LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Stiffler's Mom), More Weekend Concert Previews, And New RPM Videos!!

Before we begin our second weekend concert preview post, here's a late update concerning tomorrow's Havadder concert at The Rednecks Saloon, as while tonight's show will go on as usual, drummer Scott McLurg will be absent for the second night, which the band jokingly explained by saying he's going to space. No word on why he'll actually be away tomorrow, but in his place, Havadder will play an acoustic set as a trio and will invite attendees to jam with them too. Nice idea to change things up, so keep that in mind for tomorrow only, or see the full band TONIGHT! Visit the new Facebook event page for more details, and don't miss out!

Now to the previews (and some assorted updates at post's end) starting with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as local party/hard rock cover veterans Stiffler's Mom will return to The Rockstar Bar TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the show was announced via it's Facebook event page on Monday but we held it for this weekend's previews. This will be the second one-nighter at The Rockstar Bar for this band from ex-members of Alexis Machine and Sin Stereo (The Boot Hill Crooners are playing there tonight), and fans should know by now that the fun and often heavy covers from Greg, Jon, and Mike always draw a solid crowd, so be among them TOMORROW NIGHT! This 19+ event has an announced 10:30 PM start time, and while there's no announced cover, bring cash just in case. For more details, see the above links, and here's Stiffler's Mom at Rotaryfest last year!



Moving to previously announced concerts, Speak Easy Battle of the Bands runners-up Long Shot have a busy day ahead of them TODAY, as they're playing not one, but two separate concert sets! Their day starts at 12:00 PM when they play a special outdoor set during the Diversity Downtown portion of this weekend's Passport To Unity multicultural festival! Their set is among the live music between the block of Queen Street East between March & Spring Streets from 11:45 AM-1:15 PM, which will also feature numerous local food and craft vendors to take in. They'll be joined by Northwest guitarist Greg Callaghan in a solo acoustic set, but I can't confirm any other potential artist names. Nice to see some alternative music back at this event, and hopefully the weather cooperates unlike last year with The Pixo Control! This afternoon's events are FREE & ALL AGES, and see the above links for more details!

Following that, the hard rock quartet will make their Canadian Nightclub debut TONIGHT when they headline a registration deadline party for the Sault Ultimate Players Association, the local disc sports/ultimate frisbee organization! This may seem random, but the Dawe brothers are both S.U.P.A. members, and Long Shot played their kickoff event, so they're a great fit for tonight's entertainment! The public is welcome to attend and enroll at the show, which has a 7:00 PM start time and no announced cover or age limits. Busy day ahead for Long Shot, but keep both shows in mind downtown or at The Canadian! For a preview, here's Long Shot live in March!

Finally for announced shows this weekend, Sault Michigan classic/hard rock quartet Highway 63 will make their Satisfied Frog debuts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Not only are these this newer band's first regional gigs not under the Kewadin Casino umbrella, frontman Henry Switzer has hyped these as his first shows outside of the casino circuit in 2 years (likely referencing the Sir Charge days), so be sure to make lots of noise this weekend and ensure that they continue to break new ground! This entertaining and talented union of Monkey's Uncle, Mama's Boys, Power Slug, and RamWagon alumni will take the stage both nights at 10:00 PM, there are no announced cover charges, and you must be 21 to attend. For more details, visit the above links, and here's Highway 63 live!



Finally for today, remember the local classic/hard rock quartet RPM from the first Rock For Dimes concert and sporadic solo gigs? They still don't have an online page that we've found, but they finally have some online videos to check out! Sault Online named them their "Band of the Week" last month via this article, wherein Sault Online's Mike Caruso went to see them play at The Rockstar Bar, including a video interview, so what more do we know on them? RPM (whose name comes from members' last names) have been active for three years and formed through an adult music camp that bassist Lindsay Pugh had started for locals who hadn't really had live band experience, and that morphed into a full fledged rock cover band who hopes to play some outdoor summer festival events in the near future. In the main video, the guys are seen covering Bachman-Turner Overdrive's "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet", but Mike shot two more as well!

His other videos (both from his YouTube channel, and with drummer Ben Pascuzzi on vocals) are of RPM covering Honeymoon Suite's "New Girl Now" and The Spencer Davis Band's "Gimme Some Lovin'", so how do RPM sound? Good so far, but you can tell there's still some stiffness on stage, and at times, you can tell that the guys (Lindsay aside) don't have a lot of stage experience. They're on their way though, and they'll no doubt get better with every show! The interview's informative too, so give that and their BTO cover a look below, and stay tuned for more from RPM when we hear it!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post over the weekend! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Long Shot), New Drum Cover Videos, And More!!

Continuing our steady recent pace on this Friday morning, we have some assorted recent updates, new drum cover videos from two veterans of the local scene, and first, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for early next month, so here's what you should know!

Local hard rock quartet Long Shot will return to the stage for two concerts that are both taking place on Friday, May 1st! After an almost two month break following their runner-up finish at the Speak Easy Battle of the Bands, Long Shot will make up for lost time with a set at this year's ninth annual Passport To Unity festival, which will reportedly be during that day's Downtown Diversity events outside on a shut down block of Queen Street East between March & Spring between 11:45 AM & 1:15 PM. Readers may remember that The Pixo Control were scheduled for this event last year, but rain forced a postponement and move indoors to The Essar Centre, so hopefully there's no hang-ups this time! This will obviously be an ALL AGES event, there's no announced cover, and see above for more details! The other Long Shot event on May 1st will see them make their Canadian Nightclub debut that night when they headline a party held by the Sault Ultimate Players' Association!

If you don't know, that's a local league for players of ultimate frisbee and related disc sports, and if this seems random, remember that Long Shot members Evan & Adam Dawe both are SUPA members, and the band has played at least one SUPA function in the past. The event at The Canadian will be a party and deadline to sign up for their summer leagues, and it will take place at 7:00 PM with no announced age limits or cover. Sounds fun, so see that show's Facebook event page & the above links for complete details on both events, and it's great to see Long Shot back on stage finally!

Next up, here's new drum cover videos from two veteran local musicians, including this video of Fairmounts frontman and prolific local drummer Mikey Hawdon covering The Descendents' "All". Uploaded to his YouTube channel on Tuesday, this is a change from his usual solo covers there, which tend to be of him singing and playing guitar, but without giving anything away to readers who aren't familiar with "All", I'll just say that it's perfectly covered! Give it a look below, and also check out his recent out-of-town band videos too!



Also is this cover of Audioslave's "Original Fire" by Flat Stanley/Peace Vibe drummer Glen Thomas, which compared to his recent classic rock uploads and band work, is a bit of a throwback to his older hard rock/metal days! Posted to his YouTube channel on Tuesday, this is a solid rendition of one of Audislave's bigger hits, albeit not my favourite of their tracks, but give it a listen below, and check out his other recent uploads if you like 1960s rock!



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

• Local classic metal quartet Project 421 have been added to the lineup for the announced Menstural Munchies concert at a venue to be announced on June 25th, as per the Facebook event page. They're honestly not a perfect fit given that they're not a death or grind band, but their talent speaks for itself, so look for them then, and let promoters know if you can help find a venue or in other ways for this concert!
• The fifth annual Swampstravaganza at The Canadian Nightclub on May 9th will indeed see a return of the open mic block that kicked off last year's Swampfest at The Oddfellows Hall, as per a recent update to the Facebook event page. It's way too early to guess on who might play during it, given that it is "open mic", but it will open the day's events at 4:00 PM before the 10 scheduled bands hit the stage at 5:00. Great to see it return, and hopefully there's a solid turnout!
• The newest episode of Local2's music webseries Tuned with Donna Hopper went online last week, and it's 100% devoted to The Boot Hill Crooners' CD release party at LopLops Lounge last month, including an interview with frontman/Rising Tide member Sheldon Jaaskelainen. Fans of the Crooners and Sheldon's band work should definitely check it out, so do so above! Note however that there's no footage of the opening bands.

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes in the coming days, plus this month's poll and last month's poll results TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Stiffler's Mom & The Pixo Control) And Most Of The Weekend Concert Previews!!

Today at the SMS, we're kicking off the month of May with most of the weekend's hard rock concert previews, including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the next two nights, but with two caveats. One is that we're covering Sunday night's Fuck The Facts show on Saturday to give it proper emphasis closer to showtime, so look for it then. Also, Garden of Bedlam & a one-off Papa Fogals Chair reunion (and "more") are playing at PFC bassist Mike Bird's stag & doe at The Moose Lodge on Saturday night, but given the nature of stags & does, we don't traditionally call them as full public concerts on here. Click here for more details though, as the lineup is solid, and who knows when you'll see PFC again! Now, let's get to the rest of the weekend previews! (Updated on Friday at 5:34 PM)

Local alternative/hard rock trio The Pixo Control will be playing a special outdoor concert set TOMORROW MORNING as part of this year's Passport To Unity multicultural festival in the Soo! Apologies for the short notice, we only just heard about this event earlier this week. We haven't touched on Passport to Unity on here before as it doesn't usually feature bands we cover, but this annual festival has grown greatly and seen a rightful positive response for it's diversity and awareness, so click here for full event details! The Pixo Control's set will be at the closed off block from Spring Street to March Street for a mid-day event known as Downtown Diversity, which will feature local arts and music performers alongside cultural food sales and other diverse events. They'll be playing at the 11:45 AM start time for Downtown Diversity, though aside from local pop rock quartet The Frasiers, I'm unsure of any other performers. Admission is FREE, and this is definitely an all ages event. For more details, check the above links!

The late-morning/early afternoon timing might be rough for attendees who have work & school commitments, but it should be an interesting change of this pace for this rising young trio, so if you're in the area or are off, go check out The Pixo Control's set around lunch time, and enjoy the start of this year's Passport to Unity festival! Besides, I hear they'll have a couple new songs to debut (one called "60 Extra Chances Called Minutes"), so keep it in mind, and for a preview, here's The Pixo Control live at Dank Fest!



The other late notice hard rock gigs that we have this weekend are from local party rock veterans Stiffler's Mom, who have two concerts at two separate venues TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies again for the short notice, I only heard about both shows earlier this week. Tomorrow's event will be a one nighter at The Rockstar Bar, which fans should be familiar with given that many of Greg, Mike, and Jon's recent gigs have been there! Like usual, their entertaining and decades-spanning covers can be seen tomorrow at 10:30 PM, you must be 19 to attend, and there's a likely $5 cover charge, so click here for more details! There's no Stiffler's Mom gig at The Rockstar Bar on Saturday due to the Crued show we'll touch on in a bit, but never fear, as they'll still be rocking a live stage that night when they headline the Ride For Sight Vegas Night, a spring fundraiser for the annual motorcycle rally in support of blindness and vision loss, so what should you know on that front?

Held at the Garden River Community Centre at the corner of Shingwauk & Shannon Road, this event will raise money for this year's Ride For Sight in June via a poker tournament, other games, and a fish & pasta dinner, with Stiffler's Mom's set concluding the night. Tickets are $20, this is likely all ages, and while this event starts Saturday at 1:00 PM, Stiffler's Mom's set will begin at 9:00 PM. Click here for more details! It's great to see Stiffler's Mom supporting this great cause, so if you're up for a drive to Garden River on Saturday, help join in the fun, or go see them at The Rockstar Bar tomorrow! For a preview, here's Stiffler's Mom live at The Essar Centre!



Moving to previously announced shows, Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison will continue his weekly concert arrangement at The Harp Bar & Grill with (and we're positive on this) shows TOMORROW AND SATURDAY NIGHT! After two consecutive weeks of late word concerning the cancellation of his new Saturday half of his Harp run (following a Jay Case show and their UFC pay-per-view broadcast), Tym is definitely playing twice this weekend for the third time at the former Madison's Pub! Entering the 22nd week of this relationship, Tym's usual hosted open mic night is tomorrow, while Tym plays his usual acoustic unplugged gig on Saturday, so while you'll get his diverse hard rock covers either night, Saturday's will be most similar to his past solo gigs at other venues. Admission either night will probably be free, you must be 19 to attend, and there's a 10:00 PM start time in effect for each show. Click here for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym covering Metallica at the former Smack Daddy's!



Finally for today, Toronto-based Motley Crue tribute band Crued will return to the Soo THIS SATURDAY for a headlining gig at The Rockstar Bar! After returning north in November for the first time since 2011, it only took 5 months for a return date for this notorious tribute band, whose faithful and explosive tribute to Motley Crue has always been well received when they've came to our area, so hopefully the same is the case on Saturday night! Like their November show at the same venue, there are not any announced opening bands, and admission is $8 via an advance ticket purchase at The Algonquin Hotel's front desk, while the door price will jump to $12 (up from $10 in November.) You must be 19 to attend, and there is a 10:30 PM start time in effect. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Hair metal fans would be well served to check out Crued for a great tribute to Motley Crue this weekend, so don't miss it, and for a preview, here they are playing "Shout At The Devil"!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post tomorrow, plus our Fuck The Facts preview and more on Saturday! Thanks everyone!