Lots Of Assorted Stories, Including A New Solo Project & Upcoming Album!!

One more post before tonight's Grady concert at The Grand Theater, which will be my first concert there since the YMCA Battle of the Bands in March of 2009! Today's post is full of assorted news stories, including some concert updates for this weekend, news on an upcoming metal concert next month, the latest news from The Barking Eye, and a newly announced local album, but first, here's a brand new local rock solo project!

Browbeat frontman Dutch Vanderploeg has launched his own solo project, which is now online at Reverbnation to check out! My criteria for including solo projects as bands on the SMS is a bit strict, as they must have a clear aim to be an act that releases music and features their own material, rather than just a profile for a musician's other bands or a glorified classified ad to get into another band. Dutch's qualifies, and here's what you should know! His page doesn't have a lot to say on the project aside from his musical ambitions, but he does say that he'll be posting "never before heard songs" on the page very shortly. One wonders why he's going the solo route for certain songs rather than making them Browbeat originals, but maybe he feels the song sounds better when it's just him on all of the instruments. One song is posted so far, entitled "Eyelids Fall", and it does sound like something Browbeat would play, which is a compliment! It's unique in that the chorus has a sort of dream like softer quality compared to the more hard rocking verses, which helps set it apart! His singing is melodic and matches the song well, and his guitar work is nice and catchy! Good song, maybe we'll get a chance to hear it live down the road! Stay tuned for more on Dutch's solo project down the road, and click here to visit his new Reverbnation page and check out his stuff!

Next up, remember when I first mentioned local solo musician Mike Haggith on Thursday? Well, I left out one major note: He has an album in the works! It's entitled "Suspended Animation", and it's described as an "upbeat rock album", though still heavy! He will be finishing the mastering and the vocal tracks for the album at his label Rotten Records' main studio in Windsor next month, with the instrumental portions completed already. By my count, this is his 43rd solo album, and it promises to be one of his heavier offerings! It will have 10 tracks, and instrumental previews of two ("Sun Perfume" and "The Institution") are now available to stream on his Reverbnation page. For all current details on "Suspended Animation", click here! What I've heard sounds good, but I won't judge in detail until the final product is released. Mike told me through e-mail that he plans to release the album locally on January 5, 2011, and if it goes for sale on his internet pages, you can guarantee I'll buy it and review it on the SMS! Stay tuned for more Mike Haggith updates as I hear them, and our "Where Are The New Albums?" update on December 2nd, which will feature Mike's new album! And remember to go see him at the open mic night at The Outback tomorrow night!

Thirdly today, here's some updates on some of this weekend's hard rock concerts, as two of the scheduled weekend sets have seen adjustments. Firstly, Northern Michigan metal trio Peril have cancelled their scheduled concert this Saturday at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino. This was confirmed on their official Facebook page and in this poster, misspelling of "Sault" notwithstanding. A reason for the cancellation wasn't given, but Peril WILL be in town on Friday! This is a one night only weekend for them, so make sure to see them on Friday night at around 9:00 PM! No cover charge, you must be 21 to enter. The other updates concern this weekend's Turner Up concerts, which have been moved from The Vibe Lounge to The Canadian Nightclub. This was confirmed by drummer Scott McClurg in e-mail correspondence, and further backed up by the Facebook event page for this weekend! Regardless of location, those should be fun shows, and it will could be your first chance to see Turner Up's new frontwoman, Johnny Lunchbox singer Krista Marshall! Stay tuned for more on these concerts on Thursday for our weekend concert previews!

Fourthly, here's the newest article from Glen Thomas' great local music blog, The Barking Eye! His newest article has a hard rock bent, as it talks about the new band from a former local musician! Months ago, I mentioned local hard rock guitarist Paul Tikkanen on here, who was a member of local metal bands like Tikkanen and Thansis Colle in the 1980s. Well, Paul has resurfaced in a brand new hard rock band named Blackmeat Powder, who are based out of Peterborough. Glen talked a bit about them and their biography, and detailed a bit of Paul's local past, including the fun Glen and Paul had in Thansis Colle. Good stuff, and Blackmeat Powder have a nice sound going for them! Classic hard rock sort of sound, with a hint of Rush here and there, with nice melodic singing! Paul's the newest addition to Blackmeat Powder, and will apparently be playing live with them soon. These guys will be a good addition to our Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile series down the road, so keep an eye out! Check out the above links for more, click here to read Glen's article, and to check out another of Paul's past bands, Sinisteria, click here!

And finally, here's three quick smaller news items. As usual, these are in alphabetical order by band/venue name:

• The Roosevelt Hotel is holding another metal night on December 9th! That's all we really know so far, but after the success of the first one, the metal will return! Bands are to be announced, but if you want to play, or want more info, contact promoter Rich Moreland at this location! Keep up to date at the official Facebook event page!
• I apologize for missing this for so long, but local experimental grunge trio SBD have posted a new song on their Soundclick page! It's called "Don't Fart", and it has a very oddly amusing style and "appropriate" lyrics. If you're easily offended by toilet humour, don't listen, but if you're not, give it a spin! On a musical level, it's not bad, and it has a bit of a solo too!
• A new review of Woods of Ypres' newest CD, "Woods IV: The Green Album", is now available to check out at this location! It's from a German webzine named Vampster, and it's entirely in German, but just run it through Google Translate to get it in English. I find the "Twilight" comparison to be out of left field, but the translation describes the melancholy sound of the album well! Check it out, if you wanna translate it!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for my Grady concert review TOMORROW at some point, and I will see you guys at The Grand Theater tonight! This'll be a good one!