Let's start with some additional Woods of Ypres/David Gold updates. David's sister Marie has made numerous posts on his personal Facebook page over the past few hours alerting fans to news about future arrangements, notably that the family will be selling existing Woods of Ypres merchandise that David had stock of to help cover funeral costs. This includes copies of Woods of Ypres' past albums on CD & vinyl (some of which are autographed), t-shirts, posters, bags, coffee mugs, and possibly more. If you're interested in buying anything, asking what's available, knowing prices of the items, or so on, message Marie at this location or call (705) 975-2700 A.S.A.P.. This could be your last chance ever to get new Woods of Ypres merchandise, so if there's something you want or are missing, consider taking the Gold family up on this offer and help lessen the burden for his final expenses. Also, Marie mentioned in posts today that if you can't attend the get-together in his honour at The Canadian on Wednesday, you can still be involved by e-mailing Marie your name along with your own rememberances, photos, memories, and moments you have with David or his music. Submissions will be printed off and displayed at the get-together on Wednesday. If you can't make it and have anything to share, e-mail Marie at mariechristinegold@hotmail.com. This is a very nice way to help everyone be a part of this day, which I'm sure will be important to remember his life and legacy, so definitely consider sending a rememberance in if you're unable to attend.
She also added today that there were plans in place to make a documentary about his life and music, with hopes to do a tour to venues that Woods of Ypres played at to interview fans and people he's impacted, helped, and inspired in the past. If you have any ideas for the documentary or the tour for people to contact, give Marie a shout at the links or phone number above. David himself dabbled in documentary filming, including the unreleased "Metal Korea" film he was working on from his experiences in South Korea, so I'm sure he'd be very appreciative of this idea from his family, and if it goes through, it'll definitely be a must watch! I'll of course keep updates on all of these stories as news comes out on them. For what it's worth, I haven't heard too much extra concerning the accident in Barrie on Wednesday afternoon, but I am keeping tabs on news reports there and here for any possible details. Also, from what I understand, the leak of "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light" from yesterday no longer works, so either it was pulled or the download limit was reached (hopefully the latter.) If it was an accidental leak, at least it was in memoriam of a talented musician taken too soon, and hopefully Earache Records still releases "Woods V" next year as I'm sure David would have wanted. Stay tuned for more updates on David's future arrangements and Woods of Ypres stories, and keep him and the Gold family in your hearts over the holiday!
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Now to some other news, and first, prominent local progressive metal band Gates of Winter have disappointingly parted ways with keyboardist Brian Holmes. He reportedly left the band last month so he could follow other endeavours, though the band's statement on their Facebook page two weeks ago clearly shows that this is an amicable (and hopefully not permanent) decision. They also announced that they are not replacing Brian, and will use orchestral samples where needed for studio material, and approach alternatives for any future concerts. Brian was an original Gates of Winter member and had featured on all of their previous live concerts and CDs, along with early demos and samples towards next year's new album "Perihelion", though it's unknown if any of his recordings will be included. This completely surprises me, as it seemed like regardless of outside concerns and commitments, that the members of Gates of Winter would stick together to write great music until they could fully focus on it again, but I know that Brian's doing what's best for him at this time. Besides, he's still the bassist with local prog rockers Machines Dream, so he's not leaving music! Best of luck to Brian and the rest of the Gates of Winter crew, and apologies for being two weeks late on this story! I'm surprised I didn't hear about this until now. Stay tuned for more updates on Gates of Winter & "Perihelion" as they come in!
Next up, here's some updates and clarification on what's been going on with Brimley hard rockers Half A Man. As it turns out, they did in fact part ways with guitarist Denny Breslin, who actually left in July before they were scheduled to record their debut album in St. Paul, Minnesota. A reason for his departure wasn't publicized. There was ambiguity because he was never formally removed from lineups, nor was an official announcement made beyond allusions to their then three-piece status last month, but it's nice to get official word. It's disappointing to see Denny leave, as he is a talented guitarist, but the new Half A Man lineup already seems to have a lot of promise and momentum behind them! A statement made on their Facebook page highlights the excitement they have now that Dillion Semasky of Infathom is their singer, which honestly does open up possibilities to improve and expand into heavier territory! Plans are now in place roughly to head to St. Paul to record material towards a debut album next year, and from what I'm hearing, their material and sound may be very different from what we heard from Half A Man last year and early this year. There seems to be a lot of excitement in the Half A Man camp and their new lineup, so stay tuned to band pages for continuing updates!
Finally today, remember last month when a new version of local classic hard rock band Turner Up was launched, though separate from the original Turner Up, who had morphed into Full Circle this spring? Well, the two bands didn't co-exist long, as drummer Scott McLurg confirmed in a post on his personal Facebook page yesterday that Full Circle had parted ways earlier this month. The breakup was due to personal issues with a band member, but I don't wanna put anyone down or highlight conflicts, especially not at this time of the year, so I won't elaborate. This ends a successful 2 year run for the original Turner Up/Full Circle that featured tons of entertaining concerts amidst numerous lineup changes, but Scott & guitarist Robert Brown are sure to keep the hard rocking going with the new Turner Up, and also now, local rock band Havadder! You're bound to be familiar with them from many local concerts, and though they're not a hard rock band so to speak, they now share 4 members with Turner Up (all except Krista Marshall.) Nice work on Jason Roy's part to bring in Scott, Rob, and Travis for the new Havadder lineup, they should go far themselves locally! Stay tuned for more from Turner Up as it comes in!That's all for today, but stay tuned for a special Christmas autopost tomorrow afternoon, and have a Merry Christmas if I'm not online at all tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
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