy Idol, Needtobreath, Kiss, and many more.  I had some oldies from Quiet Riot, Judas Priest, Bonham, and more, but I think much more interesting were the homebrew tapes I have left.  Some are “bootlegs” that I made and some are copies of albums, but the artwork in some cases were pretty cool.  I spent a lot of time making cassette copies of things like the two Blackjack albums, 24 kt Purple by Deep Purple, and Guns N’ Roses Live at the Ritz.  We also looked at a whack of cassingles by a variety of bands, some newer releases, some cassette box sets, and more.

After the cassettes, we played a quiz game and had John guess the identity of surprise mystery guest “X”.  Well, John guessed after one clue.  But we thank “X” – aka Lana! – for joining and talking about the new Def Leppard Diamond Star Halos, and the news of a Spinal Tap farewell film.

Thanks for an awesome night John & Lana, and all who watched and participated in the comments!  See you next week – CanadianGrooves and Uncle Meat will be back for a Tenacious D – Nigel Tufnel Top Ten list show!

Cassettes! Snow & Tell on tonight’s LeBrain Train!

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike & John

Episode 109 – Cassettes “Snow & Tell”

It is true when I say that 95% of my cassettes went into a Thunder Bay landfill.  Then I misguidedly dumped more when I did some downsizing in 2019.  Only recently have I realized that there are diehard collectors (cough cough Tim Durling) out there who want albums on every format, including cassette.  They don’t necessarily play them, they just show them off.  There are a bunch of tapes I wish I kept for that reason.  Helix – Wild in the Streets with glow in the dark cassette.  Sammy Hagar self-titled with a weird cover that wrapped around the outside of the tape case.  Dozens that I recorded myself, with my own artwork on them.  All gone, forever.

Tonight, join John Snow from 2Loud2OldMusic as we gather what remains of our tapes for a truly magnetic “Snow & Tell” show!  What we have left is what you will see tonight.  A lot of mix tapes, and I hope you enjoy.  I know it’ll be fun to dig through these old cassettes.  My oldest tapes go back to about 1984.  My newest are from 2022.  John has small selection to show off as well, so join us tonight for some tapes!

Friday May 20, 7:00 PM E.S.T.  on YouTube, Facebook and also Facebook!

VIDEO: May 13-15 Weekend / Max the Axe “Space Marine”

Amazing weekend at the lake once again, and you can see it all right now, to the tune of “Space Marine” by Max the Axe from Trillion Dollar Threats!  This short metallic blitz of a song is a condensed and concentrated rewrite of “Hard Drive” from their 1995 EP Bodies of Water.  It’s a fantastic tune from Max with another killer riff.

This year represents the earliest “first swim of the year” on May 13, a record.  A sign of a hot summer to come.

In this video you will see my new Fender acoustic bass.  This originally belonged to Don Simmons of Helix and I am fortunate enough to have bought it from his sister Donna.  This will provide many hours of summer entertaining at the cottage as I slowly become acquainted with this lovely instrument.  Tomorrow you’ll get the full story of the weekend in Record Store Tales #987:  The Summer Awakens.