LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Griphook), New Videos, And Much More!!

Here's one more news post for your Saturday, as we continue to clear out some backlogged items from the last week+! Now, we have some assorted news and notes, videos from two prominent local bands, and leading off, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next weekend, so read on below for what you should know, and check out a new local band, new show announcements, and more in this morning's post below! (Also, note that SooToday's Soo-To-Do List implies that Mourning Wood are playing at Reggie's West TONIGHT, but we have not heard that from the band as of this writing. If we missed something, our sincere apologies!)

Local classic/hard rock quartet Griphook will return to the local stage this coming weekend when they rock The Rednecks Saloon on Friday & Saturday! After a few months away from the stage, these will be Griphook's first concerts of 2015, their first anywhere since December, and their first at the former Nicolet Tavern in five months, so it's been a while for fans to take in their hard hitting covers on a live stage! Featuring alumni of 100 Gran, Hollow, Bigsuit, and Thin Ice in their experienced lineup, Griphook have received a solid reception since their 2012 debut, and hopefully we see more of that next weekend, so keep these shows in mind for this coming Friday and Saturday! There's no announced cover charges for either night, you must be 19 to attend, and 10:00 PM start times would make sense. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and stay tuned for more from Griphook and these shows as we hear them!

Next up, here's the latest from local garage/punk quartet Gnaeus, who we haven't heard much from since their victory at last month's VM Radio Battle of the Bands, so what are the champions up to? Well, the guys did get some belated exposure from their win via a photo by Sault This Week's Ali Pearson of them celebrating on stage in this week's issue of the paper (it's on page 2, albeit with their drummer's name misspelled as Brandon Garlick.) Still, nice to see them get noticed by Sault This Week, so look for it in your current copies! As well, Gnaeus posted this video to their YouTube channel on Monday in (so far) their only major public activity since the battle, and it's sort of a music video for their first studio track "Lovers" which features the guys talking about their battle win at the start, performing the song in studio, hanging out, playing in concert, and even making a sandwich?! Well edited and a nice sample of the guys in their element, so check it out below, and stay tuned for much more from Gnaeus as it comes in!



Also today, here's a new video of local party/hard rock trio Stiffler's Mom from their Ride For Sight Chili Cook-Off set at The Garden River Community Centre last week! Filmed by attendee Trudy Archibald for her personal Facebook page and later shared by the band on their own Facebook page, it's of Stiffler's Mom putting a hard-edged spin on Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)", and I'll concede that I didn't know what the song was until the chorus, so they made it their own! Though fuzzy looking, and very blue/purple from the lighting, it's a solid & fun rendition of this 1980s classic, so give it a look below!



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

• On Sunday, local hardcore punk sextet Destroilet announced on their Facebook page that their next album will apparently be a three-way split CD with fellow local favourites Jack Spades and Montreal punk legends The Ripcordz! If confirmed, this would be Destroilet's third release and first with Brent Ellis sharing vocal duties, and the second release from Jack Spades, though recording hasn't started yet. This is intriguing if it holds up, so stay tuned for more updates as they roll in!
• Dafter, Michigan solo hard rock artist Ken Sutton (a.k.a. SweetKenny) posted a new instrumental named "Heartbeat" onto his Reverbnation page last month, and while it will be familiar to fans based on it's general style, it  has a nice groove! No word on if this will be on his next studio album to be announced, but we'll keep you posted when more is announced!
• The first Tuned episode since the end of the VM Radio Battle of the Bands was posted on Local2 on Thursday, and it features Donna Hopper's interview with local folk/indie rock quintet Aldous and performance footage of them at LopLops in February. No 12 Musicians of Christmas videos this week, and the concert calendar segment is again completely absent, but Donna did mention that next week's episode will be headlined by The Boot Hill Crooners' CD release show, which had alternative openers. Give this week's episode a look above if you want!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more from the local scene over the coming days! Thanks everyone!