An Inactive Band Note, A Surprising Lineup Departure, And New Videos!!

Now is a good time for our first concert preview-less news post of December 2017, so what can you take in here? A pair of new videos from each side of the border, and a disappointing departure from a prominent local band's lineup, but first, here's some notes on a band who have sadly passed our one year threshold for new activity!

We have a band to reluctantly move to our inactive band links, and they are veteran local "blue Chinese metal crash punk" quartet Sykotyk Rampage. While nothing has been publically announced regarding their status, the band last posted anything online one year ago on Friday with the release of their free album "Sanctuarium", while they last played a live concert set at last year's Soo Zombie Walk festivities (their only local show of 2016 as it was.) Notable as the longest active band covered on the SMS, Sykotyk Rampage were notorious for their style of alternative and blues-tinged hard rock dating back to their 1982 inception, though many fans will be most familiar with their work since the late 2000s as both an extremely prolific studio band (improvising songs for their numerous albums) and as a unique and entertaining live outfit, re-learning many old originals for their concert sets. These included such concert events as the Zombie Walk, the Swampstravaganza, the former Rosie metal nights, and even four recent battles of the bands, among many others.

While admittedly an acquired taste for many, I enjoyed Sykotyk Rampage's wide ranging and totally original style and approach, with a great sense of humour, ribald attitude, and unique approach to both songwriting and album releases (it'd take eons to listen to all of their songs), all benefiting fans of the Becker brothers and company over the decades. The guys are also extremely friendly and cordial over the years, and I hope we haven't seen the last of their brand of crash music, but best of luck to Paul, Dirk, Shane, Tony, Brian, and early bandmates in the future!

Also, we have a major lineup departure to note from a noted local punk band, as A Dire Setback have officially confirmed that they've parted ways with singer Larry Babic. This had been rumoured for about two months now, especially with his split from Live705 already being public, but the band only confirmed his leaving the band via a post on their Facebook page this morning. A Dire Setback didn't go into details on Larry's exit (simply saying it was "due to unforeseen circumstances" and that they had came "to a crossroads"), and while I have been told more in private conversations back in the fall, I won't go into any extra detail publically unless the band or Larry do. This is definitely a disappointing announcement, as Larry is an effective and talented singer that fit right in with A.D.S., but hopefully we see him in a new band at some point! According to A Dire Setback's Facebook posting, they will be continuing as a three-piece band, and their first show back will indeed be at the Guy Thiffault memorial concert at The Canadian Nightclub on Wednesday, December 27th.

While they haven't specified who is now singing lead for A Dire Setback yet, my money's on guitarist Chris Nielsen, given his prominent backing vocal work with the band already, but I could be completely off base. In any event, we'll know by the 27th, so don't miss the new look A Dire Setback's return over the holidays, and stay tuned for more from them and Live705, plus Larry's future work in bands and promotion!

We'll close today with new videos, starting with a new cover performance clip from local hard rock quintet Halfway Loaded's Facebook page! Uploaded last week, this is of singer Justin Grayson and guitarist Shane Biron acoustically covering Stone Sour's "Imperfect", and it's a good rendition which gives Justin a nice vocal showcase! I also like that they didn't go the obvious route for a Stone Sour cover compared to their better known slower tracks. Give it a look below, and stay tuned for more from Halfway Loaded!



Finally, here's another new Facebook video from last month, courtesy of Sault Michigan music store Crooked Music's Facebook page on November 3rd! Apologies for the delay, this one really fell through the cracks. This video featured store co-owner/former Plastic frontman Zac Crook testing out a vintage Fender Bassman amplifier from the 1970s with a Reverend Sensei 290 guitar that was presumably in stock at the Ashmun Street location last month. Not a heavy performance on it's own, but some pleasant picking with a quality setup, so give it a look below, and make sure to stop in to Crooked Music on Saturday for their Christmas Open House, with 10% sales storewide!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week, plus our final CD review of the year very soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Theory Of A Deadman & Theatre Of Night), Plus New Sault Michigan Videos!!

As promised, here's an all-Sault Michigan post for your Tuesday afternoon reading, and within this post, we have some new video postings from the last while, and leading off, some big LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for in a couple of months. Here's what you should know!

Local classical metal project Theatre of Night have announced the first dates for their Christmas tour, and they will indeed hit Sault Ste. Marie for one show, as they'll make a rare local concert appearance on Saturday, December 16th at The Soo Theatre at 534 Ashmun Street! This was confirmed via a Reverbnation event posting shared on their Facebook page, while the tour will first hit Midlothian, Illinois (outside of Chicago) for two dates the previous weekend, so click here for details on those surprise out-of-state concerts. As per the Reverbnation listing, the Soo Theatre stop will be an ALL AGES licensed event, with a 7:00 PM start time, a $10 admission fee for adults, and a $5 for children, while half of all proceeds will go to the venue's Raise the Roof campaign to fund theatre renovations. Four and a half years since their last public concert, it's awesome to see Craig and Steve bring Theatre of Night back to a local stage, complete with a full backing band this time around!

We'll let you know more about the Christmas tour when it comes in, but with "Christmas Night" selections and new carols, this will be a seasonally heavy time in two months! Before we move on, a new preview video was shared from keyboardist Craig Harrison's personal Facebook page to the band's Facebook page two weeks ago, which just features a slideshow of recording computer photos with Snapchat-esque captions, and brief video footage of Craig playing "Silent Night" and some rehearsal jamming. Not a whole not new here, and despite what the video still implies, Craig doesn't speak to the camera, but it's another nice preview, so check it out below!



Next up, here's almost certainly the final major hard rock concert of 2017 in the area, as British Columbia hard rock/post-grunge quartet Theory of a Deadman will return to The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino on Saturday, December 30th! As first announced on Scott & Brian in the Morning on Rock 101 on Monday, this will be the third local stop from these radio regulars at the Soo Kewadin, having previously headlined there in 2012 and 2015, and will see the band touring in support of their upcoming album "Wake Up Call". With hit songs like "Bad Girlfriend", "Lowlife", and their newest "Rx (Medicate)" in their repertoire, they should get another strong reaction from fans at year's end, even if some dislike the new album's softer sound, so keep this one in mind over the holidays! At press time, a potential opening band hasn't been announced, we'll let you know if one is confirmed.

Promoted by Allstar Promotions once again, this all ages concert at 7:00 PM will see tickets go on sale on Thursday (source here), and while I saw a reference online to $34.50 ticket prices, I can't 100% confirm that with a link at the moment, so check back at appropriate sources for final word. In any event, tickets will be available at this link, 1-800-KEWADIN, and at the in-person box office. Stay tuned for more updates on Theory of a Deadman's year-end show here as they roll in!

While we're on the subject of upcoming Dreammaker's Theater concerts from local favourites, Bret Michaels himself recorded a teaser video for his upcoming concert at the Soo Kewadin on November 25th! Posted by Kewadin's Facebook page to this show's event page two weeks ago, the 22 second video features the Poison frontman hyping up the Thanksgiving weekend concert, which will feature "three generations of us, celebrating and partying over the holidays". Short but sweet, and nice coverage for his sixth regional concert, so check it out below, and get your tickets A.S.A.P.!



Finally for today, here's the newest video postings to local music/record store Crooked Music's Facebook page from last week! One video just showcases guitars on sale on the wall for their Friday the 13th sale (13% off!), but the other features co-owner/Half Stupid alum Zac Crook testing out a new Stratocaster guitar with custom parts, even explaining it's setup to the viewer. Informative overall, while Zac also showcases some bluesy guitar work for good measure to bookend things, so give it a look below, and stop by Crooked Music on Ashmun Street for your musical needs!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes tomorrow on the Sault Metal Scene! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Project 906), Highway 63 Concert Previews, And More From Sault Michigan!!

Today's post is all-Sault Michigan based, and it includes an upcoming album, new videos from two sources, and the rest of this weekend's concert previews, including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT! Without any further adieu, here's what you need to know!

Local hard rock quartet Project 906 have one more show taking place this weekend, as they'll play a special acoustic set TODAY at 5:00 PM at Crooked Music during the first day of this year's Sidewalk Sales! Apologies again for the short notice, their involvement was only confirmed via a post on their Facebook page last night, with the Ashmun Street music/record store not announcing a performer lineup publically. We've sporadically covered musical involvement in the annual Sidewalk Sales when bands like Free Refill & Tantrym Tyme signalled in advance that they were playing somewhere along Ashmun, so this isn't new territory, but with grim weather reports for any hopes of outdoor music TODAY, Crooked Music are preparing to move things into the store proper, so don't worry, they aren't being rained out! No word on why this will be an acoustic set from Project 906, or if they'll be playing short-handed, but remember that guitarist Joe Jenkins is an instructor at the former Grooves Music.

Of course, if you want to see Project 906 in full electric glory, head to Moloney's Alley TONIGHT for a more typical concert! Again, a performer lineup at Crooked Music has not been publicized, but Project 906 are headlining at 5:00 PM, and I can see co-owner Zac Crook playing solo somewhere between the 9:00 AM start time & 906's set. Lots of music will be had at Crooked Music TODAY, and this is FREE and ALL AGES as one would expect at the sales, so check the above links for more details, click here for complete non-musical details on the sales and related events this weekend, and here's Project 906 live, sort of!

Next up, here are this weekend's final hard rock concert previews (barring another short notice announcement), as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Highway 63 are scheduled to return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the Kewadin Shores Casino in St. Ignace TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Last seen over a month ago at the same venue, the Monkey's Uncle successors should have a another solid weekend of fan favourite cover selections in store tonight and/or tomorrow, so if you've missed them lately or want another round, you have two chances this weekend! Note that Kewadin's entertainment page does not list these shows in their concert calendar, but Highway 63's Facebook page has publically acknowledged them a few times, most recently in a comment reply on July 22nd. Tonight and tomorrow's shows have 21+ age limits, no announced cover charges, and 9:00 PM start times. Check the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's some new Highway 63 videos!

Shared to their Facebook page via frontman Henry Switzer's wife/guitarist Nathan Switzer's step-mom Kristina's personal Facebook page late last month, these are practice session videos, including one of Henry singing Styx's "Too Much Time On My Hands" in-studio while testing his sequencer. Embedded below is her video of the guys covering Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love", and while only Henry is visible, the rest of the band is there out of frame (why not turn the camera on it's side?) Solid covers from this talented veteran quartet, and a unique look at them playing in studio rather than on stage, so give them a look above & below!

Also today, here's the latest from Dafter hard rock artist Ken "SweetKenny" Sutton, who has announced that his 22nd official solo album is entitled "The Dogs Are Watching", and it will officially come out on August 18th (two weeks from today!) This is SweetKenny's ninth official album to serve primary intent as an instrumental score for usage in movies, video games, or television, though this one is a return to a score with an conceptual theme, this time about hackers ending excessive oversight from government watchdogs, hence the title. Though it's paid release through Waterfall Records won't occur for two weeks, you can stream all 10 songs via SweetKenny's website. I won't review the album imminently on the site, as we just reviewed Ken's February 2017 album "Epic" in May, but if it fits for a review in November once our 6 month anti-bias buffer clears, you could see it or another newer SweetKenny album then, so keep that timeframe in mind!

While this may not thrill fans hoping for a true follow-up to SweetKenny's most recent traditional hard rock album "In Your Face", this score should be another interesting listen for fans (and potential clients) of his scores, so give it a listen at the above links, and stay tuned for details on it's formal release later this month!

Finally for today, we'll come full circle with some new videos from the aforementioned Crooked Music's Facebook page, as co-owner (and Half Stupid/Plastic alum) Zac Crook is featured testing out new stock at the store by jamming some classic rock in these videos from July 28th. One video features Zac jamming Frank Zappa on a new guitar and amplifier, but embedded below is Zac playing Led Zeppelin's "Over the Hills & Far Away" on a new Martin 12 string guitar. These short videos showcase this talented local musician in fine form, and this is good press for their new gear, so give his videos a look above & below, and stay tuned for more news and notes on The Sault Metal Scene soon! Thanks everyone!