A New Local Hard Rock Band, Sault Band-O-Rama Updates, And Much More!!

Today's post relates to bands and projects with clear ties to a few local artists in particular, but that's just how things came together on this snowy Monday, and it all fits together nicely! Along with some assorted recent notes, we have a recent concert video, lineup changes for an upcoming concert event, and first, here's the newest addition to our Sault Ontario band links!

It's about time that we rolled them in, so we're officially welcoming Mourning Wood to our full coverage at the SMS! We had previously been referencing them as country/rock, but given their setlist at Rock For Dimes (which included Metallica, AC/DC, and Billy Idol songs), that's a good sampling and indicator of how their longer shows would go. Debuting in August at The Rednecks Saloon, their lineup features Asylum Country guitarist Terry Eaton & drummer T.J. Case (both veterans of older metal bands) alongside T.J.'s Urawk bandmate Steven Flint (also of Beaumont Avenue & Haggith), and while Terry sings most lead vocals, Steven & T.J. take turns for certain songs also. Mourning Wood have been playing fairly frequently since debuting, splitting their solo gigs at The Rednecks Saloon, The New American Pub, and (in the first shows we've heard that fit on the site) Reggie's West, a.k.a. the former Roosevelt Hotel. The band is next scheduled to take part in this year's Toystock at The Canadian on November 29th.

Also, note that T.J. has had conflicts where Mourning Wood and his other hard rock band Havadder have played on the same weekends, but we've tended to see him play with Mourning Wood in these cases. Mourning Wood have a solid sound that has a lot of quality hard rock action and reliable covers, and while the guys could be livelier on stage, fans who see them live won't have a lot to worry about! Don't miss them at Toystock, and stay tuned for updates on their next headlining shows!

Next up, here's a new video from the aforementioned Rock For Dimes at The Delta Waterfront Hotel, and it's of fellow local classic/hard rock cover band The Thrill Junkies' set! Filmed by bassist Justin Langlois' father Michel and uploaded to his YouTube channel on Saturday, this is of their opening cover of Lit's "My Own Worst Enemy", as preceded by MC Lou Turco's introduction and some pre-set tuning and preparation. The video is of nice quality and shot close to the stage's right, and it captures this solidly done rendition well! Give it a look below, and we'll let you know if Michel has any Redundant footage!

Also today, here's some updates concerning the lineup of the Sault Band-O-Rama all day concert event at The Primavera Hall on Friday (as promoted by 2/3rds of Mourning Wood), including two band changes. One reflects the re-addition of local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements to the lineup as the opening band at 3:00 PM, as they've pulled out of the show again for unannounced reasons, as per co-promoter Terry Eaton on the Facebook event page on Saturday. Disappointing, but we'll be sure to see them again soon! The show will open at 4:00 PM again now, but with a new band kicking things off, as local experimental metal trio The Strange Coyotes will now open the show in their first non-house party gig since reuniting! As per co-promoter Steven Flint yesterday, they're replacing local doom/punk band The Revolution due to the recent departure of bassist Rainey Vincent (despite a guarantee that they'd play this show with or without a replacement), but hopefully things get sorted out, and the Coyotes should set the tone well on Friday!

There's still 12 varied local acts to take in on Friday (including the mystery project Infamous), and remember that this ALL AGES show has just a $5 admission, so keep it in mind for this Friday! Stay tuned for updates and our preview of it later this week!

Finally for today, here's three assorted stories from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or series name:

• We've moved local hard rock quartet Punch to our inactive band links. While the guys posted on their Facebook page as recently as July, the band (who replaced Haggith during their brief breakup) have slim future prospects given that most of their members are now playing with the reunited Haggith, who have also taken on Punch's originals as their own tracks, even including the song named "Punch". Follow Haggith to keep tabs on where Punch would have went, and best of luck to Curtis, Daniel, Steven, and Ben!
• Following up on their mention of it at Rock For Dimes on Friday, Redundant frontman Justin Langlois has posted on numerous Facebook pages (including the Musicians Wanted group) this weekend to confirm that the local punk trio is working on finishing their long hinted debut album, and a CD release party for it is in the works. To that effect, the band is looking for at least one local opening band, so if you're interested in opening, or have a suggestion, message Justin at this link or above, and stay tuned for more on their CD plans!
• Don't cry for the end of Urawk (Beaumont Avenue & T.J. Case's live band karaoke series) just yet, as the grand finale at The Rednecks Saloon was just for their run there. A cover photo on the new Urawk Facebook page reveals that the series is moving from the former Nicolet Tavern to The Rockstar Bar in the coming weeks, though a reason for the move in venue hasn't been announced. Keep tabs on Urawk if you want to sing karaoke with a live band when they return!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for last month's poll results and this month's new poll TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!