Before we dive into fallout from last night's big concert, let's clear out some more backlogged news stories in today's post, including new material from a rising young metal guitarist, some very belated details on a local rock journalist's return to interviewing, and leading off, a new song from an upcoming album! Here's what you should know!
The second single from local indie/punk quintet The Northwest's upcoming third EP "All In" can now be heard on major streaming services and within their new music video! Uploaded to their YouTube channel on Thursday, the video (directed by Andrew Sowka) features hands holding Polaroid photographs framed over the widescreen view of the picture-in-hand, and the song's lyrics progressively appear on the bottom of the Polaroid. If that's not your speed, the lyrics are also in the video description. Interesting approach and it's well made for what The Northwest were going for! They got a second interview with Niagara Falls music website From The Strait yesterday, where writer Kris Goetz asked an unidentified band member about this song's inspiration, their songwriting process, who they'd like to tour with, getting played on Hockey Night In Canada, and what helps The Northwest stand out as a band.
While the repeat coverage from an out-of-town site rather than a local one may seem a little odd, remember that The Northwest are getting more and more eyeballs on them thanks to the Hockey Night In Canada appearances and their own acknowledged talents & experience, and the interview gives us some good insight into what they're aiming for nowadays! I'll hold comment on "Shorelines" for now, pending our eventual review of "All In", but give The Northwest's new music video a watch below!
Next up, I wanted to give a long overdue spotlight to a local journalist and interviewer who we had talked about pre-pandemic, namely Ernest "Che" Skinner, who wrote the Rock Talk column for SaultOnline in the late 2010s before moving over to Wawa-News.com in February 2019. Well, he left that site as well and has since went independent, via last summer's launch of Border City Rock Talk, which specializes primarily in coverage of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and his own classic-leaning rock music reviews, interviews, and opinion pieces. For the most part, his rock articles on Border City Rock Talk so far have not been hyper-focused on local bands or concerts, but remember that the pandemic has been a steady concern. Still, Ernest has gotten some very big gets for both print and video interviews that you can read on their website and their YouTube channel! For example, who all has Che interviewed for YouTube in the past year?
Among others, you can check out interviews with Twisted Sister's Dee Snider, Triumph's Rik Emmet, Spinal Tap and The Simpsons' Harry Shearer, Great White's Jack Russell, and Helix's Brian Vollmer, so clearly Ernest is doing the right things to attract some big names! I will embed one here, as it crosses both the hard rock and local concert line, namely Ernest's 15 minute interview with Buckcherry frontman Josh Todd from last August, which was obviously in advance of Buckcherry's headlining date at Soo Blaster in October. Apologies for this being so late, I didn't know Ernest had resumed his rock interviews and writing until very recently. The interview has Ernest asking Josh about their new album "Hellbound", Josh's fandom of Minor Threat, how the tour was going at that point, what to expect from Buckcherry's setlist, what critics think, the struggle with alcoholism, Josh's work as a phlebotomist, ...
...and how the pandemic personally affected him. While there are a few hesistant points with Ernest's questions, this was a casual and well handled interview that goes along well with what he's been doing for so long now, and at least the Buckcherry show went on as planned last fall! Hopefully we'll see more from Border City Rock Talk that crosses over with local concerts & musicians as bookings tick up this year, but give his Josh Todd interview a watch below, read and view much more above, and Border City Rock Talk is finally linked on the SMS!
Finally, I wanted to give another spotlight to local metal guitarist Shane Desjardins, who has recently resumed working on original material under his project name Red Ruins Me! We've mentioned him on the SMS in 2019 and in 2020, and while I don't believe Red Ruins Me has a social media presence beyond their YouTube channel, Shane did post a "full album" there last month named "Resurrect", followed by a pair of instrumental deathcore tracks & two live videos. One is a compilation of guitar riffs, while the other sees Shane & a friend covering Killswitch Engage's "Rose of Sharyn" (albeit with the original song very loud). I don't know if Red Ruins Me will ever expand beyond free YouTube postings, but Shane is a talented songwriter with a good ear for brutal riffs that honestly remind me of something you'd hear in an action video game soundtrack at times! Give his music a listen above & below, and look for a surprise Rolling Stones cover!
That's all for today, but if all goes well, we will start looking at B.L.S. concert fallout tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
To end a quieter but eventful month, here's a new news post that mostly takes us to the Sault Michigan area for recent news, positive and negative alike. Here's what you should know!
Hopes of more indoor concerts taking place in Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula in the near term have taken a hit, as Governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed executive orders that will limit indoor gatherings to 10 or fewer people in the state as of today, including in the U.P. and Northern Michigan regions. As well, nightclubs and bars in the state are now restricted from indoor service if they earn 70% or more of their income from alcohol sales. Read more on the executive orders at this link or your preferred state news services. Obviously, this is a step backwards, but if you've been following local or Detroit news as of late, you will know that COVID-19 cases are rising in Michigan, so this is to try and slow the spread of the virus once again. Noting that this is the SMS, I won't comment further on the non-musical aspects of the pandemic, other than to remind everyone to stay safe, wear your face masks, and use common sense out there.
Given how the coronavirus pandemic has ravaged the local concert calendar, this news won't affect too much in the way of announced hard rock concerts, but we can confirm that the planned Spun-headlined
concerts at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino next weekend have been cancelled, as per their their Facebook event page. Publically, a reason wasn't given for the cancellations, but I do know that they were called off before Governor Whitmer's announcement, as they had announced on Sunday that they would be playing an outdoor benefit gig in
northern Wisconsin next weekend. Also, note that the Marquette hard rock quartet weren't prior Kewadin regulars, but hopefully Spun come back when the
time is right! As of this writing, Kewadin's entertainment page still says they will "tentatively" resume their live concert schedule next month.
Lastly, what does this mean for Tarnished's planned Rock The Block sequel in the Soo next month? A 10 person limit for social gatherings would theoretically wipe out any indoor crowd, but assuming they were planning to host it at Crooked Music again, would they try and chance it, given that stores are not affected by the executive order? Tarnished have not posted on their Facebook page since before their EP release, but if they confirm a cancellation, postponement, or relocation of the event, we'll let you know. Stay tuned for more relevant updates on the COVID-19 pandemic!
Next up, let's stay in the E.U.P. for the latest from St. Ignace progressive metal band Heavy Lies The Crown's Facebook page! On July 2nd, singer Brandon West was featured in this short video plugging an upcoming interview that he and guitarist Ted Olson would be doing an interview with an Instagram page named Everythingcore. Maybe I am missing something totally obvious, but I have yet to find the posted interview, so either this page isn't the one Brandon meant, or it was yanked after it's live airing. I'll let you know if it surfaces! Five days later, the band shared this 10 minute video of them working in studio on their forthcoming full-length album, though the visuals aren't great, and not because of the vertical camera angle. It almost feels like the video is constantly buffering, and it has a tendency to pause on itself, but the music you hear sounds promising. However, embedded below is the first formal teaser clip from the sessions!
Uploaded to Brandon's YouTube channel, this is set to a parody clip of Brandon as a western movie gunslinger (randomly in what looks like a home under construction), this has a 15 second instrumental segment from their new song "Dead Teeth", which should whet fans' appetites until the full CD is on sale! Give it a watch/listen below, and stay tuned for more updates from Heavy Lies The Crown in the near future!
Finally for today, here are three assorted shorter Sault Ontario news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by business or artist name:
Over six months after announcing the big move, the local Long & McQuade music store opened in it's new location at 647 MacDonald Avenue (the former Northshore Sports & Auto site) on Monday, July 20th. As well publicized online, Northland Music and the Thomas Walls School of Music merged operations last year in order to become the local branch of the national music/lesson store chain, and now they have a bigger (if more eastern) storefront. Be sure to check out Long & McQuade to see what they have to offer!
Reggie's Place will reportedly be re-opening under new ownership in the near future, as per their Facebook page! The popular 458 Queen Street East nightclub abruptly closed in September of last year (just four months after re-opening following the 2017 fire upstairs), and while Reggie Daigle himself has sold this location, it will retain the Reggie's name, and it has a new logo designed by Destroilet's Matt Waples. There are a lot of unknowns yet, not just because of the pandemic, but will concerts remain country-centric (Soundcheck aside) when they can host them? Stay tuned!
Local metal guitarist Shane Desjardins is again looking to jam with other musicians, as per his newest posting on his Musicians Wanted Facebook group from Tuesday. Readers there and here may recall his search for musicians to jam and write with in May 2019, and you can hear his old music recordings on his YouTube channel. He has clear talent, so message Shane at this link or above for details!
That's all for this month, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!
