Keeping this steady stream of news rolling, we have recent concert videos, new studio songs, and lots of updates from a rising young band (including a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT) to touch on, so here's what you should know!
Local grunge/alternative trio
The Pixo Control will play an acoustic headlining show at a unique venue on Friday, December 19th, when they make their debut at
Low & Slow Smoked Fusion BBQ! If you're not familiar with it, Low & Slow is a relatively new restaurant at 113 Gore Street that specializes in slow cooked barbeque items with an open concept, and they also appear to be getting into the acoustic concert promotion game, having hosted Jay Case & Frank Deresti there last month (
source here.) As such, I don't know a lot about Low & Slow as a concert site, but an acoustic setting is nothing new for The Pixo Control, having played some unplugged gigs at Gusto's Bar & Grill earlier this year. They should deliver a solid set, so keep it in mind for in just under two weeks time! For reference, 113 Gore Street is the former location of Hunter's Grill and Grazia's Italian Restaurant,
not the old GLOW/Other Place building (that's
119 Gore Street), but it's nice to have another active concert venue on Gore Street either way!
Promoted by Boxes of Boom mainman Sam Decter, this show has a 9:00 PM start time, no announced cover charge, and given the restaurant setting, may not have a designated age limit. For more details, visit
the official Facebook event page! This should be an interesting show, so keep it in mind if you're up for a more reserved night of original action! The Pixo Control have been keeping busy in recent weeks beyond their live shows too, as they mentioned on
their Facebook page on Saturday that they are working on a debut CD, confirming earlier teases via some recording session photos shared by veteran local musician Keith Conway, like the one here. Details are otherwise minimal, but it'll be interesting to hear the final product! The guys have also been subject to a handful of recent video postings, including this video posted to
their Instagram page last month, which initially confirmed the album plans, and features bassist Steve Edwards recording a bass track.
This is the first Instagram video that we've ever shared on here, and though it's short, it does give a glimpse into The Pixo Control's album recording process! It's great to finally have full confirmation of their CD plans, and I'm curious to see where things go, so give their new Instagram video a look below, don't miss them at Low & Slow on the 17th, and stay tuned for more!
Speaking of albums, local alternative/blues rock quartet
Sykotyk Rampage officially released their newest "album" on November 29th via
their Reverbnation page! Entitled
"Bring The Heavy", this is officially considered the band's 47th album, and will likely be their last of 2014's recording batch, barring a resurrection of the four dropped 2014 albums that they had once planned, like "Wyrd Radio" & "Double Live". We won't post the album artwork here though, as it's content is partially not safe for work. I have yet to hear "Bring The Heavy" in full, but love appears to be a partial theme for the tracks, with songs like "Her Love", "Love Is Good", and "Love Her So" among the 18 tracks, though no word on if any of the songs are holdovers from their three cancelled albums. Like the band's prior studio output with their current lineup, the albums have
not been posted in a full album sale format (you can buy separate tracks individually, but that's all), but fans of Sykotyk Rampage's creative improvised hard rock will be right at home, so give "Bring The Heavy" a listen above!
Finally today, remember how
Staind frontman
Aaron Lewis headlined a solo country concert at The Dreammaker's Theatre at
the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino last month? Well, we have a pair of YouTube videos of him covering songs that will be familiar to Staind fans! Attendee Dana Howland uploaded 9 videos from the show onto
her YouTube channel just in the last day, and while they're mostly of his new country originals and genre covers, one is of Aaron covering Staind's biggest song "It's Been Awhile", and the other features his cover of Pearl Jam's
"Black", which became a solo radio hit for him in the early 2000s. Both are naturally played in a country music style on this tour, and while "Black" adapts better to that genre (partially due to being slowed down), fans of his hard rock work should like these! It's just a shame that Dana only got under 40 seconds of each song, but two of her videos from Aaron's set do surpass three minutes. Well recorded with a good camera angle (despite the orientation), so give "It's Been Awhile" a look below, and see more above!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more Toystock fallout and more in the coming days! Thanks everyone!
