Videos

VHS Archives #109: Rik Emmett – The Axemen Cometh (1988)

Another true treasure from the VHS Archives.  When the Pepsi Power Hour ran this guitar-centric special in early 1988, my best friend Bob and I watched it religiously.  We drank up, though didn’t fully understand, every word from Rik Emmett.  The former Triumph guitarist was (and is) one of our favourites.  His knowledge is encyclopedic.  Laurie quizzes Rik on a number of the top rated electric guitar players of the time.

Rik demonstrates his favourite passages, and discusses with host Laurie Brown the following axemen in order:

  • Tony Iommi
  • Jimmy Page
  • Joe Satriani
  • Steve Vai
  • Kirk Hammett
  • Jimi Hendrix
  • Angus Young
  • Eddie Van Halen
  • Yngwie J. Malmsteen
  • and, of course, Rik Emmett

Other topics to stay tuned for in this wide-ranging discussion:

  • Lefties (like Rik)
  • The 1988 Zeppelin reunion (Atlantic 40th Anniversary)
  • Two-handed tapping
  • A bold and accurate prediction about Steve Vai
  • The brown sound
  • Dwiddly-dwiddly
  • His “signatures”
  • Good “hair production”

VHS Archives #108: Brighton Rock on the Power Hour ’89

Gerry McGhee and Stevie Skreebs of Brighton Rock dropped by the Power Hour with Michael Williams in early ’89 to showcase their new music video, “Hangin’ High N’ Dry”.  World premiere!   The brand new album Take A Deep Breath was in stores and the band were on tour.  The affable group were questioned about such topics as:

  • Playing football with Steve Harris
  • Recording Take A Deep Breath with Jack Richardson
  • Lightening up or getting the sound they wanted?
  • Brighton Rock double live?
  • Why Stevie scratched the big VH logo on the hood of his first car25
  • Cool “Outlaw” T-shirt giveaway
  • The Boston Bruins
  • “Live” vs “studio” videos
  • The unreleased X-rated version of “Hangin’ High N’ Dry”

 

VHS Archives #107: Lee Aaron – August ’91 on the Power Hour

August 1991:  MuchMusic’s Angela Dorhmann visited Lee Aaron at Sounds Interchange for the Power Hour, to debut Lee’s new video “Sex With Love”.  Much also speaks with director Don Allan about the clip.

Topics discussed with the charismatic Lee Aaron that day:

  • Lee’s philosophy with making records
  • The “Metal Queen stigma”
  • The new album Some Girls Do
  • Pee Wee Herman
  • What “Sex With Love” means

 

VHS Archives #106: On the Tour Bus with Varga (1994 Power 30)

Varga were on the cutting edge of combining heavy metal music with the burgeoning industrial scene. Teresa Roncon of the Power 30 caught up with the band in Buffalo, on their bus. Looks like there was a bit of a party going on, but in the back of the bus was a makeshift recording studio where the guys were assembling ideas for album #2.  “Heavy and exploratory” was the promise!

Meet Varga & Ugly Kid Joe’s manager Dennis, and find out just how to get on a tour bus. A little bit of live footage is within, and the always likeable guys request a few tunes.

Tim, Marco and Meat list the Top 5 Closing Tracks of All Time

Tim Durling from Tim’s Vinyl Confessions, and his fellow Contrarian, Marco D’Auria, were the special guests on this week’s LeBrain Train and they absolutely nailed their lists!  The topic:  Top 5 Album Closers of All Time.  This was probably a more challenging set of lists than Album Openers was.  There was very little crossover, but many excellent selections from the mainstream to the obscure.

Insightful and entertaining banter abound.  Watch the show to the end to get the “bonus tracks”:  the runners-up that were just as exciting as the songs that made our lists.  Another bonus:  Our picks for worst album closer of all time!

Thanks Tim and Marco for spending your time with Eric and I tonight.  We had a blast.  Let’s do it again!


 

Top 5 Album Closers with Tim and Marco

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike and the Meat Man

Episode 84 – Cinco De List-O: Top 5 Album Closers with Tim and Marco

A couple weeks ago, the LeBrain Train charted the Top 5 opening tracks of all time.  (Thanks to Harrison Kopp for your participation in that episode!)  That set of lists inspired Tim from Tim’s Vinyl Confessions to suggest a logical followup — Top 5 closing tracks!

The Meat Man and I decided to invite Tim and his fellow Contrarian, Marco D’Auria, to go up against the two of us for this list show.  (Sorry Harrison, but you will be back soon!)  We have not talked to Marco since March so we have a lot to catch up on.  We’ll ask him for an update on his film project about the band Mystique, and congratulate Tim for fully funding his book Unspooled:  An Adventure in 8-Tracks!

 

Friday October 15, 7:00 PM E.S.T. on Facebook:  MikeLeBrain and YouTube:  Mike LeBrain.

VHS Archives #105: The Sandbox Wake (1999)

MuchMusic ran this Sandbox special shortly after the band announced their sad demise at the end of the 1990s.  Since every cloud has its silver lining, we can be glad that guitarist Mike Smith found greater success as Bubbles from the Trailer Park Boys.  This collection of interviews and live clips was run on the MuchEast program as “The Sandbox Wake”.

This memorial covers the band’s early days, writing terrible songs, improving, eventually getting signed and then onwards to the second LP.  The clips cover 1995-1997.  Graceland, The Junos, the East Coast Music Awards, concert footage…it’s here in this motherlode of Sandbox on MuchEast.

 

Sandbox:  Jason Archibald, Mike Smith, Paul Murray, Scott MacFarlane, Troy Shanks.

VHS Archives #104: MuchMusic ads for the Pepsi Power Hour, Springsteen, Michael Jackson, U2 and GN’R

Here’s a grab bag of ads from MuchMusic from 1988 and 1992. They are:

  • A bumper for the Pepsi Power Hour (Molten Mondays!) featuring Metal Tim (the blonde guy).
  • Bruce Springsteen’s “only televised concert ever”!
  • Guns N’ Roses Live at the Ritz on the Miller Big Ticket, a legendary concert.
  • Michael Jackson’s Dangerous tour
  • U2’s Zoo TV tour.

A fun little collection of ads that bring back the memories.