Wednesday, August 31, 2011

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Changing Waves), The Canadian's Return, And More Whitesnake Videos!!

It's time to break out some more news to end the month of August, our busiest month in terms of total posts since March! So today, we have some cool news from Woods of Ypres, two more videos from last Friday's Whitesnake concert, and kicking things off, a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you need to know!

The 31st Roosevelt Hotel metal night will go down TOMORROW as expected, as finally confirmed this morning on Dismembertainment's Facebook page, but who will be playing at the first metal night of September? Just two bands at present, including local hardcore quartet Changing Waves! A frequently seen sight at The Rosie on Thursdays, look for this fast rising band to deliver a high energy and very heavy set of originals and covers tomorrow night! The other confirmed band is local punk trio Redundant (featuring past & present members of Frightlight, Browbeat, and SIGHdEFECT), so even if they're more of a punk band, they have deep metal backgrounds and occasionally cover something heavier, so don't miss them! A third band is possible, but not a guarantee, so if I hear anything on that front, I'll let you guys know! This show will have a 10:00 PM-ish start time, a 19+ age limit, and will have no cover charge unless we hear anything late about an out of town band being added, then there'd probably be one. Check the above links for more details! Should be a good show, hopefully Changing Waves and Redundant rock the house! Head to The Rosie tomorrow night if you can!

Next up, The Canadian Nightclub is coming back, and sooner than I had imagined! The Pim Street bar downstairs from The Canadian Motor Hotel has been out of commission since July 18th due to massive flooding that took place during the major storm we had that weekend, but after seven weeks of cleanup and renovations, The Canadian will reopen on September 6th with a "Back 2 School Bash" with your usual Tuesday specials like drink deals, DJs, and other fun events, but likely on a higher scale due to the reopening. The Facebook event page hypes that The Canadian has a "fresh new look", marking the second time in three years that The Canadian has been redesigned, though basically out of necessity this time around. Dance parties are also scheduled for next Thursday and Saturday as well, as per Facebook event pages I've been invited to. I know those events don't directly correlate to the Sault Metal Scene, but The Canadian's return does, and I'm glad to hear things are coming together so quickly! Kudos to everyone at The Canadian for all of their hard work over the past month and a half, and hopefully everything's in the clear for the forseeable future!

As for metal and hard rock concerts at The Canadian, the only ones I know of that have been announced for September to date were Full Circle's shows there on September 16th & 17th, which were coincidentally also the last shows listed on the old Turner Up Facebook group's concert schedule. Will those go on as scheduled, or will they be moved? Time will tell, but keep an eye out for details!

We'll close today with some more new videos from Whitesnake's headlining concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at Kewadin Casino from this past Friday, and first, here's another video of Whitesnake playing their classic single "Still of the Night"! Uploaded by YouTube user jcpeck76 yesterday, it was likely filmed because this is her and her husband's song, which is sweet! The audio's better than the intro makes it sound, but like from the earlier "Still of the Night" videos we've seen, the band are definitely downtuned from the classic days. Nice and close for the filming though, the video's much longer than the others I've seen of this song, and the quality isn't bad, so check out Whitesnake playing "Still of the Night" at Kewadin Casino below!



Finally, here's another video of Whitesnake drummer Brian Tichy's drum solo from the Sault Michigan concert! Again, it's longer than the last drum solo video from this concert that we've seen, but it's also much better quality and more of a straight shot of Brian while he plays, so it's definitely worth watching! Gotta love a long, fast, and proficient drum solo, and Brian's one of the best in this genre, so check out his drum solo from Friday night below! Thanks to YouTube user gmanohio1 for uploading this on Monday!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes this week, including concert previews for the weekend, this week's classic video, our "Where Are The New Albums?" post on Friday, and much more! Thanks everyone!

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Sneaky Pete & NoXcape), End Of Existence's Breakup & Return, And More

Alright, it's time for some more news at The Sault Metal Scene, and we have some big stories today, including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, a very surprising band breakup, and some brand new Facebook groups, so here's all that you should know!

After laying low throughout the month of August, local hard rock cover band Sneaky Pete are returning to the stage THIS SATURDAY for a one night concert at The Rockstar Bar! The talented quartet will return to the site of their debut concert with new material in hand, so definitely consider checking out Sneaky Pete on Saturday night! Who knows, there might be a sticker in it for you? This concert will start at 10:30 PM on Saturday, you must be 19 to attend, and though there's no announced cover charge, bring cash just in case. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's nice to finally see Sneaky Pete back out there, and hopefully a great crowd turns out! I'll be out of town, but go check them out if you can, and get sneaky at The Rockstar Bar!

The other new shows I have today are courtesy of Pickford metal quintet NoXcape, who will return to The Satisfied Frog in Sault Michigan for at least 8 dates through February! The new local quintet featuring the classic Absolute lineup and former Shift guitarist Joey Beairl will rock The Frog on September 16th and 17th, October 28th and 29th, December 30th and 31st, and (in our first confirmed metal concerts of 2012) February 3rd and 4th! Nice to see them on stage for the Halloween and New Year's weekends, and it's always nice to get verifiable advance word on these shows! However, I will note that the shows on the 16th and 17th of this month conflict with scheduled dates from singer Donny Newell's other band Monkey's Uncle that weekend at Kewadin Casino, so I don't know what will happen with that. If I hear anything, I'll let you know, but I'll treat both as on for now. All 8 new concerts have 10:00 PM start times, you must be 21 to attend any of them, and there's no announced cover charges. For more details, visit their official Reverbnation page! Sounds like the guys in NoXcape have things well in hand for the next while, and hopefully some more area dates turn up soon! Stay tuned for more from NoXcape as I hear it!

(EDIT: 12:40 PM) I originally reported on here that Sault Michigan/Grand Rapids metal quintet End of Existence had surprisingly broken up yesterday after the band unexpectedly began closing, renaming, and privatizing their online pages and accounts, some of which stated "RIP END OF EXISTENCE" on them. My word, I wouldn't lie about this. However, everything seems to be restored and back in order across the board, with no explanation given as to the brief breakup or sudden return today, though their Facebook page now says "the waters are receding" in the About section. Does this mean that they did briefly break up, but cooler heads have prevailed? I don't know enough about it to say, but nonetheless, I'm glad to see that End of Existence are alive and well! I always hate to see bands with promise like they have split up, and it's even more disappointing when the band in question takes down any trace of their existence (no pun intended) after the fact. Hopefully things will be all well for the long term, as I know I'm not alone in hoping for End of Existence to hit the stage in the future! Stay tuned for more (hopefully good) news from End of Existence as it comes in, and yes, they're back in our active Sault Michigan band links!

And finally for today, here's three assorted shorter stories all relating to new Facebook groups from local concert venues. As always, these are in alphabetical order by venue name:
  • The Canadian Nightclub on Pim Street now has a new Facebook group (launched in May) to replace it's old one due to it's planned archival in the upcoming Facebook group format changeover. Nothing major is posted there yet, but keep an eye out, as I've heard rumblings that The Canadian could be back in operation soon following the major flooding that took place last month!
  • Coch's Corner on Bay Street has their own new Facebook group as well, as launched on August 17th. Owner Paul Coccimiglio confirmed on there that he plans to "scrap" the old group, but a reason wasn't given beyond that. Again, there's little there in terms of bar events and concerts, but keep an eye out, as you never know what will be announced!
  • Foggy Notions on Queen Street launched a group called "Foggy Events!" in June to update people on upcoming events, shows, and theme nights, though it is separate from their existing general page. Since then, it's plugged Frightlight & As It Stands shows there, so definitely join up and stay in the loop for future events at Foggy Notions!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and updates very soon! Thanks everyone!

Monday, August 29, 2011

Sykotyk Rampage - "Zombiez" Review!!

It's time once again for our latest CD review at The Sault Metal Scene! 25 CD reviews are in the books, and now, for just the second time, we're reviewing a third album by a local band! In this case, we're taking a look at Sault Ontario's original crash band Sykotyk Rampage's newest album "Zombiez"! Considered the prolific quartet's 29th album, it was uploaded to their Reverbnation page on August 15th for free streaming, and uploaded to their Reverbnation store two weeks later, and was chosen to review first over it's five companion albums from this month due to it's heaviness. Despite the title and presence of the word "zombie" in each song title, the album is not lyrically themed as such. Self-produced and recorded live as they played over the last year (and maybe earlier) at River Front Recreation Studios, the album features Sykotyk Rampage's current lineup, including singer/drummer Paul Becker, his brother Dirk Becker on guitar and occasional lead vocals, Shane Kokis on guitar, and Paul's son-in-law Brian Cattapan on bass. The album can now be bought at this location for $6.99 in mp3 format or $10.99 on CD, with individual tracks at 99¢ each and $2.49 each for ringtones. Check out the full album today at the above links! (Updated on September 29th, 2012)

"Zombiez" features 12 songs amounting to around 39 minutes of music, which is shorter than in previous years for an individual Sykotyk Rampage release, but how does the quality stack up? Let's find out, starting with the first track, "Zombie Wheelz"! (Oh, and each song title here has every letter "S" replaced with the letter "Z", so note that I'm not making a million typos.) "Zombie Wheelz" kicks off the album with a drum solo and some crashy guitar before guitarist Dirk Becker asks what that opening was for. Gotta love a song recorded as it's played! The first part of the song is at a slow and measured pace that keeps a lively sound at the same time, almost like you're driving at your leisure while listening. Paul Becker's lead vocals match the song well, showing off his gruff bluesy voice without sacrificing the song's style, though he's hard to hear at times over the instruments. "Zombie Wheelz" has some catchy crash riffs, but the song does get repetitive after a while, and with Paul not singing for very long, I do feel that this song could have been edited down a bit. However, if you're a longtime fan of Syktoyk Rampage, it should whet your harsh music appetite well enough as an album opener!

Next is "Zpecial Zombiez", which immediately starts off with a higher tempo opening that feels like classic fun Sykotyk Rampage through and through! Paul's singing is lively and harsh all at once, and Dirk even chimes in with some colourful language that adds to the aggression of the track! You don't see the Becker brothers share vocals like this all the time, so it's cool to hear! The guitar riffing's pretty good, and Brian Cattapan's bass work adds here, he's got some good lines! "Zpecial Zombies" isn't among their cleanest tracks lyrically, but the band's at top form here for energy and some of the more "metal" sides of their sound, and there's enough variance to keep things interesting, but sadly, it ends very abruptly, a problem I've had before on Sykotyk Rampage albums. Still, this is a quality track that would be a welcome addition to their live setlists!

Third is "Don't Now Zombiez", though it should be "Don't Know", as this very short song mostly consists of Dirk Becker asking us spoken word questions, including about what we think about him and his thoughts about us, with some profanity laced in for added effect. The song itself isn't too substantial, mostly keeping a beat behind his conversation with the listener, but Dirk comes across as a self assured intimidating figure, so it's effective in that regard! Musically though, there's more substantial and engaging songs on the album. Following that, we have "Get't Together Zombiez", which start with Paul Becker repeatedly shouting "get it together!" No doubts about the song title here! Faster paced hard rock number with some rapid fire lyrics that alternate between "Get it together" and other lyrics relating to what he wants a person to do. The guitar riffs vary well amidst the crash sounds, and the drumming is non-stop during the track. It's probably heavier than "Zpecial Zombiez", but I'll rank it a bit lower for repetitions' sake, as the lyrics do get repetitive a lot, and the song could have benefited from fresher lyrics in the latter half. Still, it's the album's heaviest song yet, so definitely give it a listen!

Next is the song "I Fucked A Retard Zombie", and in case anyone is offended by the title, don't blame me, I didn't name the song. That said, with Sykotyk Rampage, line crossing in lyrics and themes can be expected. The song starts with a lot of distorted guitar playing before Paul begins singing about the person in the song's title, and despite the used language, it isn't a cruel song. Paul's singing is more like harsh talking The music improves and gets clearer later in the track, and the melodies get better with some pseudo-soloing as well. Nice drumming too, and Brian's bass work is well suited to everything here! If you're not easily offended, you'll find a solid track here, though I wish Paul's singing was more energetic, but when Dirk adds that "she's in a wheelchair", the vocals do get spiced up a bit!

The first half of "Zombiez" is rounded out by "Zombie in a Dream", which clocks in at just 24 seconds long, easily the album's shortest. Basically, it's a promising instrumental section that's pretty heavy, then just some drums, then lyrics about being a monkey on a rock, and then the song ends. Not sure how the title correlates to the song, but what I will say is that Sykotyk Rampage may have something here if they expand it to a full song length, but at 24 seconds, it is what it is, and not much else. The seventh song on "Zombiez" is "Zombie Killer", and it's the longest so far, going for 6:25 in length. It starts fairly slow, with more a bluesy feel with some more reserved vocals and louder instruments overtop. For the first 2 and a half minutes, it seems like a different song, a slower bluesy number, but after Dirk chants "zombie killer on the run" real low, things pick back up. The latter half is more energetic and melodic but retains the same basic feel, with Paul's vocals never going above a reserved spoken word style, though the very end is nice and crashy. I like "Zombie Killer" for it's style, but it does run too long for my tastes, and for a song about killing zombies, you'd expect it to be a lot heavier and faster, rather than building to that. Still, it's a good well played song that fans should enjoy!

Song number 8 is "Burning Zombiez", which actually starts abruptly like it was recorded late, but it starts well, with some melodic riffing from Dirk and Shane Kokis and energetic bluesy vocals from Paul, but they're masked beneath the music more often than not. The song has some nice chaotic riffing but it doesn't lead anywhere different from earlier songs, not that that's bad. Dirk throws in more secondary screams to the song as well, possibly as the burn victim in question from the song title? Though just over 3 minutes in length, it's energy and enthusiasm made me hope that it'd be a bit longer, but it's still an entertaining track, though I wish you could hear Paul's singing better. That's followed by "Demon Zombie", completing a trilogy of evil sounding song titles! It starts with some low crash riffing and some nice drumming, before Dirk Becker takes over lead vocals with more of his trademark quavering punk-influenced singing that we hadn't heard enough of in the last couple of years. Attitude and aggression drip from his lyrics here, and the song itself is full of the same improvised hard rocking you've came to enjoy over the years! Nothing dull here, the guitar and bass are on form, and Paul's drumming keeps the beat very well! This is another standout song, reminding me of tracks like "Lowest of the Low", and that's a good sign for the original crash band!

Tenth is "Zombie In A Dream Too", essentially the sequel to the first "Zombie In A Dream" song on this album. It's longer and more consistent in sound, mostly focusing on Paul's drumming with minimal quieter instrumentation around it, with scattered background talking at the end. It's more substantial than the first "Zombie In A Dream", but not as heavy, so despite the lack of anything "dreamlike", they're about the same in quality in my opinion. Another shorter song follows it, that being "Zombie Wheel Chair Racez", and let me just say that if you were offended at all by the fifth track, then be warned, as the lyrics here are mostly Dirk Becker telling us repeatedly that he has a brother who did the fifth track's title. The easily offended will not like this song, but if you look past that, it's a slower crash rock number that is catchy to a point, but the lyrics do get repetitive even for a song under 2:30 in length. Dirk and Shane have some good guitar work here, and no moment is wasted musically, so for it's length, it's a pretty good song. I can deal with the lyrics, but I do find that we hear the same lines too much, and I'd like to have seen the band use some more variety. Good short song, just be warned of the lyrical content.

"Zombiez" closes with "Angry Zombie", another shorter song, but does it live up to it's title with aggression? Not really, there's angrier songs on this album, but it's not bad! Paul returns to lead vocals here, but instead of spitting venom, he's doing more low softer singing here, though there are hints of hard rock. The song itself isn't anything too special musically, with some melodic guitar riffs and good drumming, but the title is sort of misleading. It definitely sounds like Sykotyk Rampage though, and it actually ends rather than cutting off abruptly, so it's a fitting closer to the album, though I was hoping for something, well, angry. So, what is my opinion of "Zombiez? Well, without comparing it to their other new albums (which I hope to get to in the future), I will say that I definitely enjoyed "Zombiez" more than last year's "Bella Disgusta", which was overly long and reserved than I think many of us had expected. Here, they're back to their blue Chinese metal crash punk roots, and fans of their more humorous and off colour lyrics will be happy to see that they're back! The band as a whole sound as good as ever, although their improvised songs, occasionally questionable lyrics, and unpolished style may turn some people off.

Paul Becker's vocals and drumming are as good as I expected, it's great to see Dirk Becker singing more here (especially on "Demon Zombie"), he and Shane Kokis lay down some unquestionably-Sykotyk riffs and melodies, and Brian Cattapan stands out on bass on most tracks, he's definitely a key cog in this machine! Songs like "Zpecial Zombiez", "Demon Zombiez", and "Get't Together Zombiez" show off Sykotyk Rampage's strengths well, though I do wish it was more consistent. Too many songs drag on too long and get repetitive (especially "Zombie Killer"), the "Zombie in a Dream" songs aren't substantial or long enough to stand on their own, it's a relatively short album compared to other recent releases, and sadly, abrupt song finishes are back here and there. I'd also like to have seen the zombie theme carried over to each track, as it might have made a cool concept album. Overall though, this is a quality Sykotyk Rampage release for fans of their harsh music, and it's probably their best album since 2008 or 2009, so definitely pick it up today for some fun improvised alternative hard rock! Get your environ-mental suits ready, as Sykotyk Rampage are on form once again!

So I hope you guys enjoyed this month's CD review, but what are we reviewing next month? I'll say that I'm not reviewing anything by Sykotyk Rampage or Foothill Road in September because it's too soon from my last reviews of theirs, but I can guarantee that in February 2012 or later, we WILL review another of Sykotyk Rampage's new albums (probably "Karrs", pending a possible 30th album before then.) Other than the bands above, most anything is possible from local metal and hard rock bands, be it a new or archive album (likely tied in with a band or musician playing next month.) I've heard rumours relating to a few albums finally being released in the fall, but as of right now, I can't speculate. Stay tuned to the SMS on Friday for our next "Where Are The New Albums?" post though, as all of the next releases from local metal bands will be discussed, so it could be one of them! That's all for now, but stay tuned for a new news post featuring LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Sunday, August 28, 2011

More Whitesnake Videos, Woods Of Ypres News, And More!!

The news keeps rolling in, and actually, today's post is quite similar to yesterday's in content, with Tym Morrison and Whitesnake taking up most of the stories! Add some Woods of Ypres updates too, and things are shaping up nicely for today, so let's end the weekend right with some big news! Here's what you need to know!

We'll start with some more new videos from Friday night's Whitesnake concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at Kewadin Casino, and let's open with some great videos from Wawa author Duane Roy ("Soo Stories" & "Castle Stories"), who is a frequent sight at major local hard rock concerts like this! Duane filmed at least four videos at the concert, which have been split among his Flickr page and his YouTube channel, oddly enough. His YouTube channel just has his video of Whitesnake playing their classic song "Here I Go Again", while he posted clips of Whitesnake playing "Bad Boys", "Love Ain't No Stranger", and "Still of the Night" on Flickr, though none of the Flickr videos are of the full song, mostly lasting around a minute each. The quality's really nice, and though David Coverdale is the focal point of the videos, he basically is Whitesnake, so it works out. Everything looks nice, Duane was close to the stage, and it's cool hearing the audience sing along with "Here I Go Again" like it's second nature to them! Great footage, definitely check it all out at the above links, and here's Whitesnake playing "Here I Go Again" in Sault Michigan on Friday night!



The other new Whitesnake videos I've came across are from YouTube user Joelle Aikens, who you may remember as an uploader of videos from Kewadin Casino concerts featuring Staind and Firehouse (openers for Skid Row) from the past few years. Well, she made it to the Whitesnake concert as well, and got two videos for us, including the band playing "Still of the Night" and drummer Brian Tichy's drum solo! Joelle was right at the front row in front of Doug Aldrich, and she gets some nice angles of the band, though her camera does fall short a bit for audio quality. Whitesnake sound good, if downtuned from the original version of "Still of the Night", and Brian Tichy's solo is awesome and actually the longest of her Whitesnake videos, so drum solo fans should love this one! Kudos to Joelle for uploading these yesterday, so visit her YouTube channel to check them out, and here's "Still of the Night" from this past Friday!



Now to some Woods of Ypres news from the last little while! Sessions for "Woods V" appear to have wrapped up, with producer Siegfried Meier tweeting on Wednesday that this was their final day at Beach Road Studios, including the photo on your right of him with David Gold and Joel Violette. David himself commented to say that the tunes are "MASSIVE", this could be the band's first 10/10 record, and that it's the best record they've ever done (read his quote at this location.) Now there's some great news, I can't wait to hear the finished product! So while we wait for "Woods V", the band has officially launched a search for a new bassist and drummer to replace the Madden brothers, who suddenly parted ways with the band in June. The only visible conditions must be that you're able to play shows, tour, and record with Woods of Ypres, so if you're at all interested in trying out to join Woods of Ypres as their new bassist or drummer, send a serious inquiry to davidypres@gmail.com (source here.) This could be a big opportunity for some musicians out there, local or otherwise, so if you have the talent to play some blackened doom metal, give David a shout and show him what you can do! Stay tuned to the SMS for more Woods of Ypres news as I hear it!

And finally, you know how Tym Morrison's been playing at Service Grill Pizza on Saturdays since late June? Well, the Caveman Morrison frontman is featured in a new video article & interview posted yesterday by Local2 (the former SooNews.ca) which you can now read at this location! Credited as "Caveman Tym Morrison" in the video, it shows Tym playing Heart's "Alone" (same as the Full Circle clip from Rotaryfest) at the Service Grill at what looks like their outdoor patio, which is likely where he is each week. We get the full performance, sort of, as the middle part is overlayed with an interview with Local2's Mike Caruso where Tym talks about his solo project, Caveman Morrison, how long he's been playing guitar, his album, and his musical genres. Nice interview, and Tym gets time to add in extra notes about his music, so it's definitely worth checking out! The article itself seemed to suggest more emphasis on the Service Grill itself though, and the video actually starts with Service Grill owner Mike LaRue talking about the renovations, hours, and menu at the Korah Road restaurant. The article itself also mentions that the Service Grill plans to bring in more musicians too, which should be interesting! I'm surprised that an article hyping the venue didn't talk much about it, but it's still worth checking out!

I can't embed the video here, but click here to check the video out and move to 1:08 in the video for Tym's portion, which more or less runs the rest of the video. Stay tuned for more from Tym and Caveman Morrison as it comes in! That's all for today, but I do tentatively have our review of Sykotyk Rampage's latest album "Zombies" pencilled in for tomorrow, so stay tuned for that! Thanks everyone!

Saturday, August 27, 2011

SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tym Morrison), The First Whitesnake Fallout, And More!!

After a couple days of previews and profiles, it's back to the news today on this last weekend of August, and today, we have the first videos from yesterday's Whitesnake concert and more assorted news, but first, here's a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!

Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison will in fact be playing an acoustic solo concert at Service Grill Pizza TODAY! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced the show last night, which is oddly late, but better late than never! As has generally been the case each Saturday since late June, Tym will be on for two sets today at 3:00 PM and 8:00 PM at the Korah Road restaurant, where you can expect some great and proficient covers of your favourite hard rock hits in a more intimate setting! There's no announced cover charge, and I expect both sets to be all ages. No word yet on if his weekly arrangement at the Service Grill will continue into September, though remember that when this originally started, it was just for every Saturday "this summer", so I guess we'll have to see if he'll be back there next weekend or not. For more details on TODAY'S sets, visit the official Facebook event page, and click here for details on his show in Hilton Beach on St. Joseph Island tomorrow, in case you wanna make a road trip! Sounds like fun, and hopefully a big crowd turns out to see Tym in action, so head to the Service Grill TODAY!! For a preview, here's Tym covering Eric Clapton's "Tears In Heaven" at Foggy Notions in 2009!



Next up, here's the first videos from last night's Whitesnake concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at Kewadin Casino! We'll start with one from YouTube user dfunker76, who's been a good source of Kewadin concert footage since 2009, including some nice videos from the Staind and Cinderella shows there. Well, he was at the Whitesnake concert, and filmed at least one video there, and it's now on his YouTube channel! Though a song name isn't given, the video's of Whitesnake playing their classic song "Bad Boys", and it's not bad quality! He got a good spot to film the band, and you see everything well! Audio lacks a bit, but you can at least make out everything decently well. The band sounds good, David Coverdale still sounds great, and if they sounded like this for the whole show, I reckon it'd be hard to complain! Check out Whitesnake playing "Bad Boys" in Sault Michigan last night, and stay tuned in case dfunker76 has any more videos from the show for us!



The other video is actually the first one I saw, and it comes from YouTube user Dwayne Lehn, who posted this onto his YouTube channel last night. He filmed Whitesnake guitarist Reb Beach's guitar solo at the concert, and you can watch it below! Not the best quality video, with a very dark side stage angle and distorted audio, but you can still hear Reb's talents through the technical limitations! If you wanna see Reb's solo last night, watch it below, and stay tuned to the SMS for more Whitesnake concert fallout as I hear it!



And finally for today, here's three assorted shorter stories from the last while, and as always, they're in alphabetical order by band or event name:
  • You may be aware of a concert at 200 Maple Street in Thessalon TONIGHT with Ottawa metal band Biipiigwan, Thessalon's own For All That Is Lost, locals The Bear Hunters & Shit Liver, and two mystery bands. Though not confirmed, it looks like one will feature ex-members of Bring The Misery, as their Facebook page plugged the show saying that "random members" would be playing. If I had to guess, I'd assume some band members are playing in one or both mystery bands, but this doesn't look like anything more than a one off. If I hear more, I'll let you guys know, and click here for show details!
  • Four new acts have been confirmed for the Searchmont Music Festival on September 10th, including local big band The Reptiles, Blackwater frontman Cody McMillan, a blues act of some kind named Tuff Gig, and local burlesque troupe The Salty Mollies. They should be good additions, metal or not, so keep an eye out for them at the festival!
  • I have removed defunct comedy metal project T.E.N. from our inactive Sault Ontario band links, as their Facebook page was quietly deleted earlier this month, and there's no alternative pages to replace it that I know of. Disappointing, but check out two of their demos at this location and best of luck to their old members!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for more Whitesnake fallout, some "Woods V" updates, our review of Sykotyk Rampage's "Zombies", and much more very soon! Thanks everyone!

Friday, August 26, 2011

Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile: Infathom

As August winds down, we still have a couple of monthly feature posts to share, and first, here's this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! For the first time in 10 months, we're looking at a band from the United States featuring a past or present Sault Ste. Marie resident, and this band has been keeping busy this year in the Upper Peninsula, so hopefully this month's profile is a good read! As always, we'll profile the local connections, history, and notable happenings of this band, even if they're not all from here, so let's get this profile going, and if anything's wrong or missing, please tell me! (Updated on November 26th, 2014) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Infathom (Munising, Michigan)

Lineup: (Saultites in RED; ex-members in italics)

Dillion Semasky (vocals)
Sean Hayes (guitar)
Keegan Nebel (bas
s)
Cody Hayes (drums)
Josh Stadler (guitar)

Official MySpace page: http://myspace.com/infathom
Official YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/infathom
Official Facebook page: http://facebook.com/infathomband

Local Info: Though the members of Infathom are all from Munising in the U.P. (2½ hours west of Sault Michigan), I think only one member ever lived here in the past, and apologies if I'm lacking anything here. Frontman Dillion Semasky has lived and attended Sault Area High School in recent years, even launching a short lived local solo band named Novesane last year that didn't appear to take off, along with a brief stint with Half A Man in 2011-2012, and some recent original rap songs. However, he's best known for his work with Munising metal band Infathom, and if you're lucky, you might see them locally here and there!

Band Bio: Formed in the spring of 2008, Infathom started as a metal quartet playing a mixture of covers from bands like Avenged Sevenfold, Pantera, and Papa Roach, but would introduce originals into their set as well. Their first few years aren't easy to document online, but videos of jam sessions and some performances are floating around, including sets at Munising area talent shows. Unlike many similar bands in the area, Infathom are known to cover acoustic songs and ballads occasionally too, which adds to their repetoire nicely! The talented young band seemed to turn things up in 2011, adding second guitarist Josh Stadler to the band and playing at a number of major concerts in the Upper Peninsula, including LemmaFest in Sault Michigan and the PigFest and Turn It U.P. festivals in the Ishpeming area this summer. After a dormant period from 2011-2012, Infathom have been turning it up (albeit as a quartet again) with a number of U.P. concerts, including at least two a year in Chippewa County, so stay tuned for more!

I find that Infathom show a lot of versatility to their sound (especially given their ages), rather than playing one sound only, and I'm impressed overall! It's nice to see a young band focus on newer metal that doesn't have to involve death growling, and they cover some bands you don't see covered often, so they definitely stand out! Dillion Semasky's vocals range from a good clean singing tone to some nice aggressive metal singing that fits with a lot of genres, and the rest of the band shows talent too! I can't speak for Josh Stadler's work with Infathom, but the Hayes brothers mesh really well, Sean's guitar work is pretty impressive, and Keegan Nebel's bass work stands out most of the time as well! Infathom pull off softer songs well too, and when given the right scenario, Dillion can impress as a pure singer as much as a metal frontman! It's a shame that Infathom went on hiatus at what is probably their peak as a band, but hopefully they'll reunite sooner rather than later to rock the U.P. as only they can!

Though Infathom have no albums to my knowledge, they have plenty of original and cover material from live recordings to check out at their official MySpace page! If you're looking for videos, there's even more of those to watch and get a taste of Infathom, so just search for them on YouTube! The band's old 2009-2010 YouTube channel is the best for volume of videos, but the channels of bassist Keegan Nebel and user Michael Cole have some of the best quality recent videos, so I recommend both for interested fans! Here's Infathom playing their originals "Blissful Insanity" and "Dying Breed" at PigFest this past June!


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And so ends the summer months for this monthly series at the SMS, but what out of town band are we profiling next month? I've chosen Paricide, an inactive metal quintet from Petrolia, Ontario (30 minutes southeast of Sarnia) that featured Sue Inside frontman & former Sault Ontario resident Shane Lipsit-Fraser in their lineup! Note that Paricide and the defunct local hardcore band Paraside are two completely different bands, in case someone gets them confused. Look out for our profile of Paricide at this time next week, between September 23rd and 29th! That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and our review of Sykotyk Rampage's latest album "Zombies" this weekend! Thanks everyone!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Full Circle) And This Weekend's Concert Previews, Including Whitesnake!!

It's time to preview this weekend's concerts on the heavier side of the local spectrum! This weekend is short in volume of shows (at least right now), but there's some big name bands playing this weekend, including a major Kewadin Casino concert (possibly a Tym Morrison solo show too, but he hasn't confirmed a possible Service Grill concert for Saturday yet.) To start though, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this weekend!

Local classic hard rock quartet Full Circle are on the scene this weekend for a Saturday night concert at Foggy Notions! Previously unlisted on the now deleted Turner Up Facebook group's concert listings, the band are only playing on Saturday, as the previously announced show for tomorrow night has been cancelled for unannounced reasons (for what it's worth, I haven't heard of a concert or event of any type for Foggy's tomorrow, in case that was why.) So if you want to end August with Full Circle, you'll have to go Saturday! Admission should be free for this show (there could be a nominal cover charge though), you must be 19 to attend, and it all starts at 10:30 PM on Saturday night. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Even if their usual weekend is halved, Full Circle will have a great set of rocking hits for their fans on Saturday, so head down to Foggy Notions for all the excitement! For a preview, click here and move to 13:20 of the video to see Full Circle cover of Heart's "Alone" from their set at this year's Rotaryfest!

Now to the previously announced shows, and first, it's the 30th Roosevelt Hotel metal night!! Intentionally for this milestone or not, Dismembertainment have booked a stellar lineup of metal bands for TONIGHT, so here's who to look out for! Winnipeg death metal sextet Laika will headline tonight's show with a melodic and folk influenced brand of death metal that's guaranteed to melt faces and impress musically at the same time! Don't miss them, you'll absolutely enjoy them! Backing them up on this stop on their "Tour of Redundancy Tour" will be Winnipeg extreme progressive band Annex Theory, who you may recognize as being the current band from former Quo Vadis singer Trevor Birnie! Very technical and creative sound amidst the wall of brutality they'll bring tonight, so definitely check them out as well! Also playing tomorrow in the midst of their own summer tour are local favourites Thekillingfield! The North Bay tech metal trio are sure to be eagerly welcomed back to the Soo tonight for another high impact set of extreme sounds and hopefully some huge pits, so let's welcome them back in style! Finally, local grimecore trio Shit Liver will add some local flavour as the concert's openers tonight, so get ready for some crust and death metal to kick things off in a heavy fashion!

A $6 cover will be in effect for this show, but for these 18 talented musicians, 3 awesome out of town bands, and one rising local band, that cash will be well spent at The Rosie tonight! Shit Liver will open the concert at 9:30 PM, and you must be 19 to attend. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be an awesome and brutal concert, and here's hoping I can make it out! If not, you guys have a devastating night, and kill August with some death metal! For a preview, here's the video for Laika's original song "Dead March"!



Speaking of big shows, we have a huge one taking place TOMORROW NIGHT at The Dreammaker's Theater at Kewadin Casino across the river, and if you're into some classic 1980s metal, get ready, as Whitesnake are coming to town! The British hard rock legends (as led by the one and only David Coverdale) will hit Kewadin Casino tomorrow on their Forevermore tour in support of their new album of the same name, in what I think is their first ever show here in the Sault area! Of course, Whitesnake have sold millions of records worldwide, and will be sure to play hits like "Here I Go Again", "Is This Love", "Fool For Your Loving", "Still Of The Night", and "The Deeper The Love" for their fans at this concert! This should be a great show, and their newer stuff is really good, so if you love Whitesnake, you'll wanna see them tomorrow night! I don't know if there will be an opening band, and even though I've seen nothing to suggest one, I have been wrong before (as in the Ace Frehley concert), so if I hear about an opening band, I'll let you guys know! Luckily though, if you don't have your ticket yet, I have good news, as they are still on sale!

Tickets are still available for $54 American at this location, at the Kewadin box office, or by calling 1-800-KEWADIN. When I checked, there was still reserved seating, but all general admission tickets are taken save for standing room only, so make note of that if you try and get a ticket. The show starts at 7:00 PM tomorrow night, and as this is a Dreammaker's Theater show, it should be all ages. Check the above links for more details! Whitesnake should deliver a great set tomorrow, and hopefully lots of fans are there to see this legendary band in action! Stay tuned for more on this show and it's aftermath, and for a preview, here's Whitesnake's video for their classic single "Still Of The Night"!



And finally for this weekend, we have a couple more shows at Kewadin Casino this weekend, as local hard rockers Monkey's Uncle will hit the stage at The Rapids Lounge tomorrow night & Saturday night for some solid sets of covers and possibly originals! If you're in for some more music after Whitesnake, or just want some free entertainment at the lounge, Monkey's Uncle will surely have you covered this weekend! The talented quartet should be on at roughly 9:00 PM both nights, there's no cover charge, and you must be 21 to enter The Rapids Lounge for either night. Check the above links for more details! Monkey's Uncle will surely deliver a solid weekend of hard rock to their fans over the next couple of nights, so if you're across the river, don't miss them! I just wish they updated their pages more, I'm sure there's new developments and media we could check out! Oh well, hopefully one day! For a preview, here's Monkey's Uncle covering Nazareth's "Hair Of The Dog" in 2008 in St. Ignace!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for more soon, including maybe a review of tonight's Rosie metal night (I hope), our Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile on Infathom, our review of Sykotyk Rampage's "Zombies", and more! Thanks everyone!

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Late & Loud), Searchmont Festival Updates, And Much More!!

One more news post before we preview this weekend's metal and hard rock shows, and we have some cool news to share today, including the latest from Mike Haggith's solo project, the newest updates to a debuting local festival, lineup changes in a new Sault Michigan band, and another group across the river looking to open for a band you wouldn't expect, but today, we'll begin with a long awaited LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!

Local classic metal quartet Late & Loud are back! After a longer than expected hiatus that started in late April, the talented local band will hit the stage for the first time in 4½ months as headliners at a pub night at The Speak Easy at Algoma University on September 15th! Apparently, the pub night itself has a "Heroes vs. Villains" theme, so I assume costumes of heroes and villains in popular media will be a frequent sight, so if you go, take note of the theme! As for Late & Loud, they'll be on at 9:00 PM for this Thursday nighter, there's no announced cover charge, and you must be 19 to attend. I don't know if there's a restriction for Algoma students, but I can't see it. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! I have to say, it's great to see Late & Loud back after missing the whole summer, but hopefully they're re-energized and ready to go for the fall! They're talented guys, and hopefully they have lots of big plans and shows in store for the rest of the year, so stay tuned for more on Late & Loud as news comes in, and go see them at The Speak Easy in three weeks!

Next up, here's the latest on next month's Searchmont Music Festival, which is quickly seeing a more stacked lineup! The September 10th fundraiser event has confirmed the structure for the bands, with the indoor portion lasting from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM and consisting of a 1960s themed dance, and the outdoor part taking place from 12:00 PM to 7:00 PM with acoustic performers and bands that don't fit the 1960s theme. The indoor portion will feature the previously announced Moondance, Al Davis Band, Trippy Hippies, and Dirty River Band for a night of 1960s, blues, and R&B hits, but what about the outdoors portion? We'll get our death metal with The Bear Hunters, but a bit more metal will take place, as Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison will play an acoustic set on Saturday! Good to see, he should do great at the festival! Also newly confirmed for the Searchmont Festival: Local punk trio Redundant, folk pop quartet Emma + Robot, acoustic folk duo Tea With Lincoln, and solo artists Frank Bock, Tea With Lincoln's Deven Creagh, Mark Dunn, Guy Smith, Joseph Kargianakkis, Britta Wolfert, and Rick Charbonneau, with more to be announced! Of course, these acts join the previously announced Green Cafe, Douglas Cousineau, and Rusty McCarthy at the outdoor stage.

Also for this festival, tickets are now on sale for $10 each at The Duke of Windsor Sport Shop on Queen Street East, Velorution on Old Garden River Road, and The Rad Zone at The Wellington Square Mall! Sounds like a lot of fun with great music, and a bar, prizes, overnight camping, and a barbeque to add to it all! Stay tuned to this location and the SMS for more updates!

Also in the news, Sault Michigan-area metal quintet NoXcape have officially announced the addition of Monkey's Uncle/ex-Absolute singer Donny Newell to the band, replacing original frontman Nick Landreville. The band quietly added Donny to their lineup on their Facebook page recently, and though they didn't officially comment on the singer change, Donny told me in an e-mail that Nick left for personal reasons. I held off on immediately announcing a lineup change as there was a chance that this would be temporary only, but it looks like Donny's rejoining his old Absolute bandmates (all of them, in fact) with this latest band! Of course, it's not an Absolute reunion, as it's a completely different band with an additional member (guitarist Joey Beairl), but if you enjoyed Absolute in their heyday, you've gotta like this news! Best of luck to Nick though, and if you wanna hear some old singing material of his, click here for some old MK-Ultra demos! The other news I have on the NoXcape front is that they've posted a bunch of photos of their Satisfied Frog shows from this past weekend at this location, so give them a look, but no songs or videos are up yet. Stay tuned for more from NoXcape as I hear it!

Fourthly, here's the latest news from local solo artist Mike Haggith! The prolific singer & guitarist has officially announced that his next album (his 45th solo album overall) will be entitled "410 To Scotland", as renamed from the previous title "Space 82". The plan is for this to be a "very good rock album with a heavy piano influence", which should be interesting to hear! The full track listing and information on the album are now posted on it's Facebook discography page, so check it out! Along with the previously announced song "(Who Owns) Space 82", the album will feature a mixture of new studio songs, a couple older and re-recorded tracks, and covers of two songs by Kincheloe alternative project The Black Hole Suns, which should all add up to an interesting release when it comes out on December 1st through Rotten Records! This should be good, so stay tuned for album updates, and yes, we'll cover "410 To Scotland" in next month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! Also, Mike's uploaded a bunch of his solo and S.C.A.R. albums to his Reverbnation store, so if you're behind on his newer releases, head there! All of his solo albums from 2009 and onwards are available except "For My Fallen Angel", along with his "Live At The Outback" release, two S.C.A.R. albums, and a compilation CD named "Rotten Gems" that's not on his Facebook discography, so definitely consider picking some up today!

And finally, though they have yet to take the stage, Sault Michigan/Grand Rapids epic metal quintet End of Existence have entered an online contest to open a big (yet out of character) concert that will be streamed live on Facebook! The band have entered the "Center Stage" contest through Charter Communications to have a chance to open for (believe it or not) Las Vegas pop punk band Panic! At The Disco! Odd, but you know what? If End of Existence won, they'd deliver a heavy dose of metal like they'd never experienced, so it could be beneficial to their audience! End of Existence can move on in this contest if they are the most voted band in Michigan, and you can vote for them by visiting this link, registering for a free and painless account, and clicking "Vote Now". You can vote once a day, and if they're picked as a finalist, they'll move to a final voting period in late September, with the winner opening for Panic! At The Disco in Madison, Wisconsin on October 15th, along with a $25,000 prize package. The thought of an epic death metal band opening at this kind of show is amusing, but they're talented enough to do it, so let's see some support for the guys to move to the next round and win this thing! Even pop punk fans need a good face melting sometimes!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews in our next post, including a huge Roosevelt Hotel metal night and Whitesnake's headlining concert at Kewadin Casino! Thanks everyone!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Sykotyk Rampage's Newest Albums, Hempfest & "Woods V" News, And Much More!!

Back to news today, and we've got plenty, including some more new albums, "Woods V" updates, the first details on next year's Hempfest, this week's classic video, and the identity of our next CD review! Also, take note of this week's custom banner, as we hype the Whitesnake concert at Kewadin Casino on Friday! That'll be a big show, so make sure to get your tickets if you can! Now, to the news, so here's what you need to know!

Two more of Sykotyk Rampage's new albums are online for streaming on their Reverbnation page, so get your environ-mental suits ready! The local crash band uploaded their 27th album "Karrs" on Sunday, with their 24th "Genius Mushrooms With Thoughts Of Intellect" uploaded over the last two days, finally finishing last night. Only that album's direct successor, "Genius Mushrooms With Thoughts Of Stupidity" remains to be posted, though keep an eye out for it! Neither the newest albums nor the last three are on their store yet, but I expect that they'll be there to purchase soon as well. What can we expect from the newest albums? "Genius Mushrooms" is definitely more experimental than some of the other new releases, but it's definitely not the heaviest album they've ever put out. There were also a couple of changes with the track listing, as a song named "Action" replaced "Parked", and the closing track "Nobody" was omitted in lieu of two new songs, "Iditerod" and "Shiver". No reason was given for the changes, but seeing as we got an extra song out of it, it all works out! As for "Karrs", it's similar in sound to "Bucket Of Ham" with it's varying styles, ranging from heavier crash numbers to softer and slower tracks, but all of it is very sykotyk!

I won't divulge too much on them though, as I hope to review them down the road, but fans of blue Chinese metal crash punk will be right at home with both of the newest albums! Check the above links to listen to both of them, and stay tuned for more updates! While we're on the subject of Sykotyk Rampage, I would like to formally announce that we will review one of their new albums this weekend on The Sault Metal Scene for this month's CD review! But with 6 new albums (one yet to be released), which one will we review? Well, after listening to the 5 released albums (the second "Genius Mushrooms" album aside, I want to do those in order), I've chosen "Zombies", the 29th and "newest" of the 2011 Sykotyk Rampage albums for the next review! Why'd I pick "Zombies"? Basically, because it's the heaviest of the new albums, though does that correspond to the best? Time will tell, but stay tuned for my review of "Zombies" at the end of the month! And yes, harsh music lovers, I do plan to review the other new Sykotyk Rampage albums released this month, just not immediately, as I space out multiple album reviews by the same band to avoid biases. That said, look out for a new Sykotyk Rampage review of some kind early next year!

Next up, Hempfest is indeed coming back next year! Looks like organizers are getting an early start on preparations for the 14th annual marijuana culture festival to ensure that all the kinks are worked out, especially given the mixed reception I heard fans had for it's return. What should we know almost a year out from the next Hempfest? Well, it will take place in Ophir once again from August 6th to 13th of next year, adding an extra Monday to the schedule for 8 days of Hempfest (presumably camping for the first 4 days and entertainment for the rest again.) I'm a bit surprised it's not later in the month like usual though, but it should all work out! Admission is $100 at the gate or $75 in advance for the full week, with drops if you come later (-$15 or -$10 a day respectively.) Single day passes will be $20 (there's no package deals past Friday), and though tickets aren't available yet, there are purchasing links at the official Facebook event page. This year, there will be vendor fees, so visit that link for details on that front too, but I don't know of medical marijuana exemptees will get free admission again. As for the lineup, no one is confirmed yet, but I've heard preliminary hopes from a few bands that they'll be back next year. Hopefully Robert Neron and the Hempfest organizers have an easier time managing Hempfest next year, as it deserves to succeed and last locally! As details come out for the 2012 Hempfest, I'll have them here!

Now, here's some news from Woods of Ypres as the recording sessions for "Woods V" continue at Beach Road Studios in Goderich, Ontario! Producer Siegfried Meier has been keeping fans updated on the sessions via his Twitter and Yfrog pages, mostly via some cool studio photos of David Gold and Joel Violette working on their tracks, but Siegfried did leak a possible song title for Woods V: "Death Is Not An Exit", which David seemed to confirm on his own Twitter page on Thursday with what could be that song's chorus lyrics. If true, it sounds like a good song title! Despite plans to not return to Twitter until September, Joel Violette did some tweeting to say that "Woods V" is "sounding huuuuge" and update fans on the weather situation in Goderich last weekend, which saw hailstorms and a tornado, though from what I can gather, nothing related to the "Woods V" recording sessions was damaged. As for David Gold's Twitter page, he is finally mentioning the sessions, including saying that at least one song has been completed and that there was tracking delays due to the storms. Good to hear everyone's safe, and I can't wait to hear more from the recording, so stay tuned for more "Woods V" updates as they come in!

And finally for today, here's this week's classic video! For a third time, we have an old video of Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Monkey's Uncle from the Jager days to share on the SMS, so here's what you should know! Like my previous classic video upload of their cover of "Hair Of The Dog", this comes from likely the same St. Ignace concert in February 2008 at The Northern Pines Lounge at their Kewadin Casino. This time, it's of what was then Jager covering Nickelback's "Figured You Out", but how does it sound? Missed start on the video aside, they do mostly a good job, although Henry Switzer's vocal range doesn't pull off the chorus as well, and the guitar sounds a bit off. Bit dark too, but that's the fault of the lighting inside, as the video quality is pretty good. Filmed by a concert attendee and uploaded onto the band's MySpace page on February 16th, 2008, you can watch the original video at http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/28444179. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!!! All credit for this video goes to Monkey's Uncle and the original filmer, I'm just spreading this video to a wider audience like it deserves! So with that said, check out this week;s classic video of Monkey's Uncle covering "Figured You Out" below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news, weekend concert previews (including Whitesnake), our next Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile on Infathom, our "Zombies" review, and more this week! Thanks everyone!

Monday, August 22, 2011

YouTube Channel Profile Series: myangels1266's Channel

As promised, it's time for our second installment in our newest monthly feature, the YouTube Channel profile series! Once again, we've randomly chosen a YouTube channel featuring at least 50% local metal-relevant videos to profile, with no bias otherwise towards what is picked. If the channel has less videos or diversity, we'd have added one or two more, but no need this month, as we've picked a great channel profiling a prominent local band from the late 2000s! So without any further adieu, check out all you need to know about this month's featured YouTube profile! (Updated on May 9th, 2013)
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myangels1266's Channel (http://youtube.com/user/myangels1266)

Owner: Cami Hubbard, the mother of local metal guitarist Chris Hubbard (415E, ex-Nixxon Dixxon/Splitshot/Trail's End) and wife of ex-Splitshot drummer Tony Hubbard

Channel Timeline: Launched on November 14th, 2009; Videos posted between November 2009 and January 2013

Channel Summary: Describing herself as "mom of a great talented family", Cami's channel mostly features live concert videos of her son Chris with defunct local hard rockers Nixxon Dixxon from gigs between October 2009 & August 2010. 12 Nixxon Dixxon videos are posted there, mostly from Sault Michigan concerts at Kewadin Casino, although videos are also posted from shows in Sault Ontario, St. Ignace, and in Barbeau, as well as their last ever gig in August 2010 at The Bird. Most of the videos are of their live covers (especially Alice In Chains), although three feature original material written in 2009. Aside from a solo ice skating performance by her daughter Lindsey in March 2011, Cami posted no new videos to her channel until January 2013, when she posted three videos from Chris' newest band 415E's debut concert at Kewadin Casino.

Why Should You Watch: Because this channel has a lot of nice quality live video footage from the height of Nixxon Dixxon's local run, which ended way too soon in 2010, as well as some promising shots of 415E. The camera angles vary, but the audio and video quality is very good, and Cami gave us some great samples of Nixxon Dixxon's final year together in the bulk of these videos! Cami's newest videos are encouraging for fans, but if you enjoyed Splitshot & Trail's End (who each featured 3/4ths of Nixxon Dixxon) during their 2010-2012 runs, note that there's surprisingly no videos of either on this channel.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

Nixxon Dixxon at Kiss Battle of the Bands
: The longest and most viewed of Cami's videos, this comes from Nixxon Dixxon's well received first round performance at the Kiss Battle of the Bands on December 1st, 2009 at The Canadian Nightclub in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. With two songs to make an impression on judges, they tore through their new originals "High Life" and what sounds like "Life All Around" (correct me if I'm wrong), and you know they went over well when they were picked to move on to the finals the next day! Good performances, and a great way to introduce themselves to Canadian fans, especially with a solid stage presence and abilities beyond their years! Also featuring an introduction from Rock 101 DJ Mark SanAngelo, it's definitely worth a look, and click here for Cami's video of "High Life" once again from the finals the next day!



Nixxon Dixxon - One Shot Woman: The band's only other publically posted original song, Cami filmed Nixxon Dixxon playing "One Shot Woman" at their February 27th, 2010 concert at The Dreammakers Theater at Kewadin Casino, where they backed up Pop Evil, Evans Blue, and Graveyard Tan at the first sold out Kim Rogers/Kelsey Rafaelle benefit concert! Nice quality video from right in front of the stage, though there is some shakiness. Another nice performance, the band were on form here, and it's awesome to see them rocking out for a great cause! If you're in the mood for covers, click here to see their cover of Alice In Chains' "Rooster" from the same set.



415E performing 'Livin It Up' original and 'Unchained' cover live at Dream Makers Theater: Over two years & three band breakups after Cami's last concert video uploads, Chris Hubbard's newest band 415E was the subject of three videos from their debut concert on January 20th, 2013, where they opened for no less than Sebastian Bach! Featuring two members each of Splitshot & The Highest of Fives, Cami filmed 415E playing two Van Halen covers & their self-titled original song, but for the best of both worlds, I've picked the video of them playing their original song "Livin' It Up" & covering Van Halen's "Unchained" to embed below! Despite a stiff stage presence from Dave (and a questionable fit vocally for Van Halen songs), the guys show great talent in their debut, and the camera work & angle is great, so hopefully the best is yet to come!


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I hope you guys enjoyed this month's YouTube Channel Profile! So, what channel are we looking at next month? Through completely random selection, we've picked local metal quartet Garden of Bedlam's official YouTube channel! Lots of great videos of theirs are posted there, so it's a good thing we randomly picked their channel for next month! Watch out for that profile on or around September 22nd, and stay tuned for more news and notes very soon! Thanks everyone!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Bear Hunters), New Videos, And More!!

Hey guys, I have some more local metal news for you all today, including a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, some new videos, and some assorted Sault Michigan news, so let's get things going tonight!

Local melodic death metal quintet The Bear Hunters have been confirmed as part of the lineup for the first annual Searchmont Music Festival! Yes, the popular area ski resort is throwing their hat into the festival ring with a fundraiser festival scheduled for September 10th inside and outside of the resort, and The Bear Hunters are confirmed for this year! Odd choice of a picture though, as "The Bear Hunters" implies that they're hunting bears, not that a bear is hunting. Full details on the festival are not out yet, but admission will be $10, it looks to be all ages, and the outdoor portion will consist of open mic and acoustic performers, with plugged in bands like The Bear Hunters rocking inside. Music for both stages will run from 12:00 PM to 11:00 PM on the 10th. Other announced performers include solo artists Al Davis, Douglas Cousineau, and Rusty McCarthy, along with local bands Moondance, The Trippy Hippies, The Dirty River Band, and Green Cafe, with more likely to be announced. Most of the acts are new to me, but this should be an entertaining festival, and thanks to The Bear Hunters, some metal will easily be welcomed! Stay tuned for updates at the above links and at the SMS as they come in!

Next up, we have some new videos, and first, local hardcore quartet Changing Waves have their own YouTube channel! Launched in April, I only just found out about it the other day, and yes, there's some concert footage there! One concert video from an undated Roosevelt Hotel performance (metal night on August 4th?) was posted there twice on Thursday, and both are of the band covering System of a Down's "Suite-Pee"! Why was it uploaded twice? Well, the first upload is sideways, possibly due to the original video dimensions, so they corrected it in a later upload, but you can still see the sideways version at this link. Overall though, it's nice quality, and it shows their hardcore take of the S.O.A.D. favourite well, with each member visible, though the camera shakes a bit and the video missed the beginning of the song. Good stuff overall, and it's nice to see more videos of Changing Waves, so check out their "Suite-Pee" cover at the above links and below, and also visit their channel for an interesting acoustic song by band members(?) called "Gimme My Cat"!



The other new videos is courtesy of Brimley hard rockers Half A Man, who are still hard at work on their upcoming debut album! On Thursday, the band uploaded a rough mix of their original song "Drunk" onto their official YouTube channel, and you can check it out below! It sounds good, and it's nice to hear a studio version finally (especially given that this is one of the first Half A Man originals we heard last year), but I'll hold on detailed comments until the album comes out and I get a chance to review it. Also featuring video footage of the band members playing the song individually and shots of their recording computers and equipment, check out "Drunk" below and get ready for the new album!



And finally, here's three assorted shorter stories from the last little while from Sault Michigan-area bands, in alphabetical order by band name:
  • I'll likely be moving Sault Michigan quartet 7/47 (featuring members of Free Refill & The Highest of Fives) to our inactive Sault Michigan band links tomorrow due to inactivity. The Guitar Studio products were last visibly active on August 21st of last year when bassist Jack Slater uploaded videos from a Mackinac City concert onto his YouTube channel. 7/47 had promise, but hopefully the members' current bands remain successful!
  • According to their respective Facebook pages, young local rock bands Abstract & Banned competed at a battle of the bands of some type outside of Joe's Bar in Rudyard earlier today. For the life of me, I couldn't find official information on this battle, which is why we didn't plug it here, but keep an eye out in case we hear any fallout! For what it's worth, Banned's Facebook page indicates they didn't win.
  • Pickford hard rockers Beyond The Surface have quietly welcomed guitarist Blake Mastaw back to the band, and are also now looking for an official singer again, presumably to replace the long-since departed Danielle Petingalo. Click here if you live in the Pickford area and are interested in singing for Beyond The Surface!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more hopefully tomorrow, and if nothing else, look out for this month's YouTube Channel Profile on Monday! Thanks everyone!