Tag: Shugaazer

The Collection: Ep. 53 – Paul Laine (Danger Danger, The Defiants and so much more)

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This week on The Collection, we are talking one of my all time favorite singers and one of the nicest guys in the world…Paul Laine. I’ve followed Paul since his debut solo album in 1990 all the way to today through his bands Danger Danger, The Defiants, Dark Horse, Shugaazer and everything else. We go through his catalog so join me and I hope you discover something you’ve been missing.

So go check it out as it will be live tonight at 7pm, April 21, 2025 on YouTube. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.

And if you want to watch the Interview I did with Mike Ladano 4 years ago with Paul Laine, check it out below…it was a blast!!

My Sunday Song – “Song For Lennon” by Shugaazer

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For My Sunday Song #417, we are on to another band from Paul Laine called Shugaazer. This was a much more modern sounding Paul then we are used to and you know, I quite dig it. The song this week is called “Song for Lenon” and it is on the band’s only album, 2003’s ‘Shift’. The band consists of Paul Laine on vocals, Chris Matheson on guitar, Roland Churchill on drums and Shane Demers on bass. The song was written by Paul Laine and someone named Par. I didn’t see it in the credits but it could be either Stuart or Patrick “Par”enteau as both were thanked on the album and Patrick took the photographs used in the booklet. If you know, let me know in the comments.

Paul Laine had this to say about “Song for Lenon” when he spoke to MelodicRock.com back in 2003.

“Like many others, I have always been a huge fan of John Lennon and the Beatles. I had just watched the film “Imagine” and I was very moved by his compassion for other people, as well as his love for Yoko. He had a real passion for things he felt strongly about and was not afraid to speak out about them. I was thinking to myself…I wonder what John would talk about if he was still around today…how would he see the world? How would he see his own life and the impact he had on other people? Would he still write about love and peace? I felt compelled to write a song for him expressing my own thoughts and feelings, and in a way, express some feelings that I thought he would have too, if he were still alive.”

I think that explains nicely what the song is about.

The song opens slowly, with a gentle build in the song while we listen to Lennon speaking. Paul comes in with the first verse and during that the full band kicks in. The song is a power ballad and is tender and peaceful as Lennon while the choruses are more powerful like Lennon’s impact on the world. The melodies and the layering of Paul’s vocals are so killer. You can feel the emotion he is trying to get across. Musically, a very modern rock song sound, no 80’s style this time around. The drums are powerful, the guitars are sweeping and the keys add the right amount of texture. All blended nicely together with Laine’s vocals. A very well crafted tune.

Continue reading “My Sunday Song – “Song For Lennon” by Shugaazer” →

Paul Laine Nerds Out with the LeBrain Train – our best episode yet! — mikeladano.com

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What a fun evening had by all. If you didn’t get a chance to catch the live show with one of my favorite singers of all time, Paul Laine, you now can sit back and enjoy every second like we did. Paul was so gracious to give us so much time as we spent over 2 hours talking his career, rock and we even nerded out a little on Star Wars, Star Trek, history and European Architecture. If you want to know anything about his solo albums, the Danger Danger albums, The Defiants, Shugaazer, Dark Horse or his career in general than don’t miss a minute of this show as we cover it all. Well, almost all, so maybe Paul will be back later down the road for Round 2.

Paul comes in around 21 minutes if you want to skip right to it, but if you do, you will miss Mike do some great Unboxings so you might want to find out “What’s in the Box”!!

Thanks to Paul for all his generous time and great conversation and thanks to Mike for hosting such a great show, The LeBrain Train. He has kept us entertained every week since Covid happened over a year ago. And here is hoping for more fun to come. But can he top tonight??? For me, it will be tough, but I have faith he can do it.

One of the things I love most about doing these shows is how spontaneous they are. John and I came into this Paul Laine interview with pages and pages of notes and questions.  Yet some of the best moments were spur of the moment.  Paul Laine is a music nerd just like us!  But not […]

Paul Laine Nerds Out with the LeBrain Train – our best episode yet! — mikeladano.com

REMINDER: Paul Laine on the LeBrain Train TONIGHT! — mikeladano.com

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic9 Comments

A Friendly Reminder that Paul Laine will be joining us tonight on The LeBrain Train. Paul has been around since 1990 with his first solo album, ‘Stick It In Your Ear’ and I have followed him for 30 years from his bands Danger Danger, Shugaazer, Darkhorse and currently The Defiants. Come enjoy the fun and if you have a question, ask away and we will see if he can answer your question.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=qpSnRSZYnds%3Fversion%3D3%26rel%3D1%26showsearch%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26iv_load_policy%3D1%26fs%3D1%26hl%3Den%26autohide%3D2%26wmode%3Dtransparent

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike and John Episode 63 – Paul Laine John from 2loud2oldmusic is to thank for this week’s guest:  the hugely talented Paul Laine!  He became a solo star here in Canada back in 1990, but has since worked with Danger Danger, the Defiants, Shugaazer and Darkhorse.  He’s […]

REMINDER: Paul Laine on the LeBrain Train TONIGHT! — mikeladano.com

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike and John Episode 63 – Paul Laine

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This week on The LeBrain Train, I get to guest host with Mike in my first interview with Paul Laine. I have to thank Mike for having me and allowing me to check off a bucket list item by interviewing a rock star.

Here is what Mike and I have to say about Paul…

JOHN – We are joined this week by the multi-talented singer, songwriter, musician, composer, engineer, producer and all great guy, Paul Laine. We will cover his career from his 1990 solo album debut Stick It In Your Ear to his time as lead singer of Danger Danger in the 90’s, all the way up to his current band The Defiants, who just confirmed a third album is coming. We will find out about his time with Bruce Fairbairn at Little Mountain Sound Studios, his other bands Shugaazer and Darkhorse and everything in between. Come join the fun.…Here is my homework for the week…

MIKE – Paul Laine is a remarkable talent.  At age 16 he was playing clubs.  Knowing he needed money to record a good-sounding demo, he started and sold a management company, raising the needed $50,000.  The tape went from MuchMusic’s Terry David Mulligan to uber-manager Bruce Allen.  By age 22, he had Stick It In Your Ear produced by Bruce Fairbairn under his belt!  As John says, he made the leap from solo artist to band member in 1993 when Danger Danger needed a new singer.  We will be covering it all this Friday night on the LeBrain Train.

TIME: Friday May 7, 7:00 PM E.S.T. on Facebook:  MikeLeBrain and YouTube:  Mike LeBrain. Below is a little reminder for you…

February 2021 Purchases – Vinyl & CDs

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Welcome to the February wrap-up of my album purchases for the month. I have to say Vinyl took a pretty big backseat this month as I have been going gangbusters buying back my CD collection that I once had. I decided to add more to the Paul Laine collection and start on the Will Hoge collection. I only hit one record store and it was a quick stop in to one out of town. It has been awhile since I’ve been to a local shop and oh how I’ve missed going . That means March better get some visits before I start going through withdrawal and getting the shakes and a fever.

First up, do you know when you are having a little downer of a day? When I have those, I tend to shop for music (man, I must be down a lot…I’m not). But some days when I am, I just feel better buying something and that is what I did. I ended up buying a very hard to find Paul Laine album from his band Shugaazer called ‘Shift’. This one I found in England and man did it ship fast. I think I got it in 5/6 days.

Next up, I was getting close to the Gene Simmons album Asshole in my Kiss Review Series, but honestly, I had never bought it. So, I did for like $5-6 bucks. That review will be coming up in either late April or early May, don’t know yet.

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Paul Laine – The Albums Ranked Worst to First

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After doing the Danger Danger Album Ranking, I thought why not continue and do all of Paul Laine’s albums as well.  So, here we are with Paul Laine’s albums ranked Worst to First!.  Who is Paul Laine you might ask?  I will tell you.

Paul is a singer, songwriter, musician, producer from Vancouver, Canada.  He started out as a solo artist way back in 1990 and later joined the band Danger Danger as their lead singer.  He also formed a band called Shugaazer, a band called Darkhorse and a band called The Defiants.  He likes band names that start with “D” except for Shugaazer so not sure what he was thinking there.

Paul is a gifted singer and sings mostly Rock and his voice has matured nicely over the years.  It has gone from a wild-untamed sound to a more controlled, smooth instrument.  And he has even delved into Country music (more on that later).

I have followed his career from the beginning thanks to working at Sam Goody back in 1990.  His CD came in to the store as a promo copy (and I played it a lot) and when it was time for that CD to retire from the playlist, yours truly got to take it home with him.  It was from that point on, that Paul could do no wrong (even though he has had a few missteps).

It is out of that fandom, I bring you this list.  Enjoy!!

THE WORST – ANDERSEN, LAINE, READMAN – THREE (2006):

This is an interesting side project from Andre Andersen.  Andre is the keyboardist and composer in the band Royal Hunt.  Andre brought in two sensational voices to split the songs.  You have David Readman of Pink Cream 69 and Paul Laine.  They each get 5 songs and for the most part the songs rock and as a set is pretty cool.

Continue reading “Paul Laine – The Albums Ranked Worst to First” →