We have a newly discovered (albeit long defunct) local punk band to add to our inactive band links, and they are Why! Active from at least 2003-2004, Why may be best known as an early band from Northwest frontman Wayne Watkins, who played bass alongside singer/guitarist Cory Coulter (ex-Outspoken/The Fallout) and drummer Dave Cote (a.k.a. "Dirty Dave Sanchez"), while Cory's former bandmate Chris Nielsen was a later addition on guitar. Forming circa December 2003, Why's debut concert appearance was at the Bon Soo Battle of the Bands at Club Princess in February 2004, where they didn't place, but Cory did apparently win a Best Individual Musician award. I can't find substantial information on the band's post-battle activities beyond Chris' addition, but their Angelfire page features photos from the battle, biographies, song lyrics, and some juvenile humour that might not be to everyone's taste
Dave's YouTube channel uploaded three concert videos from the Bon Soo Battle in December 2007, likely the original source of the defunct mp3 links from Why's page, and they include their originals "Break From the Madness", "Tchike Davis", and as embedded below, "Isolation". Why weren't as polished as Wayne's later bands, but they had a fun punk sound with hardcore tinges, and very good enthusiasm to boot, so if they played more beyond this battle, I'm sure they were crowd favourites! Given their name though, it's hard to find info on them. Give Why a look above & below!
Next up, Sault Michigan MMA/concert promoters Superior Entertainment are back with their first announced music event since last August's Superior Festival, and while specific details are forthcoming, organizers are bringing North Carolina glam metal quartet FireHouse back to the Soo on Saturday, August 6th! Quietly announced via Superior Entertainment's Facebook page on June 11th, we learned a bit more via the video below (posted early this morning to Facebook) where the members of FireHouse confirmed the show will take place as part of Sault Michigan's annual Downtown Days. A planned stop on FireHouse's 25th anniversary tour (with hits like "Love of a Lifetime" & "When I Look Into Your Eyes" sure to be in tow), this would be FireHouse's first concert here since opening for Bret Michaels at the Sault's Kewadin Casino in January 2014, and third total in the area, but first as a headlining act. As of this writing, organizers have yet to confirm a venue, ticket pricing, or age limit. With that said, the early August scheduling could point to it being a sequel event to the Superior Festival (which was held on short notice at The Savoy Bar & Nightclub after a relocation and rescheduling from Aune-Osborne Park, for what it's worth.) In any event, this is not being held at The Dreammaker's Theater, as Kewadin Casino has a British Legends tribute show there on August 6th, continuing their run of tribute bands this year in place of 1980s hard rock (hopefully they're not gone for good!) Give FireHouse's teaser video a look below, and stay tuned for more info when announced!
Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:
- Last week's Go Skateboarding Day festivities were filmed and spotlighted in this SooToday video from this past Wednesday, where interviewer Jasmyn Rowley chats with (among others) co-organizer/Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce about the event at large, skateboarding culture, and more! Jack Spades are briefly shown performing as well, though they're muted behind existing background audio. Solid press for the event, which looks bigger & better than last year, so give it a look above (we can't embed it here) and read SooToday's full article at this link!
- Local indie rock outfit Great Chamberlain have launched a petition on Change.org to attempt to gain support towards being added as a late local opener for Hedley at The Yard on FRIDAY! According to drummer Keeghan Rosso (recently of The Pixo Control) on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group, the band needs 300 signatures to be added to the bill, as per their agreement with event management. As of this writing, Great Chamberlain have 152 votes on the petition, so if you want to help them get on this huge pop/punk show, see the above links for full details!
- A local singer named Greg McLeod is looking to jam with local musicians to "see where things may go." He cites alternative and classic rock among his influences, naming bands like Collective Soul, The Foo Fighters, and 3 Doors Down among favourites of his. I'm not familiar with Greg from past local bands, but if you're interested in jamming with him, message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from last week!
- The long-teased Iskra-headlined concert from Blood Shed Productions on Tuesday, August 2nd has quietly been cancelled, as per the recent deletion of it's Facebook event page. A reason for the cancellation wasn't announced, but the show never had a confirmed venue, despite having a full advertised lineup and hopes to book it at The New American Pub. Disappointing, but if you want to see Iskra, remember that they'll still be headlining at The Oddfellows Hall via Six, Two, Oh. on July 14th, so click here for details on that event!
- The second song from local hard rock quartet Long Shot's forthcoming debut EP is now on their Bandcamp page! Entitled "The Beat", I believe this is one of Long Shot's more recent original songs, and like before, we'll hold full comment until our likely review of this EP. Check out "The Beat" above!
- In their newest Facebook page update from Saturday, local pop punk quartet Stereo North revealed that they're "taking a little break" due to guitarist Matthew Anich being on paternity leave (congratulations to him!) However, the other three guys are staying busy in other projects, including planned solo acoustic work from frontman Andrew Pucci, while Bill Bennett & Brett Norton are apparently jamming with "some other local bands". The band didn't elaborate on these projects, or give any indication about when Stereo North's break may end, but fans will surely anticipate whatever comes next!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review and more shortly! Thanks everyone!
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