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.
From the infuriating city rat race to the open roads of the country, a beautiful drive is to be viewed here, all to the tune of the classic “Scales of Justice” by Max the Axe.
We promised you tunes, and we brought the tunes! With a special interview with the guy himself, kinda a big deal, Max the Axe! It was not an uptite Thursday night at all. This loosey-goosey interview covers Max’s discography and history as an independent musician for over three decades. Find out about his origins, see rare photographs, and watch the band play live! We even get to look at the cover art and title of the new EP. (Added bonus: running commentary by drummer Dr. Dave.)
Straight outta lockdown, Max the Axe jammed together again for the first time in about a year. The lockdown session was filmed and tonight we played for you three tracks:
“River Grand”
“Pygmy Blowdart” (NEW SONG)
“Scales of Justice”
For a band who hadn’t practised in a year, filmed on a crummy cell phone that apparently only does vertical video, these were some fine tracks. Enjoy the show! Rock on, Max the Axe!
LATER TODAY
Don’t forget – the Easter special streams April 2 at 7:00 PM E.S.T. It’s pure nostalgia as we pull from a grab bag of great memories. Don’t miss it!
*Two more unaired songs were played during the session – “Uptite Friday Night” and the new “Oktoberfest Cheer”.
Just looking for ways to get some local bands heard. Seems a drive around Kitchener-Waterloo is a good video background for a band from Kitchener-Waterloo called Max the Axe.
From their sixth record Status Electriccomes “Scales of Justice” written by Mike Koutis and Eric Litwiller. The lyrics tell a truthful tale of why only a fool owns a deadly snake let alone two.
This video is sped up 10x and was filmed on Saturday 9/5/2020 in the afternoon.
Sunday was what we call an “indoor day” at the lake. This is what I did with my indoor day.
The video took me most of the day, because my poor old laptop (10, this year) couldn’t handle all of the large files at once. So I started over from scratch and figured out a workaround until I was done about 7 hours later. I cooked, I went outside, I played with action figures, and I drank coffee until it finally saved without errors.
This video should scratch itches for a variety of people including:
1) Max the Axe fans – the full song “Randy” is included.
2) Dr. Kathryn Ladano fans – the full song “Masked” is included.
3) Those who enjoy driving videos. This is my first extensive use of my dash cam.
4) Nature buffs. You will hear real lake noises, rainstorms, and waves. You will see more cool underwater footage from the beaches of Lake Huron, and the legendary Greatest Sunset in the World.
5) Marvel / action figure fans. Look for a special “Build A Figure” Hulk.
You will not get:
1) Audio of me singing “Kissing Time” by Kiss; this was lost with the first version of the video.
2) Any of my pork chops.
But you can freely:
1) Live vicariously through me and absorb the good vibes through your monitor and speakers.
While visitors showing up on our little private road was not unexpected on a long weekend, it is disappointing when they show such little respect for the people who live here. A guy parked his ATV on our grass and said “Don’t get your knickers in a bunch” when my mom asked several times for him to move it. This came after arguing that he had the right to park there due to a “snow allowance”. There is no such thing.
Then we had Kenny the fireworks guys shooting off a “truck bed” full of firepower at 9:30 Saturday night. That was…distracting. As much as I love this place it certainly has changed in the last 45 years. Enjoy the video — the good the bad and the ugly!
Given everything that happened in 2018 (cancer, more cancer, death), I wasn’t as tuned-in to rock and roll as I normally would be. I missed a lot of new releases, some on purpose, others by accident. Therefore, this year I’m doing something different from my Top Lists of 2018. Before we get to the lists, let’s talk about the past 12 months.
2018: RELEASES IN A NUTSHELL
January saw new CDs by Joe Satriani and Corrosion of Conformity, finally reunited with Pepper Keenan on vocals. There was new Loudness, and a release by Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa. Def Leppard had a low-key EP exclusive to iTunes (The Lost Session). In February we got the return of the mighty Saxon. March was a big month, featuring Judas Priest, Stone Temple Pilots, Jack White and Myles Kennedy. The rock kept rolling in April. The big metal one here was Stryper‘s God Damn Evil, along with new Godsmack and Thirty Seconds to Mars. During this time I was personally only able to get the Stryper and Priest.
As temperatures warmed in May, Bad Wolves came out with their novelty cover of “Zombie” by the Cranberries which became a predictable hit. Frank Turner and Five Finger Death Punch also released new records in May. News in June was unfortunately dominated by Kanye West and Drake, but don’t forget Ghost, The Darkness (with their first live) and Nine Inch Nails! In July, Halestorm came out with the critically acclaimed Vicious. Alice in Chains made their long awaited return in August with Rainier Fog, an album I bought but have not yet fully penetrated.
Autumn began with the biggest name in rock and roll, Sir Paul McCartney himself. Slash, Paul Simon, Lenny Kravitz and Suicidal Tendencies had records out on the same day. VoiVod, Therapy?, Metric and even Rod Stewart returned in September as well. October featured two big soundtracks: Bohemian Rhapsody, andA Star Is Born. Ace Frehley, Greta Van Fleet, and The Struts came out with new music the same month. In November we got Mark Knopfler, the Smashing Pumpkins, Ted Nugent and yet another live Beth Hart. The month closed with the latest Def Leppard best-of. December boasted Metal Church but not a lot of rock. Thank the Metal Gods that Max the Axe swooped in with Status Electric to save the year.
I spent most of 2018 checked out mentally. I missed most of the new releases and have a lot to catch up on. The summer was spent on Highway 401, and a flash drive loaded with music helped me survive it. New releases were not the be-all and end-all for me. Therefore, my Top Albums of 2018 list includes some oldies that just helped me get through it all. It seems right to do it this way, since I can’t really do a well-curated list of new releases without absorbing them properly.
Way to go Leah! She was even able to name Max the Axe by his real name, Mike Koutis! We’re not saying she had any help with this, but even if she did, it wasn’t against the rules!
Your Max the Axe Status Electric CD and Nancy Vicious button are on their way!*
mikeladano.com 