Thanks for watching last night’s stream if you did, and no worries if you didn’t. I did some unboxings but due to the limitations of resolution, couldn’t show off my new arrivals very clearly. Here are some photos for you to enjoy!
Next: Sven Gali! I won a Facebook contest and the band sent me some swag! The guitar pick neck chain (with the late Dee Cernile’s name on the back) is my favourite. They also sent a glossy photo (top) signed by all five members: Andy Frank, Shawn Minden, Dave Wanless, Dan Fila and Sean Williamson. Finally we have a new copy of their excellent new EP 3. I played it again this week and I like it more now than I did then. I have given my extra copy to loyal reader and friend Len Labelle.
Finally: From a shitty Amazon seller comes Super 7’s ReAction figure for a battle-damaged T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgement Day. What’s up with the shitty seller? They stuffed this figure in a box that was too small for the card, damaging it and making the figure fall out loose. I was going to open him, but then I noticed he was a limited edition exclusive. Would have been nice to have the option to keep him sealed if I felt like it. Well, he’s open now, and ready to do battle with Autobots, Decepticons, Aliens, and ghouls. This is a universal action figure line compatible with the 1977 Kenner Star Wars figures. Ever wanted Ben Kenobi to take on Snake Pliskin? You could do it now!
Over the course of five lists, you will definitely find some tracks to check out for the first time, or just for a fresh listen. The discussion was brisk and entertaining as hell. You might even see cameos from Boba Fett and Thunder Bay’s own T-Bone Erickson. What songs did we pick? Was Aaron disqualified? You’ll have to watch to find out.
In addition to the AC/DC lists, we tackled a few other topics. Check the video times below to skip to the following:
An Amazon parcel & special Sven Gali swag unboxing – 0:09:30
Some praise for Max the Axe and Eric Litwiller – 0:26:00
The AC/DC lists – 0:30:50
For the after-party, general music and current events discussion – 1:55:25
This week’s episode comes to you from BURIED ON MARS! I’ve been wanting to involve him on the live show for a few months and now the time has come. His topic: AC/DC deep cuts. Back in June we did a Nigel Tufnel Top Ten AC/DC albums co-hosted by Superdekes. That was one of our best shows, but now we go deep! No hits, just AC/DC; songs that we love that you’re not going to hear on the radio.
You may have noticed I have finally picked a name for this show. I hope I picked the right one. Tonight will be the inaugural (even though I’ve been doing this six months) episode of THE LeBRAIN TRAIN: 2000 Words or More with Mike Ladano.
Thank you to old pal (26 years) and author Aaron Lebold for contributing new graphics for the show. I really appreciate it! This was my favourite of the two he made. I have more artwork coming along. I’m very grateful for your help Aaron! Maybe you can come on the show and discuss your new book Genocide.
So that’s the name…The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike Ladano. Or, just The LeBrain Train. Jen came up with the LeBrain Train, and rock journalist Mitch Lafon suggested the 2000 Words or More part. Thanks to everyone who dropped a suggestion! I liked them all except for James Kalyn’s — “The Lebrain Eats A Worm And A Stick YouTube Hour”!
On a recent road trip with Jen to the lake, I chose the music according to my recent modus operandi: 80s retro rock. The stuff I used to listen to at the lake when I was 15 or 16 years old. This time I decided on the Killer Dwarfs’ Big Deal album from 1988. I didn’t get the cassette until the cottage season of ’89. I have a lot of nostalgia for that year. I turned 17, I had friends, and I even met a girl that liked me. We held hands once!
The title Big Deal referred to the Dwarfs’ signing their big record deal with Epic. This was their major label debut. After two indies, they finally signed the “big deal”, and even made a music video lampooning the idea. The album is a solidly hard rock album with a melodic side and a dash of dreams. Big Deal‘s theme is dreaming, and making it come true. Self determination. It doesn’t sound like the band had to compromise too much in making the album. While a tad softer than the predecessor Stand Tall (1986), it sounds like a natural evolution from that point. Better background vocals, cleaner production, and more considered arrangements.
Epic Records even funded a jokey video for “We Stand Alone”, though unusually dark. It was very much a sequel to “Stand Tall (Stick To Your Guns)” from the prior album. This time, the band sign to a label (in blood!) who forces them to change their image and name to the “Cuddly Dwarfs”. They are forced to cut and style their hair. They give it a go, but by the end Russ Dwarf breaks his puppeteer’s strings and re-emerges with wild hair, tricycle and goofy stage shenanigans.
As the album played in the car, my brain immediately began flashing back to those times (as has been routine lately). Like an old film projector, images appeared in my mind. I was sitting in the basement, hand on the remote control of the VCR, ready to hit “record” on the new Killer Dwarfs video. Bob Schipper may have been watching with me, or he may have come over later. Either way, we both enjoyed the song, which was their most melodic yet. I can remember my thoughts and feelings watching the video, which had a tenebrous edge. I seem to have a reaction to videos where people have goey stuff dumped on their heads, like in Gowan’s video for “A Criminal Mind”. Killer Dwarfs had similar imagery in “We Stand Alone”, when faceless record company suits issue new haircuts for the Dwarfs. As such I’ll always see the video, and thus hear the song, with a sense of…shadow.
As the Dwarfs themselves have said, the videos may have been comedies, but the music and lyrics have always been dead serious. The album in general has a similar dark vibe for me. The records before and after were more aggressive, but Big Deal seems to have a different focus. Songs like “Power”, “Lifetime” and “Tell Me Please” have a certain foreboding to them for me. Others are different, like the accelerated “Burn It Down” which recalls the Dwarfs of old. There are no real duds on the album, which is a workmanlike slab of granite to seek out if you like 80s metal or Canadian rock bands.
The Dwarfs did well enough but didn’t have a major breakthrough. They were always respected, tending to get better album after album. I read a few critiques of Russ Graham’s voice, calling it too nasal like fellow Canadian Geddy Lee. If that’s a dealbreaker for you, it’s best to move on. While Russ is more aggressive than Geddy, I do hear the resemblance they are referring to. But don’t forget guitarist Mike Hall, who doesn’t get enough credit for his solo work and tasteful use of the whammy bar. On drums, the Dwarfs boast the heavy hitting Darrell Dwarf (Millar), an animated character who provides the ever-important thump. And of course Bad Ronbo Mayer on bass and backing vocals, keeping it together.
Peak Dwarfs for me was 1990’s Dirty Weapons, a seriously good heavy rock album with attitude and riffs. I have a whole different set of memories of that album, but not as nostagic. Dirty Weapons came at Childhood’s End, a period of rapid change. There it remains emblazoned in that part of my memory forever.
Always happy to showcase tunes for Max the Axe, local heavy metal hero and legend!
Here’s another video of cottage memories to help keep us warm during the winter. A little dark, a little stormy, but a lovely if short fall weekend. Headphones recommended. I didn’t take a lot of pictures this time, so only a short song was necessary – “Blood Runs Red” from Million Dollar Threats.
When I was really small, just a toddler, I can remember having a couple names for this place: “Big Water” and “Lake Water Stones”. 48 years ago was my first summer at Lake Water Stones, better known as Lake Huron. Lorne Beach is the exact location. These patches of land have been in my family for many decades. The original cottage that Grampa Winter owned is still there, now occupied by Dr. Kathryn. A lot has changed but not our family’s long roots in that dark sandy soil.
There were several times in my younger years when I didn’t want to be there. In those foolish years I’d rather be here near the telephone line and creature comforts. I can remember in the mid 80s at the cottage, my dad had to drive into town to make a phone call. I had to tape all my precious wrestling matches at home and pray that they recorded.
Perspective changes and so does technology. Now there’s no place I’d rather be than Lake Water Stones.
2018 changed everything for us. That was the year Jen’s mom died. Almost like the year without a summer. We spent the whole season in hospital rooms and corridors, and hotels in Toronto. After she passed we spent the whole fall cleaning out her house. When we finally got back to the lake in spring 2019, we had learned to cherish and savour it more.
As if we needed a reminder how uncertain life can be, 2020 gave us a whole new perspective. “Essential travel only.” No road trips to cottage country. They were wary of outsiders stealing their toilet paper, or spreading disease from the city. As time wore on, we questioned whether we would be able to go at all.
I kept a positive attitude and I made the most of our time stuck at home. I took advantage of my little patio, listening to tunes out there and doing several live streams in the fresh air. Better than nothing. A small patch of outdoors sure beats staying in all the time. A little bit of blowing wind feels good on the skin.
Ontario was still on shaky ground and not yet in Phase 2 of re-opening when Jen and I finally returned to the lake at the end of May. We missed the long weekend, usually a reliable starting point for a happy summer. Instead we had a cold, dark weekend highlighted by the ominous “Premises Closed” signs posted at the beach entrance points.
I remember walking into the cottage and taking a breath of the woody smelling air. You don’t notice it after 10 minutes, but it’s so strong at first sniff. We were having a quiet weekend, no stops in town and we didn’t even tell anyone besides family that we were going. Only when I tested the internet connection with a live stream was it obvious where we were. Non-essential travel was frowned upon but I looked at this trip as essential to the mental health of two people who were quarantining pretty strictly.
Phase 2 began in early June and at that point we tried to make it up every other weekend, working around my parents’ schedule. We wanted to maintain some distancing. I had some goals I wanted to accomplish this summer. Tossing out the planned accomplishments for Summer 2020, the new goals were attainable in an altered season.
I wanted to live stream outdoors from the lake — and we did this many times.
I wanted to eat steak every weekend we were there — and we did.
Swim as much as weather permitted — we did.
Mental health being the theme of 2020, I wanted to have a virtual counselling appointment from the porch. I did two. The setting was incredible.
Create as much photo and video content as I could to remember the place by in the winter. Mission accomplished.
Setting realistic goals helped me make the most of this summer. I feel more prepared for the fall. And I’m really looking forward to 2021, when I might be able to add some more goals to the list. (Still hoping to cook a wagyu steak on my own grill.)
Here’s gratitude for a great 2020 season regardless of the obstacles. Hoping for better next year.
When it was released on September 9 2009, Joey Tempest and Ian Haughland were quoted talking about how this was the best album Europe had done in the reunion era. I personally don’t agree; I think Start From the Dark is the best. However that’s not a slight against Last Look at Eden, a regal very European platter of great songs. From rockers, to ballads, to blues (like the closing epic “In My Time”), Last Look at Eden is a well-rounded Europe album.
You can tell what you’re in for right from the opening prelude: Grand arrangements, lush recording. The Europe of old, in the world of today. This goes straight into the title track, a sort of “Final Countdown” for the new era. Indeed, Last Look at Eden combines sounds from Europe’s past, brought sharply into the new millennium. A good example is “New Love in Town”, a great ballad that would go toe-to-toe with the lush landmark ballads this band did in the 80’s. There’s even a hint of Zeppelin on “Mojito Girl”. I hear a smidge of Marillion in “No Stone Unturned”. Elsewhere you will find groove, such as on the driving “Gonna Get Ready”. “The Beast” is unstoppable! If it wasn’t for Joey Tempest’s voice and the thick tone of John Norum, you wouldn’t know it was Europe. But it is, and has the kind of chorus that they do so well.
To me the weakest parts of this album were some of the lyrics, “Catch That Plane” being the worst. It’s not 1986 anymore guys. “It’s getting hard, so very hard, I’m gonna need some attention.” What on Earth could Joey be singing about? “Catch that plane and get your ass, your pretty ass over here.” Oh.
I also find the album cover to be a poor representation of the music inside. It’s not bad, with the apple (“Eden”) and the ferrofluid spikes. Everybody will have their own interpretation, but it just doesn’t do the music justice.
There are two bonus tracks on this edition, more on different editions. Here you get a live version of the old B-side track, “Yesterday’s News”, probably the best version of this song released yet. There is also a live version of “Wake Up Call” from Start From The Dark.
Pretty damn good. Lots of killer, only a little filler.
FIVE BUCKS AT THE DOOR – THE STORY OF CROCKS N ROLLS(2020)
Directed by Kirsten Kosloski
When she was a kid, it was director Kirsten Kosloski’s job to spend the weekend taping albums for her thrifty dad, who was always borrowing records from friends. With a floor full of tapes and cases, Kosloski grew to love music in that intimate way that only true music fanatics can relate to. She felt like a bit of an outsider in Thunder Bay Ontario, but her love of music helped her bond with some local punks. The place to be was Crocks N Rolls. She walked up to the entrance. Owner Frank Loffredo sat in the booth. Five bucks at the door. Kirsten had empty pockets. Loffredo gestured for her to go in anyway. A life was changed that night. She became a music journalist. The dream job she didn’t know existed until Crocks N Rolls opened up her world.
Five Bucks at the Doors – The Story of Crocks N Rolls is a uniquely Canadian documentary. You quickly realize that Crocks N Rolls could only be the result of Canadian geography and personalities. We joke about Thunder Bay being isolated (though it is said that their landfill hosts a treasure trove of 80s cassette tapes), but the truth is far deeper than simple stereotypes. Yes, Thunder Bay is eight hours’ drive away from the big cities, but it also occupies a unique crossroads on the Canadian roadmap. Touring bands from Ontario and further east had to go through on their way west. Western bands also had to pass through the crucible. The only place to play was Crocks. Most importantly, it was the right place to play.
Sook Yin Lee (Bob’s Your Uncle) calls it a “wonderful enclave of freaks and weirdos.” Frank Loffredo was just a music fan. He’d drive to Toronto to see a show. He dreamed of being in the New York or London scenes and drinking up the rock and roll. Instead he did something better and he brought that vibe to Thunder Bay for everyone to share. Bands started coming through. Great bands, bad bands, mediocre bands. Even if they didn’t sell tickets, Frank would book them a second time. It wasn’t always about the bottom line. He would live and sleep in the bar to make it work. It was about Canadian rock music. It was about making life bearable for the kids of Thunder Bay who dreamed of getting out. To Frank it was like “one long day,” but to the kids it was another home. There were no fights. It was a melting pot of acceptance and ideas.
Bad Brains, 13 Engines, Razor, Sacrifice, DOA, Henry Rollins…Rollins on a spoken word tour no less. Five Bucks at the Door is loaded with stories and the best has to be about Henry Rollins and being short changed $10 by Frank Loffredo. Hank didn’t notice, but Frank had to make it right. He asked a friend to repay the $10 that Frank accidentally owed him. He also insisted on photographic evidence of the transaction, and that evidence is part of this smorgasbord of punk rock history.
Dave Bidini (The Rheostatics), Bob Wiseman (Blue Rodeo), and many more Canadian artists have acres of stories to tell. A bunch of tree planters and a canoe? From Frank’s mom’s home-made spaghetti dinners for the tired band members, to the name of the place. It looked like an Italian restaurant and the logo looked like it had a bowl and a spoon. “It was a dumb name,” says Frank. But the important thing was that “the audience was as much of the show as the band.” That’s clear by the testimonials and amazing black and white photos. Scratched and unretouched.
Crocks closed in 1996. It was no longer sustainable, and then as if adding insult to injury the original place burned down. But in 2007, Loffredo gave it another go. Naming it Crocks N Rolls flat out indicated this was to be a continuation of the original. As before, it’s all still in the family, with a new generation now working with Frank in keeping the rock rolling in Thunder Bay.
Five Bucks at the Door is a refreshing reminder that there are some crucial things we need in life. Connection, belonging, and music. Frank brought all three to the teenagers of Thunder Bay that longed for it. It’s a story that needs to be told, and you owe it to yourself to check it out. It’s available for streaming for free until September 20, 2020.
Thanks to Rob Daniels for not one but two awesome lists, and terrific co-hosting duties! The knowledge of this man is unsurpassed. Down to microscopic detail, Rob is able to discuss virtually any soundtrack on a dime. This show was long overdue! It was the Nigel Tufnel Top Ten Soundtracks with lists from:
My hope is that this show will give you some new music to check out, I know I’ll be adding some discs to my wishlist. You’ll have to watch and see!
An extra-special thanks to Dr. Kathryn for her first video appearance and an awesome list! Apologies for the technical issues, such is the nature of live streaming. It only gets harder when I’m on location. The LeBrain Facebook page lost its feed close to the end, but if you missed anything it’s all on Youtube below.
Also thanks to Holen, Erik, Frank, Meat, Chris, Candace and everyone else for your great comments!
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