LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck), New Tarnished Videos, And Much More!!

I hope our American readers had a great Thanksgiving! For the first time all month, I am breaking our "one post every three days" pattern, but more because of SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and less because of a sudden influx of news and updates. To fill things out, we have some new videos, an archive song from a prominent band, and asssorted updates to take in. Here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Reggie's Place for headlining dates TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this booking was only announced on the venue's Facebook event page yesterday, and while it only lists TONIGHT'S show there, Soundcheck's Facebook page confirms that they are playing "this weekend", presumably meaning the usual double nighter. Intriguingly, Soundcheck and fellow pandemic-defying rockers Fort Creek have flip-flopped Reggie's bookings in consecutive weekends, with Fort Creek playing at Reggie's West TONIGHT & TOMORROW themselves, and the two bands played the other Reggie's location last week. If you prefer the downtown Reggies, TONIGHT & TOMORROW'S Soundcheck gigs are their first there in almost two months, so head there for lots of hard rocking covers!

9:00 PM start times are advertised for these 19+ shows, which have no announced cover charges, though be respectful of Reggie's current social distancing policies, bring your face mask, and use common sense. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, here's more new videos from Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Tarnished's Facebook page! On Wednesday, the guys shared a second "After Hours" video, which notably features drummer Gary Croad, in his first appearance in any of their recent video uploads since the "Metalyn" music video teasers. This is a lighter clip featuring jokey discussion about upcoming plans, what they're thankful for, and other topics, though Alex does hint that they plan to record new singles in studio and teased another appearance on 9&10 News. The fast pan transitions between band members get old quick, but there is amusement to be had, and watch for the fox! Gary narrated a new parody commercial afterwards where he was allegedly volunteering to help the Disabled Under Many Banners program (read the capitals), and it puts music video shoot B-roll to amusing use! Lastly, the guys have taken to Facebook (by way of TikTok) to acoustically cover a couple of songs, so what should you know there?

While both are very short (as is standard for TikTok uploads), you can see Alex and Josh cover the opening of Metallica's "One" and, as embedded below, The Police's "Every Breath You Take" with Gary joining on on a cajon. No sign of Nathan on either one, for the record. Well done renditions while they last, so give these and much more a look above & below! Yes, the video works, ignore the black & white thumbnail.

Also, remember how I discussed local/Toronto indie punk quartet Treble Charger's now obscure cover of Neil Young's "Albuquerque" from a 1994 tribute album a couple of weeks ago? Well, that is not the only time they appeared on a compilation album with a song not otherwise on one of their own CDs! In July 1996, independent label Squirtgun Records released a compilation CD called "More Of Our Stupid Noise", and it just happens to feature a then-new Treble Charger song with the curious name "Bubble & Star (Here's Where The Guitars Come In)". Note that this song does not appear on the album's 1998 re-issue, one of six to not be included there. "Bubble & Star" proper is a live recording with Greig on lead vocals, and it feels a little like an early bridge to the punk sound that would start emerging on the next year's "Maybe It's Me", though it's more of a power pop song with a fun upbeat energy. It's a shame this only exists (publically) in live form, it'd be nice to hear a true studio copy of it.

Unlike the Neil Young tribute CD "Borrowed Tunes", Squirtgun have put the original version of "More Of Our Stupid Noise" on sale on major streaming and download services, but there are CD copies floating around Amazon and eBay too, and regardless, there's a nice array of 1990s alt-rock originals from a lot of talented Canadian bands there, including future one-hit-wonders Len. Give Treble Charger's cut a listen below, and thanks to YouTube user redstar7000 for uploading this back in 2011!

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:

• Isolation Sessions/ex-Half Past bassist Arthur Lacasse is looking for a drummer for a band who plays "all kinds of music" ranging from The Black Keys to Green Day to The Tragically Hip. Whether this relates to The Isolation Sessions or a new band wasn't stated, but note that The Isolation Sessions haven't posted on their Facebook page in a month, and have not confirmed anything regarding Chris' status on drums. We'll let you know if we hear anything, but message Arthur at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Sunday for more details!
• This is extremely belated by now, but I wanted to make an acknowledgement of it on the SMS: The sixth annual Go Skateboarding Day concert at Queen Elizabeth Park did not take place on June 21st due to the ongoing pandemic. I don't believe promoters Tidal Records ever made an announcement to confirm the cancellation, but even outdoors, a late-June 2020 show with 4 live bands probably wasn't advisable in the current climate. Fingers crossed that we'll see a skatepark concert on Go Skate Day in 2021!
  
• Skull After Betrayl/Bear Hunters alum Mike Vincent and an uncredited bassist are looking to join or launch a "productive band" that is "open to lots of genres". Mike noted that their "previous band was a classic rock/hard rock band", but his more recent groups that he's advertised band member searches for haven't gotten too far off the ground. Hopefully something sticks this time out, Mike is a talented musician, and message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Wednesday for more details!
  

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile to absolutely end the month with by Monday! Thanks everyone!