Defunct Local Band Profile Series: No Funeral & Habitat Shuffle

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles! For the first time in 2025, we're looking at not one, but two randomly selected defunct or inactive local groups, due to the first act chosen not having much to talk about given their short lifespan and lack of videos, so a second randomly chosen act in a similar state was also picked to round things out with. Both ended up being short-lived bands who released an album each but didn't do a ton else under these names, so here's what you should know on both!

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No Funeral

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario/Edmonton, Alberta

Genre: Noise Punk/Post-Hardcore

Lineup:

Connor O'Brien (Flint), vocals/guitar
Jamie Vincent (AlgomA), bass/drums

Info/Analysis: After being bandmates in the Edmonton punk band Flint from 2009-2012, Connor and Jamie planned a new joint project for at least two years, eventually debuting No Funeral when Connor travelled east for a Dryer Fire-promoted event at Outspoken Brewing in October 2022, and they were scheduled to play at the cancelled Matthew Nadon memorial concert in February 2023. That same month, they recorded their self-titled album at Unsalted Audio, and its release in March was their final public act before falling inactive. In effect, No Funeral were here for a good time, not a long time, but fans of noise rock, Rollins-esque vocals, and Jamie's local bands (especially Bad Back) will take to their inconsistent but strong album, and hopefully they resurface in time!

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Habitat Shuffle

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Genre: Alternative/Hard Rock

Lineup:

Christian Lemay (Free Beer, Id Iota), vocals
Dustin Goodall (Id Iota, The Pixo Control), guitar
Ryan Gray (Free Beer, Creatures Of The Night), bass
Blair St. John (All Over The Map, Pillory), drums

Info/Analysis: The 2014 launch of Habitat Shuffle united most of the former Free Beer (a.k.a. M.O.B. and Sarah's Valley) while eschewing their former ska punk sound in favour of 1990s-inspired alt-rock & grunge. After dropping out of a planned live debut at the Great Sabatini concert that June, they recorded their four-song EP "Sober Drift" at Mission Control Studios, releasing it on Bandcamp that August. For one reason or another, the band (minus Ryan) opted to scrap Habitat Shuffle and relaunch as Id Iota in the spring of 2015 with a more indie rock-inspired sound, running locally until 2019. For my own heavier musical preferences, I actually preferred Habitat Shuffle's EP (especially "Resort") to Id Iota's for its grungy qualities and catchy song structures, but it helped bridge the gap from Free Beer effectively, but listen to both "Sober Drift" and "Maudlin Fair" to compare their sonic evolution in the mid-2010s!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles! This series will return on or around March 10th when we look at another randomly selected past local band, and in this case, it will be acoustic southern hard rock duo and former Bone Yard side project The Bearded Lounge! Look for that then and for more news and notes on the site as this week rolls along! Thanks everyone!