Videos

Desert Island Discs on this week’s LeBrain Train

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike Ladano

Episode 61 – Desert Island Discs

This topic has been in the hopper a long time.  Contributed by longtime reader Holen, the Nigel Tufnel Top Ten Desert Island Discs are the 11 albums you would bring with you if you were stranded on an island (with a hand-cranked record player obviously).  Surely a great subject for discussion!

Your panel this week will include myself and:

Just as interesting as the lists will be the rationale for inclusion.  And remember:  it’s more fun when you can watch live and participate yourself!  Subscribe to my YouTube and get notified every time I go live, announced or otherwise.

Friday April 23 7:00 PM E.S.T. on Facebook:  MikeLeBrain and YouTube:  Mike LeBrain.

VHS Archives #103: Paul Stanley of KISS with Slaughter & Dan Gallagher (in full Gene makeup)

“In case you tuned in, we’re here with Gene Simmons right now.”

Ladies and gentlemen, this is Deke’s favourite video. The legendary Dan Gallagher put on some Kiss makeup to talk to Paul Stanley. It was such a party that Slaughter dropped in too! It was the infamous gig opening for Whitesnake, and you can get a sense of Paul’s anger that Kiss were not allowed to do their full stage show. David Coverdale’s ego is alluded to.

Best quotes:

“If I was gonna paint the Sistine Chapel, I’d do it with a roller. I’m not a fine artist folks!”

“Everything we did was always in addition to what the music was doing. We never did it in place of the music.”

“Whenever people put out sequels to movies, they’re usually not as good as the original.  Alive II was pretty much as good as Alive I.  When gotta make sure Alive III isn’t…Jaws 3D or something.”

“Michael [Bolton] used to have the mic in his hand and strut around…he’s a rocker!”

When Mark Slaughter and Dana Strum show up, it becomes a bit of a party.

 

NOTE:  There are a couple audio glitches here that I didn’t notice until too late.

Andy Curran + Mike Fraser = Epic Four Hour LeBrain Train!

That. Was. Epic!

0:32:00 – Andy Curran (Coney Hatch/Soho 69/Caramel/Leisureworld) joined us with a flawless connection!  We picked up where we left off last week.  We also got a couple exclusives from Andy!  Stories you won’t read on the internet.  Stuff like:  auditioning for Doro Pesch in the mid 80s.  A project with Adrian Smith that never came to fruition.  Playing tennis with Steve Harris.  Working as A&R with Rush.  A wealth of information!

1:49:30 – Get ready to have your minds blown.  Mike Fraser joined the show, and we got to sit and watch as he and Andy bantered back and forth — old friends reunited.  This was truly a special moment to watch.  From there we questioned Mike on the new Lee Aaron, and his work with Thunder, Dio, Satriani, Malmsteen, Black ‘N Blue, Power Station, The Wild!, Jackyl, the Crue, Metallica and AC/DC among many.  This was Mike’s second appearance with us and we still had so much ground to cover!

I hope you enjoyed this supersized show.  Four hours of rock and roll for you!

NEXT WEEK:

List shows return with Desert Island Discs!  Featuring:  Harrison Kopp, Uncle Meat, John Snow, Rob Daniels and a bonus list from Holen.   Don’t miss it!

April 30:  T-Bone is back to talk Van Halen’s 5150 with myself and the Meat Man.

May 7:  Paul Laine with your co-host John Snow!

May 28:  Dave Lizmi of the Four Horsemen!

All aboard!

Double Header! Andy Curran and Mike Fraser – Back on the LeBrain Train

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike and Superdekes

Episode 60 – Andy Curran and Mike Fraser double header

It’s the first ever double interview show on the LeBrain Train this Friday night!  Warm up your coffees.

First up, we have Andy Curran back from last week to finish up our chat!  The focus will be on the latter part of his career that we didn’t get to.  Caramel, Leisureworld and beyond.  Andy will be on at 7:00 PM E.S.T.

Second, it is the return of engineering wizard Mike Fraser!  Although we quizzed him for a couple hours last time, we only scratched the surface.  We didn’t get into Dio, The Wild, Satriani or Chickenfoot.  Expect lots more great musical memories with Mike this Friday at 8:30 PM E.S.T.

Friday April 16 on Facebook:  MikeLeBrain and YouTube:  Mike LeBrain.

Live Iron Maiden Super 7 Reaction blind box unboxing

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike Ladano

Episode 59.5 – Iron Maiden Super 7 Reaction blind box unboxing

 

Wanna see every Iron Maiden figure that Super 7 has ever released in their Reaction line?  Unboxing starts at 2:00 PM E.S.T., Saturday April 10.  This surprise episode is brought to you by Obsessive Compulsive Disorder!

FINAL TALLY:

  • 2 x Killers blood splatter Eddie
  • 1 x Maiden Japan Eddie
  • 3 x Aces High camo flightsuit Eddie
  • 1 x Aces High bulletholes Eddie
  • 3 x Powerslave stone Eddie
  • 1 x Powerslave black transparent Eddie
  • 1 x The Trooper zombie Eddie
  • 1 x The Trooper glow-in-the-dark Eddie
  • 2 x sealed blind boxes remaining

 

Andy Curran…Part One

Apologies in advance for the technical issues on this week’s program. We did our best, and fortunately Andy has agree to come back next week and talk about the latter half of his career!

This week we discussed:

  • The new forthcoming album Coney Hatch Live at the El Mocambo
  • A second live album in the can
  • The first three Coney studio albums:  self-titled, Outa Hand and Friction
  • Road and studio stories
  • Andy’s first two “solo” albums, Andy Curran and Soho 69 – Scatterbrain

And next week we’ll be back to discuss Caramel, Leisureworld, Four and beyond.

I really want to thank Andy for his patience this week.  Hopefully we can get a better stream next week.  When it worked it kicked ass!

Tune into the stream at 0:36:45 for Andy’s arrival and interview.

Thanks for watching, and thanks for your patience everyone!

 

C’mon C’mon, the Legendary Andy Curran is on the LeBrain Train!

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike and Superdekes

Episode 59 – The Earl of the 8th Note – Andy Curran

His name is on so many albums in our collections, from Coney Hatch to Soho 69 to Caramel and beyond, to writing with Kim Mitchell and helping to put together Rush and Max Webster box sets.  His bass is literally made of the floor of the El Mocambo club, and now Coney Hatch have their first official live album recorded in that same club.

We come at Andy from two perspectives.  Deke has questions he has been burning to ask for 40 years.  Mike is the new fan whose first Coney Hatch purchase was pre-ordering the live album in late 2020.  That groundbreaking concert was live streamed during the Covid pandemic and then prepared for the imminent CD and vinyl release of Live at the El Mocambo.

Please give a huge welcome for Andy Curran on the LeBrain Train!

7:00 PM E.S.T.
Facebook:  MikeLeBrain  YouTube:  Mike LeBrain

 

Easter Memories: Quiet Riot, GI Joe, Alice Cooper, Def Leppard & More!

Just a short show tonight, for those stuck at home this Easter weekend with nothing much else to do! Music, toys, happy memories. Lots of audio/visual aids. Great comments and audience participation.

Quiet Riot, Black Sabbath, David Lee Roth, Def Leppard, Aerosmith, and rare Japanese imports.

Bonus: Couldn’t resist playing some music so we closed with the show with Uncle Meat singing “Fairies Wear Boots” back in 1991 with Heavy Cutting. Thank you for watching!

 

NEXT WEEK:  ANDY CURRAN!

Max the Axe – Rocks the LeBrain Train on a Thursday Night

We promised you tunes, and we brought the tunes!  With a special interview with the guy himself, kinda a big deal, Max the Axe!  It was not an uptite Thursday night at all.  This loosey-goosey interview covers Max’s discography and history as an independent musician for over three decades.  Find out about his origins, see rare photographs, and watch the band play live!  We even get to look at the cover art and title of the new EP.  (Added bonus:  running commentary by drummer Dr. Dave.)

Straight outta lockdown, Max the Axe jammed together again for the first time in about a year.  The lockdown session was filmed and tonight we played for you three tracks:

  1. “River Grand”
  2. “Pygmy Blowdart” (NEW SONG)
  3. “Scales of Justice”

For a band who hadn’t practised in a year, filmed on a crummy cell phone that apparently only does vertical video, these were some fine tracks.  Enjoy the show!  Rock on, Max the Axe!

 

LATER TODAY

Don’t forget – the Easter special streams April 2 at 7:00 PM E.S.T.   It’s pure nostalgia as we pull from a grab bag of great memories.  Don’t miss it!

 

*Two more unaired songs were played during the session – “Uptite Friday Night” and the new “Oktoberfest Cheer”.

LeBrain Train Easter Weekend Schedule

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike Ladano

Episodes 57 and 58 – Max the Axe & Easter Special weekend!

 

Happy Easter everyone — a weekend I have traditionally looked forward to ever since I was a kid.  Spring is in the air!  The last two Easters have been pretty weird, but I’m glad to spend some time with you during this global crisis.  It’s only getting worse currently here in Ontario as the third wave threatens to undo all our progress.  So, this weekend I’ll be doing two shorter shows instead of one long one.  Here’s the plan:

Thursday April 1 – Max the Axe “Straight Outta Lockdown” session – 7:00 PM E.S.T.

For the first time in almost a year, Max the Axe reunited for a rehearsal.  It was rough and ragged but lead vocalist Uncle Meat has given me the thumbs-up to play some songs from this session, including the brand new “Pygmy Blowdart”.  Special guest:  the one, the only Max himself!

Friday April 2 – Good Friday – Easter Memories – 7:00 PM E.S.T.

Similar to the “Christmas Memories” show from last year.  I had a lot of good Easters.  Join me on Good Friday for some happy memories, musical and otherwise.  Such as:

  • Easter ’85 – Condition Critical in Ottawa
  • Easter ’86 – Quiet Riot air guitar weekend, Turbo, Crossbows & Catapults on the kitchen floor
  • Easter ’87 – Digging trenches in the back yard for GI Joe.
  • Easter ’88 – Skyscraper in Ottawa
  • Easter ’91 – Welcome to My Nightmare?
  • Easter ’92 – Pandora’s study regime
  • Easter ’16 – Record Store shopping in Ottawa

Hope to see you this weekend on the LeBrain Train.  NEXT WEEK:  Andy Curran!