Sunday, January 26, 2014

Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile: Curse The Witch

It's now time for our last monthly feature post of the month, as it's our first Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile of 2014! As you may remember, this series looks at a metal or hard rock band that, though not based out of the Soo, does feature at least one past/present Saultites in any of their lineups. This month's selected band feature a known metal veteran in their current incarnation, so read on below for this month's profile! (Updated on November 27th, 2014)
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Curse The Witch (Kitchener, Ontario)

Lineup: (Saultites in RED; ex-members in italics. This information is incomplete. E-mail me at robertfigures@outlook.com if you have any additions or corrections!)

Sarah Leventic (vocals)
Frank Leventic (guitar)

Brian Musgrave (guitar)
Jon Kaye (bass)
Gary Publicover (bass)
James Farquhar (bass)
Kevin Hinsperger (drums)
Vinnie Milosevich (drums)
Jeremy Day (?????)
John Vella (?????)

Official website: http://www.cursethewitch.ca/
Official MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/cursethewitch
 
Local Info: A long time veteran of local metal bands, recent Curse The Witch drummer Vinnie Milosevich may be best known for his work with 1990s and early 2000s with bands like Hollow, Carbon Black, and Metal Militia, even reuniting with the former in 2011 for a pair of one off dates at local venues! In recent years, Vinnie has lived out of town, where he's been part of projects like the St. Thomas metal band Buster Cherry (alongside frequent local bandmate Terry Eaton) and most recently with Kitchener cover rockers Knee Deep, though you can may have also seen him with Curse The Witch's sister band, the Evanescence tribute My Immortal.

Band Bio: Well publicized in the Kitchener & Waterloo areas since their launch in the fall of 2011, Curse The Witch immediately made an impression with the release of their debut CD "Chapter I" that November, before beginning full live dates in January 2012. Led by Sarah & Frank Leventic alongside various other musicians, one of their more recent lineups included the Soo's own Vinnie Milosevich, who replaced Kevin Hinsperger on drums circa last summer. Along with the release of their "Chapter II" CD in April 2013, Curse The Witch have been an increasingly frequent sight at Southern Ontario concert venues, including a set opening for L.A. Guns last July, along with recording numerous original songs, some of which will be on their forthcoming third album. Though online sound descriptions don't point to heavier styles, Curse The Witch have an entertaining and well performed hard rock sound that's definitely boosted by Sarah Leventic's skilled and melodic singing, and she's a great fit in the band!

Her husband Frank is also a great guitarist and he has some very catchy riffs, and while the bass and drums are generally very good for the media I've heard, I haven't seen enough of Vinnie's work with Curse The Witch to directly comment on his contributions yet. I do like the ambition and prolific songwriting that they've displayed since their debut, and their sound is accessible yet heavy, giving me vibes close to that of former Sault Michigan standouts Bad Side, if less bluesy. Give Curse The Witch a listen via the above links for plenty of solid original alternative rock songs, and buy their first on iTunes at this link! As for videos, there aren't a ton from their live concerts, but their YouTube channel above is the best source, and it includes this music video for their song "Empty Nights", so check it out!


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I hope you guys liked this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! Next month in this series, we'll be looking at Chainbreaker, the new Toronto speed metal band featuring Sault native Curtis Faux (Maximum RNR, ex-Detroit) on bass! Watch out for that on or around February 26th, and stay tuned for more news and notes this week! Thanks everyone!

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