Before we begin this post, I wanted to send our deepest condolences out to the family and friends of Joni Radford, who passed away early yesterday at the age of 30, after a six year battle with breast cancer. A known punk fan, SMS readers may recognize Joni from her guest backing vocal appearance with local hardcore punk veterans Destroilet on their cover of The Rebel Spell's "Murderers" (as seen on 2015's "Fed Up!" split CD), while this sad news comes just over a year after a benefit concert in her name at The Canadian Nightclub, where Redundant, A Dire Setback, and Stegadeth took the stage to help raise money for medical expenses. I didn't know Joni well, but her courage, determination, and positivity throughout her illness was wonderful to see, especially in light of family health issues I've experienced in recent years, and I'm sure she fought this horrible disease as long as she could. Our best goes out to all that knew her, and stay tuned to local news media for information on services when appropriate. R.I.P. Joni!Now, today's post is otherwise a catch-up one, with just some assorted recent stories to touch on, starting with a new video from local/Thompson, Manitoba hard rock solo artist Mike Haggith, as shared to his Facebook page yesterday! Shot in "selfie mode", Mike made this video to acknowledge milestones and his already highly eventful month of January 2019, which included his debut music video, his first FM radio appearance, and nearing 500 likes on Facebook, and he encouraged viewers to follow along on social media for what he hopes will be a big year. Nice video that outlines his recent successes, so give it a watch below, and stay tuned at the end for outtakes!
Next up, here's a couple of long overdue hard rock cover videos posted onto local classic rock cover band Obsession's YouTube channel two years ago! We cover this veteran band (featuring singer Valerie Powley, bassist Jim Michaud, and drummer Steve Porco) on the SMS when footage of them tackling heavier songs turned up, and I do apologize for these having to wait so long for coverage on here. Back in January 2017 at The Water Tower Pub, the band made their first concert appearance with ex-That's Chester guitarist Gabe Tessaro, and six videos were posted from that show, including Nick Gilder, Bob Seger, Janis Joplin, and Elle King covers. The other two are heavier, including renditions of Heart's "Barracuda" and, as embedded below, Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz". Audio can be a little muffled, but Obsession sound lively and proficient on these covers, and Valerie's singing is as strong and passionate as ever! Give these and more a look above and below!Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or event name:
- The Fishbowl Festival will indeed return for a fourth year next month, as per their new Facebook page! The Pisces-timed arts & concert festival was a staple event at the now-closed Gore Street Cafe from 2016-2018, and while a host venue hasn't been confirmed for this year, remember that organizer Nicole Dyble and her promotion company Dryer Fire have been highly active since then at the MS Norgoma museum ship. Will we see hard rock or punk concerts back between February 20th & March 20th after being absent last year? Stay tuned for updates, and the festival is now linked with other festivals on the SMS!
- Local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades' 2014 debut EP "The First" was belatedly reviewed by Jon Dunn of the blog Outlaw Review last week, where he positively commented on it's "well placed harmonies with a fast paced driving sound", and he recommended it for people "with eclectic tastes looking for something new but familiar." It's great to see Jack Spades' first album still making fans abroad five years later, so read the whole review at this link!
- After taking a public hiatus from music updates since June 2018, local hard rock solo artist Mike McCleary announced on his Facebook page this month that he is writing and recording again, and apparently already has another EP ready, possibly named "Propaganda Model." He also shared two new songs from his Soundcloud page, namely "The Hand That Feeds" & "Opposite Opus", which both explore heavier metal territory than we've seen from Mike. These sound promising and have a nice fast pace with brutal riffs, but will these be on said EP, and how far along is it? Stay tuned for updates at the above links!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site as the week rolls along! Thanks everyone!
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