LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Striker & The Suicide Kings), Plus Many More Recent News Items!!

We're clearing most of our recent news items in this post, and there's some big stuff to get to in it, so what's in store? We have lots of recent news from The Suicide Kings, and a pile of other shorter recent news stories from the area, but leading off, we have some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for big summer shows in Sault Ontario, so read on below for what you need to know!

Edmonton heavy metal quintet Striker will hit The Roosevelt Hotel for a headlining concert on Tuesday, June 25th! Presented by local concert promoter J.D. "Johnny Pints" Pearce, this show should appeal to fans of classic metal and NWOBHM bands, and if you enjoyed recent local shows with bands like 3 Inches of Blood & Skull Fist, Striker and their tour-tested, very heavy sound will be completely up your alley, so check them out at this location! Two local opening bands are being sought, but no one has been publically confirmed as of this writing, but message J.D. at this location if your band is interested in opening. There will also be an attached costume contest for the best 1980s metal outfit worn by attendees, with prizes for the winner(s?), so keep that in mind for the 25th as well! Admission will be $5 for this 9:00 PM concert, and I'd assume this is a 19+ event unless indicated otherwise. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be an awesome concert, and I'm really digging Striker's sound, so stay tuned for updates!

Also, our first public indications of metal or hard rock at Rotaryfest are now in, as Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands winners The Suicide Kings have revealed that they will be performing on the main stage at Clergue Park on Friday, July 19th! This really caught me off guard, as they play original material, whereas the edict from Rotaryfest organizers is that the main stage bands have to be covers-only, but maybe they're only playing covers for their set? Time will tell, I suppose, but this is a big opportunity all the same! The posting on The Suicide Kings' Facebook page from yesterday indicates that they'll be on at 9:00 PM on July 19th, which is one of the top timeslots, so absolutely keep that in mind during Sault Ontario's annual summer festival next month! The full schedule has not yet been officially unveiled, but Rotaryfest's website indicates that the headliners on Saturday, July 20th will be Rolling Stones tribute band The Blushing Brides (keeping with the recent trend of an out of town tribute band headlining the main stage on the Saturday), while I assume the jazz/blues theme for Thursday the 18th would still be in effect.

Also to note, The Suicide Kings' Facebook posting indicated that they'd be "the only band in the genre" on the main stage, though we won't know if that's definitely the case until an official lineup is posted. Admission should be free, and this is ALL AGES as usual. Check the above links for more details! The Suicide Kings should leave a good impression for their Rotaryfest debut, even if they're not on the more original-friendly Second Stage, but best of luck come July, and stay tuned for updates on the full entertainment lineup as we hear it! In other Suicide Kings news, the same posting above indicated that their forthcoming debut EP "King of the World" is in the mixing process, and they'll be using the recording time won at the Rockstar Bar Battle to record drum tracks towards it. Good art takes time, so hopefully everything turns out awesome when finished! Finally, have you seen postings on Facebook relating to a Suicide Kings/Haggith concert TONIGHT that we haven't covered on here?

Well, that's an invitation-only gig at Haggith's label/studio PaperClip Productions' headquarters, so because it's not publically attendable, we didn't call it on here. If you're invited, go check out the Rockstar Bar Battle's top 2 bands tonight, and hopefully there will be some shareable fallout to come out of it!

Finally for today, here's six assorted recent shorter news stories (mostly from across the river), and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist, company, or venue name:

• On May 20th, Mackinac City classic rock station The Bear (which picks up here on better radios) finally changed it's FM frequency & call sign to 97.7 WOEZ out of Cheboygan (not 106.3 out of Onaway as was previously indicated) via recent station trades. The new position is just one notch off of it's old regional home, 97.9 WIHC (now Strong Tower Radio) out of Newberry, but I assume any interference will depend on where you're located. Make note of the change though!
• Barring a return to activity by Wednesday, we'll soon be moving mid-2000s Sault Michigan-area hair/classic metal band Dust N' Bones to our inactive band links. Led by Theatre of Night's Craig Harrison (and later becoming a T.O.N. side project upon their early 2012 reunion), Dust N' Bones have offered no public updates since June 12th of last year, but hopefully Craig and company revisit this entertaining material down the road!
• In case you weren't sure, LemmaFest (the annual Mike Lemma tribute concert outside of Dondee Lanes) is returning for a third installment on Saturday, June 22nd! Early plans & information have been made public at their official Facebook page from May 30th onward, which is oddly late compared to the past 2 years, especially with no bands confirmed yet that I know of. Stay tuned for updates though, and hopefully this year's a hit like the others!
• As best as I can tell, former local concert venue Madison's Pub (in the Food Basics plaza on Pine Street) is undergoing renovations this month for it to become an Irish themed bar named The Harp Pub & Grill, as per postings on this event page for an upcoming local musician showcase event being held there. Madison's hadn't been a visible metal venue since the end of 2009, but maybe things might pick up with it becoming The Harp? You never know!
• A local singer named Marika Suha is looking to join a local band, and though she didn't give a genre indication, she's hoping to join a "very very cool kick ass band", so that could mean metal for all we know. If you're interested in seeing if she'd be the right fit, message her at this location or check out her post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group from Wednesday morning!
• Half A Man frontman Erik Rintamaki has started his own concert sound company & recording studio named Superior Sound Company to provide live event sound & professional song recordings in the Eastern Upper Peninsula. No indications as of yet of metal/hard rock work, but we all know Erik's local music background is a good sign for that, so message Superior Sound at the above links for more info, and they're now in our Other Sault Michigan Links section!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news as it comes in, along with our Defunct Local Band Profile on Insipid Brutality on Monday! Thanks everyone!