Chase Wigmore Updates, New Videos, And Much More!!

Happy Labour Day, everyone! To end the long weekend, we have an array of news and updates from many familiar faces in local metal, hard rock, and punk, including a couple of videos, so here's what you should know!

On August 31st, prolific local punk/metal solo musician Chase Wigmore updated fans as to the release status of albums from his eponymous and Awokest solo projects on the former's Facebook page on August 31st. There, he appeared to dial back the progress of his two new Awokest albums teased in July due to stubbornness and to make them more cohesive, but he also referenced plans for two new (presumably eponymous) acoustic solo albums, one groove-influenced and one darker and bluesy. As well, he plans to finally complete his 33 part rock opera "A Story About A Kid Named Todd", but given his prolific nature, that's not even all! Chase hinted a a new "black metal flamenco jazz" project named The Bastard Mass, while also teasing a new at-home solo performance video once he resolves wifi connection issues. He seemed uncertain as to how much of this would come out by year's end, but it'll be interesting to hear new stuff from his camps in some form!

Next up, here's some new videos from a pair of local bands, starting with a new clip from young local classic/hard rock quartet The Uncanny Valley's Facebook page! After an over 5 month hiatus from public updates (no doubt helped by the pandemic), the guys quietly shared this video on August 3rd of them playing an original song named "Stuck In Rotation" in what appears to be a private concert on an outdoor porch. The 2 minute clip doesn't capture the full song, but the 1970s Deep Purple-esque sound is welcome to hear, and despite being far from the band, the quality's good! Give it a watch below, and stay tuned for more from The Uncanny Valley when it rolls in!



Also, here's a short new video from local punk trio Redundant's Facebook page on August 7th, but unlike their at-home videos from the spring, this is from an outdoor gathering of some kind. The video quality is severely lacking, but it shows frontman Justin Langlois covering NOFX's "Linoleum" on vocals, while he and drummer Rick White share guitar duties... literally! Justin's strumming and Rick's handling the fretboard. Fun bit of cooperation, and friends definitely know the song, so give this video a watch below!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band or festival name:

• It presumably goes without saying given the pandemic, but the annual Oh!No concert festival did not take place this past Labour Day weekend. If things were normal like in the past three years, promoters The Oh!No Collective had planned to move the event from Robbie's church in Leeburn to multiple Sault Ste. Marie venues (source here), but Oh!No have not posted updates on their Facebook page in almost 6 months. Hopefully the festival returns in some form in 2021, it was missed over the long weekend!
• I have moved local folk/outsider punk project Telephone & Address back to our inactive band links. The Christopher Shoust-led act returned after a 19 month hiatus for Oh!No III one year and one day ago, complete with a rumoured full lineup, but they never promoted the set online, and have not posted on their Facebook page since releasing their "Monster" album in February 2018 (pandemic acknowledged.) Chris is a talented and original musician, and hopefully we hear more from him down the line, but click here for his ongoing work in visual art!
• I have also reluctantly moved local indie/punk veterans Treble Charger to our inactive band links due to a year-long period without a public statement on new band activity. This isn't the first time this has happened, but Treble Charger's online presence has always been slight since their 2012 reunion, and nothing has popped up since this Sault Star article in August 2019 promoting their new album's recording sessions. Of course, the pandemic may have thrown a wrench into their studio and Algoma Conservatory plans, but hopefully Greig and Bill resurface in time when things are ready!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!