For our last post in a quiet month, we have two topics to get to, both relating to prominent local hard rock performers who got some prominent airtime locally on Friday, but in one case, we're dialing back a few months to make up for lost time. Here's what you should know!
As I alluded to in Friday's post, I completely forgot to cover local/Thompson, Manitoba hard rock musician Mike Haggith's post-show from #LockdownLive XIII on the site after it's original airdate on June 29th, so let's finally give it a good look, albeit two months late! Apologies to Mike for the delay, this completely slipped through the cracks. As posted on his Facebook page, this served to recap the final weekly installment of Mike's live-streamed concert series, which was themed around looking back at the prior 12 episodes and playing a song each from all of them, and you can click here to watch that episode in full. Mike starts by addressing the format & events of the previous episode, checking in with live viewers, reminding everyone of the new monthly schedule for the series, and acknowledging his then-recent efforts to get published reviews of "If Ever Comes The Day", specifically asking viewers to like Rock-N-Review on Facebook to encourage them to review it.
If that page has reviewed even a single from the album, Mike hasn't promoted it since, but he did get an 8.5/10 rating on Casey's Album Reviews & Music Discussions, and while this definitely is not Mike's debut record, Casey did strongly recommend it, noting that it "is an album that shares love, thought, memories, moments, and building relationships", and that it "is a gentle reminder to embrace life and be yourself." This is a long review, but well thought out and very complimentary of the included messages, so give it a look at this link! Getting back to the #LockdownLive XIII post-show, Mike called the winner of that Saturday's share contest to determine the fan-chosen cover song that you just heard in #LockdownLive XIV on Friday, and if you missed our post, the winner was Brandi Martel for a second time in three weeks, and once again, she went with a sincere song that Mike already liked unironically, namely Joshua Kadison's ballad "Beautiful In My Eyes".
To hear Mike cover that song in Friday's live-stream, click here. Afterwards, Mike asks Brandi to pick an original song for him to play, and she chose The Din's "In The Moonlight", before he checked in with viewers, teased plans to put Din albums on more digital platforms, and unveiled a brand new original song that was not titled at that point, but #LockdownLive XIV viewers will recognize it as "Carousel", with a title suggested by ex-Din drummer Brandan Glew. The rest of the video sees Mike wrapping up the proceedings, teasing the next #LockdownLive episode, and asking fans for input on future episodes. This was an entertaining and informative half hour, though it definitely felt odd in some respects, given the double finality (ending the weekly schedule and this being the last post-show) and the fact that I saw this one late & out of order. Fans get their money's worth though, so give it a watch below, and stay tuned for #LockdownLive XV next month!
We'll close today with the other local hard rock act who had some big airtime on Friday, as Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Tarnished were featured again on 9&10 News' weekday newsmagazine series The Four in their "Friday Sessions" segment featuring a music performance from a Northern Michigan or E.U.P. artist. Three weeks after viewers saw Alex, Nathan, Josh, and Gary play "Cocaine Riot" on channel 10(.1), they played "Shortcut" from their new album "Down To The Wire", and this does appear to have been filmed in the same session as in their last segment. Still, this live rendition is strongly done, and the multiple camera angles add some zest! Click here or above to see their CBS-aired version of "Shortcut", and remember that I can't embed videos from 9&10 here. When plugging their first appearance on The Four, Tarnished did tease that "other songs" will be playing in the future, implying that there is at least one more song of theirs ahead.
Lastly from their camp, Tarnished have teased on their Facebook page in recent days that they are planning to finally bring back their live-streamed at-home concerts after a 3+ month hiatus, only now with Nathan and Gary involved, and with electric instruments. Yesterday, they revealed that their full-band live-streams will begin "next week and hopefully weeks to come", but have the dreaded audio issues that took over their acoustic duo shows been worked out? Stay tuned for updates, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!
As you may know, local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison played at the Motley Market on Gore Street twice last week: On Friday in a show that had no advance notice publically, and yesterday in a show that had about a day's notice. Making up for his lack of at-home live-streamed concerts last week, Tym had the camera rolling for both of these sets for videos on his YouTube channel, bringing his episode count to 40 as a result, and they are the sole topic of today's post! Helped in this regard: Friday's show (episode #39) clocks in at a whopping 2 hours & 46 minutes, easily a record for this series! We'll address the videos chronologically, but Friday's is embedded at post's end. For the record, Tym acknowledged on his personal Facebook page that this was "kind of a surprise show" and was only "decided that day", hence the abrupt nature. The set proper begins about 4½ minutes in with a cover of The Romantics' "Talking In Your Sleep", albeit with clear audio issues.
Episode #40 of Tym's live-stream series runs for a more typical 2 hours, though it's not clear whether the show proper was only that long, or if an hour wasn't filmed. In any event, the audio quality is noticeably more muffled compared to Friday's live-stream, for one reason or another. After 4½ minutes of setup again, the filmed set begins with a cover of The Travelling Wilburys' "Handle With Care", but Tym leaves the stage area afterwards to re-angle the camera. His next covers include Alice In Chains' "Down In A Hole", Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble's "Pride & Joy", Cat Stevens' "Wild World", The Jimi Hendrix Experience's "Purple Haze", Collective Soul's "Shine", Led Zeppelin's "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You", Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues", and Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise", before sandwiching Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead Or Alive" with two Eagles songs ("Hotel California" and "Desperado").
I was not expecting to rush a new news post on the site today, but with a surprise SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for a matinee gig tomorrow, I had to get this one up as soon as possible. Rounding things out is full coverage of a live-streamed concert that took place earlier this evening, so here's what you should know!
Local hard/classic rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to the Motley Market at 132 Gore Street for a special matinee concert TOMORROW! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via it's official Facebook event page this morning. TOMORROW'S surprise booking will be Tym's third appearance at the new performance/vendor marketplace, following his Thursday evening show there three weeks back and a surprise show there tonight that was not publically advertised in advance, and I only learned about it when I saw the link for it's live-stream! Maybe that's partly to blame for why he didn't do any at-home shows this week? If this is publically attendable and not a private function, I do apologize for not covering it with any notice, but alas, there wasn't any, and the above event page only reflects on TOMORROW'S matinee gig, which will also be live-streamed on his his YouTube channel.
Clearly, things have been ironed out between Tym and the venue after the abrupt cancellation of his weekly Thursday series there, and we'll have full coverage on both live-streams next week! As for TOMORROW'S show (which seems like it has tons of notice now), an early 2:00 PM start time is advertised, and there are no announced age limits or cover charges. None of the advertising references social distancing, but if you are curious to see the show live at the Motley Market, please use common sense. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tym live there earlier this month!
Next up, let's recap the long awaited fourteenth installment of local/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith's #LockdownLive at-home concert series, which just took place tonight on his Facebook page! Readers may recall Mike's 13 weekly shows from April-June during most of the pandemic lockdowns, and despite plans to move to a once a month format afterwards (thanks largely to work resuming for Mike and viewers), we had to wait almost two months due to renovation-linked delays. The episode proper does not have a theme, and it is actually much shorter than later #LockdownLive episodes were getting (this doesn't even run for an hour!), but Mike did explain that "we're just gonna have some fun with it." The set proper begins with Mike's fan-requested cover of The Gourds' version of Snoop Dogg's "Gin & Juice", before Mike promotes his new CD "If Ever Comes The Day", from which he plays his own song "MorningStar".
Afterwards, Mike promotes the return of his contest where the most engaged share of #LockdownLive XIV tonight will get to pick his mandatory cover song next time around, and promoted plans to pump up usage of his YouTube channel with reviews of albums from other artists, specifically mentioning New Jersey indie/ambient solo act Project Atlantis' album "Ghost Stories", which Mike recommended strongly, and he covers "Alice" from that release next. Another cover follows, namely Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" (no, Mike doesn't impersonate him mid-song), before he acknowledges that he has been working on some new original material, and he unveils his new song "Carousel" for the first time publically here (I think). Another "If Ever Comes The Day" cut is next, namely "Communique", which leads into his cover of Prince & The Revolution's "Purple Rain".
Next, Mike addresses the fan-vote winner's selected cover from #LockdownLive XIII's contest, and I have to be honest, the post-show where that was announced has not been covered on the SMS at press time, having completely slipped us by after it's live airing on June 29th. Given how news has slowed down as the summer creeped along, missing that is supremely negligent on my part, but I will belatedly include it in a post on the site next week. Apologies for the delay! In case you missed it too, Brandi Martel won the share contest for a second time in three installments, and nominated Mike to cover Joshua Kadison's "Beautiful In My Eyes", which is a sincere cover of an artist Mike likes unironically, similar to her previous request. The set wraps up with The Din's "Missing" and one more from his newest album ("Back Away Slowly") before outlining plans to get #LockdownLive back on a monthly schedule next month, date to be determined in his private fan group.
A shorter, theme-less episode was probably a good idea to ease back into the #LockdownLive routine after two months away, and luckily, nothing felt off or different (even down to talking about his cats at the end!) This will be a good episode to watch if you like Mike's softer influences, and his vocal and guitar work are as strong as ever, so give episode #14 a watch below, and we will cover episode #13's post-show next week! As best as I can recall, Mike said there wouldn't be one for this installment.
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!
Before we kick off our first proper news post in almost a week, just a heads up that tomorrow will see the return of Mike Haggith's #LockdownLive at-home concert series after a month+ hiatus, so tune in tomorrow at 7:30 PM on his Facebook page, while Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished will return to The Four for another original performance on 9&10 News for their weekly Friday Sessions, which you can watch on channel 10(.1) around 4:50 PM! We will discuss both in depth once they air. Now, let's dive into some recent Sault Ontario stories, including a new live-stream, a concert preview, some shorter new updates, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!
Local southern/hard rock quintet Fort Creek will finally make their local concert debut on Friday, September 4th (one week from tomorrow) when they become the first live band at the newly re-opened Reggie's Place on Queen Street East! You may have followed the teasers and preparation from this union of Halfway Loaded, Redefined, Thin Ice, and Gsis Murphy alumni since their May 2019 launch, and this booking comes 5 months after the cancelled Sandman show that they would have opened. It's great to finally see Fort Creek play a public concert, so keep this show in mind to help kick off the Labour Day weekend, and visit their Facebook page for teasers of their sound! Of course, Reggie's Place re-opens after a year on the shelf on Tuesday courtesy of new owner Randy Lapossie, but does the presence of Fort Creek (a band with planned originals and clear ties to classic and hard rock) indicate that they'll expand further beyond country cover bands?
No word on pandemic-related social distancing measures, but I would bring a face mask, and while I know many will be excited that Reggie's is back, please use common sense. An early 8:00 PM start time is advertised, you must be 19 or older to attend, and there is no cover charge listed, but bring cash just in case. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for updates in the week ahead!
Next up, here's our preview of a rare live hard rock concert at this stage of the pandemic, as local acoustic quartet The Wyld Stallyns will play their first show since the spring TOMORROW NIGHT at The Rockstar Bar! Fittingly taking place on release day of Bill & Ted Face The Music (where do you think they got the band's name?), tomorrow's show marks the second of any kind since The Algonquin Pub's upstairs venue resumed hosting live concerts after a 5 month break, and it will be the Speers', Jesse, and Jonas' first show there of the year, after pulling out of a planned February date due to a band member illness. It's great to see The Stallyns back on a real stage, and hopefully their unplugged covers strike the right notes tomorrow! A one-nighter due to or resulting in Bone Yard's show there on Saturday, tomorrow's concert has a 19+ age limit, no cover charge, and a likely 9:00 PM start time. Seating will be limited due to social distancing.
As is routine for the few concerts we've heard about lately, bring a face mask, and use common sense. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here are The Wyld Stallyns live!
Also today, let's discuss local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's most recent live-streamed concert (episode #38) from last Thursday, courtesy of his YouTube channel! Note that Tym did not host an at-home concert this week at all, and I have not seen a public announcement as to why. Whether this is a harbinger of a return to the public concert stage on a regular basis or not, I don't know, but we'll let you know what he has up his sleeve next. After an unusually long 13 minute wait, Tym kicked off his set with a cover of Bo Diddley's "Before You Accuse Me", before performing an 8 minute long original instrumental, and then two original songs with vocals (the ballad "To Say That You Care" and his new country-influenced track "My Love"). Tym returned to covers afterward by tackling The Tragically Hip's "New Orleans Is Sinking" and Billy Joel's "Piano Man", but that was surprisingly it for the live-stream, with Tym explaining that "the internet is screwing up a lot."
Of course, the video lag reared it's ugly head for viewers, so we have evidence of the issues. The abbreviated 40-ish minute set was shaping up well musically, with lots of solid original material and three covers that aren't frequent in this series, and Tym was at his usual musical form! I hope this wasn't the end of the live-stream series, but give episode #38 a watch below, and stay tuned for more from Tym's camp!
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:
Local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades will apparently be featured in Toronto indie label Cursed Blessings Records' upcoming digital compilation "Reinventing The Safety Pin", which will feature previously unreleased songs from an assortment of Canadian punk bands dating back to 1997, most prominently including past local headliners Random Killing and Doors & Fours. If truly unreleased, is Jack Spades' contribution a brand new song or something left over from the "Fed Up!" or "The First" sessions? Stay tuned for the compilation's release in October!
Ex-Redundant bassist James White is looking to jam and potentially play
gigs in a new local band project, and he says he is "into all genres."
James is definitely more than capable as a bassist, so message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Monday
for more details! Just for reference, his most recent live band Stoned
To Deaf would have been in our inactive band links since May had they
had an online band page.
Rotaryfest's website has quietly announced that their "virtual Rotaryfest" will take place on Saturday, September 26th. Social media and local news releases have already indicated that the event will at least partially feature a virtual concert, perhaps with bands who should have played at Clergue Park last month, but full details and a lineup are not yet public. Hopefully we get some clarity soon!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!
Here is our last monthly feature post of the summer months, namely our latest YouTube Channel Profiles! This series looks at 1-3 YouTube channels featuring content at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, or punk bands or concerts, in order to spotlight them for modern day readers and hopefully encourage views and subscriptions. This month's randomly selected channel only had two distinct kinds of videos (4 total that are relevant to the SMS), so I randomly picked a channel with only one surviving video to round things out with, and as such, each channel deals with a local solo musician from each side of the Twin Saults! Here's what you should know! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Channel Timeline:Launched on July 14th, 2010; Videos uploaded in October of that year
Channel Summary:Joe's channel features five videos, including two of him in solo bass performances and two videos a major Kewadin Casino concert. His last upload is of a pipe flooding at his then-school, which is his most viewed video, but has no music content. Why You Should Watch:Give this channel a watch to see some of Joe's guitar skill from a decade ago, plus live footage of 10 Years' local set! The last video will primarily concern fans of fail videos or students who remembered the pipe incident. Note that this channel has not visibly been used since 2011, in case that changes your mind on subscribing.
Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:
Analog riff: Joe's main usage of his channel came late in his progressive metal band Analog Deficiency's 2009-2010 life span, and accordingly, one of his two performance videos is of a riff for a planned original song, as filmed to test his new iPod. It sounds promising, and Joe was a solid bassist, though both Analog Deficency and their successors Hoist The Sails struggled to break out of the Sault Michigan market, which hasn't been easy for extreme metal acts in the past decade. Joe's other performance clip is of him covering Lamb of God's "Laid To Rest" (and pretty well, I might add!)
Waste land - 10 years: This channel's two concert videos are from the Sevendust-headlined show at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino on October 18th, 2010, but Joe did not film them or openers Since October & Anew Revolution. Rather, he filmed co-headlining Knoxville, Tennessee hard rock band 10 Years playing a minute of "Shoot It Out", and in his most popular music upload, their biggest hit "Wasteland". The quality and angle aren't bad for these ironically 10 year old videos, and the vertical resolution isn't too bad given where he was in the crowd! See more videos of 10 Years from their 2018 show here with Seether at this link.
Channel Timeline:Launched on May 20th, 2012; Only surviving video uploaded in April 2020
Channel Summary:Alex created this channel to feature his solo guitar covers, which initially were in a hard rock/classic metal realm before increasingly getting softer, albeit better produced with backing tracks, and even featuring vocals on occasion. Unfortunately, Alex has deleted or privatized all of his old videos, which is a shame, as he is a very talented musician! His only video left is his new cover of "Driving Rain" by Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators (with the original song as backing), and it's well handled and heavier than we were seeing from him in the videos previous to this one! I'd have used the alternate camera angle well before the 3:37 mark though. Hopefully new (or old) covers of Alex's surface down the line!
