Thank you Marco from the Contrarians for this honour. I really loved doing this interview, and I really appreciate the chance to talk about myself and the things I love the most. I got to tell some of my favourite stories, and plug Grab a Stack of Rock with the Mad Metal Man. I also did a horrific Australian accent. Please enjoy!
And Marco…thanks again, this meant the world to me.
Extra special surprise tonight as Marco D’Auria joined us to show off the new Mystique DVD and some Elvis treasures: magazines, books and records! East coast radio legend Tim Durling also came by with some tapes, records and CDs of his own. As for me, I unboxed Rush’s Permanent Waves deluxe set, a beautiful Savatage Poets and Madmen vinyl reissue, and showed off a complete set of all four Fish-era Marillion studio box sets.
Meanwhile, Harrison the Mad Metal Man dodged a question and a half, while Mike revealed what his stripper song would be.
Have a safe and happy Christmas! We will see you next week on Dec 30th for a drop-in special!
Marco, Tim and I had a blast taking a deep dive into Kiss’ Creatures of the Night album, box set, and tour! Marco presented a collection of four Kiss bootlegs from the Creatures era. Tim brought the vinyl and cassettes. He even had a related 8-track tape. I dove deep into the Kiss box set: the book, the goodies, the music, the stories and the packaging! (For those asking me for a box set review, this is pretty much it!) Additionally, Uncle Meat stopped by with his memories of seeing the Creatures tour at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. Finally, “Ask Harrison” returned with two of the best questions for my Aussie co-host yet. Harrison doesn’t have much in the way of Kiss but did present some interesting stuff in terms of Slade, Deep Purple, Def Leppard, and more.
“Ask Harrison” questions this time were asked by Lana (via Tee Bone) and our newest castmember, an actual Instagram influencer with 200,000 followers who discovered our Led Zeppelin list episode earlier this year, became a fan, and wanted to be a part of our little show herself! Please give her a big welcome.
Next week I’ll be doing a taping with Grant Arthur from Grant’s Rock Warehaus, but we’ll be back again soon. Thanks for watching!
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK…with Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 5: Special guests Marco D’Auria and Tim Durling
Week five of Grab a Stack of Rock, and the Kiss Creatures of the Night box set has finally arrived! And it’s awesome – the best Kiss box set to date. We’ll tell you why tonight. Additionally, Marco D’Auria and Tim Durling from the Contrarians will be on hand to show off some of their own Kiss goodies. D’ya think Tim will have 8-track tapes? What are the odds?
The popular “Ask Harrison” feature also returns, with two of the best questions yet. Let’s hope our boy from Australia is ready!
Friday November 25 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook.
Thanks to Marco D’Auria for the use of three exclusive movie clips in this review.
The Last Train – The MYSTIQUE Film
A big thanks to Marco D’Auria and special surprise guest Martin Popoff, for schooling us on Mystique! From Hamilton Ontario, Mystique were a metal band with a riffy progressive rock bent. Though they later evolved into a more hard rock sound, their metal side seems to be what has stuck with fans and collectors over the decades. Their highly sought physical product commands high prices for original copies. In this interview we covered:
See what the fuss was all about in Standing on the Firing Line: the Mystique documentary! The film will be premiering in September:
The Westdale
1014 King Street West
Hamilton, ON L8S 1L4
Friday September 16, 7:30 PM
The band will be there, memorabilia will be on display in a “Mystique museum” of sorts. Martin Popoff will be on hand and Marco will be introducing the film in person. Tickets are still available. Get your tickets by clicking here.
Additionally, we made the difficult announcement that this episode will be the final LeBrain Train. Two and a half years ago, a pandemic changed everything about the way we interact socially. Now the world is changing again and I need to re-prioritise certain things in my life. I spent a lot of Friday nights in front of a screen talking to you, laughing with you, sharing with you and surviving a pandemic with you. Now I’d like to spend Friday nights looking at sunsets with Mrs. LeBrain.
It has been a pleasure and a privilege doing this for two and a half years, and I thank you all for making it possible!
Thank you to Meat, Harrison, Deke, Tee Bone, Kevin, Sarah, John, Geoff, Aaron, Marco, Tim, Rob Daniels, Robert Lawson, Max, Dr. Dave, Dr. Kathryn, James, J, Lana, Erik, Thussy, Dranovous, Michael Morwood, Mike Slayen, Brian, Brent, T-Rev, Scotty, Mom, and anyone I may have forgotten for coming on the show and bringing your own special sauce to the mix. And of course, to Chris Sarre who I could never get to agree to come onto the show, but was still part of the heart and soul of it anyway.
I love you guys. Truly I do. Towards the end of the show, we played a brand new Tee Bone song called “The Last Train”. It is a collaboration with Dr. Kathryn Ladano on bass clarinet. I think it’s one of the best things they’ve ever done.
The Last Train…wow that’s hard to believe. See you somewhere out there, some time, eventually!
The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike & Harrison
Episode 114 – MYSTIQUE – Standing on the Firing Line with Marco D’Auria
Canadian Filmmaker and Contrarian Marco D’Auria is back on the LeBrain Train tonight to discuss his new film Mystique: Standing on the Firing Line! Mystique was a progressive metal band that formed in Hamilton Ontario in the 1980s. They released a single, a demo, and an EP which today are highly valued collectables. Their image might have been more hard rock/hair metal, but their music was far more challenging than their look. Unfortunately the band never released their 1989 album, which was recorded but never properly mixed. Now Marco is bringing Mystique back to the attention of the metal masses with this documentary which will debut in September.
Harrison and I will be peppering Marco with questions about this band, their discography, and his film. It is something he is very proud of, and from what little I have seen so far, he should indeed be proud!
Marco will also be doing a giveaway! In other words – catch this one LIVE. This will be a special show, and we have more surprises up our sleeves. Clips from the film (including unreleased music) and more will be going down tonight. Seriously, don’t miss it. You know how we do things here. We like surprises. Expect surprises.
Friday July 15, 7:00 PM E.S.T. on YouTube, Facebook and also Facebook!
Thank you to Marco from the Contrarians for your awesome contributions to this week’s discussion: Alice Cooper Deep Cuts! And thanks as always to co-host Harrison the Mad Metal Man! Harrison really came out of the box with some obscure but still notable songs that you need to check out. The thing about Alice Cooper is…he’s so prolific, and even on the albums you might not like as much, there are always a standout song or two. I was surprised to find so much love for certain songs (“Roses On White Lace”, “Aspirin Damage”, “Make That Money (Scrooge’s Song)”, “Fresh Blood” and more). Alice’s albums were well represented on these lists, with only a handful going unmentioned. Even so, our runners-up lists covered the shadowy corners of the discography.
More thanks: Holen & Buried On Mars with two more lists of great songs that need to be heard and appreciated more often.
If you watched this episode live, I appreciate you too! Another great Friday night for the books!
The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike Ladano and Friends
Episode 107 – Alice Cooper Deep Cuts – Nigel Tufnel Top Ten lists
Tonight, please tune in to a list show over a year in the making! Harrison the Mad Metal Man has been asking to do this theme for ages now, and we finally got the right trio to do it. Marco from the Contrarians will be completing the panel tonight as we list off our Alice Cooper Deep Cuts. No singles, no live concert staples. Each of us will be listing 11 tracks for the full Nigel Tufnel Top Ten experience.
Think about it a minute. There are all the classic Alice Cooper Band records, including the obscure opening duo of Pretties For You and Easy Action. Not long after the classic run, the “blackout” albums that Alice doesn’t remember making. The late 80s had their fair share of great deep cuts on Coop’s horror-themed Constrictor and Raise Your Fist and Yell. Then we have Cooper’s entire output for the last 30 years with plenty of hidden gems. Add in some pretty cool soundtracks and B-sides. Yes, there will be a wealth of Alice riches tonight.
Your live participation means all the world to us, so I hope you can make it. Go Leafs?
Friday May 6, 7:00 PM E.S.T. on YouTube, Facebook and also Facebook!
mikeladano.com 