YouTube Channel Profile Series: 2010abstract's Channel & Chris Bardawill

It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles, as we once again shine another monthly spotlight on YouTube channels whose videos are at least half comprised of local metal, hard rock, or punk-specific content! There is a slight change of plans for this month, as the second randomly selected channel for this month (YouTube user ander101) is actually one that we already spotlighted back in 2016! I'm surprised that I don't err like that more often given how long this series has been going. In its place, I randomly chose a 100% unfeatured-already channel to round out this multi-channel installment, so here's what you should know!

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2010abstract's Channel (http://youtube.com/2010abstract)

Owner: A member or representative of defunct Sault Michigan hard rock band Abstract (formerly Aux and later renamed Tantrum and Tantrym Tyme), exact identity unclear

Channel Timeline: Launched on March 10th, 2011; Videos uploaded that day and two days later

Channel Summary: The then-official YouTube channel for the Guitar Studio rock camp graduates (aged just 10-11 upon their 2010 launch), Abstract posted two jam session cover videos here from two separate locales

Why You Should Watch: While there's only two videos here, it is very interesting to see where the future Tantrym Tyme started, and even as pre-teens, you get the sense that they had bigger and better things ahead, as fans will know when comparing their mid-2010s Tantrym Time gigs to their humble beginnings as Abstract! This channel was succeeded by their later TANTRUMzone channel in 2012, which only ever had one video, with Tantrym Tyme-era videos largely posted on Facebook or by fans.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

Abstract- Back in Black: The former Abstract's first and most popular video saw them cover AC/DC's "Back In Black" in a rehearsal space, with the band then-comprised of singer/guitarist Jacob Hotlen, guitarist Kyle Burton, bassist Mike East, and drummer Ethan Twardy (all but Kyle hung on through to the Tantrym Tyme years). Their ages absolutely have to be taken into account when gauging this performance and Jasob's vocals, which all undoubtedly improved by the end of Tantrym Tyme's active run, but for kids at their age, they did very well here, and Jacob nailed the solo!

Abstract- Woman: Two days later, the band's final upload here saw them cover Wolfmother's "Woman" in a new jam space with a new widescreen camera. While shorter, this is arguably a better showcase of Abstract's skills at the time, both from the more contemporary & faster song, as well as using more of Jacob's vocal range at the time. You can see why Abstract would have turned a few heads, but of course, check out Tantrym Tyme videos to see the culmination of all of their hard work as musicians as they entered high school!

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Chris Bardawill (http://www.youtube.com/@chrisbardawill281)

Owner: Sault Ontario resident Christopher Bardawill

Channel Timeline: Launched on June 6th, 2021; Videos uploaded that day through that September

Channel Summary: Alongside three non-musical videos of Chris and friends, his channel contains five videos from defunct local classic/hard rock cover quartet Obsession's set at the pandemic-restricted drive-thru Rotaryfest outside of the former Lowe's Plaza in July 2021. Obsession were represented here by singer Valerie Powley, guitarist Gabe Tessaro, bassist Jim Michaud, and drummer Steve Porco, with Rotaryfest sound tech Dan Belanger guesting for the set. The five videos include covers of Big Brother & The Holding Company's version of Erma Franklin's "Piece Of My Heart", AC/DC's "Highway To Hell", Billy Squier's "Everybody Wants You", Heart's "Barracuda", and in his most popular video, their set-opening cover of Chuck Berry's "Maybellene" with Gabe on lead vocals. Solid stuff all around from this missed local band, and they made the most of a screwy time, as nicely filmed by Chris!

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! This series will return on or around August 26th for another multi-band post, with three channels this time, as the first random selection just had three videos from across two concerts from the same band, so I randomly picked a channel with just videos from one show to fill things out with. As such, we will be looking at the channels of YouTube users Danabelle39 (featuring videos of Havadder live at the former Nicolet) and kilko8011 (featuring videos of Treble Charger playing in Toronto). Look for those next month, and for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Tantrym Tyme

Now is a good time to post this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, our monthly spotlight of a local metal, hard rock, or punk band (or two) that is not an active project at present, but deserves a look back for current readers! This month's randomly selected band comes from across the river in Sault Michigan, and was one of the most prominent young hard rock bands there in the early-mid 2010s, so here's what you should know on them!
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Tantrym Tyme

Genre: Hard Rock/Metal

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Members: (Members not in their last full lineup in italics.)

Jacob Hotlen (Unleashed), vocals/guitar
Mike East (The MC Experience), bass/occasional guitar
Ethan Twardy (Meant To Last), drums 

Kyle Burton (OmegaRock), guitar 
Quinton Jacobson, guitar/bass
Michael McLeod, guitar

Audio/Video: Videos from Tantrym Tyme's run (under any name) aren't as plentiful as they used to be, partially due to the deletion of all videos from Jacob's YouTube channel, but there are still a fair amount of clips to check out! Their Facebook page has 5 sporadically posted clips from shows between 2012 and 2016,  and a few YouTube uploads exist from a couple of different sources, like like two early official channels under older names (here and here), and a pair of more recent videos from Christopher Paci's channel, with covers of everyone from Pantera to A Perfect Circle to Rise Against. Songwriting sessions and an album were also teased in 2015, but original Tantrym Tyme content hasn't surfaced online. Here's Tantrym Tyme covering Alter Bridge at The Savoy Bar in 2015!



Info/Analysis: Publically launching in 2010 via the former Guitar Studio summer rock camp, this group immediately gained recognition by their ages alone, each being around 10 or 11 years old at the time! Soon changing their name from Aux to Abstract, they made waves with a set at that year's Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Summer Festival, and would become regular performers at community events, festivals, battles of the bands, talent shows, school functions, and sporting events around the E.U.P., and even at some nightclubs, plus a long association with Harmony Health Foods. After a brief name change to Tantrum in early 2012, they settled on Tantrym Tyme later that same year, coinciding with their first guitarist replacement. Online coverage of their shows was often on little or no notice, but concerts continued through at least August 2016's Downtown Days festivities in Sault Michigan. Tantrym Tyme quietly dissolved by 2017, with frontman Jacob Hotlen moving out of state that same year.

Arguably surviving longer together than any of the young hard rock bands that came out of the Guitar Studio, Tantrym Tyme improved with age from promise-laded kids to well rounded teenagers, and their musical evolution as they got older and more experienced is worth exploring! Jacob's vocal range and tone was a good sign of that, and he always had solid chemistry with Mike, Ethan, and their rotating second guitarist. I wish they'd promoted their shows with more advance notice online, but Tantrym Tyme were a young highlight in the E.U.P. in the early-mid 2010s, and hopefully everyone stays active in music in some form or another!
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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series returns to Sault Ontario next month for another randomly selected profile, and next month's selection is (assuming they don't return from hiatus in the coming weeks) inactive local "blue Chinese metal crash punk" quartet Sykotyk Rampage! That should be an interesting profile, so look for it on or around July 10th, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site as the week rolls along! Thanks everyone!

When Might Kiss Be Coming? Plus, Lots Of New Videos, And More!

So, are you guys craving some new local metal news and updates? As always, I've got your fix! Today, we have potential news on a certain postponed major concert, more videos (seems like we're getting piled with those lately) and some cool Kewadin Casino related stuff!! I have more assorted news to tack on to tomorrow's post as well, so keep note of that! Here we go!

So Kiss fans, have you been voting in this month's poll about your current feelings on the upcoming Kiss show? Vote on the right if you haven't yet. I won't publicize vote totals, because I don't want to swing voting in any choice's favour, but if you're voting for "I don't think they're coming at all", this might make you reconsider. Now, because of the December postponement, Kiss guaranteed we'd be getting a concert this summer, right? Well, FINALLY, official band sources (as in, Gene Simmons' Twitter account) have confirmed that Kiss will kick off their next North American tour in August! Gene's latest tweet says "...And yes, KISS is coming to North America again, starting Aug. See you all then. " Sure, a Sault Ste. Marie date isn't explicitly implied, but they have promised they'd be back, and they are a band of the word. Locally, we should know that, because they did play a makeup show in 2006 at Kewadin Casino after backing out in 2005 for that Japanese tour. Mark my words, skeptics, Kiss are coming, they will keep their word, and though maybe the show won't be announced immediately, they will, I have faith! Remember, Gene loves cash, and Kiss fans here will help with that!

Three new videos to share with you guys today, and kicking things off is a clip from the TV series Aux Weekly, which airs on the Canadian specialty channel Aux. And this video features none other than Lion Ride! Now, why would a local band be on a national cable channel? Well, it's because of their participation in The Great Canadian T-Shirt Battle, which took place on March 25th at The Hideout in Toronto! As it turns out, this battle of the bands had more going for it than just giving the top band 200 free t-shirts. The clothing company that put the battle on, Me To We Style, use organic cotton in their clothes and ensure fair wage distribution, as well as donating half their profits to Free The Children! Me To We Style put the battle on due to their affiliation with The Juno Awards and to promote sustainability within the entertainment industry.

Lion Ride themselves appear at 1:29 during some mid-performance clips for about 8 seconds. Then at 2:01, all four official members of Lion Ride are featured for a 16 second interview segment, where drummer Iron Mike Bison talks about the musical benefits this kind of event can have. Nice to see them get this kind of profile, but I have one complaint: Barely any Lion Ride music to hear, just some muffled background music of theirs during the interview. But it's still great to check out, even though they didn't win, they're winners to us! Ignore the ad at the beginning and check it out, hopefully more local bands get exposure like this soon!



Next up, SBD, the new experimental hard rock project from members of No Arrow and The Chintzy Slicks, have launched their very own YouTube channel! SBD videos had previously been hosted on frontman Dann Pichette's YouTube channel, but now those, and much more, have their own home to themselves! And by "much more", I mean 56 videos already! A number were jam session clips uploaded a few months ago, including the excessively fragmented clips of their song "Rock Paper Scissors" from Dann's channel, along with some newer jam stuff uploaded last week. But most excitingly to me is a whole pile of videos from SBD's first ever live concert, from last Friday at Foggy Notions! Looks like the band had a few camera guys filming the show, and as a result, there's tons of clips from the show online, of varying quality and length! Some even have some post-production effects (that mirrored effect in particular), and even some clips from their set breaks, including a performance by "Homeless Harry" outside of Foggy's during one of the breaks!

As for the SBD material itself, sounds good to me! Amongst covers of Pink Floyd, Mystery Machine, and Link Wray, there's lots of intriguing originals with odd titles and experimental trippiness! Some songs are more like No Arrow than I think they'd like to admit, while others try lots of unique stuff! Hard to describe some SBD stuff in ways, but that's a positive comment! It sucks that I missed the show, but thanks to the band for all the video uploads! Click here to check out dozens of SBD clips, and right here, I'll show you their performance of the song "POW! Right In The Kisser" from their debut concert!



My final video is a third demo clip from new local rockers WinkStinger! Once again, we have a video slideshow featuring a fragment of a new song, this time entitled "(Deeeerp)", which was uploaded onto YouTube user joeyvelcro's channel on Saturday! Sounds good too, more of the punk influenced hardcore I'm coming to expect, though this time, there's a slower jazzier interlude in it too, which is interesting! Hopefully we'll see more from WinkStinger in the near future, maybe a MySpace page or a show? If I hear more, I'll be sure to let you guys know! For now though, check out their newest demo clip!



Finally for today, here's a little goodie of sorts that I recently found on Kewadin Casinos' website! If you highlight "Entertainment" on the navigation bar at the top of the page, one of the choices that pops up is "Concert Pictures", and if you click that, you're taken to a photo page with photos and some related captions and info from various concerts/events at The Dreammakers Theater and outdoors, including Saving Abel, Kenny Rogers, MMA legend Dan Severn, Hoobastank, and Keith Urban (did you know his show had a higher attendance than Kiss?!), along with (for us metalheads) Kiss and Staind! These photos are NOT high resolution at all, but it's cool to see Kewadin recognize their past shows! And though I am NOT a fan of country music, the overhead crowd shot from the Keith Urban show is really cool!

That's not all though! Above the photos, it says "If you attended a meet and greet, view our photo page." Click "photo page", and you will get pictures from meet and greets at Kewadin involving bands who performed at The Dreammakers Theatre! I never even knew they had so many meet and greets, why isn't this plugged on their page more often? Well anyway, there are pictures (still none that are high res) from meet and greets with Brenda Lee, Wynonna Judd, and....Ace Frehley! Yes, he had a meet and greet/photo session with fans prior to his November show, and 13 pictures from it are on that page, including a couple faces that look slightly familiar! Nice to see Kewadin recognize their old shows and performers, they should update these pages with newer and older shows as well! Just plug the meet and greets more and make the pictures bigger! See, if you just explore websites more, who knows what you'll find, like all the band links on the SMS!

That's all for now, I have a pile of assorted news to come tomorrow, along with previews of this weekend's Tym Morrison and Nixxon Dixxon shows, so stay tuned for all of that! Rock on!