LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Spliff69), Two New Local Bands, And Another Band Wants A Show Here!

Before we start, I'll just remind you guys to check out my review of Bad Side's debut album immediately below this post, and vote in the current poll on the left of the page, to see what your favourite Woods of Ypres song is!

Now, let's get things going, for I have a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!!! Spliff69, a hard rock band from Canton, Michigan, will be playing TWO shows on October 15th! First, they'll rock Lake Superior State University for an acoustic set at what they claim is "The Gallery Coffeehouse", but I go to LSSU, and there's no such coffeehouse there. It's actually called The Peacock Cove, and it's in The Cisler Center. Despite the mix-up, it seems like a legit booking, multiple pages list it, and it's well detailed too. It will be an acoustic all-ages set at 4:00 that day, after which they'll hit The Satisfied Frog for a full-on electric set that night!

I hadn't heard of Spliff69 before today, but they have a good sound going for them! Accessible, but heavy and groovy all at once! I'd say they're worth seeing if you're in Sault Michigan that day, check out some of their original material on their official MySpace page! And if I hear anything more on these shows, I'll be sure to share them with you all!

Next up, I have located a new local metal band, and at the same time, found out about the possible end of another local band. In my searching, I found a Sault Michigan metal band named In Memorandum, and they happen to feature Integrated System of Machines frontman Orb Hearthstone and bassist Sven Giles on guitar! The band also features Giles' brother Greg from the Grand Rapids band Dissonant on drums! They appear to have been active since August 13th, and have some bio information too, but best of all, an original song! Entitled "Sun Is Gone", it's solid, but not as consistently heavy as I was expecting. Maybe it's the lack of a bassist at present. But it's worth checking out, and you can do so at this location!

This brings me to my next point, in the bio info for In Memorandum, it credits Orb Hearthstone in brackets as "ex-I.S.O.M." As well, I.S.O.M.'s MySpace page has not been updated since July 25th. Have Integrated System of Machines broken up? I haven't seen anything official on that front, but things don't look that good. If this truly is the end for the band, I gotta say I'll miss them, I've been a fan since I first heard them, and the fact they used an SMS quote as a review on their ReverbNation page was a very nice gesture! I'll cross my fingers that they'll be back though!

But I did find another band in Sault Ontario to share with you guys! Long since inactive, but worth mentioning! They were Orchestra of Wolves, a hardcore band that was active in...December of 2007. Normally I wouldn't talk about bands that had such a short shelf life, but they have a decent amount of profile info, so I can't just ignore them! Their band members were then-high schoolers (frontman Jamie MacDonald is pictured), and not in any other local bands I can think of off the top of my head, but they sounded promising! They say they sounded like "a pack of hungry wolves listening to a Robert Goulet mix tape." Influences ranged from Every Time I Die to Norma Jean. Maybe you remember these guys? Check them out at their official MySpace page!

And finally for today, we have a band that wants to play here, and a band that appears to have given up trying. Remember when I mentioned that Alberta metal band Calculating Collapse were hoping to play here on October 18th? Looks like they're not planning that show anymore, it's off of their tour schedule. But never fear, another metal band has tentatively lined Sault Ontario up for a show! Endast, a hardcore/thrash band from Montreal, are looking to play here on November 10th. Can you help? Send them a message on MySpace! They don't sound too bad, it would definitely be nice to see them here!

I had been plotting a huge post today, but I figured I'd break everything up to spread out the news and not overload you guys. Tomorrow will be a post of random news items, including news from Sykotyk Rampage, Brendan Christie, Detroit, Lion Ride, Monkey's Uncle, and some information about the SMS' Youtube channel! Stay tuned tomorrow for even more news and updates! Also, remember to check out my Bad Side album review! Thanks everyone!