Keeps Me Alive

11 Albums + 1 Desert Island = 6 Great Lists

The rules were flexible to say the least, but the lists were solid as rock! What 11 albums would you bring with you, if you were stranded on a desert island? And why? Each of us had our reasons and some great lists.

Unfortunately John Snow (2loud2oldmusic) could not make it tonight.  He felt terrible about cancelling, but fortunately pinch hitter Aaron from the KMA stepped in at the last minute with a list he made while cooking dinner!

Your panel this week was:

The lists start at 0:25:20, and as always Aaron wrote ’em down.  Read ’em at bottom!

The schedule:

April 30:  T-Bone returns and we discuss Van Halen’s 5150 in depth.  Guests:  Kevin (BuriedonMars), Uncle Meat, Superdekes, and Aaron.

May 7:  Paul Laine from Danger Danger and the Defiants with co-host John Snow.

May 14:  List show by Uncle Meat’s suggestion — Best Cover Tunes — with panel TBA.

May 21:  New booking!  Sean Kelly (Coney Hatch, Crash Kelly, Helix, Lee Aaron, Trapper, Nelly Furtado) joins us with co-host Deke!

May 28:  Dave Lizmi of the Four Fuckin’ Horsemen!  Co-host will be T-Rev.

June 4:  One year anniversary of Harrison’s first appearance.  We re-hash the Top 11 Priest Albums and will have Geoff Stephen to graph it!  Co-host is TBA.

June 18:  Robert Lawson, author of Still Competition: The Listener’s Guide to Cheap Trick.  Hosted by Superdekes.

All aboard!

 

 

 

The Very Beast Artwork of Iron Maiden on the LeBrain Train!

Great show tonight with your co-hosts  Harrison the Mad Metal Man, Aaron from KeepsMeAlive, and Superdekes!  We talked the Nigel Tufnel Top Ten Iron Maiden Covers/Artwork (that’s a mouthful) and it was awesome.  We took a close look at:  albums, singles, T-shirts, Reaction figures, MacFarlane figures, and the Neca Powerslave Eddie.  If you like Iron Maiden, you automatically love their artwork.  Ergo, you need to watch this show!

First we unboxed some brand new Reaction Eddie figures.  Go to 0:16:50 of the stream.

Then we wished Steve Harris a Happy Birthday, and commenced with the lists!  Go to 0:24:00 of the stream.

After the conclusion of the Maiden lists, we had a freeform chat covering Queensryche’s Operation: Mindcrime, and a newly unearthed Black Sabbath track called “Slapback”.  Go to 2:22:45 of the stream to check that out.

Thanks for watching, and if you just want to know what Maiden art we picked, check out Aaron’s hand-written list below!  See ya next week!

Fear of the Art: Best Iron Maiden cover artwork on the LeBrain Train

The LeBrain Train:  2000 Words or More with Mike Ladano

Episode 54 – Best Iron Maiden Cover Art

 

Time to chill out with a more laid-back show this Friday!  We’ve had some serious lists, and serious guests in recent weeks.  This week is almost like a vacation.  Join Harrison the Mad Metal Man, Aaron from KeepsMeAlive, and Superdekes with myself here tonight as we share our favourite Iron Maiden artwork.

The art of Derek Riggs, Melvyn Grant, and many talented coversmiths including Hugh Syme will be up for examination tonight.  No disqualifications:  albums, singles, whatever!  As long as one of us likes it, we can list it.  Each of us will have our own rules and criteria.

BONUS:  Iron Maiden ReAction figure unboxing!   While it would be nice to have a complete set, I could only order four.  These Eddies, based on Iron Maiden cover art, will definitely be on topic for this show!

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

 


Next week:  The 1 Year Anniversary Show with giveaways and special guest Brent Jensen!

The Riffs of the 80s Live on the LeBrain Train

Awesome, fast-paced show tonight!  We picked our favourite riffs of the 80s, and Mike Slayen did his best to play some of ’em for us.  A big round of applause for Mike, please and thank you!

Your Riff Merchants tonight were:

Added extra bonus:  Lana Teramae and Harrison the Mad Metal Man both submitted lists, read towards the end of the show.  Aaron also wrote ’em all down if you wanna read ’em.

For me personally though, the highlight of the show was the brand new music video by T-Bone.  I have been waiting two weeks to play this.  If you’d like to catch this new song, a wonderful tribute to our own Uncle Meat, then go to 0:14:00.

See ya next week when I return with Harrison, Deke and Aaron with some Iron Maiden cover art lists!

Top Riffs of the 1980s tonight on the LeBrain Train – Mike Slayen returns!

The LeBrain Train:  2000 Words or More with Mike Ladano

Episode 53 – Top Riffs of the 1980s

 

The last time we talked riffs, San Diego-based guitarist Mike Slayen was there to show us how to play ’em.  Tonight, Mike will be back to talk the 80s.  The era of Van Halen, Scorpions, Motley Crue and Metallica.  Mike is gonna have his hands full — literally!

Added bonus:  This time, Rob Daniels from Visions In Sound will be joining us with his own 80s rock perspective!  The panel is seven, so we will be doing these lists very quickly with minimal jabber:

Added extra bonus:  Lana Teramae submitted an 80s list and I’ll be reading it at the end!

There are additional surprises lined up, so take it from someone who knows:  you don’t wanna miss this week’s show.  You want to catch this one live.

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

Operation: Concept Albums – an epic Nigel Tufnel Top Ten

Concept albums!  A marathon session with a five person panel. The best concept albums in the history of music (the earliest dating back to 1918). Genre busting lists. A rush of inspiring music, from hip to elders.

Aaron kept tabs on the titles and I’ll post them when I get a chance.  There was one album that was a clear winner, and one subject that crossed over multiple albums.  You’ll just have to watch to see for yourself.*

There was some preamble chat about the latest episode of WandaVision, and a bit on Desmond Child.  We hit the lists at 0:21:30 of the stream.

Thanks for checking it out!  Tune in next week for Top Bootlegs with Harrison Kopp, John T. Snow, Buried On Mars and maybe more.  Cheers!

* If you don’t want to see for yourself, you can try to read Aaron’s hand-written notes below!

Nigel Tufnel Top Ten Concept Albums on the LeBrain Train, and the return of Rob Daniels!

The LeBrain Train:  2000 Words or More with Mike Ladano

Episode 51 – Nigel Tufnel Top Ten Concept Albums

 

This show doesn’t need a lot of preamble.  It’s another list show and it’s another great panel!  “Top Concept Albums” was the topic suggested by Rob Daniels.  A subject so good, I’m amazed it took this long to get to it.  What’s a concept album?  One of those records that tells a story.  We’re keeping the definitions broad.

Please give Rob a warm welcome back to the show for his first appearance of 2021.

Your panel this week:

Whether the lead character of the story is Pink, Kilroy, Torch, or perhaps one of the many nameless protagonists throughout rock history, this is the show you want to catch. By the end, we hope you say “I didn’t know they made a concept album,” to some of our picks.

Friday February 19, 7:00 PM E.S.T.
Facebook:  MikeLeBrain  YouTube:  Mike LeBrain

Top Riffs of the 1970s tonight on the LeBrain Train – special guest Mike Slayen

The LeBrain Train:  2000 Words or More with Mike Ladano

Episode 47

 

In October 2020, we did one of my favourite LeBrain Train episodes:  Van Halen deep cuts.  Shortly after, I was contacted by guitarist Mike Slayen about how much he enjoyed the lists.  He asked me if there was any way he could participate and I “sure DUDE!”  See, Dude is the title of his excellent instrumental acoustic CD.  But Mike knows not just acoustic, but also the sweet siren song of a fully electrified six-string.  Why not talk about Top Riffs?

Kevin, Aaron, and Uncle Meat were interested.  But it was quickly obvious that the scope was too large, so we decided to break it down by decade.  In the future, we’ll reconvene to talk about riffs of the 80s and 90s, but tonight, we talk about the greatest time ever (perhaps) for guitar riffs:  the molten 1970s.

Tonight’s panel will be five:

Mike Slayen is a guitar teacher, so what I am hoping is that he can demonstrate how some of these riffs are played.  This is going to be a fun night with plenty of great picks for you (and I) to check out.  See you tonight, and please share with your music buddies!

 

 

 

 

Tres Hombres talk ZZ Top Deep Cuts on the LeBrain Train

Tons of fun, both on and off topic tonight, on the LeBrain Train.  Aaron from the KMA and Kevin from Buried On Mars were on board with some killer lists of ZZ Top’s best deep cuts.  A lil’ bit of overlap but not too much!  We also read off some guest lists:  San Diego guitarist Mike Slayen, and a local Kitchener singer named Mike Mahler.  Check out their lists as well as ours!

Show time index:

Watch from the start to see the latest CD unboxing from Encore Records.

To check out the new music video by Current River called “Hodder To Hell”, skip to 0:16:45 of the stream.

The ZZ Top talk commences at 0:22:20.

At the end of the show I spun the Loudness video for “Black Widow”.  Find that at 2:32:36.  (No copyright strike, yay!)

I hope you enjoy this week’s show as much as I did!  The 2021 season is off to a great start.

 

Complete 80s KISS live stream! From Unmasked to H.I.T.S., unboxings and surprises!

You gotta give Aaron from the KMA credit for several things.  One, for bringing the Community together.  Two, for his thoughtful and generous nature.  And three, apparently, for clairvoyance.

Long before I decided on this week’s KISS theme, Aaron sent me a birthday gift.  You won’t believe it.  Clairvoyance?  Obviously!

This was an action-packed show and to help you navigate, here are the highlights:

I included the pre-show portion of the stream in this video.  To hear two awesome Max the Axe tunes, “My Daddy Was a Murderin’ Man” and “Magnum P.I.“, go to 0:01:20 of the stream.

For the epic Aaron Unboxing, check out 0:12:20 of the stream.

To begin 80s KISStory, go to 0:18:20 and rock!

For a sneak preview of a comedy bit that I recorded for Sausagefest 2020 (spoiler free), skip to 0:25:00.

To check out a host of cool ReAction figures, go to 1:26:00.  They Live, Ghost’s Papa Emeritus, Aliens, and the Transformers.

Or just enjoy the whole dang thing.