Andres Duchesne Updates And This Weekend's Sault Ontario Concert Previews!!

This post was originally slated to be 100% devoted to weekend concert previews, but due to yesterday's tragic loss in the local metal scene, I've bumped our previews of Peril's Sault Michigan concerts to tomorrow's post so we can lead off with the latest news on yesterday's developments. After that though, we have previews of this weekend's heavier concerts in Sault Ontario, so read on below for what you need to know!

We should start this post with updates relating to the sudden passing of Pillory guitarist Andres Duchesne, and if you're a metalhead on the Sault Ontario side of the border, you'll have seen tons of condolences pouring in from band members and friends alike. There has been rumours going around about how he died, but unless something official comes out through his family, Pillory, or local news, I won't go into any detail on here. This isn't TMZ, after all. Andres' obituary was posted onto SooToday this evening, so you can read it at this location. Through there, I can confirm that his memorial service will take place at The O'Sullivan Donnelly Funeral Home (less than a mile from The Nicolet Tavern) at 215 St. James Street on Sunday at 4:00 PM. Visitation is from from 2:00-4:00 PM that day, and condolences may be given by phone or online at this location. Donations to The John Howard Society would be appreciated by his family. I personally can't make the funeral (like with David Gold's, this Detroit tripped was planned too far in advance), but I'll be there in spirit, and hopefully lots of his friends, bandmates, and family are there to pay tribute to him and his life!

When any further information on Andres' arrangements, Pillory's future, any more tributes, and anything else related to yesterday's sad news comes in, I'll be sure to have them here, but if you can make it to his services on Sunday, please do so. R.I.P. Andres, you are not forgotten!

Now, let's get to some slightly happier news, starting with a big multi-band metal/punk show at The Algonquin Pub TOMORROW NIGHT! Entitled "Survivors at the End of the World!" (an obvious connection to Mayan doomsday theories), this is the second concert of this type to take place at The Algonquin Hotel's downstairs bar this year, and it will see the long awaited returns of two prominent local bands and two other recently seen acts (all but one of which are making their Algonquin Pub debut), so who's on tap? According to what I've heard and the listed band order, the headlining band will be local blue Chinese metal crash punk quartet Sykotyk Rampage, fresh off their most recent appearance at The Locals Attack last month, and they should have a lot of fun alternative hard rock and bluesy originals for their growing fan base tomorrow, helping close out a busy year for them! I believe guitarist Dirk Becker will be providing sound with the Sykotyk Sound Company again, similarly to promoter J.D. Pearce's other recent shows. Prior to them is local punk/classical trio RedD Monkey, in their first local show since The Jamestown Massacre in August!

Planning to record a new album over the holidays, RedD Monkey have been busy through late 2012 with Canadian tour dates, and after a longer than usual wait between shows, hopefully many of their fans and friends are at The Algonquin tomorrow to rock out with their cello infused punk favourites! Also returning after a long absence is local deathcore quartet The Valentine's Day Massacre, who will be playing their first show in almost 5 months tomorrow following their collective move to London for college. Look for an explosive set of death metal and hardcore originals and covers in their return, and hopefully Steve, Andrew, Adam, and Kyle set off some big stuff with their return tomorrow! The lineup is rounded out by local rock cover quintet Lazer Queen in just their second concert, and after a successful debut last month, look for an entertaining set of their diverse covers from all over the rock spectrum! Notably, V.D.M. bassist Adam Veale revealed on Facebook last night that tonight's show is dedicated in Andres' memory, and given all of the recent links to him, it's extremely fitting.

With his Pillory bandmates Jon Tiberi & Bret Shuttleworth in Lazer Queen, plus both them and Sykotyk Rampage sharing the stage with Pillory at their debut last month, I'd expect a lot of heavy hearts tomorrow night, but from what I knew of Andres, a metal tribute would be the way to go, so hopefully this show's a huge hit! Admission is $5 for this 19+ show, and a 10:00 PM start time is advertised. For more details, click here! This should be an awesome concert, so go rock out, remember Andres, and enjoy the returns and metal/punk action! For a preview, here's Sykotyk Rampage playing their song "Sicked" at The Algonquin in October!



Finally for this post, we have one more heavier concert going down, and it involves local hard rock band The Suicide Kings! The newer quartet are continuing with their surprisingly busy stretch of concerts on Saturday night at The Nicolet Tavern for what they are calling a "Survival Party" following the supposed Mayan apocalypse. Note that they are only playing on Saturday due to bassist Mitch Sirie's show with The Bear Hunters in Sudbury tomorrow night, but guitarist Steven Flint told me in a recent Facebook conversation that all of the band's currently announced 2013 dates are the full weekend (not just Saturday as was originally posted.) The original plugs weren't clear, but my apologies for any confusion! Their Saturday show this weekend is largely the same as their others for content and format, with a 10:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit, but as revealed on their Facebook page last night, this concert will also be in Andres' memory (especially as he played in The Bear Hunters' original lineup with Mitch), so hopefully he's there somehow in spirit! For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

This should also be an entertaining concert of hard and alternative rock covers and originals, so head to The Nic on Saturday night for The Suicide Kings' latest show, and for a preview, here they are playing three songs at Toystock last month!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow, along with this month's YouTube Channel Profile on Saturday! Thanks everyone!

R.I.P. Andres Duchesne, 1989-2012

The Sault Metal Scene and local musicians were shocked to learn this evening that Pillory guitarist Andres Duchesne has passed away. Nothing official has been posted from band or local news sources, but his personal Facebook page is filling up with condolences from family and friends, which more or less confirms this sad story. Any other specifics have yet to be made public, but I'll try and keep you guys updated on future developments and arrangements as they come in. Andres was best known in the local music scene for his early 2010s guitar work in local metal bands, memorably being a founding member of local death metal quintet The Bear Hunters in 2010, as well as having a stint with Social Suicide from 2011 through earlier this year. He had recently re-emerged locally as a guitarist in the local thrash metal band Pillory, who debuted at The Locals Attack at The Canadian last month, in what proved to be his last local concert appearance. Numerous videos of his guitar work are online from both his band repetoire and his solo YouTube channel, and those who know him will attest to his musical abilities.

I won't pretend to have known Andres well, but whenever we talked, he struck me as a quiet but very friendly guy, and through mutual friends and coverage on the site, I was very familiar with his band work and abilities. He was a devoted metalhead with clear guitar skill, and it's a shame that he didn't gain more of a foothold into live gigging bands before his sudden passing. I hope Pillory continue on as a band despite what happened, as I'm sure Andres would want them to stay together and continue melting faces on the local stage! Though they're two completely different artists, I can't help but recall the passing of Woods of Ypres frontman David Gold a little more than a year ago, as it's just sad that we've lost two local guitarists in consecutive Decembers, let alone right before Christmas in both cases. No one should ever lose a loved one during the holidays, and I send my deepest condolences to Andres' family and friends at this time. I hope that, however possible, those who love and miss him can focus on the good aspects of his life and music over the holidays, rather than what came out today.

We'll have more on any future developments relating to the arrangements, Pillory, and more as it comes in, but for now, keep Andres' family & friends in your thoughts (especially over the holidays.) I wanted to share a video of his work hear to close this post, and I thought this video of Pillory playing their song "Fatal Woods" at their debut show last month would fit well. In hindsight, this was arguably from his biggest moment in the local scene, and his skills are on full display. R.I.P. Andres, you are missed!

A New Local Solo Project & Podcast, Plus New Videos!!

Let's get some more news up on this Friday afternoon, and coincidentally, most of this post revolves around members of Pillory in outside ventures! Today, we have new performance videos, information on a new local metal podcast, and a new solo original track, but first, here's a newly launched Sault Ontario solo project to check out!

We have a brand new local metal act to add to our local metal band links, and it's The Soviet Space Program, a new solo project from prolific local musician Jonathan Tiberi! Already quite busy as the guitarist, bassist, and/or singer in Late & Loud, Pillory, The Daybreak Johnnies, and Lazer Queen, Jon's now got some new solo work on his musical docket, so what should we know so far? Both the name of the project and Jon's home recording studio, the S.S.P. is intended to be a home for new solo compositions and perhaps song ideas for his other bands, though it remains to be seen how similar this will be to his old Last Warrior of Rock solo project. Only one song is posted on The Soviet Space Program's Reverbnation page so far (entitled "Don't Tell"), and it's a solid classic metal track that has a 1970s vibe and some good aggression, and Jon uses his singing well on it! I'm curious to hear more from The Soviet Space Program in the future, so I'd say give them a look above, and they're now in our Sault Ontario metal band links!

Also in the realm of things Jon's been up to, he and Late & Loud/Lazer Queen bandmate Benn Garside recently launched a local metal podcast that they're trying to get off the ground, so I thought I'd highlight it on here! Entitled The Meltdown, it was actually launched in October of last year, but the guys (under the names "Jon Barbarian" & "Benn Striker") only just resumed activity on it last month, uploading the first episode to The Meltdown's SoundCloud page on November 25th. Just under 90 minutes in length, it features around 20 songs from bands like Pantera, Dokken, The Sword, Alice Cooper, and Metallica, among many others. The tracks themselves sound great, but I'd like to hear some longer banter between Jon & Benn, and possibly some more integration of local music. The guys want 60 fans on their Facebook page before recording a second episode, so check out the first episode above to see if you enjoy The Meltdown, visit Facebook as well to vote on what you'd like to see in future episodes, and The Meltdown's now in our Other Sault Ontario Metal Links section!

We'll close this post with videos, starting with a YouTube channel I'm surprised I hadn't heard of before, that being Pillory guitarist Andres Duchesne's YouTube channel! Launched way before he first entered our radar as an original member of The Bear Hunters, Andres has used this channel off & on since 2006, and while the majority of the channel isn't of his musical work, there's a bunch of guitar performance clips to check out! These include covers of Children of Bodom, Exodus, Death, and Slayer material (among assorted other randomness), so check the above links to give them a look, as his talents are visible even way back in the late 2000s! What brought Andres' channel to my attention though is his newest video (and first performance video in over a year), which is of an original guitar passage named "The Stalker". Well played, though I'd like to see him expand on it to give it some variance or higher tones. Still good though, so check out Andres' newest video below, and definitely check out his earlier covers via the above links!



Finally for today, here's the latest solo original track by AlterWhite mainman Mike Matthews! Following his most recent solo song upload last month, his newest song (entitled "My Face To Your Face") was posted on the band's YouTube channel two days ago. Supposed to be a part of his "second album", I like the contrast between the verses & choruses, and the aggressive metal choruses work well, but I think he tries a bit too hard on the softer sections vocally, and the song feels longer than it should be. Solid though, and you can see his improvements from 2011 tracks, so give Mike's newest solo song a listen below!



That's probably all for today, but stay tuned for more news this weekend! Thanks everyone!