Amazing weekend at the lake once again, and you can see it all right now, to the tune of “Space Marine” by Max the Axe from Trillion Dollar Threats! This short metallic blitz of a song is a condensed and concentrated rewrite of “Hard Drive” from their 1995 EP Bodies of Water. It’s a fantastic tune from Max with another killer riff.
This year represents the earliest “first swim of the year” on May 13, a record. A sign of a hot summer to come.
In this video you will see my new Fender acoustic bass. This originally belonged to Don Simmons of Helix and I am fortunate enough to have bought it from his sister Donna. This will provide many hours of summer entertaining at the cottage as I slowly become acquainted with this lovely instrument. Tomorrow you’ll get the full story of the weekend in Record Store Tales #987: The Summer Awakens.
Here’s just what you needed on this cold, windy Sunday morning: a sun coming up on a July summer webcam! This is from the July 20, 2021 morning LakeCam, but two hours compressed into under two minutes. Feel the rays of the sun drift across your face in this fun time-lapse video. Stay warm! Music is a sneak preview of “Randy” by Max the Axe, remixed in 2022 by Robi Banerji.
2021: the year of the hamster wheel. It sure felt like we were spinning our tires all year! Sometimes inching a little forward in the mud, only to slide right back. What a year. But we did get some great music out of it.
Here at LeBrain HQ, if you go strictly by the numbers, there were two bands that dominated the year, both oldies acts from the 1980s: Coney Hatch and Iron Maiden! They (or members thereof) appear numerous times in the lists you’re about to read. Not so “oldies” after all eh? Five appearances for Iron Maiden, and a whopping seven for Coney and its members!
Even I was surprised by the lists this year! All my favourite things, and the stats of 2021, are curated below.
On Friday night’s LeBrain Train, G1 Fortress Maximus was my #4 favourite Transformer of all time. I don’t have a G1, but I have an (even better) Encore reissue. I mentioned during the show that although the figure is now in storage, I did film an animated Transformers movie starring the toy. He featured in a big battle scene with Galvatron, an homage to their original fight in Marvel’s Transformers #79. I filmed the whole thing on the May long weekend in 2013 but lost my script and never edited it together.
However I’ve dusted off a couple shots, edited them together and I present to you a clip from the unfinished film Transformers 4: Fortress Maximus.* Music is “Immortal” by Max the Axe, from Trillion Dollar Threats.
* The series is as follows:
The Transformers: Death and Rebirth of Optimus Prime (unreleased)
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.”
Playing around with faster editing to suit the musical track: “Thirsty and Miserable”, the new Black Flag cover by Max the Axe, from the Oktoberfest Cheer EP. Enjoy a good look at some wild (and probably poisonous) mushrooms! Cameo by Classic Loki.
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mikeladano.com 