YouTube Channel Profile Series: Brendan Garlick

It's now time for our first YouTube Channel Profile of 2024! This monthly feature series is back for another year of shining a spotlight on YouTube channels whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk musicians/concerts, and this time, we've randomly selected a bountiful channel for fans of the indie rock scene of a decade or so ago. Here's what you should know for this month!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brendan Garlick (http://www.youtube.com/@brendangarlick43)

Owner: Former Gnaeus/These Magnificent Tentacles drummer Brendan Garlick, currently known as the owner of local concert promotion agency Sault Noir

Channel Timeline: Launched on July 30th, 2013; Videos uploaded from December 2014 until August 2015

Channel Summary: Brendan's channel is almost entirely devoted to fifteen videos shot at the first two Lopstock concerts that he co-promoted at LopLops Lounge in 2014 & 2015, including the full set of every band from Lopstock II (except that year's opening band Id Iota), and videos from four acts that played at this "bohemian conclave" the previous year. Brendan's last (and sole non-Lopstock) video is still from a LopLops concert, this time featuring inactive indie rock band Great Chamberlain in mid-2015. 

Why You Should Watch: This channel is a great watch for fans of the local indie music scene in the mid-2010s, with some heavier flourish among them, and while none of these bands had staying power into 2024, there's a lot of talent and familiar faces to be had, as well as the featured sets by two touring acts (The Galacticats and Kirby) at Lopstock in 2015! Despite its ample usage at the time, Brendan has not visibly used this channel since 2015, roughly coinciding with his departure from Gnaeus and eventual spell living out of town. The revived Lopstock III from last year had ample video coverage as well, but via SooToday and not on Brendan's own accounts.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

The Pixo Control - Reasons (Live): In a few respects, defunct local grunge/hard rock trio The Pixo Control were the stars of Brendan's channel, garnering the longest full-set video from Lopstock II and three of the seven videos from Lopstock I, with two of those being his most watched videos period. Of them, his first video (of them playing "Reasons") is by far the most popular video on offer. Filmed by Jason Lloyd (as with the other videos posted from 2014), The Pixo Control were represented here by singer/guitarist Michael Mikus, future Skinbox frontman Steve Edwards, and drummer Keeghan Rosso. The camera-work is excellent with nice quality audio of this very grungy and hard hitting original, so it's easy to see why this video caught on at the time, and it's a shame that The Pixo Control didn't last longer! Watch for edited in bits of LopLops' interior and some attendees in the middle of the video.

Caroline Divine - Lopstock II: One of the heavier bands at Lopstock II in June 2015 was the recently debuted Caroline Divine, a hard rock/power pop band featuring Frasiers alumni Anthony Marcello, Brenden Fitzgerald, and Devin Williamson, all later of Jesse Merineau's live band. Caroline Divine proper only graced local stages in 2015 (gigs with Jesse aside), with Brendan Garlick's 40 minutes long full-set video being the best extant video from their local run in terms of audio. The stationary angles used for the bands on this night were largely the victim of obscured vantage points due to fans on the floor, which is unfortunate, but Caroline Divine had a tight and energetic sound on their original material, and it'd have been nice to see them exist on their own in 2016 and beyond!

Gnaeus - Lopstock II: Brendan's sole channel appearance as a member of a band comes via his set with defunct post-punk quartet Gnaeus at Lopstock II, where he was joined by singer/guitarist Aaron Alessandrini, future Far From Fine bassist Matt Fronzi, and synth player Brad Irwin (now also of Skinbox). Their 45 minute set includes their songs "Lovers", "Exercise In Self Awareness", "Fire", "Crave", "Mountains", "Circles", their cover of The Cold War Kids' "Hang Me Out To Dry", "The Edge", "Lacking", "When You're Gone" , and "The Sound". This included every song from their 2016 album "Mediatations" except "Calling Out", plus the non-album cuts "Crave" & "Lacking". Attendee heads remain a liability towards actually seeing Gnaeus in full, but this is a strong performance from the peak of Gnaeus' local run, and they got a deservedly strong reception from the fans!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Our next randomly selected channel in this series will be that of YouTube user justfrenchie, which primarily features old Scary Uncles videos, so look for that on or around February 26th, and for more news and notes on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

Details On Dustin Jones' Interview On Across The Tracks On The Borderline!!

Back in June, two veteran local punk musicians were separately interviewed for radio shows on local internet radio station The Borderline, and I do apologize for both being so late to be covered on the SMS! We'll start with the June 23rd interview with Jonesy Land frontman/Bookclub bassist Dustin Jones, marking his second long-form interview with the station, following an episode of Sev's Cellar three years ago. This time, Dustin featured on Borderline founder Adrian Vilaca's interview series Across The Tracks, which focuses on detailing original songs, and the episode runs for 53 minutes. Conducted in studio, it's clear from the off that they've known each other for years, which helps for the comfort level! The interview started with Dustin explaining why he launched the Jonesy Land project apart from his bands, as well as the overall lighter/reserved tone of the project's debut album "Zoom-Out".

Like in past episodes of Across The Tracks, Adrian asks about the origins and themes behind songs by the interview subject, and while he does not stick to the release order of the album, the songs in question are played after that segment wraps up (though they are rarely directly introduced by Adrian, so that can catch you off guard at times). "Father Time" comes up first, but "Ode To The Boys" is discussed next, and it's neat hearing some insight as to The Inner City Surfers' heyday! The song actually wasn't directly about his old bands, moreso old friends, but Dustin does also give some advice to current musicians to start their careers, especially with how easy self-promotion and networking is compared to when he was younger. The debut single "Old Man" is next to be outlined, though note that the interview predates the music video for the song. Next, they discuss his love for Sault Ste. Marie and the Algoma District.

That ties directly into their discussion of the Jonesy Land track "Superior Sons" and some of his surprising inspiration in that song's composition. Adrian next asks about Dustin's own Mission Control Studio and his experiences working with musicians who record there, leading into talk of "Keep Trying", which featured Shannon Moan on guest vocals. Dustin next talks about his views on the local music scene at present, as well as his experiences running a local songwriters competition with Greg MacLachlan pre-pandemic, while explaining how he's approaching music as he gets older, and how this album has a different edge than on his prior albums. This led into "Lonely Boy", before Adrian asks Dustin about fatherhood and his experiences with his kids, while also noting the experience he had making this album and some of the (largely) positive reaction that he received from listeners.

Given the talk about his family, this naturally led into "Shine On" (written for his daughter Jett), and the interview naturally wrapped up with "Summer's End", which was written for his late stepfather and written in the style of music that he loved. The interview ends with Dustin thanking Adrian for all he does locally, as well as plugging Jonesy Land, Mission Control Studios, and Tidal Records, though no sign of a dedicated band page for Jonesy Land yet. Fun interview that really explores the "Zoom-Out" album in depth and Dustin's maturity as a songwriter, and while the album proper is light on "punk" content, you can see how his life's experiences as a whole shaped things on the final product! I'm kinda surprised that he didn't talk about Bookclub though, as they are is current live band, past teasers about Jonesy Land playing shows again acknowledged. Check out this Across The Tracks episode at the links above!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews next, and that other June interview with a local punk icon on The Borderline will be covered in an upcoming SMS post! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Rotaryfest Stage 2) And More Updates!!

Strike while the iron's hot, as they say, so let's wrap up our LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS concerning this year's Rotaryfest lineups, as well as some shorter recent updates to round things out. Here's what you should know!

As promised, here's what you should know about Rotaryfest's Stage 2 lineup for 2023! After a two year pandemic hiatus, the Second Stage returned to the Clergue Park stage beside the Art Gallery of Algoma last year with a new two night format, featuring the 2015-2019 Saturday lineup of original indie/alternative-leaning bands supplemented by a Friday Night Blues lineup curated by the Sault Blues Society. That appears to have went over well, as it's happening again in 2023! Like last year, there's no heavier bands playing on Friday, July 15th, with the expanded five band roster (revealed in this SooToday article) including the returning Rusty McCarthy Band (in Rusty's fourth topline appearance on Stage 2) at 8:30 PM, blues/rockabilly quartet The Steeltown Playboys (who played the drive-in Rotaryfest in 2021) at 7:30 PM, reunited local progressive rock band The Hyperion Effect (new to any Rotaryfest stage) at 6:30 PM, ...

...2022 Stage 1 performers All The Tired Horses (featuring Treble Charger's Bill Priddle) at 5:30 PM, and blues rock veterans Smokehouse (also returning from Stage 2 last year) at 4:30 PM. Should be a fine way to embrace the blues and support the Sault Blues Society, so consider checking that out if you like the sounds of this lineup!

As for the main lineup on Saturday, July 16th, eight acts will take the stage (down one from last year), and like on Stage 1, half of these bands are festival newcomers! Fresh off of their high profile album release, local alt-hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich will headline Stage 2 at 8:30 PM in their second year on the bill, and it'll be good to see their momentum continue with a strong placement at Rotaryfest! Local progressive rock mainstays Machines Dream will co-headline at 7:30 PM, just over a month after the two bands perform at the Sault Community Theatre Centre for Soo Soundcheck. Counting their 2010 set as The Craig West Band, 2023 will mark Machines Dream's record sixth appearance on the Second Stage (seventh at Rotaryfest period counting 2021), so that'll be worth noting for fans! As well, it has since been revealed by Machines Dream that their original lineup is reuniting for gigs this summer, Rotaryfest included.

While not a metal band, Machines Dream are ultra talented, so don't miss them in July either! Young local indie rock band The Hollow Heads will return from last year for a set at 6:30 PM, while fellow Clusterfolk alums Distich will bring their folk/indie originals to Rotaryfest for the first time at 5:30 PM. Veteran local folk singer/songwriter M.D. Dunn will play his fourth Stage 2 set and first since 2018 at 4:30 PM, and the opening three acts are all Second Stage newcomers. Rising local folk musician Matthew James (who just moved here last year) gets the 3:30 PM slot, while veteran singer/guitarist Brian Tremblay will surprisingly make his first ever solo appearance at Rotaryfest at 2:30 PM. The opening band at 1:30 PM will actually be new local hard rock quartet Far From Fine (née Ravencore) in their first announced show of 2023, though you'll have seen 3/4ths of the band play Rotaryfest on both stages in the past.

As always, Stage 2 is FREE and ALL AGES, and this year's lineup has a nice balance of new faces and familiar standbys to take in, plus some heavier counterweights to bookend the proceedings! Weather permitting, this should be all be a fun time for local music fans, so visit the above links for more on Stage 2, Stage 1, and the rest of this year's Rotaryfest festivities!

We'll close today with some assorted recent updates, and as usul, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

 

• In a clarification of their announced summer concert schedule, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard (who are not playing Stage 1 this year) have confirmed that they will be subbing in for Soundcheck as hosts of the Thursday jam night at Jay's Piston Broke Pub in all three of the weekends that they're booked for this summer, now including June 29th and August 17th. Reasons for the switch were not announced, but if Soundcheck's okay with the breaks, hopefully fans and jammers will be too! In a comment reply in a personal Facebook share of the updated schedule, frontman Greg Simpson confirmed that they are not playing at Jay's next Saturday due to a private booking elsewhere.
• The aforementioned Far From Fine confirmed on their Facebook page yesterday that they are currently recording at Mission Control Studios, sharing a picture of drummer Austin "Mickey" McCrae laying a track down. This is presumably for the debut album that they have been teasing since the then-Ravencore mentioned said plans in this SooToday article after last year's Toystock. Definitely good to see and hear, so stay tuned for more from Far From Fine when it's announced!
• SooToday contributor Chris Belsito posted this article on May 18th in the wake of the latest Mikey & His Uke cover video (covering Nine Inch Nails' "Wish" with Tony Hawk on vocals), which confirms new details about the video. Tony's scenes were filmed in his San Diego hometown, and yes, that was Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor in a cameo! The man welding behind Mikey Hawdon in his scenes is actually Mikey's dad Ken, who is a steelworker, and Mikey has gotten to know Tony well through online chats around their four collaborations so far. Fun read, so check it out above!
  

 

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

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: The Pixo Control

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, again continuing our monthly spotlight of local metal, hard rock, or punk bands from the past, all as sourced from our inactive band links! This month's randomly chosen band was a high profile rising group in their day that should still have recongnition from many readers, so here's what you should know on them!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Pixo Control

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Genre: Grunge/Alternative Rock

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

Michael Mikus (The Fever Tops), vocals/guitar/studio bass
Dustin Goodall (Id Iota, Free Beer), bass
Keeghan Rosso (Xeno), drums

Anthony Marcello (Jupiter Marvelous), bass
Steve Edwards (These Magnificent Tentacles), bass
Matthew Thibert (Vol.), drums

Audio/Video: The Pixo Control released one studio album, namely November 2015's "Probably Not", which did have a physical CD print run and remains available to buy on Bandcamp for $9.99. Though their Facebook page was sadly taken down, a sizeable amount of YouTube videos remain from their run via Michael's (formerly the band's) YouTube channel and his earlier solo YouTube channel, including audio from the album, live performances, early demos, vlogs, and promotional clips. Numerous other YouTube users have videos from Pixo Control concerts, and I have filmed them for our Facebook page too. There's a lot to take in, but here's their music video for their song "Scratch"!

Info/Analysis: Publically launched in October 2013 and briefly known as Junkie Nation, The Pixo Control succeeded Michael's prior band The Fever Tops, and debuted on stage in December 2013 with gigs at both public venues and Superior Heights Collegiate. The Pixo Control played live frequently in 2014 & 2015, including sets at events like Rotaryfest, The Emergency Festival, and Go Skateboarding Day, plus opening slots for bands like Treble Charger & The Rebel Spell, and even a Nirvana tribute turn as Like A Pisces at the Gore Street Cafe's Fishbowl Festival. Michael was the band's only constant band member, with Steve and Keeghan completing their longest lasted lineup. After "Probably Not" mixer Dustin Goodall took over on bass in the fall of 2015, The Pixo Control released their CD and played their final gigs into the spring of 2016, with Michael dissolving the band that fall in order to launch his own pop rock solo project as Mike Mikus.

Despite the changes, Mike enlisted Pixo Control alumni in his backing band, and even included a few unreleased songs of theirs on his 2017 solo album, but he moved to Montreal that year and his musical activity drastically slowed down in kind, here or there. I enjoyed The Pixo Control's throwback yet modern sound and freewheeling intensity on songs like "Tall Ships" & "60", and Michael's commanding presence helped throughout their different lineups! It was good to see a band flying the grunge flag locally, and it's a shame they didn't last longer, but don't miss members' current projects!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! As the first randomly selected band for next month have no videos and minimal documentation, I added a Sault Michigan band in a similar state to round things out, also randomly. As such, we'll be looking at mid-2010s Sault Ontario punk/alternative duo The Red & Black and early 2010s Sault Michigan hard rock band Swayze Train! Look for all of this on or around September 10th, and for a new post  tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tym Morrison), Vanity Updates, And New Cover Videos!!

I wasn't expecting to have a new post on the SMS today, but a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT came to my attention, so I wanted to get this up just in time before I missed the show entirely! To fill things out, we have a couple of new cover videos and big updates from a rising young punk band, so here's what you should know!

Local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to Reggie's Place on Queen Street East for a matinee concert TODAY! I profusely apologize for the short notice, this show was originally announced via its Facebook event page on February 27th, but it completely slipped us by at the time (note that the event page was through his personal account, not his proper solo project's Facebook group). Tym was last seen at the downtown Reggie's exactly one month ago, and if you're familiar with his unplugged classic and hard rock covers and very prolific setlist, you should expect lots of entertaining music from Tym TODAY! Yes, this is a matinee as usual for his Sunday gigs at Reggie's, and everything starts at 3:00 PM (again, I'm sorry for the late notice!) Expect a 19+ age limit and no cover charge, and while this will be Tym's first public show since vaccine passport rules were lifted, face masks are mandatory for one week longer, with that mandate lifting on March 21st.

While restrictions are loosening, please respect any posted health guidelines and recommendations at Reggie's to ensure that everyone has a safe time TODAY! See above for more details, and here's Tym live!

Next up, here's the latest from local punk quartet Vanity, who have quietly modified their name to Vanity First circa March 6th, as per updates across their online pages & channels. A reason for the name change was not announced, but it could be related to the Vanity name being extremely common, with eight bands on Bandcamp using the name Vanity alone, including two who give punk as a genre. Tags used on Facebook since seem to indicate that they might use Vanity as a shortform name still, and the name change does not apply to their demo EP from last month. I'm cool with the extended name, especially as it's more distinct! While still just Vanity, the guys had been teasing recording a song at Mission Control Studios with producer Dustin Jones last month, and they confirmed on Monday that the song in question is their existing original "Playboy Magazine", as featured on their demo.

The proper studio version of "Playboy Magazine" will be released on Wednesday at 11:00 AM, and it will be Vanity First's Spotify debut, so keep that in mind in case it's not imminently posted elsewhere! The guys documented the sessions on their TikTok page, with videos including this slideshow of the guys recording in studio alongside a very chipper backing track and a female announcer (and a katana?!), plus this short clip of them recording backing vocals. Most recently, they posted this preview of the "Playboy Magazine" re-recording, so let those 15 seconds tide you over until Wednesday! The vocal recording clip aside, all were cross-posted on their Facebook page, but Vanity First have uploaded a couple of Facebook exclusive videos in the past week, including a black & white clip of guitarist Mikhal Muto covering the guitar solo from Megadeth's "Tornado of Souls". I love that song, and he did a good job with it, shame the video doesn't have the whole track!

Embedded below is Vanity's last video before announcing the name change, a multi-camera music video cover of Green Day's "When I Come Around" from March 4th featuring multiple angles of the guys performing in studio intercut with frontman Andrew Beggs singing the verses while walking to the right, destination unclear. I wouldn't have had the aspect ratio switch from landscape to portrait orientation for the Andrew walking scenes, and the colour of the clips is too inconsistent as cameras change, but the editing and performance are solid otherwise! Give all of Vanity First's updates a look above & below, and look for their new single on Wednesday!

Finally for today, here's a new cover video from prolific local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore's Facebook page on Wednesday, here featuring Chase tackling Black Sabbath's "N.I.B."! This video features heavy post-production filtering, adding a green tint and a mirrored background layer, with the performance proper being acoustic with reserved yet increasingly ominous vocals and lots of crazy fingerwork on the solo (alas, out of frame). Solid and creative stuff again from Chase, so give this cover a watch below, and visit Facebook to see his detailed response about what his musical background and influences were!

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

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Mike Mikus

It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profile on the SMS, as we are again profiling a YouTube channel whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, or punk artists and/or concerts, in order to spotlight the content within for current readers! This month's randomly selected channel looks at a prominent local band and frontman from the mid-2010s, so here's what you should know!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Mikus (http://youtube.com/channel/UCnO7KLoXWIEk2JbtCYV_-vQ)

Owner: Local/Montreal rock solo musician Mike Mikus, previously billed as Michael Mikus in his old local alternative bands The Pixo Control and The Fever Tops

Channel Timeline: Launched on April 21st, 2015; Videos uploaded from two days afterward through April 2018

Channel Summary: Originally utilized as the official YouTube channel for his mid-2010s grunge/hard rock trio The Pixo Control, Mike transitioned it to serving as his new alt/indie rock solo project's channel in the fall of 2016 after he folded the band. 12 of the channel's 20 Pixo Control videos contain the songs from their only album "Probably Not", alongside teaser clips, studio vlogs, a live video, and their only music video. The seven solo videos of Mike's include four music videos, two teasers, and one live video.

Why You Should Watch: This channel is definitely worth watching for fans of Mike's most prominent local projects, whether you like The Pixo Control's more aggressive material or his more varied solo songs, and there's a lot to enjoy on both halves here! However, the channel has only seen sporadic usage since Mike moved to Montreal in mid-2017, coinciding with his own slowdown in public activity in the late 2010s. Also, note that the channel does not include any 2013-2014 musical content of his, but Michael's prior YouTube channel does cover his band work in that time period.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

The Pixo Control // First Vlog: The first video on the channel was the first of two vlogs from April 2015, in which The Pixo Control went to SooToday & Local2's Village Media headquarters to do a photo shoot with Dan Nystedt for their label Tidal Records. The band was represented here by Michael alongside future Vol. frontman Steve Edwards on bass, as well as Keeghan Rosso on drums. The vlog features the guys taking part in the shoot, as well as jamming some songs from "Probably Not", and having fun and killing time at the studio, and it's a fun watch for fans of their original lineup!

  

The Pixo Control // Live at The New A Pub: As covered in The Pixo Control's second vlog, they were among the local openers for Edmonton rock band The Archaics' first of two gigs at The New American Pub in June 2015. The video proper does not feature any full songs, but instead strings together chronological segments from their set that night, and it's a well edited 15 minute clip with a great interior look at The New A. The Pixo Control sound great in one of their last shows with this lineup, and look for then-Six, Two, Oh. promoter Jamie Vincent talking to Michael at the beginning.



The Pixo Control // Scratch (Official Video): The channel's last & most popular Pixo Control upload (and one of that band's last major acts) was their music video for their song "Scratch", which was uploaded in March 2016, three months after their CD dropped, with this teaser clip also preceding it. By this point, producer and Free Beer/Id Iota alum Dustin Goodall had taken over on bass. This is a very straight-forward performance clip (shot by Sudbury's Here Kitty Kitty Productions) with lots of fast edits and cuts as they play this suitably fast and heavy number. The song's great and the video's a nice fit, though Mike's more conceptual and irreverent solo music videos (starting with "Drowning Crown" that September) signified a major shift in tone & approach for his future material.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series will return for it's last 2019 installment on or around Boxing Day, as we'll spotlight another randomly selected YouTube channel, namely local grindcore trio Shit Liver's official channel! Watch for that next month, and for more news and updates on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

Oh!No 2017 Music Festival Fallout, Plus More New Video Finds!!

Here's another new post for your Wednesday morning, featuring a few familiar recent subjects for regular readers! This one is another video-heavy post, this time featuring a solo cover, a studio sample, and a concert performance from last year, but first, here's some of the first fallout from a major debuting festival earlier this month!

We'll start today with some of the first fallout from Saturday's Oh!No 2017 Music Festival in nearby Leeburn, and while we still wait for promoters Six, Two, Oh.'s teased footage of every band, the Facebook event page has became a hub of sorts for media from the concert, including a fair amount of photos showcasing Robbie's Church, the scenery around the venue, and many familiar faces either performing or attending. Fellow promoters Live705 were also on hand to do sound for the event, given that A Dire Setback were already playing that afternoon. Aside from two videos from Bear Hunters singer Nik Deubel focusing on Jack Spades' guitarist Daniel Horton's adventures with a canoe near the venue (which are amusing!), the only videos on the event page come from attendee Janette Wallace, including this video featuring the camping area and scenery around the church, and as embedded below, a video of funk/hard rock quartet The Elements' set from early in the day!

Filmed at a nice overhead angle (I like when venues are formatted with that option), I believe this is 24 seconds of an Elements original, but the video was uploaded in intentionally inverted colours as part of a contest, where the first person on Facebook to guess the band would win two tickets for the rest of the Oh!No Fest (congratulations to Abbey Lynn Ridley by way of Martin for winning!) Friendly tip, paste a screenshot of Janette's photos & video into Windows Paint and press Ctrl+Shift+I to see everything in proper colour, but The Elements sound good from what we hear, so give this video a look below, and see more from Oh!No 2017 above!



Next up, here's the third and final video of inactive local classic/hard rock cover quintet That's Chester from guitarist Gabe Tessaro's YouTube channel, this time from their farewell set at Rotaryfest last year! This clip is of their rendition of April Wine's "Roller", though the band will look slightly different than you may be used to, as original singer Richard Fullerton came back home for their set & handled solo vocals here, while Dan Belanger took over second guitar for their set in place of the late Eugene Orlando. Regular frontman Greg Simpson & fellow guest vocalist Jeannine Jefferson sat this particular cover out, but Greg rejoined the band at song's end to give a shoutout to Rich and Dan, and the two singers did share the stage during the set. This is a fun cover of the classic April Wine number, and Richard's back in his element with his old band, plus I like the visual of the filmer walking down the aisle between the seats to begin the footage, which you can see below!



Also today, here's a video that we missed back in July for acknowledgement on the SMS (apologies for that), and it's a preview video of a studio track from The Bear Hunters forthcoming second studio album "The Dead Testament"! Filmed at Mission Control Studios by producer Dustin Jones and shared to the studio's Facebook page, this is a 45 second sample of the studio version of "Servitude", via filming the tracking computer with cameos of the band (minus Josh) at the end, and they seem happy with the results! Of course, this isn't an optimal look at "Servitude" in audio quality or length, but it's great to see that work is progressing, so give it a look below!

 
Finally for today, here's another new video from Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night's Facebook page back in August that we hadn't previously shared here, though this one predates their public unveiling of any Christmas tour plans. This is a solo vocal cover by keyboardist Craig Harrison of "Come As You Are" by the Christian folk artist Crowder, as filmed with a vertical camera angle in monochrome. This is another solo cover of Craig's where he holds the camera out himself and definitely looks like he's in the groove once again, and while I'm not familiar with the original song, Craig's singing's is on point and has emotion to it, so give this one a look as well!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this weekend's concert previews next! Thanks everyone!