In our first of two likely posts today (I hope to have this month's YouTube Channel Profile up tonight), we have a lot of big stuff to get to in this post, including fallout from a recent benefit event, and the release of a major tribute album with a clear local inspiration, but first, we have some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS concerning two huge shows coming to Sault Michigan later this year! Without any further adieu, here's what you need to know!
Two new major concerts at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino have been announced, starting with the return of Sacramento, California hair metal legends Tesla to the Soo on Saturday, July 27th! Best known for hit songs like "Signs", "Love Song", and "Mama's Fool", this entertaining quintet were last seen in the area over 3 years ago when they and Fifth Way rocked The Dreammaker's Theater in June 2010, and it'll be great to see their multi-platinum selling original material back on stage for a fourth stop at Kewadin Casino! Note that the exact same lineup from their last local stop will be back for this show, but I'm seeing no reference to an opening band at present. Tickets for this all ages show (which starts at 7:00 PM) are NOW ON SALE for $38.50 and $35, and there's lots of good seats still available (though they're going fast), so buy yours at this location, at 1-800-KEWADIN, or in person at the Kewadin box office! It's great to see Tesla back in town once again, and their classic hard rock and hair metal sounds are sure to attract another large crowd, so don't miss this show come July!
The other newly announced Dreammaker's Theater concert will see San Francisco hard rock notables Night Ranger hit the Sault Kewadin on Sunday, September 22nd for what I think may be their first ever local concert appearance! As announced on SooToday yesterday, you may remember Night Ranger most for their hit singles "Sister Christian", "Sentimental Street", and "Don't Tell Me You Love Me", and their classic ballads and energetic hard rock hits should be welcomed in the fall! Opening for Night Ranger at this show is former Bad English frontman John Waite in a solo set, and you may remember John best for his 1984 hit single "Missing You". While best known for softer pop rock solo material, he has hard rock and AOR experience from his bands, and he should impress in September! Tickets for this concert don't go on sale until May 31st (a week from Friday), but they will cost $48.50 & $38.50 via the same methods as the Tesla show, with no age limits and a 7:00 PM start time likely. Classic rock and metal fans should be excited for this show as well, so don't miss the on-sale date next week, and hopefully Night Ranger rock the Soo this fall!
Finally in Kewadin Casino hard rock concert notes, Pop Evil tickets are now on sale via the Kewadin ticketing page & links above for just $20! Remember, proceeds from this August 14th concert go to Team Jessica to help local student Jessica Jorgensen's battle with leukemia, and this show has a 7:00 PM start time (though openers haven't been announced yet.) There's tons of good seats available, so get yours A.S.A.P., and stay tuned for updates on these and other upcoming heavier Dreammaker's Theater shows!
Next up, the Woods of Ypres/David Gold tribute album "Heart of Gold: A Tribute to Woods of Ypres" is now officially on sale to the public! Following online pre-orders and a lengthy development process, the 19-track album can be downloaded in mp3 format for just $10 at this location, so pick it up A.S.A.P. to hear all of these great tributes to the band & David's memory! Each track can be streamed there before buying as well, but the full download version also features the full liner notes, which I have heard good things about! Details on public sales of CD copies have yet to be announced beyond the pre-orders, but it will be a 2 disc set due to the length of the songs and amount of featured artists. Even though there's no local artists on this compilation, there's a bunch of emotional and devoted covers that pay tribute to Woods of Ypres in their own ways here, and all were penned by David Gold, so I will confirm that this will be a CD review on the SMS this summer!
I have "Heart of Gold" pencilled in for July, as I have Haggith's new album "Deuce" planned for June, and I'll tentatively bump our review of Mike Haggith's "The Present Din" to August to spread our reviews of his projects' new CDs. I can't wait to hear the Woods tribute album in full, so stay tuned for updates on it and the public CD release when I hear it, and buy "Heart of Gold" today!!
Finally for today, here's a bit of fallout from last week's Jean-Paul Fecteau benefit concert at The Canadian Nightclub! The day after the May 14th event, Jean-Paul's former J.A.B. bandmate Glen Thomas (now of Flat Stanley) posted a recap of the event onto his message board Freq's Music Planet, where he revealed some of the performers and songs played that night. Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison reportedly played a solo acoustic set, and the other performers appeared to all jam various covers, including a spell where Glen joined Asylum Country guitarist/event organizer Terry Eaton and ex-Bud Shamble bassist Rob Gilmar for some songs, including covers of ZZ Top's "Tush" and AC/DC's "Highway To Hell", as caught in the video below! Uploaded to Glen's YouTube channel the night of the show, the video quality isn't that great, and it's often dark and fuzzy, but the audio's nice, and Terry has a really solid voice for these songs! Talented musicians all around, it's nice to see them jamming, though it's disappointing that a proposed reunion of surviving J.A.B. members didn't materialize.
Other performers included the rest of Asylum Country and Turner Up/Havadder alum Jason Roy (according to the Facebook event page), and it sounds like the event was a major success! And yes, there were prize draws and food available for attendees. Hopefully the benefit gave Jean-Paul's family and young daughter a boost (financially and emotionally), and I hope that somehow, somewhere, J.P. was there last week enjoying all the music! Check out Terry, Rob, and Glen's covers from the benefit below, and if I hear anything more from that night, I'll let you guys know!!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile (focused on Frightlight's channel) either tonight or tomorrow morning! Thanks everyone!
Before we get to tonight's news post at the SMS, just a quick apology for missing promotion of last Friday's Lucky 13 show at The Nicolet Tavern. As it only got a brief plug on their Facebook page on Monday, it slipped me by until the day of the show, and I could only get it on the site as a Facebook-exclusive that night. My sincerest apologies to the band and all readers, I'll try and be on my toes more for their next gigs, and hopefully the show was a hit! Today though, we have recent feature post updates, news on a local metal band's lineup, and a preview of a benefit event tomorrow, but first, here's some long awaited LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this month, so here's what you need to know!
Sault Michigan hard rock/metal quartet 415E will make their first concert appearances in 4 months THIS WEEKEND & next weekend at both of the regional Kewadin Casino branches! They'll start with gigs this coming Friday & Saturday at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, followed by two shows next weekend at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin (as replacements for local country band Perry Hatch), and though there isn't a great deal of notice, these constitute the long-hyped May "debut" for 415E (despite opening for Sebastian Bach locally in January.) My source for the 4 new concerts is 415E's Facebook page this morning, and for reference, Kewadin Casino's entertainment page lists neither weekend, so they're likely newer confirmations. 10:00 PM start times are likely each night for these 21+ shows, and there's no announced cover charges. For more details, visit the above links!
With Nixxon Dixxon, Splitshot, and Highest of Fives alumni, you know 415E will have plenty of great originals & covers in store for their first headlining/solo shows, so don't miss them at either of the main regional Kewadin Casinos this month, and keep an eye out just in case their long awaited debut album surfaces in some form! Stay tuned for updates!
Thirdly today, while not exactly a concert preview, there is a big event going down tomorrow night, so I thought I'd acknowledge it (especially for the causes behind it.) As you may remember, former local metal guitarist Jean-Paul Fecteau (of J.A.B. & other bands) suddenly passed away early last month at just 38 years old, and amidst the outpouring of support & condolences, Asylum Country guitarist/local metal band alum Terry Eaton kicked off organizing & promotion of a benefit for his family, which will see numerous friends and musicians jamming some tunes in his memory. Admission will be $20 for the benefit, which goes down TOMORROW at The Canadian Nightclub at 6:00 PM, though potential age limits weren't mentioned, and food and prize draws have also been advertised. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Even though we don't know much on the performers, there's bound to be lots of talent, camaraderie, and emotion in J.P.'s honour tomorrow night, so don't miss this event, and help give his family & daughter some much needed support! R.I.P. Jean-Paul!
Also today, here's the latest lineup news from local extreme metal band Winkstinger, as they've finally confirmed the addition of ex-Fitswitch/No Arrow bassist Jason Bourcier to their lineup, replacing Ryan Sherman. This was announced on their Facebook page earlier today, though I'd heard of his enlistment for a while now through personal conversations. Arguably more prominent from his singing work in bands like Time of Ruin in the last few years, Jason's a skilled bassist from some widely varying local bands, and hopefully his addition will spark the guys in their impending return to the stage on the 29th! Also, the lineup above essentially confirms the departure of rhythm guitarist Anthony Orazietti, but there is no replacement listed there, and despite rumours of Jason Ladouceur coming back (and recent personal postings indicating that they had a replacement), they're currently listed as a quartet. A smaller lineup won't be a jarring change (they won the Battle For The Blood as a quartet), but here's hoping for the best, and best of luck to Anthony in the future!
It's been a long road back to the stage since July for Winkstinger, but hopefully this long wait will see an even heavier and faster sound come the 29th when they open for Sleep When You're Dead at The Oddfellows Hall, so don't miss their new lineup's debut then, and stay tuned for more from Winkstinger as I hear it!
Keeping with our recent cleaning up of our news cache, we have some assorted recent Sault Ontario news items to get to, but what's in store on this cold Saturday morning? Today, we have a bunch of recent shorter news items, another new video from a prominent local drummer, and news on a special benefit show coming up, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, so here's what you need to know!
An upcoming ALL AGES concert does include an acoustic grunge/alternative project on it's lineup, so here's what you need to know! Taking place on May 10th at The Oddfellows Hall, it's the third all ages show (and first at this venue) to be promoted by AlgomA drummer Jamie Vincent since starting local concert promotion, and though mostly a punk show, it does feature local musician Chris Shoust's Telephone & Address lo-fi/grunge project as one of the opening bands! Two weeks after Chris headlines another all ages gig at the Royal Canadian Legion, his creative unplugged material should serve as a heavier, yet still more reserved contrast from the other scheduled acts, as even though it's an acoustic solo project, the seeds are there for very heavy alt-rock songs! The show itself will be headlined by Regina punk rock quartet The Royal Red Brigade (who opened for Weak Ends at The Oddfellows Hall show last summer), with Edmonton surf punk trio The Rhubarbs also tagging along during the Canadian leg of their spring tour. Both out of town headliners have their own energetic takes on the genre, and I especially like The Rhubarbs, so keep both bands in mind if you're up for an all ages punk show!
The other local openers will be a new local pop punk band named Crawfather, and though they don't have an online page yet, their lineup includes Nebraska Arms singer/bassist Guy Thiffault, Terminal frontman Mike Yakasovich, Downshift guitarist Steve Zuppa, and Small Town Rivals drummer Clint Wilson. Very talented lineup, I'm curious to hear how they sound! This ALL AGES show will be on Friday, May 10th at 8:00 PM, and there's a $5 cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Granted, this is more of a punk show, but there's nuggets of heaviness scattered about, and Telephone & Address give the show a heavier styled act, albeit unplugged, so keep it in mind for next month!
Also in new events next month, this isn't so much a concert as it is a special benefit event, as friends of late J.A.B. guitarist Jean-Paul Fecteau will be joining forces for a benefit in his name on May 13th at The Canadian Nightclub! The aim is to raise money for his family in this time of need, and it will feature local musicians that knew and miss him jamming in his memory. One will likely be Asylum Country guitarist/former local metal musician Terry Eaton (who's co-promoting the benefit), though a fuller list of confirmed artists has yet to come out. The event will also feature prize draws, food, and more to partake in, though I'm sure more info is forthcoming. This benefit will start at 6:00 PM on May 13th, tickets are $20 (which can be obtained through Terry's phone numbers listed at the Facebook event page), and there's not an announced age limit. No matter what goes down next month, this is a great idea to help support Jean-Paul's family at this time of need, and hopefully many of his friends, family, and ex-bandmates will turn out to pay tribute to him next month! If more big details come out on it, I'll be sure to let you guys know!
Next up, here's another new video from As It Stands drummer John Mignacca! Along with a blocked Swedish Mafia House cover (for copyright reasons, no word on if it works for American users), John also posted a second take of his electric drumkit cover of Avicii's "Levels" onto the band's YouTube channel on Wednesday, though his original cover of this song is still posted. This video is shot from above, which gives a neat angle that you don't often see from local metal drummer cover clips (Jake LaLonde aside), so check out John's newest drum cover below, and yes, that's his As It Stands bandmate Albert Bourrier manning the computer!
We'll close today with six recent shorter news stories from the Sault Ontario area (as they've piled on lately), and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band or artist name:
Former Skull After Betrayl bassist Adam Brett is again looking to get back into local music, though this time on guitar. He'll jam anything from hard rock to death metal, but if you're interested in jamming or working with him musically, message him on Facebook at this location, or see his post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group from this past Tuesday!
New local sludge/doom metal trio AlgomA launched their own Twitter page last month, so follow them there as another source of band updates! The biggest news item there so far is a plug for their local gig opening for The Golers on June 20th, but that has still not been officially announced by any other sources. When something more official comes out, we'll have it here!
Local musician Chris Raginskis is looking for a drummer for his new band, who appear to be punk leaning, but would cover some heavier bands like The Misfits & The Bronx. No word on anything else, but if you're interested in trying out, message Chris on Facebook at this location, or check out his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from this past Sunday!
Fred Kember from The 705 Video Magazine recently reviewed Destroilet's full length debut album, giving it very positive praise, including calling it an "amazing album", and giving lots of plaudits for the recording quality and cover song choices. I won't spoil it, but give the full review a look at this link, and don't miss Destroilet's first show in two years TONIGHT when they open for The Ripcordz at The Algonquin Pub!
Newer local metal project The Hydra (featuring half of Late & Loud) apparently parted ways with guitarist Talon Risto earlier this year, as per his quiet removal from their Reverbnation page's lineup. A reason wasn't announced, but he recently moved to Alberta from his prior Deep River homebase, so that could be related. Hopefully we'll hear more from The Hydra soon, so keep an eye out, and best of luck to Talon in the future!
Demo recordings of Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands finalists The Suicide Kings' original songs "King of the World" and "Into The Fray" have been posted onto their Reverbnation page in the last week or so! I won't give any major thoughts (as I hope to review their EP upon it's release), but fans shouldn't be disappointed, so give them a listen if you want!
That's all for today, but I'll see you guys TONIGHT at The Algonquin Pub for The Ripcordz, Destroilet, and T-Rex Manning! This will be a huge show, so don't miss out! Thanks everyone!
Hey guys, while I'm at The Rockstar Bar for the next night of the battle of the bands, we have a second post today that should have been auto-posted at 10:00 PM sharp, and if you can read this, we have a varied array of notable news, so what's on tap? Along with a new video from a prominent local metal drummer, we have news on a new album release and a preview of a big concert going down TOMORROW NIGHT, but first, here's some notes on a recently passed local metal musician's final arrangements (and check out our Defunct Local Band Profile on Devastation of the Heavens in the post below this one!)
The obituary for late J.A.B. guitarist Jean-Paul Fecteau was posted on SooToday yesterday, and through there, it's been confirmed that his services will be held privately at the Arthur Funeral Home & Cremation Centre tomorrow, in accordance with his family's wishes. Nothing was included about where/if to send donations or flowers, but you can express sympathy online at the funeral home's website. For reference, Jean-Paul had just turned 38 years old in November, and that's far too young for someone to pass away. I imagine it will be disappointing for some of his friends that the services aren't publically open, but in this time of grief, I can see why things might be private for family only. I have also heard rumblings online of a tribute event/concert to raise money for his family and his young daughter, and though nothing's concrete on it yet, it would be great to see some of his former bandmates and friends band together in his memory!
We've had a rough few months for metal musician deaths since December, especially given the sudden nature of each, but like with Andres & Justin, I know J.P. will be fondly remembered in similar ways, and I wish the entire Fecteau & Verdon family the best during this difficult time. R.I.P. Jean-Paul!
Next up, we have a new paid album release from a local hard rock artist, that being Haggith singer/drummer Mike Haggith's newest solo album "The Present Din"! Originally posted in full as a streaming YouTube video almost two weeks ago, Mike announced on his solo project's Facebook page yesterday that his 46th solo album can now be purchased by request through Facebook, or digitally through Mike's Reverbnation store for just $4.50 (or 69¢ a song), and it's great to see the album on sale finally! Recorded at Galactic Records with vocal tracks recorded locally at PaperClip Productions,the 9 track album (including one cover) is softer & more upbeat than his last two releases, but still has some heavier elements. For fans of Mike's solo work and the Haggith band, this has to be a must-buy (especially at this low price), so click here to pick it up A.S.A.P.! That said, when will we review "The Present Din" on the site? I have it roughly pencilled in for June (past our 6 month buffer from our "Neighbourhood Watch" review), but that could change depending on if he releases anything else, or if any other new metal/hard rock albums fall in the queue by then.
No matter what, look out for a new Mike Haggith solo album review likely this summer, and pick up "The Present Din" either digitally or physically A.S.A.P.! (Also, Mike's Facebook page was recently renamed to remove references to his former Windsor-based bands The Thorns & Equilibrium, likely as both are defunct, but the page as we know it is the same.)
And now, here's a notable concert preview for TOMORROW NIGHT in Sault Ontario, as a package of 4 notable & diverse bands will take to The Roosevelt Hotel's stage, including headliners The Rabid Whole! This fast rising electronic/industrial hard rock quintet from Toronto are quite different from out of town headlining metal bands that we tend to hear locally, but their futuristic and catchy sounds should be entertaining and worth checking out in the midst of their Short Circuit Tour! The local openers also spread across a wide array of sounds, even with the dropout of progressive rock locals Machines Dream, but fans of this month's Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands should be very curious, as all three local bands tomorrow either have or will be competing in the battle! The openers include Sarah's Valley (the former Free Beer) from last week's opening night, and their ska/funk rock sounds should serve them well on this diverse lineup, while 2/3rds of next week's lineup will join them, including debuting stoner/death metal quartet Giwakwa (featuring Bring The Fallen, Frightlight, and Lead The Dead alumni) and alternative hard rock/blues veterans Sykotyk Rampage! I'll hold comments or predictions on them given that I'm judging them next week at the battle, but death metal & crash music lovers should enjoy their sets tomorrow!
This show is the fifth Thursday night show at The Rosie to be promoted by J.D. "Johnny Pints" Pearce since last year, so if you miss the regular Rosie metal nights, why not head out tomorrow? There is a 10:00 PM start time, you must be 19 to attend, and there's a $5 cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! I likely won't be there tomorrow, as I don't want to show a bias for/against the battle competitors, but Giwakwa's long awaited concert debut should be huge, and Sykotyk Rampage & Sarah's Valley are bound to be crowd favourites, so don't miss out TOMORROW NIGHT! For a preview, here's The Rabid Whole's music video for their song "Future"!
Finally for today, here's a new video from As It Stands' drummer John Mignacca, who posted this clip of him covering the Skrillex remix of Avicii's "Levels" onto As It Stands' YouTube channel on Monday! John's using an electric drumkit (not unlike The Valentine's Day Massacre's Kyle Umgeher) in the video, and it's the first video on the channel of John drumming in over a year, with or without the band. He does a good job on this song (though it's a dubstep/electronic mix, not metal), and while I have no clue when As It Stands will end their 8 month concert hiatus, hopefully this can tide you guys over somewhat, so check out John's new drum cover below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for our recap of tonight's second night of the Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands that is currently in progress! Who will win, and what went down? Find out tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
The Sault Metal Scene sends it's deepest condolences to the family & friends of veteran local metal guitarist Jean-Paul Fecteau, who reportedly passed away on Saturday. While not a recent sight at local concerts, Jean-Paul played in local bands dating back to at least the early 1990s, when he was the lead guitarist in the local hard rock quintet J.A.B. (short for Just Another Band), alongside singer Gigi Micelli, guitarist Gerald McKinnon, bassist Dan Jones, and current Flat Stanley drummer Glen Thomas. Though I can't 100% source any other bands that he was in before & after J.A.B.'s run, I believe Jean-Paul still jammed occasionally with local musicians in recent years. Details on his arrangements or any related notes have yet to be made public, but there are many condolences on his personal Facebook page confirming the news, and his passing does sound sudden, judging by the shock in posted condolence messages. I didn't know Jean-Paul, but everything that I've heard indicates that he was a great & kind person and father, and I especially feel for his young daughter, as no one should lose a father this soon.
Following the losses of Andres Duchesne & Justin Fratpietro this winter, I hoped we wouldn't have another local metal musician death for a long while, but hopefully Jean-Paul will be fondly remembered over these next couple of days! His work in J.A.B. points to a lot of clear talent as a hard rock & classic metal guitarist, and Glen Thomas has uploaded a few J.A.B. audio tracks from 1992 onto his YouTube channel & personal Facebook page which back that up. I've embedded their cover of Judas Priest's "Solar Angel" below to check out (Jean-Paul's on the far right), so give it a listen, and when more comes out on this sad news, we'll have it here for you guys. R.I.P. Jean-Paul!
Finally for today, here's a bit of fallout from last week's Jean-Paul Fecteau benefit concert at The Canadian Nightclub! The day after the May 14th event, Jean-Paul's former J.A.B. bandmate Glen Thomas (now of Flat Stanley) posted a recap of the event onto his message board Freq's Music Planet, where he revealed some of the performers and songs played that night. Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison reportedly played a solo acoustic set, and the other performers appeared to all jam various covers, including a spell where Glen joined Asylum Country guitarist/event organizer Terry Eaton and ex-Bud Shamble bassist Rob Gilmar for some songs, including covers of ZZ Top's "Tush" and AC/DC's "Highway To Hell", as caught in the video below! Uploaded to Glen's YouTube channel the night of the show, the video quality isn't that great, and it's often dark and fuzzy, but the audio's nice, and Terry has a really solid voice for these songs! Talented musicians all around, it's nice to see them jamming, though it's disappointing that a proposed reunion of surviving J.A.B. members didn't materialize.
