We have a new band to add to our Sault Ontario band links, and they are Riverside Stasis, the new alternative band that is debuting at the all-local Blaster Powerhouse concert on June 27th! We knew going in that this was the new band from former Handsome Sandwich singer Tea Emlaw and former HeadFirst guitarist Raine Rancourt, but as it turns out, 3/5ths of HeadFirst are back in this project, with guitarist Liam Dinsmore and drummer Anthony Boudreau also involved. Rounding out their lineup is ex-Jack Spades bassist Rob Speers, who played with Tea in the short-lived cover rock band The Barbarians last year. Riverside Stasis' new Facebook page describes them as an "indie/pop rock band", but given this lineup and the show they're debuting at, I'd be hard pressed to not cover them. Their first original song is named "The Fool", which you can sample in this performance video edited by A Dire Setback bassist Matt Quinn.
While the band has more HeadFirst DNA, post-pandemic Handsome Sandwich fans will be drawn to this via Tea's vocals, which remain as distinctive and cutting as they were on "Deconstructed" and "Collage". The song proper only gets to a harder rock sound on the chorus, but we only get the first 99 seconds of what is clearly a longer song. Given members' diverse musical backgrounds, there's a lot of potential sounds that Riverside Stasis could draw from, but it's good to see many familiar faces joining forces in this new band, so get more details above, and check out their first video below!
Next up, new Riverside Stasis bassist Rob Speers will pick up the microphone to join his other active local band (Pearl Jam tribute quintet Even Flow) when they play at this year's first Downtown Street Party on Queen Street East on Thursday, June 25th! Specifically, Rob and crew will be among the performers at the corner of Queen and Brock for one of two outdoor stages for this street party, the first since the City of Sault Ste. Marie took over management of downtown events & development from the former Downtown Association. Queen Street will be closed from Pim to Brock Street (i.e. The Rockstar Bar to the former RBC), with each street party (all on Thursdays) progressively moving their way west each month, though specifics and music lineups for the other three are to be announced. As best as I can tell, Even Flow (in just their third public concert since debuting last fall) are the only hard rock-leaning band playing on either the Brock Street or Pim Street stages on June 25th, but who else can you look for on this Thursday evening?
I don't know if the You Belong SSM Facebook page has bands listed in performance order, but Even Flow are listed between "Half Scoundies" (frontman Josh Penno and fiddler Todd Webb of local bluegrass/folk band The Golden Scoundrels in a stripped down acoustic set) and veteran classic rock cover trio The Cloud Bandits. Meanwhile, the other stage at Queen & Pim will play host to blues/rockabilly trio The Steeltown Playboys, classic rock mainstays Angry Joe & The Growlers, and former(?) Mustang Heart keyboardist Vito Tassone. The two stages should be far enough apart where music shouldn't bleed over between ends of the block party! Attendees can also expect beverage gardens, deals from Queen Street businesses open during the event, a vendor market, and family activities, including a rope walk course in front of the Sault Ste. Marie Museum. Click here for full details!
Downtown Street Party #1 goes down on Thursday the 25th from 6:30-11:00 PM (if Even Flow are indeed second, I'd expect them to be playing in the 8:00 range), this is absolutely an ALL AGES and licensed event, and there is no cover charge. Despite the contentious end of the Downtown Association last year, it is good to see the City picking up the ball to keep bringing community events to the downtown core like this, and hopefully Even Flow's brand of grunge and alt-rock classics from the Pearl Jam catalogue add to the festivities later this month! See above for more details!
Finally, I have reluctantly opted to move local/Barrie crossover thrash band Spades GT
to our inactive band links. While not at our one year inactivity
threshold, activity in their camp abruptly stopped on December 18th
after what I would characterize as "sudden personal differences" arose
on social media. Things got fairly divisive, and it's out of my depth to
wade in on this discourse on a music site, so I'll let you find out
what exactly happened five months ago if you want. The band has not made
any official public statements or online updates since then, but none
of their 2025 band members directly list Spades in their Instagram bios
now, and they dropped out of all scheduled bookings into 2026, including
the annual Walterstock in Toronto in January. Barring a revival, this
ends a successful 12 year run for the former Jack Spades, who relaunched
in the GTA in late 2021 after frontman J.D. Pearce and guitarist Daniel Horton both moved
out of town during the pandemic.
While J.D. hasn't signalled work with a new public band as of yet, Dan is still in The Fast Life and is also now playing in a classic rock cover band named Tonehenge, guitarist Matthew Voros and bassist Sean MacNab are still performing together in the Toronto psychobilly band The House Of Haunt, and drummer Tyler Reiner is working as a session drummer and podcaster. Spades accomplished a lot in their four years down south, including two album releases, some wide tour runs and high profile gigs in the GTA and beyond, and lots of fun video content, plus two return trips for local concerts in 2022 and 2023. Best of luck to all prior (Jack) Spades members in the future, and hopefully we see the band again in some form!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post on the SMS next! Thanks everyone!
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