Uncle Meat

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

Martin Popoff & the Gang round up their King’s X Top Five

A huge thank-you once more to Martin Popoff for joining us on the show to talk King’s X!  We have been immersing ourselves in the magic trio from Texas:  Dug, Ty and Jerry.  And it has been brilliant.  And these were some brilliant lists.  Martin’s insight on these crucial records will be of interest to diehards and new fans alike.

Want a starter’s kit into King’s X?  Watch this show and listen to Martin.  He comes in at 0:12:45 of the stream.

Martin hung out and chatted King’s X (and a little Rush) for an hour.  Afterwards, we were joined by Kevin from Buried On Mars to continue the musical discussions.  Jacob Moon, Marillion, Def Leppard, Black Sabbath…it was a fun freeform chat that I hope you will stick around and enjoy for the balance of the show.

A huge thanks to Mr. T-Bone Erickson for the new Martin Popoff intro.

Your panel tonight was:

Thanks for Dr. Dave Haslam and KK for your bonus lists!

 

T-Bone and the Gang are Done With Mirrors on the LeBrain Train

What can you say about a show that does all the following in one night:

  1. An in-depth, track by track analysis and critique of Aerosmith’s Done With Mirrors
  2. A tribute to Christopher Plummer (R.I.P.)
  3. CD unboxing and beer de-canning
  4. A world premier music video
  5. The sound of the real toilet flushing
  6. Awesome rock and roll chit-chat for almost three full hours

Why, it could only have been the LeBrain Train!  And this week, far more than 2000 words were said about Done With Mirrors.  This album generated so much passionate and sometimes dispassionate discussion that it would have been a shame if everybody didn’t get to speak their piece.  This album isn’t as polarizing as you might think.  We all found something enjoyable, we just didn’t always agree on what was enjoyable.

Your panel tonight was:

To skip ahead to the parts you may be interested in, go to the following points in the video:

  • Beer de-canning:  0:26:40
  • Encore Records unboxing:  0:28:10
  • Christopher Plummer tributes at:  0:18:30 and 2:34:50
  • Done With Mirrors discussion:  0:34:05
  • World premier music video of Current River’s Rock’n in a Rubber:  2:38:45

 

Thanks for watching and leaving the awesome comments, folks!  Tune in next week when Martin Popoff returns with his King’s X Top Five!

 

The Riffs Kept A-Rockin’ on the LeBrain Train

Dude!!  What a show that was!  Technical difficulties aside, another excellent Nigel Tufnel Top Ten.  Hottest Riffs of the 1970s was the topic at hand.  The lists went far and wide and everybody came out of it with huge smiles on their faces.  Rush, Van Halen and Black Sabbath received a lot of extra love tonight, but you’ll have to watch to find out!

Your panel:

It was a tremendous amount of fun to actually hear some of these riffs instead of just talking about them.  A huge thanks to Mike for doing this with us.  And he will be back when we talk about the 80s.

The less said about this show, the better, because who wants spoilers?  Not you, trust me!

To jump straight to the lists without all the preamble and introductions, go to 0:21:00 and enjoy!

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!

 

 

 

 

Martin Popoff chills with the Three Amigos at the Rock and Roll Highschool

Thank you Martin Popoff for a thunderous rock and roll chat on a locked-in Friday night!  Confronted by three Top Five Popoff lists, Martin threw it down!  From his books to his Youtube shows, we tried to cover a bit of everything.  Thank you Martin for giving us an hour of your Friday night.  If you haven’t read one of his terrific tomes yet, check out what’s available at martinpopoff.com.  Money well spent!

We decided to take a three-pronged approach to the discussion by focusing on three Top Five lists:

  1. Deke – Top Five Martin Popoff Books
  2. Mike – Top Five albums I bought because of a 10/10 review in Riff Kills Man
  3. Eric – Top Five Martin Popoff YouTube appearances

From there the discussion flowed like a gin & tonic.

Hope you enjoyed the show!

 

 

REMINDER: Martin Popoff on tonight’s LeBrain Train!

The LeBrain Train:  2000 Words or More with Mike Ladano

Episode 46 – A Chat With Martin Popoff

Join SuperDekes, Uncle Meat and myself TONIGHT as we talk to the guy who, frankly, got me writing reviews in the first place!  It was Riff Kills Man that inspired me, a book that I’ve been re-reading this week only to find new revelations.  I love when I feel validated by a review in one of Martin’s 90-odd books.

Martin’s extensive bibliography (he is the Isaac Asimov of Heavy Metal) includes definitive tomes on Accept, Rainbow, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath and just about every other band with legendary status.  As my re-reading this week has shown me, Martin has a way of describing music that just resonates.  It’s a talent that I have long envied.

Please spread the word, and welcome Martin Popoff to the LeBrain Train tonight!

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

Martin Popoff – Top of the Bill on this week’s LeBrain Train – Friday Jan. 15

I am pleased to announce this week’s guest:  none other than Martin Popoff, Canadian music scribe extraordinaire!  Martin will be joining us to talk about his many books, YouTube shows, and assorted awesomeness.  It is a conversation I have been hoping to have for, oh, 20 years (give or take).

The LeBrain Train:  2000 Words or More with Mike Ladano

Episode 46 – A Chat With Martin Popoff

Join Super “Ironballs” Deke (who hooked it up with Martin), Uncle Meat and myself this Friday as we talk to the guy who, frankly, got me writing reviews in the first place!  It was Riff Kills Man that inspired me, a book that was passed around from friend to friend like a kid passes along a nudie mag.  “Have you ever heard Gillan?  Budgie?  Thin Lizzy?”  These were the words muttered as we handed the book onto the next recipient!

Martin’s extensive bibliography (he is the Isaac Asimov of Heavy Metal) includes definitive tomes on Deep Purple, Judas Priest, Scorpions, Rush, Motorhead, Max Webster and just about every other band with legendary status.  Through all that I kept my treasured copy of Riff Kills Man safely in my desk at work.  I’d write Amazon album reviews on my lunch break, and I had to have Popoff nearby to consult in case of confusion or doubt.

Please spread the word, and welcome Martin Popoff to the LeBrain Train on Friday January 15!

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

Art by:  Saige from Weeping Willow Creations

I will be taking the next few days off from writing and posting so I can focus on preparing for this show.

New Year’s Eve Drop-In Party Extravangza

I haven’t stayed up til midnight on a New Year’s Eve in a dog’s age, but I did it tonight…for you!

Tonight’s drop-in special ran over three hours and we still failed to squeeze in Aaron from the KMA.  Huge apologies to my buddy Aaron.  Hopefully I’ll make it up to you next week for the ZZ Top show.

Special guests tonight were invited to drop in and read their Nigel Tufnel Top Ten lists, and each guest chose their own theme for their lists!  Guests included:

  • Dr. Kathryn Ladano – 0:17:45
  • Deke – Special KISS report – 0:40:50
  • Scotty P – 0:45:30
  • Uncle Meat – 1:21:00
  • Mike’s Mom – 2:16:25
  • Michael, Max the Axe’s Stunt Double – 2:34:40

Once again sincere apologies to Aaron for not getting to him in time.

I also played some music tonight, five songs that make my skin vibrate (and don’t set off copyright strikes).  Enjoy the show

 

 

Iron Maiden Deep Cuts Gonna Get Ya No Matter How Far

Picking a favourite episode among the 41 (!) shows we’ve done is a bit like picking a favourite child.  Impossible to do!  But I took a real shine to this week’s instalment:  the Nigel Tufnel Top Ten Iron Maiden Deep Cuts.

Each of us had our own personal criteria to determine if a song was a “deep cut”.  For example, I chose no songs from Live After Death, or any leading tracks from an album.  Harrison the Mad Metal Man decided that he would include no single A-sides, and no songs that were played live…ever.

As an added bonus to this episode, we brought back Geoff from 1001albumsin10years.  The Graph Alchemist himself had to be involved, to track all these crucial Iron Maiden songs.  In particular I wanted to see what albums were dominant.  Geoff then went above and beyond the call of duty by bringing us a four-way Venn diagram showing all the songs that the panel had in common.  Ever seen a four-way oval Venn before?  You will!

The panel tonight consisted of:

  • LeBrain (Yours truly)
  • Harrison the Mad Metal Man
  • Aaron from KeepsMeAlive (in absentium)
  • Uncle Meat

These four lists were all graphed and included in the episode’s statistics.

We also had three “bonus lists” that we ran right at the top of the show.  These bonus lists were submitted by:

  • Reader KK
  • The Mighty Holen
  • Michael the Box Set Wizard

Finally this episode also marked the debut of the brand new LeBrain Train theme song by T-Bone.  So good that I played it three times.  Everybody loves the song and video — let me know what you think too.

Best show ever?  Definitely top five.

Shoot, do I have to do a Nigel Tufnel Top Ten LeBrain Trains now?*

Click to enlarge the graphs:

 

 

* Foreshadowing.