YouTube Channel Profile Series: skam705's Channel

It's now time for our last monthly feature post of the first half of 2021, namely this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This recurring feature looks at 1-3 YouTube channels that are randomly selected from our subscriptions, in order to promote them and their content for fans and potential subscribers, and to be considered for the series, all must have at least half of their content devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk artists and/or concerts. This month's selection is a doozy, but an extensive doozy for local punk music & extreme sports fans, so here's what you should know!

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skam705's channel (http://youtube.com/skam705)

Owner: 705 Video Magazine founder Fred Kember

Channel Timeline: Launched on August 31st, 2006; Videos posted from the beginning of 2007 until July 1st, 2011

Channel Summary: The official YouTube channel for local concert/extreme sports video diary series The 705 Video Magazine, it features a whopping 122 videos uploaded over a 4½ year period, mostly devoted to live punk & alternative concert footage filmed both locally and in Southern Ontario. Local bands like DDPBB, Downshift, Fuller, The Hangdowns, and Strictly Classified can be seen here, among many others. The majority of the other videos relate to outdoor sports, but local music can be found as backing music, and some other related content was uploaded here, like interviews and B-roll involving familiar acts.
 
Why You Should Watch: If you are at all interested in the local punk scene from the 2000s, the (VII/O/V) channel is absolutely a must watch, capturing dozens of videos from local concerts of the era, even including archival videos that weren't newly shot at the time, though it is daunting to go through all of these unless you were a diehard contemporary concertgoer. Fred deserves all the kudos in the world for the work he put in with his camera during the 705VM heyday, including via the sports videos, and while they haven't put out a new volume since #5 in 2011, visit their Facebook page for new content! Note that this channel does include videos from a number of Toronto-area events (look for videos mentioning 102.1 The Edge or SceneFest, for example), and be advised that no new standalone concert videos were uploaded after the spring of 2009, though clips and backing music from Soo talent were still used in conjunction with sports footage.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

 

Guttermouth; Cram It Up Your Ass: Easily the most popular local concert (by views) on skam705's channel is when infamous California punk quartet Guttermouth headlined at the former Canadian Nightclub back in 2005, though the videos weren't uploaded there until 2007. Fred uploaded eleven videos from their set, plus a pre-show interview with Guttermouth, and a video of a fan sharing a beer with frontman Mark Atkins, but did not post any of openers Pulley or The Inner City Surfers. I'm not going to get into Guttermouth's divisive lyrics & viewpoints here, but fans are definitely into their lively skate punk sound in these clips, both via original songs & select covers, and while the camera quality hasn't aged well in 16 years, this is suitably raw for a classic punk show! All thirteen Guttermouth videos are easily viewable through the above links, though "Cram It Up Your Ass" is the channel's only video so far to have been viewed over 10,000 times.

 

Don't Talk: No local band was filmed more for the (VII/O/V) channel than 2000s punk cover supergroup Bin Hawdon & The Taliband, who star in 20 videos that Fred shot. With the exception of a Descendents cover at The Oddfellows Hall, these videos all come from their set at the former Foggy Notions (now Coch's Corner) in December 2006, and you can see Mikey, Lucas, Mark, and Aaron covering everyone from The Misfits and NOFX to Operation Ivy and fellow locals The Hangdowns, with their rendition of GG Allin's "Don't Talk To Me" featured here. The quality of these videos is similarly limited in hindsight, not helped by dark lighting, but Bin Hawdon & The Taliband's eclectic setlist, on-stage attire, and sensibilities are on full display across all of these videos, and if you want to see a largely complete set of theirs, skam705 had you covered!

 

 

(705)VM Volume 5 - Nebraska Arms: One of the more obviously local music-related videos from the lead-up to volume 5 of the 705 Video Magazine is this video featuring defunct local indie punk quartet Nebraska Arms playing their original song "I Was A Runner" at The Grand Theatre when they opened for SNFU & EndProgram here in May 2009, though the video proper didn't go up until July 2011, about a year after Nebraska Arms fell inactive. Filmed from a corner angle from The Grand Theatre's balcony, the video feed alternates between the band proper and footage of Josh Kunanec & Jake Trumble snowboarding and skiing. Fitting soundtrack, and Guy (R.I.P.), Wayne, Dave, and Adam sound strong and up-tempo on this familiar original performance! Just a shame that there weren't more fans on the floor. Numerous videos of both SNFU & EndProgram's sets can be seen on this channel as well, but Nepean punk band Snatchback and fellow local openers The Scary Uncles & Operation: Killdozer are nowhere to be found.

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Next month in this series, our random selection has given us the channel of YouTube user RezThrasher, featuring 8 videos from defunct local hard rock quartet Garden of Bedlam, so look for that on or around July 26th, and stay tuned for a new news post of some kind by Monday! Thanks everyone!

AlgomA/Hooded Menace Split Updates, Plus Live 705 Local Show Videos!!

We're back with a new news post on this cold Wednesday morning, and with weekend concert previews approaching fast, here's our first SMS post without a concert preview or review in over a week! Mostly, we're covering some new concert videos today, but first, here's some long awaited updates on an upcoming (half-)local EP!

Local doom metal trio AlgomA's long-teased split EP with Finnish death/doom metal band Hooded Menace will apparently be released next month! Though originally announced back in January, these are the first major public updates on the split since then, more or less, so what do we know? To be released exclusively on 12'' vinyl records again (similarly to AlgomA's split with Chronobot), the split is still scheduled to come out via Hooded Menace's label Doomentia Records, and this is the final artwork for the cover, as done by Paolo Girardi, with the band logos even having special printing on physical copies. While this is AlgomA's second split release, it'll be Hooded Menace's seventh, and their first release with new singer Harri Kuokkanen. AlgomA haven't given a firm release date yet for the split, though if a release show is planned, note that December 27th's Blood Guy concert at The New A (promoted by AlgomA's own Six, Two, Oh.) is still looking for an opening band. That's just speculation on my part, but you never know!

The full track listing hasn't been given yet, but both bands have released a one minute sample of one of their tracks to their respective Bandcamp pages, with AlgomA's being of their song "Failed Stunt Fatality", and Hooded Menace's of their song "Celestial Dissection". Given how long both bands' songs can be, these might end up being the split's only tracks, but we await confirmation on that (for reference, the AlgomA/Chronobot split had 5 songs, 2 from AlgomA.) We'll hold comment on the samples until the full split comes out for SMS review, but it's shaping up well, despite the months of waiting for new details, and check the above links for much more!

Next up, here's some videos from Saturday night's Live 705 Local Show at The Oddfelows Hall, courtesy of the new local label/promotion agency's Facebook page over the last few days! Live 705 (ran by new local punk band A Dire Setback) filmed or posted a cell phone video of every band that day except headliners K.I.C.K. and debuting punk/metal band Stegadeth, plus this clip of band members setting up for the show in general, which is just 15 seconds long and contains no music. The videos do show the extra work put in to make the show even better, including a stage extension and extra lighting, which does help the often dark and minimalistic staging for many recent Oddfellows shows, and give this one a bigger feel! A Dire Setback themselves were filmed for this 34 second clip of an original song, and while it's not a close or lengthy look at this new band, they sound good and energetic, though watch for a drop in focus at the end. There are more videos elsewhere from A.D.S., so stay tuned for more soon!



Another video from this show features young local blues/classic rock trio Electric Church playing their take on B.B. King's "Rock Me Baby", albeit sadly from a vertical portrait camera angle. This side-stage clip showcases Spencer, Elijah, and Beau in good form on this blues standard, so check it out above, and hopefully we hear more from them soon! Embedded below is a clip of alternative/hard rock trio The Din playing their song "Potato (Should've Known Better)" at The Live 705 Local Show, and while camera focus issues (and a surprise finger) occur in this 40 second clip, The Din sound solid in their first of two shows that day, so give it a look below!

 
The Live 705 page also posted two videos of show-opening rapper Jasmin "Jizzy Baby" Sky, which you can watch here and here. The former is just 20 seconds, but the latter is a side-stage, 6 minute video showcasing her clear rap skills, and especially after a bit of a flub early in the clip, she took it home nicely! Finally for this show, there is one clip of reunited local punk quartet Talk Shit's first live concert in seven years, but for one reason or another, this was filmed both vertically and from the other side of the hall. If they didn't say what band this was in the title, I'd never know who it was! I cannot place the name of this song (it sounds familiar), but Talk Shit sound good from what we can hear, so give their new video a look below, and hopefully they launch a new online page at some point!

  
That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Project 421 & Eclipse Updates, Plus New Videos!!

Surprisingly, we have yet to locate videos from Saturday night's Bret Michaels show as of this writing, so here's a new news post for this late Monday night post! We're mostly focusing on new videos today, but to kick things off, here's some sudden and disappointing updates to touch on.

We'll kick off today's post with some very surprising news, as local classic metal veterans Project 421 and their modern rock sister band Eclipse have both parted ways with singer Curtis McKenzie. In a statement shared to Eclipse's Facebook page, Curt cited "some past incidents, miscommunication, and issues stemming from past shows" for his reasons for leaving, and given the level of conversation around the topic in recent days, all I'll say on the matter is that I hope things are more amicable than online discussion has indicated. As a result, Project 421's show at The Rockstar Bar on Saturday was changed on late notice to an open jam night featuring remaining band members, with an impromptu Heavy Head set and a guest Tym Morrison appearance among the performances that night. While Project 421 had not yet announced any future gigs publically, Eclipse have indicated that "all upcoming show dates" of theirs have been cancelled.

This will knock them out of November 19th's Live 705 show at The Oddfellows Hall and November 25th's 9 Lives & Counting concert at The Rockstar Bar, though we'll let you know when/if replacement bands for those shows are announced. This is extremely disappointing news, especially given Curtis' vocal range and stage presence that definitely added a lot to both bands, but I know we'll see him back on stage at some point, and again, I hope things aren't as bad as have been stated elsewhere! I won't get into the situation otherwise here. Best of luck all around, and we'll keep you posted when we hear more on his, Eclipse's, & Project 421's future plans!

Next up, here's some new studio original tracks from a pair of local bands, starting with the newest single from local hard rock quartet Skeyes of Seven! After a 7 month+ hiatus from new online updates, the Sense of Truth successors shared the studio version of their song "Cognitive Dissonance" to their YouTube channel this weekend, as recorded at Deluca Sound Productions towards their debut EP, which will apparently be called "Stare At The Sky" (shouldn't it be "Stare At The Skeye", given their name?) The YouTube copy is a full lyric video complete with neat looking cryptic writings, and while I'll hold thoughts until the full EP release, it's an up-tempo track that fans of the band will be right at home with! With that said, we're not embedding that here, as they have a second video, courtesy of a surprise live stream performance that made it to their Facebook page on Saturday night! I wish bands would advertise live streams in advance so people could plan to watch them with some notice, but hey, at least we can watch it late!

The video features Cory Murchison, Ron Baxter, and Alain Fletcher playing "Cognitive Dissonance" live in studio, albeit following an introduction where Cory notes that the band is looking for a drummer, and to get in touch with them if you're interested in trying out (the departed and relocated John Mignacca plays drums on the EP, so his pre-recorded tracks are used for this performance.) Solid quality on this video, complete with nice lighting switches, so definitely give it a look below, contact the band above if you want to drum with them, and hopefully we hear more from them soon!



Also, here's the debut song from new local punk band A Dire Setback, who will make their first live appearance at the aforementioned Live 705 show at The Oddfellows Hall in just under two weeks! Entitled "Wasting Away", the song was recorded in house at Live 705 Productions, indicating that the band is pulling a Six, Two, Oh. by running their own promotion agency and recording studio under the same banner name. Posted to the Live 705 YouTube channel on Monday, the song has a Rise Against vibe to me, and it should appeal to alt-punk fans, especially for fans of members' old bands like A Fall From Innocence, The Fallout, and Stealing Kisses! Give it a listen below!



Finally, here's an overdue new video from local alternative/hard rock trio The Din! Following a note on their Facebook page referencing future shows to be announced, another new comedic video was posted there on October 24th, entitled "If You Give The Din 25¢". It features frontman Mike Haggith and drummer Brandan Glew debating what candy to buy from the vending machine kiosk at The Wellington Square Mall, with Blind Melon's "No Rain" as backing audio. Though not referencing their music at all, it's a light diversion, though if it was me picking, I'd have went for the sour cherry balls. Check it out below, and stay tuned for more from The Din!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Live 705 Local Show), New & Returning Local Punk Bands, And More!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to send our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Canadian Nightclub DJ and former local concert promoter Jay Perron, who reportedly passed away earlier today at the age of 43. Given the sudden word, we don't know details about final services yet, but will get them to you when announced. A familiar sight for fans of club nights and dance parties at The Canadian under his handle "DJ Reverend J", Jay frequently hosted such events under the Total Package Entertainment and Edge Entertainment brandings, including planned Halloween events this weekend, while he also has DJed at venues like the former GLOW, Vibe Lounge, and Docks locations in the past. Jay had also dabbled in rock concert promoting in the past, and in The Sault Metal Scene's early years, he was extremely helpful in letting me know about concert cancellations and lineup clarifications for shows at The Canadian, and was still friendly and reliable when needed even after the venue cut back on solely-local concert bookings.

Though we weren't in as much contact in recent years as we had been, Jay was a very nice guy and always willing to help when clarifying or confirming news on the site, and he even gave social advice beyond music coverage. As a personal aside, his mother was the maid of honour at my parents' wedding in 1988. No word yet on the status of Jay's planned Halloween parties at The Canadian this weekend, but visit the above links for information in that regard, and our thoughts and best wishes are with everyone affected by this sad news. R.I.P. Jay!

Now, today's post features an intriguing LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, but as it involves a debuting local band, we'll lead off with that! The new local band in question is A Dire Setback, who feature some familiar names in their lineup, including former A Fall From Innocence singer Larry Babic, ex-The Fallout/Shore guitarist Chris Nielsen, bassist Matt Quinn, and ex-State of Misery/Stealing Kisses drummer Nick Kainula. The members' past bands may hint towards a punk/alternative genre, but in personal Facebook conversations, Nick has told me that they have "a different sound" and aren't "super punk", while their Facebook page lists their genre as "TBD", so take that for what it's worth. A Dire Setback have been recording in some form or another since August, and have already ordered a stage banner, so they're on their way to a public launch, so when will that be?

How about at The Oddfellows Hall on Saturday, November 19th? Courtesy of the band's new in-house concert promotion agency Live 705, the band and company will debut that night for "The Live 705 Local Show", whose lineup calls more to the late 2000s punk/alternative Oddfellows shows than more recent death metal/grind events there. A Dire Setback are the listed co-headliners, with indie rock quartet K.I.C.K. headlining in a rare Oddfellows appearance (perhaps their first?) Other listed bands on the 19th include a pair of bands that played at the Sky's The Limit fundraiser at The Tech in May, including online page-less classic rock trio Electric Church (in the Spencer Pine-led band's Oddfellows Hall debut) and alternative/hard rock trio The Din, so if you liked that event, keep this one in mind! Also, here's an unexpected surprise for punk fans, as late-2000s punk quartet Talk Shit have reunited and will play their first show in seven years on the 19th!

No online pages yet (or then), but singer/drummer Adam Sauve, guitarist Marc LaFrance, and bassist Ian Robinson are back alongside new guitarist Steve Shaw, who is replacing the relocated Andrew Angelic in their new lineup. This is an unexpected surprise (increasingly so if you miss members' earlier band Renderware too), so it'll be interesting to hear how Talk Shit sound in their return, and hopefully they finally launch an online page of some type! The lineup is rounded out by hard rock quartet Eclipse and local rapper Jasmin "Jizzy Baby" Sky, who you may recognize from recent Soo York City rap events. I'm not familiar with her musically, but we have seen rappers open Oddfellows shows in the past, so she should set the tone well! This ALL AGES show next month has a 5:30 PM start time, and tickets are now available for $8 at Case's Music, The Rad Zone, the Thomas Walls School of Music, and directly from band members (if there's a planned price hike at the door, it's not publically stated.)

This is a very intriguing concert for punk and alternative fans, including a nice balance of established, returning, and newer faces, and it does call to mind the more varied punk shows at The Oddfellows Hall from the mid-late 2000s! Absolutely stay tuned for updates, both A Dire Setback and Live 705 are in their appropriate sections for our links now, and stay tuned for more in the coming days! Thanks everyone!