LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Re:Born), The Last Of This Weekend's Concert Previews, And More!!

At last, here's our final weekend concert preview post on this packed Rotaryfest weekend! Remember, for previews of Friday and Saturday events not involving Re:Born, check this morning's post, and yesterday second post covers Rotaryfest Stage 1. Now, we have previews of shows with the same headline band this weekend, one being a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, with overdue updates on an upcoming competitive event, so without any further adieu, here's what you should know!

Local power rock quartet Re:Born will be among the performers at this year's Loud & Proud Family Fun Day at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON as part of this year's Sault Pridefest! Apologies for the short notice, the band did publically announce their involvement in this event last month, but we held a formal announcement for the formal reveal of the day's full musical lineup, which has surprisingly not come as of press time. Readers may recall The Din (featuring Re:Born drummer Brandan Glew) playing this event in one of their final concerts two years ago, and now it's the Project 421 successors' turn to rock out at a rare afternoon and ALL AGES set for them! Of course, this is a big annual kick-off event for the local Pridefest events celebrating LGBTQ2SIA culture & awareness, with vendors, games, demonstrations, and varying family friendly entertainment all going down at the Bushplane Museum THIS SUNDAY, so don't miss out on all of the Loud & Proud fun then! 

The lack of a public lineup reveal is very surprising, but Re:Born guitarist Blair Burch told me in a Facebook conversation that the other performers will include solo musician Juliana Cartner (who I know nothing on), hip hop duo Planet Rock, folk rock veteran M.D. Dunn, and a new rock band named Woodwind, with Re:Born headlining at 3:00 PM. Thanks again to Blair for the help! A 12:30 PM start time is advertised for this FREE & ALL AGES event, and it's great to see everyone band together to support Pridefest on SUNDAY and beyond! If you're up for some all ages, mid-day classic metal, you know where to be this weekend!

With that said, Re:Born have one more show coming up for their first ever double header booking on one weekend, as they'll be headlining a more traditional nightttime and 19+ concert TOMORROW NIGHT at The Rockstar Bar! Marking their first public concert since the Cory Burch farewell show late last month, this event is titled "Brandan's Quarter Century Musical Extravaganza", referencing the show taking place on their esteemed drummer's 25th birthday. No extra frills are advertised beyond having "a few sparkling beverages", but be sure to wish Brandan a happy birthday if you're in attendance! Notably taking place concurrently with the closing acts at Rotaryfest Stage 1 tomorrow, this show could be seen as a festival alternative for those of you craving heavier or more original acts. As such, two Stage 2 bands from 2017 will be the support acts tomorrow night, including alt-punk trio A Dire Setback (who opened for Re:Born last month too) & funk/hard rock quartet The Elements!

Both bands are fine choices to open, especially as you don't see either as much live anymore, so don't miss out on them tomorrow! For what it's worth, LopLops Lounge (who have tended to book Stage 2 bands on Rotaryfest weekend) are hosting both K.I.C.K. tonight and Jack Pine tomorrow, albeit both as opening acts for touring headliners The Road Waves and The Boo Radley Project. As for tomorrow's Re:Born show, this is a 19+ concert with a $5 cover charge and a 9:00 PM start time. Check the above links for more on this metal and punk attack tomorrow night, and here's Re:Born live!

With weekend concert previews finally in the rear view mirror, we'll close today's post with some long overdue updates on the second annual Soo's Got Talent competition, so what's new to report here? Well, the audition dates are now public, as prospective competitors can audition to make the cut for the live shows over the weekends of August 23rd-24th & September 6th-7th. Though the event proper will take place at The Verdi Hall on Queen Street West (due to The Tech's closure), auditions will surprisingly take place at Wacky Wings at 688 Great Northern Road, with donations to the ARCH Hospice encouraged. I assume these are publically attendable (starting at 6:00 PM on Fridays and 4:00 PM on Saturdays), but of course, we can't confirm the lineups. If a performer (musician or otherwise) is selected to go to the live elimination shows, you'll next see them at The Verdi Hall on September 13th, with two more rounds following in the next two weeks, before the finals take place on October 11th.

For reference, singer Daniella Brewer won last year, Tym Morrison made it past the first round, and any sort of entertainment performer will be allowed to audition (magicians, comedians, dancers, you name it.) That said, will we see any metal, hard rock, or punk acts this year? At least one, maybe, as Chase Wigmore expressed interest in auditioning back in April by posting this video onto The Soo's Got Talent Facebook page (apologies for the delay in this making the site.) While he called the video his audition, I assume he'd still have to show up at Wacky's, but the page administrator did enjoy his performance! The monochrome, filtered video features Chase playing an acoustic yet intense alt-folk number that makes good use of his aggressive, passionate vocals and stage presence, and fans of his will want to give it a look below, whether or not we see him at The Verdi Hall this fall!



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tym Morrison) & Even More Weekend Concert Previews!!

As promised, here is our third of a now-confirmed four weekend concert preview posts on this busy Rotaryfest weekend! Remember, check out our second post from yesterday for previews of Rotaryfest's Stage 1. Today, we're spotlighting most of the other hard rock and punk shows this weekend, but Re:Born's Rockstar Bar show tomorrow night and  their Loud & Proud show for Sault Pridefest will be in our second post later today! I'm still waiting for fuller information on the Loud & Proud lineup anyway, but we'll make due if necessary. Now, here's what you should know for most of the rest of the weekend, starting with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

We already covered his Downtown Street Party set in yesterday's previews, but fans of his should know by now that this isn't all for Tym Morrison this weekend. The prolific local hard rock solo musician will continue his regular weekly matinee gigs at Gliss Restaurant on Spring Street unabated TONIGHT & TOMORROW, but in a new confirmation, Tym will also be playing a special matinee concert THIS AFTERNOON at... The Old Stone House?! Apologies for the short notice on that gig, Tym only announced it via this Facebook event page yesterday, oddly created through his old band Caveman Morrison's Facebook page. A concert like this at the Ermatinger Clergue National Historic Site at 800 Bay Street may seem very atypical, but Tym did play a (publically unannounced) show there on Canada Day. Both The Old Stone House and Tym himself have not elaborated on if there is a special occasion to warrant a live musician TODAY, but it could be just as simple as tying in the site with Rotaryfest activities downtown.

Of course, Tym's regular Gliss shows should provide more solid dinner-time entertainment if you're up for more of his standard schedule tomorrow and/or Saturday evening! Those shows are at 6:00 PM as usual, but the Old Stone House gig TODAY has a special early start time of 3:00 PM running until before 6:00 PM. As best as I can tell, these are free and all ages shows, but mind the locales. Click here and above for more details, and here's Tym live!



Next up, we'll continue our previews by heading south to Sault Michigan, where local classic/hard rock cover quintet Highway 63 will return for concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT at The Rapids Lounge at the Soo's Kewadin Casino branch! Note that these shows had not been newly promoted by Highway 63 themselves on their Facebook page at press time, but they are listed on Kewadin's entertainment page, so we'll treat them as on unless otherwise stated. While we've seen the new Highway 63 lineup (now featuring Russell Mayer on drums) on two separate weekends in St. Ignace since their relaunch, this will be Highway 63's first concert weekend in Sault Ste. Marie proper with their current lineup. If you're up for lots of hard rocking classic hits from this union of Mamas Boys and Jager alumni, why not come down to The Rapids Lounge this weekend? These are 21+ gigs with 9:00 PM start times and no cover. See above for more details, and here's Highway 63 live!

Finally for this preview post, let's head back to Sault Ontario, where Rotaryfest's original-focused Stage 2 will return for it's fourteenth annual installment TOMORROW! For a fifth straight year, the Second Stage will be on the outdoor stage adjacent to the Art Gallery of Algoma near the Clergue Park home base, but unlike last year's expanded 3 day lineup, everything's condensed to Saturday only again. Presented by SooToday, this year's Stage 2 lineup features 8 original acts, including 5 debuting at the festival, so fans looking for new blood will get it on both stages this year! Your 8:00 PM headliners are local indie rock quartet K.I.C.K. in their third official Stage 2 set, and second headlining appearance here. The Keep It Cool Kids should be riding high off of their recent post-reunion momentum, so don't miss out! That said, the only punk or heavier act this year is 7:00 PM co-headliners Northwest, who'll bring their indie/punk attack back for a second Stage 2 go-around.

After missing last year, it's great to see Wayne, the Mikes, Greg, and Marc back with more of their up-tempo punk originals, so don't miss this increasingly rare set tomorrow evening! Ottawa folk musician Jack Pine (last seen locally at 2018's Northern Vibe Festival) will return to the Soo with a 5:30 PM set, making him just the second out of town act to play Stage 2 in the "Redirected" era. Jazz trio The Peach Thieves (featuring a number of metal/hard rock veterans) will make their festival debut at 4:30 PM, while folk/pop musician Hannah Lindsay will play at 3:30 PM, making her the only returning act from Stage 2 last year. This time, she will have Vol. bassist Shane Storozuk and Electric Church drummer Beau Whitfield backing her up, so keep them in mind as well. Folk/country duo The Crossroad Magdalenes will make their Stage 2 debut at 2:30 PM, replacing Man Feelings due to fire fighting commitments out of town for frontman Tyler Willson (good luck out there!)

Finally, the opening acts tomorrow are two more Stage 2 newcomers, namely alt-pop musician Jillian Katzenback (in her CD release show, even) at 1:30 PM, with DJ Seith's hip hop project Planet Rock leading off with a short set at 1:00 PM. Great lineup for fans of modern indie and alternative music especially, with a dash of punk late as well, so don't miss out on all of the Second Stage action tomorrow! As usual, this is FREE & ALL AGES. Visit the above links for much more details, and for a preview, here's Northwest live!

 
That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Re:Born concert previews (Loud & Proud included) later today! Thanks everyone!

Rotaryfest Stage 1 Concert Previews!!

Here's our second of three weekend concert preview posts on this annual busy stretch, and be sure to check out our previews of this weekend's Wyld Stallyns and Alex Traynor shows in the post below this one from this morning! We'll get to Stage 2, Tym Morrison, Re:Born, and Highway 63 on Friday morning, I promise! Today's post is focused around this year's Rotaryfest, as Sault Ontario's annual summer festival is back for three more days of wide ranging family entertainment, but of course, we focus on the music, and a wide array of local talent will take the main Clergue Park stage this year! In honour of the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock festival, this year's Stage 1 is themed as such, but will bands cover Woodstock and/or 1960s acts across the board? In any event, last year's Rewind theme clearly did well, as four original-centric acts will take the big stage this year in a reversion of past norms, so if you've ever disliked the past covers-only mandate, here you go!

In fact, only five of this year's Stage 1 bands are four time veterans of this stage since 2006, so there's a lot of new blood to take in this weekend! Starting with TONIGHT'S opening slate, Stage 1 will shake things up from the past "Jazz in the Park" and 1950s-leaning lineups, including having a rare hard rock band on the Thursday bill, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will headline at 10:00 PM! After debuting at Rotaryfest in 2017, these veteran rockers should deliver a strong set of hard hitting fan favourites tonight, so don't miss Terry, Travis, Paul(?), and Glen then! Classic/pop rock cover band Encore are co-headlining tonight at 9:00 PM, with a one-off Beatles tribute band named Beatles '69 in the middle 8:00 PM slot, featuring many familiar faces throwing back to these music icons for the occasion. 3/4ths of defunct classic rockers The Peace Vibe will join forces with Griphook drummer Tony Fabiano in the debuting SideFX (no relation to the old local hard rock band) at 7:00 PM.

Lastly, folk/country mainstays The Algo Rhythms will open the day's musical festivities at 6:00 PM. This should be a strong lineup for classic rock fans in particular, and with Soundcheck, Encore, and The Algo Rhythms all returning to Stage 1 after a year's absence, hopefully they make new and attract old fans alike tonight! I just hope the weather holds up. As always, today's music is FREE & ALL AGES, so visit the above links (or the official Rotaryfest program) for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

TOMORROW'S Stage 1 lineup will feature a slightly expanded 6 band lineup, including a couple of hard rock bands, but your headliners are country rock veterans Bone Yard in their sixth Stage 1 set and first since closing the festival two years ago. Indie rock solo musician Jesse Merineau and his band (including Caroline Divine & Electric Church alumni) will join the small group of acts to play both Rotaryfest stages when they debut on Stage 1 at 9:00 PM, while inactive hard rock trio Sailor's Tongue will reunite for the first time since rocking Stage 2 in 2013 at 8:00 PM. It's great to see the McKey brothers and Jeff back after far too long, and while this is ostensibly a one-off reunion, look for their entertaining originals back on home soil tomorrow night. CD review coming this month too, maybe? Jam rock veterans Odd Man Out will ride the momentum of their recent CD release when they play Stage 1 for a second straight year at 7:00 PM, while hard rock quartet Griphook will take the stage at 6:00 PM.

Playing their fifth Stage 1 set since their debut, it's great to see Griphook back on the big stage after a 2 year absence, and hopefully there's more to come from their camp! Tomorrow's bill will be opened by classic rock mainstays Mid Life Crysis in their first Stage 1 set since 2016, and (at least) 7th total. Another talented lineup, if more varied than tonight's, is in store for Clergue Park patrons, so don't miss out on all of the action tomorrow! Again, this is free and all ages, as usual. See above for more details, and here's Sailor's Tongue live on the Second Stage!



Finally, the all-day lineup THIS SATURDAY is full of talent, including Toronto-based Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute Green River Revival (not the C.C.R. tribute who played here in May) as the featured attraction at 8:30 PM. Of course, C.C.R. were at Woodstock, so this fits the theme nicely! However, the advertised headliners are not closing the festival for a fifth straight year, as local Celtic punk quintet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide will wrap things up at 10:30 PM in their second straight Stage 1 set. Hopefully The Tide deliver an entertaining (and drier) set on Saturday night! Sailor's Tongue frontman Kyle McKey will also perform twice on Saturday in bands from his current Pembroke homebase, including his blues rock cover band The Emtees at 7:30 PM (in their local debut) and with his girlfriend KT Antler in the pop/country cover band KT & Kyle at 5:00 PM, a spiritual sequel to their past Stage 1 gigs as KT, Kyle, and The Pocket.

Kyle's sets bookend a special Woodstock tribute set from the huge one-off tribute band The Woodstock Show at 6:00 PM, with many festival performers to be covered therein, so flower children will want to take notice! After covering Garth Brooks two years ago, local country musician Mark Tarantini will pay tribute to John Denver in the 4:00 PM slot alongside many familiar faces in his backing band, while past Thursday regulars The Northern Jazz Ensemble will play Stage 1 for a second straight year at 3:00 PM. Young pop/alternative rock band L!me will make their Rotaryfest debut at 2:00 PM, while Rotaryfest regulars Obsession will bring their classic rock attack back for their 10th Stage 1 set since 2008 as the surprising 1:00 PM openers. Notably, this year's Rotaryfest does not feature such recent regular bands as Crossroad, Flathead Ford, The Reptiles, and (most surprisingly of all) Mustang Heart, but if you want new faces and select original content, this year's may deliver the goods you want, so don't miss out this weekend!

Saturday's lineup is full of high profile acts, 1960s tributes, and local talent, with a dash of punk to close out the night, so don't miss out on the whole day's music then! As usual, this and every day of Stage 1 action at Clergue Park is FREE & ALL AGES. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Dustin & The Tide live and outdoors a few years back!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more of this weekend's concert previews tomorrow morning, and I fear this weekend's previews may have to stretch into four posts, so keep tabs for all of that! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Downtown Street Party & Alex Traynor!!)

The busiest non-holiday concert weekend of the year is upon us, so here's what you should know regarding our scheduling. As best as I can gather, our Rotaryfest Stage 1  previews will be coming on the site this afternoon, while our Stage 2, Tym Morrison, Highway 63, and Re:Born previews should hit the site in two more posts on Friday. Fingers crossed there's no more short notice gigs on the docket, as this post is already solely comprised of SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, both with an element of apologies for missing prior gigs with these artists, so here's what you should know to start!

Kinross/Mount Pleasant, Michigan hard rock solo musician Alex Traynor will return to Biggby Coffee on Ashmun Street for another acoustic matinee gig TODAY, but he's not alone! Apologies for the short notice, we only heard public confirmation of it earlier this week via the venue's and Alex's Facebook page. In fact, if you've been paying attention to both sources, you'll know that more is up than just Alex playing for tips and coffee. As it turns out, the band Tarnished that replaced the now-defunct Banned at Kinross Speedpark this past weekend is in fact Alex's new local band, featuring him on vocals & guitar alongside bassist Josh Fair (who I'm unfamiliar with from past local music) and Project 906 drummer Tommy Korcal. No online pages or public media yet, but a personal Facebook video is floating around of Tarnished covering ZZ Top and Bob Seger, and they sound good with some grit! I mention this here in part because Josh was the uncredited guest from Alex's 4th of July set.

Leading from that, Alex & Josh played Biggby Coffee together last Thursday too as well as that day's Ashmun Alive! festival downtown (apologies for missing those short notice sets here), while Josh will also be joining Alex TODAY at 10:30 AM, and if Biggby Coffee are to be believed, they will be playing there "every Thursday." Is this a sign that Alex is back home for the foreseeable future, or is it just a sign that Biggby Coffee don't know how long he can play Thursday mornings regularly? Tym Morrison aside, this verbiage isn't common for our coverage, so we'll play the wait and see game for now. In any event, Alex & Josh sounded good in the preview video embedded below from two weeks ago, but how long does "every Thursday" go, and will we see more of Tarnished on the public record? As usual for Alex's (and Josh's) Thursday matinees, there is no cover or age limit TODAY from 10:30 AM-1:00 PM.

Hopefully this set goes well for Alex, Josh, and fans alike with their hard rocking cover selections, so see above for much more details on Alex's solo and band pursuits, and I apologize again for missing his recent local gigs, we'd have covered them here had more information been available!

Next up, Sault Ontario funk/hard rock quartet The Wyld Stallyns and acoustic hard rock solo artist Tym Morrison will be reportedly be among the entertainment at TONIGHT'S first Downtown Street Party of the season! Again, apologies for the short notice, the full lineup was only announced on the official Facebook event page yesterday. Similarly to last year's three Downtown Street Parties, TONIGHT'S festivities will see vendors, family entertainment, refreshments, and various other activities going down Queen Street East from Pim Street to Spring Street, so see above for full non-musical details! Like last year, there will be a multi-"stage" setup on Queen, with Tym and The Wyld Stallyns both opening the lineup at 6:30 PM at their designated location (Tym at Queen and Pim, The Stallyns at Queen & East.) Tym's opening for classic rock veterans Flathead Ford, while The Wyld Stallyns will open a pseudo-Stage 2, preceding sets by surf rockers The Dynowaves, and two of this Saturday's Stage 2 acts (indie rock quartet K.I.C.K. and solo standout Jesse Merineau.)

The hard rock-free "Stage 3" will be in the block of Queen Street between Brock and Spring, and will feature North Bay indie rock trio David Dino White alongside local blues rock veterans Five Below Zero, country/bluegrass quintet Johnny & The Revelators, and acoustic country duo The Bearded Lounge. Presented by the Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Association, the party proper begins TONIGHT at 6:00 PM, and this is absolutely FREE & ALL AGES, so see above for more details! While we're on the subject, The Wyld Stallyns aren't done for this weekend, as they'll also return to The Whiskey Barrel on Gore Street TOMORROW NIGHT for one night only, after apparently playing a show there on Saturday, July 6th that we missed on the site. Apologies again for the short notice (and for missing the July 6th gig), the venue had announced both weeks ago via this Facebook event page covering all July concerts there, which completely slipped us by until now.

For what it's worth, The Stallyns never publically confirmed the July 6th show online, and The Whiskey Barrel never plugged it alone beforehand, so I am uncertain if it took place. If it did, I profusely apologize, I will do better to cover Whiskey Barrel concerts in the future! Downtown Street Party aside, the Elements side project have seemingly made their home at The Whiskey Barrel in recent months, and their hard rocking yet varied covers should go over well there TOMORROW! Here, there's an 8:00 PM start time, no cover, and a likely 19+ age limit. See above for more details on both of their shows this weekend, and here's The Stallyns live!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Rotaryfest Stage 1 previews and more on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Random Killing & Life Like Fire Concert Video Showcase!!

Today's post is devoted to videos from a pair of recent concerts downtown featuring touring headliners, so let's begin with the Random Killing concert at The Rockstar Bar earlier this month! The all-too-generous Christopher Paci was in attendance for this one, filming 14 videos of the day's three bands, which were posted to his YouTube channel this past Wednesday. Kudos to Chris as usual, he has went above and beyond the call of duty once again! A full 10 of his videos are of the headlining Toronto hardcore punk legends, and while not all are titled, I don't blame Chris at all, as it looks like songs ran into each other to an extent, so a bunch of his begin shortly after the song did. In any event, his videos include their closer "Welcome", "Patios & Beer", "Johnny Was A Punk", "Big Rock Star", the Sesame Street favourite "Twelve", and as embedded below, a 6 minute video with multiple tracks. While not as packed as Hardcore Homecoming was in 2014, the crowd is lively and into each song, which is a definite plus here!

The guys are in their usual chaotic punk form, and Chris has a good angle when fans' heads aren't in the way, but singer/Saultite Andrew "Drool" Kiteley's vocals are somewhat muffled on these recordings. Still, it's great to see so much footage of Random Killing's return after an almost 5 year wait, so give their videos a look above & below!



Next up, Chris filmed a single video of opening punk/metal quintet Jack Spades, who are seen here playing "Breakneck Speed" in the kickoff to their now-complete Ontario tour supporting Random Killing. Similar quality and angle on this performance, aside from a fan's head covering up most of Daniel from this angle, and fans of Jack Spades' hard hitting attack will want to see this performance below as well!

Lastly from this concert, Chris filmed three videos of debuting local punk quartet The Sick Sons, so what can be said about them? Well, Lucas "Dr. Sal Velinus" Schmiedendorf is indeed their singer & guitarist, but I cannot immediately identify the other band members, though they have solid beards and look familiar. The second guitarist does sing lead on the 2:47 video, and while the muffled vocals don't help in identifying the tracks, the shortest video is a cover of The Dayglo Abortions' "Stupid Songs". Time will tell if The Sick Sons have a longer shelf life (and more prominent presence online) than Lucas' last band The HTs, but if you liked Lucas' fondly remembered local band Bankshot, you'll like The Sick Sons! Solid, in-your-face, old school punk rock is always worth a listen, though the guys could stand to loosen up their stage presence. Give their longest video a look below, see more above, and hopefully we hear more information from The Sick Sons sooner or later!



Finally for today, here's a new 30 second video of Calgary hard rock quartet Life Like Fire's headlining set at The New American Pub last Wednesday! This was filmed by Amanda Rosemarie from Ego & Pessimism Records (who helped put on openers The Long Nines' converging tour), and shared onto the Sault Ste. Marie Music Scene Facebook group during their set. Just for disclosure, that group has no relation to this website beyond some common content.  Life Like Fire sound good in this video while it lasts, though the vertical camera angle isn't optimal. That doll(?) sure looks like it had a blast, at the very least! Give Amanda's video a look below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews (Rotaryfest included) and our latest poll next! Thanks everyone!

Blood Shed Productions Concert Video Showcase!!

Today's post is devoted to new videos from local independent metal label Blood Shed Productions, who were very active with new postings on their YouTube channel a month ago featuring some familiar names! We'll start by acknowledging the new videos from their flagship act, local goregrind solo project Crucify the Whore, whose material was in two of these new postings. One is a new YouTube copy of their song "Sudafederal Offense" from their split with Chase Wigmore last year, which brings more of the same minimalist grind intensity that followers will enjoy, plus a surprise audio sample from American Dad! at the beginning. Embedded below is C.T.W.'s song "Hepatetanus" from February's demo EP "Crucifiction Inquisition", marking the first official YouTube copy of a song from the low-fi release. Tyler Gibson's polarizing metal attack remains as abrasive as ever here, but if you're up for the doomy nature and pig squeal vocals, give this one and more a look!



Next up, fans know that Tyler has his hands in many projects under the Blood Shed umbrella, but here's one we haven't talked about on here before. Back in November, Tyler posted a couple of electronica/drum & bass songs onto the Blood Shed YouTube channel that he recorded under the band name Alegendary, which were allegedly distributed on a limited run of burned demo CDs. At the time, I didn't cover them on the site, as they weren't hard rock or metal songs, but they do show that Tyler has range beyond his usual grind work! That said, Tyler brought Alegendary back last month with a new song that is more up our alley, taking on a stoner/acid jam vibe that may be reminiscent of early Din material. Tyler acknowledged that the Alegendary name is basically "just a title for me to release my own personal solo releases under", hence the genre disparity. For what it's worth, Alegendary don't have an online page to add them to the SMS links with... yet?

As for Alegendary's new song, entitled "Fitting In & Falling Out", this 8 minute instrumental showcases some fun creativity, though it's raw recording quality and sparsely places intruments won't appeal to all listeners. That said, if you like acid rock moreso than grindcore, you may get more value from this one. Give Alegendary's newest song a listen below!



Also, here's a couple of songs that are credited to a 2018 demo by The First Arrival, a new(?) death metal project featuring prolific local solo artist Chase Wigmore on vocals & guitar alongside Tyler on drums. I have never heard of The First Arrival before now, so that demo must have seen a very limited release, if there even was one! One song is the 89 second instrumental "Normal & Without Suspicion", but embedded below is the ambitiously titled "Nominated For A Juno." Up there with Chase's most aggressive & heavy band work, the lo-fi recording quality doesn't help, but his screaming fits the noise attack nicely, so give The First Arrival a listen above & below too!



Finally, Tyler also reprises his Brutally Fatal-esque drum role on "Permanent Land Deficiency", an alleged full-length EP credited to the band name Aggressor Fender, who I also hadn't heard of before this summer. This was apparently recorded in mid-late 2018, and Chase is credited for mixing and mastering, but not a lot of info is forthcoming. Whether that's Chase or not on guitar, Aggressor Fender are totally an instrumental band on this EP, which has song breaks in the 13+ minute video, but no listed song names. The name of the project is apt, as they are an aggressive noise rock act, and with cleaner recording than The First Arrival, you may want to give them a listen!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site as the week rolls along! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Inner City Surfers), A New Full Concert Set Video, And Much More!!

Here's a new news post for your Friday morning, as we get caught up on a lot of smaller recent stories here, but let's lead off with some big punk topics, including a lengthy new concert video, and firstly, a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for early next month that you won't want to skip past!

Local punk rock quartet The Inner City Surfers will reunite for one night only on Saturday, August 3rd when they headline at LopLops Lounge to honour the 20th anniversary of their launch! Fans last saw Dustin, Dave, Brad, and Mikey on stage together back in December 2012 when they played a couple of holiday season concerts (including one at LopLops), and after well over 6 years on the backburner, it's great to see The Surfers back on stage where they belong! No word on if this has any relevance to the personal Facebook postings that have implied new Surfers material may be in the works, we'll let you know if that ever goes public. There's no Facebook event page yet, but to hype this concert, Dustin's label Tidal Records shared this Facebook video teasing the concert, as set to their song "Ten Commandments", along with a brief clip of Brad Example pretending to be an old man with a walker. Cute and effective all at once, and it is the source for this poster, which also lists an opening band named Love & Rehab.

I have no information at press time on Love & Rehab, but tagged names in the description of the video may give you some hints as to band members. We'll let you know if anything verifiable comes out! An admission fee and exact start time are to be announced, but expect this to be a 19+ event. This should be a huge concert next month, one which I fully expect to concert to sell out, and deservingly so! Punk fans will want to circle August 3rd on their calendars, so watch the video below, and stay tuned for updates!



Next up, here's a new video from active local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades, whose tour dates with Random Killing are ongoing! Yes, I am aware of a bunch of local videos from the show this past weekend, stay tuned for them in an upcoming post. Steve Reniewick from Stronger Than Ever Videos was in attendance for the Random Killing show at This Ain't Hollywood in Hamilton on Sunday, and filmed a video of each band, including Random Killing themselves, (non-Northern Ontario) tourmates Armed & Hammered, and Hamilton's own Artificial Dissemination, who you may recall from the first Oh!No festival and 2016's K-Man & The 45s concert. Of course, Steve filmed Jack Spades too, and he got their whole 37 minute set, so what was played here? In order, you'll see "They Live", "Rise", "Breakneck Speed", "Crossroads", "Motorwolf", "Fear Corps", "Negative Headspace", "Cenobytes", and covers of The Rebel Spell's "All We Want" (with guitarist Tiffany Stocco on vocals), and The Ripcordz' "X"...

...before customarily closing with their original "To The Left". Great quality footage here, Steve has a nice angle of the band doing their thing, and he gets some good zoomed in shots too, though this isn't the channel for you if you want crowd reactions. Kudos to Steve for filming all of this, and hopefully he keeps at it! Check the above links for the out of town bands, and here's Jack Spades live in Hamilton earlier this week!



Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or company name:

• In a very late lineup change for Wednesday's Life Like Fire-headlined concert at The New American Pub, local experimental/metal solo musician & Awokest frontman Chase Wigmore replaced Temagami folk musician James Crate as the opening act. A reason for James' withdrawal wasn't announced, but hopefully nothing bad happened, and I know Chase turned heads with his eclectic original material, even on short notice!
• As part of their ongoing promotion for Saturday night's Go North Music Festival in Richards Landing, SooToday has been posting quizzes featuring performers reflecting on Northern Ontario life, camping, and outdoor habits, with openers Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide interviewed as such on Tuesday. Sort of a puff piece with answers given as bullet points, but you get some insight of how Dustin and crew enjoy the area, and give it a look at this link!
• A Facebook event page for the Faps-headlined concert at Dryer Fire on July 31st is now online, and it confirms that the show will have a $10 cover charge, which is the maximum possible for concerts there. Prior advertising did not give the entry fee, so it's good to know what to expect for this one, especially given the temporary pop-up venue it's taking place at this time!
• I have moved Sault Michigan hard rock solo project Hubbard to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity, with the Chris Hubbard-led act not posting on their Facebook page since June of last year. Despite the obvious promise that comes from the 415E/ex-Nixxon Dixxon guitarist, online posts regarding this solo project were never plentiful, but hopefully he revisits his own solo work down the line!
• Sault Ontario death metal trio Pillory have been added as openers for the Black Crown Initiate concert at The Rockstar Bar on August 3rd, as per a comment by co-promoter Matt Quinn on Live705's new cover video (which is just a clip from a B.C.I. music video with overlaid text.) Pillory are replacing Denver death metal quartet Vale of Pnath, who have dropped out of this concert due to their drummer reportedly quitting the band. Bummer, but hopefully they can come back to Canada in the future! It's great to see Pillory reprise their Rivers of Nihil opening role in just their second show in as many years, and see above for more details!
• The Sault Theatre Workshop at 121 Pittsburgh Avenue is reportedly looking for bands to compete at a battle of the bands there on Saturday, August 31st, as per this photo shared on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group on Monday by Band Camp Rejects alum Ryan Bell (for a friend.) Details are slight as of yet, but 6 bands are being sought, and video or audio material submissions by August 23rd are encouraged. It would be great to have another battle of the bands here after far too long, so contact diamynrpm@shaw.ca or the provided phone number for more information!

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