On this Saturday evening, we're playing catch-up with lots of shorter updates on the SMS, but leading off, we have news from a prominent local punk band, and to start, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month. With all of that said, here's what you should know!
Solid choice on the comedy/folk side of things, so don't bypass what Colin has in store next month! Presented by Piecing It Together Shows (who promoted Wax Mannequin's 2022 show here as Dryer Fire), there is no stated age limit for this 7:00 PM concert, which has $20 advance tickets available at this link and a $25 door charge. This is $5 higher across the board compared to 2022, but remember how high-end The Loft is as a formal concert venue. It'll be good to see Wax Mannequin back on a local stage, so visit the official Facebook event page for more on their return!
Next up, here's the latest from local punk/thrash band Hails, who did indeed add guitarist Mikhal Muto's brother Carmen on rhythm guitar, officially expanding them to a quartet, as per recent updates to their Facebook page. Carmen had debuted with Ha!ls in May at The Distraction, and he has seemed to fit in well in public videos shared since then! Note that their sister band Vanity First (who Carmen has played with in a similar capacity) still say that they're "a three (sometimes four) piece punk outfit" on their Facebook page, so is there a distinction between the two re: Carmen's involvement, or is that just outdated? We'll keep you posted! While we're on the subject, a brand new video of Brent, the Mutos, and Keeghan is now up on their Facebook page courtesy of their set at Go Skateboarding Day last month, so what should you know there?
The video sees Hails playing their non-EP original "Pink Clouds Of Destiny" in the usual Go Skate Day stage locale atop the big ramp at Queen Elizabeth Park outside of the John Rhodes Centre. The video runs for 2:28 (incredibly long as Ha!ls' Facebook videos go), and while the skies were quite gray, it is good that the festivities went on despite some rainy weather earlier in the day! Mikhal is often hidden behind an amplifier at this vantage point though. Solid and well performed skate punk from this talented foursome, so check everything out for yourselves below!
Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:
- Despite his two nominations (for The Northwest & Handsome Sandwich's newest albums), Id Iota/Pixo Control alum Dustin Goodall lost the Outstanding Engineer award at last month's Northern Ontario Music & Film Awards to Sudbury's Matt Wiewel for his work on London alt-folk band Status/Non-Status' new album "Surely Travel". Congratulations to Matt on his win, and to every nominee, including Caddy Street Avenue alum Patrick Dal Cin's work with his current band Knkm!
- As per the official program for this year's Rotaryfest, we can finally confirm that the third guitarist added to local punk band The Gambit in 2022 is former Bankshot guitarist Christian Pasiak, reuniting with his old bandmates Lucas Schmiedendorf and Clint Wilson in the process! Oddly, The Gambit never confirmed him by name on their Facebook page when he came on board, and they still don't list their lineup in writing there. New official band photos can be seen there though, and according to the Rotaryfest program, they're releasing their teased original material on Bandcamp later this year, so keep an eye out for that!
- In the past two weeks for Shooters Downstairs Lounge's annual Talent Quest karaoke competition, the judges were members of local hard rock bands Half Past on June 23rd and Handsome Sandwich on June 30th. We don't cover straight karaoke-only events here, but it's neat seeing familiar musicians join the judges rotation! Opening round competition continues with night #5 tomorrow and into next month as the judges pick two singers each Sunday to make the top 25, so stay tuned to Shooters' Facebook page for more details!
- In another lineup note from the Rotaryfest program, former(?) Re:Born singer Elly McWatters is listed in the write-up for Mike Haggith's Stage 1 set as being on "guitar/vocals". If accurate, this likely points to her being a full member of his solo band this year and not just a backing singer on a handful of songs like in the past. No word on how she sounds as a guitarist, but Soo's Got Talent finals attendees last fall may recall judges suggesting to her that she play an instrument too if she re-enters in 2024. Regardless, Elly will be an asset however utilized in Mike's band in two weeks!
- In their first Facebook post in over two years, local power rock/classic metal band Re:Born said on June 14th that "I think maybe it's time for one last ride...". Re:Born succeeded Project 421 upon their 2018 debut and played a number of gigs over the next two years, but the pandemic and personal concerns kept them off the stage in the early 2020s, and they disbanded in March 2022 despite announcing a new lineup the previous fall. Even if not a full-time reunion, it would be nice to see Re:Born get some closure after not being able to get the chance previously, so we'll see if this gets any public follow-through!
- As per their Facebook page, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck recruited guest bassists for their late notice bookings at Jay's Piston Broke Pub this weekend due to the absence of Jim Michaud for unannounced reasons. Sidekicks/ex-Griphook bassist Dan Beaupre filled in for their normal concert last night and will do so again TONIGHT, while Toronto-based ex-Saultite Cory Valentine (who has guested with Soundcheck multiple times since 2019) sat in for their one-off jam night return on Thursday. Hopefully all's well with Jim, and that Cory and Dan fit in nicely!
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