Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Foothill Road

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, our monthly feature series that spotlights one or two defunct/inactive local metal, hard rock, or punk acts for current readers, in order to give them new attention for current readers! This time, we had randomly selected two bands to look at due to my projecting that neither had enough content for a solo feature, but for a second straight month, I underestimated the first band, so we've promoted things to a single band profile once again. As such, I have bumped the planned second band (Kraken Mara) to the headline spot next month, but don't worry, they are coming! Now, here's this month's profile!
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Foothill Road

Genre: Hard/Alternative Rock

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie/Hamilton, Ontario (also listed from Copetown, a Hamilton suburb, in their EP booklet)

Members:

Ken Luxton (Spy vs. Spy, J.A.B.), vocals
Mario Carlucci (Sneaky Pete, Glitch), guitar
Mark Oliverio (Tripod the Dog, Boogie Fever), guitar
Ron Pyette, bass
Rick Bain (Sara Inksetter, Cousin It), drums

Audio/Video: Foothill Road released two studio albums, including their 1994 debut CD "Seventy" and a self-titled EP in 1996. The former was locally recorded at Satellite Sound Studios with producer Bob McLeod, while the latter was recorded at Comfort Sound Studios in Toronto with producer Andrew St. George. In 2005, Mario Carlucci compiled a posthumous final album, "Live: End of the Road", featuring live tracks, studio outtakes, and a Rush cover, as a means of bringing closure to their original run, while the EP & "Taste" from the last album can be heard on their posthumous MySpace page. However, with their run taking place over 20 years ago, public videos aren't known to circulate. Here's "Cavern" from their EP!

Info/Analysis: Active from circa 1993-1996, and named after a real west end street in Sault Ste. Marie, surviving public information on Foothill Road is in short supply, but they had a strong profile during their original run, including positive album reviews in Meat Magazine. The band relocated to Hamilton circa 1995, but disbanded shortly after their 1996 EP release. Not long after, Mario Carlucci & Rick Bain would join bassist Nancy Henrech (Rick's future wife) in the Hamilton rock bands Sara Inksetter & Cousin It, the latter alongside Ken Luxton too, and both had measures of success in that market. Of their studio albums, I prefer "Seventy" for it's heavier & rawer nature (plus Ken's rangier singing), but Foothill Road were a talented group who made strong use of 1990s grunge & alt-rock influences, and they showcased great chemistry during their run, with the guitar work always a highlight! Give Foothill Road a listen, and follow members' later local projects too (like Mark and Mario's later hard rock cover band Glitch!)
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Next month in this series, we will spotlight Kraken Mara next as promised (deja vu from Foothill Road's postponement!), but as I am certain there won't be enough material for a solo profile on this prog-metal studio project, we will round things out with one more similarly limited-for-content band that we randomly selected, namely the late 2000s experimental metal trio Dreamscape! Look for both profiles on or around December 10th, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!