Thursday, June 2, 2011

New Videos From Skull After Betrayal & Mike Cliffe And More News!!

Hey guys, I know I promised the next "Where Are The New Albums?" post today, and that's still on, but it's coming later tonight so I can secure some possible added info on one of the three new additions to the post for this month. So in the meantime, here's a new news post featuring some new videos, a local band breakup with a metal relevance, and a new page for an area concert venue! Let's get this post started!

Skull After Betrayal frontman Mike Vincent has launched his own YouTube channel that now features two jam videos of new original songs! If you've been hoping for some new footage of these guys, then these should work nicely, especially compared to the awful quality audio tracks that are on their MySpace page. These videos feature the band's current lineup (no new singer yet), and regardless, there's no singing from either Mike or Adam Brett, who does backing vocals. Even still, you can hear their sound in these videos transitioning more into hardcore than the death metal sound they employed at their first couple of shows. The songs do sound promising, and with a move away from death metal, it will probably help Skull After Betrayal make a more unique local impression! Adam's bass work still needs improvement though, he's only plucking one string for most of the two posted songs. Click here to check out their new original "Dagger To The Heart", but I'll embed the longest of the two here, so take a look at Skull After Betrayal jamming their song "Enemy" below!



Also for new videos, local solo guitarist Mike Cliffe has posted three new videos onto his YouTube channel that feature new visualizations for three of his newer songs! One is for "Spring Storms", which features some cool rain and sand effects that suit the song, while "Salsa On My Shoes" gets a spacey visualization like you might see on Windows Media Player. Not bad, though if you're seeking heaviness, these songs won't be among the Mike Cliffe songs you'd go for. I'll embed his video for "Wedding Dress/Handsome Boy" here because it's the "rockingest" of the three songs, and it has the coolest video. It was taken from a DVD series called "Animusic" featuring a lot of futurist technological instrument stuff that looks cool, even if it's not synched to the song! Good stuff, nice to hear a well played Frank Zappa cover! Check it out below!



Thirdly today, I wanted to apologize for missing a pair of concerts last weekend. Apparently, Sault Michigan hard rockers River Witch played at The Cozy Corners Tavern & Grill in nearby Barbeau, Michigan last Friday and Saturday. I apologize for missing them, but in all fairness, River Witch didn't promote these shows on their page in any fashion. I hadn't looked there recently because they don't update it often (their last update was in April), but the venue actually did! Cozy Corners now have an internet presence thanks to an official website and a Facebook page that was launched in February! They describe everything well in terms of menu, events, specials, and so forth, and their Facebook page is frequently updated as well! And yes, they do have a history of occasionally booking concerts, it's not just for this past weekend. You may remember that Nixxon Dixxon played there a bit during their heyday, and the calendar on their website lists concerts through the summer that I will elaborate on in our next complete news post! Nice to see Cozy Corners with an online presence, definitely check the pages out, and if you wanna head to Barbeau for some good food, drinks, and music, it's not a far drive!

Oh, and I added Cozy Corners, Dan's Place in Rudyard, and the Facebook page for The Bird to our Sault Michigan concert venue listings, so check them out on your right!

And finally, I wanted to make reference to a band breakup that, though not metal related on the surface, does have a metal connection. On Tuesday, local rock trio Stiffler's Mom announced their amicable breakup after 13 years together. No reason was given, but they didn't close the door on future reunion concerts. Why mention this on the SMS though? Because, if you remember correctly, Stiffler's Mom were once the local metal trio Sin Stereo! In one way or another, Greg Simpson, Michael Davies, and Jon Ferguson have played together since 1997, though their Sin Stereo existence seemed to wrap up by 2006. Locally, they were best known as Stiffler's Mom, and they had numerous high profile concerts from the late 1990s through this spring, including backing up INXS at The Essar Center! Though Stiffler's Mom did have more of a "party rock" style that suited bar weekends really well, their Sin Stereo originals were a frequent sight, as you may have heard at the Kiss Battle of the Bands. Hell, I remember seeing them play live at a dance event at Bawating way back in 2004, and I enjoyed them then too! It'll be odd not seeing Stiffler's Mom around locally, but the memories remain, and you can still check out Sin Stereo's old profile from our GarageBand Profile Mini-Series last year at this location!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our next "Where Are The New Albums?" post tonight, and I will see you guys at The Rosie tonight as well! Thanks everyone!

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