New Videos, Atomic MusicFest Updates, And Much More!!

In what may be our last traditional news post of March 2019, we have some big updates on a Northern Ontario festival with a heavy local component, and some assorted recent shorter stories, but we'll lead off with some new videos, so here's what you should know!

We'll start with a newly posted video of defunct local classic/hard rock cover quintet That's Chester live at Rotaryfest 2016! Posted to drummer Ric Datson's YouTube channel on Wednesday, this is of their cover of April Wine's "Roller" from their final gig as an active project, which was in memory of late guitarist Eugene Orlando, who passed away suddenly the previous fall. Now, footage of this particular performance is nothing new, as guitarist Gabe Tessaro's channel also has a video of this very cover, but the new video captures the full song on a stationary camera closer to the stage. For this song, former That's Chester singer Richard Fullerton provided sole guest vocals in lieu of Greg Simpson (who does come back at the end to give shout outs), while Dan Belanger filled in for Eugene on guitar. Both Rich and Dan returned as guests for That's Chester's one-off Rotaryfest set last year too.

As in Gabe's video of this performance, That's Chester were on their game here, and Richard fit in fine with his old band, so fans of That's Chester's long local run will defnitely want to see this video, on it's own merits and to compare with the other video of this song! Give it a look below!



Next up, here's a new video from local Celtic punk quintet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide's Facebook page last week, where Dustin (on location at Mission Control Studios) thanks fans for checking our their new "Lost & Found" music video on Facebook and YouTube. He also mentioned that the single can be heard on Spotify, iTunes, and similar services, and he explained some of the inspiration behind the lyrics. Short video, but it's a nice gesture to thank everyone, and hopefully more updates on their new album come out soon! Give it a look below, and stay tuned for more from The Tide's camp!



Also today, here's the latest concerning local performers at the Atomic MusicFest in Elliot Lake in August, as some more familiar faces are driving 2 hours east for this well anticipated event! Two more metal-leaning bands from the Soo will be featured over the August 10th weekend, namely power rock quintet Re:Born in their out-of-town debut, as well as funk/hard rock quartet The Elements, who will be playing one normal set and separately under their temporary Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute band guise! It's worth noting that they are now advertised to be playing under the name Higher Ground rather than Scar Tissue for unannounced reasons. If true, it's an interesting choice, given that "Higher Ground" was a cover of a Stevie Wonder song, not a Chili Peppers original, but it works well enough as a name! As for the previously teased local rappers, they will be Rick E and Kodex, who have performed in Elliot Lake before. Visit the official Facebook event page for complete details on the lineup, including acts from beyond the Soo area!
 
Not everyone will be up for a 2 hour drive for a concert festival of this scale, but if Elliot Lake is a piece of cake to get to, you'll find a full lineup of entertaining music from across Northern Ontario, and hopefully the Atomic MusicFest is a huge hit to encourage an even bigger and better sophomore installment! See above for complete details on how to attend!

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

• The Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Association is looking for bands & solo artists interested in playing at this year's Downtown Street Parties on Queen Street East, as per their Facebook page on Wednesday, and you can get more details at info@saultdowntown.com or at (705) 942-2919. For reference, there were 3 Downtown Street Parties last year from July-September, with SMS-covered acts like Northwest, Soundcheck, and The Wyld Stallyns factoring in two of them. Hopefully this year's parties are huge hits, and contact the S.S.M.D.A. above if you want in!
• Barring a sudden sign of life, I'll be moving local progressive death metal band Gates of Winter back to our inactive band links on Monday. We last heard anything new from their camp via a video of members jamming that circulated on personal Facebook accounts on April 1st of last year, with their Facebook page (which hadn't been posted on since July 2017) quietly being taken down since. I hope this isn't it for Gates of Winter, especially after so much work on the "Perihelion" EP, but best of luck to Lee, Bryan, Steve, and other past members in the future no matter what!
• Pixo Control/Vol. alum Steve Edwards is looking to join an original band in a guitar, bass, drums, or vocal role, and he has jam space with essential gear. He did specify that he does not want to play metal, pop punk, or country, and he noted that he's "looking for a project to work on in between my current one" (I don't believe that references Mik & Steve, whose Facebook page has been taken down.) Whether his hoped for project leans close to his old band work or not, message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Wednesday for details!

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

A New Local Solo Artist & EP Release, A New Music Video, And More!!

Here's a new news post for your Friday evening reading, and it includes some details on a big out of town concert event this summer, a new music video, and leading off, lots of information on the newest artist to be added to our links on the SMS. Here's what you should know!

In an admittedly belated addition to our Sault Michigan band links, let's finally roll Banned frontman Alex Traynor's solo project into our full coverage! A regular sight in our E.U.P. stories and concert previews throughout the 2010s via his work with his Kinross classic/hard rock trio, Alex has been performing solo as a permanent endeavour since at least March 2017, but I hesitated to include him in our full coverage before as his solo music seemed to lean softer than Banned. From what I've heard, that's no longer the case, so what should you know about Alex as a solo artist? Long-time Banned fans may recall them playing originals of Alex's in the past, but they appear to solely focus on covers now, while Alex posted his own solo covers & occasional audio original demos throughout 2017, not to mention increasingly frequent acoustic solo gigs across Northern Michigan. For what it's worth, Alex himself moved to Mount Pleasant in late 2017, though he & Banned still play live in our area often.

Last fall, Alex hit the studio to record his debut EP "Crazy World", which was successfully released online on March 1st via his official website & iTunes for $10, while you can stream the whole thing on Spotify and Soundcloud for free if you are so inclined. Not to mention, Alex has already released two professionally shot music videos for songs from "Crazy World" to his YouTube channel, including the title track and, as embedded below, his brand new video for the very Avenged Sevenfold-esque "Jack O'Lantern". His prior videos there were a "Crazy World" promotional clip and a surprise cover of Britney Spears' "Oops, I Did It Again."  At this juncture, I am definitely leaning towards reviewing Alex's debut EP on the site this month, which would be our first non-SweetKenny review of a Sault Michigan-area album in over 6 years, so keep tabs for updates on that front! Naturally, I'll hold full thoughts until then, but 3 of the EP's 5 songs are definitely heavy in tone.

Given Alex's frequent line blurring of his solo work and Banned gigs on social media (as well as Banned's online presentation focusing solely on Alex), it's almost a wonder why "Crazy World" wasn't advertised as a Banned EP, but Alex is a very talented musician who built on his adolescent promise very well, and it's great to see his solo career going well in the Central Lower Peninsula, plus frequent trips home! Stay tuned for much more on Alex's solo work, including unplugged gigs of his up here, and here's the "Jack O'Lantern" video! Creative visuals, this would be perfect at Halloween!

Next up, Sault Ontario Celtic punk quintet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide released their own new music video to the Tidal Records YouTube channel on Wednesday! This is for "Lost & Found", the first single from The Tide's forthcoming fourth studio album, and the description confirms that the song (and CD, I assume) was mixed by Kyle Whittaker at Strange Pumpkin Studio in St. Catharine's, who previously handled releases from local artists like Northwest, K.I.C.K., and Brendan Hodgson. The video proper was shot by young local filmmakers Avery Obeng & Matt Hroch, and it is The Rising Tide's first in 7 years, and their first with their current lineup. I'll hold full comment on the song until the album release, but the video is fairly straightforward, with the guys performing the song on a dark soundstage with deliberate lighting. Well filmed and put together, and Tide fans won't want to bypass this one, so give it a watch below!



Finally for today, I wanted to acknowledge the big Elliot Lake concert festival going down at their airport this summer, as while Elliot Lake is 2 hours from Sault Ste. Marie (an hour past the end of our coverage range), a good amount of local artists will be performing. Entitled Atomic MusicFest, this special event will take place from August 9th-11th at the Elliot Lake Municipal Airport, and it will feature bands on all three nights, leaning primarily to metal acts in the headline spots. The Friday, August 9th lineup will feature the out of town debut of local Tool tribute quartet Parabol as headliners, alongside punk/metal quintet Jack Spades and uncredited local rappers. Advertised performers on Saturday the 10th will include a couple of bands who've played in the Soo before, like Metallica tribute band Sandman & Sudbury death/thrash metal quintet Archelon, while Redefined alum Jon Rioux sings for the Ottawa-based Pantera tribute band Fantera that same night.

This is an all ages and licensed festival, with $45 weekend passes among other admission tiers, so visit the official website for complete details on how to attend. Kudos to AstroRabbit Entertainment for trying a big festival like this, and while I'm not sure how the tribute band-heavy lineup would play with some fans, this is a huge event for Elliot Lake, and hopefully there's a sizable turnout from Saultites in August! See above for more details, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the SMS soon! Thanks everyone!