Robert Daniels

It’s Synth School! The LeBrain Train with Seagram Synth Ensemble, Rob Daniels and special surprise guest Dr. Kathryn

Everything you wanted to know about synthesizer but were afraid to ask!  Thank you to the Seagram Synth Ensemble – James Reesor, James Dowbiggen and Dave Klassen whose No Moving Air album has provided many hours of listening enjoyment.  Thanks also to Robert Daniels from Visions In Sound for cohosting tonight!  And of course, special surprise guest Dr. Kathryn who had some comments and questions of her own.

Topics tackled tonight:

  • Starting out as students
  • Synths, maintenance, analog vs. digital, and more
  • The next gig (July 15 at TheMuseum in Kitchener)
  • Favourite players and influences
  • Formats such as tape and vinyl
  • Why No Moving Air was never released on CD
  • Who their favourite professor at school was and why
  • Top 3 science fiction films
  • And of course, their new single “Ephem”

“Ephem” is unique as a single, as it comes in a brand new format.  It is a piece of art and a statement about the way we consume music today.

This was a fascinating interview for me and I hope you give it a watch.

 

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Please welcome the Seagram Synth Ensemble on the LeBrain Train tonight!

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike Ladano & Robert Daniels

Episode 113 – The Seagram Synth Ensemble

Please give a warm welcome to James Reesor, Dave Klassen, and James Dowbiggen — otherwise known as the Seagram Synth Ensemble!  This trio of talented musicians first came to our attention with their excellent 2019 LP, No Moving Air.  Not only did the vinyl look great, but it sounded amazing.  No Moving Air is a soundtrack, or soundscape, of synth excellence, taking the listener on a journey.

Now the trio is back with a new (sold out!!) single called “Ephem” and, well folks, there’s no other word for it besides “innovation”.  The guys have not only come out with a new song, but also a new format.  It comes in the form of a small black box about the size of a guitar effects pedal.  Plug in a 9-Volt battery and a pair of headphones, and you can hear “Ephem” …but not forever!  It’s not just a song, but also a piece of art designed to make a point about listening with intent.  Music is instant and disposable these days, so the guys decided to say something about it with this project.  We will find out all about that, and much more tonight on the LeBrain Train.

Joining me for our first joint interview together will be Robert Daniels from Visions In Sound.  I can’t wait to hear his thoughts on the Seagram Synth Ensemble.

A Vision In Sound: Celebrating 2 years of Rob Daniels and the LeBrain Train

It was my pleasure to honour the man who got the ball rolling for us back in the very beginning: Robert Daniels from Visions In Sound.  Because he inspired the LeBrain Train in the first place, I decided to share this anniversary special with him!

Not only did we surprise Rob with a brand new Tee Bone Erickson song called “A Vision In Sound”, but we also brought in his long time friend Erik Woods to enjoy the tribute.

Joining Rob, Erik and myself this evening were:

Pre-show viewers got to see a really cool gift unboxed from Aaron, Mr. KeepsMeAlive himself!

Show highlights included clips, although you may be well advised to skip the middle one, “The Author Reads:  Record Store Tales Part 7, A Shitty Story”.  Lots of gratitude to Uncle Meat who was the center of several clips we played.  Added bonus:  a vintage video and story from the Meat Man!

You will be able to buy the track “A Vision In Sound” from Tee Bone’s Bandcamp site soon.

Thanks for watching!  If you didn’t, don’t hesitate to see it below.  Another big thanks to Marco the Contrarian for sharing the show with the Contrarians Patreons.

NEXT WEEK:

April 1 – 7:00 PM – The Prank Show with Chris Thuss

COMING UP:

April 23 – 12:00 noon – Polychuck’s back!

2 Years of the Train! Tee Bone, Robert Daniels and friends join for a celebration

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike Ladano

Episode 103 – 2 Years of the Train

On March 20, 2020, I went on my Facebook and hit that “go live” button.  The previous week, Rob Daniels began his Wednesday live streaming and he was undoubtedly the inspiration.  And look what he did!  His show continues today.  Without Rob there would be no LeBrain Train and ergo, no Scotch on the Rocks either.  Here we are still, two years after the fact!

Some of you were watching from Day One:  Rob, Chris Sarre, Kevin Simister, Uncle Meat and more.  Soon Deke was on board, and the show went to another level with interviews, deep dives, and Tee Bone.  The two biggest influences on the show were undoubtedly Deke who brought in what I think were incredible and groundbreaking interviews, and Uncle Meat who introduced the list shows.  On the 10th episode, Meat created the “Nigel Tufnel Top Ten” list format and we were off to the races.

Tonight I’m not just celebrating two years of some of the most fun I’ve ever had, but also the people who made it possible.  We will have clips, songs and brand new music from Tee Bone Erickson.

See you tonight!

 

Friday March 25, 7:00 PM E.S.T. on YouTube, Facebook and also Facebook!

 

Die Hard by Shooting Your Eye Out: The Christmas List LeBrain Train

A great quartet of fellows and a wonderful set of lists!  Tonight’s list of favourite Christmas movies ranged from the 1930s to the present day, and spanned multiple genres.  I’m sure you’ll find something to love here!

Your panel of merry-making Xmas Xperts:

This was the last show until the New Year’s Eve drop-in party on December 31.  If you’d like to participate in that, let me know and I will make sure you get the link to join!  Have a Merry Christmas and a safe holiday!

 

Merry Christmas! Top Five Xmas Films on the LeBrain Train

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike Ladano

Episode 91 – Top Christmas Films

No need to explain this one!  As a followup to the popular Top 5 Horror Films show, we just had to do a list of Top Christmas Movies!

The panel tonight is as epic as the Christmas cheer we will be spreading:

There will also be two bonus lists:  one submitted by Scott Peddle and one by John T. Snow!

This will be the last show until the New Year’s Eve drop-in show on December 31.  If you’d like to participate in that, let me know and I will make sure you get the link to join!  Have a Merry Christmas and a safe holiday!

Friday December 17, 7:00 PM E.S.T. on YouTube, Facebook and also Facebook!  (We decided to discontinue Twitter as Facebook is preferred by most.)

Redrum! A wickedly scary Top 5 Horror Movie show on the LeBrain Train

Big props to the panel tonight:  Eric “Uncle Meat” Litwiller, Rob “Chucky” Daniels and Erik “Velvet Voice” Woods!  Any time we cover movies, I am the luckiest host in the world to be able to lean on Rob and Erik.  I truly believe these two guys are some of the top experts on movie soundtracks in the world.  By extension, they also know movies like the backs of their hands.  This was a truly great show because we had three amazing guests on the panel.  Me, all I could do was tell amusing anecdotes!  (Watch the show and find out what my buddy Bob and I “learned” about women’s clothing from the movie Christine.

This is a show you’ll want to watch from start to finish.  The discussion far exceeded just a simple “top 5” list, with plenty of interesting runners-up scattered through the broadcast.  Go get a beverage and get ready to be inspired to watch a whole bunch of horror movies this weekend!

REMINDER:

November 5 7:00 PM E.S.T.: We are joined by the awesome Dan Fila, drummer of Sven Gali and Varga! Co-hosted by John “2loud2old” Snow. Get ready to be pummelled by a double bass master!

Next week I’ll be on Tim’s Vinyl Confessions for a special episode, and 107.5 Dave Rocks, with Jessie David for The Essential Alice Cooper on October 31!

The Horror! Top Five Scary Flicks on the LeBrain Train

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike and the Meat Man

Episode 85 – Cinco De List-O: Top 5 Horror Films

Topic courtesy of the Meat Man! It’s Halloween so perfect timing for another movie list: horror movies! And any time we’re talking movies, we better have Rob Daniels and Erik Woods on board!

It’s a really simple subject so we don’t need a lot of explanation here. To read up on my history with horror films, check out Record Store Tales #496: The Horror. It may spoil a couple of my picks so be forewarned!

Friday October 29, 7:00 PM E.S.T. on Facebook: MikeLeBrain and YouTube: Mike LeBrain.

Upcoming shows:

I am very pleased to announce next week’s show:

November 5 7:00 PM E.S.T.: We are joined by the awesome Dan Fila, drummer of Sven Gali and Varga! Freeze, don’t move, this show is gonna be Under the Influence! Co-hosted by John “2loud2old” Snow.

I also have an appearance on Tim’s Vinyl Confessions coming up, and will be be on 107.5 Dave Rocks, with Jessie David and my pick for The Essential Alice Cooper, on October 31!

Raiders of the Spielberg Lists

Ahoy, movie fans!  When we are fortunate enough to get Geoff Stephen to graph our lists as they happen, it adds an element of excitement.  We see certain picks take early leads, only for some to be wiped out when the big guns come out at the end.  In terms of graphing and trends, the Spielberg film lists were the most thrilling yet.

Your panel:

We also had bonus lists from Rob McKinnon and Sarca Sim.

On a personal note this was one of the most fun shows yet.  Erik was a fantastic addition to the panel with his encyclopedic knowledge of cinema.  And most of us will be back next week when we tackle Top Animated Films, a topic suggested in the comments by Harrison the Mad Metal Man.

Epic Nigel Tufnel Top Ten Cover Tunes Lists!

“I think it was safe to say that was by far my most favourite show.” – Chris T

Thank you Rob, Aaron, T-Bone, Harrison and Meat Man for tonight’s amazing panel.  The theme was Nigel Tufnel Top Ten Cover Tunes, brought to you by Meat.  Six lists, 66 songs, and very little overlap.  Having said that, there was one tune that made three lists, from an album that made four lists.  Watch the show to see what it was, or read Aaron’s notes below!

The lists commence at 0:20:30.

Incidentally, this show was record setting in terms of audience participation.  So many amazing picks and comments — most of them made in on screen, so check them out.

Once again your panel for this show was: