Wednesday, February 3, 2016

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Telephone & Address), Bear Hunters Updates, And New Videos!!

Before we get into today's post, here's a disappointing update for Pixo Control fans, as the local alternative hard rock trio are no longer playing at The Sheepdogs' concert at The Machine Shop on Tuesday. As announced on their Facebook page yesterday, they cited "a contractual mix up between the venue and the band's management" for the removal, which may bring back memories of Half A Man's exit from the Queensryche concert in Sault Michigan a few years back. Disappointing, but at least there's no bad blood, and look for them as fans at next week's show!

Now, today's news post features a pair of new video finds, and some updates on an upcoming local album, but first, here's another LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for the upcoming Fishbowl Festival of Community, Arts, and Culture at The Gore Street Cafe, as local acoustic punk solo project Telephone & Address will return to the downtown venue for a concert on Friday, February 26th! This will be the first show of the year from the Chris Shoust solo act, and it's good to see Chris back on stage, but might we see some teases of Telephone & Address' next announced albums then? The announced headliners are Sammy D & The Therapy, a new local band from Gore Street Cafe co-owner & Boxes of Boom mainman Sam Decter, who will be joined by Patrick Evans and Mikey S. (full last name unclear), who you may recognize as past hosts of the venue's open mic nights.  I don't know how The Therapy will sound, but they have a talented lineup, and might Patrick and Mikey be the "friends" joining Sam at TONIGHT'S punk rock bingo at The New A?

Like with the other two hard rock/punk-leaning concerts taking place so far at The Fishbowl Festival, admission will be $5 for the show in three weeks time (but you can get in free with the purchase of a $25 pass for all festival activities), there is an early start time of 7:00 PM, and thre's no announced age limit. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's great to see this ambitious arts festival's lineup expanding further, and hopefully this show adds to what should be a fun experience over the month of the Pisces, so check out full current details on this and other Fishbowl Festival events at the above links!

Next up, here's the latest from local death metal favourites The Bear Hunters, so what have they been up to so far in the new year? On their Facebook page last month, the guys revealed that recording sessions were ongoing at Mission Control Studios for their upcoming second album "The Dead Testament", with drums finished as of January 3rd, and rhythm guitar recording in progress as of January 19th. The Bear Hunters also gave some extra hints as to two new originals that will be heard first on the CD and have yet to be played live, noting that "For Glory" is a "thrashy war anthem" and the title track is "by far the most ambitious song we've done yet." Intriguing, we'll have to see how the final product sounds, especially with the expected higher quality recordings! In terms of when we might see the album, the band is not ruling out a late summer release date, but based on the language they've used, that sounds more like a best case scenario.

As for when we'll see them live next, guitarist Mitch Sirie had teased the band's involvement in the second annual VM Radio Battle of the Bands next month on the battle's Facebook event page, but that post was quietly deleted for unannounced reasons. If they are confirmed to be competing, we'll be sure to let you guys know, but the guys have been staying very busy since the fall, and I know fans are eagerly awaiting the finished album! Stay tuned for more from The Bear Hunters & "The Dead Testament" as it rolls in!

We'll close today with new videos, including the first of an intended monthly series from local alternative hard rock trio The Din! An official YouTube channel for the band was recently launched, presumably to continue distinguishing themselves from frontman Mike Haggith's solo work (hence why "Mike Haggith and..." was dropped from their name), and their first video on their new channel is a cover of The Foo Fighters' "Times Like These", the intended first installment of a "Cover of the Month" series there. Recorded in jam session style on a stationary camera, it's a solid rendition of a frequent live track, and fans should enjoy it, so check out The Din's Foos cover below, and stay tuned for more from their camp!



Finally, here's a video of local hard rock quartet Skeyes of Seven that I only just found the other day, courtesy of their most recent concert at The Algonquin Pub on June 5th of last year! Apologies for being so late with this, I'd have shared it then had I known! Filmed by Id Iota frontman Christian Lemay (who also played that gig) and shared on the band's Facebook page a few days later, it captures just 17 seconds of a song from that night, but it's well filmed and has good audio! Too bad Christian didn't post more, especially as this was their second and final show with John Mignacca on drums, but at least this much is online! Give it a look below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews next on the SMS! Thanks everyone!

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