Thank you to Nicholas Walsh and Superdekes for an awesome interview last night. The Slik Toxik / Famous Underground singer opened up on a ton of topics from his entire career:
Virgin Angel, Portrait and Slik Toxik
Meeting Sebastian Bach
Sending audition tapes to Ratt and Jimmy Page
Calling hotel security on his own band
Kicking Deke and Mike off the show and taking over Scotch on the Rocks on his own!
Future Famous Underground
Classic Albums Live
Detroit Rock City
Drew Masters and M.E.A.T Magazine
Geri Miller of Metal Edge Magazine
Sean Kelly and Metal On Ice
…and much much more. A true bucket list interview for me. Thank you guys! Can’t wait for Part 2.
I’ll be happy to tag along with Deke tonight as we have a Helluva Time with Nicholas Walsh on Scotch on the Rocks! The Slik Toxik / Famous Underground frontman will be with us at 7 PM sharp. Don’t miss it on the Scotch on the Rocks Youtube channel! We’ll be quizzing him on his whole career from the start to the present. Gonna be a great show. Crank it up!
Congratulations Deke on an historic first episode of Scotch on the Rocks!
All you need to know is Andy Curran and Sean Kelly both dropped by for an episode that you could have called “This Is Your Life Greg Fraser”. The Storm Force guitarist dropped tons of knowledge and great stories. Musicians: watch this episode.
Instead of the normally scheduled LeBrain Train, tonight you get a real treat. This week is the series premier of Superdekes’ new show Scotch on the Rocks. As Deke’s co-host for this episode, I’m proud to be able to help him launch his new series. Greg Fraser of Storm Force and Brighton Rock will be the guest tonight, and I believe Deke has a few surprises in store. Don’t miss it.
Friday September 24, 7:00 PM E.S.T.at the link below.
Hey all! Just a quick update in case you missed it. Friday’s show was four hours long so if you missed the flurry of details at the end, that’s OK. This isn’t really an announcement; just an outline of what I’d like to do.
I’ve said since the beginning that I will keep going live every week to bring friends together and entertain you on a Friday night when you’re stuck at home doing nothing. While the fourth Covid wave is officially happening now (thanks Delta!), most of you no longer seem to be stuck at home on Friday nights anymore. I’ve been trying to find a time to wrap up the weekly show. We’ve been doing this steadily every week since March of 2020 and a break would be nice. However we’ll keep going as long as it’s necessary and I’m able. I don’t decide; Covid does.
Viewership has started to drop compared to the peak in May 2021, so it’s obvious that some of you have got your lives back. Others still need this Friday ritual. Currently I’m looking at or around October 1 to do a finale. We shall see; a lot can change between now and then. When I’m no longer going live every week anymore, I’d still like to do it once a month.
And interviews are still happening! We’ve already confirmed the first one of the fall which is Greg Fraser of Storm Force, back again to tell us what they have cooking. This is very special to us because Greg was the very first interview that Deke and I did a year ago. We’ve come full circle and Greg will be back on September 24 at 7:00 PM. Once again thanks to Deke for lining this up.
In sum:
Hang on because we still have plenty of fun lined up for the foreseeable future. But circumstances are changing and nothing lasts forever, not even Covid, so with any luck you can expect a LeBrain Train series finale in the fall. If not…keep on keepin’ on, because I will.
Lots of laughs and musical wisdom from the inspiring Polychuck on today’s episode of the LeBrain Train! Influenced by everybody from Yngwie J. Malmsteen to Post Malone, Polychuck strikes from Montreal with his new EP Shadows Exposed. Deke and I had a blast talking to the man about topics such as:
Kiss
Mixed martial arts
Guitar influences
Progressive rock
Metallica
Touring
Merch
Working on an album
Check out his music on YouTube, Spotify, and iTunes. This fascinating artist is going places.
The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike and Deke
Episode 77 – Polychuck
We’ve been talking about Montreal’s multi-instrumentalist Polychuck for a few weeks; well now it’s time to talk to the man himself! His new EP Shadows Exposed features five new tracks, including “In the Dark” and “Beating Me Down”. Introspective songs with modern urban beats and shredding guitar solos. A unique combination to be sure. Polychuck has been shredding since age 13! We can’t wait to find out what makes him tick. His use of striking visuals and unique influences are sure to come up in our conversation.
Suicide Star is the hot new band featuring singer Rob Barton, drummer Brian Hamilton, bassist Aki Maris, and guitarist Les Serran. Metal with a modern twist — classic music, new songs, vital lyrics. An album written and recorded during and of this time, but with an eye on the future. A hard rocking, uplifting, heartfelt album aptly titled Isolation.
Deke and I had the pleasure of speaking to Brian and Rob about many topics. Among them:
The genesis of the band
The making of the album (remotely)
The music video for “Mercy”
The next video
The meaning of the lyrics
The future of recording and playing live
Brian’s history with New Wave
To solo or not to solo?
New Storm Force
Check out the band on your favourite streaming services such as Spotify, Amazon, or buy the CD from the band. As revealed in this interview, the CD version has additional content not available to stream. Physical product! Check them out on Facebook.
Big thanks to Rob and Brian for coming on the show with us music nerds, and congratulations on a wicked CD.
Another big thank-you to last Friday’s guest Robert Lawson, who sent me a signed copy of his book Razama-Snaz! The Listener’s Guide to Nazareth. I opened the package near the start of the video.
We hope you enjoyed this show. Deke is off for summer holidays! Thank you Deke for an awesome 2021 season. Check out his new show with T-Bone, “Scotch On the Rocks”, coming this fall.
The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike and Deke
Saturday – Episode 73 – Brian and Rob from Suicide Star
Brian Hamilton, drummer for the awesome Storm Force, has a new band called Suicide Star! Itching to keep making music, Hamilton and his bandmates from former group Step Echo found lead singer Rob Barton online, who had recently gotten back into music. When the four decided to unite, Covid shut the world down. But that couldn’t stop them and a new album called Isolation is here to rock the summer of ’21. The CD was mixed by Hamilton and is out now.
This Friday, June 25, Brian and Rob join Deke and Mike on the LeBrain Train. We’ll talk about the album in depth, the members, and what it’s been like trying to launch a new project during Covid. Don’t miss this show – as usual you’ll want to catch it live and have your questions asked!
Not even disconnections and bad internet can keep a good man down. Robert Lawson — author of great listener’s guides on Cheap Trick, Nazareth and The Guess Who — persevered and eventually defeated the internet demons plaguing the start of Friday’s show. Hang in there folks — it starts rough but gets better!
This free-flowing chat covers numerous topics:
The Guess Who and Burton Cummings
Nazareth and “the kids”
Cheap Trick encounters
Band management
Rarities
Aerosmith’s Done With Mirrors
Martin Popoff
Sean Kelly
Gene & Paul
5150
King Kong
When it comes to Cheap Trick, Robert gets raw and tells it from the heart. You’ll have to see for yourself but we appreciate Robert’s candor and willingness to relive some emotional moments in his rock and roll life.
Thank you Deke for introducing me to Robert, and thank you Robert for being patient and generous with your time tonight!
REMINDER – The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike and Meat
Saturday – Episode 72 – Jacob Moon
“Jacob is an incredible Canadian talent.” — Andy Curran
If you only know Jacob Moon from his jaw-dropping Rush cover of “Subdivisions”, then you are in for a treat. That viral video catapulted him to Youtube fame, but he is about so much more than just covers. With nine albums to his name (so far), Jacob has been around. When guys like Andy Curran sing his praises, you know he’s seriously good at what he does. He has also won the admiration of Rush, Marillion, and many more. What’s it feel like performing a Rush song in front of Rush? Let’s find out from Jacob himself!
mikeladano.com 