From the album Live In Ontario, here is the second music video from the CD: “I Don’t Advocate Drugs”. This video was painstakingly animated, using real Lego bricks, by hand. No AI here folks. Bricks were collected to create these characters including all four members of the band: Max the Axe (lead guitar), Uncle Meat (lead vocals), Mike Mitchell (bass), and Dr. Dave Haslam (drums). Depicting a druggy trip and a stage performance by the band, look for several easter eggs referring to past Max the Axe songs, or even Dr Dave’s well-stated hatred of Transformers.
Kitchener Ontario’s Max the Axe has several studio albums and EPs, plus a “best of”, but never before have they released a live album. Until now!
Recorded in 2006, 2017, and 2018, the album features a spread of Max classics new and old, including favourites like “Scales of Justice” and “Gods On the Radio”. Each song features Eric “Uncle Meat” Litwiller on vocals.
“But Mike,” you ask. “I thought Meat joined the band later than 2006.”
True. While we won’t get into details, if you consider Kiss Alive to be a great album, then you should have no problem with Live In Ontario!
The first six tracks come from a 2006 recording called Heads or Tails, recorded in Etobicoke Ontario. The lineup includes Litwiller, Mike “Max the Axe” Koutis on guitar, Tom Cole on bass, and Jeff Slauenwhite on drums. These tracks are heavy on bottom end. The guitars are pure sludge. Opener “Blood Runs Red” sounds great with Meat singing; a fantastic vocal performance. The familiar “River Grand” follows, and once again the vocals stand out, with Eric adding twists that aren’t on the album versions.
“Labyrinth” has distortion and groove. Max wrings some cool sounds from his axe on this frantic, messy, punky classic. It’s very shambolic, definitely with a punk rock appeal. Back to a more metallic sound on “Immortal” (subtitled “I Feel the Sun”). The vocals are more tentative here, as the song was less familiar when recorded.
“Mexican Standoff” opens with the traditional Mexican sounding guitar lick, and then it’s off to the races with Meat in peak voice. This version lacks the shouted backing vocals, but is cool nonetheless. Max throws some wah-wah on during a noisy interlude. One more song from this gig is the Metallica-like “Space Marine”. It is great to finally have versions of these older songs with Meat singing, tentative as some are.
Onto the next batch of songs from 2016 at “The Farm” in Woodstock Ontario. This was the very first gig with the new (and definitive) lineup: Mike Mitchell on bass and Dr. Dave Haslam on drums. Having never played live before, and with a batch of brand new songs, the gig sounds much as you would expect. It’s energetic and engaged, but good as the songs would come to be, they are not there yet. The set features a number of compositions that would later appear on the Status Electric album, plus “I Don’t Advocate Drugs”, the first version available with Eric on vocals. He cranks it up a couple notches.
A very cool band intro leads into “The Other Side”, a very embryonic version. The parts are all there, but it’s not tight yet. “Loose” is a good word to describe this live album in general. There’s also an extended guitar solo. From there, Eric asks the audience if anyone out there owns a snake? Which means, of course, that “Scales of Justice” is up next. It’s not as crunchy as the album. If anything, maybe it’s a bit more Zeppy. Yet those vocal hooks are there, and Meat is in peak voice. This track needed some work before it was album worthy, but it is fun to hear these early versions, flaws and all.
“This is a song about gambling,” explains Eric. This means the “Next Plane to Vegas” is about to land. It barely hangs together, but it’s over in a flash. Finally, “Gods On the Radio” closes the set with Max’s best song. Again, it’s not quite what it would become on album yet, but the bones are there and the vocal hooks are 100% intact. It doesn’t have the drive of the album version and unfortunately the drums are hard to hear. The guitar solos also haven’t evolved yet.
Finally, “Randy” from 2018 was recorded on a cell phone by your’s truly. While a limited run of one (1) single picture disc was made, this is its first CD release, and in much better sound quality. In terms of performance, this is by far the best track. All the songs were by now well rehearsed by the band, as the album had been completed. The difference between this and the Farm tracks is clear.
It is a shame the whole 2018 Boathouse set was not recorded. That said, you do the best with what you got. In this case we have a 2006 recording of an early band lineup, with the older songs. Then you have the 2017 recording of the definitive lineup, but with songs that they were still honing. So it’s not a perfect situation, but it’s history recorded. Something to remind us that albums don’t come fully formed. They must be worked on diligently, and if anything, Live In Ontario! makes us appreciate Status Electric that much more.
“Randy” on the other hand could be the best version of that song, period.
Won’t you take me back to school? I need to learn the golden rule. Won’t you lay it on the line? I need to hear it just one more time. — Justin Hayward
Truly awesome show tonight as we took our musical time machine back to 1981. Thanks to the awesome panel: Harrison the Australia Guy, Eric “Uncle Meat” Litwiller, and Dr. Dave Haslam. Together we went deep on the following 12 albums from the year 1981 A.D.:
Oingo Boingo – Only a Lad
AC/DC – For Those About to Rock
The Who – Face Dances
Thin Lizzy – Renegade
Iron Maiden – Killers
Blue Oyster Cult – Fire of Unknown Origin
Genesis – Abacab
John Williams – Raiders of the Lost Ark soundtrack
The Moody Blues – Long Distance Voyager
Styx – Paradise Theater
ELO – Time
Rush – Moving Pictures
In addition, if you indulge yourself to watch the whole 3+ hour show you will also get:
an unboxing of the new Kiss Destroyer 45th Anniversary box set
history of the year 1981
a clip of Eric’s cinematic debut Raiders of the Lost Fart
lots of laughs
a list of virtually every noteworthy album of the year 1981
These shows have a different format from the usual. Each of us picks three albums from the year 1981, and we discuss them in depth. From the facts & figures, to the historical context, and personal impact, we will cover it. I won’t reveal the 12 albums total we will be discussing, but you won’t be disappointed. Expect variety. We will also tackle world history and pop culture of the year, and might even have early video footage of a very young Uncle Meat in his first acting role!
Your panel are as follows:
Myself (LeBrain)
Australia Guy (Harrison — who was not even born in 1981)
Max the Axe went off the rails of the LeBrain Train, and we were hanging on for the ride!
This wide ranging interview with all four Max the Axe band members included the following subjects:
How they got their nicknames (fan question from Jeff Taylor and Tee Bone)
Drinking
Recording on 1″ analog tape vs. digitally
Trying to make a record during the pandemic
Gigs (or lack thereof)
Cover tunes
A 40 year-old tune that sounds current today
New track “Iron Cross”
New track “Droid” (which neither Meat nor Dave heard of before tonight)
Remixes of “Scales of Justice” and “Randy” for a new release
Lyrics, storytelling and getting political
LeBrain’s Cinco De-Listo Top Five Max the Axe songs
Meat’s “retirement” & future of the band
Thank you to Harrison the Mad Metal Man who helped me helm this car crash that you just can’t look away from!
NEXT WEEK:
Harrison and Uncle Meat back to discuss key albums of the year 1981! This is both a sequel to a show I did least year with Superdekes, and also a sister show to Scotch On the Rocks’ own special on the year 1981 featuring Deke and Muc. I was unable to participate in that show myself, but still wanted to celebrate four decades of great albums from that year. Join us next week!
The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike and Harrison
Episode 87 – Max the Axe band interview
Hear ye, hear ye! One band has consistently rocked us all since before the start of the pandemic. That band is Max the Axe, and tonight we will have 3/4 of the group with us.
They are:
Mike Koutis/Max the Axe – lead guitar
Eric Litwiller/Uncle Meat – lead vocals
Dave Haslam/Dr. Dave – lead drums
This will be their first-ever interview together, and Harrison the Mad Metal Man will be with me to quiz the band on the new EP Oktoberfest Cheer. The current crisis had a huge impact on its making and eventual release, and Max is eager to tell the story. The EP certainly brought a lot of joy as we crawled through the second year of this pandemic.
On a serious note: Please give this a “share” on your social media and help the guys out. It’s no secret that views have been down, but every time we do an interview show, we sell a CD or two to a viewer. You can help by sharing this show and maybe some of your friends will watch too. I guarantee a great night and some great tunes!
Today is the last day for Oktoberfest…but “Oktoberfest Cheer” goes on and on!
From the new EP Oktoberbest Cheer, written by Mike Koutis, here is the video for “Oktoberfest Cheer”. Have a schnitzel on a bun and a frosty cold one, and get your copy at Encore Records in Kitchener, or by dropping us a line here.
Mike Koutis – guitar
Eric Litwiller – lead vocals
Mike Mitchell – bass
Dr. Dave Haslam – drums
Accordion by Catherine Thompson
Notes: Since Eric deleted the only rehearsal footage of “Oktoberfest Cheer”, I was forced to use the video for “Randy” live at the Boathouse somewhat ham-fistedly. However this works perfect with the punky off-the-rails nature of the song. Speeding things up and slowing things down hides a multitude of sins in the edit, and the Keystone Cops flavour of the high-speed footage lends a comedic profile to the video. Which is necessary for any song that contains lyrics like “don’t crush my smokes, don’t spill my beer.”
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