Our Recap Of Mike Haggith's Community Pulse Video Interview From Last Month!!

Today's single-topic post takes us back to the Scarborough-based independent music webseries The Community Pulse, who interviewed local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith for a second time on December 22nd! You may remember when Mike was interviewed (alongside HeadF1rst frontman Red Jettison) in episode #67 back in June, and he was invited back for another remote interview for episode #94. Now, this is their Christmas episode, and we're obviously almost a month removed from it, so make note of the belated seasonality before watching, but given holiday commitments, the odds that I would have been able to make time to watch and cover this before Boxing Day were slim. The two hour episode begins with audio recordings of "Li'l Miss Blu" playing "We Three Kings" on piano, followed by host Frank Terzo's orchestral version of "This Christmas", so if you want to skip straight to the interview, head to the 8:35 mark.

Frank (who is not from the Soo despite his fitting name) starts by setting up the episode and The Community Pulse's official Christmas playlist, as well as bantering with this episode's co-host, a Racine, Wisconsin indie musician only known as J.J., a.k.a. Mr. Folkpunk. Laurie Pepi Igo (the Massachusetts-based pianist who hosts Laurie's Mishmosh) also pops up 13:45 in for her regular guest spot, this time before Mike joined in the chat. Shout-outs after Laurie entered suggest that former Inner City Surfers bassist Brad Example was watching, which is neat! After addressing why Mike is in this episode, Frank plays two more songs on air, including Laurie's own version of "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas" alongside Hugh Caldwell, plus "Joy Throughout The World" by the British pop rock musician P.A.L. (pronounced "Paul"). The hosts and Laurie return on camera at 29:45.

Once credits and comments are made on those two songs, Laurie signs out of the episode (after a brief false start), and Mike first appears on camera at 31:45, sticking around for the remaining 90 minutes, song and video breaks aside. Apologies to Detroit Lions fans reading this over Mike's Green Bay Packers sweater! We get around 20 minutes of unbroken interview time to start, with Mike leading off by addressing the cancelled battle of the bands at the Downtown Plaza in September and how he & his Big Finish Band rushed to turn the 15 minute battle set into an 80 minute headlining performance in just 48 hours, how well the concert went over, the lucky strike that led to this concert getting the high quality recordings needed to release a proper live album, and why Mike opted to release "Under A Moonlit Sky" in conjunction with their Toystock set at the end of November for Christmas Cheer.

Sensing a chance to support a great local cause at the holidays, Mike opted to launch a fundraiser related to buys and streams of both the album and the YouTube video of the concert through the end of December, and he got in contact with Frank and The Community Pulse to get the word out for the charity drive, which he hoped would generate $1,000 in donations. J.J. next asks how much practice time that Mike gets with The Big Finish Band (answer: not a lot, he lives in Barrie), with Mike outlining how much pre-planning goes into their sets. He next gives credit to everyone in the band, and even acknowledges former Din guitarist Tammy Hill here, plus why ex-bassist Jacob Quarrell left in 2024. He also confirmed that Elly McWatters didn't play guitar at all last year due to recovery from rotator cuff surgery, but she may pick the guitar back up in 2026.

In the follow-up discussion on their setlist, Mike confirmed that his newer solo song "No Love" has had a studio demo recording and will be on his next album (presumably alongside "I Really Hope This Gets To You"), and the working title for the album is currently "Was It Just A Dream?". At the 52:30 mark, two consecutive songs from the "Under A Moonlit Sky" video are played on air, specifically "No Love" and "Hot & Cold". While the second half of the episode begins 1:00:15 into the livestream, we don't stay in the proper interview for long, as Frank sets up two more songs by indie musicians in their community next, including Hamilton folk duo Jo & Barrie Glenn playing "In The Bleak Midwinter" and British singer-songwrtier Harriet B. playing "In Time For Christmas". Mike, Frank, and J.J. return at 1:10:25 with some light discussion, and the introduction for Mike & the band's next on-air song.

From "Under A Moonlit Sky", we next see the live performance of "An Act Of Strength", which Mike talks about in regards to how different the live version is from the piano-heavy studio version from "Bridges".  That song is played at 1:16:15 with the interview resuming at 1:20:10, after which Mike addresses a young fan up front of the stage having a blast and the gear he was using that night. We next get two more Christmas songs from community members, including "Incarnation" by New York pop rock duo Mike & Dawn Ginese, and Christian musician DLynn's cover of "A Holly Jolly Christmas", and the guys return to the interview at 1:35:20. When the interview resumes, Mike discusses living in the Soo and his run with The Din here, which lead directly into Mike's last video from The Downtown Plaza show here, namely their cover of The Din's "Missing". That plays at 1:38:30 and ends at 1:42:30.

After plugging that performance and the (as of December 22nd) Christmas Cheer proceeds from streams/buys of the album and video, the last song/video of the episode is played, namely an "adult version" of the novelty song "Nuttin' For Christmas" by Denver rock musician Chris Lane Sr., which is a clear tonal jump (if an amusing one) from some of the earlier, more sincere carols! The interview returns for good at 1:50:40 for its final stretch, with final plugs and thanks, where the saying "All Hail Haggith" came from, Mike's positive perceptions of the music scene in the Soo, and the connectivity and relationships fostered here (Laurie even returns at the very end), before closing with Lou Monte's novelty song "Dominick The Donkey". A lot to pack in here, especially given that it dragged me back into Christmas mode in mid-January, but it's an effective interview that lets Mike expand on his career, good nature, and musicianship to good effect, and it's clear that Frank and J.J. appreciate his work and musical talents!

While the July interview was entertaining as well, it was heavily about HeadF1rst too given Red's involvement, so if you want to focus on Mike & The Big Finish Band, you may want to watch this one first, and depending on your tolerance of Christmas music out of season, navigate those songs as your preferences dictate (or wait until the end of the year). Give episode #97 of The Community Pulse a watch below, and stay tuned for more from Mike as 2026 continues! Thanks everyone! 

The Quite Frankly Concert Preview, Night Ranger Videos, And New Studio Recordings!!

Here's a new news post to check out on this Friday night, and along with finishing this weekend's hard rock concert previews, we have an upcoming EP release, a new studio track from a rising local metal band, and videos from a big local concert from last fall, so let's get things rolling!

We'll start by wrapping up this weekend's known hard rock concert previews, as reunited local classic/hard rock cover band Quite Frankly will debut at The Water Tower Pub TOMORROW NIGHT! One day removed from TONIGHT's Dodge This show at the same venue,  this will be their first show since rocking Beck's Bar in November and just their second public gig since their relaunch last summer.  It's worth noting that the Beck's gig last month actually featured new lead vocalist Linsaey L.W., not the departed Haley Alopaeus, so I apologize for the erroneous credit when we covered their Beck's video (embedded below) on here. Video quality on that assemblage of clips really varied, and the band didn't formally announce that Linsaey came on board until after that show had came and went, for what it's worth. Hopefully show #2 for the new Quite Frankly goes well tomorrow night, and that there's a solid turnout for their first gig of the new year!

As usual for The Water Tower Pub, tomorrow's show is an 8:00 PM affair with no announced cover charge and a 19+ age limit. If you haven't seen the revived Quite Frankly yet, get ready for a crowd-pleasing array of hard and classic rock covers tomorrow! Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here they are at Beck's last fall!

Next up, let's head across to Sault Michigan for some recent updates, starting with local metal solo project X's & Y's, who are releasing a new EP/single next month! It and its title track are named "Face The Moon, Forgive The Stars", and it sees project leader Jason Mills dipping into doom metal, drone, and horror territory on its four tracks. You can hear the title track in versions with and without vocals on their Bandcamp page, and while this is technically their first song with lead vocals, they did use spoken word on 2024's "The Obsidian Dream". Along with that song's two variants, tracks named "Hands Of Cydonia" and "Crater" will be included on the final product, which will presumably make its way to streaming services along with CD copies on its scheduled release date of February 13th. Jason even uses a tremoloa (a vintage zither used in part to replicate the Hawaiian steel guitar) here!

No word on what CD copies will cost, especially as this is a shorter EP, but X's & Y's first two albums cost $10 USD. Alas, our backlog of new album releases to review is massive, so I can't promise a review of "Face The Moon, Forgive The Stars" until August, but it's great to see a new EP soon to be on sale, especially from a talented Yooper project like X's & Y's! Stay tuned for more from them when it rolls in! 

Also today, here's some newly discovered videos from the Night Ranger concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the local Kewadin Casino in October! These were filmed by attendee Nick Cepecawer in the first uploads on his YouTube channel, though he also filmed at Foreigner's show in Sault Ontario the following month. We didn't cover the Foreigner show here because I wouldn't say they're a "hard rock" band, but he got solid videos from that night! Nick did not film openers Nelson in November, but he did get eight videos of the headlining San Francisco hair metal quintet, including videos of Night Ranger playing "Sentimental Street", "Goodbye" in two chunks (here & here), part of "When You Close Your Eyes", the drum solo (that the whole band takes part in... literally!), "Sister Christian", and as embedded below, "(You Can Still) Rock In America" (which he accidentally uploaded twice).

While more distant from the stage than we tend to see for Kewadin concert videos of this stature, Nick was relatively central and used his zoom where needed, and the audio generally holds up! His videos help accentuate more how Night Ranger spreads the wealth for members taking lead vocal turns, and the drum solo is a fun diversion while it lasts! If you're a loyal Hair Scare listener, you'll enjoy these videos above and below!

We'll close today with a studio original recording from online page-less Sault Ontario metal band With Gunfire! Along with the previously-covered live videos on drummer Jonas Gasperas' new YouTube channel, the former Sault Side Squad are the stars of this upload, which lets us hear their song "M.F.C." (short for "Motherfucking Consequence") in clear studio quality, complete with gunshot sound effects added in post. It's amazing that this beat anything from Spencer's other band The BAG's upcoming album "Succubus" out! I don't know if this is a sign that With Gunfire are working on a proper album or not (I had seen a personal Facebook posting implying that it was recorded for a compilation of some kind), but the song has promise and takes from a lot of metal subgenres, including chugging groove metal riffs and diverse vocal styles, including gruff straight-forward singing and some harsh growling.

The guitar solo is quite good too! I don't know if Lamb Of God were an influence on the songwriting, but the pacing of some of the verses is reminiscent of "Redneck", especially if you speed the track up in the settings. It will be interesting to see what With Gunfire have cooked up with 2026 in full swing, so give "M.F.C." a listen below! 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Double Down, The Guilty Party, And Dodge This) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

It's time to round up another batch of local hard rock concert previews, and hopefully it won't be as cold out when commuting to these! As usual, we're starting with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, mostly on SHORT NOTICE, so here's what you should know for most of this weekend's hard rock-leaning shows (Quite Frankly aside, check back tomorrow!)

Local acoustic classic/hard rock cover trio Dodge This will play their first concert of 2026 TOMORROW NIGHT when they rock The Water Tower Pub! Apologies for the short notice, this show was first announced via the venue's January concert calendar on their Facebook page two weeks ago (no word on why it looks so plain compared to prior months), but the band only confirmed the gig via their Facebook event page yesterday. Dodge This last made a public posting on social media in July, and quietly dropped out of a scheduled concert at The Water Tower Pub in September, so it is good to see Jason and the July brothers back at it in the new year! The band cited returning "after a long break" but didn't publically go into why they took those months off. According to the event page, "we are introducing a piano in the mixed (sic)", but who's playing it and how much will it be integrated? Come out TOMORROW to find out!

As always, The Water Tower Pub hosts different acts nightly, and our preview of Saturday's previously announced Quite Frankly concert is coming in tomorrow's post. Dodge This' brand of unplugged hard and country rock covers can be enjoyed TOMORROW at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. See above for more details on Dodge This' return to the stage, and here they are live!

Next up, fellow local classic/hard rock cover trio The Guilty Party will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, the venue first announced the shows via this calendar for the week ahead on their Facebook page on Monday, and at press time, the band proper hasn't acknowledged the shows on social media. This will be the third straight weekend where Brent, Terry, and Jim have played live concerts on the bar cover circuit, whether in this group or their other band Separate Wayz, but if you've missed seeing the three guys together since they last rocked the former Rosie in November, TOMORROW & SATURDAY's concerts will be extra appealing! The guys will rock the house both nights at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's The Guilty Party live at Jay's Piston Broke Pub last year!

Also newly announced for this weekend is the return of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down to Beck's Bar on SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies again for the short notice, this show was only announced via this picture from the band's Facebook page on Saturday (though assuming the pixel art band here is AI generated, why settle on one that doesn't really look like them?) Along with SATURDAY's concert, the picture also lists two more upcoming gigs for the Syrette cousins, Dan(?), and Ric, as they will also return for Saturday nighters on February 21st at The Water Tower Pub and then back at Beck's on March 7th, so keep all three dates in mind! THIS SATURDAY's Beck's show will be Double Down's first there since September, while they've been playing at The Water Tower Pub much more frequently in recent months. Hopefully all three new shows are successes for the gang!

According to drummer Ric Datson in a post shared to Beck's Facebook page, Mid Life Crysis bassist Lori Reinholtz will once again be present on SATURDAY as a special guest, implying that she is filling in for Dan Beaupre again here. Note as well that Beck's is experimenting with having bands on Fridays more in 2026, but like at The Water Tower Pub, they aren't doubling up, so tonight's band there is blues rock cover group Smokehouse (SATURDAY's 3:00 PM matinee timeslot belongs to new local acoustic duo Old Roads, and they're not "opening" for Double Down). The Beck's shows are at 9:00 PM, the Water Tower show is at 8:00 PM, and all are 19+ with no cover. See above for more details, and here's Double Down live!

Finally for this preview post, here's a show that did have advance notice, and it goes down TONIGHT, as local acoustic classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will headline at The Dive Gastro Pub for the first time this year! A brief break from his run of frequent Misty's Fifties bookings (those resume next week), tonight's concert puts the former Caveman Morrison frontman in more familiar confines as a nighttime headliner at a downtown venue, albeit on "Think It Over Thursday". It's always good to see Tym's talented solo project back on the scene, let alone with his immense setlist and high production quality, so hopefully there's a solid turnout tonight despite the ongoing cold snap! Tonight's show in "the naughty corner" is at 9:30 PM with no cover and a 19+ age limit. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on tonight's concert, and for a preview, here is Tym live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Quite Frankly preview and more on the SMS next! Thanks everyone!

Heavy Lies The Crown Updates & Videos From Mid-November 2025!!

It's been way too long, so let's get caught up on what St. Ignace, Michigan deathcore band Heavy Lies The Crown were up to late last month! When we left off with them in mid-November, they were en route to Southeast Michigan for gigs in Hamtramck and Battle Creek, and after the former concert at The Music Factory on the 12th, frontman Brandon West uploaded the video below to their Facebook page, which he filmed mid-song during their own set in selfie-mode! The vertically shot (but partially sideways) clip features brief appearances by guitarist Jaxon Massaway and Kaycee Mason, who was behind the drumkit (no word on why Blaze missed that weekend's gigs). At the angles that Brandon shot from, we do not see guest bassist Rob Vandewiele (of Detroit's Nothing After This), who was filling in for an absent Christian Cook. Short but unique look at H.L.T.C. in concert, and it's brutal while it lasts, so give it a watch below!

Next up, here's more videos from The Sanctuary, this time from the band's new official YouTube channel! Content from it has only sporadically been acknowledged on their Facebook page, but videos from the show were belatedly posted there last month, allowing us to actually see the band with Rob on guest bass, and thanks to the more plentiful footage than usual for them, we can see more of the instrument variance between on-stage performers. This video was as a four-piece with Brandon also playing rhythm guitar, while this 9 minute video has Brandon just on vocals, and that's how the 11 minute video (opening with "*69") starts too, but for the last song, everyone but Rob swaps roles (Jaxon on vocals, Kaycee on guitar, and Brandon on drums). Jaxon's harsh vocals are more drowned out in the mix than Brandon's were, but if you're familiar with his own solo music (which I am behind to talk about more on here), you will approve!

It's great to see official video that backs up the plugs that they like to swap instruments and vocal duties during sets, and the filmer got some solid footage from both the floor and on the stage proper! I'm actually going to embed the fourth Hamtramck video below, as it features an impromptu guest drummer, namely Alex Fuhr, a guitarist in the Warren, Michigan metal band Neverender. He was literally called up to replace Brandon right before the song began, and here, Brandon and Jaxon share vocal duties while Kaycee handles guitar. The filmer hung out behind Alex to get some unique band's-eye views, and Alex hung in well on a brutal song! Give this and more from The Sanctuary a watch above & below!

Right after the selfie video above, Brandon (or "Brando", as it were) starred in this solo update video to plug their pop-up gig with four other bands at the Influence The Band Headquarters in Taylor (outside of Detroit) on November 14th, and again teased the angle that impromptu guest performers were welcomed. That appeared to have been an early matinee concert, as in the next video from that afternoon, he and the band were prepping to drive east for their concert opening for Saving Vice at The Music Factory in Battle Creek. He noted there that "they were finishing up on some... backing tracks and click tracks and stuff" to up their game, and also reminded everyone of the guest bassist situation for this run of shows. A video from the Battle Creek concert was posted next, and while Kaycee is on drums, it's actually of Detroit metal band Influence, who he is also a member of and also opened this concert.

Kudos to guitarist Jay Daniels for wearing one of Heavy Lies The Crown's limited-run hockey jerseys that night! Their next video was actually a clip of Brandon panning around inside The Music Factory and ending at Influence's merchandise table, followed by this short vertical video of a person in an H.L.T.C. jersey (maybe Jay again?) being jokingly flipped off when approaching a merch table. To cap off this post, we have one more video from Heavy's YouTube channel to share here, as they uploaded one 8 minute video from Battle Creek, featuring Brandon on vocals, Jaxon on guitar, Kaycee on drums, and Rob on bass throughout. The video quality is really good here and compliments their sound, though they really should identify what songs are performed in the videos for fans' sake so they know what to look for. Good stuff and as heavy as fans should expect, so check out their Music Factory set below!

We have more to share from November (let alone December and January) from Heavy Lies The Crown, so stay tuned for that in the near future, and weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Demon King, Project 906, And Generations), And More!!

Here's a packed news post for your Monday night reading, which mostly features LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the next three months on both sides of the border, plus an inactive band note, so let's get things rolling!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations have announced five upcoming concerts for the next month and a half, courtesy of their Facebook group yesterday, so where can you see them next? The band will return to The Kiln at Searchmont Resort for Saturday nighters on January 24th and February 21st, so clearly their debut there on January 3rd was a hit for them to get rebooked this fast! You can also see Valerie, Joe, Pierre, and Tony back at The Full Throttle Saloon for two more concerts on Saturday, February 14th & Friday, February 27th, with the former falling over the Family Day long weekend (and on Valentine's Day). Lastly, their busy February will also include a one-nighter at The Water Tower Pub on Friday, February 20th, and because that venue never books the same band on consecutive nights, and The Kiln only books bands on Saturdays, the two gigs pair well to keep them busy all weekend!

The Kiln and Water Tower Pub gigs are all at 8:00 PM, the Full Throttle Saloon shows are at 9:30 PM, all are 19+ events, and none have an announced cover charge. Fans of this veteran group will want to circle these winter dates on their calendar, so visit the above links for more details! 

Next up, Family Day weekend for Sault Ontario = Presidents' Day weekend for Sault Michigan, and hard rock fans in the E.U.P. won't be lacking either, as local blues/hard rock cover quintet Project 906 will return to Snow's Bar & Grill in nearby Cedarville for a Valentine's Day concert of their own on Saturday, February 14th! The band mentioned this show at the end of their Facebook post thanking everyone for coming to see them at The Merch on Saturday night, but didn't note that the show will coincide with the annual Les Cheneaux Islands Snowsfest, the annual winter festival held jointly in Cedarville and Hessel over the long weekend. Full event details are forthcoming (check back on the Facebook event page), but this will be the (at least) fifth straight year where either The Islander Bar or Snow's Bar included a regional hard rock band playing at Snowsfest that weekend, typically during the annual pub crawl. Project 906 previously did the honours in Cedarville in 2023. 

We'll let you know when more comes out regarding the exact itinerary for Snowsfest and how bands tie in, but it's good to see 906 making the hour's trek again for what should be a busy weekend! Expect a 9:00 PM start time, 21+ age limit, and no cover charge on Valentine's Day. See above for more from updates from Project 906 and Snowsfest!

Also newly announced is a big Sault Ontario death metal concert for the spring, as Nashville-based death metal band Demon King will make their local concert debut on Tuesday, March 24th at Soo Blaster! Not to be confused with Maynard Hayes frontman Damon King (though imagine if they were added to the bill!), Demon King bring their own brand of technical blackened death metal to the forefront, and they have a ferocious and punishing sound that should start a good sized pit in two months' time! A multi-national touring roster will also include London progressive death metal quartet Sentiment Dissolve (who headlined at Jay's Piston Broke Pub this past May) and Norwegian death metal band Celestial Scourge. Both will deliver the brutality you expect, and how often do bands literally from Norway come here? Local openers will include death/thrash metal trio Pillory and progressive metal quartet Convergence.

Both local bands are making their first announced live concert appearances of 2026, and they are solid choices to set the tone! Promoted locally by Mikhal Muto via his newly created agency Underground Events SSM (more on them soon), this all ages concert has a 7:00 PM start time, and while tickets are not on sale yet, they will cost $15 in advance and $25 at the door, and will be available through the local bands, at The Rad Zone, and online. If yo u love death metal, especially of a technical and complex variety, you won't want to miss out on this concert, so visit the Facebook event page for more details!

Finally, I have moved local death metal quartet The Bear Hunters back to our inactive band links. This may not come as a surprise to many readers given their sporadic updates in the 2020s, but the band was last publically active on January 13th of last year, when they posted a belated music video for their song "Collapse The Sun" on YouTube, one of two new music videos spearheaded by guitarist Mitch Sirie that month. After previously being inactive from late 2021 onward, The Bear Hunters awoke from "hibernation" in July 2023 to play a private event that drummer Johnny Belanger put on at Robbie Adamson's church in Leeburn. Despite teasing that they'd be working on new music, no updates followed for almost a year, when Mitch said on their Facebook page that a final album and concert would be in the works, as connected to a contest relating to wearing band t-shirts.

Updates never came on the album or farewell gig, and while the two videos from last January (including a music video for their live favourite "Squirrel Buddy") were welcomed by long-time fans, the "Collapse The Sun" video was 100% archival content, and "Squirrel Buddy" was co-opted from Mitch's 2023 solo project Sir Hell, and only featured Johnny among other Bear Hunters members in audio or video. Mitch did say "slay tuned for more" at the time, and hopefully we do get more eventually, but their activity levels have been slow since the end of 2017, and members have talked about the eventual end multiple times in recent years. Hopefully we do hear from Nik, Mitch, Justin, and Johnny again, even if it's only once more, but stay tuned for more updates on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Exit 808

It's time for our first Defunct Local Band Profile of 2026, and we're starting the year with a bang, as this month's randomly selected band is a high profile E.U.P. group who just broke up last fall after two eventful years together. Here's what you should know in our latest look back at the run of a past local metal, hard rock, or punk act!

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Exit 808 (previously known as Double Jack)

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Genre: Hard Rock

Lineup: (Members not in their last full lineup are in italics. Exit 808 were increasingly known for enlisting guest musicians in concert as band member availability fluctuated, but these performers are not listed here. Also, note that the band did imply that bassist Brad Pringle was a new member during their last concert, but he wasn't credited as such in the Facebook post announcing their breakup)

Amy Beach (Shift, Wild Fate), vocals
Dillion Semasky (Infathom, Half A Man), vocals
Nathan Webber (Crush, Tarnished, Lift The Broken), guitar/vocals
Alex Zimmerman, guitar
Blaze Beairl (Heavy Lies The Crown), bass/guitar
Jackie Moon (Molly & The Other Guys), drums

Melvin Willis (Stoned Ape Evolution), guitar
Will Robbins, guitar
Isaac "Iggy" Royer (Crush, Tarnished), bass/vocals
Myke Young (Division Of Sanity), bass

Audio/Video: A covers-only band under either of their names, Exit 808 were well filmed across their two year run, with dozens of live videos featured on their Facebook page. Once Dillion joined, the two singer format was juggled with songs featuring him and Amy sharing or alternating vocals as song needs dictated, with acts like AC/DC and Joan Jett to Evanescence and Volbeat to even Eminem & Rihanna and Tone Loc covered during their shows! Videos from their debut gig can also be seen on guest singer Molly Escherich's YouTube channel, while a studio cover of Black Sabbath's "N.I.B." was recorded and posted online on April 1st, 2024. Here's one of the better quality videos of Exit 808 live with both Amy and Dillion, of them covering Seether's "Gasoline" with (I believe) Spun's Bob Libick on guest bass at 2024's Rally In The Valley in Ewen!

Info/Analysis: Debuting as Double Jack in November 2023, their original lineup (Nathan, Isaac, Melvin, and Jackie) claimed third place in that month's inaugural Lake Superior State University Battle of the Bands, but lineup turnover would quickly follow, and by the spring of 2024, only Jackie was left from who we saw at the Arts Center. They also changed their name to Exit 808 that March, due to an existing cover rock band named Double Jack downstate. Unique among local rock bands for having two dedicated lead vocalists of different genders, let alone the wide age ranges in their lineups (Amy is Blaze's mom!), Exit 808 would begin regularly playing local shows along with gigs in the central and western U.P. by the summer of 2024, including some in the Lower Peninsula, and they networked well with bands on these tour runs, with some of their members often filling in with them.

Despite Nathan's return to the band last year, live dates for Exit 808 got more sporadic by the summer of 2025 due to members' outside commitments, and they opted to amicably disband after their Halloween concert at The Back Bay Grill & Games in Brimley. A strong band with some unique covers and a lot of collective talent, Exit 808 trekked a lot of miles in their two years together, and they delivered a familiar sound with distinct visual and sonic touches to help them stand out among their local cover brethren, while also making fans and friends while touring out west. Hopefully everyone lands in new bands when able, and/or reunites when the time is right!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! We're heading north to Sault Ontario for the first time in this series next month, and we have a heavy hitter to get randomly selected next, namely 2007-2015 local hard rock quartet Garden Of Bedlam, so look for that on or around February 10th, and for more news and notes this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Headrush & Generations), Plus New Media From The Gambit & With Gunfire!!

Plans to put up this month's Defunct Local Band Profile have been slightly delayed, as LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS have crossed my radar, one on SHORT NOTICE! To round things out, we have new songs from a band who's more active than I realized, and more new live videos from a band we just talked about yesterday, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will rock The Full Throttle Saloon on Wellington Street West for the first time TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was first announced on the venue's Facebook page on Monday. Their second show of 2026 and third with new guitarist Joe Miller will see Generations making their way to the former Primavera Hall, so it will be good to see this veteran quartet make their way to a new locale, and hopefully things go well for them, the venue, and fans! Of course, if you're still unfamiliar with the amenities and other offerings at The Full Throttle Saloon, the venue's own promotional image will happily fill you in. TONIGHT's concert has a 9:30 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more on Generations' show TONIGHT, and here they are live!

Next up, let's stay at The Full Throttle Saloon, as fellow local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush will return there in three weeks' time, on Saturday, January 31st! As you may recall, the Johns, Wes, Gino, and Frank debuted at the new-ish Steelton nightclub last week, and the show was well recieved with a strong attendance, even if bassist John Amendola's teased photos from the gig never made their way to their Facebook group. Headrush don't play live as regularly as other local cover bands do, so things must have went well for them to get booked twice in January 2026 alone, and hopefully they end this month with a bang! The venue's Facebook page did get a video last week of Headrush, but I'll hold that for our preview of the new date. Like with Generations TONIGHT, Headrush at month's end are on at 9:30 PM with no cover and a 19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details!

Also today, here's a mild surprise, as local punk supergroup The Gambit are still active and have launched a Bandcamp page featuring four studio original songs! We hadn't heard of anything from the former Sick Sons since they played at Rotaryfest Stage 2 in 2024, but unbeknownst to me, those new songs were posted in May and December of last year! Had I known that, they wouldn't have been moved to our inactive band links last summer (they're back in the active listings again), but they only belatedly acknowledged one of the songs on their Facebook page last month. As fans who have seen The Gambit live since their 2019 debut know, they have included original songs in their sporadic live dates, and the four on Bandcamp are named "Lonelier Tomorrow" (a tribute song to the late Guy Thiffault), "Border, Border" (inspired by the Canada/US border), "Fault Line" (about finding love in tumultuous times), and "Click-Bait" (which is self-explanatory).

The songs are posted individually as singles and not as a collective EP, but if you want to buy them as mp3s, they cost $1 apiece. There's a nice diverse array of punk-leaning styles here, including multiple lead vocalists, and while not as ripping and fast paced as Lucas, Steve, Christian, Dave, and Clint's 1990s and 2000s bands could get, genre fans will find a lot to like! "Lonelier Tomorrow" is obviously the most reserved of the four, given its memorial nature, and it naturally goes over well in concert! It's great to see that The Gambit are alive & well, and hopefully they have a busier 2026!

We'll close today with one more new live video from newly renamed (and still online page-less) local metal quintet With Gunfire, courtesy of drummer Jonas Gasperas' YouTube channel! When we touched on their videos from last month's Fist Magnet reunion concert at Soo Blaster, I did notice that Jonas had uploaded two more clips of them playing their original "Well Of The Dead" at different concerts. One of the videos was actually from last month's Broke & Hungry charity concert for Christmas Cheer at Beck's Bar, and if you're curious, the teased live-stream of the concert is now considered to be a private video. If Twitchy did indeed stream the event on YouTube on December 17th, then it was truly only to be seen remotely that night, alas. I'd love to recap it here if he did and publicized the video! The other video is embedded below, as it's longer and horizontally shot, but from what concert does it come from?

Based on the logos on the screen, this 100% came from the Napoleon-headlined concert at Soo Blaster that the then-Sault Side Squad played in September, and yes, new singer Spencer MacGillivray was in the band by this point. For visual quality (from orientation to how fans on the floor were placed), this is our best look yet at With Gunfire, who can definitely tear it up with varied extreme metal influences. Imagine them with a larger pit! The Broke & Hungry video isn't bad sounding, but it's more distant and vertical. Give both and more from With Gunfire a watch above & below!

That's all for now, but our next Defunct Local Band Profile is definitely coming next! Thanks everyone!