Our Lady Peace/Collective Soul Concert Fallout & Videos!!

We've put things off long enough (partly to let videos accumulate), so let's cover what went down at Sunday night's Our Lady Peace-headlined concert at GFL Memorial Gardens in today's post! The legitimately sold out concert was covered by newer SooToday reporter Greg McGrath-Goudie for this article that features ten photos from the Toronto alternative/hard rock band's closing set, but the focus isn't on the concert at large so much as one song. When O.L.P. broke into their classic ballad "Life", frontman Raine Maida prefaced it by noting that music programs are "automatically" the first to get cut at schools when they decide to cut costs, so they invited members of Superior Heights Collegiate & Vocational School's student rock band Steel Rock to sing the song with them. That huge opportunity was thanks to the work of Superior Heights teacher Eric Williams reaching out to the band about working with the school.

Kudos to Our Lady Peace for teaming up with Superior Heights and giving the kids one huge opportunity, one that they've been practicing for all winter, and it sounds like it went over well! You can see the performance below in one of (surprisingly) just two YouTube channels who have visibly posted content from the concert so far. YouTube user MasonTheGoat was on hand to film Our Lady Peace's set (nothing of the openers), and along with "Life" embedded below, he also filmed them playing "Clumsy", "Innocent", "In Repair", and "Whatever". Alas, all five videos were shot vertically, but while Mason wasn't especially close to the stage, he has a good clear view of the band in action. Honestly, Steel Rock are hard to hear as the song goes, but it's a solid performance of one of O.L.P.'s bigger hits, and the audio quality across all five videos is pretty good, so give Mason's footage a watch for yourselves above and below!

The only other YouTube video from the show that I've seen comes from YouTube user Mike Malott, who filmed Our Lady Peace playing "Whatever", which some readers will recognize as the 2002-2007 theme song of WWE wrestler Chris Benoit. The band hadn't played it live since 2003, let alone following the Benoit murder-suicide in 2007, but they reintroduced it in this current Canadian tour, with Raine telling fans at their show in Calgary that they wanted to "reclaim it" (source here). Mixed responses are online to the band bringing "Whatever" back, for obvious reasons, but it's a good performance shot from a much closer (and horizontal!) angle, and it is one of O.L.P.'s heavier cuts, so check it out below!

Finally for this post, has anything surfaced in terms of videos from the openers? Not a lot. I haven't seen any public videos of local openers The Northwest yet at all, and as for Georgia alternative rock veterans Collective Soul, the only public clip that I've seen actually comes from Sault Michigan rock radio station Rock 101's Facebook page. The 76 seconds-long clip sees Collective Soul playing one of their biggest hits "Shine", which is frequently heard in 101.3 FM's rotation. While shot vertically, the station staffer filming had a very straight on view of the stage from where they were, and it puts a good emphasis on the fans on the floor enjoying the show. Strong rendition, if slightly slowed down, so give Collective Soul's clip a watch below!

That's all for today, but we'll have more from the Our Lady Peace show when/if it surfaces, and more news on the site next week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Exit 808, Generations, And Curtis McKenzie) & More Weekend Concert Previews!!

As promised, let's wrap up another batch of weekend concert previews today, but it's supplemented with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE), and a brief teaser clip from one of the bands in question, so here's what you should know on this Friday evening!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to Gateway Casino for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced this past Saturday on their Facebook group when revealing their March dates, and while we covered the other shows at the time, we held TOMORROW'S for this weekend's previews due to the already late notice. This will be Generations' first concert since rocking Jay's Piston Broke Pub three weeks ago, and their first at Sault Ontario's casino since January. If you want a night of fan-friendly and diverse classic/hard rock covers from this experienced quartet you know where to go TOMORROW! Remember, Gateway Casino doesn't host live music on Fridays, and Generations aren't playing elsewhere tonight. Expect a 9:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge TOMORROW, so see above for more details, and here they are live!

Next up, here's some shows with advance notice, including Sault Michigan hard rock sextet Exit 808's return to The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley on Saturday, March 15th! Four months removed from their debut at Bay Mills' on-site lounge/concert venue, this show was quietly announced on their Facebook page on March 2nd when they posted a teaser video that we'll outline in a second, and this show will be their first anywhere since their I-500 pub crawl gig at The Merch early last month. Good to see Exit 808 back after a quiet month+ stretch, and hopefully things go well in Brimley next weekend! No word on if there will be a St. Patrick's Day theme at the Back Bay and/or on the band's end, but note that Bay Mills' events calendar only lists the actual holiday (Monday the 17th) as having a tie-in event. This 21+ concert has a 9:00 PM start time and no advertised cover charge. Visit the above links for more details!

As for Exit 808's teaser video, the 11 seconds-long clip features guitarist Alex Zimmerman and (seemingly now full-time member?) Blaze Beairl playing a new cover for their setlist, with Blaze playing guitar himself in the clip. Someone's holds a bass neck in frame but we don't see who is doing so. A commenter seemed to accurately guess that they were playing an Ozzy Osbourne song (possibly "I Don't Wanna Stop"), and while it's way too short to accurately judge the cover, maybe you'll see them play the full thing next week, so give it a watch for yourselves below!

Also, we'll head north to Sault Ontario, where local hard rock/grunge singer/guitarist Curtis McKenzie will return to The Dive Gastro Pub for another "Think It Over Thursday" acoustic concert on March 20th! This will be Curt's first stop at The Dive for a traditional concert since the start of February, and it was first announced via the venue's March concert cale-+-ndar on their Facebook page. It's always good to see the former Haggith/Eclipse frontman back on stage, and hopefully his hard rocking unplugged covers get another strong response from attendees and fans alike in a couple of weeks! All of the action in The Dive's "naughty corner" goes down on Thursday the 20th at 9:30 PM with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more show announcements and updates from Curtis when they roll in!

Finally, we'll wrap up this weekend's concert preview by heading to (well, under) The Distraction on East Street, where Winnipeg folk punk band Greg Rekus & The Inside Job will make their second local concert appearance TOMORROW NIGHT! Unlike their local debut in May of last year, tomorrow's show will take place in The Stellar Door, the basement venue space under the barbershop proper, as has been the case for all scheduled rock concerts at The Distraction since the summer. Greg and crew made a strong presence on local fans last year with their folk punk originals and high energy live sound, and hopefully they get more of the same tomorrow!  This year, they won't be the closing band though, with new and online page-less local space rock duo The Spaceship Opening getting the honours tomorrow, and hopefully we learn more about them in due course!

Two solo acts will kick off the night, including local folk punk solo project Agnosticism (led by this show's promoter Mikhal Muto) in their first public set of 2025, and local folk musician Tucker Lidstone, who has played at a couple of folk/acoustic-leaning events at/under The Distraction in the past year. This all ages concert has a $15 or "pay what you can" admission fee, and doors open at 7:00 PM. If you like a nice variety of alternative rock, you'll like what The Stellar Door is hosting tomorrow, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Greg Rekus & The Inside Job live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for some long overdue fallout from recent major concerts next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Dodge This & Double Down) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

Another Thursday is upon us, so let's dive into another batch of weekend concert previews! Due to the amount, we'll hold our previews of Saturday's previously announced Greg Rekus & The Inside Job and Generations concerts for tomorrow's post. Now, here's what you should know to start the weekend, including via some SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced on their Facebook page on Tuesday. One week removed from their most recent gig at The Water Tower Pub, TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows will be their first at Jay's since playing there in late January. Despite the late notice, hopefully the guys deliver some strong hard rocking classics for west end fans over the next two nights, so don't miss out on Double Down then! Note that Double Down do not host the Thursday jam nights at Jay's on weeks where they're playing, so if you come to the former Roosevelt Hotel tonight, the hosts will be Tex Riviera & The Ride, as per their Facebook page. Drummer Ric Datson will be tripling up at Jay's anyway, as the Sunday matinee band this week is his side band Out & Out Country.

TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S concerts are at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no announced cover charges. Hopefully everything goes smoothly for Double Down and their fans at Jay's TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, so visit the above links for more details, and here they are live!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover duo Dodge This will return to The Dive Gastro Pub for one night only on SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the venue's March concert calendar yesterday, and the band has not updated their Facebook page in almost a month. At least in regards to The Dive, this will be Dodge This' only stop there this month, and comes just two weeks after they last rocked the Queen Street East restaurant's "naughty corner". Jay and Jamie (and Jeff?) should have a solid night of hard rock favourites (and even some country cuts) for fans on SATURDAY, so keep the unplugged action in mind then! For the record, no word on who The Which Blair Project or Swamp Gas (no relation to Sault Michigan's Swampghas) are, but you can see them blocked on The Dive's calendar. SATURDAY'S concert is at 9:30 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge.

We'll have more from The Dive (particularly who's playing there on the 20th) in an upcoming post, but don't miss out on Dodge This' latest show there on SATURDAY, and for a preview, here they are live!

Now to shows that did have advance notice before this week, and we'll start with a brief detour across the border, as Sault Michigan classic metal/hard rock band Tarnished will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Late-ish replacements for the withdrawn American Band this weekend, these will be Tarnished's first shows at the St. Ignace branch since July of last year, and their first shows period in two months, with their scheduled Rapids Lounge gigs in the Soo last month being postponed due to the 2+ week ransomware attack-prompted closure of Kewadin Casinos. No word yet on when we'll see the guys back in the Soo, but fans of Alex & Josh's old school covers and hard hitting originals won't want to miss out this weekend in Mackinac County!  As has been the case at non-battle gigs since last summer, Chris Leask and Ron Suchey will sit on bass & drums, so things will be familiar from recent events.

As usual for Kewadin lounge gigs, tomorrow and Saturday's shows are at 9:00 PM with no cover charges and 21+ age limits. If you want some energetic and familiar rock classics in the E.U.P. this weekend, you know where to go, so visit their Facebook event page for more details, stay tuned for more dates from them, and here's Tarnished live!

We'll wrap up this weekend's hard rock/punk previews (Generations and Greg Rekus aside) by heading back to Sault Ontario, where prolific local acoustic classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return for another matinee gig at Misty's Fifties on SATURDAY! This is the first in a run of bi-monthly spring concerts that Tym is playing on Saturdays at the Second Line West bar & restaurant through the end of May, and while not on a rigid schedule (each is 2-3 weeks apart), it gives fans of the former Caveman Morrison frontman lots of opportunities to check out his diverse and deep setlist and vocal/guitar talents as temperatures (hopefully) begin warming up! Saturday's concert has a 4:00 PM start time, a presumed 19+ age limit, and no cover charge, and if you can't make it for that day's music, Tym will be back there in two weeks. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live!

That's all for now, but we'll conclude this weekend's concert previews (and more) tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Metal Band & New Videos From Both Sides Of The Border!!

Let's clear out some more of our news backlog on this Wednesday night, and today's video-heavy post will go some ways towards that on both sides of the border! Just to clarify given national news, we're not going to stop covering Sault Michigan/the E.U.P. due to tariffs/a trade war. None of that is the fault of local musicians, and I want the Twin Saults to have stronger connections, not weaker ones. Now, here's what you should know!

We have a new local death metal/grindcore project to add to our Sault Ontario band links, namely Three Grind Mice! Obviously a play on the nursery rhyme "Three Blind Mice", this is a new project from prolific local indie label Blood Shed Productions, one of their few brand new acts post-pandemic. I'm unsure if the band literally has three members or if it's a solo project, and while performer credits aren't given on their social media accounts, Blood Shed head Tyler Gibson (best known from Crucify The Whore and Rotopsy) has been sharing their content online, and he has multi-instrumental talent. The project is represented on social media by photos and brief animations of plush mice playing instruments, and so far, none of their music samples have vocals. Will the "mice" sing in death growls, and would they do the pitch-shifted chipmunk thing? An untitled & 92 seconds-long instrumental can be heard on their Bandcamp page.

That recording includes a brief cover of Gut's "Gia Paloma" plus an original song in progress, but embedded below is a drum sample clip from their new YouTube channel featuring one of the "mice" drumming on camera, and the emphasis suggests that they do have live drumming rather than programmed percussion (the video description credits the drummer as "Johnny Town-Mouse", a'la the Beatrix Potter character). It's too soon to accurately gauge 3GM, but there's promise there for fans of grindcore music! Vocals will definitely play a role into perception, let alone how far they take the mice conceit, but check them out for yourselves below!

Next up, the second advance single from reunited local emo band Fuller's upcoming sophomore album "II" was posted onto their YouTube channel on Friday! This time, the chosen song is "Kerosene", which they revealed on their Facebook page was "one of the last songs (that) we wrote as a band". For context, they disbanded originally in 2005, and by then, the band noted that "we were getting away from the midwestern emo stuff, and leaning more into post-hardcore and psych-rock". I'll hold comment on the song for now pending our eventual review of the album upon its release in "early 2025", but if the description piques your interest (or you loved/miss Fuller), check out "Kerosene" below, and look for the album soon!

Let's head south to Sault Michigan to wrap up this post, and we'll start with local hard rock cover quartet Dirty Musky, who rocked The Islander Bar in Hessel for the Les Cheneaux Islands Snowsfest's pub crawl on February 7th, and drummer Jamie Costner shared five videos from said gig to her personal Facebook page two days later, with the band subsequently sharing them on their own Facebook page. The videos (uploaded in a batch post and not individually) include Dirty Musky covering Tool's "Sober", A Perfect Circle's "Judith", guitarist Fran Blackwood playing a guitar solo, and Breaking Benjamin's "So Cold", which was filmed in two partial chunks (the longer first part is below, the second is linked here). All are short and vertical clips, but the band sounds good tackling some songs that you don't hear often in the E.U.P.. and Dave's voice holds up well for the most part, so give these videos a watch above & below, and look for more from them soon!

Finally for today, here's a new song from local metal solo project X's & Y's' YouTube channel! Entitled "Face The Moon, Forgive The Stars", this 7+ minute original track was actually uploaded twice on Valentine's Day, both in a version with vocals and a version without! The one with vocals (their first such song) is embedded below, but click here to check out the instrumental copy. This is a full-on doom metal song that drone-inclined fans are going to take to, and while it's not lyrically verbose, Jason gets the point across with processed and well layered aggressive vocals. It may take adjusting the video's speed to really make things out, but it's an impressive diversion, if an acquired taste, so check out X's & Y's' new song below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Peril, Scarkazm, Generations, And Silent 9!!)

Today's SMS post is 100% devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the coming weeks and months on both sides of the border, so here's what you should know on this Tuesday morning!

Sault Ontario classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations have announced their March concert schedule via their Facebook group on Saturday, and while we'll touch on their upcoming gig on Saturday in this weekend's concert previews due to the late notice, there are two weekends ahead with enough advance word! First, the guys will make their way back to Jay's Piston Broke Pub over the St. Patrick's Day weekend on Friday, March 14th & Saturday, March 15th (no word yet on potential holiday frills/green beer), with a Valerie-less return as jam night hosts heavily implied for Thursday the 13th. Remember, we don't cover jam/open mic nights as "concerts" on the SMS due to their unpredictability. After seemingly taking the next weekend off, Generations will cap off the month with concerts at Reggie's Place on March 28th and 29th, in their first stops at this Queen Street East mainstay of the year.

All four gigs (and jam night on the 13th) are 9:30 PM affairs with 19+ age limits and no announced cover charges. Should be a good time for fans of classic and hard rock covers, so don't miss Valerie, the Tonys, and Pierre at Jay's and Reggie's in March, stay tuned for more from Generations, and we'll cover/preview their Saturday nighter later this week! 

Next up, let's head south for some newly confirmed concerts at The Northern Pines Lounge at St. Ignace's Kewadin Casino branch, starting with Traverse City classic metal trio Peril, who will return to the E.U.P. for the first time this year on Friday, March 14th & Saturday, March 15th! Like with Generations above, next weekend's shows fall on St. Patrick's Day weekend, but I don't know what kinds of seasonal frills (if any) will be on hand. Inquire within if you're curious! Local fans will not have seen this talented and prolific veteran outfit on home soil since October, interim Scarkazm dates notwithstanding, so hopefully there's a solid turnout next weekend for Peril's old school rock covers, green beer or not! Expect 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover charge as normal for Peril's Kewadin trips. Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here for more details, and stay tuned for more local show announcements from Peril and Scarkazm!

Let's stay where we are next, but a week later, as Manistique hard rock duo Fyrbird will play their first advertised concerts within an hour of the Soo for 2025 when they rock The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on Friday, March 21st & Saturday, March 22nd! Unlike in recent years, a 2025 concert calendar has yet to be posted to the band's Facebook group, so we await confirmation of dates beyond this month in our coverage area, but Yooper fans last saw Jamie and Rikk at the St. Ignace Kewadin in late November. Our source for the new bookings is Kewadin's aforementioned entertainment page, which is updated through the end of the month. It is good to see Fyrbird continuing to travel east for gigs in our neck of the woods, and hopefully their hard hitting, workmanlike two man attack finds another strong audience in a few weeks! No word on when we'll see Fyrbird next, but they played seven Kewadin weekends last year.

As usual for Fyrbird's Kewadin Casino concerts in either the Soo or St. Ignace, all of the action on March 21st & 22nd take place at with 9:00 PM start times with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details on Fyrbird's St. Ignace shows later this month, and we'll let you know when they have more local dates to announce!

We'll close in Sault Ontario for a few more new dates, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 have announced six upcoming dates in this concert calendar image from their Facebook page on Sunday! We already knew about the four listed Esquire Club shows (including their next gigs over the March 21st weekend) thanks to that venue's own early 2025 calendar,  but the other two are new to us, one being their debut(?) appearance at Northern Superior Brewing Co.'s on-site Tap Room on Saturday, April 12th! Their only announced gig of that month so far, this is a relatively rare concert at The Tap Room, which we last covered concerts at before the pandemic. If there's a reason or theme for the event beyond Silent 9 playing a gig, I don't know it at press time, though note that Easter weekend is a week later this year. The other new date will see Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve rock The Water Tower Pub for the first time this year on Friday, May 23rd!

Also not a holiday long weekend for Sault Ontarians (Victoria Day is the preceding week this year), this one-nighter will be Silent 9's first at the Great Northern Road nightclub since November of last year. Six month wait for them to return to The Water Tower, but hopefully they deliver a fun time for attendees with their upbeat cover mix then! Both concerts have 8:00 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no announced cover charges. Whether you want to see them on Pim Street next month or more centrally in May, you have some non-west end options for Silent 9 live ahead, so visit the above links for more info, and stay tuned for more on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

Where Are The New Albums? (March 2025 Update)

It's now time for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post, and after last month's installment didn't have much new to add, we have two new additions this month, as well as one existing entry with updated info (anything new or updated has the title in italics). So, in this ongoing monthly look at upcoming albums known to have begun recording sessions, where are the new albums? Read on to hopefully find out!

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Bullet Train's upcoming EPs

Rumoured Songs: "Atmosphere", "Illusions", "Profit", "Wayside"

Background: The current hard rock band from former Sense of Truth/Skeyes of Seven frontman Cory Murchsion and ex-Fort Creek bandmates Robin "Bones" Lee and Anthony Fabiano, Bullet Train have existed solely as a studio band so far, releasing four original songs recorded at their own home studio to their YouTube channel in 2024, all very much influenced by their take on current events. After a quiet summer due to "life's trials", Bullet Train resurfaced on their Facebook page on September 1st to reveal that they were working on two demo EPs, with the first one entering post-production as of the 9th, though it's not clear if their 2024 singles will be on them.

Current Release Status: No idea yet, especially as this band has no prior track record for releasing albums, though all three band members have experience writing and recording studio material to varying degrees. Bullet Train claimed on September 9th that a release date for EP #1 would be announced "in the upcoming weeks", a timeline not realized as of this writing. It'll be interesting to see how fast things come along for Bullet Train, so keep tabs on their Facebook page for further updates!

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Chase James Wigmore - The Chaotic Rite

Rumoured Songs: "The Cities Alive & It's Angry"

Background: Ever the prolific artist & songwriter, local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore has been working on an extensive rock opera for years (once claimed to be a 33 part work), originally named "A Story About A Kid Named Todd". Worked on in between his other unrelated solo albums, released for sale or otherwise, Chase posted a lengthy elaboration of the rock opera in 2022, now titled "The Chaotic Rite", outlining its concept, recording plans, and long-term release timeline. Clips of songs have surfaced on his Facebook page, as have full songs not explicitly tied to the album, as well as the final artwork. In more recent promotion, Chase has hinted that "The Chaotic Rite" might be his final solo album as part of aims to focus on his personal life more than his prolific original material. Regardless, the final product has been pared down to 25-30 minutes.

Current Release Status: Chase elaborated on Facebook last summer that the album was 95% done earlier this year when the files "got trapped on my desktop's hard drive", and he had been unable to procure a backup of the material or recover the files as of that post. In any event, three of the full songs uploaded to Facebook in the past year were clarified as not being planned for "The Chaotic Rite", but they could surface on a separate EP. Fingers crossed that Chase is able to save this album and put it out when able, especially given the years that he's put into the making of it!

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Convergence - Gemini

Rumoured Songs: "Gemini", "In Bloom", "Breaking News", "It Ate The F&$%ing Moon", "Kraken Mara", "You Are Not Flesh"

Background: Just over a month after releasing their sophomore EP "Dead And Dreaming", local progressive metal band Convergence announced on February 9th that EP #3 would be named "Gemini", despite the obvious twin implications of that name. The cover artwork for "Gemini" was released at the same time, with the band asking fans if they should release singles in advance or put it all out at once. Teaser clips of most songs from the EP have been posted on their Facebook page and their YouTube channel since May. Guitarist Brendan Christie revealed the names of five songs in a recent Facebook conversation, one named after the band's prior name Kraken Mara, though a new or renamed song named "You Are Not Flesh" was posted an advance single on Bandcamp in September. New drummer David Peredun (who was confirmed to have joined the band in February 2024) will presumably make his studio debut here. The band has spent most of the past month hyping a crowdfunding campaign for a planned tour, though "Gemini" is not overtly tied to its marketing.

Current Release Status: No clue, and given the complexity of their music yet their independent studio trappings so far, that could bode a quick or lengthy timeline for "Gemini" to come out, depending on what angle you take. Since their modern studio cycle commenced in 2023, things have been relatively steady for Brendan and Jake as a recording act, and here's hoping that Convergence keep that up for their third offering! 

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Fort Creek's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "One For The Road"

Background: Background: Local southern/hard rock band Fort Creek have sporadically teased plans to record an EP since February 2020, but they wouldn't release any samples until almost two years later when they shared (now-deleted) clips of their original song "Hammer Down" on their Facebook page. The guys would play it regularly at concerts from June 2022-August 2023, and were working in studio throughout 2023, revealing that "it's coming along" in a Facebook post that March, and teasing new recording sessions following earlier "learning experiences" there that May. After the departure of bassist Robin "Bones" Lee and drummer Anthony Fabiano (both now of Bullet Train) in the fall of 2023, Fort Creek opted to abandon material recorded with them "as a show of good faith", and have been working on new material and rebuilding their studio over the past year. Now featuring Phil Greco on drums, their first single (the acoustic "One For The Road") was posted online in January, with the band confirming plans to now record a 10 song album at Jettison Studios prior to returning to live concerts.

Current Release Status: Prior release timelines for their debut EP reflected their early 2020s lineup's material, and Justin, Shane, Bill, and Phil have largely kept things somewhat close to the vest prior to putting out "One For The Road". There are a lot of unknowns, especially given the 4+ years of production time and their decision to basically start over in 2023, and that this is a band that was primarily known for their work on the weekend cover circuit before their rhythm section left. It will be interesting to see how things develop, so stay tuned for updates!

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Fuller - "II"

Rumoured Songs: "And I End", "Kerosene", "Love Is Always", "Batts", "Crush", "Image", "Embarrass"

Background: Twenty-one years after releasing their self-titled debut EP, local midwest emo/post-hardcore band Fuller reunited for a headlining concert at LopLops Lounge in December 2023, with founding frontman Jamie Vincent and mid-2000s bassist Mark Rand now joined by Convergence drummer David Peredun. While seemingly a one-off, teasers popped up last year that the guys were recording at Unsalted Audio with producer Dustin Goodall when Mark was back home, and the album was finally publically confirmed on social media in early 2025. "And I End" and "Kerosene" were posted on YouTube last month as advance singles for the album, which was mixed by Greg Dawson at BWC Studios. Songs on offer are expected to primarily be unreleased songs from Mark's original run in Fuller, and unlike on their 2002 EP, all songs will have official titles.

Current Release Status: "Fuller II" is expected to drop on major streaming platforms "very soon", with a release party likely to follow, and Mark had teased on the band's Instagram page that physical copies could also be put out if there was demand. This is all very exciting news for old Fuller supporters from their original run, let alone emo and post-hardcore fans in general, so keep tabs on their social media accounts and with band members for updates as things draw nearer!

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Handsome Sandwich's first EP

Rumoured Songs: "Without You", "Partyfuel", "Change A Bit", "No Idea", "All Done Now"

Background: Before even releasing their full-length debut album "Deconstructed" in May 2023, local alternative/hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich revealed that not all of their existing originals would be on that album, with plans to instead release them and some brand new songs on a forthcoming EP. In September of that year, they began recording this EP (which will reportedly have seven songs) at the Algoma Conservatory of Music, with bass & drum tracks completes that month, and then-guitarist Mitch Sirie was finishing his parts as of that December, with vocals still to go. At least five of the seven songs have had their names revealed in concert setlists. After only contributing to the packaging on "Deconstructed", bassist Rafael Medina will perform on this EP, and a "Reel" of him recording an unidentified song in studio was posted to the band's Facebook page. It's not clear if new guitarist Brandon Ruch will be involved on the EP in some fashion or not, but Wyld Stallyns saxophonist Josh Norling may appear again, as he guested with them to play "Partyfuel" at August's Northern Vibe Festival.

Current Release Status: To be determined, and while they're not recording this EP at the same place as "Deconstructed", note that the sessions for that album at Unsalted Audio wrapped up four months before the album release. An article about the band from The Sault Star in June noted that the seven new songs "will likely be released as singles", but whether this points to a change of release plans or is just an acknowledgement that they have seven individual singles to put out, I don't know. It will be interesting to see how things progress in the coming months!

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Spades GT's second full-length album

Rumoured Songs: "United"

Background: Long teasing plans to record their next album this year, local/Barrie crossover thrash band Spades GT did indeed begin recording sessions for their follow-up to 2023's "Sewer City Radio" on February 17th at Room 21 in Toronto with producer Kyle Marchant once again. Their fourth release total dating back to their original all-local run as Jack Spades, this will be Spades GT's first album with new second guitarist Matthew Voros. Teaser videos on their Facebook page included guitarist Daniel Horton tracking bass on at least one of the planned eight songs (the band has yet to officially replace bassist James Roy Daley) and ex-guitarist Jay Sarrazin returning as a guest musician, while the video from the vocal sessions seemed to suggest that one song will be named "United" or "We Are United". The final sessions on February 22nd reportedly featured guest appearances and gang vocals, but teaser videos from that day were not shared online, so we don't know who else will pop up yet.

Current Release Status: Not sure yet, but for "Sewer City Radio", it was recorded in March 2023 with a release three months later, so if a similar turnaround occurs, we wouldn't see this album until May. There are many variables, and of course, the band now being based in Southern Ontario will have its own plusses. In general, Spades are pretty open about their upcoming plans, so stay tuned in the coming months!

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 I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This series will return on or around April 2nd, while our next monthly feature post will likely be this month's Defunct Local Band Profile on or around April 10th. That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Musicians Unite Benefit & Dirty Musky!!)

We have a fair backlog of news items to clear out on the SMS as we begin March 2025, so let's start with an all-Sault Michigan post solely devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this month. Here's what you should know!

Local hard rock cover quartet Dirty Musky will rock The Merchants Bar on Saturday, March 15th! This one-nighter will be their second show of 2025 (after rocking Hessel during Snowsfest last month), and their first gig in the Soo since playing at The Merch right before Christmas. Like in their last two concerts, the festivities in two weeks have a theme, as March 15th falls a couple of days before St. Patrick's Day, so in lieu of a Monday nighter, expect bands to take advantage of the 15th for their Irish themed festivities and green beer! We await specifics on what The Merch/Dirty Musky have in mind though. You can see Dave, the Blackwoods, and Jamie take the stage that night at 9:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details on what should be a fun night of hard rocking tunes, but we're not done with Dirty Musky yet, as they've got one more booking this month in the Soo..

One week later, on Saturday, March 22nd, a huge lineup of rock bands will join forces at Bird's Eye Outfitters for a special cause! As some of you may know, Project 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins' wife Mary Jo has been diagnosed with breast cancer, which she has been battling for the past year. To help offset the expenses that her treatments and travel downstate have incurred on her family while she's not working, local musicians are hosting the Musicians Unite benefit concert at Bird's Eye to raise funds for the Jenkins family at this difficult time. Having lost my mother (named Mary, incidentally) to ovarian cancer in 2020, I completely sympathize with Mary Jo and her family as this fight continues, and I hope that this concert goes a fair way to helping the Jenkins clan through this! Entry for this benefit concert will be via donation (I don't know if it's 21+ or not), and a silent auction will also take place.

A huge lineup of six bands will be headlined on the 22nd by Marquette hard rock cover quartet Spun in their first local date since 2022, though bassist Bob Libick will be familiar to local fans for his frequent appearances as a guest fill-in bassist with Exit 808 in the past year. Great to see Spun proper back in town later this month! They're on at 10:45 PM, while your co-headliners at 9:00 PM are Elmira hard rock quintet Driving Dawn in their local debut. While we haven't seen them on stage yet here, readers may recognize Driving Dawn from winning the Rock Recovery battle of the bands in Alpena last year, which featured the aforementioned Exit 808 as competitors, so it's nice to see past coverage get further local links! Exit 808 (who are promoting this event) are the highest slotted local band in their first gig since the I-500 weekend, and will take the stage at 7:30 PM. Kudos to Amy & Jackie for putting this on!

The poster heavily implies that rising young Dafter singer/guitarist Molly Escherich will be making "appearances" during Exit 808's set, so keep an eye out for Molly rocking out with a new set of "other guys"! The aforementioned Dirty Musky are blocked for 6:00 PM at Bird's Eye, while Project 906 proper will play their first Sault Ste. Marie gig of 2025 at 4:30 PM. Odd that they're so early in the night given the benefit's inspiration, but it'll surely be an emotional one for Joe in particular, and hopefully they have a strong set! Your openers at 3:00 PM are About:Blank, the new local punk/alternative trio that Yoopers will next be able to see at Three One Three on Ashmun on March 15th. Multi-band events like this are still not all that common in the E.U.P., but that is changing, and given the very important reason for this one, I hope that a huge crowd turns out to support Mary Jo and family and enjoy this lineup! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tarnished) & More Concert Previews, Including Our Lady Peace!!

As promised, let's cap off this weekend's hard rock concert previews in today's post (later than I'd have liked due to personal commitments and shovelling), and it mostly covers shows taking place tomorrow and on Sunday, including the big one and its new local openers, and some new videos. First, we'll lead off with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next month, so here's what you should know!

Sault Michigan hard rock/classic metal band Tarnished will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on Friday, March 7th & Saturday, March 8th! Announced yesterday via their Facebook event page, these appear to be fill-in/replacement bookings, as The American Band were originally advertised for next weekend on Kewadin's entertainment page. A reason for their withdrawal hasn't been announced to my knowledge, but kudos to Tarnished for stepping in with their hard rock attack! Of course, Tarnished were scheduled to play at The Rapids Lounge in the Soo this past weekend before the shows were cancelled due to the ransomware attack-prompted closure of all Kewadin branches, but that has been sufficiently resolved, and the St. Ignace Kewadin re-opens today (no word yet on the Soo Kewadin makeup dates). Click here for more details on the casinos' re-opening plans.

The event page also confirms that Rhythm & Brews' Chris Leask and Ron Suchey will join Alex and Josh next weekend, as they have at all non-battle gigs since the summer (if they have joined permanently, no one has 100% said publically on social media). Next month's Tarnished shows have 21+ age limits, 9:00 PM start times, and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more from the E.U.P. soon!

Next up, let's resume this weekend's hard rock concert previews by heading north to Sault Ontario, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will return to Reggie's Place for concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! No strangers whatsoever to Reggie's over this winter season, these will be Greg, Alex, and Warren's first shows at this Queen Street East staple in two weeks. Despite today's winter storm, band members' personal Facebook pages have promised that the show (or as they've taken to calling them lately, "sermon" or "gospel") will go on as scheduled, but of course, be safe on the roads if you're coming out, as snow is expected until after midnight tonight (or come tomorrow). Tonight and tomorrow's shows are 19+ affairs at 9:30 PM with no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, we have two new videos of "the dirty three" to check out!

Wednesday's vertical video captures "studio shenanigans" of the guys having fun, seemingly while recording a new original song, though they have yet to confirm that elsewhere online. If true, fans should be excited, and you even see a lyric sheet at the end! Embedded below is a brand new video of the guys playing their newest original "Fuck!" at Soo Blaster this past Saturday, and it's a really nice quality horizontal video that shows off the stage setup as they played a larger venue than normal for them! Fun and lively (if lyrically colourful) performance, so check it out below!

Elsewhere downtown TOMORROW NIGHT (not tonight due to Friday DJ nights) is the return of local hard rock quintet HeadFirst to Shooters Downstairs Lounge! This is the first in an (at least) three show engagement for HeadFirst that will see them not just playing their lively and varied hard rock covers and originals, but also being the namesake for exclusive cocktails, shots, and food items that will only be on sale during these concerts (also on March 15th and April 12th). Buying an official band t-shirt will also net you a $5 drink voucher, so there's lots of perks for fans to come out tomorrow! The guys have also teased possibly playing new originals from their "next project", so keep that in mind as the night progresses. Tomorrow's show takes place on Dennis Street at 9:30 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's HeadFirst live!

Finally, here's the main event of the weekend in Sault Ontario, as Juno Award-winning Toronto alt-hard rock quartet Our Lady Peace will play their first local concert in twenty-seven years on SUNDAY NIGHT at GFL Memorial Gardens! With Canadian rock radio hits like "Clumsy", "Somewhere Out There", and "Sound The Alarm" dotting their lengthy career, this show (their first in the region since River Rave '98 in Richards Landing) has been highly anticipated for months, and hopefully Our Lady Peace deliver an excellent night full of classics and newer cuts after all this time! Note that this will also be drummer Jason Pierce's first local concert in a decade, after serving as Treble Charger's touring drummer from 2012-2015. Georgia alternative rock veterans Collective Soul will open in their local debut, and Rock 101 listeners will be very familiar with their litany of radio hits like "Gel", "Heavy", and "The World I Know". Not the heaviest band going, but Collective Soul get a solid response from attendees at the arena on Sunday!

In a late confirmation this morning, local indie punk quintet The Northwest have been added as local openers on SUNDAY, a'la 2022's Marianas Trench show at the Gardens! For one reason or another, The Northwest have been on a concert hiatus since the summer of 2023, so it is great to see them back, let alone at such a huge event! Presented by Rock 101 (this show was announced prior to The Fox's launch), this all ages & 7:00 PM concert is officially SOLD OUT, but check in online at this link or at the box office if you're curious about anything opening up late. O.L.P.'s long awaited return will be one of the shows of the year, so visit the above links for more on Sunday's festivities, and here's Raine & crew live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Project 906 & Double Down) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

You know the spring is almost upon us when concert schedules are picking up, and not only are there enough hard rock-leaning concerts to warrant splitting this weekend's concert previews into two posts, there's major headlining shows on both sides of the border this weekend! As such, we'll look at Sunday's Our Lady Peace show, Saturday's HeadFirst concert, and this weekend's Bone Yard 225 shows (and more) on the site tomorrow. so they are coming soon! Now, here's what you should know to start the weekend, including a pair of SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will rock The Water Tower Pub for one night only on SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was quietly announced on the band's Facebook page on February 12th, which completely slipped us by at the time (the venue has yet to confirm their March concert schedule online). SATURDAY'S concert will be Double Down's first since their late January weekend at Jay's Piston Broke Pub, and their first stop at The Water Tower Pub since January 10th, so it's been a relative while to see the Syrettes, Brad, and Ric rock out on a local stage. Hopefully their Cancon-laden night of hard rocking covers goes over swimmingly at this central nightclub on SATURDAY, and that the storm warnings are long over prior! This is a one-nighter due to tomorrow's previously announced Generations show, which will be previewed at post's end.

Double Down take the stage on SATURDAY NIGHT at 8:00 PM, this is a 19+ event, and there are no announced over charges. After taking all of February 2025 off, hopefully the guys are ready to rock once again, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's a brief new video of Double Down live at Jay's in January, and I mean brief! This 9 seconds-long (and vertical) clips sees the guys covering Prince & The Revolution's "Purple Rain" with Joel & Beej making the most of the floor during one of the Brad Stephen-sung choruses. Fun little clip while it lasts, though I would like to hear the full song! Still, check it out below!

Next up, let's head across to Sault Michigan and the E.U.P., as local blues/hard rock quartet Project 906 will return to The Strongs Tavern in nearby Eckerman on SATURDAY NIGHT as well! Again, apologies for the short notice, but it definitely is short notice here, as both the band and venue only announced this gig via their respective Facebook pages this afternoon. Like with Double Down above, SATURDAY'S show will be Project 906's first since late January, when they rocked The Strongs Tavern on January 26th. Exactly five weeks later, fans can welcome Billy, Dustin, Joe, and Jason (and Brian?) back for another night of hard rocking cover action, so consider the hour's drive west on SATURDAY if you're up for it! Yes, I am well aware of the fundraiser concert that 906 are taking part in next month, we will have more on that on the site this weekend, so stay tuned for full details shortly!

Project 906's second show of 2025 goes down on SATURDAY takes place at 8:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details on this late notice concert, and for a preview, here's Project 906 live and in concert last year!

We'll stay in Michigan for a big previously announced concert, as Sacramento glam metal/hard rock quintet Tesla will make their long awaited return to the Soo TOMORROW NIGHT at The Dreammaker's Theater at the local Kewadin Casino! Just to get this out of the way now, Kewadin Casinos have begun re-opening following the ransomware attack two+ weeks ago, with the Soo branch re-opening yesterday (St. Ignace's re-opens tomorrow, the rest will next week, source here), and they have confirmed that the Tesla show is still 100% on, so they re-opened just in time! This will be Tesla's (at least) fifth local concert appearance, but first since 2013, so if you've missed Tesla's rock radio hits like "Love Song", "The Way It Is", and "Mama's Fool" in the past 12 years, you'll wanna make your way to the Soo Kewadin for all of the action! This opener-less & all ages show is presented by Rock 101.

All center section seats are sold out for tomorrow's concert, but there are limited seats still on sale in the left & right sections in rows H-J ($85) and K-Q ($75) and in the standing room only area ($65), so click here, visit the in-person box office, or call 1-800-KEWADIN to get hooked up unless you want to chance availability at the door. If you're a loyal Hair Scare listener, you won't want to miss Tesla's local return tomorrow night, and they still sound good, so visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Tesla live at The Dreammakers Theater back in 2010!

Finally for this preview post, we'll return back to Sault Ontario, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will cap off February 2025 when they rock the aforementioned Water Tower Pub TOMORROW NIGHT! Remember, The Water Tower Pub traditionally hosts different nightly bands, and doesn't book bands on consecutive nights as a rule, with Double Down playing there on SATURDAY NIGHT as noted at the top. Fans last saw Generations at Jay's two weeks ago, but tomorrow's show will be their first on Great Northern Road since early last month. This one-nighter should be a fine way to enjoy Generations' old school and hard rocking covers, weather permitting, so keep things in mind if you want something to do tomorrow night! Valerie, the Tonys, and Pierre hit the stage at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover. See above for more details, and here's Generations live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Our Lady Peace, Bone Yard 225, and HeadFirst previews (and more) next!