LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Project 421), Dour Concert Preview, And Much More!!

Another quiet weekend is now passed during our recent quiet stretch (is there a groundhog for the local music scene that saw it's shadow?), but we are back with a new news post on this Monday, so before you check out the solar eclipse, here's a new archive album find, a special Wednesday night concert preview some assorted updates, and first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Local classic metal quartet Project 421 will return to The Canadian Nightclub for another headlining concert on Friday, September 8th! Marking just their third concert since their triumphant return to the stage last month, this show comes just under a week following their set opening for Diamond Head on September 2nd, so hopefully they're still riding high from that huge opportunity and deliver a solid night of old school metal renditions! Though ostensibly another toe into the water for The Canadian's return of solo bands on weekends, they will have an opening act, namely alt-punk quartet A Dire Setback, who also opened for 421 last month at the same venue among other bands. Can't go wrong with a punk appetizer, let alone from a band with A.D.S.' already high profile! A cover charge has not been announced for this 19+ event, which has a 10:00 PM start time. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and don't miss out on this metal and punk double act next month!

Next up, here's a preview of a special concert going down THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT at The New American Pub, as Saskatchewan grindcore band Dour will make their local concert debut! Possessing a crust and sludge-infused attack, Dour's brand of power violence should melt many faces at The New A on Wednesday night, so if you're up for some mid-week extreme music, you know where to be! Local support will include death metal standouts The Bear Hunters in their first of two shows in a five night span (look for our Eye of Horus preview on Saturday, in all likelihood), while extreme metal quartet Winkstinger will end their 15 month stage hiatus when they kick off the action on Wednesday! I have no idea where Winksringer have been in the past year, but how will they look and sound compared to their run of shows last spring? Find out in a few nights' time! Co-promoted by Slumshine's Brenton Ellis and Gore Street Cafe owner Nicole Dyble, this 10:00 PM concert has a $7 cover and a 19+ age limit in effect.

Making one of the final stops of their No Sign of Grief Canadian Tour before heading home, Dour should brutalize the stage with their hard grinding and sludgy originals, and with two opening acts you don't see on stage nearly enough anymore, don't bypass this concert if you can help it! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Dour live!

Also today, I am proud to say that I have finally purchased a local CD that I've been seeking out for years, and that is defunct hard rock quartet Infrastrate's only EP "Phase I: Commencement"! After years of coming up empty for the long out of print CD, I happened to discover two copies on the front counter of The Rad Zone for around $6, and I of course grabbed one, so what should you know on it? Released in late 2005 after being recorded at Cherry Valance Sound that August with co-producer & current Northwest drummer Marc Santos, "Phase I" arguably marked their final act as a solely local band before moving to Ottawa shortly after sessions wrapped up. In terms of content, the EP has 5 songs, including "Smoke & Mirrors", "Tyrande", "Detached & Tied Down", "Causal Nexus", and "Hindsight", and while all but the middle track had previously been posted on the band's PureVolume page, the copies there of "Tyrande" & "Causal Nexus" were not the EP versions, and I now surmise that they were pre-release demos.

Is a review of Infrastrate's EP imminent on the SMS? Probably not, as the band (including singer Joey Paciocco, guitarist Patrick Webb, and Nick & Ben Ochoski on bass & drums) aren't in any active local bands to tie one in with, though Patrick & Ben have been active recently in Ottawa-area bands. That said, their progressive-tinged hard rock sound and solid chemistry is very present on "Phase I: Commencement", and as someone who very much cares about local music history, it's great to have a copy at last! Give "Detached & Tied Down" a listen below, and hear more from Infrastrate above courtesy of old & new uploads on our YouTube channel!



I have one more very cool archive album find to share on here soon once I get the tape converted (you read that right), but finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while! As usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• I have changed the link for local film production company 62nd Chamber Productions from their website (which was taken down earlier this year) to their YouTube channel, which is still up, but hasn't seen new content in three years. Ran by AlgomA frontman Boyd Rendell, 62nd Chamber was a prominent source of content from both local concerts and from short film production (remember "The Last Strand"?), and hopefully we see more from them soon in addition to much more from AlgomA & Six, Two, Oh.!
• I have moved local pop punk solo project Anthems vs. Oceans to our inactive band links, as the former For July have not posted a public update referencing their music since July of last year via their Facebook page (though, for full disclosure, posts have been made on non-musical subjects as recently as May.) Dave's a talented musician, and hopefully we hear some new updates on Anthems vs. Oceans material in the future!
• Just as a belated house-cleaning note, I have removed HMV from our linked pages entirely due to the now-closed music store chain's website now being reduced to an image and text about their final closures in April, a state that likely won't be reversed given the entire chain folding. HMV was a useful and reliable store when it lasted, but don't bypass Sunrise Records in it's old Station Mall location for your CD, vinyl, and DVD needs!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile and more this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Dour & Project 906), The Wolves Of The North, And More!!

After a much needed weekend off from the site, I am back in full force with a stacked news post today, featuring two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, and a new video from one band in question, and some assorted updates from a local promoter, so here's what you should know!

Saskatoon grindcore band Dour will make their local concert debut on August 23rd (one week from Wednesday!) when they headline at The New American Pub! Another talented extreme metal attraction to help end the summer season with, Dour's sludgy and crusty originals provide a solid punk-tinged attack with lots of brutality to go around, and they should rock The New A sufficiently next week! Local openers will include death metal favourites The Bear Hunters (in their first New A set of the year) and the long awaited return to the stage of extreme metal quartet Winkstinger, ending their year+ long hiatus with their first show since May 2016. It's great to have Winkstinger back in action in advance of their Oh!NO Festival set next month, but are there any changes or new additions? Be at The New A next week to find out! Notably, this show is being co-promoted by Slumshine's Brenton Ellis and Gore Street Cafe owner Nicole Dyble, despite not being held at the laundromat, which is interesting to see!

This late stop on Dour's No Sign of Grief Canadian tour has a $7 cover charge, 19+ age limit, and 10:00 PM start time. This should be another brutal concert to help send August out with, especially with Winkstinger's return and The Bear Hunters continuing to re-assert their place in the scene, so stay tuned for potential updates, and look for our preview next week!

Next up, we'll head across to the Eastern Upper Peninsula, as Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Project 906 have one more new show to announce, as they'll return to The Strongs Tavern in nearby Eckerman for one night only on Saturday, September 23rd! Announced last week in a schedule posting on their Facebook page (though this was the only show there not previously acknowledged publically by the band), this will mark Project 906's first trip to this venue in over five months, and it should provide another solid opportunity for fans in this area to hear their entertaining cover selection! A 9:00 PM start time is announced for this 21+ show, which has no announced cover charge. See above for more details, and before we forget, here's a new Facebook video of Project 906 from their outdoor Moloney's Alley set this past weekend during Moloney's Michigan Beerfest, and it's an amusing cover of The 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up?"!

Project 906 will look different here, both via guest bassist Barney Gravelle for a mini-Ten Kings reunion, and by featuring drummer Will Storey on vocals (I assume Billy moved to drums here.) Despite the vertical camera angle and distant filming location from the stage, the rendition is funny, and should bring to mind Shit Liver's own humorous take on this song from shows on the Canadian side of the border! Give it a look below, and don't miss them at the Rudyard Musicians Festival THIS SATURDAY!



Finally for today, here's the latest from Jack Spades frontman and local concert promoter J.D. Pearce, who's been busy over the past week! His promotion agency's Facebook group has been renamed "Northern Superior Brewing Co. Presents", reflecting his recent working relationship with the local brewery. This also returning his agency to a sponsored name after previously aligning with Tidal Records, hence their recent "wolves of the north" teasers. Hopefully this is a fruitful partnership on both sides, and it's great to see two different local entrepreneurs joining forces! To that end, J.D. has announced a few new events, including a mini-tour of Northern Ontario in early November entitled "Wolves on Parade", where Jack Spades and bassist Rob Speers' other band The Elements will open for Sudbury death metal band Archelon, who have played in the Soo before, most recently in October 2014. A local date hasn't been confirmed publically for before or after the tour, but of course, we'll let you know if one is set up!

In any event, this should be a fun tour, also giving fans a rare chance to see The Elements on the road, so see above for details on the Sudbury, North Bay, and Timmins gigs! The other new show from J.D. will be the return of his X-Mess acoustic punk concert event after a two year hiatus, with local punk mainstays Lucas Schmiedendorf and Greg Callaghan scheduled to perform alongside other acts on Saturday December 23rd at 9;00 PM. The cover will be $10, but a venue has not been publically confirmed as of this writing. Stay tuned for updates on that front, but it's great to have X-Mess back for the holidays, and click here & above for current details on J.D.'s late-2017 plans!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and features as the week rolls along! Thanks everyone!