Thursday, September 30, 2021

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tym Morrison), A New Video, And Much More!!

Before we get into this post, I just wanted to apologize for missing a pair of concert weekends earlier this month, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck returned to Reggie's West on Korah Road for concerts on Friday, September 10th & Saturday, September 11th, before returning to Reggie's Place on Queen Street East for concerts on Friday, September 17th & Saturday, September 18th. The band only plugged both of these concert weekends via Facebook event pages created on each of those Fridays, so I had very little room to hear about them to cover on the SMS (the one for the September 10th weekend shows went up less than 4 hours prior). Reggie's Place's Facebook page advertised them on just as slim notice, but Reggie's West haven't posted on theirs since July. Also, the Reggie's weekend was complicated by me being out of town for my mother's very-delayed funeral.

It's possible that the Reggie's Place gigs on the 17th were last minute by design so the venue could get one more concert weekend in the books before the vaccine passports rollout last week, but that is speculation on my part, and the downtown Reggie's is still hosting live music (more on them in a bit). I profusely apologize for missing covering both of Soundcheck's concert weekends on the site this month, but the late notice and my mom's funeral didn't help at all. I'd absolutely have covered both had I knew about them before the Fridays, and I will try and do better to stay on top of their next shows, late notice or not! No offense was intended whatsoever!

Now, today's post otherwise looks at a new video, some recent shorter updates, and leading off, a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT with a few day's notice, as local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to the aforementioned Reggie's Place for a matinee concert on SUNDAY! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via it's Facebook event page on Monday, but still enough time for word to hit my desk. This will be his first advertised concert since his last Mike Case Memorial Stage show of the season two weeks ago, but he last rocked the downtown Reggie's in mid-August. Tym's skilled blend of classic and hard rock covers should prove to be a winning combo for fans and regulars alike on SUNDAY, so don't miss out! Expect a 19+ age limit, no cover charge, and an early 3:00 PM start time, as usual for such gigs.

As per provincial health guidelines, you must show a vaccine passport upon entry at Reggie's on SUNDAY, so don't forget yours if you plan on coming out, and of course, mask up, follow the venue's social distancing guidelines, and use common sense to ensure everyone has a safe time. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tym live!

Next up, here's a new music video from St. Ignace, Michigan progressive metal band Heavy Lies The Crown's YouTube channel, as premiered there this past Friday! It's for a new song (presumably from their forthcoming full length album) named "Thing 1", which doesn't appear to be a reference to The Cat In The Hat. The video primarily features the guys playing the song in studio and very casually, but there are interspersed clips of Brandon screaming the chorus into a handicam (even letting his hair down late), guitars by a window, the guys tracking material in a very fancy looking studio, and even spray-painting drums outside. I'll hold comment on the song proper until the album's release, but there are soft and heavy aspects to enjoy, and lyrics are in the description if you want to sing along. Give Heavy Lies The Crown's newest 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 artist name:

  • Defunct Sault Ontario power pop/hard rock trio The Din announced on their Facebook page last week that their deluxe edition re-release of their 2017 debut album "Give In To The Din" will come out on October 23rd! Digital and CD copies will be available, plus a streaming reissue, but they are open to printing it in other formats if there's demand. No word yet on what the nine bonus tracks will entail, but watch for updates on the album over the next three weeks, and might this be our next CD review?
  • This is old news now, but reunited local alternative/punk quintet Handsome Sandwich had briefly announced plans to play a concert at Northern Superior Brewing Co.'s tap room this past Saturday, but they announced on September 15th that it was cancelled due to a double booking error, before we even had the chance to plug it on here. The double booking was via a magic show that night by Ryan McFarling, as per the brewery's Facebook page. Hopefully we see Handsome Sandwich on stage again soon!
  • On August 24th, local musician Zackery Inch-Kritsch posted on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group to look for a drummer for the new band he's working on. Preferably, the drummer would have their own kit, be between 18 & 25 years of age, and be able to practice on Saturdays and Sundays. I'm unsure what they play, but in case this band would fit into the SMS' coverage, and if they haven't found someone yet, message Zackery at this link or above!

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

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Our Recap Of Episode #11 Of Metal Morpheus On The Borderline!!

We're almost caught up on recapping episodes of Metal Morpheus on local internet radio station The Borderline, so let's look at what host Josh Amendola played on air earlier this month! Today, we'll just focus on episode #11 from Sunday, September 12th, and in a possible sign that Josh is running out of metal subgenres that he personally likes, that episode focused on punk rock, and given the typically short song lengths that the genre calls for, this one crams in a lot more songs than normal, so hopefully my time codes are reasonably accurate!  After the intro and Josh's explanation of how punk began and how it connects thematically to metal, he opens with pioneering proto-punk/garage legends The Stooges with their song "T.V. Eye" (0:45), before moving on to The Dead Kennedys with "We've Got A Bigger Problem Now" (7:15). Both bands get lots of welcomed biographical details, but Josh is pretty hard to hear over the latter song's introduction.

We move into faster territory next via British punk icons Discharge's "Protest & Survive" (12:50), via which Josh offers some brief commentary about vaccine passport protests (I'm not getting into that here), before playing the Bad Brains' song "Pay to Cum!" (16:15), which is sub-2 minutes, so don't bogart the fast forward control. After a bit more of a mainstream turn with The Clash's iconic hit "London Calling" (18:50), we get to this episode's local talent way earlier than usual, but rather than go with the plentiful amounts of established local punk bands from the 1990s onward, Josh instead went with The Roll-Ons via a live recording from a show they played at the former New Ontario Hotel (later Studio 10) in 1978. The Roll-Ons are way before my time, but they are a logical pick given the age of most of the bands played in this episode, not to mention that their drummer is Mike "Sev Micron" Severin!

Of course, Mike hosts Sev's Cellar on The Borderline where he interviews local musicians, but he also works in technical support & audio engineering with the station. Josh noted that Sev was joined here by singer Paul Cooper, guitarist George Pavelich (did he mean Ravlich?) and bassist Steve Stinson, while Josh even credits some of the names who helped make this concert and recording happen, I don't believe these songs circulated online freely, but two Roll-Ons songs are played here, including a cover of Vince Taylor & The Playboys' "Brand New Cadillac" (23:05) & the original "1984" (26:40), and while I lean more to skate & hardcore punk, these songs are lively, melodic, and well performed, with perfectly respectable audio quality for a 40+ year old live recording! It'd be interesting to see and hear more from The Roll-Ons at some point. The second half of the episode begins with The Sex Pistols' "Pretty Vacant" (29:30), complete with more backstory info on their career and this song's surprise inspiration.

The episode next moves into early 1980s punk legends Minor Threat's very short self-titled song (33:25), followed by Montreal punk band S.C.U.M.'s song "Double Cross" (36:00), which is not on Spotify. Staying in Canada, we next get a trifecta of domestic punk bands who have all headlined in Sault Ste. Marie in the past decade, including the also-Spotify-devoid Bunchofuckingoofs' "In Dog We Trust" (40:20), The Dayglo Abortions' "Wake Up America" (43:40), and Random Killing's "Terrorist Attack" (46:50). Surprisingly, Josh doesn't mention that their frontman Andrew Kiteley is a Saultite, let alone their Rockstar Bar gigs in the 2010s! Next up is Death (not the Chuck Schuldiner-fronted death metal band, the 1960s proto-punk group), whose song here is "Politicians In My Eyes" (48:15). The home stretch features Crass' "Do They Owe Us A Living" (54:30) & GG Allin's "Louden Boomer" (58:00).

Of course, Josh dropped some back story details on GG Allin, who lived quite a life (that's an understatement), and credit to Josh for describing his high points without sensationalizing the obvious! Between the extra bands, added biography info for most of them, and a nice look into The Roll-Ons, there was more to cover here than recently usual, but Josh gave some good appreciation to classic punk in this episode, so genre fans new and old will want to hear it at this link or above! We'll have another recap post soon as Josh moves to non-genre topics for episodes #12 & #13, but listen to episode #14 live on Sunday at 9:00 PM, and stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow on the site! Thanks everyone!

Monday, September 27, 2021

Blend - "Blend" Cassette Tape Review!!

It's now time for our 147th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, but in this case, it's not a CD at all... rather, a cassette tape, as we're looking at defunct local grunge/alternative trio Blend's self-titled album from way back in 1994! This band is way before my time (I was 4 or 5 when this tape came out), so I apologize for any gaps in knowledge about them or their lineup. I bought this tape a while back at Value Village, and after realizing that Blend had a drummer (Chris Johns of The Rising Tide and Jonesy Land) who is still actively performing locally, I held this one to tie in with a gig of his in the same month, and lo & behold, he drummed with Frank Deresti & The Lake Effect at The Northern Lights Festival Boréal in Sudbury a couple of weeks ago. Blend are represented here by Chris on drums alongside guitarist Dave Moss & ex-Spigots bassist Frank Guidoccio, who you may recognize from Toronto's The Order Of Good Cheer. Dave & Chris split lead vocal duties on this tape.

"Blend" was self-produced with assistance from Joey Spennino, but it was recorded at the long lamented Satellite Sound Studios with Bob McLeod engineering the project. Copies are obviously long out print (this tape was released independently 27 years ago), but I did post it to our YouTube channel if you want to hear all 7 songs in one video. Admittedly, my audio capture setup was having issues (only one stereo track was recording at a time, with one always running 3 seconds fast no matter what I did), so I had more work to do in Audacity to re-combine the tracks and reduce tape hiss. I didn't hear any obvious issues with the final product, but I apologize if something sounds off, and remember, this is an indie cassette tape. Of course, no copyright infringement is intended, all credit goes to the members of Blend for their hard work! With seven tracks running for about 23 minutes in length, let's begin this review with the opening song!

Side A opens with the tape's shortest song, the self-titled "Blend", which has an up tempo punk base with grungier melodic vocals that would likely have pleased fans of both genres at the time! Chris' drumming comes through well in the recording, and the guys seem to have good chemistry, but it almost feels too short, like they left out a verse and shortened the bridge. Solid hybrid sound to kick the tape off, and it isn't too dated to 1994 either! Next is "Relieve", which is a longer and slower number whose guitar riff is giving me serious "Grace, Too" vibes, though I doubt that's intentional. Dave uses his vocals well at a lower, smooth register on this song, almost giving the lyrics a dream-like quality, and it's an oddly relaxing yet dark song with solid bass throughout. I prefer the opener, but this song does show some early diversity from Blend that is good to see!

Third up is "Nobody", which opens right away with a distinctive drum beat and a more reserved, mid-tempo sound that makes good use of harmonized vocals from the guys, which thankfully ramp up in the choruses, as the song kinda meanders at it's initial pace throughout, almost like white noise. The music finally diverts after the second chorus when Dave lays into a short guitar solo, but if it wasn't for the chorus vocals and the drumming, this song wouldn't have much going for it for me. The last song on Side A is also the longest song on offer, namely "Joanna", which is heavier and more melodic musically, but contrasts with repetitive lyrics where Joanna's name is recited way too much, let alone at a scratchier register (I believe this is Frank's first appearance as the solo lead vocalist on this album).

In spite of a bouncy bridge and a brief drum showcase by Chris, this song relies too heavily on saying Joanna's name quietly, but the music itself is lively and gets Blend back on track in that regard! Side B kicks off with "Home", a fun grunge rocker that reminds me of a more cheerful Nirvana, if that makes any sense. Frank appears to be singing lead on this song too, and this is a stronger, livelier use of his voice that calls to mind his later Toronto band work (in spirit, if not in genre). Both sides start strongly and help straddle the punk line in an important year for that genre's rebirth! The penultimate song on "Blend" is "Why You", which sees Dave return to lead vocals on a number that feels very Collective Soul-esque, thusly making use of his deeper register to good effect on the otherwise quiet verses. The choruses, on the other hand, are way too repetitive, just reciting the chorus over and over.

The bridge after the second chorus, however, is fast paced and energetic from all accounts, and I'm sure that could entice a live mosh pit while it lasts! I mean the last part, as the song just ends with a fade-out afterwards, which felt way too sudden, and it couldn't have been to save space on the tape, as Side B only has 3 songs! Well done track while it lasted, but "Why You" felt incomplete. The tape ends with "Bother", and like with "Relieve", I have a major Tragically Hip vibe here, this time reminding me of "Blow At High Dough" instrumentally. Chris' faster drumming and Frank's raspy vocals take us down a different path. More of a mid-tempo rocker, it's solid enough to end the album with, especially with the trippy guitar effects in the fade-out, but for me, Blend were at their best on faster and heavier numbers.

So, what are my final thoughts on Blend's self-titled cassette tape? Overall, it's a fun release that showcases good diversity for a band of their age in an important year for music, but there was growth to be had. I don't know if Blend put out any more albums, but the building blocks were here, and all three guys showed solid skill on this tape, with Dave supplying solid guitar riffs & melodies, Frank's bass work being nice and audible despite the age and format, and Chris' drumming had a lot of distinct patterns and rhythms throughout! Vocally, I think Dave's smoother baritone fit their slower and softer songs better, whereas Frank's higher and raspier tones suited more up-tempo music, but in both cases, they didn't pigeon-hole themselves. By not sticking to one base sound, Blend dabbled in various rock subgenres to good effect, especially on their side-opening grunge/punk tracks!

I get the sense that Blend may have been more of a punk band had they launched when that scene had it's boom period later in the 1990s, but they were on their way here, albeit with issues I'd have addressed. Beyond matching the vocalists to sounds they suited, repetitive choruses were very unfortunate (as in "Why You" & "Joanna"), I'd have liked to have heard more than one brief guitar solo, "Nobody" didn't have much going on musically for my liking, and "Why You" again ended too abruptly. Given the age, there's little point nitpicking the production value, but for an indie tape from 1994, the sound quality is perfectly fine, and it helped that they recorded this at Satellite Sound. I mostly liked what Blend had to offer here for a debut effort, and while Frank and Chris have moved on to bigger and better things since, definitely give "Blend" a listen above and below for an entertaining local throwback!

I hope you guys liked this month's CD review, but what are we looking at on the site next month? At this juncture, I have nothing concrete in mind, but definitely look for hints in our next "Where Are The New Albums?" post scheduled for Saturday! If no major new metal, hard rock, or punk albums are released from local acts that I have access to in October, we'll dip into the archives, though if Treble Charger, Molten Imp, Late & Loud, or The Inner City Surfers happen to put anything out, they'd be held for after their respective 6 month anti-bias buffer periods conclude. I'll keep you guys posted in any event, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site as we slowly close out the month of September! Thanks everyone!

Saturday, September 25, 2021

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Mike Haggith Music

Let's get this month's YouTube Channel Profile up before midnight to make room for some more posts before September ends! This month's installment looks at up to 3 YouTube channels whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk artists & concerts, and as usual, the channels are all randomly selected from our YouTube subscriptions! This month's choice is packed with content of a very prolific local rock musician who will be familiar to many readers from his studio output and concert frequency in the mid-late 2010s, so here's what you should know!

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Mike Haggith Music (http://youtube.com/mikehaggithofficial)

Owner: Local alternative/hard rock musician Mike Haggith, known locally as a solo musician and from his multi-instrumental work in bands like Haggith, The Din, and The Strange Coyotes, as well as various other projects in his current homebase of Thompson, Manitoba and his hometown of Windsor, Ontario

Channel Timeline: Launched on May 14th, 2013; Videos posted from that day until June 2020

Channel Summary: The official YouTube channel for Mike Haggith, I believe this replaced a prior channel of his upon it's creation. As of this writing, it hosts 142 videos, the vast majority being of songs from Mike's solo album catalog, including full album postings from both his Windsor and local eras, either of him solo or with the early acid jam versions of Mike Haggith & The Din. Less than 20 (so far) are of proper videos, mostly of live concert and at-home recordings (both audio and video takes)
 
Why You Should Watch: If you are at all a fan of Mike's vast solo discography (or miss The Din's freewheeling origins), this channel is a must watch source of his 2010s output! While the channel is extensive for fans, it doesn't even scratch the surface of the 40+ solo albums in his discography, but many of his older Windsor-era albums aren't publically available anymore, which may be for the best given Mike's musical development since. Major bands featuring Mike as a drummer or not on lead vocals are not featured here either, but they're easy to find elsewhere on Youtube and the internet. Also, note that Mike has
teased that new content will return to this channel after a year+ break (coinciding with relative quietness for his public music activity), including a CD review series, but that has not began as of this writing.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:
 
Mike Haggith- Live at the Outback, 01 December 2010: Early in his local career, Mike played a handful of gigs at Sault College's then-campus nightclub/venue The Outback during the 2010-2011 school year, and this re-upload from December 2010 features him playing three original songs from his album "Suspended Animation", including "Nightmare On Reed Street", "As Memories Fade Away", and "I Love You Anyways". Like his purely solo gigs in the Soo usually went, this show features Mike on vocals & electric guitar, while using backing tracks in lieu of a full band. While Mike has grown as a musician in the 11 years since, it's interesting to see how his original songs were shaping up in a live setting before he found his real breakthrough in local bands, though be advised of mixed video & audio quality. Two more Outback performances from this era (of his songs "Trinity" & "Hot Summer Sun") were also re-uploaded in 2013.
 

 
Mike Haggith and The Din- The Dog (Live at PaperClip Productions): Over a fifth of Mike's videos feature his band The Din before they dropped "Mike Haggith &" from their name and became a power pop/hard rock trio in the spring of 2015. Not long before then, they were an acid jam collective known for long, trippy songs, and even as late as February 2015, that was still their modus operandi, as seen in this 12 minutes long jam session recording of their original "The Dog" at their studio PaperClip Productions. Here, Mike & The Din are represented by the 2014-2015 lineup of their sister grunge band Haggith in switched roles, with drummer Mike on vocals & guitar, singer Curtis McKenzie on bass, guitarist Daniel Horton on drums, and bassist Jordan Leach as a guest guitarist. While much rougher and free-wheeling than The Din became, the old school, psychedelic nature is very welcomed, especially as there really is a dog present during this performance!
 

 
Mike Haggith- The Nature of the Times (Official Music Video): By far the most viewed video on Mike's channel is his music video for "The Nature of The Times", the lead single for his forthcoming studio album "Bridges", which was his first recorded album in Thompson, but has been delayed for over two years for varying personal, artistic, and technical reasons (yes, it is still coming out). Uploaded in January 2019, this video was filmed by Dag Deschambeault of Natural Aspects Promotions, and features Mike performing outside in and around Thompson & local landmarks during the 2018-19 winter season (even being kicked out of a building at one point, presumably in jest). Nicely shot video for this laid back acoustic rocker, and Dag got some great nature shots in the background to boot, especially when snow is falling! Stay tuned for updates on the "Bridges" release!
 

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series will return around October 26th when we look at two channels due to the first only having limited content, so a single video channel was added to fill things out. Next month, we'll look at the YouTube channels of users 1968vanderploeg (featuring a few videos of defunct local hard rock band Browbeat) and of defunct local blues/hard rock band Electric Church (featuring one live concert video), so look for them next month, and for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

Thursday, September 23, 2021

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Jack Russell's Great White Acoustic Show), A Concert Preview, And More!!

Here's a new news post to check out on this Thursday night, and while we do have a Sault Ontario concert preview here, this post mostly takes us into Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula for a new video, an apology for a missed pair of concerts, and leading off, a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this year! Here's what you should know!

The Jack Russell-led version of Los Angeles glam metal icons Great White will (partially) return to our area on Friday, November 19th when Jack and guitarist Robby Lochner play a special acoustic concert at The Dreammakers Theater at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino! I'm not sure what the impetus is for this being a two-man acoustic gig (it's the only show labelled as such in their 2021 tour dates), but this won't be all that shocking for genre fans when you consider the Eric Martin/P.J. Farley acoustic show here in February 2020. This will be Jack's third Great White-branded show in the E.U.P. on record, following Kewadin dates in the Soo with the original band in 2009 and outdoors in St. Ignace in 2017 after his version with Robby split off. If you're up to hear some more intimate takes of Great White hits like "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" & "Desert Moon", then don't miss this show!

No opening acts are advertised for this all ages, 8:00 PM concert, and tickets run for just $15 general admission, which is a great deal for Hair Scare loyalists! You can buy them at this link, at 1-800-KEWADIN, and at the in-person box office. Of course, please follow all public health guidelines re: the pandemic where applicable to ensure everyone's safety at the casino, especially as a lot can happen (good or bad) in the next two months. It will be interesting to see how this show does, and not because of the unplugged nature, but because we still don't know if the land border will be opened for Canadians to legally enter the U.S. by November 19th (remember, Black Label Society are still scheduled to play there on the 13th). Kewadin historically gets a lot of it's major concert ticket sales from Canada and Sault Ontario residents, but will either show even be able to welcome those fans?

Note that Staind frontman Aaron Lewis' country show at the Sault Kewadin next month is sold out, though I have no idea how many of those ticket buyers are Canadians hoping the border will be opened before October 28th. Of course, we'll keep you posted whenever the border re-opens for us to travel south (the current deadline is October 18th but that is re-assessed monthly), and fingers crossed that there will be a Canadian contingent of vaccinated fans in time for these November dates! See above for full details on Jack Russell's Great White Acoustic Show!

Next up, here's a preview of a Sault Ontario concert taking place THIS SATURDAY NIGHT, as a diverse lineup of local musicians will hit The Klub at The Pall Mall at 1-642 Queen Street East, with new local alt-hardcore duo These Magnificent Tentacles opening! The first concert we've ever covered at any location in The Pall Mall (right by Case's Music), The Klub is an events & community wellness center that is highly active in the LGBTQ2SIA+ community and serves as a safe and inclusive space therein, so they definitely do great work that should be commended, but how will The Klub fare as a concert venue at this scale? The full lineup includes Shit Liver bassist Mike Kyle's solo folk project Sibling as a headline act, alongside Soo's Got Talent finalist Juliana Regan & ex-Id Iota bassist Blair St. John in a joint set, and the homecoming of local folk/pop solo musician Shae Tull.

As for These Magnificent Tentacles, this will be Brent & Steve's first public concert together, and will presumably serve as a first chance to hear their new original material, so come out to see the show kick off with a bang! Promoted by Dryer Fire, this ALL AGES show has a 7:00 PM start time and a recommended $10 admission fee, but "pay what you can" is also an option. Pandemic protocols are in effect, so mask up and use common sense, while vaccine passports & ID must be presented upon entry. This should be a fun show to check out a wide array of sounds, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's T.M.T.'s first full song!


Finally, I profusely apologize for not previewing these dates last week, but Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished rocked The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino this past Friday & Saturday! I originally covered them in June when Kewadin Casino finally returned to booking bands at their on-site lounges, but amidst a lot of personal commitments this month (my mom's long-delayed funeral principal among them), they fell through the cracks. The band didn't plug them in advance on Facebook either, but I already knew about them, so I messed up. I apologize again, hopefully the shows were a hit, and don't miss them at The Rapids Lounge in the Soo in November! That said, if you want to see how they did this past weekend, Tarnished did post a video of them covering AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" onto their Facebook page on Tuesday and it appears to show that they're back to a quartet after a few months as a trio!

Specifically, it looks like Tarnished have added a new full-time bassist (also present in their first new TikTok video in seven months) with frontman Alex Traynor moving back to guitar. I'm sure they credited him this past weekend, but I have not seen any public confirmations of the bass player's identity online. He seems to fit in for this cover, which is well performed and makes solid use of Alex's melodic vocals, but stay tuned when we hear more on their newest lineup! Lastly, Tarnished will hit the road for a short notice gig in Gould City (90 minutes west of the Soo) on Saturday night at The Michihistrigan Bar, so see above for more details, and here's their AC/DC cover!


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

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

A New Private House Party Concert, New Videos, And Musicians Wanted Facebook Group Updates!!

After a personal break from active updates on the SMS (my mom's COVID-delayed funeral took place on Saturday), we're back with a new news post on this Tuesday evening, including some recent updates from a popular local Facebook group, new videos from two genre-defying local bands, and a new publically advertised but privately located house party concert to keep in mind for next month. Here's what you should know!

Saskatchewan post-hardcore trio Alien To The Ignorant will make their local concert debut on Thursday, October 21st when they headline at The Apocalypse Afterparty's revived Mellow D's Underground private venue! Readers may recall seeing Mellow D's Underground turn up as a host venue for Apocalypse Afterparty-linked concerts in early-mid 2017, and again in October 2019, but the Stanghettas are bringing it back after another 2 year hiatus for an all-too-rare extreme metal show at this stage of the pandemic. The (new?) location of Mellow D's isn't publically advertised, but it is on posters circulating on personal Facebook accounts. Alien To The Ignorant have an intense modern hardcore sound that should attract a solid response from fans, to go along with a clear sense of humour, so consider coming out to see them, especially as local death metal band The Bear Hunters will open in their first concert set of any kind in two years!

This will also be The Bear Hunters' first live gig since releasing their new album "The Dead Testament" last year, though they have yet to confirm any CD pressings of it to sell, let alone if they still want to have a formal launch party. The Apocalypse Afterparty are also opening with a fun party metal attack, though if you were in the know, you may have seen them in fully private events earlier in the pandemic. Doors will open at 6:00 PM for this concert, which has no advertised cover charge, but vaccine passports will be mandatory despite the house party locale. Visit the above links for continuing details as they roll in, and while we're on the subject, The Apocalypse Afterparty posted a new video from their teased music video shoot onto their Facebook page last month! Apologies for the public delay, updates from their camp are sporadic. Back in March, you may recall seeing this clip of the band performing in a bathroom, but how about now?

The new 56 second video features what appears to be the end of the video in question being shot, in a room full of pink lighting and a LOT of smoke, leading to Amanda, Paul, and Spacebag Productions' Josh Penno (who was filming the shoot) leaving the building. The room here looked bigger than the bathroom, so is the basic idea of the video (assuming it's just one video) that the band is playing in multiple rooms of a house? Time will tell, but give it a watch below, and hopefully the final product goes live soon!


Next up, new local alt-hardcore duo These Magnificent Tentacles have posted two new videos on their Facebook page in the last two months to tease some recent studio recording work they've done with Dustin Jones at Mission Control Studios! Brent & Steve started these sessions on August 9th, and other than saying that they're recording "some new tracks", they didn't specify whether these would be part of an album of some kind, or just to have some more studio content ready. The first 18 second video is a low-res clip of what appears to be the guys tracking material with Dustin behind the computer (you hear more of the metronome than the actual song), but embedded below is last week's video shared from Tidal Records' Facebook page, where Brent & Steve use all twenty of their magnificent tentacles (ie: their fingers) simultaneously on a keyboard while in studio.

Metronome-heavy again, but you at least hear the rather trippy-sounding instrumental track clearly, and it's great to see that These Magnificent Tentacles are working on new material so they'll hopefully have more than one song on social media! Will we hear these new songs when they make their live concert debut at The Klub in the Pall Mall on Saturday night? Be there to find out, and give these new videos a look above and below!


Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, all via recent postings on the the Musicians Wanted Facebook group from local musicians looking for new bands over the past month! As usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

 

  • Toronto-area rock bassist Chris Ricci is moving to Sault Ste. Marie this month and is looking for musical projects in town to play in/with. He is an experienced musician in Southern Ontario hard rock acts like Cocked & Loaded and Black Sun, plus multiple tribute bands for the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Kiss, and AC/DC, and multiple videos are on YouTube from his recent band work if you want to see what he brings to the table. Sounds like a very promising pick-up for anyone looking for an experienced bassist, but message Chris at this link or via his group post from two weeks ago for more details!
  • Former Suicide Kings frontman Mike Gaetano is looking to either join or start a new local band. His post from last month notes that while he can play guitar and piano, he wants to focus on singing unless absolutely necessary. Ideally, his band would be playing covers and originals equally and he's hoping to play live once every couple of months at first, though he did not specify whether he'd want to play hard rock like in his prior major bands or something else. It'd be great to see Mike fronting a new local band, but message him at this link or through the group for more info!
  • A local musician named Taylor McKay is looking to start an extreme metal band with like-minded artists (who have gear), and he can play bass & rhythm guitar, as well as provide clean vocals. He also has a home studio for songwriting purposes if need be. I'm not familiar with Taylor musically, but message him at this link or via his group post (like Chris, also from two weeks ago) for details!

 

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