Emergency Festival Fallout, Sykotyk Rampage & Tantrym Tyme Updates, And More!!

Let's tackle most of our backlogged news on the site today, including some assorted recent notes, bug updates and news from prominent bands on each side of the border, and first, some extra fallout from a recent local concert festival, so here's what you should know!

Here's some more notes relating to last weekend's second annual Emergency Festival, including the anticipated new episode of Local2's music webseries Tuned with Donna Hopper! In this episode, Donna (who also MCed the festival) talks with festival founder/LopLops owner Stephen Alexander after the conclusion of the festival about how the festival went overall, how Stephen decided on the lineup, and what plans they're looking at for 2016's installment. He didn't address the Downtown Association issues and related move to Rocky DiPietro Field in the interview other than to say that this was the first year that they ticketed the event, but he expressed hope that the festival will get more local sponsor support next year and allow them to get even bigger acts from out of town (no word though on if it will move back downtown next year.) I did find it interesting that Stephen noted that the local bands were partly chosen as they hadn't had a chance to play the festival last year, even though all but Northwest did (maybe he meant the main stage?)

As for footage from the festival, there is some unique footage in the Tuned episode not previously seen in the prior Local2 video from the event, including clips of headliners The Fast Romantics at the start, and every band sans Gnaeus at the end (though muted Gnaeus clips can be seen during the interview), so if you were hoping to see footage of The Pixo Control, Northwest (well, just Marc Santos), and The Poor Young Things, here you go! Quality episode, especially if you attended the successful sophomore installment of The Emergency, so give it a look above! Remember, we can't embed Local2's videos here.

Next up, here's the first video that we've found from Friday night's first annual Superior Festival at The Savoy Bar & Nightclub, though surprisingly, it's not of one of the out of town headliners. This is actually of young Sault Michigan metal band Tantrym Tyme covering Black Stone Cherry's "Lonely Train" and Alter Bridge's "Metalingus" at the end of their set, as per their Facebook page yesterday, but the video appears to unveil the band's new lineup, as they've finally found a replacement for the already departed Quinton Jacobson. Though their sporadically updated Facebook page doesn't confirm his identity yet, personal Facebook postings confirm that the new guitarist is Grooves Music instructor Michael McLeod, giving the band a quartet lineup and a long haired member once again. I'm not familiar with Michael from other local bands, but as he is a guitar instructor, you know he has the chops, and he sounds pretty good from what I can tell in the video!

As for the video itself, it's filmed on the vertical cell phone camera angle, close to the corner of the stage. The guys are on form, handling the songs with relative ease, and the double guitar attack helps fill out their sound again! Also, singer/guitarist Jacob Hotlen is sounding more and more like Ten Kings' Brandon Carr as his voice develops! Give this new Tantrym Tyme video a look below, and stay tuned for more from the guys when posted!

Also, here's the latest from the original crash band, "blue Chinese metal crash punk" quartet Sykotyk Rampage! First, the veteran rockers will return to the stage for the first time in four months (and only the second time this year) on Monday, September 21st when they will join The Bear Hunters as openers for Mexican death metal band Evilheart at The Algonquin Pub! While not yet confirmed by promoters, they'll reportedly replace The Apocalypse Afterparty on the lineup for unannounced reasons (though note that they still haven't publically clarified their new lineup either.) Nice to see Sykotyk Rampage hopping on the Gonqshow train, and don't miss their creative crash rock next month! Also, Sykotyk Rampage have posted two new "albums" onto their Reverbnation page in the past month, those being "Kalos Kagathos" (an ancient Greek term for a military ideal of personal conduct) and "Soaked To The Nipple" (they titled it, don't shoot the messenger!), bringing their official discography to 54 albums.

Though the band no longer releases sale copies of their albums (these and other recent "albums" are all available as free streams), the fun, improvised, and irreverent nature of Sykotyk Rampage's albums come through as usual on these albums and other recent works, so if you like puppies snoring and stars decaying, give Sykotyk Rampage's newest material a listen above, and see them next month at The Gonq!

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

• After some prior uncertainty about it's status, local music instrument/lessons store Music Depot has apparently closed it's doors permanently. While the sign in the door of the Gore Street business still says "Closed until further notice" (as it has since December), it's Facebook page was quietly deleted this year, and Google Maps lists it as "permanently closed", joining Colosimo's Music Store & Sault Michigan's Steve's Music Center in local music store closures in the last two years. Disappointing for fans, but at least we still have four other regional music store options!
• Local classic metal quintet Project 421 have launched an official YouTube channel, and they've already stocked it with lots of videos from their concerts! Created by bassist Daniel Horton, I believe we've featured or acknowledged every video on the channel on the SMS in the past, so there's nothing brand new there yet, but it's a nice convenient spot for their videos, so check it all out above!
• Ex-StrykerGC frontman Troy Isaac Kulka is looking to join or start a new local band project, as per his post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group on Tuesday. He sings and plays guitar, is in a place where he can focus more on music, and while he shared the StrykerGC Reverbnation page as a sample of his work, he described it as "a home recording project" that "was just a learning experience", and he's not requiring the songs to be played in his next work. Troy's a talented music veteran, so give him a shout above or at this link if you want to jam with him!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more news and updates this week! Thanks everyone!

A Battle Of The Bands Cancellation, Banned & Brutally Fatal Updates, And Much More!!

Before we likely cap off the month with weekend concert previews and our next CD review, here's some news for this Wednesday afternoon! Along with a new video from a talented regional band, the latest from a rising young death metal project, and much more, we'll lead off with some disappointing news regarding an upcoming concert event, so here's what you should know!

The Twin City Sounds Battle of the Bands scheduled for February 20th at The Rednecks Saloon has officially been postponed. Co-promoter & judge Terry Eaton revealed on the Facebook event page on Monday that they're postponing the battle due to the event's proximity to the VM Radio Battle at The Canadian, which begins just under two weeks later on March 4th, saying that "two battles around the same time just doesn't work for anyone." Bands that registered to compete in next month's battle will be able to get their entry fees back by contacting Terry or Steven Flint on Facebook, so if you registered to play, message them A.S.A.P.! This is disappointing, especially as it's the second Sault Ontario battle in four months to be called off (following November's scrapped Rock For Dimes battle), but it's officially just postponed, so hopefully we see a rescheduled date for later in the year! Also, remember that while an official band lineup wasn't announced for next month, there are a few bands who had signed up to compete in both battles, so be sure to see them in March!

I'll note as well that VM Radio Battle promoter J.D. Pearce had suggested that the winning band of each battle should face off in a head to head finals after the fact, and that'd be cool to see brought up again when the first battle is rescheduled! Stay tuned for updates on both when we hear them!

Next up, here's a new video from Kinross, Michigan classic/hard rock standouts Banned, as per their YouTube channel on Monday! Their first uploaded video in four months, this is of the guys covering Fall Out Boy's "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light 'Em Up)" earlier this month at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino. Filmed by Eric Cairns at Third Cinema Productions (who's filmed them in the past), this is a well filmed and performed cover, though Alex Traynor's vocal range doesn't hold up on the falsettos. I'm not a huge Fall Out Boy fan, but Banned's skill helps a lot on this performance! Also, for reference, the band is playing as a trio here with Wayne Lawrence on bass, so the recent photos of the band as a quartet in Engadine likely indicate that Jim Pentland was only back as a guest that night. Check out Banned's new video below, and stay tuned for more from them!



Also, here's the latest updates from Sault Ontario death metal duo Brutally Fatal, all from their Facebook page over the past month, and our apologies for the delay! Three weeks ago, the band revealed the cover for their first demo EP with their current lineup and name spelling, which will be called "The D.P.E.P.", though we won't share it here due to potentially offensive content. No word on what the title stands for, but an NSFW story about the concept can be read at this link. Austin & Tyler have been working in studio on "The D.P.E.P." this month, even revealing 25 potential song titles for new originals on Saturday, including such eclectic titles as "Ocean of Blood" & "Bulgarian Beetles". The first song for the EP was uploaded to their new Bandcamp page and the Blood Shed Productions YouTube channel last week, and it's entitled "Stomp Your Feet", so how does it sound?

Sonically similar to Tyler Gibson's other duo project Rotopsy's song "Cops 'N Moms", this song is a short death metal number with repetitive shouted lyrics (largely of the song's title), though there is some late growling vocals too. It's consistently heavy and engaging for Blood Shed loyalists, but we'll have to see how the rest of the songs evolve. We won't embed the full YouTube video here due to the cover art being included, but stream the full song at this link, and stay tuned for more from Brutally Fatal & the Blood Shed!

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

• According to their official Facebook page, Sault Michigan nightclub and occasional concert venue The Back Door (which was recently sold to new owners) re-opened for an "encore presentation" of their usual Friday night party last week, and will apparently be permanently re-opened soon under their new management. Great news for regulars, but will bands be a part of the new owners' plans? We'll let you guys know if we hear anything!
• Sault Ontario music store Music Depot's Facebook page revealed on Sunday that they are "temporarily closed" and hope to be back soon. This announcement follows rumours of the Gore Street store's closure in December, though there were later assurances that Music Depot was just sold to new owners. Hopefully the temporary closure is just that, as I know many musicians enjoy going there, and we'll let you know when/if it re-opens!
• The fifth annual Sewer Swampstravaganza all ages concert will indeed move from The Oddfellows Hall for this year, as it will apparently be held at The Canadian Nightclub for this year's installment on May 9th. A reason for the venue change wasn't announced, but The Canadian is a quality location, and hopefully there's a great turnout this year! Our source is promoter Steve Mozarowski on the Facebook event page yesterday, and stay tuned for more on the lineup!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews, this month's CD review, and more in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Power Slug), An Inactive Band, And Much More!!

I hope you guys are continuing to enjoy the holiday season! As predicted, I assumed we'd have SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS today, so that leads off this post, but we also have a note on a band who's hit a year's inactivity for our band listings, a recent video posting, and more assorted notes, so read on below foe what you need to know!

Sault Michigan hard rock trio Power Slug will reportedly return to the stage for headlining dates at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, we just heard about these gigs via frontman Chris Leask's personal Facebook page yesterday, and the shows have not been plugged on the band's own Facebook page. Fairly dormant over the last few months, these will be their first concerts that we've heard about since their Manistique road trip in September, and their first at The Rapids Lounge since at least the summer, and while we haven't heard much on why they took a break in recent months, it's great to see Chris, Bob, and Chris back in the saddle for one more weekend before the new year! You can take in their hard rock covers TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT at 9:00 PM, you must be 21 to attend either night, and there's no announced cover charge. Go chug your mug with Power Slug if you can this weekend, and here are the guys at The Bird!



Next up, we regrettably have a band to move to our inactive band links in the next few days, that being local/Toronto hardcore punk/classical trio RedD Monkey. While the guys have not officially announced a breakup, they haven't issued an online update since Boxing Day last year when they played at the former Roosevelt Hotel, with frontman Steve Mozarowski later confirming an indefinite hiatus (or worse) in interviews and Facebook postings. Active since their formation in Kelowna in 2009, RedD Monkey had grown to become one of the more prominent local punk bands of the early 2010s, which saw them go on tour a number of times, record three albums (though only two were released), and play a number of major local concerts like the first three Sewer Swampstravaganzas, Rotaryfest's 2010 Second Stage, and 2009's Algoma University Battle of the Bands. In the past year, Steve had stayed busy "songwriting" with The Apocalypse Afterparty, while his brother Pete has dabbled in solo cello work, and drummer Joe Bumbacco can currently be seen in the Toronto sludge band Larval Host.

RedD Monkey accomplished a great deal in their 5 year run, and while the circumstances behind their year-long inactivity were never publicized, their energetic and fast paced concerts have been missed in the past 12 months. I hope we see their third album "Opus 2" come out at some point at the very least, but for now, best of luck to Steve, Pete, Joe, and their other former drummers in the future, and fingers crossed we see them again!

Also, here's a new video from local grunge/hardcore duo Bad Back, who you can next see live opening for the Detroit reunion at The Algonquin Pub on Tuesday! Hyped as their "Sault Ste. Marie comeback show" (as they haven't played a public gig within city limits since opening for The Archaics in July), this video from drummer Nathan Sauve's YouTube channel on Monday will give you a preview at their setlist on Tuesday, as it compiles many strung together clips of originals & covers alike from a recent jam session. The audio quality is solid, but the camera angle leaves something to be desired due to it's high angle, fish-eye lens filter, and complete lack of Nathan in visible frame. It gets the job done though, so give Bad Back's newest video a look below!



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

• In their first Facebook page post in almost 3 months, local all-female hard rock quartet The Danger Cats revealed that drummer Calico Katie will be vacationing in England over the Christmas holiday, but they'll be back together in January to return to the stage. The girls haven't played live since September for unclear reasons, but hopefully they're back in action in short order, as they've been missed, and hopefully Katie has a great trip!
• Rudyard, Michigan hard rock cover quintet Exiled revealed on their Facebook page on Sunday that they're currently taking a break while drummer Justin Lawless and his wife welcome their new baby. Completely understandable, so look for them upon their return in the new year, and congratulations in advance to Justin & Anna on the coming arrival!
• Have you seen Facebook postings in the past week suggesting that Music Depot closed? A number of personal statuses suggested that the Gore Street music instrument store had it's last day on Saturday, but apparently, Music Depot just had an owner change and will be re-opening at some point soon, possibly next week. Hopefully that's all, as I know how much many local musicians like Music Depot! Our source is longtime staffer and Lucky 13 bassist Jeff Gray in a personal conversation.

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates over the weekend! Thanks everyone!

Destroilet, Music Depot, And Woods Of Ypres News, Plus This Week's Classic Video!!

The news keeps rolling in, and we have some interesting stuff to share today, but first, here's what to look out for through the weekend! Tomorrow, we'll preview this weekend's metal/hard rock concerts, and on Saturday, we announce the winners of the first four March Mayhem 1st round matchups and launch the next four for you to vote on, and by the day (maybe earlier), we'll unveil our next CD review! Now though, here's today's news!

A third local band are trying to qualify for an Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands slot on this year's Vans Warped Tour, and it's old school hardcore quintet Destroilet! As in the campaigns for Frightlight & Garden of Bedlam, Destroilet also want to earn enough votes to qualify for a slot on an upcoming Canadian Warped Tour event, where they can compete against other bands for big prizes, but there's one big difference: They don't want to play the Warped Tour's stop in Mississauga, which is what Frightlight & Garden of Bedlam are going for. Instead, Destroilet are hoping to make it on the July 16th stop in Montreal at Parc-Jean Drapeau! Why? I'm not sure, especially given that the field of bands is larger and have more votes, but maybe Destroilet didn't want to compete with the other local acts. Still, Destroilet on the Warped Tour anywhere would be awesome, so vote for them today! Click here to vote, and if you haven't registered for a Battle of the Bands account yet, do so, it won't kill you or cost you a cent. They only have 13 votes, come on guys, help them out! They deserve it, especially with their raised profile of recent months! Vote today, and for reference sake, Firefox 4 DOES allow the media player on Battle of the Bands pages to work, so you can check out "End Me" and "H.D.M." no matter what!

Next up, here's an odd question: Have you ever found a brand new video of a band because you made a typo? Well, because of that, I found two new videos of Woods of Ypres from their current East Coast tour, all because I accidentally typed "Wood of Ypres"! Luckily, someone made that error in the title of a video, so that was a cool find! These videos come from their show at L'Hemisphere Gauche in Montreal last night, which was coinicdentally the release date for the re-release of "Woods IV: The Green Album"! YouTube user xes1978 uploaded these earlier today on their YouTube channel, and they're of the band playing "The Shams of Optimism" & "Crossing The 45th Parallel" and "Everything I Touch Turns To Gold (Then To Coal)"! Good quality audio on these, though the angles should have been more varied, as I don't believe the camera panned to Joel Violette once. The videos are dark too, but again, there's that nice red ambiance that makes things look pretty good. Nice to see this footage as well, check the above links for more! I'll embed one of the videos here, so check out their performance of "Everything I Touch Turns To Gold (Then To Coal)" below!



Next up, here's some news from local music store Music Depot! Located at 137 Gore Street (close to the old GLOW location) It's a popular spot to get instruments, lessons, and gear, but only earlier this month did they launch an official website! We've known about their Facebook page since last month, but now, they have a website at http://www.saultmusic.com/, so what should you know? You can see the guitars, basses, drumkits, amplifiers, and mixers for sale, though some of the product tabs aren't active yet. You can't buy items through the site, but you can find pricing information and basic details on most listed items, as well as be diverted to their pages on Facebook and eBay. Many of the additional tabs and sections aren't finished yet, but in time, I'd expect spots for lesson info, used items, and product lines to pop up. Check the above links for more from Music Depot! While we're on the subject of music stores, I've edited the details for Sault Michigan music store Steve's Music, which has moved from 126 Ridge Street to 557 Ashmun Street, not far from the other music store across the river, Grooves Music. I'm not sure why they moved, or even when it happened, but to be fair, I don't hear a lot on Steve's Music, so maybe I've just been misinformed for a long time. If I hear some new stuff on them, I'll have it here!

And finally, here's this week's classic video! As always, I'm tying in the video with a band or performer at an upcoming concert, and in this case, it's River Witch drummer Ivan Schliska! Along with his more active recent work with River Witch, Ivan's long been a member of the hard rock trio Scofflaw, who've been rocking the area since 2007, despite sporadic band updates. We don't talk about Scofflaw much on here because they don't advertise many of their plans or shows, so I often don't hear about them, but I try my best! With that said, I found one video of Scofflaw in action, so here's what you should know! The band uploaded a video from a likely jam session onto their MySpace page on September 17th, 2008, as filmed by an attendee. It's of the band playing what appears to be an original song named "Love Destroyer", and it's not a bad performance, though there are elements I'd like to see corrected. Jeff Barnes' vocals seem to be too low, the song seems a bit too straightforward at points, and the location of the performance is mostly VERY dark, with only bassist Barney Gravelle being reasonably visible. Good stuff though, they have a grungy sort of unpolished feel that I don't see too much of from bands across the river, and it has a catchy element to it!

NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT OR HARM IS INTENDED WITH THIS VIDEO!! All credit goes to Scofflaw and the original filmer, they did all of the hard work! The original video can be seen at http://myspace.com/scofflawband/videos/love-destoyer/43013670. I want this video and Scofflaw to get more deserved attention, they could use it! With all of that said, enjoy Scofflaw's performance of "Love Destroyer" below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for previews of this weekend's concerts tomorrow, along with March Mayhem updates, more news, and our next CD review in the next while! Thanks everyone!