Full Set Videos From Room 206 & The Inner City Surfers' Recent Reunion Concert!!

If you missed the Room 206/The Inner City Surfers reunion concert for Room 206 drummer Allan Watson's stag-and-doe at Soo Blaster on April 5th, then good news, as bassist Brad "Example" Lacell posted full set videos of both bands onto his YouTube channel! This is not unlike when Brad had a camera rolling for The Surfers' reunion in 2023 for drummer Mikey Hawdon's public stag-and-doe concert, but this time, Brad got both bands on film, and from a much better angle than the partially obscured side-stage video last time. No, Brad didn't upload a video of BookcluB's opening set. While Room 206 did reunite to record a song on Tidal Records' "Junk In The Trunk" compilation in 2003, Brad said that they were live here "for the first time in 33 years". I want to say that that is a slight exaggeration, but it's certainly been multiple decades! They closed the night, but with Brad not transcribing the setlist, what all did they play?

The 66 minutes-long video begins a few minutes before Room 206 actually began, with the MC's introduction coming in at the one minute mark, including frontman Mike Yorke's brief rendition of "Happy Birthday, Big Diesel" in honour of attendee Mike Denisch. The proper set begins at the 3:22 mark with "My Trip", "Anyways", a cover of Sebadoh's "S. Soup", "Ride My Rocketship Of Love", covers of The Pixies' "Head On" and The Smashing Pumpkins' "Today", "Pretentious", "I'm Feelin' Fine", and "Garden Of Life", before some surprise covers of Tool's "Opiate" and Rage Against The Machine's "Bullet In The Head". After a shout-out from Inner City Surfers drummer Mikey Hawdon (whose local boutique label re-issued Room 206's 1994 cassette tape on vinyl), the guys played their original "Nature Calls" alongside a young guest guitarist named Skyler (I think), though I don't know his full identity off hand.

The core four members of Room 206 then played "Pretend To Be", before they invited the aforementioned Mikey Hawdon on stage to join in on guitar and backing vocals for "Good Enuff" & "I'll Be Around", the bonus songs from the vinyl re-release that Mikey performed on with guest musicians. The guys and Mikey closed the set with a cover of Fugazi's "Waiting Room", with the last two minutes of the video featuring thank yous and everyone wrapping things up. Strong set with faithfully performed renditions of Room 206's classic songs, and Mike, Dave, Brad, and Al haven't lost a step! The audio quality is better than the video quality though, as the visuals are very soft and kinda blurry, while the video was accidentally shot and uploaded while mirrored (the stage logos give it away). I am a little surprised that Room 206 didn't tackle "Last Stance", but all of "2 Innies & An Outie" made the cut, as well as a lot of unexpected covers.

Whether it takes another three decades or so for Room 206 to play another reunion concert, I can't say, but hopefully we do see them again, as they had a fun and very nostalgic night last month to help celebrate Allan and Audrey's nuptials, and if you missed out on the action at Soo Blaster, then relive their headlining set for yourselves below!

As for The Inner City Surfers, Brad's stationary camera (slowly moved to a central vantage point early on) captured their 57 minutes-long co-headlining set, and it starts with their rendition of "The Mexican Hat Dance", which is a common set opener or interlude of theirs. As it often does, it leads into their own original "Won't Belong", followed by "Screwed", "Pickin' From The Country", "Rollin", "Been Done", "Never Ender Bender", "Get High", and their cover of Stompin' Tom Connors' "Algoma Central No. 69". The Surfers introduced Room 206 drummer (and Mikey & Dustin's BookcluB bandmate) Allan Watson during that cover, after which he joined them behind the kit for a Mikey-sung rendition of The Beastie Boys' "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)". Mikey returned to drums for the rest of the set, which included "Grab My Pen", "Here's To The Days", "Booze N' Doobs", and "The Quest".

The latter was again extended to 9 minutes with 1980s covers from acts like Dire Straits and Corey Hart, so that was another fun way to cap things off! Setlist-wise, this Surfers gig was very similar to their 2023 stag-and-doe set, albeit with a re-arranged order, less cover interludes, and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" & "Commandments" replaced by the Stompin' Tom cover and "Rollin", a very rare instance of the I.C.S. playing a song from their oft-forgotten 2004 CD "Time To Travel On". While still fuzzy and mirrored, this is a quality look at Dustin, Dave, Brad, and Mikey tearing through many of their best loved classics, so local punk fans won't want to miss the latest Surfers reunion set embedded below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!

Steel City CollectorCon Pre-Party/HeadF1rst Album Release Concert Review!!

After way too long, here's a new concert review on the SMS, as I was in attendance for last night's HeadF1rst-headlined Steel City CollectorCon pre-party at Soo Blaster! Beyond the bands, this was a special event to hype up today's comic/collector's convention at the Quattro hotel, and there were vendors on hand selling clothing, crafts, and even tattoos(!) before and during the sets! Headf1rst and Mike Haggith were selling band merchandise as well (no table for Handsome Sandwich that I noticed), but all three bands' newest CDs were offered in the raffle draw. I can't speak for what was said and took place during the VIP-exclusive function after HeadF1rst's set, but hopefully we'll learn more on that front soon! Good turnout of concertgoers as well! Your openers were local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith and his backing group The Big Finish Band in their first concert since The Soo's Got Talent finals at the same venue last fall, but they had a slight change.

Rhythm guitarist Elly McWatters recently suffered a rotator cuff injury and was wearing a sling last night, so Mike played guitar instead (aside from the closing song), while Elly still took part on backing vocals and playing the tambourine. Hopefully she gets well soon! Mike & crew blasted through a 45 minute set of recent originals from Mike's solo back catalogue like "The Best You Never Had", "Hot & Cold", and "The Nature Of The Times", plus a couple of newer cuts like "I Really Hope This Gets To You", and everyone fired on all cylinders with an energetic blast of rock led by Mike's deep, melodic vocals and strong lead guitar work from Chris Nielsen, while Matt Froni laid some booming bass lines throughout, and drummer Brandan Glew was up to his usual standards behind the kit. Good stuff all around, and hopefully we see Mike & The Big Finish Band (with Elly healed up) again soon!

The middle band last night was alternative hard rock band Handsome Sandwich in their first own first show of the year, but they played as a four piece, with rhythm guitarist Brandon Ruch absent. I am not 100% sure if he was just not available last night or if he left the band, but note that their current cover photo on their Facebook page (updated in October) is from a show with his predecessor Mitch Sirie. Brandon had joined Handsome Sandwich in January of last year, and seemed to fit in well, but if he has left, hopefully things are amicable, and remember that he is still in new local country band The Golden Scoundrels with drummer Johnny Belanger!

Regardless of what's going on with their second guitarist position, Handsome Sandwich delivered a fun set of new and old originals to wrap up their seven+ month break! Alongside songs from their debut CD "Deconstructed" like "Monkey", "Conquest", and "Bitter", we also got to hear cuts from their upcoming EP (possibly named "Collage"?), including "Partyfuel", "Change A Bit", and "All Done Now". Taylor Emlaw's distinctive, cutting vocals led the way, with a stage presence this time that reminded me a bit of Joe Cocker (this isn't a complaint), and both Johnny and bassist Rafael Medina held up their end of the bargain on the rhythm and low end! The lack of a rhythm guitarist was noticeable compared to their five-piece shows since Rafael joined, as the guitar riffs and melodies were quieter with just Jesse Cook playing, but if you like Handsome Sandwich's unique yet relatable original songs, you'll have enjoyed things! 

Your headliners last night were the newly renamed Headf1rst (with a 1, not an I) in their album release party, so this was your first chance to buy their new studio album "Road Trippin'"! We'll have more on the album proper on the site soon, and yes, it will be this month's CD review on the SMS. All nine songs from the album made their setlist last night (albeit not in track listing order), as well as two holdovers from their 2024 debut EP "Head Trauma" and a surprise cover of The Killers' "When You Were Young". If you haven't seen HeadF1rst live, their hard hitting and classic-influenced brand of hard rock was a crowd pleaser, with Red Jettison's well suited vocals and very active stage presence keeping things lively, making up a lot of the slack during their set! Raine Rancourt's lead guitar work was excellent, shredding it up with the best of them, and while Claire and Liam could be a little stiff up there, they performed well!.

A fun, promise-filled, and adaptable group, HeadF1rst kept the good vibes rolling all night and gave their album the best launch possible, so definitely check them out at their next dates, local or otherwise! This was a fun collection of local talent, and while not emphasized at all in marketing, it is nice to see that all three bands have mixed gender lineups (Elly's injury acknowledged). More women in local rock bands is certainly welcomed! You can check out my photos and videos from last night's concert at this link or at our Facebook page, and as for videos, here's Mike Haggith & The Big Finish Band playing "Back Away Slowly", Handsome Sandwich playing "Without You", and HeadF1rst playing "Tour Bus Fantasy"!

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

HeadF1rst & Project 906 Concert Previews, Plus A Lengthy Livestream!!

Tonight's post rounds out this weekend's known hard rock concert previews, and in one case, we have a very long preview video to share with lots of news and notes within, so here's what else you should know for your Saturday!

Sault Michigan blues/hard rock quintet Project 906 will return to The Islander Bar in nearby Hessel for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Announced on the band's Facebook page early last month, this will be 906's first Hessel stop of 2025, last rocking The Islander Bar in August of last year. This will also be their first show since 100% confirming that hand drummer Brian Duford is an official band member rather than a recurring guest (and he apparently has antlers now!), so keep the double percussion in mind if you haven't seen Project 906 much before. You can enjoy Project 906's slate of fan-friendly hard rocking covers at The Islander Bar tomorrow at the early-ish start time of 7:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Project 906 live!

Next up, the main event of the weekend for hard rock fans in Sault Ontario goes down TOMORROW NIGHT at Soo Blaster, when local hard rock quintet HeadF1rst (now with a 1 in their name rather than an I) will headline the Steel City CollectorCon pre-party and launch their sophomore album "Road Trippin'"! This stacked event will be an effective teaser for Sunday's bi-annual collectors/comic convention hosted by Vintage Games N' Junque/Steel City Events at the Quattro hotel, and to that end, select vendors will be selling their wares before/during the concert proper, while there will also be an 8-ball pool tournament if you are so inclined. This will be the release party for HeadFirst's new CD and their first show anywhere in three weeks, and discs will be on sale, including a raffle for a chance to win free copies of both "Road Trippin'" and the newest studio albums from tomorrow's opening bands!

The CollectorCon pre-party will feature two opening acts, including local alternative hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich in their first concert of 2025, last seen on stage over seven months ago. Their own sophomore album is still not released, but look for songs from it in their high energy set tomorrow! As well, local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith and his Big Finish Band will open the proceedings in their first gig of the year, last seen at Soo Blaster during The Soo's Got Talent's finals last fall. Always good to see Mike back home, and hopefully everyone delivers his original music as solidly as ever to lead off! While the all ages festivities begin at 7:30 PM tomorrow, bands start at 9:00 PM, so the lead-up may be for the benefit of the vendors. Admission is $20, but $35 V.I.P. passes exist that include door prize tickets and access to a question/answer panel (I don't know specifics on that). The pool tournament separately costs $20 to enter.

Tickets are available at Vintage Games N' Junque in advance, and online at this link, but you can pay at the door. This should be a fun event whether you're invested in HeadF1rst's new album or the CollectorCon (or both), so definitely visit the official Facebook event page for more details, but for a preview, I would have embedded this hour+ long livestream from Vintage Games N' Junque's Facebook page on Tuesday! I can't because Facebook content matched songs played in the stream, so click here to watch. This was the "listening party" hyped in advance by the band, and due to Facebook's rule changes on livestreamed videos, this will be deleted on or around May 29th unless re-posted as a normal video, so watch it while you can! This is hosted by VGNJ owner Mike Turcotte (who stars in many of the store's videos) in their physical gaming-centric back room, with his wife Beth present off camera, and features all of HeadF1rst taking part on camera alongside Handsome Sandwich drummer Johnny Belanger.

After some light discussion about members' early guitar work, HeadF1rst revealed that they have joined Mike Haggith's indie label MorningStar Records, and "Road Trippin'" will be released via the imprint with professional packaging, which is great to hear! Extra details are next given on admission and V.I.P. perks, as well as who some of the vendors are. After some reflection on Headf1rst members' prior time in White Pines Collegiate's student band The Pine Tones, the guys noted which merchandise that they'll be selling tomorrow, with frontman Red Jettison taking time to hype local musicians in general, including a Spotify playlist called Soo Rock that he created to help group some of them together. The praise for the Soo, including from Mike (who's not from here originally) is very welcomed! Some discussion of Johnny's long-running local death metal band The Bear Hunters comes up at the 15 minute mark too, so what is said there?

HeadF1rst drummer Anthony Boudreau heavily praised seeing The Bear Hunters live at the former Oddfellows Hall, and Johnny admitted that The Bear Hunters had an offer to play the Sentiment Dissolve concert at Jay's on May 19th, but he said that the band "I think, is done". I wouldn't take that as a firm statement about the band's finality, as guitarist Mitch Sirie was spearheading new Bear Hunters content in recent months and there were hints about more coming, but I think fans understand that they're on the back end of their run regardless. This rolls in with discussion about the local scene in general and the support of each other's projects and different styles, which is great to see! At the 26 minute mark, HeadFirst frontman Red Jettison announces that they're planning a "Road Trippin' Tour" run which will see them play at Goulais Community Days (details forthcoming) as well as Bruce Mines, Sudbury, and more locations to be announced.

Bruce Mines would fit in our coverage range, for the record, we just don't hear of much there in terms of heavier shows. We'll keep you posted on the tour details when they come out, but if you came to the live-stream for the teased listening party of songs from "Road Trippin'", you'll want to jump in at the 29 minute mark. The new album's first single "Slay The Dragon" is played first, and when the interview resumes in the 34 minute range, Mike praises the song heavily, and after some related discussion about production and guest credits, a minute-long sample of a second song from the album is played 37 minutes in (check the album out or come to Soo Blaster to hear it in full!) Afterwards, Johnny gives context as to what Handsome Sandwich will play tomorrow, including at least four cuts from their still-unreleased sophomore album, which may be named "Collage". Two more HeadF1rst album singles are teased next.

The one at the 43 minute mark is named "Story Of Me", and hasn't been played live yet as of this recording. 49 minutes in, Johnny gives "the quick version" of how the Handsome Sandwich name came about, and we then hear HeadF1rst guitarist Raine Rancourt's solo from the last song on "Road Trippin'", as well as a snippet from a drinking/crowd involvement song 55 minutes in.  A few lighter questions from live-stream viewers pop up next, including the reveal that they want to release two more singles from the album, with another teaser clip next featuring very deep vocals. 61 minutes in, Johnny samples the studio version of "All Done Now" from Handsome Sandwich's upcoming album, and that is followed by everyone listening to Mike Haggith's existing song "The Nature Of The Times" (I'll assume that he has no new studio material ready, though frequent fliers may disagree!)

The last real scoop in the live-stream is the band's direct explanation into adding a 1 into their name, primarily to differentiate themselves from other bands named Headfirst elsewhere, and to get their own listing on streaming services. This post has went on long enough, so I'll detail Headf1rst's official website and their MorningStar Records signing in a separate post soon, but this is an entertaining and casual live-stream that fills in a lot of blanks and introduces some new questions that we should know a lot of answers to tomorrow night at Soo Blaster! Watch the livestream above, here's HeadF1rst live, don't miss CollectorCon, and stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Violet Scum), The Room 206/Inner City Surfers Concert Preview, And More!!

The news keeps on rolling, so let's get to a few assorted topics today along with the last (but not least) of this weekend's hard rock/punk concert previews, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for readers in Sault Michigan and the E.U.P. next month!

Muskegon "weirdo punk" trio Violet Scum and new local punk trio About:Blank will join forces for a multi-band concert at Pickles Bar & Grill in nearby Brimley on Saturday, May 3rd! Announced yesterday via About:Blank frontman Parker Talentino's solo Facebook page, this is the latest event from local promoters Serious Business, whose last concert in February (also at Pickles) was About:Blank's live debut, albeit on an all-local bill. Good to see Parker, Nathan, and Kade back at it, and if you missed them at last month's Shamrock Show, why not drive out to Brimley next month? Violet Scum's mixed-genre lineup delivers a nice grunge-laden sound that will appeal to punk and alt-rock fans, and it will be neat to see them play up here for the first time next month! Grand Rapids experimental/synth project Dick Texas (who have played at two prior Serious Business shows, including at Pickles in November) are your headliners on May 3rd.

The show will be opened (in a mild surprise) by Sault Ontario outsider folk musician Shae Tull, marking a very rare instance of an a non-Touch Of Class artist from this side of the border playing in the E.U.P.. Who knows what the tariffs and trade war may mean for the idea of Shae playing a show across the river, but hopefully things go well, and that this is the start of more cross-border bookings from Serious Business! This 18+ show (presumably in the basement of Pickles once again) has a $10 cover charge, and doors open at 8:00 PM. Nice diverse mix of styles here, and it's good to see more original multi-band shows in Chippewa County, so see above for more details!

Next up, let's wrap up this weekend's concert previews with the arguable main event for Sault Ontario punk fans, as 1990s punk band Room 206 and 2000s punk standouts The Inner City Surfers will join forces for a reunion concert at Soo Blaster TONIGHT!  As you may recall, The Surfers last reunited in November 2023 as a fundraiser stag & doe for drummer Mikey Hawdon's then-upcoming wedding, and similarly, tonight's event will be another stag & doe, this time for the impending nuptials of Room 206/Bookclub drummer Allan Watson and his fiancee Audrey. Congratulations to the happy couple, and a public concert featuring some big band reunions is one hell of a way to celebrate! Inner City Surfers reunions are always big deals for local punk fans, but Room 206 haven't played a (known) public concert since the 2021 vinyl re-release of "2 Innies & An Outie", let alone for over a decade prior, so don't miss this one!

No word on the exact lineup for Room 206 beyond Allan, but he was joined by Mike Yorke and Surfers bassist Brad "Example" Lacell" on the album, and Brad's fellow Surfers bandmate Dave Bahun was also once in Room 206. Local alternative/punk cover sextet Bookclub (featuring Allan, Mikey, and Surfers frontman Dustin Jones) will open the proceedings, as they did in 2023, so there will be lots of familiar faces rocking out, especially given the size of Soo Blaster! Tickets run for $25 in advance through the performers, with the price jumping to $30 at the door. This is an ALL AGES concert, and Bookclub leads off at 9:00 PM sharp. This should be a huge night for local punk fans, let alone friends and family of Allan & Audrey, and given the decades since we last saw Room 206 and Brad not living in town anymore, who knows when we'll see them or The Surfers on stage again! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's The Surfers live!

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

 

• There's a new on-air DJ/host on Classic Rock Sundays on 104.3 The Fox (and Rogers Radio's other rock stations carrying that format), as Adele Newton is now on air from 2:00-5:00 PM, as introduced here. This cuts into the prior 12:00-4:00 and 4:00-8:00 PM timeslots held by "Big" Kris Bawden and Lew MacDonald, but I need to listen to Classic Rock Sundays more fully to capture that day's current DJ rotation. Unlike other DJs and hosts on The Fox, Adele doesn't come from another market's rock station, rather Kitchener adult contemporary station CHYM 96.7. Tune in on Sunday to hear how Adele is doing on the former Q104!
• New local industrial metal solo act The Realignment Project revealed on their Facebook page on April 3rd that they are already mixing their second EP, and even shared the track listing for it via a photo of the songs written on a sheet of paper. The EP will be called "The Frustration Sessions" (no relation), and project leader Matt Hicks had earlier noted that he "never stopped writing while I was finishing "Afterthought", which is their debut EP from February. You can sample some of the at-home recording sessions in this Facebook "Reel" featuring heavy riffs and a keyboard line. Hopefully we hear more from T.R.P. soon, and it's good to see Matt keeping busy!
• In their newest video on their Facebook page (sadly also a "Reel"), local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 are seen covering Nickelback's "Rockstar" at The Esquire Club last month, and they were joined on stage for said cover by Fort Creek frontman Justin Grayson! I'm not a Nickelback fan, the blue lighting can overpower the view, and Justin's vocals are somewhat buried behind Jess' vocals, but this is well performed while the "Reel" lasts, so check it out above! Remember, "Reels" can't be embedded on external websites like this, nor played in background tabs, and are in permanently vertical dimensions.

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

One More Weekend Concert Preview, Plus A New Spades GT Interview Video!!

In this post, we're wrapping up this weekend's concert previews with a special event featuring a band reunion, but the rest of this post references one of the performers' current group, so here's what you should know!

Here's one more weekend concert preview for TONIGHT, as a bunch of familiar faces will join forces at The Dive Gastro Pub! Advertised by the venue as the "jam night for Joy" (the Facebook event page treats it as a normal concert), this special event is the culmination of today's celebration of life for Joy MacMillan, the late mother of Spades GT/ex-Haggith guitarist Daniel Horton, whose support was clear and instrumental throughout her son's local band work in the 2010s, as his friends and bandmates will be well aware of. Joy passed away in late November, but after a GoFundMe campaign, her celebration of life proper takes place today at the Holiday Inn Express (the former Days Inn) from 2:00-6:00 PM, but the concert portion takes place at around 9:00 PM with an advertised reunion of Mike Haggith & The Din, albeit their 2013-2014 acid jam/improv incarnation featuring Daniel alongside Mike & Curtis McKenzie.

It will be nice to see 3/4ths of the core Haggith lineup back for a night, albeit under sad circumstances, and hopefully they recapture early Din sets well in Joy's memory! Curt will also play a solo set tonight (presaging his full solo gig there next week), while Dan's former Jack Spades bandmate Rob Speers will also bring his acoustic solo act there tonight, fresh off playing at The Dive on Thursday. This special 19+ concert has no advertised cover charge, as well as refreshments and a cash bar, though seating will be limited. Visit the above links for more on what should be a special night for Daniel and his family, here's the original Din live, and R.I.P. Joy!

Next up, let's pivot to Daniel's current work in Spades GT, so what are the local/Barrie crossover thrash band up to this year/month so far? You can find out some of that info here, as drummer Tyler Reiner took part in with the Niagara Falls-based music promotion company Sofa City Sounds on January 2nd! This was streamed on Sofa City Sounds' Facebook page, and ignore that the video description says that the interview was with Black Absinthe, they labelled the wrong group. If Sofa City sounds familiar, it's because Tyler and frontman J.D. Pearce were interviewed by owner/host Amanda Schilz (and her son!) back in December 2023, and you can watch that 48 minute video at this link. A year+ later, Tyler flew solo for this remote interview, which starts with Amanda reminiscing on the first time that she saw Spades live and other related topics. We next get hype for Spades GT's first concert of 2025, which saw them play at Walterstock III.

Two days after this interview was posted, Spades joined twenty-three other bands to pay tribute to beloved GTA metalhead Walter Froebrich at The Rockpile in Toronto once again, and this discussion leads to some good personal discussion about connectivity and personal interactions among the metal community there, plus coming and going into music and awareness of it, and having the drive and passion to get your name out there and also support other local-to-you bands. Eventually, Tyler does bring up the band's eventful 2024 and plans to return to the studio next month to record their next studio album, as well as plugging some of the band's radio airplay in Southern Ontario last year, while also opening the floodgates to promoters to book them in 2025, especially in markets that they haven't played at before. Following some more Walterstock promotion, Tyler plugs what they have for sale and what they hope to have to sell soon, especially the new CD.

The band's lineup is credited about 52 minutes into the interview, with the bassist search still ongoing at the time, and J.D. was supposed to take part in this year's Sofa City Sounds interview too but couldn't due to commitments with his day job. Most of the rest of the interview is casual conversation and reiterating 2025 plans for Spades GT, but Tyler does reference how he's not the first drummer of the band, crediting their beginnings in the Soo as Jack Spades in the 2010s, and how appreciative he is to be brought into the fold. While Amanda's son didn't help in the interview this time (though pets stopped by on both ends), this was another fun interview for Spades fans! Most of it was admittedly just Tyler and Amanda talking about the scene at large and personal experiences, and not a lot of ground is covered that fans didn't already know from 2024 postings and interviews, but it's a solid and laid back watch that you can check out below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Room 206), Fort Creek Updates, And More!!

We'll take a break from 104.3 FM talk for now (don't worry, there's more to come) so we can look at some other recent news on this Monday night, including a few assorted shorter notes, a defunct local band's social media rebirth, and details on an upcoming video/single release. However, let's lead off with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for the spring!

Veteran local punk bands Room 206 and The Inner City Surfers will both reunite on Saturday, April 5th for a special concert at Soo Blaster! Almost a year & a half after the Surfers' last reunion show (a public stag & doe for Surfers drummer Mikey Hawdon's then-upcoming wedding) in November 2023, they'll return to the same venue for a similar purpose, as Room 206/Bookclub drummer Allan Watson is getting married to his partner Audrey, hence the occasion for a big reunion show like this. Any Surfers return is a big deal, but the long awaited return of Room 206 will be very notable for fans around for the local punk scene of the 1990s, and whether you checked out the 2021 re-release of their album "2 Innies & An Outie" or not, it will be neat hearing these songs live again! No word on what lineup of Room 206 is playing in April, but singer/guitarist Mike Yorke and Surfers bassist Brad "Example" Lacell were on said album alongside Allan, and Surfers guitarist Dave Bahun also played with them later.

Mikey & Allan's current alternative/punk cover sextet Bookclub will open the proceedings, returning from the November 2023 stag & doe concert, so don't be late for their varied covers! This is absolutely a public event, and tickets will go on sale "shortly" with prices running for $25 in advance or $30 at the door, exactly on par with the last Surfers reunion. Alongside this huge show announcement, Room 206 have launched a posthumous Facebook page, so we can thusly re-add them to our inactive band links! They were previously linked here via their also-posthumous MySpace page, but you know how degraded MySpace has gotten for surviving content. If we got 100% confirmation that they were reuniting beyond this gig, we'd move them to our active links, but this appears to be a one-off. The Facebook page primarily features archival content shared from Mikey's personal Facebook page, as he spearheaded the album's rerelease.

While videos there have mostly been featured on the SMS before, I would have embedded this one here if Facebook hadn't content matched the Room 206 song playing in the background off of Mikey's turntable. The video from December 2021 sees Mikey showing off what comes with the limited vinyl copies of "2 Innies & An Outie", and while the vinyl was limited to 206 copies (fittingly), you can hear it on major streaming services. For the first (only?) vinyl release from Mikey's boutique label Soolebrity Records, it came together really well, so check it out at this link, and visit the Facebook event page for more on the Room 206/Surfers reunion concert!

Next up, here's the latest from local southern hard rock band Fort Creek, who ended a month+ of social media silence last week when they revealed that they will finally release their first studio single and music video for "One For The Road" on Saturday at 8:00 PM! The song will also be available on, if you believe their Facebook post, "all streaming platforms", but we'll see how accurate that claim proves to be this weekend (nothing against Fort Creek, loads of bands say that). They'll also be launching their own website through Wix that night, and the "One For The Road" video will be up on YouTube and shared to Facebook as well. To promote the release, Sault Star reporter Maggie Kirk covered the band for this article on Friday, where it's confirmed that Fort Creek are still working on a full album with 10 songs that will be eventually recorded at Jettison Studios (as in, Red from HeadFirst?). What else is there to learn?

For one, I had no idea that singer Justin Grayson's actual last name is Dimma! I'd never seen him credited otherwise until this article, but I guess it's like with Pierre Vaillancourt usually going by Pierre Anthony in Generations. Justin talks there about working with his bandmates, why they chose the Fort Creek name, and their songwriting process, while also noting that they wanna finish up their studio work before returning to the stage (they haven't played live since their fall 2023 lineup changes). Solid press for Fort Creek as they begin this new year, so read more above, and stay tuned for the single release on Saturday!

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

• While we don't cover jam nights as full "concerts" on the SMS due to their in-built unpredictability, I'd be remiss if I didn't note that The Dive Gastro Pub hosted their own debut jam night tonight, and it was hosted by former Haggith frontman Curtis McKenzie, who frequently plays normal shows there! An array of instruments, including some electric ones, were on tap for musicians who wanted to jam with or without Curt. Hopefully this went well for all involved, and that The Dive tries it again soon!
• In their 2024 summary post on their Facebook page, local crossover thrash quartet Hails revealed that the song they recorded for the upcoming compilation CD "Punk Canada 4" will be a cover of Toronto punk legends The Almighty Trigger Happy's song "Meathook". That should come out nice and ferocious, so look for that and more modern punk covers when "Punk Canada 4" is released later this year!
• I have moved local hard rock solo musician Mike McCleary to our inactive band links. Mike's output had slowed down in 2023, and despite teasing more original instrumental material and a planned soundtrack for a local author's new novel, little came out before his last Facebook post on January 7th of last year, which was an archival video of him at a Bawating Collegiate concert performance in 2003. Hopefully we hear more from Mike in time, as he's a talented and honest musician who lays out his feelings and life well in his songs, and I was looking forward to his next projects!
  

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

The Inner City Surfers' Black Album Review!!

It's now time for our 186th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and final one of 2024! With our new album backlog finally cleared up, it's time to dip into the archives for the first time since 2022, but as local concerts in general slowed down this month, there's not much to tie in with bands who played live recently. As such, let's go with a prominent album that I have yet to review on here, and a glaring omission on my part is local punk quartet The Inner City Surfers' self-titled fourth (and final?) CD from October 23rd, 2007! Released through Fontana North and Universal Music Canada, this album (commonly nicknamed the "Black Album" to distinguish it from their also-self-titled debut "Blue Album" from 2000) was produced by Simon Head at Insight Recorders in Toronto, and features The Surfers' classic lineup, including singer/guitarist Dustin Jones, singer/bassist Brad "Example" Lacell, guitarist Dave Bahun, and drummer Mikey Hawdon. 

By far the most successful Inner City Surfers album, it's long out of print today and surprisingly elusive to find physical copies of despite its renown among fans (I don't even have a CD copy of it), but the album is readily available on major streaming services. If you want to actually buy it, mp3 copies of the "Black Album" are on sale via Amazon Music for $9.49 and iTunes for $9.99, so consider doing so to support the guys extra! Song names below are linked to their YouTube copies. With 13 tracks (including four re-recordings from 2002's "Laughing On The Outside") running for around 40 minutes, let's begin this long overdue CD review!

2007's "Inner City Surfers" leads off with "All I Know", whose lively bass intro leads into a nice folksy punk number that picks up with some strong punk riffing alternating with casual and laid back vocals and slightly punkier choruses. It changes tempo a lot, but subtly, and it's a good balance to hit the punk beats while also showing their influences and diversity! Dustin's relatable lyrics and melodic vocals fit really well, and everyone does their part musically to start this album on the right foot! Next up is the album's shortest song, "Pickin' From The Country", which is a rollicking cowpunk song that appears to feature bassist Brad Example on lead vocals, as he did on "A Few Drinks" & "If I Leave" on prior albums. I can picture this one being a live favourite with more country-amenable fans, and while I prefer punk, it's certainly a toe tapper! Brad's raspy singing fits well, and Dave's fast picking guitar shows off his range!

Third on the CD is "Getaway", which takes things back to punkier territory with Dustin singing, but this is a mid-tempo number that reminds me of something that could have been pitched as a rock radio single. In that way, it's not super ambitious, but it's a familiar song that's tightly composed and has a catchy melody. If anything, I think it could have been lengthened a bit, perhaps with a guitar solo, but it's a fun song for what it is, and it shows off their ear for good melodies and lyrics right along! That's followed by "Booze 'N Doobs", which is the first of four re-recordings from "Laughing On The Outside" five years prior. Essentially the Surfers' official drinking/smoking song, the 2007 version is played a little faster than on the original version, and obviously has better recording quality with more distinct instruments, but both versions are largely identical. A little too reserved still, but fans of their country sides will still like it!

"Here's To The Days" is up next with a more upbeat & rock based sound that always feels like it has forward momentum. For me, it's a little cheery, but it's another good example of an audience involvement number that goes well with a mug of beer, and we get Dave's best rock guitar solo on the album yet as a result! Brad's bass line is well implemented, and he shares vocal duties with Dustin, with the two alternating vocals on the verses, which is subtle but you catch on after a bit. Good stuff, if not as punk as other cuts! Another drinking-friendly song is next, namely "Never Ender Bender", which has Brad on lead vocals again. This is definitely a more rock-driven song than "Pickin' From The Country", but it surprisingly has a piano bridge to the final chorus. Nice casual sound that would again play well live, and Mikey's drumming suits the pacing of it well, so it's a fun number for fans of their drinking songs!

We hit the midpoint of the "black album" with "What A Life", which was the CD's advance single, and even had its own music video. Lyrically about wasting the best parts of life due to responsibilities, this song leans more into driving folk influences, with Dustin employing some very fast singing on the verses, which help tell the story better, so listen close! It's a little short, but they pack a lot in, and everyone handles this song with ease, though I did find that the acapella layered singing at the end went a tad too long. Fun while it lasts though! Song #8 is "Won't Belong", the second of four "Laughing On The Outside" re-recordings, Like with "Booze 'N Doobs", this doesn't stray far from the original upbeat country number, but it is a little longer, and the difference in vocals from Brad's lead singing and Dustin's portrayal of what "she" said is more distinct. I like my Surfers punkier than this, but the redo is well made!

Ninth up is "Lil' Shy", which has Mikey on lead vocals (no idea if he and Dustin traded roles as sometimes happened live though), so this will appeal to fans of his later work as a punk frontman here and in the GTA! A female singer guests on the bridge, but without access to the original album's liner notes, I don't have credits for her identity at hand. This is definitely one of the punkiest songs on the album so far, with Mikey's vocals fitting the pounding riff nicely, and it's a fun rocker with strong riffs, but the soft bridge with the female singer does kill the mood in its tracks. Then we have "Grab My Pen", which makes use of Brad's raspy lead vocals once again. Another speedy country-influenced number, guitars are really a secondary instrument here, so if you like the rhythm section, Brad and Mikey get lots of time to shine until Dave's solo, when things ramp up a little. Ends a little abruptly, but the last half will please rock fans moreso than the start!

The third "Laughing On The Outside" re-recording is next, namely "Screwed", which is the longest song on the "Black Album", despite the 2007 version being slightly shorter than the 2002 version was. Again, this doesn't reinvent the wheel from the original, with a very similar structure applied with better recording quality, but Dave's guitar solo comes off a lot better and less distorted this time! That alone makes a huge improvement for this folksy number with rocking choruses, so don't bypass it when listening! The last brand new song on this album is "Someone To Lean On", which is a fuller rock song with some southern flourish in the lead guitar. Strong track with a good melody and lots of stuff for everyone in the band to do, and it leans more towards punk than some tracks on offer while still having a rootsy influence, so it's a late highlight for fans, especially if you prefer Dustin on lead vocals!

The "Black Album" ends with one more re-recording from "Laughing On The Outside", that being "The Quest". Compared to the original, the 2007 version of "The Quest" is a little faster, but otherwise sticks close in structure despite the newer and better recording quality (the "Fire!" yells are better layered here also). Fun galloping punk number to close things, and it's well accentuated from the revision, so fans of The Inner City Surfers' punk side will get their fill to close! So, what are my final thoughts on The Inner City Surfers' last and biggest CD? While there are more punk-centric albums out there from the members in other projects, especially their prior self-titled album from 2000, this really showed off their genre hybrid sound to its maximum appeal, and it's a fun listen! Given that four songs are re-recordings, it's easy to write this off as just "Laughing On The Outside 2", especially as its predecessor "Time To Travel On" leaned more into punk than the Surfers albums that surrounded it.

The guys knew what sound they wanted to present, and it's a nicely refined sound that let them naturally play punk, folk, or country without it sounding out of place. Brad definitely got a lot of time to shine on vocals here, and his raspy grit was welcomed even if not generally used on punk songs, while Dustin's melodic singing fit those tracks better and kept things familiar on that level. Dave had some strong solos and lead guitar, and Mikey's drumming was great as always! "Getaway", (most of) "Lil' Shy", and "Someone To Lean On" were among my favourites of the new cuts, and while the re-recordings didn't change a lot, props to Dave for making his guitar solo fit better and more naturally on "Screwed" the second time around! I would have liked more punk than we got, especially as I'm not a big country fan, but the "Black Album" perfectly encapsulates The Surfers' mid-late 2000s peak!

This CD deserved the success, exposure, and accolades that it got at the time, so buy or stream it for yourself at the above links, and I hope you guys liked this month's CD review! For 2025, we'll have another new review to kick off the year in January, and while I don't yet know what album that will be, check next month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post for new possibilities. That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site very soon! Thanks everyone!

Spades GT Updates & Videos From December & January!!

Before we begin today's post, I wanted to acknowledge that local funk/hard rock cover band The Wyld Stallyns did not play at Shooters Downstairs Lounge last night for unannounced reasons, with no band replacing them. The band & venue never publically confirmed or denied the gig, which new drummer Brandan Glew announced on his personal Facebook page last month. The Stallyns are not known for frequently updating their Facebook page, alas, but I do apologize for the erroneous plug on Thursday. I'd have noted that it was cancelled had someone publically said something in advance! My thanks to Sarah Vikken (who was present for an unrelated event) for confirming the lack of a band last night.

Now let's dive into more recent news and notes from local/Barrie crossover thrash band Spades GT, so what else have they been up to since the turn of the new year? On December 30th, Joe Taylor of the music website Blast Toronto reviewed their newest album "Sewer City Radio", recommending the album to fans of Motorhead, Anvil, The Offspring, and The Ramones. He used a lot of hyperbole to pump up this album in a brief but positive write-up, so give it a look at this link! The rubber chicken frequently pops up in Joe's CD reviews, if you wanted context. On New Year's Day, the band posted a "Reel" on their Facebook page to recap their 2023, featuring assorted live concert clips and posters as set to their song "Cenobites" while guitarist Daniel Horton talked about how the year went & how 2024 will be another big year. My usual "Reel" complaints aside, it hypes up 2023 well!

I can't embed "Reels" here, but I can embed this video, which features a 48 minutes-long interview that frontman J.D. Pearce and drummer Tyler Reiner recorded with Amanda Schilz and her son Andrew The Legend of Sofa City Sounds, a music promotion/interview company out of Niagara Falls. Tyler and J.D. were participating remotely over the holidays, with Tyler in Muskoka and J.D. in the Soo when this was recorded! Note J.D is in front of a local Ripcordz concert poster, and look for his various masks. After asking about their holiday plans, Spades GT talk about "Sewer City Radio", how Spades GT came together in Barrie (Tyler brings up the Jack Spades era here), their live concert experience (which J.D. hopes is close to hearing their studio material), their 2024 plans in concert and studio, bands that they have enjoyed sharing the stage with (Drew from Random Killing saw Spades at the Josey Scott show here last summer) ...

...rumoured major shows for 2024 (not that Spades GT were willing to spill many beans), their growth in the past year, and their advice for young musicians. Fun and loose interview with lots of discussion about bands that Amanda (and her kids) have seen live and worked with, and if you find the idea of a local band interview involving a host conducting it with her son to be unusual, remember that Heavy Lies The Crown did a (sadly now deleted) interview in January 2023 with Ghost Media Entertainment where the host's young daughter participated. Click here for our recap to compare. Give Spades GT's interview with Sofa City Sounds a watch below!

Spades GT's first concert of 2024 saw them play at the second annual Walterstock, the fundraiser/memorial concert in honour of noted GTA metalhead Walter Froebrich, who passed away after being unable to get prompt medical treatment in 2022 despite his best efforts (click here for more on that sad story). Like with the inaugural Walterstock last year, twenty-seven acts played at The Rockpile in Toronto on January 6th, and while none of the other bands are familiar from local gigs, frequent Spades GT show partners GFU played, as did headlining Pantera tribute band Cowboys From Hell, while Spades bassist James Roy Daley also played with the psychobilly band The House of Haunt immediately following Spades' set. Videos were not in short supply from Spades' Walterstock set, and we'll start with two fan-shot videos that, while both sadly vertical, are not "Reels" and therefore embeddable here!

Attendee William Wai Yun Lum (who previously filmed Spades GT at Indie Night In Canada last year) live-streamed this sub-2 minutes clip of them playing "Succubus" for his personal Facebook page, which the band later publically shared on their Facebook page. The somewhat low framerate and muffled audio are noted, but it's an intense performance from the front row, and while I wouldn't have shot it vertically, it does get a good look at J.D. in particular, so check it out for yourself below!

There's definitely more from Walterstock to come, but we'll finish up here with attendee Dawn Faller's video of Spades GT's closing song, namely the title track of their album "Sewer City Radio"! Dawn posted this three days after the event on her personal Facebook page before the band re-posted it. This is a longer video capturing the full song, and while vertical, she wasn't shy about rotating the camera around to catch things at skewed angles while zooming in and out, so it's an interesting watch! She was at more of a sharp angle too, but still clearly in the front row. Good audio quality here too, so check this clip out below as well!

 

When we pick things back up for Spades GT, it'll be with more Walterstock fallout, so look for that in the coming weeks, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!