Tarnished News & Updates From Late Last Month!!

For a second straight day, here's a single-band post from the E.U.P., as Sault Michigan classic metal/hard rock band Tarnished have been very busy in the past two weeks+, so what have they been up to as of late? Just two days after they were interviewed on Rock 101, the guys got another local FM radio interview on June 14th, this time on Bridge FM, the local classic hits station that was rebranded from Eagle Radio 95.1 in April. WUPN isn't a full rock station, but they have featured Tarnished on the Rise N' Shine Morning Show in the past, and that's where they were interviewed that day by host and station owner Tim Ellis that morning at 9:30 AM. It took over a week, but they posted a "Reel" of them covering Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" unplugged in studio on June 23rd! Note that we're staring at the back of Parker Talentino's head throughout, but I assume space concerns are to blame there.

Alas, the video itself is horizontal, but rather than upload it as a normal embeddable video, they opted to pillarbox it as a "Reel", so while nothing's cropped as a result, the video is now tiny. Definitely not ideal, but this glam metal classic is effectively acousticized, and I hope that the interview proper went well! The following day, Tarnished hit the road for Gould City (90 minutes southwest of the Soo) to perform again at the outdoor stage at Byce's Michihistrigan Bar & Grill, and photos from that night were shared to Facebook! Since Josh Fair opted to give up drumming in favour of guitar, we never quite know what form Tarnished will take for live gigs unless they specify in advance, but for this show, they called in Rhythm & Brews/ex-Highway 63 drummer Ron Suchey to guest with them again, though he did not drum on every song. Josh returned to the kit (perhaps reluctantly?) on at least two songs, while frontman Alex Traynor drummed while singing on at least one.

At least in what was posted, Parker played bass (no sign of Chris Leask). Three videos from that night were uploaded from June 19th-20th as "Reels", so while I can't embed these short vertical videos here, they include covers of The Beastie Boys' "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)" and The Surfaris' "Wipe Out", while the other one has Alex shredding Van Halen's "Eruption". At least on the latter, the vertical framing isn't a problem! Ron drums on the Beastie Boys cover, while Josh drums on "Wipe Out" with mid-song assistance from Ron. Josh is also behind the kit on "Eruption", albeit adding drum hits that weren't there on the original solo. Each "Reel" sounds heavy and lively while they last, and it looks like a good time was had by all! In their next "Reel" on June 22nd, Tarnished uploaded a "throwback to 2012". If you were expecting a throwback to Alex's then-local band Banned, you may be disappointed though!

This is actually a short cover of Anna Kendrick's "Cups" from the 2012 movie Pitch Perfect, which Alex sings while "playing" a plastic lemonade cup. Cute video, and Alex does get some good percussion out of it! On the 25th, Alex was back (in "Reel" form!) to thank their fans for giving their new single "Lightswitch" 1,000 streams on Spotify, and in the fastest time yet for one of their original songs, which is definitely encouraging news! There's much more from Tarnished to come, specifically from the past week, but let's close with a video that I can embed, namely a reaction video to "Lightswitch" by Leigh Spencer of the British YouTube channel Iridium Rock & Metal Reviews from that same day! After some initial confusion as to which band member is the lead singer based on the available credits (it's Alex), it is nice to see that Leigh's first words after he first took his headphones off were "I really liked it!"

Praise was also given to the melodies, smooth vocals and driving beat, and Leigh continued to boast about the song when it completely ended. "Lightswitch" made its way across the Atlantic via a viewer suggestion, and it's always neat to see local music find a receptive audience in a far flung locale like this, so hopefully Leigh helped expose Tarnished to even more fans in the UK and elsewhere! Check out the full reaction video below, and stay tuned for more from Tarnished on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

Ontario COVID-19 Restriction Update, New Videos, And More Assorted News & Notes!!

We're back with a new news post on this chilly Sunday afternoon, and it includes a new live concert video, some assorted updates, and more local hard rock musician exposure in a popular YouTube series! Before we get to topics about music, here's what you should know about a major news story and what it means for live music in Ontario in the short term.

We might as well start today with the province of Ontario's re-opening plans following the roll-back of restrictions on January 5th due to the highly contagious omicron wave of COVID-19, which put concerts to a screeching halt once again. In a news conference on Thursday, Premier Doug Ford revealed that the current modified Stage 2 restrictions will remain in place until this coming Friday. Starting then, the re-imposed restrictions will be incrementally scaled back at three week intervals, but specifically regarding concerts, venues & nightclubs can re-open with 50% capacity as of Friday, and will be lifted outright on February 21st (Family Day). All remaining capacity and gathering limits will be removed on March 14th, bringing us back to where we were to end 2021, though these are all subject to change if COVID case counts warrant a reversal. Vaccine passports and indoor masking requirements remain mandatory until further notice.

Read more about the provincial re-opening plans at this link or via your favourite provincial news outlet. As we learned following the end of the three full lockdowns in June 2020, February 2021, and June 2021, there are some musicians and venues who will eagerly book shows with capacity limits, so we should start to see limited concert announcements perhaps in time for Saturday the 29th, but we'll keep you guys posted no matter what. Fingers crossed that case counts and vaccination rates allow for no more COVID restrictions in Ontario, and stay safe out there!

Next up, here's a new live video of Sault Michigan hard/blues rock quartet Project 906 live at The Strongs Tavern in November, as uploaded to their Facebook page at the time! Notable as their first publically posted video featuring new drummer Odin Osogwin, the guys are playing their new original "Girls That Bleed" here. Between the side-stage camera angle, overly bright stage lighting, muffled vocals, and placement of the band members (you can barely see Dustin), this isn't an optimal look at the band, but the song does have a harder edge and good melody, so fans will definitely wanna check out the new Project 906 video below, and don't miss them in Hulbert next month!

Also today, here's some more recent appearances on the YouTube series You Rock! with Thomas Christ, which Sault Ontario/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith got good mileage & exposure out of in episodes #11-#15, but he was not in episode #16 from December 22nd. However, former No Arrow frontman Dann Pichette was (no doubt encouraged by his old bandmate Brad "Gortium85" Griffith), submitting his 2012 solo track "Swass" for a live review! You can check it out at the 2:26:48 mark (this episode is over 4 hours long). Beforehand, Thomas reads remarks from Dann about the inspiration of "Swass", and yeah, it's quite a description! Thomas compared the song to something he'd record under the influence, but he called it a fun track and said it was interesting, and you can tell that it intrigued him! Embedded below is episode #17 from December 29th.

Here, Dann submitted "Trial & Error" from No Arrow's unreleased album "Souls For Sale" (1:46:14), while the 3 hour episode ends with Mike Haggith's live cover of Prince & The Revolution's "Purple Rain" from his virtual CD release party in 2020. Thomas liked the lo-fi four track recording quality and punk energy of "Trial & Error", calling it "kick ass", while the "Purple Rain" cover was also praised for it's production values and professionalism. I have a feeling more local talent will get looked at by Thomas in 2022 episodes, but give his last two from 2021 a watch above & below!

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

 

• I have moved local hard rock band The Bridge Heads to our inactive band links, having not made a public post since new band photos appeared on their Facebook page in September 2020. Effectively the successors to Eclipse, this band launched in January of that year, and played just two concerts before the pandemic began. They did plan to press on as a trio after guitarist Daniel Horton moved out of town, but nothing really came of that. It's a shame The Bridge Heads didn't do more, but best of luck to Curtis, Daniel, and Caleb in their next moves, and R.I.P. Chris!
• Former Winkstinger guitarist Jason Ladouceur has moved back to the Soo and is looking for "someone to jam with" towards forming a heavy metal/rock band, specifically mentioning a drummer. It'd be great to see Jason back playing live again in the Soo, so message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from last night for more details!
• Vanity guitarist Mikhal Muto posted on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group yesterday himself, looking for a "serious bassist to join a punk/alternative rock band" that plays originals and covers. The description heavily implies that he's looking for a new bassist for Vanity, and while they have not publically confirmed if Nick McClelland left the group, note that Vanity's Facebook page has not been updated in almost two months. We'll keep you guys posted when more comes out on Vanity, but message Mikhal at this link for more details on the bassist search!
  

 

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

New Video Uploads From Three Local Solo Musicians!!

We're back after a couple of quiet days with a new post devoted to recent videos from local solo musicians, and we'll start with local punk musician Mikey Hawdon's conclusion of his 100 days worth of quarantune videos on his YouTube channel! If you didn't catch the references in his descriptions on Facebook and YouTube, the daily videos of "Mikey & His Uke" ended yesterday with video #100, but he is not hanging up the ukelele, just dropping to a wider release schedule so he can work on new installments without a rushed deadline (and this is presumably easier with day jobs resuming too). As for the last three daily videos, Sunday's is of Blink-182's "Dammit" with guest musicians, while Monday's is of Goldfinger's "Wayne Gretzky" (fittingly as video #99) with that band's drummer Darren Pfeiffer on hand drums and his best full hockey equipment. Embedded below is video #100, a cover of Pennywise's "Bro Hymn" with a lot of special guests!

Like last week's cover of Operation Ivy's "Unity", this cover (Mikey's longest one yet) drops the ukelele pretense very early, and it has Mikey on lead vocals alongside members of Pennywise, The Offspring, Anti-Flag, Pulley, Good Riddance, and No Big Deal, plus Darren again, George Stroumboulopoulos (seriously), and lots of familiar faces providing the chorus "Whoas", including Mikey's old Lion Ride/Detroit bandmate Brenton Ellis (now of Slumshine.) Fittingly stacked closer to the series under it's original scheduling, and it's great to see how much it has grown over three past 3 months, so check out 'Bro Hymn" below, and see much more above!

Next up, Bridge Heads/ex-Haggith frontman Curtis McKenzie has thrown his hat into the live-streamed concert arena with an hour-long performance video on his Facebook page on Monday! Over three months after hyping a Twitch live-stream that never came, Curt began by making sure everything was in working order with his setup, and introduced his set by noting that he was open to taking questions (primarily about his music career) and requests from viewers. His set began with a cover of Weezer's "In The Garage", before mentioning his renewed promotion of his music and past band pages (he even reactivated PaperClip Productions' Facebook page!) Curtis next covers The Stone Temple Pilots' "Interstate Love Song", before discussing the current status of The Bridge Heads, who only played live once before the pandemic hit and guitarist Daniel Horton moved out of town for work reasons. Curt noted that The Bridge Heads are currently planning to proceed as a trio.

While he would ostensibly be their lead singer and guitarist short term, Curtis is open to focusing on one or the other should they bring on a fourth band member. Sounds like an adaptable plan, and hopefully we see Dan back on a local stage down the road! Curt covers Collective Soul's "December", Three Days Grace's "Wake Up", and Alice In Chains' "No Excuses" next, before reiterating his current music plans, which are primarily around The Bridge Heads rather than fully resuming his solo project (he noted earlier in the video that this live-stream was more to get updated content out there.) The set resumes with covers of Lifehouse's "Hanging By A Moment", Weezer's "My Name Is Jonas", and NOFX's "Bob", before Curtis reflects on his work with the band Haggith, running through a brief Cliffs Notes version of their history. He plays their original song "Clifton Hill" from their "Deuce" album, as well as the untitled bonus track at the album's end.

Curt moves back into covers to close, including The Stone Temple Pilots' "Plush", and two System of a Down songs ("Lonely Day" & "Toxicity"), as dedicated to his 2015-2017 hard rock band Eclipse. Overall, this was a fun set with lots of strong performances, but you can tell Curt is new to a live-streamed set like this, and a sequel should be smoother for between-song banter. Also, the flashing stage lighting is very distracting for an hour-long video, and I would scrap it or at least slow it down next time. Give Curt's whole live-stream a watch below!

Finally, fellow local hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison live-streamed his 23rd at-home concert on his YouTube channel yesterday! After an unusually long 10 minute wait past the "Starting Soon" screen, the show begins, but viewers will notice that the visuals are choppy once again, which won't bode well if you're expecting a 2 hour set. Tym starts by covering Richard Marx's "Now & Forever", Air Supply's "Here I Am (Just When I Thought I Was Over You)", and Frozen Ghost's "Dream Come True", after which Tym starts acknowledging the video issues. He plays an instrumental song next, followed by Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" and Roxette's "It Must Have Been Love", but Tym spends the rest of the runtime attempting to fix the video before bailing on the stream after just over a half hour. This is the fourth straight Tuesday night show from Tym to be cut short due to technical difficulties, alas.

The audio quality was just fine, and Tym sounded as solid as ever, but the laggy video issues were never in doubt. I do like that yesterday's covers (Roxette aside) were all debuting in his live-streamed series, as far as I can recall, and hopefully tomorrow's show goes off without a hitch! Thursdays seem to have a better success rate. Give yesterday's a watch below!



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

Bridge Heads Concert Preview, Cancellations For This Weekend, And New Videos!!

Before we begin today's post, just a heads-up that tonight's Wyld Stallyns concert at The Water Tower Pub has been cancelled. The band confirmed the news on their Facebook page this morning, but did not give a reason publically for their withdrawal. Veteran local blues rock band Smokehouse will step in on short notice, so genre fans might want to consider seeing them instead! This means that two separate Stallyns' concerts this weekend were called off, which is very unfortunate, but keep reading for details on a late notice gig from them! Now, here's one more hard rock concert preview for this weekend, more apparent cancellations, and new videos!

New local hard rock quartet The Bridge Heads and guitarist Daniel Horton's new acoustic pop rock band Big Mistake will join forces for their second announced concert TOMORROW NIGHT at The Rockstar Bar! Fans saw both bands at the Acoustic Heartstrings event at the now-closed Room 21, and while this sequel event will not feature Handsome Sandwich, it will have new songs from both bands, and (for the first time) electric instruments for The Bridge Heads, so old Haggith, Eclipse, and Project 421 fans will definitely not want to miss out on their set! Of course, Big Mistake are the advertised headliners, and while not a heavy band, they have familiar faces with established names locally in prior musical pursuits, and this should be a well received second gig for them as well! Plus, in an update that just broke this afternoon, the aforementioned Wyld Stallyns will play a set as well tomorrow, helping fill the void from the postponement of tomorrow's Docs & Food & Beer & Bands event.

Fitting choice to add to the bill, albeit on late notice, and they compliment Big Mistake's unplugged format and The Bridge Heads' heavier sound well each! Visibly promoted by Daniel once again, this is a 19+ show with a $5 cover charge and a 9:30 PM start time. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's The Bridge Heads live last month!



Next up, I was planning to tackle Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover quartet Highway 63's advertised return to The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino branch tonight & tomorrow night, but I am reluctantly opting not to cover them on here, as the most recent posting on their Facebook page does not paint an optimistic picture for the short term. As shared from frontman Henry Switzer's personal Facebook page, he noted that he recently had a heart ailment repaired that apparently remedied a vocal issue that had been persisting for 9 months. While Henry was hesitant about getting back on stage, his bandmates convinced him, and he called it "the best therapy anyone could give me." The post ended by saying that "it's gonna take some time before I can do a full show, but you can expect to see Hw63 in the near future." Highway 63 last played an advertised concert (that I know of) in November, and haven't played at The Rapids Lounge since October, a weekend split with side project Mackinaw Trail.

Henry's health is a priority first and foremost, so unless otherwise stated, I'm not going to formally call these shows as taking place (Mackinaw Trail wouldn't be the replacement act either, as Henry is their frontman too.) We'll let you know when Highway 53 resurface, but here's a new solo cover that he shared to the band's Facebook page in December! Here, you can see him sing Dishwalla's ballad "Angels & Devils" (selected for a challenge by his cousin), and it's a strong showcase of his vocal range, even if his voice was still impaired when this was filmed! Give it a watch below!

Let's head back to Sault Ontario now to cover some new videos, starting with a long awaited update from The Wyld Stallyns' funk/hard rock sister band The Elements, who have finally shared a studio track from their long gestating debut EP! Almost four years after frontman Rob Speers first told me about their CD plans and gave the green light to mention them on the SMS, the guys quietly shared their studio copy of their original "I Need A Friend" onto their Facebook page last month, itself their first posting there (a cover photo update aside) since March of last year. Given the band's spotty Facebook usage, I don't know how much they'll post there (or how fast) regarding the EP, but band members' personal Facebook accounts have elaborated more, so if you know the guys, you may want to seek them out. I don't want to step on their toes regarding the EP plans, so I won't divulge the meat of those discussions without permission, but I think I can say a couple of things that wouldn't get me in any trouble.

For one, "I Need A Friend" won a poll among Facebook friends to determine the first full song release, and the tracks appear to have been produced in-house by bassist James White, presumably at White Wreckords or it's modern-day equivalent. Hopefully more information goes public soon, but it's great to finally see The Elements' EP taking public shape, and fingers crossed it makes it's way onto physical and/or digital storefronts soon! I'll hold comment on the song proper for now, pending a possible album review, but give "I Need A Friend" a listen below!



Finally for today, here's the latest from local power rock quartet Re:Born, who we haven't heard from since Toystock in late November, so what's new to report from their camp? As per their newest Facebook page post on February 26th, the guys revealed that personal life circumstances "forced us into hibernation for the winter", but they are getting back into activity in time for the spring, and they plan to have "a rock n' roll summer." They teased a return to the stage in May, since confirmed to be the final opening slot for the Anti-Queens concert at the aforementioned Rockstar Bar on May 23rd, which will end a six month stage hiatus. While not a punk band, Re:Born are a fitting choice to open, as guitarist Blair Burch did open for The Anti-Queens locally back in 2016 with Project 421, so they should deliver a hard hitting set of their own in two months! To cap off their new updates, Re:Born posted a new (if belated) video of them at the Killer Dwarfs show at Soo Blaster in April!

A cover of Iron Maiden's "Wasted Years" (one of my favourite songs of theirs), this is a well done rendition, if somewhat laid back and reserved, but this was just their second live concert. Everyone performs strongly, and it's nice to see this video finally, so give it a look below!



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

Acoustic Heartstrings Concert Videos, Plus A Solo Musician's Return!!

As we did yesterday, this post is largely devoted to musicians who played at Acoustic Heartstrings at the now-closed Room 21 this past Friday night, but in this case, we're actually looking at the show proper, courtesy of videos live-streamed from the venue's Facebook page that night! We also have a video to close from a resurgent local solo musician, but to start, let's relive that Valentine's Day unplugged concert at Room 21, albeit without videos of pop rock quartet Big Mistake. Even if they tackled a hard rock cover, they weren't filmed that night for Room 21's page, alas. We'll start with local punk/alternative trio Handsome Sandwich, who were filmed twice that night, including covers of 'N Sync's "Tearing Up My Heart" (you read that correctly) and, as embedded below, Blink-182's "Aliens Exist". Much more casual than their regular sets, especially in regards to Johnny's drum setup, but the guys are clearly having fun with these renditions, and that 'N Sync one took me a bit to register, so good work on their part! Give these a look above & below!



Next up, Room 21 also filmed debuting local hard rock quartet The Bridge Heads covering System of a Down's "Lonely Day", which won't be a shocking development for fans of these musicians, given that their predecessors Eclipse's last show was as a one-off S.O.A.D. tribute band at J.D. Pearce's annual Halloween party in 2017. A short 78 second clip, this won't be representative of their electric sets to come, but everyone adapts well for the occasion, and they are well dressed too! Unlike Handsome Sandwich's Johnny Belanger, drummer Chris Thompson played his part on a cajon. Give The Bridge Heads' first public video a look below!



Finally from Acoustic Heartstrings, this isn't of any of the actual scheduled bands, but this video was filmed before Big Mistake's headlining set, and it's of Handsome Sandwich bassist James White in a rare vocal/guitar appearance! Here, he and an uncredited percussionist are covering the second half of Alice In Chains' "Nutshell" followed by Rise Against's "Hero of War". The vocals are a little rough, but this has an authentic yet laid back nature despite the heavy lyrics, and it'd be interesting to see James in this mode more frequently! Give both covers a look below, and see more above!



Finally for today, a prolific local progressive/hard rock solo guitarist has re-emerged with new music, namely Mike Cliffe! While his Audiofumes podcast remains on visible hiatus, Mike has quietly been uploading new music onto his Reverbnation page over the winter, and while Reverbnation's usual lack of providing dates on material and posts is one of my pet peeves of that service, the first four listed songs there appear to be new. The songs include the experimental "Space Junk", the self-explanatory "Blues-In-T", and two songs with out of town collaborators. If I had to point to one for hard rock fans, it'd be "BWH1" featuring Washington drummer Bill Ray, but if you recall Mike's diverse influences and technical nature, there will be a lot to like if you crawl through his posted songs, new and old. As well, Mike posted his first new video in almost two years onto his YouTube channel last week, and it's entitled "Rock Funk Fusion", which features four different small windows of Mike recording separate tracks.

I like the funk sound and upbeat melodies here, and this is an easy track to like, but is this just the tip of the iceberg for Mike's return to his solo music in 2020? In any case, he's back in our active band links. Give Mike's new songs a listen above and below, and stay tuned for more from him and/or Audiofumes when any news rolls in!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for last month's poll results and our new poll on the site next!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Anti-Queens, The Apocalypse Afterparty, The Bridge Heads, And Handsome Sandwich!!)

Today's news post is 100% devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (all with plenty of advance notice too!), and there are a lot of familiar faces to go around here, from prominent local musicians to previously seen touring acts. Here's what you need to know in chronological order!

Local "no genre" (if alternative/punk-leaning) trio Handsome Sandwich will play a pair of solo headlining dates at The Rockstar Bar on Friday, February 28th & Saturday, February 29th! Fresh off of their unplugged set at the (reportedly) now-closed Room 21 on Friday, this will be a rare advance notice opportunity to see Johnny, Jesse, and James on stage in a weekend bar band capacity with no advertised opening acts. What kind of set will be on display from this curiously named trio at month's end, and will it be as irreverent in humour and cover selection as their other post-return gigs? Be at The Rockstar Bar next weekend to find out! As usual for single band local gigs at this venue, these are both 19+ engagements with no cover charges and likely 9:00 PM start times. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for more from their camp as it rolls in (they even updated their Facebook page for the first time in almost 2 years yesterday!)

Next up, the other two bands from Friday night's Acoustic Heartstrings concert will join forces the following week at the same venue, as new local hard rock quartet The Bridge Heads and acoustic pop rock quartet Big Mistake will rock The Rockstar Bar on Friday, March 7th! Both bands (each featuring Jack Spades guitarist Daniel Horton) made their public live debuts on Friday, so this will be a way for fans to see how both bands are developing. Big Mistake will likely not be too different thematically from night #1, being acoustic by design, but this will be our first chance to see Haggith/Eclipse successors The Bridge Heads with plugged in instruments and a full drum kit. This should be an intriguing way for fans to see two new (yet familiar) bands on stage in one fell swoop, so don't miss out! While this is also a 19+ event, the Facebook event page unfortunately lists a $5 cover charge, as well as a later 9:30 PM start time. Should be an entertaining yet diverse night of music, so see above for more details!

Also new next month, the aforementioned Handsome Sandwich and rap/metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty will hit LopLops Lounge on Friday, March 13th as the local support for Thunder Bay post-pop mainstay Jean-Paul de Roover and his backing band The Bandaid Solution! Self-described as "alt rock prog pop", the backing band is new to me, but Jean-Paul is no stranger to the Soo, having played here solo at least six times since 2009, most recently at LopLops last October. I wouldn't say Jean-Paul crosses the hard rock line, but he is renowned for his energetic live sets and diverse blend of styles in his original material, including pop rock, acapella, and electronic influences. It's great to see him back in the Soo once again! Of course, the local acts will provide some heavier and punk styles, with Handsome Sandwich getting a tune-up before opening for A Dire Setback there two weeks later, while this will be The Apocalypse Afterparty's first public concert set not affiliated with The Soo's Got Talent since their minimally advertised pop-up gigs in 2017.

No word on if Alice will be back on second bass next month, but this should be a solid showcase for The A.A.'s own energetic genre blending sound! For what it's worth, the Facebook event page lists Jean-Paul and his band in the middle slot, implying that The Apocalypse Afterparty are closing that night, but there's been no elaboration on that front. A 10:00 PM start time is advertised for this 19+ concert, which has a $10 charge at the door (no word on online ticket availability.) This sounds like a fun concert with something for everyone, so visit the above links for more details!

Finally for today's new concert post, all-female Toronto punk/grunge quartet The Anti-Queens will return to Sault Ste. Marie when they headline at the aforementioned Rockstar Bar on Saturday, May 23rd! This will be The Anti-Queens' first local concert appearance since headlining at this same venue back in July 2016, though they headlined on short notice after guitarist Valerie Knox's other band Black Cat Attack had tour van issues. Four years later, The Anti-Queens are the featured headliners from the start, and their hard hitting brand of modern punk should get a solid audience at The Rockstar Bar in three months! While not yet listed on the Facebook event page, it was created through local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades' Facebook page, heavily implying that this will be their first concert since their tour run with Random Killing in September. Surprisingly long layoff (Tiffany moving acknowledged), but they opened for The Anti-Queens last time and should do great again here!

Another opening act is to be announced, but for reference, the second local band in 2016 was the now-defunct Project 421. Promoted by Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce, this 19+ concert has a $10 cover charge (up for $5 in 2016) and a 9:30 PM start time. Punk fans will want to circle this date on their calendars, and with this one in close proximity to my 31st birthday, this might be a good way to celebrate! See the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

Half Of This Weekend's Hard Rock Concert Previews, Plus An Apparent Venue Closure!!

Before we begin today's weekend concert preview post, just two quick notes. One is that The Rad Zone re-opens at 721 Queen Street East (the former Foch Cleaners) TOMORROW at 10:00 AM, so head downtown to see how the new storefront looks and to buy some wares once again! I hope to be in myself shortly. The other note relates to this busy weekend's concert previews, as we'll be holding this weekend's Theory of a Deadman, Eric Martin, and Peril concerts for tomorrow's post due to their relatively later scheduling. Look for them then, and now, here's what you should know for half of the hard rock shows this weekend, all with advance notice!

We'll start in Sault Michigan, where local hard rock band Tarnished (or members therein) are expected to continue their "every Thursday" run of matinee concerts at Biggby Coffee TODAY! Alex and company have yet to post an update on their Facebook page in the month of February, and the venue hasn't newly plugged an acoustic matinee for this week either, but "every Thursday" means what it means unless otherwise stated, and both band and venue have went weeks between advertising gigs in this arrangement. As such, expect Alex (and Josh or Nathan?) to be on hand with more unplugged hard rock covers for tips and coffee, so don't miss out on their well received tunes this afternoon! As usual, this show has an early 12:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and no age limit, but mind the locale. See above for more details, and here's Tarnished live!



Next up, a handful of familiar faces will gather at Room 21 TOMORROW NIGHT for a Valentine's Day-themed concert called Acoustic Heartstrings! What originally began as just a seasonal concert has developed extra resonance this month, as Room 21's sister barbecue restaurant Low & Slow (located downstairs) have announced that they are leaving 480 Albert Street West after Friday. The restaurant will re-open on February 21st at 648 Queen Street East (the former J. Caroline's location), and while their announcements did not elaborate on Room 21's future, Acoustic Heartstrings co-promoter Daniel Horton indicated on the Facebook event page that he believes that "this is the last night for Room 21", which has been open since the fall of 2017. I don't know if Low & Slow plans to host concerts in some form in their new location, but hopefully the downtown locale is a boost for their business and operations, even if concerts don't continue there!

As for the concert proper, the three acts are advertised to take part, with the advertised headliners being Big Mistake, the new local acoustic pop rock quartet featuring the aforementioned Daniel Horton on guitar alongside singers Robert Nevitt (ex-Re:Born) & Taylor Emlaw, plus fellow guitarist Rick Atkins. You can hear Big Mistake cover Justin Timberlake's "Say Something" at this link, and while they are a big departure from Dan & Rob's better known projects, they have a lot of talent on hand! Resurgent alternative/punk trio Handsome Sandwich are fittingly sandwiched in the middle slot for this rare unplugged set, and the guys should adapt themselves well to the more intimate setting! Finally, the advertised openers are another debuting new band from Daniel Horton, they being his new hard rock quartet The Bridge Heads, reuniting him with his old Haggith and/or Eclipse bandmates Curtis McKenzie, Caleb Cachagee, and Chris Thompson after 2+ years apart.

While not a fully representative debut set for The Bridge Heads (see them plugged in opening for First Jason in April), this should be a fine way for them to shake off the stage rust, so don't be late! This 19+ concert has a $5 cover, and doors open at 9:00 PM tomorrow. It's sad to see Room 21 close up shop after 2½ years as a reliable source for live musical entertainment in a more casual locale, but hopefully Acoustic Heartstrings sends the venue off on the right notes! See the above links for more on the move/closure and this concert, and here's Handsome Sandwich live!



Finally for today's previews, we'll head downtown to Gliss Restaurant, where prolific local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return for his usual acoustic matinee concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY! After a busy weekend with four shows at three locales, Tym is only visibly scheduled to play at Gliss over the Valentine's Day weekend, and given that the big day is tomorrow, might Tym have some love songs ready to cover for the occasion? In any event, his covers always deliver a positive reception, so if you want some dinner-time cover action, you know where to go! As always, tomorrow & Saturday's Gliss shows are 6:00 PM matinees with no cover charges or age limits, but mind the locale, this isn't a nightclub. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live last year!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Theory of a Deadman, Eric Martin, and Peril concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Band, Peril Concert Previews, And Blood Shed Productions Updates!!

Let's get one more news post in before February rolls around, and we focus on our first CD review of 2020! Tonight, we have some assorted news and notes from two linked metal solo projects, the last of this weekend's publically advertised hard rock concert previews, and leading off, a new addition to our band links, so here's what you should know!

We have a new local band to add to our Sault Ontario band links, and they are The Bridge Heads, a very familiar quartet for fans of local hard rock in the 2010s! Confirming prior performer teases towards the third act at the Acoustic Heartstrings concert at Room 21 on Valentine's Day, this band is simultaneously a reunion of 3/4ths of inactive local bands Haggith and Eclipse, specifically featuring singer Curtis McKenzie, Jack Spades/Big Mistake guitarist Daniel Horton, bassist Caleb Cachagee, and Frightlight drummer Chris Thompson. Musically, The Bridge Heads will at least start out covering songs from the 1990s and 2000s, though they have no shortage of originals from Curt, Dan, and Caleb's collective prior band work to dip into if need be. Their live debut will be in the aforementioned acoustic show next month, but their first announced electric set will be at The Canadian Nightclub on April 26th, as they are the final opening act for that night's First Jason concert, meaning Chris is pulling double duty here.

That will be a huge platform for this new yet established group, so keep their addition in mind! It's a wonder why this new band doesn't just recycle the Eclipse name, given the identical lineup (sans Caleb) and similar set descriptions, but this could be seen as a fresh start, especially as Eclipse disbanded over two years ago. It's great to see everyone back under the Bridge Heads moniker, so check out more from them at the above links!

Next up, here's our last known and publically advertised hard rock concert previews for this weekend, as Traverse City, Michigan classic metal trio Peril will return to The Rapids Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for erroneously listing these as being in St. Ignace in prior advertising, these are definitely in the Soo. This will be Peril's first weekend booking in the Eastern Upper Peninsula of 2020, and their first Rapids Lounge bookings since the fall, so this should be another fine opportunity for fans to see Jeff, Adam, and Brooks' hard and classic rock cover onslaught! If you can't come out this weekend, don't worry, as Peril will be at the St. Ignace Kewadin in two weeks, which is an unusually quick turnaround for them in our area. As usual for Peril's Kewadin dates, these are 9:00 PM affairs with no cover charges and 21+ age limits. Visit the above links for more information, and here's Peril live!

We'll close today back in Sault Ontario with some new videos, starting with the full release of local goregrind solo project Crucify the Whore and folk punk/metal musician Chase Wigmore's second "A Couple of Degenerate Bastards" split! As released via Blood Shed Productions, the whole album can be bought on C.T.W.'s Bandcamp page on a "name your price" model, with Chase's 7 featured songs newly added, and you can stream his half on YouTube as well. Musically, Chase's material here is extreme metal in tone, similarly to "One Last Act of Defiance", so it's a fine match with C.T.W. on the final product. We just reviewed a Chase solo album on the site last month, so another one isn't in the immediate cards to review, but if you like brutal extreme metal and goregrind, and aren't easily offended, you should find something to like on this sequel split! Give Chase's half a listen below, and buy/stream the whole thing at the above links!



Finally, here's some more assorted notes from both Chase and C.T.W.'s camps as of late. Last week, Chase revealed on his Facebook page that his long-gestating rock opera was 4/5ths done, and ran for (as of the 22nd) 6,479 words. Sounds like a real labour of love, hopefully the final product lives up to the hype! Four days later, Chase posted this video to make a "special announcement" teasing "big stuff" in 2020, with the aide of a clipboard with key phrases written on it. Shades of "Subterranean Homesick Blues", anyone? This video was definitely tongue in cheek, and while he doesn't give too much away, it's an amusing watch! Meanwhile, C.T.W. head Tyler Gibson teased on the Blood Shed Facebook page that their material on the split was a teaser towards their planned third full length release, and have since posted two videos there. One is a short (and presumably long since pre-taped) video of Chase fishing, believe it or not, and the other is a 22 minutes long C.T.W. jam video, not unlike what Chase has posted!

Heavily filtered in post-production, the video features Tyler playing guitar and setting up backing tracks. There's not a lot to look at, filtered or not, and the lack of pig squealing will not be to Blood Shed diehards' liking, but the performances here are consistently brutal and right at home with existing material, so give it and more a look above & below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Soo's Got Talent Round 2) & First Round Footage!!

As promised, here's our second weekend concert preview post for this week, and it is 100% devoted to a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT concerning an ongoing local talent competition's next installment, and fallout from the opening night! Here's what you should know!

Local rap metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty have advanced to the second round of this year's Soo's Got Talent competition, and thusly will return to The Grand Gardens Verdi Ballroom at 455 Queen Street West TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the one week-turnaround left me opting to hold our night #1 results for this weekend's previews. Last Friday's opening round saw the first cuts, with Des & M.J. Barry, Tyson Bastos & Jordan Palahnuk, Debbie Graham, Serge LeBlanc, and Leila Rabanez all not moving on to TOMORROW'S second round action, but The Apocalypse Afterparty will join the other 14 surviving acts as they continue their quest to win this city-wide contest, and 10 semifinalists will be chosen to return next Friday. Come on down to The Verdi Hall to see all of TOMORROW'S action from this talented roster of artists! Like last week, this is an ALL AGES event at 8:00 PM with a $10 cover charge for adults, $5 for kids 16 and under. With all of that said, what can we show you from last week's performances?

Unlike last year, The Soo's Got Talent has a television outlet, courtesy of ONNtv, SaultOnline's over-the-top subscription TV service, which is worth considering if you miss MCTV-era local television, and they aired night #1 of the competition on tape delay on Monday night, with future rounds scheduled for the following Monday at 6:30 PM save for a Wednesday, October 9th episode. This intentionally glitchy commercial hyped the ONNtv airings as well, but if you aren't an ONNtv subscriber, you're not left in the dark, as the 2+ hours long video was posted to SaultOnline's YouTube channel on Tuesday! Each performer is featured here and linked below, complete with judges remarks afterward, and all have singers doing a cover unless otherwise stated. In chronological order, we have Andrea Dantzer (the title track from "The Sound of Music"), Coulson Perri (Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling In Love With You"), Des & M.J. Barry (PowerSource's "Dear Mr. Jesus")...

...Serge LeBlanc (Metallica's "Motorbreath"), Colin Gasparelli (Bob Dylan's "Tangled Up In Blue"), The Dancing Divas (Katy Perry's "California Gurls"), Tyson Bastos & Jordan Palahnuk (an instrumental cover of The Beatles' "Come Together"), Lauren Kroll (Alanis Morrissette's "Hand In My Pocket"), Leila Rabanez (the hymn "Amazing Grace"), Juliana Regan (Etta James' "I'd Rather Go Blind"), Madison Blair (Mark Ronson & Miley Cyrus' "Nothing Breaks Like A Heart"), Marilena Blair (Trisha Yearwood's "The Song Remembers When"), Cameron Oliver (Morgan Wallen's "Whiskey Glasses"), Ciara Pelletier LeBeouf (Rachel Platten's "Fight Song"), Bethany Pelletier LeBeouf (Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On"), Debbie Graham (Jo Stafford's "Make Love To Me"), Killabeatz doing an original beatboxing performance, Adrian Sullivan (The Beatles' "Norwegian Wood"), Greg McLeod (Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars"), and lastly, The Apocalypse Afterparty playing their inactive sister band The Noochin' Lanterns' song "Drop the Gloves".

Note that advertised performances by Madi Schomogyi, Michaela Skagen, and Marcie Tremblay are not featured here for unannounced reasons, but hopefully nothing bad happened with them to force their withdrawal! Regarding the two metal performances, I will say that I think Serge would be better accentuated with a live band and a stage setup more used to metal acts, but it's neat to see him bring that style to the table! As you can see at video's end, The Apocalypse Afterparty appear to have dropped wearing masks on stage for their return, and as such, I think it's safe to finally say that X and z are indeed "songwriters" Paul Stanghetta on vocals/bass and his wife Amanda (née Brown) on drums rather than the MPC, while Paul's ex-Keep It Lit bandmate Alice Rose (in full Tune Squad gear) has joined on the second bass.

I'll remain impartial regarding the competition here, but if you love Paul's old work as a frontman in The Fury, not to mention The A.A. and Noochin' Lanterns past runs, this should be right up your alley, and the judges give interesting feedback! Don't miss all of the action TOMORROW NIGHT at The Verdi Hall, and here's all 20 of last week's acts in action! Good luck!



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

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Jeff Hagan

After a slight delay, here's this month's YouTube Channel Profile, our monthly spotlight of YouTube channels featuring content primarily on local metal, hard rock, and punk artists & concerts, as randomly selected from our 200+ YouTube subscriptions! This month's selection features lots of concert footage from some major recent concerts, so here's what you should know!
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Jeff Hagan (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU_KmHRJvgtcTvFpNyGLgRA) 

Owner: Sault Michigan-area resident Jeff Hagan

Channel Timeline: Launched on September 12th, 2013; Videos posted from January 2014 through May 2017

Channel Summary: With one exception, Jeff's channel is devoted to videos from hard rock concerts at The Dreammaker's Theater at Kewadin Casino in Sault Ste. Marie last year, including one of Pop Evil and sixteen of Alter Bridge. Jeff's first upload, footage of a snow removal truck in January 2014, is the sole exception.

Why You Should Watch: This channel will be of primary interest to Alter Bridge fans, especially as Jeff filmed almost their entire setlist before the encore (only three or so songs didn't get filmed by him), while Pop Evil fans will appreciate his video from their concert last year too! The snow removal video may be of interest for those aware of last year's winter conditions in the area, but has no musical connection beyond it's hosted channel. Also, note that this channel hasn't seen any visible activity in the past year.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out

100 in a 55 - Pop Evil: Jeff's first concert video on his channel came from Muskegon hard rock quintet Pop Evil's headlining concert at The Dreammaker's Theater on February 26th, 2017, and it's of their early hit single "100 in a 55". Filmed at a high but zoomed angle, the washed out lighting, muffled audio, and the abbreviated length don't help matters, but it's a solid video for diehard Pop Evil fans! Other videos from this concert are floating around on YouTube, primarily at this link (which also includes this concert's opening acts.)



Alter Bridge - Intro/Writing on the Wall: Jeff's remaining 16 videos come from Orlando hard rock quartet Alter Bridge's headlining concert at the Soo Kewadin on May 16th, 2017, including videos of their songs "Come to Life", "Ghost Of Days Gone By", "Cry of Achilles", "Addicted to Pain", "Rise Today", "Metalingus", "Open Your Eyes" (erroneously uploaded twice), "My Champion", "Crows on a Wire", "Blackbird", "Slip to the Void", frontman Myles Kennedy's acoustic renditions of "Watch Over You" & "Wonderful Life", and as featured here, their opener "The Writing on the Wall" and it's preceding introduction. The audio has it's muffled moments, but this is a nice entry into Jeff's Alter Bridge uploads, and he has a nice central angle of the band from his high vantage point!



Alter Bridge - Waters Rising 5/16/17: The lone video of Jeff's not linked above is of Alter Bridge playing their song "Waters Rising", notable for featuring guitarist Mark Tremonti on lead vocals. This song doesn't reach the thrash levels of his namesake metal band Tremonti, but it's a solid performance from their "Fortress" album, and well worth a watch for long-time Alter Bridge fans! This concert was blessed with loads of YouTube videos from multiple channels (some featuring openers In Flames), so be sure to search for them on YouTube for alternate takes and songs that Jeff didn't post, including of the mid-set marriage proposal.


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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Next month in this series, we'll be looking at multiple channels again, as our first randomly selected channel only had 3 videos of the same style, and our second only had one period, so it's another triple header for June! Our next profiles will be on the channels of former F.A.T.I.L. guitarist Brook Moreau (featuring 3 solo covers) user deresti64 (featuring a Tea Party concert video from last year), and Maltheas (featuring a Treble Charger song posting), so look for those on or around June 26th, and for more news on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Uncle Ray & Gianni Gagoots), And Still More Alter Bridge Concert Videos!!

After a quiet Monday, we are back with a new news post this morning featuring more recent concert videos to check out, and leading off, a pair of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this year, so here's what you need to know!

Windsor grindcore quartet Uncle Ray will make their local concert debut on Sunday, July 9th when they headline at The New American Pub! Specializing in ferocious yet short original songs, Uncle Ray's brand of "grinding power violence" has left a good impression on Southern Ontario fans, and hopefully they bring the same intensity to The New A later this summer, so give them a listen! Local support will include local doom metal trio AlgomA in their second local show since the end of their European tour run. With a very intriguing new album in the works from AlgomA with another notable band (more on that shortly), the second half of 2016 should be very eventful for them, so stay tuned! The other opening act will be local death metal duo Them, in their first publically announced concert of the year, not having played live publically since opening for Dumpster Mummy last fall (apologies for missing that show in previous references to their stage hiatus.)

Solid choice, and hopefully Tyler and Anthony can pick up where the left off in seven weeks' time when they open for Uncle Ray at The New A! Promoted by Six, Two, Oh., this concert has a $7 cover charge, 19+ age limit, and 9:00 PM start time. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for potential updates as they roll in!

Next up, local funk/improv/hard rock quintet Gianni Gagoots' second show under their Like Ten Productions promotional banner will take place on Saturday, September 2nd when they open for Montreal jazz/rap/funk trio The OM Sound at The New American Pub once again! Fans may remember seeing the Gagoots open for this band at The New A back on December 30th during Six, Two, Oh.'s Holiday Funk Show, and it's clear that The OM Sound left an impression on attendees with their "hip-hop/electro/jazz funk" stylings, so if you like said genres and want another sampling, here's your Labour Day weekend booking, with some harder edged instrumental jams from the local openers to kick things off! More details may be forthcoming (the show isn't for over 3 months, after all), but expect a $5 cover charge, 19+ age limit, and 9:00 PM start time. Check the above links for more details in the interim!

Finally for today, we actually have a few more videos from last week's Alter Bridge concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino to acknowledge on here! Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in! Five come from Infathom manager Michael Cole's YouTube channel, as he belatedly followed Wednesday's "My Champion" video with five more clips uploaded yesterday. Five day delay or not, it's great to see these! Michael's new videos are of the Orlando hard rock quartet playing their songs "The Writing On The Wall", "Come To Life", "Farther Than The Sun", "Addicted To Pain", and as embedded below, "Ghost Of Days Gone By". Filmed at a similar angle and quality as seen previously from Michael, these videos have a great angle of the band, but slightly muffled audio. Check them out above & below, and if more videos turn up on YouTube, we'll try to acknowledge them!



Lastly, promoters Allstar Promotions's Facebook page shared two videos from owner Dave Atkinson's personal Facebook page last week that feature Alter Bridge doing their soundcheck before the show proper began! The sub-2 minute clips (one linked here) feature instrumental performances before doors officially opened, though gathered onlookers do applaud and cheer after songs wrapped up.  This is a very unique way to view this concert, especially when you combine the empty seats and lack of vocals, and diehard fans will definitely want to check these out above & below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates as the month rolls along! Thanks everyone!

Even More Alter Bridge/In Flames Concert Videos!!

As previously teased, here's our third and presumably final showcase of videos from Tuesday night's Alter Bridge/In Flames concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino! Kudos once again to everyone who was filming at this concert, we were beyond spoiled! We'll start with a frequent sight for concert video postings around here, namely Christopher Paci, who shot sixteen videos at this concert, including ten of Alter Bridge's set, so what should you know? Uploaded on Friday, Chris filmed the Orlando hard rockers playing their songs "The Writing On The Wall", "Ghost Of Days Gone By", "Cry of Achilles", "My Champion", Myles Kennedy's acoustic renditions of "Wonderful Life" & "Watch Over You" in the same clip, "Open Your Eyes", "Metalingus", "Show Me A Leader", "Rise Today", and as embedded below, "Blackbird". The camera can be a little jittery at times, and heads can get in the way, but he had a solid angle of the band, and the audio's usually solid! Give his Alter Bridge clips a look above & below!



Chris also posted six videos of opening Swedish metal standouts In Flames from Tuesday, including their songs "Where The Dead Ships Dwell", "Moonshield", "Before I Fall", "Cloud Connected", "Take This Life", and as embedded below, their opening track "Wallflower". Similar quality to the Alter Bridge videos (naturally) though with not quite as much zoom, these capture In Flames' set nicely, and you can see them above & below as well!



Next up, fellow attendee Jeff Hagan (a prior filmer from this year's Pop Evil show) uploaded sixteen videos of his own from Alter Bridge's set to his own YouTube channel on Friday! Sadly, Jeff did not post anything of In Flames, but he did get most (if not all) of Alter Bridge's songs from Tuesday in at least partial form, including "The Writing on the Wall", "Come to Life", "Ghost Of Days Gone By", "Cry of Achilles", "Addicted to Pain", "Metalingus", "Open Your Eyes", "My Champion", "Crows on a Wire", "Waters Rising", "Blackbird", "Slip to the Void", "Watch Over You", "Wonderful Life", and as embedded below, "Rise Today". Filmed from a higher and further angle than the rest of the videos I've seen from the concert, Jeff got some solid videos all the same with a clear view of the band, though the audio can be a little muffled, "Blackbird" is regrettably filmed on the vertical camera angle, and "Open Your Eyes" was accidentally posted twice. See more from Jeff above and below!



Finally, we have two more clips from YouTube user Kathleen Hardy, who followed up her "My Champion" video from Wednesday with two additional videos on Thursday, those being of Alter Bridge's songs "Slip To The Void" and, as embedded below, "Waters Rising", notable for featuring guitarist Mark Tremonti on lead vocals rather than Myles. Filmed at her excellent angle from before with awesome audio and video quality, these are a nice way to cap off our Alter Bridge video showcases, so give these a look as well!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates as the week rolls along! Thanks everyone!