Visions in Sound

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!

 

REVEALED! Top Five Ballads and the secret identity of “X” on the LeBrain Train!

An unprecedented episode with six killer lists and a mystery to boot!  Top Five Ballads.  As an added twist, tonight we added a secret guest to the panel, and the rest of the guys had to guess who this person was on their list alone!  Although I was worried they would guess the guest quite easily, that isn’t how it went down.

Who’s “X”?  Watch and find out!

Unfortunately this episode was also Chris Sarre’s least favourite show due to the big reveal, and he says he will never watch again!  Everyone else seemed to love it and I think we will try this again some time.

Thanks to everyone for hanging out tonight, it was a show I’ll remember a long time.

 

 

 

Top Five Ballads Remastered…with a touch of mystery! Tonight on the LeBrain Train

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike & Friends

Episode 99 – Top Ballads…Remastered

On July 3 2020, we did the Nigel Tufnel Top Ten Ballads on the LeBrain Train with six sets of lists.  And it was great!  We had lists from Meat, Harrison, Holen, Darr, and Len Labelle.  Unfortunately due to Facebook Live and a bad internet connection, I find this show impossible to watch today.  Harrison and I have been trying to talk Meat into doing a “remastered” version of the show in the new Cinco De Listo format for a long time, and we finally twisted his arm.  The new panel tonight:

“X”?  That’s right.  This week’s show is not just a list show.  There will be a sixth panel member, and that member’s voice and likeness will be obscured for the whole countdown.  It will be up to the others to figure out who “X” is, and they have five songs with which to do it.

I love a mystery and I’m really looking forward to this!  Tune in tonight for six lists of awesome ballads, and a little Friday evening mystery too.  Where’s Mulder when you need him?

 

Friday February 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.)

The History of the Transformers + Top Five = AstroLeBrainTrain Action!

A long show with lots of visuals tonight, and an absolute treat for fans of robots in disguise!  For those of you who joined Rob Daniels, Harrison the Mad Metal Man and myself — thank you!  From the early Japanese origins, up to the present day, we took you on a guided tour of the Transformers brand.  Plenty of vintage and modern toys on display, and genuine toy ads from back in the day too.  (Facebook copyright strike — they killed the stream.  Sorry about that, but you can still watch on YouTube.)

Show format:  the first hour and 15 minutes are a history lesson.  The lists begin then!  Three lists, 15 picks, and no repeat!

This was an absolute blast.  Thanks for watching.

More Than Meets the LeBrain Train? Top Five Transformers Toys

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike, Rob & Harrison

Episode 90 – Top Five Transformers Toys

Let’s roll out! I know this episode will alienate some of our regular viewers, but it’s been one that Harrison and I have talked about doing for at least a year now. And since it’s Christmas time, it feels like the perfect opportunity to talk about some of our favourite toys.

Transformers toys, specifically. We’ll talk about the history of the brand, and bring us up to the present day. Comics, cartoons & movies will be discussed. But the actual Top Five list this week will be our favourite toys. Expect some show & tell, and I’ll also be running some vintage TV ads!

On the panel:

With two different generations of fans on board, this is sure to be a show of Cybertronian proportions!

Friday December 10, 7:00 PM E.S.T. on YouTube, Facebook and now Twitter!

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!

A Very Animated Four Hours: An Epic LeBrain Train List Show

Going into this show, I didn’t know what to expect.  I’m not a big animation guy, as you’ll see.  But this was one of the most fun shows we’ve ever done in the umpteen months of this show!  The discussions were funny, insightful, and passionate.  The picks were diverse with some consensus on key animated films.  There was a little bit of CanCon and a little bit of Kiss.  And a lot of fun.

Thank you to our awesome panel this week:

I also did a an unboxing of the brand new RSD Triumph Allied Forces 40th anniversary box set (Canadian edition).  You gotta see this puppy.  Check that out right at the start of the broadcast.  After which, the lists commence!

Thanks for watching everyone, this was a blast from beginning to end!