LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Wyld Stallyns) & Three Inactive Band Notes!!

Late post on this Friday night, as a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT has hit the desk, and it's at a venue that hard rock fans may not expect! To round things out, I have notes on three different local bands who I had to move to our inactive links this week, so here's what you should know!

Local funk/hard rock band The Wyld Stallyns will take the stage for one night only TOMORROW at... the Gateway Casino?! Apologies for the short notice, The Stallyns's Facebook page only acknowledged this event earlier today, but the casino's Facebook page first mentioned it on Wednesday. Readers who follow the complete weekend bar/cover band circuit will know that bands are not a foreign concept at the former OLG Casino at 30 Bay Street, but Gateway launched a Saturday night concert series there in July that hasn't tended to focus on heavier-leaning acts (the closest would be Bone Yard side project The Bearded Lounge, more on them soon). Good to see some new paths cross here, and hopefully The Wyld Stallyns make a strong impression on fans and gamblers alike TOMORROW NIGHT! Also, in The Stallyns' Facebook promotion for this event, they shared a picture including guest saxophonist Josh Norling.

One assumes that's a giveaway that he'll be present TOMORROW, and from what I've seen lately, he's been with The Stallyns more often than not. Whether he's finally joined them permanently, I can't say, as the band has never listed their current lineup in text on their Facebook page. TOMORROW'S concert has an 8:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and obviously, a 19+ age limit. Unlike at Kewadin, I don't believe the bands play in a separate lounge. See above for more on The Stallyns' diverse hard and classic rock cover attack TOMORROW at Gateway, and here they are live!

Next up, we have a trifecta of bands to move to our inactive band links due to a year's public inactivity, and alas, the first of them is local death metal band The Bear Hunters. While the guys have not publically confirmed anything, they have not showed any public signs of life since their set opening for Alien To The Ignorant at Mellow D's Underground one year ago today, and their only Facebook posting since 2020 was to plug Mitch & Johnny's current work in Handsome Sandwich. Beyond that, the guys have played live just three times since the end of 2017, pandemic acknowledged. Launched in 2010, The Bear Hunters became one of the biggest local extreme metal bands of the decade, which saw them release two studio albums, win the Battle For The Blood and make strong runs in multiple other battles of the bands, and open for acts like 3 Inches of Blood, Fuck The Facts, and Novembers Doom.

I sincerely hope The Bear Hunters are just hibernating and will resurface when the right time arises, as the Soo could use their ferocious brand of death metal again, but they sure left their mark in their heyday, and as someone who went to Bawating with three Bear Hunters alums, their evolution from D.O.T.H. to here was really cool to see. Best of luck to Nik, Mitch, Josh, Justin, Johnny, and Mike in whatever's next, R.I.P. Andres, and follow Handsome Sandwich, Exploring Detritus, and Chronic Demonic to see what members are up to musically nowadays!

Also, I have moved local punk trio Redundant to our inactive band links. The band last issued a public update relating to band activity one year ago on Wednesday when they opened for Buckcherry at Soo Blaster, which is their only live concert set of any kind in the past three years, and while they have posted on their Facebook page thrice since, those have just been to pay tribute to deceased musicians. Originally launched as Motion Carried in 2011, Redundant were the spiritual successors to frontman Justin Langlois' 2000s punk band The Scary Uncles, and also heavily featured Fitswitch alumni in their lineups. Across their decade-long run, Redundant released their self-titled EP in 2018, and were commonly seen on local stages throughout the 2010s, opening for bands like The Cancer Bats, Kittie, and The Rebel Spell, as well as select out of town dates (notably at the Vans Warped Tour in Toronto).

Of course, pandemic-related issues are acknowledged as to Redudnant's status in the early 2020s so far, so hopefully they're not 100% finished, as their lively modern punk sound and diverse covers were always a crowd pleaser, no matter who was on bass! Best of luck to Justin, Andrew, Rick, Jamie, James, and Yannick in the future no matter what!

Finally, we're pulling a double for the other local opener at the Buckcherry show last year, as I've also moved local/Ottawa hard rock quartet Bad Chug to our inactive band links. Like Redundant, they have not issued any public updates since the concert last year, not even posting on their Facebook page since the pre-release promotion for it. Originally active in Ottawa in 2016, Bad Chug got off some decent momentum there with live dates and original material, but they fell dormant until resurfacing in February 2020 once band members relocated here, albeit just before the pandemic threw monkey wrenches into everyone's plans. Despite their large market experience, Bad Chug activity in the Soo was limited to teasers, the addition of local folk musician Jacob Quarrell to their lineup, and the oft-delayed Buckcherry concert, though at least they held on to the support slot despite all of the challenges.

Debuting in a new city in its biggest hard rock concert of 2021 (pandemic acknowledged) should have been a great relaunching point for Bad Chug, and I did hear good things from both their set and videos from the night, but alas, there's been no tangible public updates in the year since. Hopefully we hear more from Aaron, Jacob, Kyle, and Matt in the near future! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!