More Hard Rock/Punk Concert Previews For This Weekend!

Before we begin today's post, I wanted to acknowledge that Wyld Stallyns/ex-Elements singer/guitarist Rob Speers played a late notice & rare solo concert at The Dive Gastro Pub (formerly Low & Slow) yesterday as part of their new "Think It Over Thursday" series featuring acoustic musicians. I'm not sure that I would have been able to cover it before it happened given how crammed this weekend is, but I am also not entirely sure if Rob's solo set was just a solo Stallyns/Elements show or if he played things softer for genre all around. Regardless, I hope his debut at The Dive went well!
 

Now, let's finish up this weekend's hard rock/punk concert previews by looking at Sault Ontario concerts taking place solely tomorrow or on Sunday (anyone that played on Thursday or yesterday is noted in the post below this one), and we'll start with three Saturday matinees, including local acoustic classic/hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison, whose bi-weekly arrangement at Misty's Fifties marches on for another installment TOMORROW! Unless things get extended, Tym only has two more shows left in this series at the Second Line West nightclub, both next month, so if you want to take in Tym's hard rocking solo covers and professional production, head west! As usual for his shows at Misty's, this is a 4:00 PM matinee with a likely 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for one night day only TOMORROW! While originally advertised by the band as a normal nighttime concert at the Dennis Street nightclub, Shooters has since confirmed that this show will actually be a 5:00 PM matinee, so keep the earlier timeframe in mind if you want to enjoy Valerie, the Tonys, and Pierre's blend of classic and hard rock covers! Of course, this is a one-nighter due to Shooters' Friday DJ nights this year, and while Shooters said on their Facebook that "we're shaking things up" with Generations' "first matinee" there, the earlier scheduling is actually to accommodate a second concert tomorrow night from Sudbury adult contemporary singer Ashley Woodruff, who also played at Shooters last July. While Generations' concert is considered a separate event and not as Ashley's openers, neither show has a cover charge if you wanna hit both.

Generations will take the stage from 5:00-9:00 PM tomorrow, while Ashley's distinct later concert begins at 9:30 PM. Obviously, both events are 19+. Hopefully things go well a little earlier for Generations, so visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here they are live!

There is some punk-leaning nighttime action to take in TOMORROW as well, as local folk punk/emo solo project Agnosticism (whose only social media account is on Instagram) will be headlining at The Distraction! As far as I know, this will be Agnosticism's first public local concert since releasing their new EP "A Letter Of Resignation" earlier this spring, so this could be considered the de facto release party for it (our review of said EP is coming in the next week). Project leader/prolific local punk guitarist Mikhal Muto is no stranger to the East Street venue, and he should have some entertaining folk punk originals in store for fans tomorrow! This all acoustic solo performer show will be opened by The Floor Between Us frontman Colin Gasparelli (who opened for Jackal Blood at The Distraction in February) and Mikhal's Vanity First bandmate Andrew Beggs (a.k.a. "Andrew Keith") in a rare solo set of his own.

I don't know how Andrew solo will differ from Vanity beyond being unplugged, but a wide array of sounds should be on offer tomorrow! While also a matinee, this has the latest start time of the three shows previewed here (6:00 PM). Unlike the above events however, The Distraction is an all ages venue and admission for this show is under a "$5 or pay-what-you-can" model. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Agnosticism live a couple of years back!

Finally, we'll take things to the slightly misnamed March Street Stage (beside June & Friends Hair Salon at 485 Queen Street East) for an eclectic outdoor concert on SUNDAY NIGHT from local promoters Piecing It Together Shows (née Dryer Fire) in their first hard rock-featured booking of the year! The headliners tomorrow are Victoria, British Columbia noise rock/synth duo Pet Retina in their local concert debut, though drummer Max Patterson played here for Dryer Fire last June at The Drawing Club on Bruce Street under his solo project handle i.o (concert promotion is treating this as "i.o. & Pet Retina so there is a possibility that i.o will have a separate set). Pet Retina have a strong and sometimes wild brand of noise rock, so don't miss out on something different on Sunday! Local support will include "noise art" project Hinterbrane, led by local artist Michael Burtch performing alongside Frank Deresti (of Lake Effect fame) and Annie King.

As well, cryptic local anti-folk/Americana act Tye Lawless Co. (also playing at the It's The Pits Festival in Leeburn in July) will be opening here. Sunday's festivities begin at 6:00 PM, this is definitely all ages, and this is strictly a "pay what you can" event with no recommended cover charge. Weather-wise, it's too soon for an hourly forecast as of this writing, but 9&10 News is currently calling for mostly cloudy weather with a 10% chance of rain and 20° temperatures on Sunday. Of course, keep tabs on the local forecast as we get closer to showtime. Visit the above links for more on the first hard rock-featured P.IT.S. show post-renaming, and for a preview of Sunday's action, here's Pet Retina live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Agnosticism), Vanity First Updates, And New Videos!!

Let's tackle some recent news and notes from Sault Ontario on this rainy Sunday morning, including some new videos, recent updates on an album release, and leading off, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Local folk punk/emo solo project Agnosticism will return to the stage with a headlining date at The Distraction on Saturday, May 25th! Led by young & prolific local guitarist Mikhal Muto, Agnosticism (whose only social media account is on Instagram) haven't played live that much in recent months, possibly owing to Mikhal's busy schedule in at least three other bands, but I believe this will be their first public show since releasing their new EP "A Letter Of Resignation" on major streaming services, so you could call this the de facto release party! That EP will be reviewed on the SMS this month, for the record. Mikhal will be joined here by two other solo artists, including 2022 Soo's Got Talent finalist and The Floor Between Us frontman Colin Gasparelli (who opened for Jackal Blood here in February) and Mikhal's Vanity First bandmate Andrew Beggs, who is credited as "Andrew Keith" for this concert. 

No word on if Andrew's solo set will essentially be a one man unplugged Vanity First set or if he'll employ a different sound, but come down to The Distraction on East Street to find out! This Memorial Day weekend concert has an early 6:00 PM start time, no age limit, and admission set at "$5 or pay what you can". This should be a good time for fans of folk punk and acoustic stylings, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, and speaking of Vanity First, let's cover some recent updates from Andrew and Mikhal's local punk band! For those of you who haven't bought their new album "Identity Crisis" on CD or vinyl, the guys posted the back cover of it on their Facebook page on April 25th, so you can glean some more information on the album that way. They credited "Studio 702" as where the album was recorded, and you can see the complete writing and singing credits as well. Notably, Mikhal was the producer of the album, and sang lead on "Off With The Heads", "When I Fall", and "Playboy Magazine", the latter of which being the only song co-written by drummer Keeghan McAllister. Of course, that album was launched at their release party at Soo Blaster on April 20th, and they continued posting content from that show to Facebook after the fact, including lots more black & white photos by Honest Job's Drew Armstrong.

Vanity welcomed a guest guitarist for at least part of their set on 4/20, namely Carmen Muto (second from the left), who is either Mikhal's brother or cousin, I am not 100% sure which. If you want to see how he factors in, both of the videos posted from the concert feature Carmen, and both are covers, including a (sadly) vertical clip of them covering NOFX's "Linoleum", and as embedded below, a shorter but horizontal clip of them covering "Suicide" by Choking Victim. Everyone sounds good on these covers, which did seem to go over well with assembled fans, and while Carmen was stiff up there, his guitar work did help fill things out! Before we move on entirely, Vanity First also posted a "Reel" on Friday featuring in-studio performance footage of them playing "Off With Their Heads" from the new album, and heavily filtered with strobing lights (an interesting choice given that the band has confirmed that Andrew is epileptic).

I don't like "Reels", as readers will be well aware, but the video is neat looking, and I hope that a horizontal/non-"Reel" version exists to capture the whole song, especially if Vanity First intend it to be a formal music video! In any event, I can't embed it here, so watch it (and more) above, give their live Choking Victim cover a watch below, and stay tuned for more from Vanity First when it rolls in!

We'll close today with a new video of local/Barrie alternative/hard rock musician Mike Haggith's set at last year's Northern Vibe Festival in Ophir, courtesy of his Facebook page on Wednesday! While a full live-stream of Mike & crew's set was filmed at the festival last year, this is pro-shot, multi-camera footage that was filmed by Justine Chalykoff of local filmmaking company Chalykoff Studios, who reportedly filmed Mike's whole set thusly. At the time, Mike promised that "a proper full-length video" was coming, not to mention a teaser clip of an interview that Mike and his solo band recorded with Justine, but neither has made its way online in full yet. At least we have one song from the concert proper from what Chalykoff Studios shot, and hopefully we'll get more from it and the interview (even with the bassist switch) in due course! Justine filmed Mike playing his and drummer Brandan Glew's old band The Din's song "Missing", which was their sixth of eleven songs that day.

No less than five cameras (four stationary, including the camera from the live-stream) filmed the guys in action last year, so you get a lot of great looks at the band and Forest Stage setup, especially notable given how the off-the-grid nature of Northern Vibe doesn't lend itself to plentiful video content compared to something like Rotaryfest. Note that the credits list Elly McWatters as a backing vocalist, but that appears to be a remnant of the full Chalykoff Studios video to come(?), as she only joined Mike for the last two originals. Excellent video, so give it a watch below, and hopefully there's more to come before Mike returns to Northern Vibe in July!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Rhythm And Brews & The Wyld Stallyns), Plus New Videos!!

Keeping our steady string of new daily content on the SMS alive, here's another news post on this Saturday evening, so if you're back from the Cruise or the Science Festival, settle in for LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for more summer community events next month! Wrapping things up, we do have some short new videos, so here's what you should know!

Local acoustic funk/hard rock quartet The Wyld Stallyns will be among the live performers at this year's Poutine Feast over Canada Day weekend, with their set being on Saturday, July 2nd outside of the Ermatinger Clergue National Historic Site at 800 Bay Street! As you may know, the Poutine Feast is a touring festival with multiple chefs and food professionals coming from town to town cooking up various forms of poutine, with local live music and other family entertainment also on the docket, so definitely click here or above for full details on the poutine and other non-musical events! Of course, we lucked into getting this on the Canada Day long weekend for its post-pandemic return too! The Wyld Stallyns will be the opening band on July 2nd at 11:00 AM, preceding a headlining set that day at 2:00 PM by DJ Seith. As you can see in the schedule, live music is slated daily from Thursday the 30th through Sunday the 3rd, but The Stallyns are the only heavier act.

Attendance outside of The Old Stone House is FREE (the poutine is another story), and while live music only begins at 11:00 AM on Saturday the 2nd, daily start times are at 11:00 AM daily, with live music running into the evening on the 30th and Canada Day proper. Obviously, Poutine Feast is an all ages event, and hopefully the weather cooperates. The Wyld Stallyns' newest summer festival set should prove to be another fun time for attendees, so don't miss their hard rocking covers in two weeks!

Next up, Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Rhythm & Brews will play their first known concert in nearby Barbeau when they rock The Cozy Corners Tavern & Grill on Saturday, July 2nd as well! Long time readers may recall The Cozy Corners hosting local bands often in the early-mid 2010s, especially Nixxon Dixxon successors Splitshot, so how fitting is it that Brandon & Chris' current band are making their way to Barbeau all these years later? This isn't just a run of the mill concert, however, as it will effectively serve as the afterparty for the Dunbar Dirt Road Dash, an annual 5K fun run in Barbeau that will be followed by a Fourth of July weekend boat parade from Neebish Island that's ending at the tavern, with prizes and such also following. Visit Cozy Corners' Facebook page for full non-musical details! This will be Rhythm & Brews' first announced concert since their road trip to DeTour Village tonight.

If you're curious, Barbeau is much closer to the Soo than DeTour Village, it's basically a 20 minute drive down South Riverside Road away, and Cozy Corners is still located at 6800 East 15 Mile Road. All of the pre-concert festivities aside (details above), the Rhythm & Brews concert proper is at 8:00 PM with no announced cover charge and a 21+ age limit. This should be a fine opportunity for the 415E side project to make some new fans with their hard rocking cover selection, so don't miss out on all the action over the Independence Day long weekend!

We'll head back to Sault Ontario to close, starting with a promotional video of new (Jack) Spades GT drummer Tyler Reiner! Like their prior (and no longer unlisted) highlight video from their Toronto concert last month, this was filmed by Aidan Grossman of the The Grossman Film Group, and its 30+ second runtime is half devoted to Tyler (who local readers may recognize from Caym) setting up for that show and then clips from the set. Unfortunately, there is no live audio here, instead featuring an instrumental track from a rap song, giving this a bizarrely chill vibe. Well edited, but again, Aidan's sitting on some excellent raw Spades GT footage from The Rockpile. Still, give this a watch below! 

Finally, here's a new video from former Bring The Fallen guitarist Andrew Chiarello's YouTube channel, marking his first upload there in over four years! A TikTok-style "shorts" video with a sub-1 minute run time, this features Andrew jamming on his Charvel Pro-Mod DK24 guitar, oddly pillar boxed into the vertical cell phone dimensions despite not originally being shot that way (I'm not a fan of "shorts" videos, if you couldn't tell). Besides that, Andrew shows off his skills nicely in this clip, and you can see why his lead work was such a highlight in his live band days! Give it a watch below!

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

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Andrew Angelic & The Pisstanks

After a quiet weekend, we are back with this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles on this Monday morning! This ongoing monthly feature series looks at 1 or 2 defunct or inactive metal, hard rock, or punk acts from the area, in order to spotlight them and their run for current readers, with bands being randomly selected from our links the previous month! As the first selected project has minimal public information, we randomly chose a second band with no media to round things out, and as we're starting a new 2-1-3-1-2-1 rotation between the Twin Saults this month, both are from Sault Ontario. Here's what you should know on both acts!
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Andrew Angelic

Genre: Metal (though "Crunk/Pop" was jokingly listed upon his MySpace page's launch)

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Members:

Andrew Angelic (Tortured Saint, Rattlesnake Hotel, Sativa Rose), all instruments

Info/Analysis: A familiar presence in the local metal scene with bands like Chillum, Talk Shit, and The Valentine's Day Massacre, Andrew launched his short-lived solo project in June 2011, late in his then-band Sativa Rose's local run. Activity was limited to a single untitled instrumental track before quietly closing his solo work, with Andrew focusing on his local bands until moving to London the following year. Andrew's sole original was a nicely flowing (albeit slower) original that showed his guitar abilities nicely, in spite of the softer tone and mixed audio quality, and while it's a shame his solo work didn't last longer, don't miss him in his current London band Tortured Saint!

(MySpace's audio player didn't work at press time to rip Andrew's song for embedding in this profile, despite the player appearing to load correctly. When the song is known to be streamable, or we otherwise obtain the file, we will include it here. This appears to be an issue with other MySpace pages, and not an isolated case. Apologies for any inconvenience!)
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The Pisstanks

Genre: Metal/Rockabilly

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Members:

Justin "Frenchie" Langlois (Redundant, The Scary Uncles, Fitswitch), vocals/guitar
Rick "Styles" White (Redundant, Fitswitch, Frightlight), guitar
Charles "Krazy Karl" Gibson (Fingerbone, The White Knights), bass
Glenn Lavoie (Nikkfitt), drums

Audio/Video: None to speak of, possibly due to the closure of their Geocities site, though they described their sound as if "Nirvana, Johnny Cash, Led Zeppelin and Green Day got into a fight". Justin and Rick's collaborative work in their current punk band Redundant will likely give the most plentiful source of media to compare, especially the Green Day end of things, but punk was only a partial inspiration for The Pisstanks. Multiple band members were also seen in related contemporary groups like The White Knights, Scattered, and The Quims, but none have surviving public media either.

Info/Analysis: A short-lived band that was only visibly active in the fall of 2007, The Pisstanks promoted themselves with many references to alcohol & drinking, even taking their name from a comedic Facebook group launched by Rick earlier that same year. While jam sessions were well documented on their MySpace page, their brand of "drunk rock" never made the public stage before disbanding by 2008, though Justin & Rick would collaborate more prominently with Redundant, and previously in Fitswitch. The talent & humorous gimmick were there, and while not much publically came of The Pisstanks, hopefully everyone stays musically active!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles! For the first time in over four years, we will be profiling two bands for a third straight month, as our first randomly selected band has minimal surviving public information, so we've added a second band in a similar state to round things out. As such, we'll be looking early 2000s Sault Michigan-area death metal band Bludgeoned and 1990s Sault Ontario hard rock band Foothill Road next month. Look for these on or around October 10th, and stay tuned for more news this week! Thanks everyone!

Three New Additions To Our Band Links, Plus New Videos!!

For our final post of January 2017, we have a stacked lineup of stories, including a new solo performance video, and leading off, no less than three new additions to our band links! Two active, one defunct, but there's some talent to be had, including new videos from the two new acts, so here's what you should know on this Wednesday morning!

The first of today's new bands to add to our band links is Re:Born, a new quintet that are effectively the successors to defunct classic metal veterans Project 421! Guitarists Blair Burch & Frank McGillivray have returned from that band alongside three new performers, including singer Robert Nevitt (who I'm not familiar with from prior local bands), former Eclipse bassist Fred Dunn, and former Din drummer Brandan Glew. Describing themselves as playing "classic power-rock with modern energy", and as "bringing (a) gen-X attitude into the millennial era", Re:Born publically launched on Monday, but had been in the works since shortly after 421's demise last fall. Note that this band is not related in any way to Re-Born, the 2014 renaming of Brutally Fatal when they briefly played lighter music before their first breakup, so I can't see there being an issue with the new band's similar name. A live concert debut is to be confirmed, but Re:Born have a few videos to check out, so what can be said so far?

Posted to their Facebook page from a recent jam session, the videos include Re:Born covering AC/DC's "Whole Lotta Rosie" and Iron Maiden's "Powerslave", while also playing two prior Project 421 originals, namely "Into the Darkness" and (as embedded below) "Running Away". From what I can hear, the guys sound good, and Robert can carry a solid tune vocally with a good edge! Of course, Blair and Frank have pre-existing chemistry, which certainly doesn't hurt either! Not an optimal look at Re:Born yet due to the guys' placement for the session, and the audio's a little muffled, but so far so good, and check our Re:Born above & below!



Next up, here's that other new-ish band, namely Slow Children Playing, a two man punk band that launched their Facebook page back in May 2016, but had previously formed back in 2014! Profuse apologies for missing this band for coverage on here at the time, but as they've never played a known public concert, it was easy for them to stay hidden. While their identities are not listed on their Facebook page beyond the nicknames "Floppy" & "Sloppy", their newest video for "The Christmas Song" gives credits at the end, confirming that their singer/guitarist is Mayadevi alum Don Henderson, and their drummer is Caleb Pitaro, formerly of RXN (more on them in a bit.) Three audio recordings are posted as Facebook videos to check out, namely of the songs  "Vimy Ridge", "Slow Children", and "Gypsy Road", but their newest track "The Christmas Song" (from December) actually has a full video featuring outdoor footage, inverted and monochrome colour filters, and Don walking to a home to jam the end of the song with Caleb.

Also, "The Christmas Song' features a guest performance by Bizotic trumpeter Louise Lamothe, and while she isn't seen in the video proper, it's nice to hear her add a unique element here! Slow Children Playing have potential and a solid punk base, but the audio quality of their older songs is mixed, Don's vocals are after hard to make out if used at all, and a bassist and/or second guitarist would help fill out their sound. Apologies again for missing Slow Children Playing on the site for this long, but hopefully we see them live at some point, and check them out above & below!



Finally for today's new bands is the aforementioned RXN, who I discovered when researching Slow Children Playing, so what can be said on this band? Pronounced "reaction", this band appears to only have been active for a short while in 2009 & 2010, and only appear to have an online presence via this Blogger page, but as they have a full biography there, they just barely have enough content to warrant an addition to our inactive band links. A high school-age hard rock band founded by guitarist Tukker Patry, their lineup was eventually rounded out by singer Shawn Dunn, bassist Josh "J-Sus" McEwen, and the aforementioned Caleb Pitaro on drums, though Josh left before their final public update. RXN had indicated plans to record studio material (with Tukker playing bass) , and had been working to purchase necessary recording equipment, having wrote original songs while in classes, but updates ceased after April 2010, and the band appears to have permanently dissolved by year's end.

As I only know Caleb musically, and as RXN didn't post any known media of their music, I can't comment on how they would have sounded, but there did seem to be clear ambition and goals at last word, and hopefully everyone remains musically active in some form!

Finally for today, here's a new video from former Bring the Fallen guitarist Andrew Chiarello's YouTube channel, marking his first upload there in three years! The video is of a guitar solo played on Andrew's Ibanez Premium RG721FM guitar, and while just being 59 seconds in length, it's a skillful solo with a progressive flourish, and it's a shame that he's not in an active band right now, as he'd be a huge asset! Very solid overall, so give Andrew's new solo video a look below, and hopefully there's more to come!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site tomorrow to kick off the month! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Highway 63, Soundcheck, And Tym Morrison), And Some Weekend Concert Previews!!

Another busy weekend of concerts is ahead in the Soo area, so let's tackle the first half of this weekend's hard rock and punk concerts today! This weekend's previously announced Scarkazm & Banned shows at Kewadin Casino branches and Saturday's March Mash-Up at The Canadian will be covered in tomorrow's weekend concert preview post, so look for them then, but for now, let's start this preview post with a bunch of SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, plus a few already announced!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to The Rockstar Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only confirmed via the venue's Facebook event page earlier this week, and no, Soundcheck still don't have an online page to plug shows in advance. Coming a week prior to their already announced St. Patrick's Day show at Rednecks, this show will mark the debut of Soundcheck's new member, though public sources are still mum on his/her identity and/or what instrument(s) they'll tackle with the Mourning Wood side project. When something is publically announced regarding their lineup expansion, we'll let you know, but don't miss Soundcheck's 1980s-centric hard rock covers TOMORROW NIGHT! Note that this is a one nighter due to Saturday night's Rockstar Bar show from local pop rock cover veterans (formerly Cherry) Crush.

There is no announced cover charge for TOMORROW'S 19+ concert, which has a likely 10:00 PM start time. See the above links for more details, stay tuned for word on Soundcheck's new member, and hopefully videos turn up soon!

Next up, we'll take a brief trip across the border for the next announced show from Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover quartet Highway 63, who will return to Dondee Lanes for one night only THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, we only heard about this show via the Dondee's Facebook page on Wednesday, and the band proper have yet to acknowledge this concert publically. Just two weeks removed from the Monkey's Uncle successors' last shows at Dondee Lanes, this veteran quartet will continue their non-Rapids Lounge "travelling" with this weekend's gig at the South Mackinac Trail bowling alley, and as usual, their fan favourite covers should find another solid reception on SATURDAY NIGHT, so don't miss out at the Dondee! There is no announced cover charge for this show, which the venue advertises having an oddly early 7:00 PM start time, though expect this to be 21+. Check the above links for more details, and here's Highway 63 live earlier this year!

Heading back to Sault Ontario, we have one more late notice gig to note here, as prolific local hard rock solo artist Tym Morrison will return to The Barrelhouse Wine & Whiskey on Queen Street East THIS SATURDAY NIGHT, joining his previously announced Gliss Steak & Seafood gigs TOMORROW & SATURDAY! Apologies again for the short notice on the Barrelhouse show, it was only announced via it's Facebook event page this morning. This marks the second straight month where Tym played consecutive Saturdays at the downtown tapas restaurant, which is still unfamiliar for our coverage, but his acoustic hard rock should fit there fine in his fourth show there on SATURDAY! As for his Gliss shows, his long-term arrangement at The Quality Inn's restaurant continues to bring entertaining hard rock covers to patrons twice a week, so don't miss these matinees over the next two evenings either!

As usual for Tym's Gliss shows, expect 6:00 PM start times and no age limit (but remember that this is a formal restaurant), while SATURDAY'S Barrelhouse gig is at 10:00 PM and is 19+, while none of the three have an announced cover charge. For more details, visit the above links and the Facebook event page for the Gliss shows, and here's Tym live!



Finally, we'll preview one show that fully & completely received advance notice, as local alternative hard rock trio The Din will headline a Fishbowl Festival event at The Gore Street Cafe TOMORROW NIGHT! Similarly to their set at last year's inaugural Fishbowl Festival, The Din will be headlining at the laundromat in the midst of their sophomore festival of arts and culture, which has expanded to additional outside venues this year, but is still primarily held at the cafe. Last year's Din show during the Pisces astrological sign-timed festival was an all-acoustic affair, and while that isn't publically advertised to repeat tomorrow, remember that The Gore Street Cafe often hosts acoustic performers, so don't be surprised if a cajon is present. Local acoustic solo artist Andrew Pucci will open tomorrow, as he did with his dormant punk band Stereo North during last year's Din show at the Fishbowl Fest, and he should provide another quality set of his rising solo material, so don't be late! Previously advertised opening sets by Mike Mikus & Jackson Reed were either cancelled or moved up to last month's garage show with Id Iota.

The only Fishbowl Festival show this year to feature a hard rock or punk band (garage show aside, and barring a late notice addition), this is an ALL AGES show with a 7:00 PM start time, and there is a $5 admission fee, while I have not seen public reference to ticket packages for the entire festival. This should be a fun concert at a well respected and unique venue that seems to be doing well for itself in year 2 of the Fishbowl Festival, so keep tomorrow's show in mind, stay tuned for our preview of Saturday's March Mash-Up next, and here's The Din live in January!



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

Pop Evil Concert Preview, Plus Din & Project 421 Updates!!

Well, this post should have been up way before now, but I had a massive blonde moment. In recent days, you may have seen me reference TONIGHT'S Pop Evil concert as taking place on Tuesday, and that's just absent-minded on my part. I got this show mixed up with May's Alter Bridge show at the Soo Kewadin from the same promoters, as that show is on Tuesday. Huge apologies for the mix-up (and thanks to Chris Paci for alerting me to my error), so here's our delayed (though not late) preview of TONIGHT'S huge Sault Michigan concert, plus some big updates from two Sault Ontario bands!

The long anticipated return of North Muskegon, Michigan hard rock quintet Pop Evil will go down TONIGHT at The Dreammaler's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino! Apologies again for the lateness of this preview, there's no excuses for the day mix-up. Making their (at least) fourth local concert appearance, and first since August 2013's Jessica Jorgensen benefit show, this hard hitting band has became a staple of rock radio in the past few years, charting #1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock charts four times since with hits like "Trenches" & "Deal With The Devil". This should be Pop Evil's biggest show yet in the Soo, so don't miss out tonight if you're still able to get tickets! Note that this will also be Pop Evil's first local gig with new drummer Hayley Cramer since replacing Joshua Marunde last year. Openers will include Los Angeles hard rock quartet Badflower, whose old school-flavoured originals should fit right in tonight, while female-fronted Detroit hard rock quintet Kaleido (replacing Ohio rockers Red Sun Rising) will kick the night off.

Kaleido's high energy, pop-infused modern rock will set the tone well to start this show, so don't miss out on them either! Promoted by Allstar Promotions (in their first concert since 2015), there are still a couple dozen tickets available in the outside sections, plus standing room only seating, so you can get hooked up on short notice at this link, at 1-800-KEWADIN, or at the in-person box office, and yes, tickets are still a great deal at just $23.50. This should be a huge show once again, especially given Pop Evil's fast rise in the mid-2010s, so don't miss out TONIGHT, apologies again for the lateness of our preview, stay tuned for fallout, and here's Pop Evil live in the Soo in 2013!



Next up, here's the latest from Sault Ontario classic metal band Project 421, as guitarist Blair Burch posted their first update since the departure of Curtis McKenzie onto their Facebook page on Wednesday. In the post, he notes that Curt's departure last fall "was building for months prior", though he still doesn't know everything that happened that night, and doesn't want to sort out the full details at this point, Afterwards, the band took the holidays off, started slowly getting back into place last month, and resumed full jams this month. For now, Blair will resume lead vocal duties with Project 421 (as he previously did upon their debut and after Curt's first departure), but the band does hope to find a new full-time lead singer. Musically, Project 421 are planning to drop glam and hair metal material and replace that with thrash and speed metal, in an effort to bring back "the attitude" and give Blair songs he can sing more effectively, while some older originals may be reworked to that end.

As for as return to the stage, a date isn't set yet, but Blair assures us "that we aren't going anywhere", and will be back with a fresh feel "before too much longer". It's great to see that Project 421 are pushing onward, especially after the ugly reports that followed their intended last show in November and the related dissolution of sister band Eclipse, and hopefully Project 421 can return in full force later this year, as they've been missed over the winter! Read Blair's full statement at the above links!

Finally for today, here's the latest from local alternative/hard rock trio The Din, starting with opener clarification for their Gore Street Cafe/Fishbowl Festival concert on March 10th (one week from Friday), as Stereo North frontman Andrew Pucci has been confirmed to kick off this show! Our source is the official Facebook event page in recent days. Though the wait continues for Stereo North's return from hiatus, Andrew is a solid choice to open, and he's developing more & more of a profile for his acoustic solo music, so don't be late on the 10th! Note that Mike Mikus and Jackson Reed were once advertised to open, but they either had to cancel, or moved their Fishbowl Festival involvement to this weekend's garage show. Also, The Din have entered this year's CBC Music Searchlight competition to find the best up & coming Canadian musicians, and if you recall how well Northwest did in Searchlight, then the sky's the limit for them!

You can vote for them at this link, and their chosen song to stream there is "Alleyways & Apartments". The Din are one of 24 Northern Ontario entries this year, and as far as I can tell, the only other local band competing is folk rock outfit Tea With Lincoln, who have since relocated to Southern Ontario, but are competing in their home district for Searchlight, so consider shooting them a vote also! First round voting actually ends tomorrow afternoon, so good luck to both bands in making the regional finals! Lastly, in continuing with their teased abundance of videos from last month's headlining gig at LopLops Lounge, two more videos from that show have been posted their YouTube channel in the past week! These feature Mike, Tammy, and Brandan playing their originals "Alleyways & Apartments", and as embedded below, "Up In The Air".

The quality here is no different from their prior videos from this show, given that these are from the same camera, but the capture The Din in solid form from this recent concert, so give them and more a look above & below, and cast your Searchlight votes before it's too late!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our YouTube Channel Profiles next, and apologies again for the Pop Evil preview delay! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Gnaeus & The Din), Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

Lately, I'd have had this weekend's concert previews at least partially up by now, but with an apparent Thursday night cancellation (elaborated on later), we had wiggle room to get this up today, after this month's YouTube Channel Profile seen below this post. Tonight, we have this weekend's known hard rock and punk concert previews, plus a new cover video, so here's what you need to know!

Local alternative/hard rock trio The Din will return to LopLops Lounge for a headlining concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice,  the show was only just announced via the official Facebook event page on Monday. Just a month removed from their Boxing Day show at the same venue with KI.C.K. and Gnaeus (more on them in a second), The Din should have a solid set in store for fans at what frontman Mike Haggith calls his favourite stage, so don't miss this concert despite the late notice TOMORROW NIGHT! Two solo acoustic performers will open this show, including folk solo project Shit Creek Survivor and Stereo North frontman Andrew Pucci, both playing their first advertised shows of the year, so come early for some entertaining unplugged music! A $5 cover charge is in effect for this 19+ show, which has an advertised 9:00 PM start time. See above for more details, and here's The Din live!



Next up, local post-punk/garage rock quartet Gnaeus will themselves headline at LopLops Lounge THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, the venue again only announced the show via it's own Facebook event page on Monday. Having joined The Din at this past weekend's January Jam (and on Boxing Day at LopLops), both bands find themselves back on that stage a week later at LopLops, just on concurrent days. Unlike tomorrow's event, Gnaeus' show on SATURDAY features no advertised opening bands, similarly to their Movember fundraiser there, so if you want a night of wall-to-wall Gnaeus, you know where to be this weekend! Similarly to tomorrow's Din concert, expect a 19+ age limit, $5 cover charge, and 9:00 PM start time to be in effect for SATURDAY NIGHT! Visit the above links for more details, stay tuned in the coming days for word on their and The Din's big upcoming show in February, and here's Gnaeus live!



Finally for currently known hard rock/punk previews, we have some previously announced concerts to touch on, as long-time Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison is scheduled to return to Gliss Steak & Seafood TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Note that there's no advertised show tonight, as the Facebook event page doesn't acknowledge a Thursday gig at all, which would mark his third straight week of just Friday & Saturday nighters at Gliss. No word yet on if this is a permanent shift or a seasonal adjustment, but remember that Tym had been playing twice a week through June before returning to a thrice weekly schedule there. If his February-opening gigs next week don't include Thursday, we'll add them to our listings accordingly, but hopefully nothing bad happened! In any event, Tym apparently has new songs to debut in his extensive setlist tomorrow and Saturday, so keep these in mind if you're at The Quality Inn's house restaurant over the weekend!

As usual for Tym's long term arrangement at Gliss, expect 6:00 PM start times tomorrow and Saturday, and while these still don't have an announced cover charge or age limit, remember where these are being held. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tym live!



Finally for tonight, here's a new solo cover video from former Ashes To Dust guitarist Alex Hemy's YouTube channel! It's been a long 10 months since Alex last posted a cover there, and while I don't know what took him so long, his return is welcomed! Now attending university in Southern Ontario, this cover is of Def Leppard's "Foolin'", though unlike some of his recent covers, this is more of a basic guitars-only rendition played alongside the original track. This is a solidly performed & recorded take on this hair metal classic, if a little reserved, so give it a look below, and see more from Alex above!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and this month's CD review in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soo Zombie Walk & Mourning Wood) And Sault Ontario Weekend Concert Previews!!

Let's get back into the swing of things with the first of this weekend's concert previews, including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, including a big returning event! Sault Michigan previews and any even-later notice concerts will come in out next post, either tonight or tomorrow, so don't worry, they are coming! Now, here's what you need to know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Mourning Wood will return to The Rednecks Saloon for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the show via their official Facebook event page earlier this week. Playing at the former Nicolet Tavern for the first time since last month's Garth Brooks tribute afterparty, Mourning Wood has indicated that "the full band" will be back for TOMORROW'S show, implying that their last few gigs there were shorthanded (though I thought all 4 members played last month.) No word on why this is a one-night-only concert though, which is reasonably unusual for them, though if it's due to a Saturday night booking elsewhere, it hasn't been publically announced. You can take in Mourning Wood's varied and often heavy blend of covers TOMORROW at 10:00 PM, there's no announced cover charge, and you must be 19 or older to attend. See above for more details, and here's Mourning Wood live!



Next up, the musical contingent for this year's Soo Zombie Walk afterparty has finally been announced, as local alternative punk/blues veterans Sykotyk Rampage, Northwest guitarist Greg Callaghan, and Stereo North frontman Andrew Pucci will be rocking out at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center THIS SATURDAY prior to the walk! Apologies again for the short notice, organizers didn't publically confirm any performers until Tuesday on the Facebook event page, much later than usual. For this eighth annual local Zombie Walk (and fourth straight at the Bushplane Museum), local zombies of ALL AGES will patrol downtown for brains and to combat the resistance, so click here for full details on events in regard to the walk proper and how to get involved! This year's music lineup will be familiar as well, with Sykotyk Rampage and Greg making their sixth & fourth straight appearances at the annual Halloween season event, with Sykotyk Rampage's involvement being especially notable as this will be their first public local concert since last year's Zombie Walk! Only Andrew is new, and if you're familiar with Stereo North, you'll know his vocal & guitar talent!

It's been way too long to see Sykotyk Rampage back on a local stage, so if you've missed them in 2016, be at the zombie walk on Saturday for their crash music! No word though on if their set will be acoustic again or not. Also, there are no online references to an afterparty for this year's Zombie Walk, and if there is no afterparty, it would mark the first walk without one since the inaugural event in 2009. For reference, last year's afterparty took place at Coch's Corner, which also hosted 2010 & 2013's afterparties, and it featured the same music lineup as the pre-walk festivities had. If anything is confirmed regarding an afterparty, we'll let you know! Sykotyk Rampage are on last on SATURDAY at 5:00 PM, with Greg and Andrew playing at 4:30 & 4:00 PM respectively, and their sets sandwich children's and adult's brain eating contests. After orientation and rules, the walk itself will take place from 6:00-7:00 PM, with award presentations following upon return to the museum.

Admission to this year's Soo Zombie Walk is $3 with a canned good donation (kids under 10 only need a canned good), while click here for full details on waiver and registration forms, particularly if you're underage. While the music announcements are on short notice and with some lingering questions (re: the afterparty), there's a fun lineup in store, including the long awaited local concert return of Sykotyk Rampage, so whether you're hungry for brains or just want to enjoy some live punk music, be at The Bushplane Museum on Saturday! For a preview, here's Sykotyk Rampage live!

Finally, we'll close with prolific local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's previously announced concerts, as he is scheduled to return to Gliss Steak & Seafood for three more acoustic solo concerts TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY! With the month of October winding along, Tym's three-peat of weekly concerts at The Quality Inn's restaurant should be another reliable and reserved attraction for fans this weekend, so keep Tym's latest unplugged shows in mind for some acoustic hard rock cover action! Remember, he is playing at Gliss next weekend, in case you want some Halloween weekend plans. As usual for Tym's long-term arrangement at Gliss, tonight, tomorrow, and Saturday's shows are 6:00 PM matinee events with no announced cover charges or age limits, but remember where these are being held. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym Morrison live a few years back!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for Sault Michigan weekend concert previews and more next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Id Iota), A New Local Punk Project, The Castle Concert Preview, And More!!

On this Tuesday afternoon, we have a stacked new post for you guys, so what all lies within? A handful of assorted recent notes, a preview of a well advertised metal concert going down tomorrow night, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this fall, and to kick things off, a new solo project, so here's what you need to know!

We have a new local punk project to add to our band links, and it is Likekissingbricks, which is led by Winkstinger bassist Andrew "Scary" MacDonald! Recorded via 4-track tapes last week, Andrew has already launched a Bandcamp page to host four demo songs of his own, including "Rainy Days", "@skankhunter42", "Rain is God's Piss", and an untitled track. On these, Andrew plays bass and drums, with no shred of vocals or guitar input yet, so as a result, it's hard to pin these down to a specific genre, but "@skankhunter42" has hardcore punk overtones, and the songs do seem to have a DIY punk attitude about them! For reference, Andrew has played with the likes of Fitswitch, The Scary Uncles, and Glunk! in the past. On the demos, you get a sense of Andrew's already-proven bass skills, and he's a fine drummer at this stage of Likekissingbricks, but we'll have to see what happens when he enlists additional musicians to round out a full lineup. Check the above links for more on Likekissingbricks, and stay tuned for more from Andrew's local projects!

Next up, here's that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as local alternative hard rock quartet Id Iota will open for former Pixo Control frontman Mike Mikus in the live debut of his solo relaunch on Saturday, November 26th at LopLops Lounge! Note that this show was originally scheduled to close their upcoming Ontario tour on Saturday, October 22nd (it's still advertised for that day on Mike's website), but I have not found a public reason for the 5 week postponement. This will be Id Iota's first local concert appearance since Rotaryfest, while it will be local fans' first opportunity to see Michael's poppier solo sound and material, and first public concert from him of any type since The Pixo Control's acoustic farewell in May at The Tech. Will his new solo band resemble the "Drowning Crown" video, perhaps with the eclectic street party vibe? Also, hopefully no one gets punched in the nose!

An oddly early 8:00 PM start time is listed for this concert, and while one assumes it will be 19+, admission fees are not announced yet (it's not yet on LopLops' event page either.) For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be an intriguing concert, both for those curious about Mike's new "cock & soul" sound, and for fans of Id Iota's established punk-flavoured originals, so see above for more info, and stay tuned for more from Id Iota soon!

Also today, here's a special mid-week concert preview, as San Francisco doom metal trio Castle will rock 180 Projects TOMORROW NIGHT in their local debut! Featuring a 2/3rds Canadian lineup, some fans may best recognize Castle as one of the bands who lost the Juno Award for Best Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year to Woods of Ypres in 2013, but their doom/psychedelic hybrid sound stands on it's own, and don't miss this dark and powerful trio at the Gore Street venue tomorrow as they wind down their Canadian tour! Local doom/sludge trio AlgomA will open with their own sludgy brand of doom metal in their first local gig since the Iskra show in July, while new local hard rock/punk jam band Gianni Gagoots will kick things off in their second announced concert set, so if you missed their debut, come see what they have in store! This concert was originally scheduled for The New American Pub before quietly being moved to 180 Projects, though The New A is still hosting events from promoters Six, Two, Oh., and don't forget about the multimedia possibilities of that venue (remember the Skynet show?)

Promoted by Six, Two, Oh., admission for this 19+ show is $5 in advance or $8 at the door, with advance tickets available at The Rad Zone, Case's Music, and at Big Guns Barbershop on East Street, though planned Gore Street Cafe availability is no longer advertised. Doors open at 8:00 PM for what should be a great night of doom metal action, so don't miss out tomorrow, visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Castle live!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or program name:

• I'm surprised that we neglected to mention this on the site at the time (our apologies), but Rock 101 has a new syndicated radio show on Sunday evenings! Entitled The Core, it's a 2 hour program focused on 1990s rock music, and it's hosted by longtime Detroit radio personality Meltdown, so you could call this a weekly sample of WRIF, if you're familiar with that station. Rock 101 has aired it since May, and it's a nice nostalgic listen with a generally heavy & alternative rotation, so listen to it Sundays at 7:00 PM on 101.3 FM before Eddie Trunk Rocks!
• The Deathsticks-headlined concert at The New American Pub on October 15th has had two quiet lineup additions via it's Facebook event page, with the debuting Dark Garfunkel (unidentified members of AlgomA playing drone music) replacing the AlgomA/Winkstinger cover union The Eighties. A reason for the switch wasn't announced, though I believe at least one AlgomA member is/was in both bands. As well, a separate act named Sleeping Together was also added, whose sound is "ambient rolling tape loops & sounds", though I know nothing more than that. How will ambient drone music do at a metal concert? Be there to find out!
• Local punk/grunge solo project Telephone & Address have posted two more songs from their upcoming albums onto their Soundcloud page! One is "He", the planned second song from "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been...", while "I Can Bleed" is planned to close the following release "Monster". I won't comment on them yet, as a review is one is likely, but check them out above! For reference, a demo called "Ignore the Platitudes" went up there last year under the artist name "Are You Now? or Have You Ever?", which was Chris Shoust & Sam Decter's short-lived side project's name, before being reworked as an album title.

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

YouTube Channel Profiles: Mr. Ander, brianhmyles, and Jamie July's Channels

For our second post on this Saturday night, here's this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! Our monthly look at 1-3 YouTube channels with at least 50% local metal, hard rock, and punk content returns with three randomly selected channels today, as the first and second channels that we selected only had two similar videos each, hence maxing out for this installment. We have some interesting footage from both sides of the border to look at today, so read on for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles!
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Mr. Ander (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYZIhDOqxw5142S4zcTzT9A)

Owner: Former Bring The Fallen/AtrophiA guitarist Andrew Chiarello

Channel Timeline: Launched on August 14th, 2013; Videos posted in May 2014

Channel Summary: Three years after Bring The Fallen dissolved, Andrew re-emerged with two solo performance videos on his YouTube channel in May 2014, including a rendition of Metallica's "Master of Puppets" and, as embedded below, an instrumental original (I believe) named "RockBro". I don't know why Andrew hasn't been in a major local band in recent years, as he was a standout in Bring the Fallen, but these videos show that he hasn't lost a step at all, and still displays the technical skill and ease on the guitar that fans remember! However, Andrew hasn't posted on his YouTube channel in almost two years.


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brianhmyles's Channel (http://www.youtube.com/brianhmyles)

Owner: YouTube user and likely Sault-area resident Brian Myles

Channel Timeline: Launched on March 15th, 2011; Videos posted the following day

Channel Summary: Brian's only uploaded videos come from the Buckcherry-headlined concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on March 14th, 2011, so it looks like his YouTube channel was launched solely to post his videos from that event. Though the show also featured Papa Roach & My Darkest Days, Brian's videos are both of the Los Angeles hard rock notables playing their songs "Sorry" and, as embedded below, "Crazy Bitch", complete with lengthy crowd banter. Both shot on vertical cell phone camera dimensions, and with attendees' heads in the way, the quality is otherwise decent, but Josh Todd's vocals are relatively flat compared to other shows of theirs. Brian's channel is definitely worth checking out for footage of this huge show from 5 years ago, but note that he hasn't used this channel since at least 2012.


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Jamie July (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMpouYR-S0CfstgPf1Ha0Ng)

Owner: Former Havadder guitarist/vocalist Jamie July

Channel Timeline: Launched on March 7th, 2014; Only video posted that same day

Channel Summary: Jamie's YouTube channel has just a single upload, that being of a sample video of classic/hard rock veterans Havadder live at The Rednecks Saloon shortly after their late 2013 reunion, featuring Jamie alongside founding singer/guitarist Jason Roy and then-members Lucas Bugyra & T.J. Case (Asylum Country) on bass & drums. The side-stage video features Havadder covering multiple songs, including some with Jamie on lead vocals, but the poor audio quality makes it hard to discern the individual tracks. As one of the few public videos of this incarnation of Havadder, it's worth watching for fans, but there are better quality videos from before and after this show. Also, Jamie hasn't visibly used his channel since this video was posted.


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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! Next month in this series, our random selections have again given us three channels (again, as the first two only had a single video), and in another coincidence, these will again include a Havadder video and footage from a major touring concert! On or around April 26th, we'll be profiling Havadder's old official YouTube channel (with a single live video), YouTube user HockeyTraditionalist's channel (with a Treble Charger video), and jjjjjeeeennnaa's YouTube channel (with three videos from Three Days Grace's 2008 Essar Center show), so stay tuned for that then, and for a new news post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!