YouTube Channel Profile Series: Tiff107's Channel

It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profile, our monthly feature to spotlight 1-3 YouTube channels whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, or punk artists and/or concerts, in order to promote them to current readers encourage views and new subscriptions! This month's randomly selected YouTube channel features solo performance clips from a talented local musician, so here's what you should know!
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Tiff107's Channel (http://youtube.com/tiff107)

Owner: Prolific local punk/metal guitarist Tiffany "Spades" Stocco, currently known as the frontwoman of Stegadeth, Coral Fang, and Poison Girl, as well as a guitarist with Jack Spades, and formerly with T-Rex Manning & Pools of Booze.

Channel Timeline: Launched on January 26th, 2006; Videos posted from December 2010 through October 2018

Channel Summary: A personal use channel that predates Tiffany's full-time emergence into the local punk & metal scenes, a total of 32 videos have been uploaded here, almost all focused on her own solo guitar covers of various metal and punk songs (with gear details often given in the descriptions), though two originals with vocals also made the cut. The channel's only non-musical video features Tiffany and a friend skating outdoors at night back in January 2011, months before her debut with T-Rex Manning.

Why You Should Watch: Fans of Tiffany's work in local bands in the 2010s would be well served to check out her channel, as her musical progression is very welcome to see throughout, and long-time fans of hers will recognize some familiar cover choices along the way! The channel is still actively used too, if not as frequently as she did in 8 or 9 years back. However, Tiffany has not posted any live videos of her various local bands here, but between YouTube and Facebook, most have footage elsewhere.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out

Teenage Depression: As part of a prolific swath of initial video uploads in 2010 & 2011, Tiffany posted a couple of solo performance clips featuring her playing guitar as well as singing original lyrics, predating her lead vocal debut with Stegadeth by over 5 years. Alongside "Simple Person" (which is more rock-based), featured here is "Teenage Depression", which is markedly softer and more personal in nature. Compared to her live punk singing (which I often wish had more projection and confidence), her vocals here are surprisingly effective, giving a raw, melodic, and emotional feel that really suits this song. It'd be interesting to see Tiffany revisit these early originals!



I Only Wanna Be With You: Volbeat guitar cover: The most popular video on Tiffany's channel (with over 3,700 views), this is a 3:00 AM cover of Volbeat's version of the Dusty Springfield classic "I Only Wanna Be With You", as filmed in October 2012. Likely a reflection of her Volbeat cover work with her 2012 T-Rex Manning side project Pools of Booze, the audio quality is mixed at best, but if you can pick out her playing over top of the original track, you'll see that she had a solid grasp of this cover overall! Tiffany also covered Volbeat's original song "Pools of Booze" (where the above band's name originated) earlier that same month.



Bad Religion:Sinister Rouge: Video uploads have slowed down in recent years, but Tiffany's recording quality and guitar talents have both went up as the years have progressed. One of her more recent covers from February 2017 is of Bad Religion's "Sinister Rouge", a live staple in Stegadeth sets, so fans will know already that she has this classic of theirs down pat! The backing audio is a little muffled, but it accentuates Tiffany's playing as a result, and it's a highlight of her channel's more recent content!


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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series will return on or around April 26th with a look at multiple channels, as the first one that we randomly chose only has 9 videos from the same album, so I would only source two videos from it for the profile proper, and one more channel was added to fill it out. As such, we'll be looking at the YouTube channels of users malaise666 (featuring most of Woods of Ypres' last CD) and Angela U (featuring a Treble Charger concert video from 2015), so look for these next month, and for more news and notes soon! Thanks everyone!

Grave Party Concert Videos, Plus New Guitar Covers!!

We're back on this Wednesday morning with a new news post, and it's devoted to new videos from local metal and punk artists, including a solo video and to kick things off, new concert video postings! These come from Monday night's Grave Party-headlined concert at The New American Pub, as filmed by attendee Chris Downey for his personal Facebook page, but shared on the show's Facebook event page yesterday. He filmed most of the night's acts, albeit all on the vertical cell phone camera angle, and while they are solidly filmed otherwise, you do get the sense that there wasn't a great turnout on Monday. To start, Chris filmed two videos of headlining Winnipeg punk trio Grave Party,including this 40 second clip of their song "Skate or Die" (complete with mosh pit footage), and as embedded below, this longer video containing a full song, albeit one whose title I can't confirm. It's nice to find a live video of Grave Party of any kind, and they sound pretty good with healthy enthusiasm, so check out their videos above & below!



Chris also filmed local goregrind duo Rotopsy from their co-headlining set playing a newer original (one of the ones where Dylan Taylor used clean vocals), and the guys are rocking out fine here with their minimalist attack, and no, there are no shoes to be seen! Actually, the vertical camera angle fits here given the band's size and placement. Give this new Rotopsy video a look below, and stay tuned for more from their camp!



As for Chris' other videos, he posted three videos of rappers that performed on Monday, including two from Mikey Thomas' set (here & here), and this one of Mike "Reeder" Reid-Lecuyer (Miracle Man's set wasn't filmed at all.) Both have good flow and intensity, so check them out above if you love hip-hop! The other videos come from acoustic folk opener Shit Creek Survivor's set, including his original "Starry Nights", and as embedded below, part of his cover of Sublime's "What I Got", a rare ska/punk cover from Jacob Quarrell's solo project. A little shaky, but lively and well done overall, so give Jacob's videos from Monday night a look above & below!



Finally, I wanted to acknowledge some (largely overdue) solo performance cover videos from Jack Spades guitarist Tiffany Stocco's YouTube channel! We last touched on her solo guitar clips in 2011, so our apologies for the delay in getting these on the site! Posted since October 12th, Tiffany's newest covers include Pennywise's "Fuck Authority", The Ramones' "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue", Blink-182's "Aliens Exist", a pair of songs that Tiffany plays with Jack Spades (SNFU's "Drunk on a Bike" & Turbonegro's "All My Friends Are Dead"), and a trio of Volbeat songs, including "Pools of Booze", their version of Dusty Springfield's "I Only Wanna Be With You", and as embedded below, "Heaven Nor Hell". The audio quality can be inconsistent, but Tiffany shows off her strong guitar ability in these videos, with a nice close angle at her playing in general, so give her newest covers a look above & below!



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

YouTube Channel Profile Series: John Mignacca.

For this month's YouTube Channel Profile, we're looking at just one randomly selected YouTube channel for the first time in nine months today, which seems like too long, but the joys of a random draw! As usual, this monthly feature series looks at 1-3 YouTube channels with at least 50% of their videos being relevant to local metal, hard rock, or punk bands and/or concerts, in order to spotlight their content and hopefully encourage readers to check them out and subscribe, and this month's (still updated) channel has lots of videos to check out, so here's what you should know!
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John Mignacca. (http://www.youtube.com/asitstands420)

Owner: Skeyes of Seven drummer, Dillinger producer, and former local concert promoter John Mignacca, also known from previous drumming work with bands like As It Stands & Out Of The Mouth Of Babes

Channel Timeline: Launched on August 9th, 2010; Videos posted from the following month through December 2014

Channel Summary: Originally intended to be a new official YouTube channel for defunct local hardcore quintet As It Stands, this channel first featured two A.I.S. studio tracks, a studio blog, and a loose rap jam between John and singer Justin Pregent. Since the band's last show in August 2012, John transitioned this channel into one for personal use, generally for solo drum covers (7 as of this writing), with other uploads including a solo electronic track, an improvised video of him drumming in a local music store, and a humorous clip of what appears to be his dog responding to an online video.

Why Should You Watch: Give John's channel a look for some solid late-era As It Stands material and for extended (and diverse) drum covers in particular, as he has wide ranging musical interests that come through in these uploads! However, there are no videos yet of John with Skeyes of Seven, there's only the one electronic song for Dillinger fans, and no A.I.S. material from before their 2010 reunion is included, but John does still actively use this channel. For reference, his original YouTube channel (which we profiled in this series in 2012) features two extra videos from his late 2000s band work.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

Rise Above - As It Stands (2010): The first two uploads on what was then As It Stands' channel were of studio recordings that the band held in mid-2010 at Stereo Soul Studios with producer Miguel Gauthier, shortly before he and the studio moved to California. Recorded not long after the band's reunion that summer, the songs are "One Last Chance" and (embedded below) "Rise Above", the only video on the channel to surpass 1,000 views. Featuring A.I.S.' classic & final lineup (including John alongside singer Justin Pregent, guitarists Garrett Masters & Albert Bourrier, and bassist Angelo Huckson), both of these songs demonstrate a heavier, tighter, and more intense As It Stands than had existed in the late 2000s, and with great production too! Fans can hear more select studio recordings on the band's online pages.



As It Stands - Studio Blog 2011: Though long-gestating plans for their third CD never saw their planned conclusion, As It Stands took a road trip to Mississauga in June 2011 to record tracks for the unreleased album (then considered an EP) at Metalworks Studio with producer Kevin Dietz, documenting the trip and assorted goings on with a cell phone camera for this vlog posting. The camera work isn't optimal at times given the vertical angle used for much of it, but you get strong audio of the guys recording their parts for the tracks (including their cover of Blink-182's "Stay Together For The Kids") and some fun moments including John getting acrobatic, a dancing chicken mascot, and even a stop at a beach. There was no third disc, but the studio blog gives a glimpse into what could have been!



The Rival Cycle - TREOS (Drum Cover): All of John's videos since 2013 have been of his own drum covers, including of a late As It Stands original (the curiously titled "Oh Herm, Herm Delish") as well as a diverse array of covers from the likes of A Day To Remember, Christina Grimmie, two different versions of Skrillex's "Avicci", and as embedded below, The Recieving End of Sirens' "The Rival Cycle". Specifically uploaded in January 2014, this is played on an electronic drumkit, but is solidly done like the others, with John clearly demonstrating his considerable drumming ability on each, but fans of his hardcore band work might not take to some of his cover choices.


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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Through 100% random selection, our next profile on June 22nd will be on the YouTube channel #TrebleCharger (we're not starting to use hashtags here, that's it's title), which features song uploads from four of the local/Toronto indie/punk band's albums. Watch for that next month, and stay tuned for more news in the near future! Thanks everyone!

Last Month's Poll Results And This Month's Poll!

I apologize for missing this until now, I completely forgot the poll deadline was coming up. Blame class overload and personal neglect for that, but now it's time to go over the results of last month's poll and launch a brand new poll! So let's begin! If you guys remember, last month's poll discussed this topic: What's your opinion on local bands & cover songs? 27 votes, not bad, and luckily it was enough to give a sufficient sample to get an idea of your sentiments! So, do most of you guys enjoy covers, or do you want them gone from local band setlists? Here's the vote breakdown, in ascending order! In last place with no votes was "Other", and because no one picked it, I won't elaborate on it. Nice to see that the given choices covered all bases! In fifth place (last of actual choices) with two votes was "I love covers, they're great!" This was more implied towards people who prefer covers over originals in a live setting, and I have to say, I'm glad it placed low. Original material should have a prominent place, and who doesn't like hearing new stuff? In a tie for third place with four votes each were "That depends on the band" and "Covers are pointless, why bother?". This is about where I hoped these would place, and I am glad to see that there's not an overwhelming anti-covers movement locally. They have a place, and they have their fans! In second place with six votes was "I don't care, as long as the music's good." That sounds about right, and I like seeing people judge bands on their abilities rather than their setlists! But in first place, with 11 votes, 41% of the final total, was "Covers are OK, but play originals too!" Good choice to win, it's exactly what I expected would place first! Covers are indeed nice to hear, and familiar, but most people I know do prefer original content, so this matches well! Now, to our new poll! With 2010 coming to a close in less than two months, and a high amount of albums still waiting for a local release, I wanted to see what you guys were looking forward to the most. We initially asked a similar question in the summer, but now, there's MUCH more to watch out for! All of these (unless one comes out before then) will be in our December "Where Are The New Albums?" update post, and I'm sure there are fans of all of them out there who are anticipating the release of one or more of these albums! So, I pose this question to you guys: What upcoming local metal album are you most looking forward to getting? We have 16 choices encompassing 14 albums by 13 bands, here's a quick rundown! Note that I won't go into too much detail on these, as we have already detailed most of them in past posts and in past "Where Are The New Albums" entries. So, here are your choices! Animas - Hollow Hope: Bear Hunters guitarist Mitch Sirie has been working on original solo material in his Animas project for some months now, releasing some very promising material in the process. If this finds it way to an actual local release of some kind, would it be your most anticipated album? Bring The Fallen's debut EP: Though updates on this album have slowed over the past year, Bring The Fallen have an EP recorded and waiting to be mastered. Do you death metal fans want to see this the most out of all the announced local metal albums? Garden of Bedlam - "Everything Will Die": Surely one of the highest anticipated albums in this poll, this will be Garden of Bedlam's full length debut CD, with numerous live favourites to be included. There's a lot of buzz for this one, no pun intended, but will you be among the fans ready to pick this up upon it's release? Gates of Winter's second full length album: Despite their live hiatus and the very slow progress of the recordings, Gates of Winter's next CD is still in the works. After the success of "Lux Aeterna", will you be back to pick up this progressive death metal album when it finally gets released? Half Past's debut album: One of the newest announced albums, local hard rockers Half Past are self-producing and recording their debut album as we speak. Even though they haven't played live in months, this promises to be worth checking out upon it's release! What do you guys think? Lion Ride's first full length album: Another highly promising upcoming release, Lion Ride's full length debut is still in the works, without public word on it's progress since the spring. Anticipation continues though, and are you among the fans in wait for their latest punk/metal collection? Mike Haggith - "Suspended Animation": The 43rd album from local solo musician Mike Haggith, this promises to be one of his heaviest albums to date. When it goes for sale, will you be waiting to download it? No Arrow - "Souls For Sale": In what's turning into the "Chinese Democracy" of the local hard rock scene, No Arrow's debut album continues to wait in limbo for a physical release of any kind. Are grunge fans still waiting for it's release, when and if it comes out? Riverin's self-titled debut EP: Matt Clement & Matt Hicks' industrial solo project has churned out all of the songs for this EP, but a release of the material hasn't been announced yet. When it does, will you buy their debut EP? Sense of Truth's debut EP: After months of delays, the wait continues for this local hard rock quintet's debut EP. With a big following and an entertaining hard rock sound, they should deliver musically, but will you guys be anticipating Sense of Truth's debut EP more than any other? Silver Dream's debut album: What more can be said on this? Frontman Matt Silver left the music business for religion, and the band have been visibly dormant ever since. There are recorded songs from these sessions, and if they ever come out, would you want them the most? Sykotyk Rampage's 23rd or 24th albums: "The original crash band" have two albums in the works in their "Genius Mushroom" series, with planned December release dates. Their unique style and sound has attracted many fans, but will they follow when their next album(s) come out? Woods of Ypres - "Woods V: You Were The Light": After the fake breakup and associated events, Woods of Ypres will release their fifth album through Earache Records early next year. That alone is huge for the local doom metal band, but will that help ensure that fans will pick up Woods of Ypres' debut album on an outside label? All of the above: If you want to hear and check out ALL of the above albums, vote here! Maybe someone out there is a universal unconditional supporter of them all, so this would be your choice if you are! None of the above: Don't wanna hear ANY of them? Well, vote here if you don't, but there's bound to be at least one that you'll wanna check out! Other: Want to vote for an album that's from Sault Michigan, not local, not hard rock/metal, not announced by a local band, or simply not listed here? Then this is your choice! VOTE TODAY!!! Despite the day's delay, this poll will still run through Decemmber 18th, as it will be 30 full days regardless. This should be interesting to gauge opinions as to which of the above albums is the most anticipated from SMS readers and local metalheads! Cast your votes A.S.A.P.! That's all for today, but stay tuned THIS AFTERNOON for weekend concert previews! Thanks everyone!